Present:
Executive Committee – Amy Bodman, Brent Calhoun, Richard Cavanagh, Rosa Cordiano, John Keating, David Keith, Anita Kung, Harry Lay, Peter Norman, Florence Watts, Dick Watts; Regrets- Linda De Giorgio, Brian MacConnell, Margaret Rao;
Councillor’s Office – Councillor Cesar Palacio, Stephanie Ford
Other Residents – twenty-eight people.

Opening Remarks
Dick welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained that the November meeting is run as a usual executive meeting, but in a public location. However, it was noted that any interested persons are welcome to join the meetings that are held in private residences. The location is always included on the circulated meeting announcements.

1. Heritage/History
   1. Clovis John Brooks Lane – our request to name the lane running from the Springmount steps to Northcliffe Ave. has been approved by Etobicoke-York Community Council. It is expected to be confirmed by City Council at the end of November. A ceremony to officially dedicate the lane will be held next Spring.
   2. Heritage Toronto Award of Merit for Dufferin/St Clair Library renovation – Caroline Ingvaldsen, Branch Head of the library, reported that the library has been awarded the ‘2009 William Greer Architectural Conservation and Craftsmanship Award of Merit’ for the renovation project . She expressed her thanks to the RHRA for helping to start the renovation project with the mural restoration initiative spearheaded by John McAuley and David Self.


2. Street Beautification
   1. Community gardens: plantings, maintenance & irrigation – 375 daffodil bulbs were added to Daffodil Hill this fall; tulips, daffodils and shrubs were added to the other gardens. Volunteers can contact Florence to help with leaf clean-up in the gardens and to help deter people from stealing plants from the community gardens. A free catalpa tree is available to anyone interested. John K. is looking into the cost to repair the irrigation system in the Rosemount Gardens. It was suggested that RHRA should apply for a Clean and Beautiful grant to fund the repair as well as the installation of a water supply in Springmount Gardens.
   2. Street planters – we have 18 barrels to decorate for the winter. Evergreen boughs are sought for use in the planters. Please call Florence for pick-up or drop them off in her front yard.
   3. Graffiti – graffiti eyesores in the lane north of Davenport between Mt. Royal and Alberta has been largely cleaned up thanks to the assistance of Councillor Palacio’s office.
   4. Leaf clean-up on roads and walkways – The TDSB has a new policy not to rake leaves but rather mulch them into the grass. This has been done at OCI. Homeowners are encouraged to do the same. A reminder that pushing leaves onto the street is illegal. Call 416.392.0873 to report leaf-dumping onto the roads.
   5. Private property maintenance complaints – complaints can be made to Councillor Palacio’s office. Licensing and Standards inspectors address such issues as: yards with grass more than 8” tall; noise made before 7am or after 7pm (e.g. noise from leaf blowers); discarded appliances without the doors removed. If noise occurs from inside private property, a noise diary is helpful to deal with the issue.


3. Planning/Zoning Construction
   1. Mt. Royal Parkette and Bump-out – no change since last month; Amy reported that leaves are being dumped in and near the waste receptacles; leaves on the walkway need to be cleared. Stephanie will follow-up on these issues.
   2. St. Clair ROW – David Keith reported that the streetcar is expected to be up and running up from Yonge St.to Lansdowne Ave by the end of the year. Buses will continue to run from the Oakwood loop to Gunns Road. The stretch between Lansdowne and Gunns is scheduled for completion by July 2010; the Oakwood loop for short turns to be done by March 2010. Some new trees planted in the sidewalks have branches sticking out at face level, this creates a safety hazard for pedestrians. David will bring this to the attention of the Construction Liaison Committee.
   3. St. Clair Street Trees – before the ROW construction began there were 70 trees along St. Clair between Westmount and Winona. Today there are only 66. An additional 10 may be added. A meeting has been set for Friday November 27th at 9am to discuss possible additional locations.
   4. St. Clair Ave. Study Official Plan & Zoning By-law Amendments – the amendments were approved by City Council on October 27. Appeals can be made up until December 2nd. Details of the amendments can be found at
      http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2009/pg/bgrd/
      backgroundfile-21310.pdf


4. Communications
   1. Back – up arrangements for RHRA e-mail service – Peter is working with David Shanoff to provide back-up service when David is unavailable.
   2. Bulletin board – discussions over the past year have not resulted in a workable location for a community bulletin board. A straw-vote revealed that the majority present still would like to have one in the community. John K. and Brigid Higgins volunteered to work on this issue.


5. Special Events
   1. Carol Sing – this year’s Carol Sing is scheduled for Friday December 18th at 7pm in the OCI parkette.


6. RHRA Executive meeting schedule (Sept 2009 to May 2010)
   Sept 15 – in resident’s home
   Feb 16 – in resident’s home
   Oct 20 – in resident’s home
   Mar 23 - in OCI staff lounge
   Nov 17 – Fall General Mtg. in OCI cafeteria
   Apr 20 – in resident’s home
   Jan 19 – in OCI staff lounge
   May 18 – Annual Meeting in OCI cafeteria



7. Police Report
   Police meetings are held 1st Thursday of each month in OCI cafeteria at 7pm. The next one is Dec 3rd. All are welcome to discuss issues of concern. Recently our area has experienced two shooting deaths. An arrest has been made in the shooting that occurred at Tom’s place; a suspect is being sought in the shooting outside the recording studio at Oakwood and Vaughan. Crime in Toronto is generally on the decline. A public police meeting to discuss crime fighting initiatives will take place on December 9th at JJP. Chief Blair and Councillor Palacio will be in attendance. Complaints of noise from establishments should be called into the police at 416.808.2222. The more calls received on the same complaint result in more priority given to the issue. To keep streetlights in good repair call 311 or 416.542.3195 to report problems with street lighting. Have the pole number and address location available when reporting.



8. ‘Community Welcome’ project
   RHRA has put together a community welcome package to be distributed to new residents in our neighbourhood. This includes info on RHRA, Schools, Libraries, waste collection, etc. We need the help of existing residents to keep us informed of new neighbours who could benefit from this package. Please call us or e-mail us with names and locations of new homeowners or tenants.



9. Garrison Creek Markers
   The circular “low-point markers” (indicating the low points where the creek flowed) were removed for sidewalk reconstruction on St.Clair. They are expected to be replaced by the end of construction. It was reported that the “letter-markers” (spelling GARRISON CREEK) which were at Lauder Ave. and Alberta Ave. may not be replaced because of the revised design of the sidewalks. The meeting agreed to request that the “letter-markers” be replaced if possible. Some “low-point markers” and “letter-markers” on internal streets in Regal Heights are in need of maintenance or replacement. Councillor Palacio will arrange for an inspection of these locations with the appropriate City official and Dick Watts.



10. Winona Drive Swimming Pool
    Winona pool is presently classified as a Tier 2 pool (i.e. slated for permanent closure on December 31st unless increased community-use permits can be assured). The school, the local councillors and Trustee Matlow are working to find additional community support, and to get the pool re-classified as a Tier 1 pool (i.e. not closed ). Councillor Palacio encourages all residents to write individually to MPPs, councillors, the mayor and school trustees to request the saving of the pool. The pool at Oakwood CI has already been closed, it would be a shame to lose the one at Winona also. Community advocates are needed. To show your support or get more info contact Kathy Carlin at winonapool@gmail.com or Councillor Joe Mihevc at joe@joemihevc.com



11. ‘Green Neighbours 21”
    Michelle Webb reported that Green Together is a group of volunteers who are helping their neighbours reduce home energy use. Green Together is a project of Green Neighbours 21 and is supported by grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Community Go Green Fund. For more information go to greentogether@gn21.ca , www.gn21.ca or call 416.347.5224



12. Membership and Finances
    12 new memberships were purchased tonight. Total membership for 2009-10 is now 61 families.
    
    Finances at the end of this meeting
    Operating fund                      $1310
    Petty cash                                49
    Heritage Fund                         1092
    Mt. Royal Bump- out in trust     1500
    Street Sale fund (in trust)           57
    Total                                    4008



13. Other
    1. Loss of Dufferin St. Post Office – still no news about a replacement postal outlet for our area. It was agreed that RHRA should write another letter to the Post Office and to MP Mario Silva urging replacement of the postal outlet. Dick, John K., and Case Lindhout to draft the letter.
    2. Councillor Palacio reported that his motion to request the Provincial Alcohol and Gaming Commission revoke the liquor license of Tom’s Place was passed by the Etobicoke -York Community Council. Also, Caesar will be moving a separate motion at Toronto City Council urging changes to the Provincial law that would see the automatic suspension/revocation of a liquor license where an illegal weapon has been found on the premises.

Next meeting: Tuesday January 19, 2010 at OCI staff lounge (room 203)