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Faircrest Heights Community Association 1 Opening Remarks The President, Tony Lemoine, welcomed members, thanked them for coming out and introduced Counc. Peter Hume who would be covering several items later in the meeting. 2 Financial Business Tony reviewed the financial report. Finances are reported on a ‘cash basis’. Ninety-nine members have paid (out of a total of 730 residences in the community). The money raised covers operating expenses including insurance, meetings, newsletters, etc. There is an additional amount of $6834 received from the City consisting of individual donations made for the park, and City grants. The outlay this fall was $4,914 leaving $1920 for next year’s work on the park. 3 Faircrest Heights Park Joyce Wright announced that expectations for the park had been exceeded. Where we had hoped for 10 trees there are 13 and where we hoped for 2 benches there will be 4. Some of the trees which did not survive the summer are already being replaced. The garden is now full of plants. She noted that the garden was already popular with people from the hospital or visiting the hospital. Next spring there will be a ‘Grand Opening’, in late May or early June by which time the plants will be in bloom. Joyce invited everyone to attend. Tony asked for a vote of thanks for Joyce commenting that it had been a 10 year effort on what was originally intended to be the FHCA centennial project. 4 Elections Jacques Beaulne presented the slate of candidates for positions on the Board. These are: President Tony Lemoine Treasurer Maria Beaulne Directors: Don Melick (Municipal Affairs) Joyce Wright (Parks and Gardens) Leislie Alvarenga (Membership) Tom Saikaly (Web Master) Quentin Bristow Jacques Beaulne Bill Terry moved, seconded by Roger Piché, that the slate be declared elected, Carried Jacques noted that the positions of Secretary and Oak Park representative remained unfilled. Tony added that he would not be seeking re-election next year and hoped that someone would come forward to take over the role. He paid tribute to the work of Don Melick, who is, at the moment, ill. 5 Immaculate Heart of Mary School Property The IHM School is no longer in use (subsequent visit to the property showed that there is a daycare in operation under the name “Centre des Petits d’Ottawa”). If the School Board announces a decision to sell the property there is a sixty-day period in which organizations, including the City, have ‘right of first refusal’. If there are no takers then the property is put on the market. Sixty days being a short time to organize a proposal, the approach is to establish a position on a ‘just in case’ basis. This is why a questionnaire was included with the recent newsletter. The results of the questionnaire, returned ahead of time and at the meeting, were 53 in favour and 1 against attempting to have some or all of the land made available for community use. Peter Hume pointed out that we have no parkland in the heart of the community and no other opportunity to create a park from a significant portion of the site. He went through the process and showed possibilities on the site plan. Any money due to the city under the ‘cash in lieu of parking’ requirement generated from developments within the Alta Vista Ward would be used to help offset the cost of the portion taken by the City. There were several questions. Q:
What will the land be used for? Q:
What is the market value? Q:
What does ‘significant portion’ mean? Q:
What is the City’s budget for this proposal? Q:
What is the zoning? Q:
Do you have the $5 to $10 million to acquire the land. Q:
If we do not suggest that we want it then it will be gone. This is a ‘no
brainer’ isn’t it? Q:
When will planning start? Tony asked if a motion was needed to reinforce the community’s position. Peter responded that the ballot results would be sufficient. Tony concluded this item with the comment that this exercise might be considered a dress rehearsal for 2013 when the NDMC property will probably become available. 6 Review of other items Peter then provided updates on several items: 6.1 SCADA - Tall Poles The tall concrete pole near the corner of Crestview and Fairbanks transmits sewage flow data to a central monitoring site which has the ability to divert flow if there is danger of back-up into basements. This is part of a multi-year sewer and flow control upgrade program. 6.2 Lights on Crestview The City lighting people are not prepared to make a change. However there will be a meeting with residents to see if some mutually satisfactory solutions can be achieved. 6.3 Lynda Lane Parking Peter handed out a plan which shows Lynda Lane with a sidewalk and lighting on the east side. Parking will not be free but will be ‘cheap’. Safety is a major concern, particularly people walking on the outside of the parked cars and crossing Smyth at the end of Lynda Lane instead of at the lights. After a discussion, Peter undertook to consider extending the sidewalk and lights onto Billings, to look at having the park path paved and plowed to reduce the distance walked on the outside of the parked cars and to consider a cycling lane. 6.4 Hospital Lands There will be a new link from Riverside Drive. There are delays due to CN who are developing plans for high-speed rail and Hydro who have a major pole line across the link. The new link will affect the hospital, particularly the emergency room which may move from the south to the north so it is close to the new link. Ottawa U has purchased the Life Sciences Park. They may propose changes to the land use. Plans are expected to be available at our spring 2010 meeting. 6.5 Ash Borer 45% of trees in Alta Vista and 25% of trees in the city are ash. The Planning Committee is expected to approve a plan to under-plant ash trees so that new growth is established before the ash trees are lost. Anyone wishing to get into this program can call Peter’s office “the sooner, the better”. There may be help for householders with removal of damaged trees but this is a remote possibility. There may be a chemical answer but there is little hope for one in the short term. 6.6 Green Bin The program will start on January 4th. Pick-up will be every 2 weeks in winter (November to March) and weekly for the rest of the year. Peter reviewed the whole recycling, garbage, landfill and cartage situation, including approaches in other cities (Ottawa is lagging), the case of “I compost my stuff why should I pay” and incineration. 6.7 Ottawa River By spring 2010 the system will eliminate about 55% of the problem. The next step, which is partially funded, will be to construct a 45 million litre* holding tank which will take the peak flow and deliver it back into the system when the peak has passed. 6.8 Lansdowne Park Council will hold a lengthy discussion this week on the Lansdowne Live proposal and amendments. 7 Closing Remarks At the completion of Counc. Hume’s presentation, the President expressed the thanks of the Association for the information he had provided and thanked the members for attending and participating. Signed
President T/Recording Secretary (*45 million litres. That’s 45,000 cubic metres. That’s 100m x 90m x 5m. That’s a bit bigger than a football field and 5 metres deep.) Faircrest Heights Community Association Annual Spring Meeting, May 4/2009 Bill Terry chaired the meeting, in absence of the president Tony LeMoine. It began with an update on the Memorial Park followed by Peter Hume speaking about the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and other community issues. Park Update (Joyce Wright): There were trucks at the park today, hopefully getting everything ready for the trees. Once the trees are in, she will be able to put the garden in. Questions: What is being put in? -So far, 10 trees and two benches What is it a memorial to? -A memorial to loved ones. People are paying for trees and benches in honour of loved ones. Does the park need donations of plant material? -Yes, but they have to be drought resistant because the City will only be watering the trees. Joyce remains the contact for this project. Emerald Ash Borer...for more information about the insect and to learn to identify ash trees go to www.ottawa.ca/eab Three City staffers were on hand for this discussion, two foresters and a landscape architect. There were samples of damage for us to look at. While it was only found in July 2008 experts believe it has been here for four or five years. Millions of trees have been killed in Canada and the U.S. since being brought to the Detroit and Windsor area through contaminated packing crates from China. It does not fly long distances and mainly moves through contaminated firewood. Ash trees have compound leaves (each leaf has 5-15 small leaflets). The insects and their larvae are very small so you have to judge by how the tree looks. The larvae feeding under the bark, girdling the tree and preventing nutrients flowing up from the roots cause the actual damage. Signs of infection: -Vertical cracks in the bark -Feeding tunnels under the bark -Tiny D shaped holes -General tree decline, with die back from the top -Long shoots at the base -Woodpecker action 25% of Ottawa’s urban and rural forests are ash trees, which works out to about 75000 city-owned street and park trees To prevent the spread, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has a plan in place; the most important aspect is that ABSOLUTELY NO FIREWOOD FROM ANY TREE SPECIES SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE OTTAWA-GATINEAU REGION. There is no urgent need to remove ash trees at this time. There is an annual shot that can be a preventative. There are at least two local companies providing it. If you think you have an infestation, call a professional. If it is a tree on City property, call 311 or the CFIA. When you go to the cottage or camping, buy firewood locally. Do not take it with you from Ottawa. If your ash is cut down, dispose of it at the Trail Road Facility. Tell everyone not to move firewood. The City’s TREE program has been changed because of the EAB and hopefully the end of 2009 will place 75000 trees. The tree can be delivered to your house in a nice kit with mulch and compost. Presently only one tree per household allotted for the entire program, but it may be changed to allow two per house in areas with many ash trees. Other issues: Hospital Study nothing new Lansdowne Park Lansdowne Live is the apparent winner. It will cost 97 million for the stadium and arena. All parking lots will stay parking lots. City council did not like the retail options. The whole thing is now a joint venture. They now have 60 days to re-plan the rest of the site. There will be no residential, and the size of the field has still not been decided. This thing has been done in a backwards manner from the NDMC lands. The City seems to be moving away from the competition/tender system and Mr. Hume is not impressed. Immaculate Heart of Mary Changes in the City’s cash-in-lieu-of-parkland system has made it possible for us to buy the playing field from the school board. (Instead of all the money going into one big pot, 60% goes to the community area where it was collected. e.g. the CMA gave money to the city instead of parkland at their Alta Vista site.) Mr. Hume is suggesting we do this to prevent it from being developed. We should thing about what we want to happen there. If we don’t use the money to buy land, other residents may say we should rejuvenate our existing parks. At this point there were murmurs from the audience. Some comments: -It’s too close to Billings Park -The City can’t take care of the parks they already have -If it were playing field parking would be a problem -There is enough green space around with Lynda Lane and Billings Park -It should be developed with houses like the spot in Old Ottawa South near the Old Fire hall. Don suggested putting this discussion on the agenda for the fall meeting. Apparently the school building is being rented to a private school. Lynda Lane They are trying to finalize yet another plan and have a solid proposal by September. This would retain the “rural” ditches on the Lynda Lane park side, with a sidewalk, lights, controlled parking on the west side. Could the parking revenues be used to pay for some of that work? There is no support among his colleagues to take free parking off Lynda Lane. The City can require the hospital to make parking spaces but can’t make them change a decent rate. There is a low cost lot there now because the hospital is using City land for it. Billings Park was land given to the City by the NCC so that it could build houses at Heron and Walkley. Alta Vista Traffic Control Study -The consultant will present a plan to the City and a finalized plan will be presented to the public by the end of June. -The consultant was hired by the City to work with the community. -The final plan will be added to “the list” of things to do; because of a recent influx of federal money it may not take quite as long to implement as it used to. AVTC Link 1-Riverside to Hospital-now been funded. Right now this project is being held up by Hydro and CN. The City is waiting for responses to the designs they’ve submitted. They are hoping to have the final design in the fall, but that will move into the winter if the City doesn’t hear from them by the summer. The hospital is now orienting their expansion designs around the new access e.g. moving the ER to the back of the campus The Browning Ave. corridor goes along the Hydro FOW and connects to the Cumberland Transit way. Peter is not convinced a high-speed bus lane can be built without expropriating homes. It is a very narrow area between the Perley and the backyards. Road resurfacing Smyth is going to be repaved between Alta Vista and St. Laurent under some federal program. Q: Can they put in bike lanes along Smyth? -They’ll try to paint it in if they can, but they can’t make the road any wider. This lead to a discussion of how Ottawa is not nearly as bike friendly as other cities people have visited e.g. Copenhagen Q: Can they slow down Smyth? -They had focused on speeding there in the past, handed out thousands of tickets but it made no difference. Q: Why is a 35 foot concrete tower being built at the corner of Crestview and Fairbanks to monitor the sewer flow, if the whole thing was dug up and replaced only a couple of years ago? The residents had just received notice this was happening, there was no -He had no answer, as he had no idea this was going on. Q: Can he turn down the brightness of the streetlights on Crestview? They chose the design for its looks but weren’t told it would be brighter than normal lights. -He will try once again to get something done by proposing a resolution at city council to turn down the lights. When he speaks to the dept. responsible he is told that the lights are the same brightness everywhere, nothing can be done.Faircrest Heights Community Association Annual General Meeting November 3,2008 Association Business: Tony Le Moine Minutes of previous annual meeting were distributed. A motion for approval was moved, seconded and approved. The Financial Report for the year ended October 31, 2008 was distributed and reviewed. The new line of expenditure, liability insurance, was explained as being required by the City so that we can work on the Memorial Park. A motion for approval of the financial report was moved, seconded and approved. Nominations for the executive positions was deferred until after Councillor Hume’s presentation The President announced that the Association has the following vacancies on the executive, secretary, membership co-coordinator, and Oak Park representative. Citizens’ rights with respect to neglected homes in the neighbourhood: Jacques Beaulne Contact the City at 311. You will have to identify yourself but that information will be kept confidential. Someone will be sent to inspect the property. If the owner does nothing after receiving a warning, the City will take care of the problem and add the cost of doing the work to the property owner’s tax bill. Memorial Park: Joyce Wright Many thanks to all who have made donations. We have ordered 6 trees and two benches, to be installed in the spring. The City wants us to put down landscape fabric and mulch before planting; we are looking for donations towards this as well as volunteers to help do the work. Donations of drought-resistant plants for the garden, and volunteers to plant them would also be appreciated. We are also trying to get plants donated by local nurseries. There will be an opening ceremony in the spring (more information will be in the spring newsletter) Councillor Hume’s Presentation: He began by mentioning the passing of Abbey Evenchick, and the fact that as he was a founding member of the Association. He hoped that something would be done as a memorial to Abbey. Joyce Wright replied that there is talk of a tree or bench in the Memorial park in his name. He continued with a power point presentation covering the following topics: Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO): Property Assessments: Emerald Ash Borer Crows Lynda Lane parking Hospital Lands Planning Study: Alta Vista Drive Traffic Management Study/Review Alta Vista Traffic Corridor/Hospital Link Following the presentation there was a series of questions and answers. Nominations for Directors: Don Melick The following were nominated: President Tony Le Moine Treasurer Marie Beaulne Secretary Vacant Directors Jacques Beaulne Quentin Bristow Don Melick Tom Saikaly Joyce Wright On a motion by the President and duly seconded the slate was approved Other Business: Councillor Hume reported that Don Melick in his capacity as a Director of the Faircrest Heights Community Association had supported the recommendations of the Hospital Lands Area Planning Study on behalf of the FHCA. He continued by requesting that the membership of FHCA in support of Don Melick and the executive approve the following motion: Whereas the Faircrest Heights Community Association, the community adjacent to the Ottawa Health Sciences Complex, has long advocated for better transportation access and better land use planning for the OHSC; and Whereas the City responded to the pending disposal and redevelopment of the National Defense Medical Centre Lands by undertaking a land use planning exercise, under the direction of the local community associations and other land owners, with goal of creating an urban design plan that would guide the future development of the NDMC lands within a proper transportation framework; and Whereas the exercise was unique in that it was guided by and significantly influenced by local community associations; and Whereas the resulting urban design plan was reviewed and recommended, by the steering committee members, for approval and implementation. Therefore be it resolved that the general membership of the Faircrest Heights Community Association supports the recommendations of the Hospital Lands Area Planning Study and recommends approval and implementation of the study recommendations as approved by the Study Steering Committee; and Further be it resolved that the Faircrest Heights Community Associations recommends City Council approve and implement the recommendations of the planning study. The motion was moved and seconded and after discussion was approved. There being no futher business the meeting terminated. Faircrest Heights Community Association Minutes of the Spring Meeting May 8, 2008 President’s Welcome (Tony Le Moine) He welcomed all to the meeting and informed those present that Don Marks had resigned as a Director. On behalf of the Association he thanked Don for his contribution. He appealed for more volunteers especially someone to coordinate membership. Memorial Park Presentation (Joyce Wright) Joyce reported the park was coming along nicely. The land has been cleared and when it dries out they will be adding more earth. The garden may be able to go by the end of July. The plants must be drought resistant as there will be no tap water available. The City is putting in 16 trees and she is looking for donors to purchase 10 more trees at a cost of $ 400 each. Tax receipts can be issued for all donations. Cheques should be made payable to the City of Ottawa and sent to Joyce’s attention. Joyce will forward them to the City who will issue the tax receipts. She also asked for more volunteers. Contact Joyce if you have any questions. Questions from audience: Why do the trees cost $ 400? They are big trees ~8 feet tall, not saplings. Trees will be maintained for three years and if it dies it will be replaced. Trees in the forest do well on their own. Why do we have to pay maintain these trees? Trees in the forest do not have to contend with road salt, car exhaust, and other stresses. Councillor Hume’s Presentation Development Applications/Planning: No recent major developments. Immaculate Heart of Mary School: The School Board is looking to lease the building; the City still wants to keep the field and green space. If the property comes up for sale money would be found to purchase at least the field and green space. From the audience: Someone was speaking to a team of people painting the inside of the school and they said it was going to be a day-care. Hospital Lands: The final draft development plan will be out soon, and a public meeting will probably be held in the fall. The hospital is not closing until 2013. City planners are working on urban design, streetscape, etc. The City will make the final plan part of the official plan, which will in turn affect the zoning bylaws. Riverside Link: The City is proceeding with the link to Riverside Drive and the Hospital Ring Road. It will be two lanes. The engineering issue is with the crossing of Alta Vista and the railroad tracks and linking into Riverside Drive. House at Faircrest/Fairbanks: The purchaser wants to demolish the house and erect 3 new houses. The committee of adjustments agreed with the local residents who supported the building of 2 houses. The purchaser has appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). Councillor Hume said that the City would support the local residents at the OMB hearing if requested to do so. He also noted that the City is putting all planning applications online and they will be accessible by the general public. He also mentioned that there is going to be an Aga Khan Community Centre on the south east corner of Alta Vista and Industrial across from the Canada Post building. The Trainyards Development: Walmart is adding another 50,000 feet to its store, which was part of the original plan. Belfast and Trainyards will be getting a traffic signal, and maybe a sidewalk and there will be a multipurpose pathway from Alta Vista to Coronation. Future Issues: Parking on Lynda Lane will be discussed, once again, in the fall. A 90-space parking lot has been built near the fields for Ultimate and cricket but they are not sure how they will be monitored for appropriate use. The hospital had agreed to create inexpensive parking and was therefore allowed to expand their parking lots for the employees. However the inexpensive parking has not yet been built. Hydro Ottawa wants to do a pilot program of solar and wind powered lights along the walking path between Billings and Pleasant Park (near Lynda Lane). They’ have received funding to research ways to go off the grid. They will be bringing forward a plan to the neighbourhood for input. Streetlights are the City’s biggest electricity expenditure. From the audience: Could they be used on streets? No, they are too small and the light is not far enough off the ground to light a street. More Hospital Land discussion: The hospital (which includes the rehab centre) says they will need half of the development potential of the NDMC lands for their growth of the next 50 years. The province has an agreement with Canada Lands to provide for this growth. The hospital’s existing site has the potential to double in size. From the audience: The NDMC land should be kept solely for hospital expansion. Could the Russell/Smyth intersection be straightened out by using the Esso station that is now closed? Response; Esso is not currently in discussions with the City as to the future use of this property. There being no further business the meeting terminated. |
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Faircrest Heights Community Association |
 Newly elected President Tony Le Moine with Past-president Don Melick in the background |
 Past-president Don Melick (left) shown with unidentified Oak Park resident. Photos courtesy of John Wright |
Owing to the resignation of Karen Leef from the Presidency, Past-president Don Melick assumed the Chair.
35 members were present
1 Opening Remarks
The Chairman welcomed the members and explained that Ms Leef, a lawyer, had developed a very high case load and felt it necessary to resign her position. He noted that the culture of the organization has changed from one where the President does almost everything to one where the President acts as a facilitator. He also noted that Councillor Peter Hume and his staff were tied up with City budget meetings and could not attend.
2. Approval of the Agenda
On a motion from the Chair the agenda was approved.
3. Minutes of the 2006 AGM
On a motion from the Chair the Minutes of the 2006 meeting were approved.
4. Matters Arising from the Minutes
None.
5. Financial Report
Copies of the financial report were distributed. A question from the floor concerned the location of the John Murphy Park (adjacent to the railroad between Pleasant Park and Billings).
On a motion from the Chair the financial report was approved without contrary votes.
6. Elections
The Chairman presented a slate of Officers and Directors for the year 2007/2008. These are:
President Tony LeMoine
Treasurer Maria Beaulne
Secretary Barbara Holland
Directors
Jacques Beaulne
Linda Brazeau
Quentin Bristow
Don Marks
Don Melick
Tom Saikaly
Louise Voyer
Joyce Wright
On a motion from the Chair, the above named persons were elected.
Following the vote there was some discussion of the nomination process. The Chairman noted that most members of the current Board had agreed to stand again. He commented that the Association has never turned away an interested person and that they have always sought representation from all parts of Faircrest Heights.
Further discussion centered on the need for a form of condominium association for each of several areas of Oak Park which were not serviced by city roads, and the relationship of such associations to the FHCA. This led to discussion on what should appear in the Newsletter regarding where to call for information on parking and parking signs, etc.
7. Faircrest Heights Memorial Park
Joyce Wright gave a brief presentation on the park being laid out at the corner of Smyth and Lynda Lane. The project was started in 1998 as a centennial project. The ‘ground-breaking’ happened this fall. The first step is to raise the land to avoid spring flooding. The area will be grassed in the spring and trees will be planted in the first ‘window’ which will be next fall. Commemorative trees may be purchased for $400 and benches for $2000. This includes permanent maintenance by the City. Cheques should be made payable to ‘City of Ottawa’ and charitable tax receipts will be issued.
Q. Can
it be made ‘nonsmoking’ - if not it will became a large ashtray?
A. We will discuss this with the city.
Q. Could
we get a high school carpentry class to make benches to City plans?
A. No. The City is adamant that only benches that they supply and install
are acceptable. This goes back to the City commitment for maintenance.
Q. Can
several people contribute to a bench?
A. Probably. We will confirm this with the City
8. Directors’ Meetings
The Chairman reviewed the ‘standard’ agenda (handout) used at Board meetings, and commented on the status of the various items. He explained that the standard agenda was used as a way of making sure that if any Board member became aware of any activity on any of the items, the agenda provided a reminder to bring other members up to date.
9. Other Business
None.
10. Introduction of the President
The Chairman introduced the newly elected President, Tony LeMoine, a resident of Ottawa since 1984 and of Faircrest Heights since 1993, and invited him take the chair.
11. President’s Concluding Remarks
The President thanked Don Melick for chairing the meeting; noted that he needs to get up to speed quickly on the issues; and called for a Directors Meeting on 3 December 2007.
12. Adjournment
A motion by the President to adjourn received unanimous approval.
Submitted Approved
John
Wright - Acting Recording Secretary Tony LeMoine - President
16 November 2007
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