• Heritage and History
  1. Regal Rd School Portico - the Board of Education has agreed to revise their estimate to rehabilitate the school portico. We are waiting for a revised estimate.
  2. Library Murals
     1. David Self has framed the Heritage Award Certificate that RHRA recently received from Heritage Toronto. It is now on display at the Dufferin/St Clair library.
     2. York Pioneers' article - in response to a request from Audrey Fox, David Self has prepared an article about the mural restoration to be included in the York Pioneer paper.
  3. Other heritage sites in Regal Heights
     1. the City of Toronto Heritage committee is talking about having Davenport Rd designated as a heritage route to recognize the historical use of the road by the 1st Nations people in the past. This would not include the buildings on either side of Davenport Rd. only the street path itself. David Raymont agreed to draft a letter on behalf of RHRA to be sent to City Council in support of this project.
     2. David Raymont suggested that other areas along the Lake Iroquois Shore Bluff could be considered for designation as conservation districts. For example: Springmount Ave could be considered to recognize the history of Garrison Creek, which is buried underground. The housing along the creek banks is also significant. David agreed to chair a committee to explore this idea. Some existing Conservation Districts include: Wychwood Park, Fort York, East Annex north and south Cabbagetown, north and south Rosedale, Yorkville, Blythewood, and Harbord Village. The first step would be to hold a meeting with the residents on Springmount Avenue. Interested volunteers are welcome to join the committee. Please contact David Raymont.
  
  
• Street Beautification
  1. Graffiti etc. - Victor Genova has adopted the gray post box at the corner of Rosemount and Glenholme; he will keep it free of graffiti. -- The hydro poles in the area are looking messy. Please adopt a pole near your home and remove the posted signs after they have been up long enough.
  -- Graffiti on the back windows of Regal Rd School and the large graffiti-covered signboard are unsightly. Florence will discuss this problem with Principal Von Aesch. -- Peter expressed concerns about garbage & potholes in the Westmount laneway. He also remarked on the excess noise from the Chateau Bar and Grill sometimes at 2 am in the morning. Mike Foderick will follow up on Peter's concerns.
  2. Home and Gardens TV project - there has been no news on this project.
  3. Stolen plants - one of the shrubs planted at the entrance of OCI parking lot as part of the Clean and Beautiful project has been removed. This is a disappointing find. The signage to identify the garden has yet to be installed.
  4. Eucan receptacles evaluation - the evaluation of the receptacles by City Council, has been delayed until April.
  Mount Royal Parkette capital budget - Council has approved a budget of $135,000 to improve the parkette. There will be a follow-up public meeting held in April to share and refine the designs for the parkette.
  
  
• Communications & Website Complaints have been received by David Shanoff that some of the info to the RHRA e-mail list is biased. David tries to be impartial in the imparting of information. Some of the e-mails are sent out on behalf of other parties and are not necessarily representative of any stands that RHRA may take. However, David chooses articles that he feels will be of general interest to our members. David will include some kind of statement of intention/disclaimer to his mailings to help avoid future misunderstandings. The executive unanimously supports the work David is doing.
  
  
• Special Events
  1. Carol Sing - about 120 people attended the event for a lovely evening where the weather was mild. Our total costs for the event were $132.74.
  2. Sunflower Festival - the annual festival sponsored by the St.Clair West BIA will be offered again come June 2006. RHRA has been invited to participate in the event. David Shanoff will make inquiries as to what kind of participation the BIA may have in mind.
  
  
• Planning and Zoning
  1. 41 Rosemount - the matter of the tree removal has not been settled. It is being referred to City Council together with possible constraints to be imposed on site development. It is expected that the matter will be resolved by January 31st. While the property owner has been trying his best to collaborate with Alex, needed information about building plans have yet to be shared and discussed with neighbours and interested residents. The RHRA exec. asked Mike Foderick to request a deferral of the upcoming scheduled February 2nd meeting at the Committee of Adjustment to allow time for necessary reviews of plans and possible development constraints.
  2. St Clair Transit
  1. i) legal proceedings - the SOS case against the proposed right-of-way will be re-heard in a new two-day hearing beginning January 31.
  2. ii) letter from R. Ducharme (general manager of TTC) - Dick received a letter on Dec 19th in response to our earlier letter of May 2005 which requested reconsideration of proposed changes to the Glenholme and Northcliffe Ave TTC stops. Mr Ducharme's letter stated that the request would be considered when they get to the final design phase of the project.
  3. St. Clair Avenue Study - No meetings have been scheduled yet. Studies are still in the formative stages with a target completion date of July 17, 2006. A joint public meeting to be held at OCI will probably be the first of several consultation meetings. Community delegates are still being accepted. Anyone interested in being part of the study group is welcome to submit your name to Mike Foderick.
  4. Front yard parking policy - during the canvassing of the neighbourhood to accept new tree plantings, Dick noted that a number of homes could not accommodate trees due to the presence of parking pads. Mike reported that the City is reviewing the policies of front yard parking across the city. Council is in the process of harmonizing the policies including giving careful attention to the greening of the city.
  5. Representative to BIA - Jeri will continue to attend St. Clair West BIA meetings
  6. Rogers' tower -Rogers are considering relocating the tower at 1142 Davenport from the back lane to a nearby rooftop. Feasibility will depend on the structural capability of the building to support the tower.
  
  
• Member ship & Finances There are 72 paid family memberships. --total RHRA funds are $1578 which includes $805 in the Heritage fund and $773 in the Operating fund.
  
  
• Other
  1. Crossing guards needed - the Toronto Police are seeking people to apply for the paid position of crossing guards. Many crosswalks that could use a crossing guard do not have one due to the lack of persons available to fill the positions. Interested applicants should contact Jennifer Ashby or Louisa Brown at 416-808-1235.
  2. Street light out? - Call hydro at 416-542-3195 to report the pole in question. Have the house number that the pole is in front of available when calling.
  3. RHRA meetings - it was unanimous that 6 meetings a year be held in members' homes with 2 meetings a year to be held in a public location. All interested are welcome to join in any of the 6 meetings held in residents' homes. -- An additional recording secretary is being sought as a back-up should Anita be unavailable. Please speak to Dick if interested

Next Meeting : Tuesday February 21, 7:30 pm at Keating's, 99 Springmount Ave.