Opening remarks were made by Chairman Watts. About 35 people were in attendance (including 12 members of the RHRA Executive Committee). Stephanie Ford, who is sharing the role of Councillor Palacio's Constituency Assistant with Mike Foderick, was introduced to the group. She shared a few words including her view that she believes strongly in being involved with community groups as they have the power to make constructive changes to their neighbourhoods.

1. Heritage and History
   1. Heritage Toronto Award re: Regal Rd School portico – Harry Lay spoke about the restoration project that was completed for a cost of $50,000. At this year's Heritage Toronto Awards ceremony on Oct. 27, RHRA received a certificate of honourable mention for our work on the portico project. (The certificate was on display at this meeting). Many thanks to Harry who spearheaded the project over the past 8 years. It is just one example of how community groups have the power to make constructive change in their neighbourhood.
   2. “St Clair West in Pictures” Third Edition – RHRA received 2 "lots" of books to sell (42 books per lot). $340 profit will be earned from the sale of each lot. 13 books remain available for purchase. Proceeds made from the sales will be added to the RHRA Heritage Fund and to the Operations Fund for future projects. To help promote the sales, a Heritage Walk was led by Dick on November 2^nd around the neighbourhood to see about 15 locations described in the book.
   
   
2. Street Beautification
   1. Community gardens – thanks to the volunteers that came out on November 9th the Rosemount gardens were cleaned up. We still have some bulbs that need to be planted but will need the ground to thaw before that can be done. Sod has been laid where watermain construction had removed grass; the wet weather is helping it to settle in. Florence is seeking evergreen boughs and red dogwood branches to add to the barrels for the winter decorations. Any concerns about garbage or graffiti can be reported to Councillor Palacio’s office to arrange clean-up. Call 416-392-7011. The clearing of leaves from street curbs is expected to take place over the next three weeks.
   2. Mount Royal Parkette Planting – Amy Bodman reported that concerns expressed at the last public meeting about an opening on the west side of the parkette where children might dash into the street, is being addressed by the placement of two large stones and a hedge. Fifty daffodil bulbs have been planted this past week. Dumping of waste has been occurring. Amy has called the principal of Winona P.S. with complaints of lunch waste being left on the ground by students.
   3. Planters being removed from St. Clair
      1. BIA planters – 11 large square planters to be removed from St. Clair (between Westmount and Glenholme) are available for use elsewhere. Marjorie Cormier has requested that two planters be placed on the N.E. corner of Alberta and Davenport; she has offered to maintain them.
      2. St. Clair West Village Planters – 10 smaller concrete planters to be removed from St. Clair (between Crang Ave. and Winona Drive) will stored at the Earlscourt yard for future use by RHRA at locations to be determined. They are 24” in diameter and 32” tall. Amy suggested placing one on either side of the gray postal box at the Mount Royal Parkette. Severino suggested the corner of Oakwood and Regal.
   
   
3. Business Improvement Areas (BIAs)
   1. Shopping locally – Tony Bolla reported that the BIAs are taking initiative to promote local shopping. The Regal Heights Village BIA is holding a “make tracks to Regal Heights Village and Win” contest with an online registration at www.RegalHeights-BIA.com. The grand prize is a $500 shopping spree. They are asking people to consider buying at least one Christmas gift from the local stores this year. Tony reported that shopping locally is good in three ways: 1. It is good for the planet; it saves the environment by reducing car-use, 2. It is good for the community as store profits go back into investing in the improvement of the neighbourhood, and 3. It is good for you as the walking gives you exercise.
   2. Expanding the BIAs – Stephanie reported that Councillors Palacio and Mihevic are working with the BIAs to expand the Regal Heights BIA eastwards to Oakwood Ave., and the Hillcrest BIA westward to Oakwood so that all local sections of St. Clair will have BIAs.


4. Special Events
   1. Carol Sing, Friday December 19th 7 to 8 pm at OCI Parkette – Florence reported that arrangements for the Carol sing are in place. All are welcome to come out and join in the festivities for an hour. This year we plan to recycle the styrofoam cups used for the hot chocolate.
   2. Street Sale organization June 2009 – Peggy Lampotang, Margaret Rao and Florence helped to keep the street sale going this past year after the usual organizer moved out of the area. It was agreed that the street sale is a great community event worth maintaining, and that the sale area should be extended to include streets east of Oakwood to Winona. Peggy, Margaret and Florence will head an RHRA committee to organize the street sale again this year. Anyone interested in contributing to the planning should submit their name to one of the three.


5. Planning/Zoning/Construction
   
   1. TTC ROW
      1. Construction schedule – the next phase of work is the watermain work along St. Clair. This will continue throughout the winter and is projected to be completed by the end of spring.
      2. Construction Liaison Committee –biweekly meetings are held on Thursdays at 1pm to discuss day to day issues and problems that arise. Anyone with problem issues can attend or can call Stephanie with specific concerns for Councillor Palacio to raise at the meetings. Gary complained that traffic is obstructed for a significant stretch of the street for lengthy periods of time when no construction activity going on. And, that parking spaces have been removed, with the added insult of being ticketed if one does park. Stephanie reported that Councillor Palacio is working hard with the Parking Authority to make concessions on parking infractions during this period.
      3. St. Clair Street Trees – Councillor Palacio is continuing to help advocate for more tree plantings on St. Clair. The former requirement of 4m.wide sidewalk for tree planting is now reduced to 3.75m. Stephanie gave Dick a set of the latest drawings showing proposed street-tree locations. These will be studied by the Street-Tree Consultation Group and their report will be submitted a.s.a.p. to Mike Foderick.
   
   
   2. Mount Royal Bump Out –The bump-out located north west of the parkette was initially installed as a traffic calming measure. But it has become more of a dumping ground and parking space. Amy Bodman has proposed to green this space. A grant of $1500 from the City of Toronto Clean and Beautiful Secretariat has been made to this project. The money is being held in trust in the RHRA bank account until construction plans are agreed and work begins next year.
   
   
   
   3. RHRA Information Kiosk – Severino Centritto spoke about the advantages of public message boards to help inform the neighbourhood of ongoing events and the activities of RHRA. It would be especially helpful to newcomers to the area as well as those who do not have internet access. An example can be found in a park north of Davenport Rd. near Laughton Ave. The Toronto Parks department offers this service in public park locations. The City also has a message board available as street furniture. Severino presented a letter to RHRA requesting that a message board be considered in our neighbourhood. He is willing to help maintain one.
   
   
6. Membership and Finances - we have 75 paid -up memberships ( 8 new memberships were purchased at this meeting).

   Financial Report Nov,18, 2008	$
   Operations Fund	404.30
   Heritage Fund	1145.00
   Petty Cash on hand           Dick Watts           Linda DeGiorgio	22.67       25.00
   Membership fees received tonight	80.00
   Total (Operating & Heritage Funds)	1676.97
   Mount Royal Bump-Out Fund ( in trust)	1500.00
   Anticipated from additional book sales	340.00

7. Other
   1. More meetings in public locations – Severino presented RHRA with a letter requesting that more meetings be conducted in public locations. Dick reported that his attempt to secure the Earlscourt room at the library for the February meeting was so far unsuccessful. Comments from attendees re meetings held in private homes: smaller groups easier for discussion, get to know your neighbours, easier to arrange; re meetings held in public places: some people are more comfortable in a public area versus entering an unknown home; may accommodate more persons, may be more suitable for discussions of contentious issues. Gary moved that of the 8 meetings a year, 4 be held in public locations and 4 be held in private homes... to be re-assessed after one year whether this helps to increase membership and involvement of the members. A vote was taken 19 yes/ 6 opposed. Dick put in his resignation as chair as he felt the extra work of holding 2 additional public meetings to be too difficult. John K. kindly stepped in to chair the remainder of the meeting. Finding a location for use free of charge has been a main obstacle in holding more meetings publicly. The extra work involved to organize the space is also an issue. Stephanie and Severino have agreed to look into possibilities for meeting in a public facility in February.
   2. Garbage & Recycling problems – Councillor Palacio’s office has been fielding calls about garbage collection non-stop since the beginning of the new waste receptacle use this week. There are many residents who have fallen between the cracks and have been missed. Many residents have not received the requested bins and many more issues are arising. The garbage collection system is very strained at the moment. If you have a garbage collection issue, you can call Councillor Palacio’s office. They will help to resolve the issue to the best of their ability. But it will take a while for the City to work out the bugs.
   3. Dick’s resignation – Harry moved that Dick be asked to rescind his resignation, at least to return until the Annual Meeting in May. All were in favour of having Dick continue as Chair. Dick accepted.

Next regular meeting: Margaret Rao offered to have the next meeting at her home, but after the meeting she felt it would suit her plans better to have the meeting at her house later in the year. The January meeting has now been scheduled for Tuesday January 20, 2009, 7pm at the residence of Beth Marcilio, 79 Regal Rd.