Following its elections early this summer, the Carlington Community Association met for the first time with its new Executive on Tuesday September 10th. It is my pleasure to introduce the following individuals as the CCA's representatives for another year:
Mr. John Quinn - President,
Mr. John Wright - Vice President,
Ms. Heather Burns - Secretary,
Mrs. Aline Arsenault - Treasurer,
Ms. Carolyn Quinn - Policy Director,
Ms. Frances Tanner - Liason Director,
Mr. Mark Lavinskas - Publicity Director,
Mr. John Bryans, Mrs. Ida Grant and Ms. Vivien Tytor - Directors at large.
Mrs. Rita Desjardins had been elected as a director at large and resigned her seat because she is moving out of the area. The executive present at the first meeting voted Ida Grant to replace Rita. The association wishes to express its gratitude to Rita for her many years of dedication to the community. We wish her well in the future.
John Wright reported that an application has been submitted to the Ontario government requesting that the community association be incorporated. The major reason behind this request is to protect the members & executive of the association from being personally liable should any lawsuit be brought against it.
The Association organized a Fall Fair at the Alexander Community Centre on Silver Street on Saturday, September 21st between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The CCA lined up Ottawa Valley Amusements to provide the rides, and Loblaws to supply the food and drinks. There were also games and prizes arranged for the event. The Association would like to thank Regional Councillor Wendy Stewart for donating $100 towards the advertising of the event.
Regional Councillor Wendy Stewart and City Councillor Karin Howard were also in attendance at the Association meeting. Although there are many more issues that each of the councillors report on, the following are the major issues which were discussed. If you are interested in obtaining more details on either of the councillors' reports, most of the information can be found in their Summit columns, and you are encouraged to contact their offices directly.
Regional Councillor Stewart reported that an experimental recycling project will be conducted in the area bordered by Shillington, Merivale, Carling and Fisher Avenues. Laidlaw has retrofitted some of its trucks at great expense to conduct this trial project.
The Region has released a proposal to deal with a development strategy to the year 2021. This involves the entire network of services offered by the Region (water, roads, transportation, etc.) , and its planned implementation as the city and region grow. For those residents interested in knowing more about the plan, public hearing were being held on September 23rd and 24th. Please contact Wendy Stewart's office at 560-1223 for further details or try the Region's web site: http://www.rmoc.on.ca/.
Karin Howard reported that a CSOC meeting regarding the removal of barriers at Leaside and Woodward would be taking place at 9:15 a.m. on September 11th in Whitton Hall. Since only 2 letters of objection were raised to this plan, it was highly doubtful that the intended plan would be overturned. [CSOC subsequently voted to allow the plan to proceed]. Councillor Howard was accompanied by Mr. Claude Marchand of the city to explain why another CSOC meeting had to be held regarding this issue. According to Mr. Marchand, the law requires that the City advertise its plan and follow it up with a public hearing. Since the plan was published only after the much publicized public consultation in our community, the City is once again required to hear any further public debate on the issue.
Councillor Howard has organized a crime prevention meeting at the request of many local area residents. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 13th between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. at the Alexander Community Centre, 960 Silver Street.
In light of the recent tragedy at the Experimental Farm (re: Barn Fire), Councillor Howard has reported that the Heritage Society is attempting to have the farm considered a historical landmark. If accepted by the federal government, this will play a vital role in keeping the farm from being developed, and help to restore the buildings and grounds to its former state. She has asked that the community association direct a letter to the local federal Member of Parliament, Marlene Catterall supporting this position. We'll keep you posted on any further developments regarding the farm.
And finally, Councillor Howard is working hard to have city executive staff more accountable to the people. In light of the generous employment benefits which are enjoyed by the select few within the executive, she is fighting hard to bring about change so that compensation and accountability are more in line with that of the private sector. If you require further details on these important issues, please contact Karin Howard's office directly at 244-5365, by fax at 244-5373 or the Internet at bg059@freenet.carleton.ca.
The Carlington Community Association's next meeting will be held on Tuesday October 8th, 7:00 p.m. at the Carlington Community & Health Services Centre - 900 Merivale at Coldrey.