Attendance:
RHRA Executive Committee: Brent Calhoun, Richard Cavanagh, Rosa Cordiano, Linda De Giorgio, Marie Goldthorpe, Brigid Higgins, David Keith, Anita Kung, Harry Lay, Dick & Florence Watts, Ghislaine Wilton;
City of Toronto: Councillor Cesar Palacio & Mike Makrigiorgos;
Oakwood Collegiate: Principal Ellen Austrom.
Other attendees: 34

Opening remarks: Chairman Dick Watts welcomed everyone, including Councillor Palacio, his executive assistant Mike Makrigiorgos and our host, principal of OCI, Ellen Austrom

Words of Welcome from OCI: Ellen Austrom thanked RHRA for their support to the school and their efforts to help maintain and beautify the school grounds, including the Rosemount gardens and the new information kiosk and bird house sculpture. This school year has had a smooth start with a smaller than usual enrolment of 700 students. A new program for developmentally delayed students is working at the pre-primary to primary level of education and settling in well. A new room for life-skills-learning has been constructed and also serves as a social space for the students. The main office is now located on the main floor next to the auditorium at the northeast corner of the school. The pool space has been converted into a fitness center which is in use daily from 7am to 6pm. It is expected to be available for "permitted use" in the evenings the way the rest of the school rooms are. A new music program, steel pan group, has been started. A new teacher in vocal jazz has joined the school. The biggest challenge this year is the construction of the elevator. It has been delayed by the bankruptcy of the contractor working on it. A new contract must go to tender for another contractor to finish the project. Ms. Austrom announced that this year’s musical , to be presented on December 15, 16 and 17, will be “Rocky Horror Picture Show”.

1. Street Beautification (Florence reported)
   
   1. Community gardens – a large donation of bulbs from the Parks and Trees Foundation has been planted throughout the Regal Heights. The Daffodil Hill clean-up was very successful. The assistance of some local hockey players to remove the heavy furniture dumped on the hill was much appreciated. As usual, Councillor Palacio’s office arranged for timely pick-up of the collected "junk". Lottie Lavine expressed thanks to RHRA on behalf of the local residents and businesses facing the hill for the clean and pleasant view that has been restored.
   2. Street planters – if there is an RHRA street-planter near your home, please consider watering it every now and then to help keep the plants flourishing. We are still seeking evergreen boughs to decorate the street-planters over the winter. Many cedar branches have been donated. Other types of evergreens such as pine are still welcome. Please drop them off on the lawn of 57 Regal Road.
   3. Graffitti – considerable reduction of graffitti in the area is due to the assistance received from Councillor Palacio’s office. Please continue to report graffitti by calling 311 to get it cleaned up. Thanks to Councillor Palacio, many of the waste receptacles vandalized by graffitti have been replaced. Florence requested that an additional receptacle be placed at the southwest corner of Glenholme and St.Clair.
   4. Street maintenance – Marie Goldthorpe requested that Councillor Palacio try to arrange for better removal of leaves from near road-curbs. Frequently the street cleaner vehicle only clears leaves from the centre section of Springmount Ave. Two people have been seen to slip and fall on the wet leaves. Also, a large branch that has fallen from the willow tree near the north end of Springmount Ave., needs to be removed.
   
   
2. Planning, Zoning, Construction
   
   1. Alexander Moyle’s Bird-house and bird’s nest sculpture on Rosemount Ave – Judy Adler reported that the funds to erect the sculpture were raised several years ago, but remained unused. Alexander Moyle was chosen to create this bird house that will eventually be lit by solar lighting, and bird activity in the house will be visible through a periscope that will be accessible from street level. The sculptures are still under construction.
   2. Mt. Royal Bump-out –This is a traffic-control-parkette under construction at Mount Royal Ave. and Alberta Ave. An RHRA committee is using a $1500 grant from Public Realm of Toronto (formerly City Beautiful) to develop the site. Mike reported that any unused funds could be put towards another project in Regal Heights over the next year, or to do additional work on the bump-out site if needed. Julie Mah reported that the remaining funds are being considered for additional work on the Bump-out, eg. replacement of the Red Bud tree or additional plantings and perhaps some kind of art work. Councillor Palacio reported that he is still hoping to get an agreement that the City Parks and Forestry department will eventually assume responsibility for the maintenance of the bump-out area when it has been completed. He will invite Kevin Bowser and others of the Parks Department to the RHRA January Executive meeting to discuss this possibility.
   3. Garrison Creek Markers – 13 site markers have been replaced or repaired. The contractor who removed the markers during the St. Clair construction was held financially responsible for the replacement markers. It was requested that a policy to have the markers maintained in good condition was put forth. Margaret Smith thanked both Dick and Councillor Palacio for their dedication and persistence in ensuring that these historical markers and street trees did not get overlooked in the construction process.
   4. St. Clair street-tree replacements – Councillor Palacio reported that legal proceedings took place to ensure that replacement trees and street deficiencies would be properly taken care of. The replacement trees are expected to be planted by the end of November. The Parks, Recreation and Forestry Dept. will do the planting and maintenance of the trees and plants along St. Clair and in the centre medians.
   5. Information Kiosk – John Keating reported that a new information kiosk has been erected in the Rosemount gardens for posting community information. Some final finishing work is still required. The meeting thanked John for his excellent work in building the kiosk.
   
   
3. Special Events
   Carol Sing – Brigid reported that all are welcome to join in the annual carol sing on Friday December 16, 2011 from 7 to 8pm at the northeast corner of Oakwood Collegiate grounds.



4. Police/Community Partnership
   Rosa Cordiano reported on issues raised at the monthly police meetings. All members of the public are welcome to attend the meetings and bring forth issues of concern to the police. The next meeting will be held on December 1 at St. Clare school at 7 pm. The public is asked to report complaints to the police by calling 416.808.2222. When several complaints of the same nature are received, they are more likely to be attended to. Eg. A rash of car break-ins were recently reported and investigated. As a result, the culprit has been apprehended. Complaints of firework activity on the Loretto school grounds are being investigated. A public hearing will be held at JJP on November 22 at 6:30pm to decide on the licensing of rooming houses at 1723 and 1725 Dufferin Street.



5. Community Welcome Project
   Harry reported that more than 4 dozen welcome packages have been distributed since the Annual Meeting in May 2010. Residents are asked to inform RHRA of new neighbours moving into the area by contacting us through the website www.regalheights.ca Harry or Beth Marcilio will drop off a package to welcome them to the neighbourhood.



Membership & Finances

1. Membership – 8 new memberships were purchased tonight, that brings our total membership to 55 families.
2. Finances
   

   	October 18	November 15
   Operating Fund	$1698	$1668
   Heritage Fund	992	992
   Mt Royal Bump-out (in trust)	1500	745
   Street Sale (in trust)	87	87
   Petty cash	56	40
   Total	$3578	$3532

7. Other
   
   1. Northcliffe Parkette redevelopment plan - An agreement has been secured for a partnership between the TDCSB and the City. The money needed for the project is in place (approximately $400,000). An environmental assessment has been done and the results show that they have the green-light to go ahead. The conceptual designs will be ready in the next few weeks and a public meeting will be held for community consultation. Cesar will inform RHRA of the date of the meeting, possibly in January, as they hope to begin work in the spring 2012.
   2. Rooming Houses at 1723 & 1725 Dufferin St. – A rooming house exists already at 1723 Dufferin Street and there is a proposal for 1725 Dufferin Street to become one as well. Both properties are owned by the same person. Cesar thinks that the landlord has not been meeting the required conditions and there have been many concerns expressed from the community. A hearing will be held on Tuesday November 22, 2011 at the Joseph J. Piccinninni Recreation Centre from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. The Rooming House Commissioner and his staff will be in attendance. It is important that citizens come out and voice their concerns. Notice of the meeting will be sent out to the RHRA e-mail list by RHRA Communications.
   3. Infractions of Municipal Licensing and Standards (MLS) regulations at 16 Lauder Avenue - Cesar reported that officers from MLS (Municipal Licensing and Standards) have visited the property. There are no building code infractions, however, the city will continue to monitor the site. Cesar will also continue to monitor and keep the RHRA updated on any issues or changes. Brigid also would like everyone to know that Alistair Thomas of MLS, has done a great job of keeping the neighbours informed.

Next Executive Meeting: Tuesday January 17, 2012, at 7pm in Oakwood Collegiate Staff Lounge (room 203).