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SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
FEBRUARY 2, 2017 CITY OF KITCHENER
The Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee met this date, commencing at 4:05 p.m.
Present: Chair – S. Bongelli
Councillors D. Schnider and S. Marsh and Ms. T. Smith, Ms. E. Clarke, Ms. A. Venner,
Ms. J. Metzger and Messrs. G. Albert, A. Ganem-Mohamed, D. Witmer, W. Rahimi, and
B. Page.
Staff: M. Hildebrand, Director, Community Programs and Services
D. Campbell, Manager, Community Resource Centres
M. Drake, Neighbourhood Strategy Project Manager
D. Keelan, Manager of Aquatics & Volunteer Services
L. Korabo, Committee Administrator
1.WORKPLAN DEVELOPMENT
Mr. M. Hildebrand introduced himself to Committee members and suggested that in order to
start the process of developing a workplan for the current Committee term; it might be helpful
to receive a presentation on actions started during the last term which are carrying over into
the current. The largest commitment by Committee members was to the development of a
Neighbourhood Strategy wherein several members served on the Project Team and the entire
Committee provided input at tactical points in the Strategy’s development.
Ms. M. Drake, Neighbourhood Strategy Project Manager, presented an overview of this
initiative which began in 2015. As noted earlier, the Committee was very involved in the
Strategy’s development work regarding a project vision and actions that would bring to life the
desire of residents to take the lead to improve their neighbourhoods. Ms. Drake attended
Committee meetings throughout 2015 - 2016 to provide regular updates.
Members were shown an infographic which provided a summary of how the community was
engaged over the course of several months. The result of the community engagement was the
identification of three main areas of focus, being: Great Places; Connected People; and,
Working Together. These themes were used to create the Neighbourhood Strategy with action
items for each area of focus. Members were advised that community consultation reached
approximately 5,000 people in diverse groups and involved 4,000 hours of work
Ms. Drake reviewed the next steps for the Neighbourhood Strategy, being:
February 3 – release of all Neighbourhood Strategy documents to the public;
February 13 – consideration of a staff report by the Community and Infrastructure
Services Committee; and,
February 27 – consideration by Council.
She advised the hiring of new staff is proposed to support the implementation work of the
Neighbourhood Strategy. The Safe & Healthy Community Advisory Committee will continue in
their role of providing input as this work progresses and the implementation plan is rolled out
between 2017 and 2019.
Mr. M. Hildebrand then presented the results of a debrief survey from the previous Committee
membership, highlighting both positive comments and areas where improvement has been
suggested. This information was followed by a summary of responses gathered from the
current membership about their application experience, connection with local government,
possible accomplishments and suggested areas of focus. The Committee’s feedback
identified the following four themes or areas of focus:
Support for Community Centres;
Accessibility and Inclusion;
Newcomer Issues; and,
Support for marginalized populations
As one of the comments made by the previous Committee was a feeling of disconnect from the
City’s work plan, Ms. D. Campbell shared staff priorities / workplans for each of the theme
areas to demonstrate what staff will be undertaking in the near future.
SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
FEBRUARY 2, 2017 - 4 - CITY OF KITCHENER
1. WORKPLAN DEVELOPMENT (CONT’D)
Members then broke into groups to brainstorm ideas on how the Committee could enhance the
work in each theme area and what role could be played by the Committee’s members.
Information gathered during this brainstorming session will be summarized and shared at the
Committee’s March meeting where discussion on workplan development will continue.
2. ADJOURNMENT
On motion, the meeting adjourned at 5:35 p.m.
L. Korabo
Committee Administrator