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Ward 12 (Uptown Chapter) Community Action Network (CAN) May 25th , 2009 - 6:30 p.m. Sudbury Public Library Main Branch Meeting Minutes
Attendees: Bobb Hibbs, Chair Brian Kelly, Secretary; Louis Delongchamp, Treasurer; Joscelyne Landry-Altmann, Ward 12 Councillor, Ginette Forget-Rose, Community Development Co-coordinator, Leisure Services. Daniel Boucher, Bonnie Jackson, Judith Prior-Kelly, Jim Robidoux, CAN residents Guest Speakers: 1) Doreen Ojala, Project Manager, Foodshed Project 2) Officer Jesse Sell, Greater Sudbury Police 3) Jason Ferrigan, Senior Planner, Planning Services Division, CGS, representing the Municipal Heritage Committee.

Agenda Item 1. 2. Welcome by Chair Bobb Hibbs Approval of previous Minutes: Chair Hibbs obtained approval of the April 27 Minutes. Joscelyne LandryAltmann requested that the discussion with Bryan Gutjahr about removal of the old parking lot sign near the Sudbury Star building be included in the Minutes. As well, this matter had subsequently been passed on to City Staff for action. [ p.s.: The sign has been removed, prior to the present date of May 25. B.K. Secretary. ] Motion to accept Minutes with amendments: Moved by Judith Prior-Kelly; seconded by Daniel Boucher; motion passed. 3. Presentation by Doreen Ojala Foodshed Project Doreen Ojala, Project Manager, Foodshed Project, identified the Project to the group, giving some details about the location and status of this initiative. The Mission of this group, in brief, is to work with citizens of Sudbury to develop locally-grown food in a sustainable manner.

2 The location of the Project is in an area just east of the Red Oak Villa on Ste Anne Road. The idea is for organizations to adopt a plot in the garden for a nominal $300.00 startup fee. Several organizations have shown interest in doing so. However, ongoing costs and fees, and detailed rules of operation are yet to be worked out. The general intent is that a donor would either reserve access to the plot for specific users, or designate it as a public access plot. Ms. Ojalas objective in presenting to this CAN group was to publicize the Project and identify points of contact: Doreen Ojala, or Annette Reszczynski (Sudbury Social Planning Council) at (705) 675-3894, or e-mail: ProjectManager@foodshedproject.ca The CAN will require further discussion on coordinating with this Project. As well, Councilor Landry-Altmann may consider supporting this initiative on behalf of the City. Discussions to follow. As a matter of interest, a similar initiative (Allard Street Community Garden) has been operating in Sault Ste Marie for several years, and may be viewed at http://members.shaw.ca/soohortsociety2/AllardStGarden_Home.htm

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Presentation by Police Services Officer Jesse Sell, Community Response Unit Police Services were not able to provide a guest speaker at the April 28 meeting, but were able to do so just prior to this meeting. Officer Jesse Sell spoke to the group about two recent assaults in the immediate area, giving status reports on arrest, etc, to the degree permitted. In both cases, MP3 (portable music) players were involved, or being worn. The suggestion was made that these units reduce a persons awareness of impending danger, particularly when a person is out, alone, at late hours. As well, younger adults were involved. Officer Sell indicated that in the last month, the Downtown area had 12 assault complaints, whereas the Donovan had 6. He was not able to provide trend statistics on crime rates, but indicated that data might be available, at the discretion of his Inspector. His impression is that in general, the crime rates were reducing over the last several years. Questions were posed regarding late-evening noise/yelling on Mackenzie St. Officer Sell indicated that most of the streets in this area were on their patrol checklist, and encouraged the group to call the Police if these conditions occur/persist. The number to call is: 675-9171, then Ext. 6397, or press 0. For urgent matters, call 911.

3 When asked if any sort of curfew could be enforced on younger individuals, Officer Sell pointed out the province-wide, the Child and Family Services Act already has a law that anyone under 16 must be indoors before midnight. Discussions ensued about video surveillance. Cameras do exist in the Downtown area, but less so in more residential areas. Homeowners may monitor their own property, or the street, but not other properties. The subject of parking problems in the Area was raised again. As before, the Officer indicated that signage must be in place for them to enforce rules, etc. The group reiterated the chronic nature of violations in the Area, and encouraged the Police to be more diligent about enforcement in the neighbourhood.

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Presentation by Jason Ferrigan, Municipal Heritage Committee As a response to the request by the Uptown CAN to the Municipal Heritage Committee to establish the feasibility of having the neighbourhood assigned a Heritage designation, Jason Ferrigan presented a Plan of how a study could proceed. The document: Key Steps: Preliminary Cultural Heritage Value Assessment was used as a template for the discussion. The document is attached for reference (Attt 1) Step 1 involves selecting working study area boundaries. Jason had three large maps of the area showing the evolution of the demography of Sudbury, and different groupings of the regions/neighbourhoods. After significant discussion, Jason concluded that our CAN should work with Ward 4 Donovan/Elm West CAN and make this project a collaborative one. Subsequent steps in the Plan involve data collection ( photos, walkabouts, ages of buildings, etc.) , and a review of existing archival and historical research. The discussion moved to a definition of what is Sudbury, and topics included the influence of the railways on the area. As well, museums such as those in Capreol, Copper Cliff and the Flour Mill were cited. Various attendees recalled that there used to be tours of notable sites in the Sudbury area such as old stables, farms, etc. In closing, the next step in this process will be to identify one or more key individuals in this CAN to work with Jason on the project. As well, it was suggested that our Chair contact the Chair of the Donovan-Elm West CAN to attempt a collaborative arrangement between the CANs for this project. Jason suggested that these two actions should take place in the next week or two, with the project completing sometime in late Fall. The group expressed concern that with the summer months coming, this timescale appeared somewhat ambitious, and recruitment of people for the project would be necessary first. Judith Prior-Kelly expressed interest in being involved in the Heritage project. The Executive will discuss the recruitment issue in the meantime.

4 5. Discussion of CAN priorities The Chair referred to a condensed list of Strategic Visioning Priorities (See Attt #2). It was agreed that the CAN would pursue the Heritage project as a first priority. This was the item in the Visioning process with the greatest number of votes, and as noted above, it will be pursued. The discussions again moved to the ways and means of recruiting. This discussion will be presented in the next Agenda item. The Community Clean-up blitz continued to be an area of interest to most of the attendees, and was identified as an ongoing priority. Notwithstanding its preliminary status, as presented, the Foodshed project generated interest in the group, both from the point of view of the gardening activity and of the community/social involvement. The group will review this initiative at the next meeting. There was some discussion of ongoing activities related to the condominium project on Mackenzie Street. Louis Delongchamp expressed that promoting this project could be a benefit to Uptown Can. As we were nearing the end of the meeting, the group could not properly explore the possible benefits. However, there was a general consensus that we did accomplish what we set out to do and that the project should be left to the developer. As our CAN evolves, we will need subcommittees to manage these project areas. The striking of such committees will be the subject of upcoming meetings.

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Recruitment Strategies As mentioned above, discussions ensued as to how to recruit members to participate in projects, and methods included social get-togethers, newsletters, flyers, and telephone and e-mail blitzes. The consensus was that if the priorities/projects are clearly identified, the interest will increase. The Executive will discuss these options and report at the next meeting.

5 7. New Business: Councilor Landry-Altmann informed the group that there is a Green Stairs Wild Rose Plant-In, Thursday, June 11th, 9:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m., at the base of the Green Stairs on Ste. Anne Road. Donations of wild roses, Barberry plants, etc. appreciated, and lunch will be provided. A similar project will take place on Saturday, June 13, at Junction Creek on Louis St., also 9:00a.m - 1:00 p.m.

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Next Meeting Agenda: to be provided when available. The next meeting will be on Monday, June 29/09, at the Library.

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Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

6 ATTACHMENT #1

City of Greater Sudbury

Municipal Heritage Committee Key Steps: Preliminary Cultural Heritage Value Assessment May 25, 2009 (Uptown Chapter) CAN Meeting Understanding cultural heritage value
1. What is Uptown Sudbury? 2. Why is Uptown Sudbury important (special and distinctive)? 3. Why should a Heritage Conservation District Study be initiated for Uptown Sudbury?

Key Steps for this neighbourhood

1. Select preliminary working study area boundaries 2. Engage other stakeholders (e.g. Ward 4 Elm West CAN) 3. Document existing physical conditions a. b. c. d. e. Type Size Method of construction Date of construction Other observations (e.g. unique faade treatment, architectural details, themes).

4. Review existing information a. Archival (e.g. national, provincial, local) b. Local historical research and texts c. Sudbury Journal and Sudbury Star 5. Begin to paint a picture of cultural heritage value a. b. c. d. e. f. g. What is it? Where is it? What is in it? What are its boundaries? What is the cultural heritage value? What are the character-defining elements? What are the supporting elements?

6. Test and augment with local knowledge a. Community Open House b. Household Surveys(?) 7. Finalize preliminary cultural heritage value statement

8 ATTACHMENT #2 Strategic Visioning Priorities next 5 years A - Active Living/Healthy Lifestyles Historical Heritage: (21) o Work towards historical designation, walking tour, heritage signs, document historic houses. B - Natural Environment Community Clean Up: (13) o Clean up in laneways & roads with the student assistance (40 hrs. community work), blue box enforcement, more accessible trash containers.

Traffic: (9) o Traffic calming measures, limit traffic & parking to local residents, improve sidewalks & roads.

Parks and Gardens: (8) o Guerilla Gardening, community gardens in parks & empty lots

Neighborhood Improvement: (4) o Improve image & landscape upgrades, paint wall in front of Red Oaks (SSS Arts Students), create & maintain school/playgrounds, reduce wood burning stoves.

C - Civic Engagement/Social Capital Planning: (17) o Address the issue of the proposed condo project, city should purchase St. Louis de Gonzague for a community Arts building and green space.

Community Involvement: (9) o Encourage others to get involved in neighborhood events for the common good (e.g. fundraising landscaping), create links between school & community through project & recreation facilities)

COPs Program: (8)

Community Safety: (4) o Improve lighting in lane ways & streets

Sense of Neighborhood: (2) o Image & identity (Name the neighborhood) design large sign

D - Economic Growth: (11) Revitalize New Vision: o Image improvement of area, revitalize downtown economy