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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSafe City - 1997-11-07SAFECITY\1997-11-07 SAFE CITY COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 7, 1997 CITY OF KITCHENER, CITY HALL CONESTOGA ROOM 8:00 AM The Safe City Committee held its meeting under the Chairmanship of Councilor Karen Taylor- Harrison with the following members present: Alan Richardson, Trudy Beaulne, Rita Westbrook, Jackie Marsh, Philip Fernandez, Nancy Brawley and Councilor Mark Yantzi. Others Present: Brock Stanley, Bob Arnot, Don Snow, Ron Schirm, John MacDonald, and Karen Bennett (minutes) Absent: Brian Stortz and Lirondel Hazlneh ADMINISTRATIVE 1.APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 7, 1997 AGENDA No additions or deletions were requested. A motion was made to approve the Agenda. Moved By: Trudy Beaulne Seconded By: Alan Richardson CARRIED 2.APPROVAL OF THE OCTOBER 3, 1997 MINUTES The following corrections were made to the minutes of October 3, 1997: Clarification was requested for item #6, under “Administrative”, the sentence “... and that future funds be spent on City wide project works as opposed to Downtown capital works 100% funded Lighting works.” Clarification was offered as follows: This sentence should read “future funds should be spend on City wide project works rather than 100% of the funding being put into downtown capital lighting works.” The original Safe City Committee mandate was to spend the first two years developing the downtown. The capital forecast was for the years 1995 - 1997 and $50,000 was allocated for the metal halide conversion. It was noted that the Committee is now entering into its third year and although extended work can be developed for the downtown this work must be done through regular channels (Public Works budget) and the Committee must now continue onto broader, city wide activities. Item #1, under “Other Business” the sentence “A simplified panhandling brochure was -- SAFE CITY COMMITTEE MINUTES PAGE1 created for DAC by the House of Friendship”. It was questioned whether the KDBA created this brochure for the House of Friendship rather than it being created by the House of Friendship. It was clarified that several agencies had input into this brochure. It was stated in the minutes of October 3 that not only “ROOF” be included in the brochure but “Betty Thompson Centre/ROOF” be used. Concern was raised that every organization would request having their name slashed in the title. It was noted that some organizations have expressed discontent with the concept of this brochure and the Committee would like to prevent the KDBA from taking the majority of this discontent. It was moved to approve the minutes for the October 3, 1997 meeting as amended. Moved By: Alan Richardson Seconded By: Nancy Brawley CARRIED PRESENTATION BY DON SNOW AND RON SCHIRM Chair welcomes Don Snow and Ron Schirm to the meeting. Concern has been raised by the Traffic Division that the Safe City Committees mandate on school sidewalk safety may lead to duplication if completed in isolation from the Traffic Division. At the end of each school year Ron Schirm meets with the school boards, with input from concerned parents, to gather information for safe walking routes for children. Over the summer route maps are developed along with instructions for parents. These maps and instructions are sent home with children at the beginning of each new school year. These routes address such issues as roads that children are crossing as well as dark and isolated areas that children should be avoiding. Their are also ongoing talks throughout the year. Ron Schirm meets with the School Traffic Safety Committee along with Cambridge and Waterloo safety representatives; as well as bus companies and Kitchener Transit, among others, every second month. Please note Ron Schirm will be informed of future meeting dates and receive copies of future meeting minutes. Don Snow was also questions about the traffic lights being installed at the corner of Gaukle and Charles Streets. Although they are not part of the new design it was noted that they can be adjusted when necessary. Alan Richardson requested photocopies of the School Route Maps be included with the minutes. 8:45 am Don Snow and Ron Schirm left the meeting. 3.UPDATE ON SAFE CITY CO-ORDINATOR’S POSITION -- SAFE CITY COMMITTEE MINUTES PAGE2 Brock Stanley informed the group that 50 resumes had been received for this position and meetings with candidates have begun. This position has been created with dual responsibilities, 75% of the position relating to landscaping with relevance to the Environmental Design Technologist requirement and 25% of the position relating to the Safe City Committee. Therefore, the majority of the applicants are landscape architects with some knowledge of safety audits but very little practical experience. At this point the position is expected to be filled by the last week of November. 4.UPDATE ON RE-APPOINTMENT PROCESS Unfortunately, with the upcoming election staff in the Clerks Department was unavailable to assist in any update information. Trudy Beaulne commented that neighbourhood safety seems have become a main issue at this election time and was pleased that the Committee seems to be getting the information to the public. WORKING GROUP REPORTS 1.SAFETY AUDIT WORKING GROUP Karen Taylor-Harrison had information that had been summarized, although not yet completed, from the School Safety Audit Group meeting. She noted that much of the information was from teachers and due to the teachers strike was unable to complete the information. In view of the discussion with Don Snow it was agreed to forward the material to the Safety Audit Working Group. 2.RESEARCH & EDUCATION WORKING GROUP Committee congratulations were extended to Nancy Brawley for nearly single-handedly, with the help of Wendy Vasco, organizing the very successful Manulife Luncheon. The speed, efficiency and competency with which Nancy coordinated this event was reiterated by many Group members. Eighteen restaurants from the Downtown participated in the luncheon with each restaurant providing food for 25 people. The luncheon was well received by each business involved with interest being expressed to participate in another similar function. Although minor challenges were encountered the event was a learning experience and a perfect forum to give exposure to local businesses. Philip Fernandez suggested that a letter that was received by the Mayor’s office from Barry Usher be further responded to as soon as possible by the Mayor recognizing the work of the KDBA and the Safe City Committee. It was hoped that this letter be responded to while this -- SAFE CITY COMMITTEE MINUTES PAGE3 is a current issue. Copies of the letter should go to Lynn Alex, Vice President, Human Resources and Don Dunlop, Vice President, Systems. Many Group members were unfamiliar with this letter because it was received and responded to in-between Safe City Committee meetings. It was suggested that a request of the Mayor should be a formal request from the Group. In the letter from the Mayor’s office it was suggested that all of the group’s involved in the Manulife luncheon be recognized. The groups are as follows: Safe City Committee, Neighbourhood Representative, Citizen’s on Patrol, KDBA, Waterloo Regional Police, Downtown Development Team, City of Kitchener, Mayor and the Farmer’s Market. 3.LIGHTING WORKING GROUP REPORT Brock Stanley stated that it had been approximately one year since John MacDonald, with the assistance of Phil Gabriel, started work on the lighting study. It is now the responsibility of the Committee to endorse these recommendations as they go to Council on November 24 to Committee of the Whole as part of the Purchasing Divisions regular tenders. John MacDonald then went through the Kitchener Downtown Lighting Study Summary Evaluation of Proposals, Fixtures as outlined in the attached report to the Committee dated October 31, 1997 with the following recommendations for approval: That Kitchener Safe City Committee endorses the recommendations of the Consultants John MacDonald Architects and Gabriel Design and the Lighting Working Group as follows: that Product Group 1 (King St. fixtures) be awarded to Lumca Inc. of Sainte-Foy, Quebec that Product Group 2 (small lantern fixtures) be awarded to Zed Lighting Inc. of Laval, Quebec that Product Group 3 (globe fixtures) be awarded to Lumca Inc. of Sante-Foy, Quebec that Produce Group 4 (roadway fixtures) be submitted to selected manufacturers. Cost estimates and quantities were questioned and are outlined in the attached cost estimate report. The Group was informed that although this has been a long process the retrofitting can commence right away (within a six to eight week period). John MacDonald was thanked for his remarkable work, participation and presentation. Moved By: Rita Westbrook Seconded By: Trudy Beaulne CARRIED Trudy Beaulne suggested that the installation of these new light designs in the downtown be coordinated with other Safe City Committee projects such as a street landscaping and other components of the safe walk project. Brock Stanley also suggested the Porch Lights On project should be linked to this event. It was noted that with the conclusion of this lighting -- SAFE CITY COMMITTEE MINUTES PAGE4 study and other projects working groups will now have more time to dedicate to other projects outside of the downtown area. John MacDonald noted that the Lighting Design Study will be in sections or pamphlet form which would contain separate, removable sections that others will be able to use as a reference. The proposed presentations to be made throughout the City as part of the DAC Strategic Plan can draw on the material from the Lighting Design Study to spread the lighting experience gained from the Downtown to other areas in the City. This could help eliminate the feeling that the downtown is separate from the rest of the City and now that the learning process is well under way many of these new ideas can be considered for incorporation into other parts of the city. It was noted that much of the media attention has been focused on the downtown and its improvements and it is the general feeling of the Committee that the downtown has been used as a test area to investigate ideas. These new ideas can now be implemented throughout the city area. Attention was then focused on the route maps that Ron Schirm dropped off for the Group. Alan Richardson noted that they were well designed and thorough but would like the background information that aids Traffic in reaching these conclusions. Brock Stanley stated that he would speak to Ron and request any guidelines or criteria that he may follow establishing the school routes. John MacDonald noted that after a conversation with individuals from the festival of neighbourhoods he suggested that they speak to a representative from the Safe City Committee on an appropriate way to spend the $10,000 they have available for neighbourhood improvement. He further suggested that a Safe City Committee representative take the initiative to contact them. Trudy Beaulne, having been the main contact up until this point, volunteered to contact the festival of neighbourhoods. Questions were asked with respect to future funding and resources for neighbourhood safety audits. If the grant request for funds under the Partners Against Crime Grant Program does not come through monies for safety audits could still come from the Safe City Committee Capital funds and from the Community Development Capital grants. There would have to be some priority setting for the audits. Brock Stanley stated that the next Safe City Committee meeting will be on Friday, December 5th. Motion tabled to adjourn meeting. Moved By: Councilor Mark Yantzi Seconded By: Trudy Beaulne CARRIED -- SAFE CITY COMMITTEE MINUTES PAGE5