Present: Maeve McMahon, Julie Stephens, Darlene Charron, Peggy Kampouris, Sylvia Milne, Lisa Furrie, David Perkins, Sue Stefko, Brenda Quinlan, Chris McCann, Scott Blurton, Craig Kamcke
Guest: Katie Burkholder
The meeting was called to order at 6:30pm.
Welcome
Sylvia Milne welcomed everyone—both new and returning directors—to the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Glebe Annex Community Association (GACA). Sylvia introduced Craig Kamcke and Katie Burkholder.
Approval of the agenda
Darlene asked to add a discussion about the graffiti at the government buildings to the agenda.
Maeve put forward a motion to approve the agenda; it was seconded by Peggy.
Presentation: Rank Choice Voting
Sylvia introduced Katie Burkholder, a representative from Ottawa 1, 2, 3, which is a group that is trying to introduce rank choice voting (or instant run-off) to the municipal electoral system. This type of voting, Katie said, would make the election process more issue-oriented and less confrontational. It would also eliminate vote splitting.
She explained that voters would rank their choices first, second, third, etc. When the votes are counted, if a candidate received 50% of the votes, that individual would be elected. However, if no one received 50% of the vote, the person with the fewest votes would be dropped and their votes would be transferred to the individuals who received the second vote on each of their ballots. This process would be repeated until one candidate receives 50% of the vote.
There is support for this type of system at both the municipal and provincial levels, Katie said. She explained it would be necessary to hold a referendum in order to change the municipal voting process.
Action: Sylvia will write to the presidents of other community associations encouraging them to contact Ottawa 1, 2, 3.
The group discussed the merits of this type of voting process. They said it is important to get the message out to schools.
Approval of the minutes from the previous meeting
David put forward a motion to approve the amended minutes; it was seconded by Scott.
Business arising from last minutes
Safety audit
Action: Peggy will follow up with Councillor Chernushenko’s office about the community safety audit.
Action: Sylvia will contact David Hole.
Darlene said she has received positive feedback from residents about the changes to the lighting on McLean Street. However, the tree that has been marked for trimming has not yet been trimmed.
Peggy said it would be worthwhile to ask the Councillor’s office about plans for follow-up once the audit results have been implemented.
Action: Darlene will ask residents to write testimonials about the positive changes; these testimonials can be posted to the website.
Action: Sylvia will follow up with Councillor Chernushenko’s office about the tree on McLean Street.
Nomination of new director
Sylvia introduced Craig Kamcke and asked him to speak about his experience and interests.
Sylvia nominated Craig as a Board director; this nomination was seconded by Peggy. All directors were in favour of the motion.
Thanks to retiring directors
Sylvia thanked Morris Rothman and Melanie Cave, two directors who had not sought re-election, for their work on the Board. She added that both had offered to help as needed in the future.
Chris said that he has another person in mind who might be interested in becoming a director. That individual is an event planner, he said.
Election of officers
Chris volunteered for the position of Treasurer and was unanimously installed in that position. Lisa volunteered for the position of Secretary and was unanimously installed in that position.
Sylvia said that Iain is happy to continue on as Vice-President, but would step aside if someone else wanted to take on the role. Darlene nominated Iain to serve as Vice-President; the nomination was seconded by Brenda. The motion passed unanimously.
Peggy nominated Sylvia to serve as President; the nomination was seconded by Lisa. The motion passed unanimously.
Treasurer’s report
Chris said that the Association is in good financial shape with an effective bank balance of $1,009. We will have to pay the GCA for our 2015 memberships, he said. This will be done at their AGM in June/July.
Motion: Chris proposed a motion to pay a one-time membership payment to the GCA at their AGM. This was seconded by Lisa and all were in favour.
Membership report
Brenda said that she has spoken to David about getting more membership cards printed. In 2013, the Association had 83 members. So far, 34 memberships have been sold; 5 are new members and the rest are renewals.
Brenda talked about the idea of having street representatives responsible for canvassing on their blocks. She asked that directors identify someone who would be willing to take on that job for their respective streets. The idea is to keep the task manageable by having each person responsible for only 10 to 15 houses.
Once identified, Brenda will provide those individuals with membership packages. Maeve suggested that it might be helpful for a director to accompany the street rep when he/she is canvassing so that there would be someone there to answer questions about the association.
Action: Peggy and Craig will talk to the brothers who own Abbas about a corporate membership.
Action: Peggy will draft a letter to go to a person she knows who owns buildings in the area and who expressed interest in a corporate membership. She will send the letter to Brenda and Iain for review.
Brenda proposed that the association charge $10 for all memberships sold until the end of June 2015. After that date, the membership fee will be prorated.
Communication/marketing
David said that he distributed about 300 of the 500 brochures that he had printed. The remainder can be used during the membership drive. He will have about 100 membership cards printed at Staples. Scott added that Loudmouth Printing on Catherine Street offers very reasonable printing rates.
Action: Craig will manage Glebe Report article submissions.
Holiday party
The annual holiday party for the directors is scheduled for Wednesday 3 December at the Lieutenant’s Pump on Elgin Street. The owner of the pub has said that he will give the association back 10% of the cost of the party. That money will go into the association’s general account.
After a brief discussion about a possible OMB appeal, Maeve suggested posting a notice in the barrister’s lounge at the court house asking for a volunteer with the relevant experience. She said the University of Ottawa law department is another possible source of expertise.
Action: Sylvia will speak to Morris about what is involved in planning the party in the park. The planning should likely begin in January.
Traffic/safety/security
Peggy asked for someone to volunteer to assist with the traffic file. She said that there is significant work planned for the renewal of bridges on the Queensway; this will result in substantial road work where Bronson and Queensway meet. There are many meetings planned around this issue and she is unable to attend them all.
Action: Craig will assist Peggy with the traffic file.
Parks/beautification/recreation
Sue said there is nothing to report on this file at this time.
Darlene said that, at her condo AGM, they had discussed the issue of the graffiti on the rock wall and in the NRCan parking lot.
Action: Darlene will report the graffiti to the city’s 311 line and will report back to the board in January.
Planning and development
Sylvia told the group that the city is conducting a zoning review of Bronson Avenue. The idea is to make the street livelier and more pedestrian-friendly. The GCA has drafted a motion that said that they were against 6-storey development on the east side of Bronson but fine with it on the west side. Sylvia said she wrote to the GCA and told them that she was not pleased with the distinction being made between the two sides of the street. The GCA removed the portion of the motion that dealt with the east/west distinction.
Sylvia told the group that Scott will attend the FCA meetings during the winter months when Sylvia is away. As well, Bruce Holden from the Lakelander has agreed to be Sylvia’s winter replacement on the city’s pre-application consultations.
Next meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 21 January at 6:30pm in the Meeting Room at the Glebe Community Centre.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:32pm.
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