Minutes – Glebe Annex Community Association (GACA)
Board Meeting – Wednesday, November 10, 2021, 7:00 p.m.
Held Via Zoom
Present:
- Annalisa Salonius
- Carrie Bolton
- David Perkins
- Joanne Benoit
- Laurent Carbonneau
- Marni Crossley
- Paul Sarouf
- Robert Logie
- Scott Templeton
- Sue Stefko
- Jonathan McLeod (Assistant, Office of Shawn Menard, Councillor, Capital Ward)
1. Call to Order and Approval of the Agenda
The meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. and the agenda was approved.
2. Approval of the October 13th Minutes
The minutes were approved.
3. Business Arising from our last meeting – October 13th
829 Carling and Corner of Preston
The 60-storey proposed building at 829 Carling is only 5 stories above what it is zoned for. The Dalhousie Community Association (DCA) would like to see the tower slimmer than proposed, some trees retained, and new ones planted. GACA will not be submitting comments. If anyone would like to, Sue will send the DCA letter for reference. The deadline is Friday, but generally comments received after the deadline will still be considered until shortly before it goes to Planning Committee.
4. General Update – Sue
4.1 Katasa Retirement Home
275 Carling – Most have probably heard a number of rumbling blasts during the excavation for the retirement home. There are up to 10 blasts a day. Complaints have been submitted, most of them directly to the councillor’s office. The councillor’s office contacted city staff and the Katasa construction manager. Councillor Menard was on site yesterday to witness the blasting. There will be an FAQ and complaints contact list posted to the Councillor’s website. Thanks were expressed to Jon and the Councillor for taking this so seriously.
4.2 Healthy Streets
Sue circulated the letter we are being asked to endorse. It is an Ottawa based group. There are a number of organizations who are supporting this – the group is just starting to reach out to community associations. The material is very general, which makes it difficult to know all the implications. Scott mentioned that they have training and workshops, which could be helpful for when we are dealing with a street like Bronson, to see how other communities have dealt with similar issues. Robert volunteered to look at the material on Healthy Streets.
5.0 Commemorative Park Naming
Joanne would like to move forward with the commemorative naming of the current Dalhousie South Park to the Abbas Family Park. This was discussed at board meetings in late 2019. It has been on the back burner, but it would be good to move forward with this if the board still feels supportive. There are two options – one is for GACA make the application, the other is a private application with a supporting letter from GACA. We also require support from our city councillor. The Abbas brothers were key to the creation of Dalhousie South Park and have done a lot for our neighbourhood. To give board members time to think about this, we will discuss it at our next meeting.
6.0 Security
If anyone would like to assist Joanne on security-related issues, please reach out to her. David offered to post tips on the website if we got them to him. We’re happy to report that our community police officer, Stephanie Lemieux, is the recipient of the City of Ottawa, 2021 Enforcement Professional Award. We have approximately 1,500 police in Ottawa, so it quite an honour. She was noted for her work on Dundonald Park and working with shelters and drop-in centres. It was suggested and agreed that we would send her a congratulatory card.
7.0 Councillor’s Office Update – Jon
7.1 Budget Season
The draft budget was tabled last week, and it is going through committees now. We have some good things in the budget for Capital Ward. There is some money to put in a bus lane from Preston to Bronson on Carling in advance of the work to be done years from now to improve Carling. Some streetlight poles are going to be replaced in the area. There is also some money going towards housing for the JHS. Lack of funding could result in it being tougher for them to do well in this housing project. They want the effect to our community to be positive, and to help with supportive housing. The Councillor’s office will have information on the budget on their website, and anyone who wants to comment on the budget can reach out to Jon.
7.2 City Council
Councillor McKenney made a motion at City Council to have a judicial inquiry for LRT phase 1. However, Council decided they do not want a judicial inquiry, but an audit by the Auditor General. This is useful, but not a strong as a judicial inquiry, and it will not be public. It was noted that the Ontario Premier may force a judicial inquiry. LRT trains will be back in operation on Friday.
7.3 Pedestrian Crossover (PXO) at Bell and Henry
It is approved, but they do not when it will be done. The Councillor’s office is having a meeting with Phil Landry and his staff, to talk about not only the PXO, but also about other possible traffic calming measures for the Glebe Annex. Jon will keep everyone updated.
7.4 MTO Question on Noise Barriers along Orangeville
Laurent asked when the sound barriers that were removed along Orangeville may be reinstalled. The MTO had said it would be this fall. These noise barriers are missed, they make a big difference. Jon will see if he can find out the timeline from the MTO.
7.5 Cash-in-Lieu of Parkland
Scott asked what the rationale behind the 60/40 split is, where your neighbourhood gets 60 percent of the funds and the general coffers for parkland get 40%. If you are in an area that requires significant parkland intensification such as downtown neighbourhoods, this does not seem like the right approach. Jon agrees and has heard a lot of comments on this. The City-wide Park fund is not just to sprinkle around to parks, it is to develop parks that would be a city-wide draw, like Mooney’s Bay and Lansdowne.
8. December Meeting
Wednesday, December 8th is our December meeting. Traditionally we have had a get-together at a restaurant. We did not last year due to COVID. After some discussion, we decided to have a casual agenda meeting and a virtual get-together – bring a beverage of your choice. This will be at our regular meeting date.
9. Additional Comments
Parks
Scott attended a community park meeting earlier this week. There is a heritage tree program that communities, like the GCA are getting involved with the city. They are trying to have more input on the kind of trees they want to see. There is also a Century Oak tree project underway. Scott will keep us updated. Sue commented that there is another city tree initiative underway – but the problem is that you must plant the trees on city property which is sparse in the Glebe Annex.
774 Carling – Bronson and Carling Katasa
A walkabout took place at the 774 Carling site. Jon, Councillor Menard, city planner Steve Gauthier, and some Dow’s Lake residents attended. Part of the discussion was focused on getting some of that land for green space.
10. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
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