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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSafe & Healthy - 2003-10-07SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 7, 2003 CITY OF KITCHENER The Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee met this date, commencing at 4:10 p.m., Chaired by Councillor B. Vrbanovic, with the following members present: Ms. J. Breithaupt, Ms. S. Franzen, Ms. S. Fohring and Messrs. P. Doherty, D. Schnarr and J. Vickery. Mr. D. Hoch and Mr. A. Bender were in attendance for part of the meeting. Staff Sergeant B. Zehr was in attendance representing Waterloo Regional Police. Others Present: Ms. J. Dean, Ms. M. Winterburn (MSW student), Ms. J. Hutchison and Ms. L. Korabo. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES On motion by Mr. D. Schnarr - it was resolved: "That the minutes of September 9, 2003, as mailed to the members, be accepted." 2. DOWNTOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVE REPORT Mr. D. Hoch advised that the Downtown Advisory Committee had not met and therefore he had no report of new business; however, he read from the contents of the monthly 'Evolution' newsletter, commenting on: · the opening of the Waterloo Region Children's Museum · the start of Oktoberfest · the launch of a new radio station called 'The Beat' which will begin operations on January 1,2004 and will be located at 235 King Street East · Centre Block · Downtown Outreach Worker-Gerard Keough has started his placement in the Downtown · Light Rail Transit Proposal - a change in location for the main station to the current site of the Downtown bus terminal Councillor B. Vrbanovic also provided an update on various Capital Projects underway in the Downtown. Mr. A. Bender entered the meeting. 3. FACILITY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN Ms. K. Kugler, Manager of the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex (KMAC) and Community Arenas, attended to introduce the City's Corporate Emergency Plan and the Facility Emergency Preparedness Plan (FEPP) to the Committee. She noted that Mr. A. TenBruggencate, Facilitator of Emergency Preparedness, had been scheduled to attend the meeting to discuss the Corporate Plan but was unable to do so. Ms. Kugler noted that the Corporate Emergency Plan has recently been updated and includes 10 colour alerts indicating particular areas of distress (ie. code yellow - evacuation; code red - fire alarm, etc.). Each code has a different protocol of actions. It was noted that a consultant was hired to work with City staff on the compilation of this Emergency Plan and that the Plan is now in place at City Hall. As a result of problems encountered during the August hydro blackout, preparation of a Facility Emergency Preparedness Plan (FEPP) is now underway, using the template of the Corporate Emergency Plan as a starting point. Once completed, the FEPP will be rolled out in phases to the KMAC, community centres and arenas. Mr. P. Doherty commented that he had asked for this presentation to be made due to his experience at the Auditorium during the blackout while running a hockey school. The Co-Chair then opened the floor for questions from Committee members, who inquired regarding the designation of the KMAC as a gathering area for residents in times of emergency and the ability of the building's generator to sustain power and all services for an extended period of time. SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 7, 2003 - 25 - CITY OF KITCHENER 3. FACILITY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN (CONT'D) Councillor B. Vrbanovic advised the Committee that there is also an Emergency Plan for the entire municipality and that, during the time of the hydro blackout, a team of management staff called the Community Control Group met and quickly deployed City staff as required to maintain critical services. He further noted that Group worked cohesively with a similar group at Regional Headquarters as well as with Fire and Police representatives. Ms. K. Kugler left the meeting. 4. FESTIVAL OF NEIGHBOURHOODS FINALE - UPDATE Councillor B. Vrbanovic noted that this item had not been listed on today's agenda; however, representatives of the Festival of Neighbourhoods had requested an opportunity to provide Committee members with a brief overview of the finale event held on October 5, 2003 at City Hall. Mr. John MacDonald and Ms. Joanne Davis of the Festival of Neighbourhoods Steering Committee attended to provide a brief overview of the Festival finale. Mr. MacDonald thanked the Committee for the grant approved earlier this year and advised that he would like to make a more detailed presentation regarding how the funds were utilized at the Committee's next meeting. He introduced Joanne Davis who was hired as the Festival's Co-©rdinator with the grant monies approved by the Committee. Mr. MacDonald commented on a tremendous increase of registered events in 2003, noting that 75 neighbourhood events were registered up from 35 in the previous year. He also commented that the Committee's grant had allowed for the hiring of a student through Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), who worked with J. Davis to provide an outreach component not previously available. Each year a $10,000. community grant is awarded to a local neighbourhood association with the Country Hills Neighbourhood Association winning this year. It was pointed out that in the 10-year history of the event, no neighbourhood association had ever won the grant twice. Mr. MacDonald also advised that several new awards such as the 'Spirit' and 'Artistic Merit' Award were also presented in 2003. A new component of the Festival was the distribution to entrants of a resource hamper containing examples of events to be held, safety information, Direct Detect information and a copy of the Committee's Little Black Book. Mr. MacDonald expressed a desire to continue working with the Committee to identify additional items for inclusion in the resource hamper in coming years. Ms. J. Davis thanked the Committee for the opportunity to work on the Festival and for its support. She commented on the significant increase in registered events as well as the increased attendance at the Festival finale and stated there is potential to again double the event size in the future depending on available resources and the potential to develop partnerships with youth, Fire and Police. Ms. J. Davis, Mr. J. MacDonald and Mr. D. Hoch left the meeting. 5. WORK PLAN 2002 - 2003 UPDATE Ms. J. Breithaupt advised that the Social Isolization Working Group is developing a web site to link youth to current resources available. She advised that it is relatively inexpensive to have the web site set-up and the Working Group is now in the information gathering stage and will set-up a volunteer youth committee to identify subject areas to be included. Mr. A. Bender stated that the web site will provide links to information already available and it will not be necessary to re-invent certain areas of information. He commented on the need for a name for the web site and stated that the youth committee to be established will be asked to develop potential names for consideration by the Working Group. OCTOBER 7, 2003 6. NEW BUSINESS SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES - 26 - CITY OF KITCHENER Ms. J. Dean provided information on the Downtown outreach worker who recently began his placement and is currently working on establishing relationships in the core area. He has also met with representatives from social service agencies, neighbourhoods and police and is eager to spend more time on the street as soon as possible. Ms. J. Hutchison left the meeting. END OF TERM COMMENTS Several members of the Committee took the opportunity to make comments on their positive experience during the year and stated their desire to continue working on the Committee. INFORMATION ITEMS The Committee was in receipt of the following information items: · Safe City Co-©rdinator's Report · Unfinished Business List ADJOURNMENT On motion the meeting adjourned at 5:25 p.m. Linda Korabo Committee Administrator