Regal Heights Residents’ Association Annual General Meeting, Tuesday May 17, 2016 At Oakwood Collegiate Institute, cafeteria
Opening Remarks were made by Chairman John Keating to welcome everyone to the meeting. He expressed thanks to Richard Nosov who is hosting our meeting for the evening.

Welcome from OCI principal Richard Nosov – Mr. Nosov welcomed the community to OCI and gave a brief history of the school that opened in 1910. Further details about the school’s history can be found on the OCI website schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/OakwoodCI He shared some good news, that for the first time in the past ten years, the school enrollment for grade nine in the fall of this year is higher than predicted. The school is working with the TDSB to beautify the northeast corner of the OCI property. Mr. Nosov would also like to strengthen communication lines with the community and invite area residents to OCI events. He would love to hear from the community about potential job postings or co-op placements for the students.

Remarks from Erica Fleet on behalf of MP Julie Dzerowicz – Erica is from Julie’s community liaison office and sends Julie’s regards while she is in Ottawa where she is involved in promoting women’s equality through the pay equity committee, working to promote bike paths and rail safety in the GTA, and promoting issues related to the environment and urban sustainability. Julie will be back in Toronto in July and can be reached at her office at 1202 Bloor St. West. She can also be reached by email at
Julie.Dzerowicz.c1b@parl.gc.ca

Remarks from MPP Cristina Martins – MPP Martins reported that Queens Park has passed the budget on April 13, 2016, which includes monies to create jobs and grow the economy. OSAP has been replaced by a new grant system called the Ontario Student Grant. For households with incomes of less than $50,000/year the grant would cover the average university tuition. Ms Martins says the government is also investing $90 million in Ontario to improve the social infrastructure. A new system for bidding on the use of surplus schools is being put into place. Applicants will have 180 days to put in a bid, up from the 90 days previously. The provincial government has also reduced the cost of the Union-Pearson Express, removed the fee for the Drive Clean testing program, and will offer the shingles vaccine for free to seniors between the ages of 65 to 70. She added that the Davenport Diamond grade separation consultations are coming to an end.

Remarks from Ward 17 Councillor Cesar Palacio – Councillor Palacio reported that the April 23rd Community Clean-up Day and the May 6th Compost Day at OCI were well attended. Money has been secured to build a playground for the Ascot daycare when it moves to OCI. Plans to install a memorial in memory of Dick Watts are in the works. The Northcliffe parking lot (just south of St. Clair) is nearing completion and is expected to be opened by the end of this week. Reconstruction of loading platforms along the TTC right of way on St. Clair will be done between June and September of this year. Buses will replace the streetcars on the entire 512 line during this time. Buses will run between St. Clair West Station and St. Clair Station until December because of work on St. Clair Station. Councillor Palacio encouraged residents to stay engaged in the future redevelopment of the area by attending public meetings and sharing their opinions. He also introduced his new assistant Geno Orsi who can be contacted at gorsi@toronto.ca

Remarks from TDSB Trustee Marit Stiles – Trustee Stiles congratulated RHRA for the wonderful job being done to keep the community informed of news and events relevant to the neighbourhood. She commented that some schools are bursting at the seams, e.g. Regal Road P.S., while other schools have excess room. As a result, Carleton Village P.S. will begin offering French immersion to relieve the stress on Regal Road. Consultations will take place in the fall to bring forwards TDSB’s plans for underutilized high schools. She thanked Richard Christie, TDSB’s Senior Manager, Sustainability, for his assistance in the beautification efforts going on at OCI.

1. Street Beautification
   1. John reported on behalf of Mary Anne – he gave an overview of the progress of the gardens maintained by RHRA. He thanked all the volunteers who have helped in clean-up and maintenance efforts. More volunteers are always welcome. You can offer as little or as much assistance as you like. Volunteers are needed to help plant annuals in June; to water the planter barrels and to help clean up the gardens. Contact us at RHRA@regalheights.ca if interested.

    

2. Planning, Zoning, construction
   1. Communications update – John expressed his thanks to Peter Norman, Dave Meslin and webmaster Art Dacks for their time and efforts to manage our website. Peter is trying to limit the number of emails sent out by bundling several messages into one. Your feedback is appreciated.
   2. Development principles and the role of the RHRA – Harry mentioned that we are on the cusp of the greatest surge of increased density in the City. The was a discussion about whether the RHRA should remain as a conduit for information about such development or become advocates for policies such as diversity of housing types, narrow commercial spaces that could attract independent businesses, affordable accommodations and the maintenance of the character of the area. Some present felt the RHRA should be careful about taking a stand, since only a small portion of the residents’ views are polled. It was voted upon and passed that a subcommittee will be struck to address the above issues. Anyone interested in joining the subcommittee can contact Harry at harrylay@bellnet.ca Councillor Palacio stressed that it is important for the community to stay engaged throughout the development process by getting involved and attending public consultation meetings.
   3. Plans to ensure future of Oakwood Collegiate – Shuster Gindin stressed that while there are hopes that OCI to remain open, we should be aware that the final decision has yet to be made. It is important that we continue to forge links with the school and community to use and appreciate the school as a community hub. Richard Christie shared that terms of reference for the improvements to the northeast corner of the OCI grounds will be presented at a meeting on May 31st. Margaret Smith commented that we need to show our support for OCI when the TDSB reviews potential school closings in September. A vote was taken and passed for a committee to be set up for this purpose. Margaret hopes to have a preliminary meeting in June. Contact Margaret at smith107@sympatico.ca if interested in participating on the committee.
   4. Proposal for a “bike channel” on Glenholme steps – Jane Turrittin presented her idea of having a bike channel installed on the Glenholme steps that connect Davenport Ave to Regal Rd. She had a photo of what it would look like: a thin metal plate that would run underneath the handrail to permit pushing bicycles up the stairs rather than carry them. She has sent this idea to Councillor Palacio’s office and the proposal has been forwarded to the Transportation Department of the City. People who would like to support this idea are welcome to send an email to that effect to Councillor Palacio.
   5. Dick Watts memorial at the top of the Glenholme steps – plans are in motion to have a brass plaque implanted in the concrete sidewalk at the top of the Glenholme steps to remember Dick. RHRA will be paying for the cost of the brass plaque (just under $600), and the City will install it when they do sidewalk improvements in that area this summer. Anyone wishing to donate to the cost of the production of the welcome are welcome to do so.
   6. Tennis court proposal for OCI – The Wilmington Tennis club has managed to secure grant money from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to renovate the OCI basketball courts back into tennis courts. It appears that TDSB has not yet given a green light for the project. Richard Christie suggested that there may not be strong consensus to go forwards with this project. He suggested looking at this proposal at during the May 31st meeting about northeast corner of OCI project. For more information about the tennis court proposal go to www.wilmingtontennis.ca
   7. Parks and Recreation Facilities master plan – Margaret Smith shared that the Parks and Rec department is holding town hall consultations to get public input about how to develop community centres over the next two decades. JJP hosted one such meeting on April 26, 2016. The next public meeting will be held in the fall with a presentation of tentative recommendations from the initial consultations. People are encourage to stay engaged in the process.
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4. Special Events
   1. Bi-annual Street Sale – This year RHRA will be co-ordinating a street sale on Saturday June 18, 2016 from 10am – 2pm. Email reminders will be sent out, flyers will be posted a couple weeks in advance. We are still looking for street captains to assist in collecting the $2 per table charge that will go towards the advertising the event in the newspapers. Anyone interested please contact Anita at anita_kung@hotmail.com or Linda at
      degiorgiolinda2@gmail.com
      
   2. New Family Health Clinic on St. Clair is being constructed to tentatively open up this October at 928 St. Clair Ave. West. The clinic will consist of an interprofessional team that will support episodic care, programs, and services designed for the unique needs of the community. It will be governed by the Toronto Western Hospital Family Health Team board, which will consist of 12 members drawn from the community, the University Health Network and the Physician Associates. Two vacant positions exist for members from the community. If interested in applying please contact Susan Tremblay, Chair of Nominating Committee at susan.tremblay@sympatico.ca
   3. Humber Arboretum Tour – the Northcliffe Residents’ Association has invited us to join in their group for a guided tour of the Humber Arboretum on Sunday July 17th from 12:30 to 3:30. For more information contact Maurice Williams at maurice.e.williams@sympatico.ca
   4. Syrian refugee update – John reported that volunteers have beaten their goal to raise $50K to sponsor one Syrian family. To date the total is more than $53K. Help is still needed on committees that will address issues involved with the settling in process. If interested please contact Lara Roccatini at lroccatani@gmail.com
   5. Street Mural update – Dave Meslin reported that the technically illegal street mural painted on Springmount Ave. last year during the RHRA street party has held up well and remains intact on the roadway. Since then the City of Toronto has legalized the painting of street murals with a limit of four per year in Toronto. Dave has already made application to paint a mural on Lauder Avenue this summer. Contact Dave if interested in becoming involved at dave@pigeonhat.ca
   6. Pub Night – Beth reported that RHRA hosts a pub night every other month at the Fox and Fiddle where we receive 25% off the food bill. It has becoming an increasingly popular event. The next one will take place on Thursday June 23rd at 6:30.
   7. Community Welcome package – is available to new residents to the area whether they are owners or tenants. Two packages were handed out to newcomers at the meeting. Alan Novak was welcomed to our neighbourhood.
   8. St. Clare Church 100th anniversary book sale – Congratulations to St. Clare Church on their 100th anniversary. A book commemorating this event and the history of the Church was on sale at the meeting. Anyone interested in purchasing one can contact Christine Horgan at christine.arthurs@sympatico.ca
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6. Police Community partnership
   Robert Szachrajuk shared some news from the monthly police meetings held at St. Clare School at 7pm during the first Thursday of each month. In the past year auto thefts are up 4%, some illegal gambling machines were found in area bars and they have been shut down. A blitz was done if February where illegal disable parking permits were seized. Three cannabis stores on St. Clair Ave have popped up. The Police 13th Division will hosted a community BBQ on Wednesday, May 18th from 11am to 7pm.
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8. Finances and membership
   Memberships are now available online at www.regalheights.ca So far, 29 memberships have been purchased through the PayPal option.
9. Membership update – We are now at a record high of 90 paid memberships. The membership year will be changed from the current May to April time period to January through December. This year those memberships paid for the 2015-2016 year will expire in December 2016. Dave moved that memberships for the year of 2017 be collected at the Fall meeting, which will become our AGM. The May meeting be reclassified as a general meeting. The vote was unanimous.
10. Finances
    

    Finances	April 19, 2016	May 17, 2016
    Operating Fund	$3,354	$3,354
    Heritage Fund	992	992
    Mt Royal Bump-out (in trust)	745	745
    Street Sale (in trust)	150	150
    Petty Cash	133	133
    Total	$5,278	$5,278

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Next Meeting: Tuesday September 13, 2016. Location TBA