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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSafe City - 2000-01-11SAF ECITY~2000-01-11 SAFE CITY COMMITTEE MINUTES JANUARY 11, 2000 CITY OF KITCHENER The Safe City Committee met this date commencing at 4:05 p.m. Chaired by Mr. S. Bassanese with the following members present: Ms. A. Kutler, Ms. N. Brawley, Ms. T. Beaulne and Messrs. D. Schnarr, and B. Doherty. Councillor M. Yantzi was in attendance for part of the meeting. Others present: Ms. J. Dean, Ms. L. Korabo and Messrs. R. Wyatt and M. Bratton (MSW Student). 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES On motion by D. Schnarr- It was resolved: "That the minutes of December 7, 1999, as mailed to the members, be approved." 2. SAFE CITY CO-ORDINATOR'S REPORT - Januaq/' 2000 J. Dean advised that she had revised criteria and application forms available for the Youth Grant Program and the Youth Program Award Nominations as sponsored by the City-Wide Youth Issues Committee. The Committee then reviewed the Co-ordinator's monthly report with updates in the following areas: Outreach/Liaison 1. Brampton Safe City Association Funding 1. 2. National Child Benefit Safe and Sound Lighting Working Group 1. 'Porch Lights On' Campaign Safety Audit Working Group 1. Mount Hope/Breithaupt Park Safety Project Research & Education 1. Graffiti City-Wide Youth Issues Committee 1. Grants/Awards Committee 2. The Little Black Book 3. NATIONAL CHILD BENEFIT (NCB) REGIONAL ALLOCATIONS T. Beaulne's November, 1999 informational report on the National Child Benefit Program (NCB) was circulated. It provided an overview of the NCB and its mandate to assist Iow- income families. Councillor M. Yantzi entered the meeting. J. Dean advised that she and T. Beaulne had met and prepared a submission for funding of a new project under the NCB Program. The submission dated December 20, 1999, is entitled 'Muralist Mentoring Program' and was submitted to the Region's Social Services Department. A copy was attached to the agenda for the Committee's information. T. Beaulne advised that she understood there may be a review and subsequent delay of the application deadline. She stressed the need to submit an innovative proposal that focuses on youth. T. Beaulne further noted that she had made arrangements for J. Dean to meet with the newly appointed Social Planning Manager at the Region. This individual will be supervising the NCB allocation project. SAFE CITY COMMITTEE JANUARY 11, 2000 -2- CITY OF KITCHENER 3. NATIONAL CHILD BENEFIT {NCB) REGIONAL ALLOCATIONS - {CONT'D) J. Dean commented that if funding for the 'Muralist Mentoring Program' is not received through the NCB, she will seek information to submit the proposal for funding through another program. She felt that the submission for the mentoring program builds upon the graffiti abatement program that targets the eradication of graffiti in the community. J. Dean pointed out that the muralist and a local youth group are holding a visioning workshop this weekend to develop a mural design for the parking garage wall at St. Peter's Lutheran Church on Queen Street North. J. Dean requested discussion by Committee members to explore options for new or extended programs in other areas that might be appropriate funding proposals under the NCB Program. It was noted that the connection between Iow-income families (the proposed beneficiaries of the NCB) and safe city issues had never been discussed. It was further noted that it was important to obtain funding for the municipality to expand existing recreational programs to support Iow-income families. Councillor M. Yantzi commented that the Regional Health & Social Services Committee had discussed the matter of subsidizing recreational programs. However, T. Beaulne suggested that dollars were needed to allow free use of the facilities that offer the programming, by youth during specific hours or times of the year such as school breaks. She felt that it was very important to make existing programs and facilities more available by creating broader access for everyone. General discussion continued and covered the following subjects: expanded use of facilities requiring appropriate supervision, corporate sponsorship being requested and the benefits of participation in recreation programs. It was further noted that most minor sports organizations subsidize fees under certain criteria. S. Bassanese would like to see the NCB funding used to address the lack of community infrastructure as noted in T. Beaulne's November report. A pro-active approach is preferred to a re-active one. J. Dean commented that funding does exist and the concern is having monies directed to the most appropriate programs. She further observed that organized activities benefiting from funding are not required to be City run. New programs such as summer drop-ins and extended operating hours are examples of possible opportunities to use the funding. D. Schnarr observed that any program benefiting from NCB funding should be open to all youth, not just those from Iow-income families. A. Kutler commented that she felt larger corporate donors would be willing to associate with expanded or new youth programming and that consideration should be given to where this potential funding could be best utilized. Association with youth programs would provide corporations with good public relations opportunities. She further commented that it would be important to have the ability to sustain any programming in order to provide consistency for youth involved. It was agreed this item will be further discussed at the Committee's February meeting. 4. PARTNERS AGAINST CRIME FUNDING J. Dean advised members of the Committee that funding is available from Partners Against Crime and will focus on situational crime prevention. The application deadline is January 31, 2000. J. Dean asked for input on projects that the Committee had worked on in the past that might be suitable for application. J. Dean reminded members of the thesis on the Mt. Hope Neighbourhood completed by J. Austin. His thesis included many recommendations, some of which may be eligible for funding. As an example, she suggested that the lighting of lane-ways and the safety aspects of homes located adjacent to same might be a suitable project. SAFE CITY COMMITTEE JANUARY 11, 2000 -3- CITY OF KITCHENER 4. PARTNERS AGAINST CRIME FUNDING - {CONT'D) A discussion followed concerning Neighbourhood Watch programs already in place in many neighbourhoods, the Home Safe program offered in parts of Britain and a program on the subject of target hardening, offered by Waterloo Regional Police to homeowners that have experienced break-ins. It was noted that, in most instances, interest in participating in these type of preventative programs increases after a problem has occurred. The problem of inadequate lighting of residential addresses was raised. A question was put forward on whether or not curbside addressing could be considered and work together with better lighting standards to identify addresses. It was suggested that curbside addressing could be made the responsibility of the developer and be entered as part of a development agreement. J. Dean will speak with C. Ladd on this matter. Councillor M. Yantzi raised the issue of a funding request presented to Finance and Administration Committee and approved at its January 10, 2000 meeting. The request was for target intervention to work with neighbourhoods to address concerns as discussed earlier. A concern was expressed that monies have gone to a consultant to provide a study as opposed to going directly to the community to be used in programming. T. Beaulne noted a concern that the Safe City Committee was not aware that this proposal was before Finance and Administration Committee. She requested that the appropriate Council Committee refer such reports to Safe City for consideration. As a follow-up to discussion at last's month's meeting, Councillor M. Yantzi advised that he had made inquiries regarding the distribution of the Community Safety & Crime Prevention Council's (CSCPC) Community Neighbourhood Action Kit. He advised that the CSCPC have requested additional funds from the Province and distribution of the Kit will be handled through the Centre for Education and Research. T. Beaulne suggested that it would be helpful for the Safe City Coordinator to be aware of the Kit's distribution and Councillor Yantzi recommended that the Region be contacted. 5. LIGHTING WORKING GROUP T. Beaulne questioned whether recommendations from the Lighting Working Group could be incorporated into a submission for Partners Against Crime funding. J. Dean felt that the 'Porch Lights On' campaign should be kept separate from any other proposals. N. Brawley provided the Committee with an update on a recent 'Porch Lights On' sub- committee meeting and actions that have resulted to date. Suggestions include organizing a children's' art contest to design a light-bulb figure to be used in campaign brochures. N. Brawley advised that she had spoken with several media contacts and found unanimous enthusiasm to become involved in promoting the 'Porch Lights On' campaign. J. Dean commented that she will be meeting with the City's Communications Director to discuss promotional ideas. She further noted that a Department of Business & Planning Services co-op student is developing a questionnaire to be used and that she planned to contact the University of Waterloo to determine if students would be interested in using the 'Porch Lights On' campaign as a project. Information was also forwarded that the Committee should not expect to have much assistance from the local School Boards as they are heavily committed with other priorities. J. Dean introduced a 'Risk Watch' program offered through the Cambridge Fire Department and briefly reviewed some of the aspects it offers. B. Doherty commented that the Childrens' Safety Village might have room in its programming to include an educational campaign on lighting. D. Schnarr offered to investigate this further with the Coordinator of the Safety Village. Other suggestions were made of expanding the campaign; however, N. Brawley stressed that the campaign must first be designed and the brochures prepared before avenues of distribution can be explored. JANUARY 11, 2000 SAFE CITY COMMITTEE -4- CITY OF KITCHENER = = COMPASS KITCHENER D. Schnarr advised the Committee that a facilitator had been assigned to lead members through a visioning process for their input into the Compass Kitchener process. Members of the Committee discussed the value of holding a separate meeting in order to allow for ample time to complete the process in its entirety. A deadline of mid-March had been established to received public input. Councillor M. Yantzi left the meeting. It was agreed that the February Safe City Committee meeting would be extended to include the Compass Kitchener visioning exercise. The Compass Kitchener facilitator will attend the February 1, 2000 Safe City Committee meeting from 4-6 p.m. to lead the visioning workshop. Dinner will be provided for the members following the conclusion of this exercise and prior to the start of the formal monthly agenda from 6-8 p.m. A copy of the Community Vision Workbook will be distributed to each member. ADJOURNMENT On motion, the meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m. L. Korabo Executive Assistant/ Committee Administrator