APPROVED MINUTES
GCA Board Meeting
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Via Zoom
Chair: John Crump, President
Secretary and timekeeper: Janet Sutherland
Participating Board members: John Crump, June Creelman, Colette Downie, David Kelly, Janet Sutherland; Elizabeth Ballard, Bob Brocklebank, Maggie Gorman Velez, Vaughan Guy , Christina Honeywell-Dobbin, Angela Keller-Herzog (FCA), Deborah Long, Carolyn Mackenzie, Angus McCabe, Genevieve McInnes, William Price, Janna Rinaldi, Laura Smith, James Stuewe, Catherine Waters, Della Wilkinson, Judy Wilson.
Regrets: Elizabeth Ballard, Martha Bowers, Laurent Carbonneau, Anthony Carricato, Vaughn Guy, Rochelle Handelman, David Kelly, Carol MacLeod, Elspeth Tory.
Community Members: Jane Bower, Dave Coyle, Randal Marlin, Bill Metz, Liz McKeen, Rebecca McKeen, Monica Olney (DLRA), Nathan Szierer, Richard Wagner.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
President John Crump opened the meeting with an Indigenous land acknowledgement. He welcomed Board members and members of the community in attendance.
Consent Agenda
The agenda (amended to defer discussion on the draft budget to November) and minutes of the meeting of September 26, 2023 were approved by consensus.
Report from the City Councillor – Councillor Shawn Menard was represented at the meeting by Jonathan McLeod who provided the following updates:
- Speed cameras installed on First Avenue are all working.
- City budget season – Councillor Mendard is consulting with other councillors and holding various community meetings. A survey has been issued to residents to gather input. Citizens and community associations can make delegations when the time comes.
- Community safety – further to the discussion on community safety at the last GCA Board meeting, a meeting was organized by the Councillor's office involving the GCA, the BIA, GNAG, an Ottawa Police Services community officer, and Centretown Community Health Centre to discuss the issues and roles of various stakeholders to address and to work together on solutions. It was acknowledged this is a high level problem requiring supportive housing, various social services and supports at the City level, not just the neighbourhood level. It was suggested that the Glebe parking garage could be made safer by having cameras installed and assigning security officers assigned. It was agreed there is work to be done in advocacy and community education.
4) Lansdowne 2.0 – The joint Finance and Planning Committee will meet next week to review the recommendations. The Councillor does not support the package as it currently stands as it does not address affordable housing, transit and the public realm concerns and is talking with other councillors to get support to get additional changes to the proposal. Residents are invited to submit comments via email and sign up for oral or written delegations.
5) Percy Street overpass – November 6th is the potential date for the overpass to be re-opened.
6) The Councillor's office is in touch with the Ministry of Transportation and the City regarding finishing of the streetscape at Percy and Chamberlain (park, pathway, bike lane). The GCA will be invited to attend a meeting to discuss interests and concerns.
John Crump thanked Jonathan for attending and for providing for his report.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
John Crump called upon June Creelman on behalf of the Lansdowne Committee to report on recent developments. June reminded the Board of the GCA's position – approved at a prior meeting – which is not in favour of the current proposal for redevelopment of Lansdowne Park. The report with recommendations for the City's approval was received on October 6th which was challenging as the "Let's Talk Lansdowne" public event, organized in collaboration with a coalition of groups, was just a few days later on October 11th. The GCA co-funded the event, along with the community associations of Old Ottawa South and Old Ottawa East. With 810 persons attending online from across the City and over 200 attended in person, the event was a success in terms of raising awareness of the implications of moving ahead with the current plan. The GCA will make a delegation to City Councillors to continue our advocacy on these concerns with Carolyn Mackenzie coordinating the messaging for GCA committees that are also presenting (eg. Environment Committee on issues related to the green roof). In the discussion that followed the update, the following points were raised:
- The City does not appear to have a Plan B should OSEG pull out of the arrangement, although it was noted there could be other options
- There is no clarify from City staff on how or if the City would step in to assume operating losses
- The EKOS survey results will not provide information for evidence-based decision-making as the questions are leading.
Transportation Committee Co-Chair James Stuewe asked to provide supplementary information to his written report, on the re-design of Bronson Avenue. He noted that there is a survey underway gathering information that will inform the redevelopment over several years. The process is similar to the 'Main Street' process undertaken in the Glebe in the past. James also noted that the next GCA Board meeting will feature the results of the Active Transportation Study report.
John Crump then called upon Colette Downie to make a presentation on the requirements of non-profit organizations, such as the GCA, to meet new provincial legislation under the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporation Act (see presentation appended to minutes). Several GCA policies and procedures will require changes in order for the GCA to be compliant with this legislation, notably in the area of Membership. The timeframe for making the changes is tight given any changes to bylaws must be approved at the Annual General Meeting in June. Board members were assured that, while the proposed expense is unbudgeted, there are funds in the GCA bank account to cover any associated costs. The following motion was put forward:
- MOTION:
Be it resolved that the GCA:
Will complete updates to its bylaws and articles as a result of changes to the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporation Act (ONCA) in time for consideration at the GCA AGM in spring 2024. In order to do so, the GCA will seek to:
- Comply fully with the ONCA;
- Make changes that can be easily followed and will stand the test of time and which also respect our values and traditions;
- Implement, where feasible, accompanying process changes including to the way membership information is gathered, accessed and stored;
- Avoid a fundamental rethink about the organization or bylaw/articles changes requiring significant legal review, time consuming or controversial changes or changes that are not necessary;
- Retain a lawyer and spending up to $7,000 for legal advice to support the transition to the ONCA; and
- Mandate the chair of the Membership Committee, working with others, to lead work to implement the ONCA as it relates to the GCA's membership drive and record-keeping practices.
Moved/seconded (Colette Downie/June Creelman). Carried. Motion approved.
It was noted that one of the implications of the new requirements is to undergo an annual audit that will have financial implications for the GCA. Colette noted that David is exploring options for audit services and will bring this information for Board approval and into the budget development process for 2024-2025l.
ISSUES FROM THE COMMUNITY:
- Renewal of pipes on Glebe Avenue – Jane Bower raised concerns about the narrower width of the bike lane and the impact on street parking as a result of the bike lanes between Bank and O'Connor. It was noted there had been a lot of community input to the process. Jonathan Macleod will ask City to agree to earlier consultation as more of these projects go forward.
- GCA T-shirts for Environment Committee events – Della Wilkinson inquired about GCA shirts for the upcoming Coffee Houses. She was advised that the GCA has volunteer buttons and Angela Keller-Herzog offered some shirts from a past event.
- Traffic calming measures on Glebe Avenue – Bill Price inquired about pylons on the bulb-outs and was advised by James Stuewe that these are temporary measures.The City is testing different types of measures on different streets, eg. flex stakes, painted squares, speed bumps, etc.
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday November 28, 2023 at the Glebe Community Centre, Preschool Room.
ADJOURNMENT:
Moved/Seconded by Colette Downie/Bill Price to adjourn the meeting. Carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m..
Annex A – Presentation on GCA Governance Changes