GACA Board Meeting – September 8, 2020

Glebe Annex Community Association (GACA)
Board Meeting – Tuesday, September 8th – 6:30 p.m.
Held Via Conference Call

Present:

Annalisa Salonius
Carrie Bolton
David Perkins
Joanne Benoit
Maja Rakocevic
Robert Logie
Sue Stefko
Jonathan McLeod (Assistant, Office of Shawn Menard, City Councillor, Capital Ward)

1. Call to Order and Approval of the Agenda

At this year’s start of the membership drive, we were not very optimistic, given the COVID situation and being unable to canvass in person. As it turned out, we have nearly the same number of members as last year, with 71 so far. There was a good response from the membership email, and postering and mailbox drop-offs helped as well.
Thanks to Annalisa, Carrie and Joanne for doing those. GACA has 20 new members. 31 members joined by e-transfer, so it was fortunate we made that option possible this year with our bank account change. A big thanks goes to the LakeLander, they continue to make up a large portion of our membership, and their condo board canvassed for us and collected membership fees.

The City confirmed that the $859 grant we received could not be deferred past the end of this calendar year, so we’re in a ‘use it or lose it’ situation. Next year the Civic Events Funding is moving to a different department and we were told we can put the same proposal in again. Joanne came up with a new idea that could allow us to use this year’s funding.
Before speaking about a possible event, the discussion was paused to have a round table introduction of everyone on the call. Robert joined the conversation – he was attending his first GACA board meeting and was welcomed.
Joanne suggested we hold a Halloween event. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. We could hold the event as a walk thru, being physically distant but still allowing us to give our treat bags to the children. Volunteers could dress up in costumes to distribute bags, and also ensure that those arriving stay physically distant. We will try to use our Civic Events Funding grant to cover costs of the treat bags, any sanitary measures, décor and hopefully even costumes. It would be great for the kids, and show our community that GACA is still active.
If approved, we would promote the event like we have past events, by postering, email and word of mouth.
The idea for a Halloween type event was supported by the board. Joanne will follow up with the Civic Events Funding group this week on next steps to get approval.

There was no treasurer report this month.

As per the email sent prior to the meeting, we can change the board’s composition outside the AGM, so long as we have quorum. Since we decided to skip the AGM this year as a result of COVID-19, this first meeting after the summer break was a good time to see if there was interest in doing so.
Annalisa and Robert put their names forward to join the board and were elected unanimously.
People who were currently on the board were also given an opportunity to step down. Maja indicated that she would like to be replaced as treasurer. She commented that now that online banking is in place and we can accept e-transfers, it makes things much easier. Annalisa indicated an interest in taking over the treasurer position at a later date.

Due to COVID-19 the spring clean-up was cancelled. The City has re-started the clean-ups for the fall campaign. A number of options were considered:
- We could have someone at the park giving out garbage bags, information, while social distancing. No refreshments will be provided this year or group gatherings for photos etc.
- We could have the board members do the clean-up, as a community service.
- Members of the board could commit, and we could ask in our newsletter if anyone would like to help. We could dop off bags and gloves to volunteers.
It was decided that we would proceed with the third option. Carrie, David, Joanne, Maja, and Sue agreed to participate. Saturday the 26th will be the official fall clean-up, with a rain date of Sunday, September 27th. There is flexibility with timing for volunteers who prefer another day.

The Canada Lands Company has a virtual open house for their proposed zoning amendments. Unfortunately, the link to it from the CLC website is not currently working. Jon has advised them of this.

The JHS site plan was approved on August 22nd by the City – they are hoping to start work sometime soon but are still waiting for a building permit. Lakelander management continues to work with the JHS to resolve concerns.

Some measures have been implemented in the Glebe Annex (largely via flex stakes) – they are not everything that was asked for and there are still concerns. The placement of the stakes is a bit of trial and error, and can be adjusted from year to year.

Jon and Councillor Menard met with Sue on this because there was a bad collision recently at this intersection. It is not safe for pedestrians or cyclists, even though this a busy pedestrian crossing. They are looking at ways to make it safer. Traffic light timing is going to be researched, which could be a way to allow more time for pedestrians to cross the intersection before the flow of traffic starts. This is a short-term solution. A long-term solution will be when Carling is redesigned, although this is at least 5 years away. The councillor’s office will be meeting with traffic planning to discuss this.

Another issue on safety is a need for another traffic light on Carling near Commissioner’s Park, due to the dangers of traversing Carling and the long distances between traffic lights. The councillor’s office may try to work with CLC on this as part of the 299 Carling development. The Councillor’s office is hoping to get this approved before the redesign of Carling.
Annalisa commented that while working on the Walkable Ottawa project, the lack of pedestrian crossings on Carling was evident. In particular, the stretch between Bronson and Preston has only one crossing. Our area is also underserved by OC Transpo. There is an 800 – 850 metre distance from Bronson to Preston to get the 85 bus where there is no traffic service after hours. The R2 route stops at Gladstone and not in our neighbourhood, and the number 10 service is extremely limited. Annalisa recommends that we push for the addition of a R2 stop to increase service to Carleton and the LRT. R2 is the replacement bus for the closed O train line which runs past Carling and Cambridge every 10 minutes and is practically empty much of the day.

It looked like Energy Evolution was going to lose its funding, but fortunately the funding will be kept through the Hydro Ottawa dividend surplus.

Tomorrow is the City Council meeting. One of the items to be voted on is proposed changes to the Bank Street canal bridge, which the Councillor worked closely with neighbouring communities on. Changes would provide more space and safety for pedestrians and cyclists. The plan was passed by the Transportation Committee last week and they hope to get the same support at council tomorrow.

Sue commented that apparently 291 Carling apparently should have always had the address of 299 Carling. Sue has a few hard copies of all the CLC publication material for 299 Carling; please reach out to Sue if you would like one.