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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSafe & Healthy - 2004-11-09SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 9, 2004 CITY OF KITCHENER The Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee met this date, commencing at 4:05 p.m. Present: Chair, Councillor B. Vrbanovic T. Beaulne, J. Vickery, B. Thomlison, D. Schnarr, A. Bender, S. Fohring. P. Doherty, S. Franzen and D. Hoch were in attendance for part of the meeting. Staff: J. Dean, Safe City Co-ordinator S. Adams, Director, Community Programs and Services L. Korabo, Committee Administrator 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES On motion by Mr. D. Schnarr- it was resolved: "That the minutes of October 5, 2004, as mailed to the members, be accepted." 2. HEALTHY COMMUNITY PLAN At the September 14, 2004 Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee meeting, a request was made for discussion regarding the development of a Healthy Community Plan for the City of Kitchener. At that time, Councillor B. Vrbanovic advised that the Chief Administrative Officer and staff of Community Services were working on such an initiative and would be asked to make a presentation to the Committee. Ms. S. Adams, Director of Community Services and Programs, attended to provide an outline of the work undertaken to date regarding the development of a Healthy Community Plan. She commented that City Council had identified the development of a Plan as a priority in its Shared Agenda for its current term. A healthy community framework will allow staff to organize and understand the essence and impact of the many initiatives falling under its umbrella; and highlight environmental, economic and social indices of community well being. Ms. Adams circulated a "proposed project framework" which touched on the following issues: · the plan process carries on Kitchener's tradition of engaging the community in identifying issues / actions, in the creation of a healthy public policy and practice; · the plan will involve gathering existing information, determination of what currently exists, what is needed and how it will be obtained; · purpose and composition of the Working Group; · scope of work involved; · purpose of the plan; and, · timeframe. Following her presentation, Committee members provided input into the Plan suggesting that: the purpose of the Plan could be more clearly defined particularly regarding service delivery and scope of work; thought should be given to forecast future economic impact rather than treating it as an afterthought; and, work already undertaken by the original Compass Kitchener group may contain useful information. In closing, Ms. Adams thanked the members for their comments and advised that the Plan would be presented to Council at a strategic planning session to be held November 29, 2004. 3. RESPONSE - HOMELESSNESS DISCUSSION DOCUMENT This item was deferred to a future meeting as a requested staff report regarding a response to the Region of Waterloo's Discussion Document on its role in addressing homelessness was not available. 4. FUNDING REQUEST - YOUTH EMPOWERMENT FOR SAFETY AND SUPPORT PROJECT (YESS) Ms. S. Gassim and Mr. P. Arar attended in support of a funding request on behalf of the Youth Empowerment for Safety and Support (YESS) Project. Ms. Gassim advised that YESS had applied for a grant under the "Communities in Action Fund" of the Ministry of Citizenship and SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 9, 2004 - 21 - CITY OF KITCHENER 4. FUNDING REQUESTS - YOUTH EMPOWERMENT FOR SAFETY AND SUPPORT PROJECT (YESS) (CONT'D) Immigration and has recently received confirmation that a grant of $26,500. has been approved. She circulated a copy of their application form as background. Ms. Gassim noted that the Ministry would only provide 60% of the approved grant funding, with the remaining 40% to be obtained by their organization from within the community in the form of 20% in in-kind services and 20% in cash. Therefore, YESS must raise $5,300. from community sources in order to meet the Ministry's grant criteria. Ms. Gassim requested that the Committee consider a contribution to YESS so that it may continue its work with ethnic youth and their families, who reside in Iow income or non-profit housing and face barriers in accessing recreational facilities. Ms. J. Dean advised that the Committee's 2004 budget would allow for a contribution in the current year. In response to questions, Ms. Gassim noted that YESS members have begun making contact with other municipalities and community organizations to raise the required cash contributions, and have enquired about in-kind donations. Kitchener is the first municipality to be approached as it has the largest immigrant settlement area in the Region of Waterloo. A concern was raised regarding the sustainability of this organization once funding has been exhausted and this was acknowledged by the delegation. The Committee was reminded of the work successfully undertaken by YESS over the past 2-3 years while it was a recipient of an Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant. The delegation left the meeting. Mr. D. Schnarr acknowledged the good work accomplished by this organization and suggested that the Region of Waterloo be approached to consider funding. Other members concurred with the suggestion and further commented that the Cities of Waterloo and Cambridge should be made aware of this organization and be encouraged to consider providing grants. Mr. Schnarr also requested that YESS report back in one year's time with statistics indicating the number of Kitchener residents served through the program initiated with the assistance of the Committee's grant. Mr. J. Vickery also expressed concern regarding the sustainability issue noting that he had not received a satisfactory response from the delegation; however, he indicated his support for acceding to the funding request. On motion by Mr. D. Schnarr- it was resolved: "That $2,500. be allocated to the Youth Empowerment for Safety and Support (YESS) Project from the 2004 Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee (SHCAC) budget; and, That YESS report to the SHCAC in one year to provide statistics on the number of Kitchener residents served; and further, That the Cities of Cambridge and Waterloo and the Community Safety and Crime Prevention Council be encouraged to approve similar funding for the YESS project." WORK PLAN Ms. J. Dean noted that a member of KYAC was developing a logo for use on the web-site and will be paid a $100. honorarium as previously approved by the Committee. She added that the "Violence in Sports Working Group" had met with City staff. The Working Group has begun a fact-finding phase to determine what various sports organizations in the community are doing to prevent violence. Staff advised of Codes of Behaviour that are already in place; however, noted that not many organizations have prevention plans. SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 9, 2004 - 22 - CITY OF KITCHENER 5. WORK PLAN (CONT'D) Mr. P. Doherty commented that he had provided the Working Group with information regarding Kitchener Minor Hockey's Violence Prevention Program entitled "Speak Out". Members of the Working Group will attend an upcoming "Speak Out" workshop to gain information about establishing a generic prevention program for other sports. Mr. D. Schnarr commented that the size of the volunteer base in some minor sports organizations could limit the success of implementation of any violence prevention program as it may be too time consuming. It was clarified that this program would target team sports only at this time. Ms. J. Dean advised that the City of Kitchener does require a "Code of Conduct" to be in place to qualify for Corporation funding. 6. DOWNTOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVE REPORT Mr. D. Hoch, Downtown Advisory Committee (DAC) representative, advised that the October DAC meeting had been cancelled. For information of the Committee, he noted that a Manager of Downtown Community Development had recently been hired. 7. CONFERENCE - MARIJUANA HOME GROW OPERATIONS Councillor B. Vrbanovic advised that in his capacity as the Chair of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Community Safety and Crime Prevention Council, he had been invited to attend a conference on marijuana home grow operations sponsored by the RCMP. He briefed the Committee on information shared by attendees which included police representatives, elected officials, real estate professionals and hydro employees. Councillor Vrbanovic concluded his synopsis by advising that several working groups had been formed to study various aspects of home grow operations. 8. ADJOURNMENT On motion, the meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m. Linda Korabo Committee Administrator