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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-05-01 SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MAY 1, 2014 CITY OF KITCHENER The Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee met this date, commencing at 4:00 p.m. Present: Mr. D. McKlusky,Vice-Chair Councillor S. Davey, Ms. E. Clarke, Ms. D. Christiaen, Ms. K. Porritt, Ms. J. Metzger and Messrs. P. Doherty, B. Sheehan, M. Farwell and A. Rahimi. Staff: Mr. M. Hildebrand, Director, Community Programs &Services Ms. D. Campbell, Manager, Community Resource Centres Ms. L. Korabo, Committee Administrator 1. TAMARACK COMMUNITY POLICY CONFERENCE As a follow-up to the initial conference information presented at a previous meeting, Mr. M. Hildebrand advised the City will pay for interested volunteers to attend this three-day event. Staff is still determining the number of spaces available to volunteers. At the Committee's last meeting, it was suggested consideration be given to using Committee funds to pay for attendance of any interested members. Members had been asked to advise Mr. D. McKlusky of their interest; however, due to the large time commitment, no one indicated availability. It was agreed that no action would be taken. 2. GRANT PROCESS -UPDATE On behalf of the Grant Process Subcommittee, Mr. D. McKlusky circulated a draft Call for Proposals for feedback/comment. The Call for Proposals included the following information: • Purpose of Grant; • Eligibility Criteria; • Maximum Amount; • Application Review Process; and, • Application Guidelines. Suggestions as follows were provided regarding revisions to the document: limiting the length of the written submission to a maximum of 3 pages; requesting annual budget information, if available; requesting contact information for applying organizations; establishing submission deadlines to facilitate consideration / granting in May and October; and allowance for consideration of applications under special circumstances outside of set timeframes. On motion by Mr. B. Sheehan, it was resolved: "That the Call for Proposals for the Safe & Healthy Community Advisory Committee's Neighbourhood Inclusion/Belonging Grant, as amended, be approved." Mr. D. McKlusky advised that Ms. N. Bird, who will be chairing the application review subcommittee, advised via email that if the Committee approved the Call for Proposals, she would be calling a meeting of the subcommittee in the near future. 3. 8th ANNUAL JANE'S WALK FESTIVAL Ms. J. Metzger circulated a comprehensive summary of all Jane's Walk events scheduled within the Region of Waterloo during the 2014 Festival (May 2-4). She advised that all walks are led by volunteers, are free of charge and range between 1-2 hours. 4. ANNUAL JUSTICE DINNER Mr. M. Hildebrand advised that the Annual Justice Dinner is being held at the Waterloo Inn and Conference Centre on Thursday, May 22, 2014 beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Committee was SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MAY 1, 2014 -11 - CITY OF KITCHENER 4. ANNUAL JUSTICE DINNER(CONT'D) informed that traditionally, a table is purchased for the event and spots made available for interested Committee members. Rather than a keynote speaker, this year's event will feature six local speakers who will each give an eight-minute talk on their passions and motivations. Mr. Hildebrand requested support to utilize Committee funds to purchase a table of 8 and also inquired as to interested attendees. The Committee agreed to Mr. Hildebrand's request to purchase a table at the Annual Justice Dinner; Mr. B. Sheehan, Ms. E. Clarke and Mr. A. Rahimi indicated interest in attending. The Committee Administrator was requested to send an email to the full Committee providing details of the Justice Dinner and asking interested members to contact Mr. M. Hildebrand by May 15th in order to reserve a seat at the table. 5. JOINT MUNICIPAL SAFE & HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING Mr. D. McKlusky advised that another meeting to discuss a joint meeting of municipal Safe & Healthy Community Advisory Committees was held earlier this date to continue planning discussions. It has been decided to hold a forum-style meeting on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 with invitations extended to all Committee members, municipal staff and members of municipal Councils. The proposed theme for the forum will be based on a report from the University of Waterloo Health Faculty on the Canada Index of Wellbeing and investigates what municipalities can do to help neighbourhoods help themselves. Another planning meeting will be held in June at which time location and possible requests for in-kind support will be discussed. 6. WORKPLAN DEVELOPMENT A revised 2013-2014 work plan was circulated and reflected new additions as previously discussed, being: dates relating to the grant application process; timing for the joint municipal Safe & Healthy Community Advisory Committee meeting; and, participation in the process for the Neighbourhood Matching Funds Grant (if approved by Council). Mr. M. Hildebrand requested members to begin thinking about additional items to add to the work plan. Mr. Hildebrand suggested that consideration be given to adding the following two actions as permanent items on the Committee's work plan: annual Jane's Walk (discussion required if Committee wishes to host an event annually); and,joint municipal Safe & Healthy Community Advisory Committee meeting. With regard to the possibility of an annual joint meeting, Mr. McKlusky advised that this has not yet been discussed at planning meetings. He questioned the need for the establishment of a subcommittee if this matter did become a standing item. With regard to the 2014 joint meeting, Mr. Hildebrand requested that the planning committee develop descriptions/actions/ milestones which could be added to the current work plan. Mr. D. McKlusky and Ms. J. Metzger agreed to forward this information to the Committee Administrator to allow for updating of the current work plan. Mr. Hildebrand advised that he had developed a suggested list of action items for the Committee to consider. These activities mainly relate to identified gaps in the community and may lead to the development of actions to address the same. • A presentation on the proposed Neighbourhood Strategy will be given at the Committee's June meeting. A request will be made for Committee participation as a key contributor to the strategy. • Immigration Partnership—hold discussions with organizations about belongingness for new Canadians in the community. Partnership could mirror the youth engagement program developed by Compass Kitchener which invites youth to City Hall and hosts a forum where researched issues / solutions are presented. Members of Council would also attend and participate. A suggestion was made to invite new Canadians to City Hall and provide them with a form of orientation,which would encourage them to become more engaged. A group would need to be identified to lead this initiative. SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MAY 1, 2014 -12 - CITY OF KITCHENER 6. WORKPLAN DEVELOPMENT(CONT'D) • Consider the development of a `non-citizen' committee —give a voice to new Canadians to talk about issues. This could be used as another engagement tool to reach this group of residents. • Homelessness—consider the establishment of a forum to assist disenfranchised homeless or lower-income individuals similar to the `Out of the Cold' program which runs during the winter months. Also, consider actions to address the time gap between the end of lunch programs and evening programming for this same group. Mr. P. Doherty suggested a presentation by the Cycling Advisory Committee on nighttime cycling and the safety-related issues to be considered. Mr. D. McKlusky suggested that the Committee participate on an annual basis at the NA Summit as this proved to be a positive experience in 2013. Ms. D. Campbell cautioned that this may not be possible as the NAs develop a theme/agenda for each summit which may or may not tie to the mandate of the Committee. Related to the suggestion above, Ms. K. Porritt suggested revisiting the summary findings of the subcommittees on NAs and Inclusion to identify any additional items for the work plan. Mr. Hildebrand thanked members for their input and asked that consideration be given to participation in items of interest to each individual. Additionally, consideration can be given to pull non-committee members into subcommittees that may be established. Continuation of the development of the work plan will occur at the June 2014 meeting. 7. ADJOURNMENT On motion, the meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m. L. Korabo Committee Administrator