Glebe Annex Community Association (GACA)
Annual General Meeting Minutes – Tuesday, May 18, 2021 – 7:00 p.m.
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m.
2. Approval of the Agenda
The agenda was approved.
3. Meeting Welcome and Format
- Sue welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the board.
- Gabrielle explained how the meeting would proceed using Zoom.
4. Approval of the Minutes of the last AGM, May 9, 2019
The minutes were approved.
5. Business Arising from the Minutes of last AGM
There was no business arising.
6. Traffic Calming – Gabrielle, Councillor Menard, Phil Edens and Phil Landry (Ottawa Traffic Services)
- Gabrielle explained that a community traffic consultation was conducted by GACA after hearing concerns from residents. Some key issues/concerns raised include:
- Drivers cutting across the neighbourhood
- Long wait times for the pedestrian crossing at Powell and Bronson
- Cars speeding through the neighbourhood; not fully stopping at stop signs
- Drivers not yielding to pedestrians at the Bronson 417 offramp
- Parking issues on Clemow, where cars blocked private laneways
- To help address the Clemow parking issue, a petition was raised to move the parking from the north to the south side of Clemow. This was successful.
- Sue expressed her thanks to Councillor Menard and Jon McLeod for working with us.
- Councillor Menard – expressed his thanks to Jon for attending GACA board meetings and to GACA for working on traffic issues. He also expressed thanks to the traffic staff who have been allies in this process. We all want people to have a safe place to walk, cycle and drive. He would like to see a gateway speed zone of 30 km/h in the Glebe Annex, and his office is also looking at Bronson Avenue to make it safer for pedestrians. The Councillor has negotiated community benefit funds from the 275 Carling development, which will help pay for traffic calming measures.
- Sue introduced Phil Edens and Phil Landry, who have been working with us regarding traffic concerns.
Phil Edens and Phil Landry – City of Ottawa, Ottawa Traffic Services
- Phil Edens expanded on the concerns discussed. Staff are doing surveys to see if a gateway zone of 30 km/h, as well as a pedestrian crossing on Bell (close to Henry, in front of Abbas) are feasible.
- They will be meeting with the MTO on the Midtown Bridges project, including raising safety concerns regarding the pedestrian crossing at the Bronson off ramp.
- Phil Landry discussed conducting a pedestrian survey across Carling, between Booth and Bronson to see if this area meets the criteria for a pedestrian crossing.
- The floor was opened for questions. Concerns were expressed by attendees, including regarding cycling safety, and the short pedestrian crossing light at Carling and Bronson. The city will look into this – the intersection will be addressed in about 5 years when Carling is redesigned, but many felt this was too far away. A complaint regarding “local only signs” in the Glebe was made, though signs about ticketing violators have been removed. This isn’t enforceable, and the Glebe Annex is considered local traffic.
5. Councillor’s Update – Councillor Menard
- Covid-19 is the biggest issue and the councillor’s office has been very busy, although Ottawa COVID numbers are dropping. It is essential to not shut own our parks, as people need somewhere to go outdoors. The councillor is on the Board of Public Health – people can reach out if there is anything they are concerned about.
- Development: There is a lot of development occurring in the Glebe Annex – some disturbance to residents is expected. The Councillor’s office is working with developers to try and mitigate these – people should reach out if they are experiencing issues.
- Environment Committee: The Councillor is the vice-chair of the committee. They are working on changing the city’s approach to climate change and looking to reduce city emissions and to save money. There has been progress, but more work to do.
- Official Plan: This is ongoing. The urban boundary expansion is a big disappointment.
- Sewer Mail Out: Residents may have received a mailout form the Service Line Warranties of Canada, which has the City of Ottawa logo on it. The councillor is reviewing this – a private company should not be using the city’s logo. Councillor Menard is working to ensure this does not happen again.
7. Treasurer’s Report – Maja
Maja presented the Treasurer’s Report. Revenues were primarily from memberships, but also grant money for the pollinator garden. Expenses are mostly limited to our Federations of Citizen’s Association membership and our membership dues to the Glebe Community Association. Our closing balance is $4,878.69, which includes $1,892.00 earmarked in our contingency fund.
8. Crime and Safety – Joanne
We continue to live in a fairly safe and secure community. If you report any concerns or incidents, it would be appreciated if you inform us. We were informed of an incident involving a man trying car and house doors – by working with Constable Lemieux, our Community Police Officer, we were able to get increased patrols as a result. In another incident a photo was taken of someone frequenting a condo parking lot – he was known to police and given a warning. Reporting works, thanks to all for being so diligent.
9. President’s Report – Sue
Development:
- 299 Carling – Canada Land Company is working to rezone the site to permit four towers ranging from eight to 20 stories. The site will include a park.
- 275 Carling – This site was sold by Taggart to Katasa in the fall of 2020. Construction of the 16-storey retirement residence building with 168 units is expected to start soon.
- 289 Carling – John Howard Society – Construction has commenced. The building will be six stories, including 40 bachelor units and staff offices. Education and training programs will be held onsite for walk-in clients.
- 7 Maclean – 2B Developments intends to build a three-storey building with seven units. Construction was expected to start in April but has been delayed.
- The Ottawa Hospital – Although out of our community, it will impact us. It will have 2.5 million square feet of floor space, 5,000 workers, and over a million visitors a year – about 2,700 per day. The main build will take place between 2024 and 2028.
- 450 Rochester – This is also outside of, but near our community. It is expected to include more than 500 housing units and a grocery store and LCBO or pharmacy.
Other than development:
- Pollinator Garden – We hope to build a pollinator garden at Dalhousie South Park soon. We have received a grant for this project.
- Event Planning – Unfortunately due to COVID, our planned social events are on hold.
- Membership – Our membership campaign is underway, and is online given COVID 19.
- Election of Directors for 2022 – Attendees were welcomed to join the board. Positions will be voted on at our next board meeting. Laurent. Scott, Marnie, and Paul put their names forward to join the board. New and returning board members were welcomed.
10. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:39 p.m.
