S.A.R.A. executive Meeting Minutes – May 27, 2003

 

Present:    Ron Braun, Ritvars Bregzis, George Dubauskas, Marianne Fenner, Louis Gris, Merle Hudson, Peter Keefe, Frances Labelle, Victoria Masnyk, John Meijer, Joan Oreto, Bill Roberts, Nick Singh

 

Regrets:   Sybil Wilkinson, Vicki Vancas, Bill Haines

 

Guests:     Peter Zimmerman, Let’s Build, City of Toronto

                  Caroline Adams, Marshal Macklin Monahan

 

Call to Order:

The meeting began at 7:30 p.m. at the Swansea Town Hall

 

Approval of Agenda:

                  The agenda as amended was approved upon motion by Bill Roberts, seconded by Ritvars Bregzis, and unanimously carried.

 

Minutes:   The minutes of April 15, 2003, were approved as written upon motion by Frances Labelle, seconded by Louis Gris and unanimously carried.

 

1.               Presentation:

Status of Fred Victor Centre at Windermere and Lake Shore Blvd. W.: 

  Peter Zimmerman, gave a brief history of the project, and the Fred Victor Mission.  With the assistance of Caroline Adams he outlined the environmental issues related to the site and the clean-up program that would be carried out.  He noted ERA Architects would be handling the restoration of the historic Joy Oil Station building and detailed how it will be positioned on the site.  He reported that the configuration of the station buildings have allowed the residential building to be reduced to 3 storeys + mechanical, which will lower its visibility.

  He informed the meeting that there will be 42 single occupancy units, the tenants will be drawn from the City’s social housing waiting list and from people living in other Fred Victor facilities and there is expected to be some level of support for the tenants but there will be no on site programming.

  Mr. Zimmerman said they hoped to begin work this summer but the timing was unknown at this time as tenders had not yet been called for.  He suggested that a further presentation could be arranged at a later date when plans are more advanced, with a representative from the Fred Victor Mission in attendance to discuss how they plan to operate the site.

 

2.         Membership Report:

Louis Gris reported he had received 7 renewal memberships and one new, for a total of 73 members, plus 3 honorary members.  He turned over $88 to the Treasurer.  The membership report was approved upon motion by Louis Gris, seconded by Marianne Fenner and unanimously carried.

 

3.         Treasurer’s Report:

John Meijer presented the Treasurer’s Report as of May 27, 2003:

Upon motion made by Joan Oreto, seconded by George Dubauskas and unanimously carried, the Treasurer was authorized to maintain, at his discretion, a minimum amount in the BMO chequing account sufficient to meet the cash needs of SARA/SARG.

 

Upon motion made by Bill Roberts, seconded by John Meijer and unanimously carried authority was given for the Treasurer to reimburse Louis Gris $77.04 for the membership flyers.

 

It was noted that the information on SARA/SARG in the Consumer & Corporate Affairs listing needed to be updated.

 

4.         Land Use Matters:

a)      1947-1997 Bloor St. W. – Context Development:  Peter Keefe provided an update on the environmental clean-up of the site, noting that some of the contamination is decades old, there is a concern the developers method of clean-up is pushing the contamination off-site, and that a prehearing before the Environment Review Board is expected sometime in the summer.  Overall things are moving slowly.  Peter noted that he may be requesting SARA write a letter on this matter.

b)      Windermere by the Lake – Frances Labelle reported that tenders are being called for the hydro seeding on the west site, and that the developer was finalizing the details required to get the site plan for the east site approved by the City.

c)      Southport Plaza Redevelopment – Frances Labelle reported that a prehearing has been scheduled by the OMB for June 13th, 2003, that RARG was still trying to get traffic, environmental, shadowing etc. reports from the developer and/or the city.

d)      Meow Club – Frances Labelle reported that she was planning to set up a meeting of interested parties to look at what action might be taken on this development.

Upon motion made by Bill Roberts, seconded by George Dubauskas and unanimously carried, it was agreed that a sub-committee consisting of Ron Braun, Peter Keefe and Frances Labelle would be created to look after Meow Club matters on behalf of SARA, and that if any expenditure of funds is necessary an emergency meeting of the Executive would be convened to consider the matter.

e)      Committee of Adjustment – Louis Gris noted that over 30 people had gone to the May 27th meeting on a proposal to renovate a house on Larkin to the extent that it would exceed 1x coverage.  It was noted there should be some system in place to deal with Committee of Adjustment matters.

f)        Municipal Shelters – nothing to report.

g)      Gardiner Lakeshore Task Force – last meeting cancelled – nothing to report.

h)      Toronto Official Plan – Bill Roberts noted that there had been a great number of appeals and that it would be a while before any hearings or discussions start to take place.

 

5.         Liquor Licenses:

a)      Billy Bob/The Fan – no hearing date yet.

b)      Dark Horse – Nick Singh reported that since the construction of a sound proof wall was not possible. Councillor Miller was negotiating a compromise that would see the western part of the patio closed leaving only a smaller patio on the eastern part.

 

6.         Humber River:

a)      Boathouse – Marianne Fenner reported Councillor Miller had advised her it was too early for a public meeting.

b)      Humber Cycling/Pedestrian Trail – the meeting agreed it would be best to first ensure the pedestrian trail is completed satisfactorily and then deal with the boathouse.

 

7.         Humber Bay Treatment Facility:

Ron Braun reported there is now an official odour study underway and he would keep the executive updated on the progress of the study.

 

8.         Neighbourhood Issues:

a)      Petro Canada Station – 8 South Kingsway – Ron Braun reported that effective May 1st the station reduced its hours of operation and is now shut down at 11:00 p.m.  Ron Braun also reported that he is still working on getting the Neon turned off and having the no entry sign improved.  Ron agreed to write to Councillor Miller to get the City to put official traffic signs up.

b)      Petro Canada – Queensway and Southport – nothing to report on plans to renovate.

c)      Runnymede Hospital – nothing to report.

d)      Humber York Community Council – governance of Toronto – Bill Roberts reported that there is again a move underfoot to decrease the number of community councils and that SARA had not been notified of the latest activities.  Victoria Masnyk to write to Councillor Miller asking to ensure SARA is on the list for notification and to be given a report on the status and plans for the public participation process.

e)      Traffic calming – nothing new to report.

f)        Ripley Avenue Traffic Safety Improvements – Frances Labelle reported that in response to a letter by RARG to undertake a study of safety issues and put in sidewalks Traffic Operations decided to put in curve warnings which do nothing to improve visibility problems or pedestrian safety.  Victoria Masnyk to write to Councillor Miller to expressing SARA’s concern that the matter wasn’t being taken seriously.

g)      People’s forum – Bill Roberts reported that a people’s forum has been established in the city and that they will be having a series of meetings.  Information is available on their website at www.peoplesforum.ca.

 

9.         Other Organizations:

a)                  Community Police Liaison Committee – nothing to report.

b)      High Park Citizens Advisory Committee – Merle Hudson commented on the ceremony held on May 24th to name the children’s playground in honour of Jamie Bell and the placing of a plaque. It was agreed that SARA would address the designation of an appointee to this committee at the June meeting.

c)      Swansea Historical Society – nothing to report.

d)      Swansea Memorial Library and Friends of the Swansea Memorial Library – George Dubauskas briefly commented on their activities.

e)      Swansea Public School –  Marianne Fenner reported on the awards Sara sponsors and that the awards ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24th at 1:00 p.m.  Upon motion made by Marianne Fenner, seconded by Louis Gris and unanimously carried, it was agreed:  i) that SARA would continue to sponsor awards for information technology and communications, community service and girls athletics, ii) that an amount of $75 be approved to cover the cost of the awards and any expenses related thereto, and iii) that Marianne Fenner, Merle Hudson and Bill Roberts would represent SARA at the awards ceremony.

f)        Swansea Town Hall Board of Management – Bill Roberts reported on the work being done to rework and revamp the renovations plans, and George Dubauskas noted he had the downscaled design plans available for inspection.

g)      Swansea Community Recreation Centre & Rennie Park – Merle Hudson reported the recent garage sale was a great success.

h)      World 19 – nothing to report.

i)        Confederation of Resident & Ratepayer Associations (CORRA) – nothing new at this point in time.

 

10.       Communications, Marketing & Fundraising:

a)      Newsletter – Bill Roberts reported he will prepare a newsletter over the summer.

b)      Website – John Meijer reported on the work he has been doing to keep the website up-to-date.

c)      Bloor West Village Sidewalk Sale – George Dubauskas noted there were sign up sheets in the lobby and that the town hall was asking all organizations to participate by providing manpower for the tables.

 

11.       Other Business:

a)      Mayoralty Election Debate – Victoria Masnyk reported that the room has been booked and the letters inviting the candidates for a debate on Wednesday, October 15th  have gone out.

b)      Provincial Election All Candidates Debate – will have to wait until election date known.

c)      Secretary’s Position – it was agreed that the appointment of a new Secretary will be discussed at the next meeting.

d)      Ravine By-Law – Bill Roberts noted that this matter is to be discussed at the Transportation Committee meeting June 3rd and that SARA should ask for the material and complain that it wasn’t notified of the meeting.

e)      Conflict of Interest – a discussion took place as to what constituted a conflict of interest for members of the SARA board.  It was agreed that at the beginning of each meeting the President would ask if anyone had a conflict to disclose.

f)        Changing of Meeting Dates and Notification of Guests – it was agreed that a procedure was needed to ensure no oversights occur and it was agreed that the minutes and agenda should show items for future meetings.

 

12.       Next Meeting:

 

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 17th at 7:30 p.m.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m.

LIST OF ITEMS TO BE FOLLOWED UP ARISING FROM MEETING OF MAY 27TH, 2003

 

 

Letters to be Written:

 

1.         Victoria Masnyk to write to Councillor Miller asking to ensure SARA is on the list for notification on the governance of Toronto issue and to prove an update on the status of this matter and plans for the public participation process (item 8(d)).

 

2.         Petro Canada Stn. – 8 South Kingsway  - Ron Braun to write to Councillor Miller to get the City to put official no entry traffic signs up (item 8(a)).

 

3.         Victoria Masnyk to write to Councillor Miller on the request for Ripley Avenue Traffic Safety Improvements (item 8(f)).

 

Matters Needing Attention:

 

1.         Companies Act Information update needed

 

 

Items to be discussed at next meeting:

 

1.         Appointment of Secretary

 

2.         Appointment of Representative for High Park Citizen’s Advisory Committee

 

Future Meetings:

 

1.         Development of procedure for following up on Committee of Adjustment matters.

 

2.         Fred Victor Centre – set up date for future presentation with member of Fred Victor Mission present – Frances Labelle will follow-up with Peter Zimmerman in September to set up a date when there is something concrete to discuss – will bring up at September Exec. Meeting.

 

 

Agenda:

 

Items to be removed:  Fred Victor Centre, Colonization of Sign By-Laws, Humber Bay Shores Condo Association, Ripley Area Residents Group

 

Item to be added:  1(a)  Call to Order and declaration of Conflicts of Interest