2002/03 ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING – Wednesday May 14th, 2003
Present: Ron Braun, Ritvars Bregzis, George Dubauskas, Marianne Fenner, Merle Hudson, Peter Keefe, Frances Labelle, Victoria Masnyk, John Meijer, Joan Oreto, Bill Roberts, Sybil Wilkinson
Regrets: Louis Gris, Lynn Clay, Vicki Vancas
Minutes and Quorum:
A quorum of the members being present Victoria Masnyk called the meeting to order.
The minutes of the AGM of May 27th, 2002, were received and approved upon motion by Marianne Fenner, seconded by Ritvars Bregzis, and unanimously carried.
Treasurer’s Report:
John Meijer presented the Treasurer’s Report (on behalf of Joan Oreto) as of May 13, 2003:
Upon motion made by Sybil Wilkinson and seconded by George Dubauskas the Treasurer’s Report as of May 13, 2003, was approved and carried.
President’s Report:
Victoria Masnyk started her remarks by welcoming the members of the audience to this years AGM.
She thanked the current executive for their hard work and devotion and outlined many of the issues the members of the executive have been working on over the past year to protect and enhance the quality of life for all residents of Swansea.
She noted that SARA has lost a number of valued members over recent times citing Gunners Robinson and Jean Roberts.
Victoria then went on to speak about Jamie Bell who passed away last year and read a moving tribute to Jamie whose valuable and tireless work in the community is greatly missed.
Tribute was also paid to Dick Wilkins for his long and dedicated service to both SARA and Swansea.
The meeting was turned over to Dick Wilkins who presented the slate of nominations for the 2003-2004 executive and Board.
President: Victoria Masnyk; Vice-Presidents: Louis Gris and Peter Keefe; Secretary: Vicki Vankas; Treasurer: John Meijer; Directors: Nick Singh, Marianne Fenner, Merle Hudson, Ron Braun, Frances Labelle, Ritvars Bregzis, Sybil Wilkinson, Joan Oreto, William Roberts, William Haines, George Dubauskas, and Peter Chant, Past President.
There was a call for nominations from the floor following which a motion was made by William Roberts that the nominations be closed and the slate of directors as listed above be elected to serve as the executive and board for 2003-2004 year. The motion was seconded by George Dubauskas and unanimously carried.
Guest Speakers:
Staff Inspector Brody Smollet of 11 Division, Toronto Police Service:
The Staff Inspector discussed the search for a new headquarters for 11 Division. The potential site which is on Lansdowne Ave. would result in the division being enlarged, requiring additional staff. He noted this would not change 11 Division’s participation with the community and that the increase in resources would benefit the entire division.
He talked about the programs in place in 11 Division to deal with traffic issues, how they will deal with increased calls for service resulting from increasing population levels as a result of the number of development proposals within the division’s boundaries, how the Division interacts with communities on problems with licensed establishments and their ongoing monitoring of such establishments, especially when problems occur. He noted the Division’s programs to deal with graffiti, the initiatives undertaken by the crime management team, and how 11 Division handles its patrols on a daily basis.
A lively question and answer session ensued on matters such as crime prevention, youth crime initiatives and school programs and traffic control.
Councillor David Miller:
Councillor Miller congratulated the new executive, and expressed his concern that over the last 6 years he has sat on the Toronto City Council, he was concerned that City Hall was no longer run for the people of the City and that he will do his utmost to ensure that the culture at City Hall changes in such a way as to make Toronto a good city for all the people of this city.
He said that Swansea represented the best of local politics in Toronto, that this was a community that knew how to work together and make compromises and that as Mayor of Toronto he would ensure these successes continue. He talked about the work being done to ensure a good development for the Southport Plaza site, the graffiti removal initiatives he was working on with the BIA. He also noted that the developers of the former Meow Club site have appealed to the OMB. And closed by saying that he looks forward to meeting with SARA for the foreseeable future.
Mr. Kennedy noted that there was not a lot to report from the Ontario Legislature because of the 138-day break from sitting. He discussed the initiatives he has been undertaking in the community with regard to health care support and education and the work he is doing on environmental issues arising from the Context development on Bloor Street, a task force for tenants and the establishment of a sex offender registry.
The meeting adjourned.