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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSafe City - 2000-09-05SAF ECITY~2000-09-05 SAFE CITY COMMITTEE MINUTES SEPTEMBER 5, 2000 CITY OF KITCHENER The Safe City Committee met this date commencing at 4:12 p.m., Chaired by Councillor Karen Taylor-Harrison with the following members present:: S. Bassanese, M. Smith, D. Schnarr, A. Kutler, N. Brawley and T. Beaulne. Others present: Ms. J. Dean, Ms. S. Adams, Ms. L. Korabo and Mr. B. Stanley 1. INTRODUCTION - NEW MEMBER Ms. Michelle Smith, recently appointed by City Council, was in attendance. All those present introduced themselves. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A correction to Item 11 of the July 4, 2000 minutes was requested. It was noted that the commencement date of the mural project located in the City Hall Parking Garage was July 21, 2000, not August 21, 2000, as noted. On motion by Mr. D. Schnarr- it was resolved: "That the minutes of July 4, 2000, as amended, be approved." 3. SAFE CITY CO-ORDINATOR'S REPORT- September 2000 Ms. J. Dean circulated the September 2000 Safe City Co-ordinator's report to members for their information. The Committee then reviewed the report, which included updates on the following topics: Outreach/Liaison 1. Windsor Community Exchange 2. South Sudan Canadian Association of Wellington and Waterloo Regions 3. Festival of Neighbourhoods Funding 1. Graffiti Busters Program 2. Muralist Mentoring Program 3. Youth Violence Prevention Proposal · City-Wide Youth Issues Committee 1. Little Black Book · Safety Audit Working Group 1. Civic Centre Neighbourhood Association · Lighting Working Group- 1. Lighten Up Campaign Ms. J. Dean provided comment on several of the listed topics including a revised date for the painting of the mural at the Theatre & Company site and confirmation of display of a truck trailer, to be painted by graffiti artists, during the upcoming Festival of Neighbourhoods event. 4. WINDSOR COMMUNITY EXCHANGE PROGRAM Ms. J. Dean advised the Committee that Mr. F. Bishop would not be attending the Exchange Program due to an urgent family matter; therefore, only Mr. D. Schnarr and Councillor K. Taylor-Harrison would be representing the Safe City Committee at this forum. Each will be making a presentation during the Exchange. SEPTEMBER 5, 2000 SAFE CITY COMMITTEE MINUTES - 26 - CITY OF KITCHENER PROPOSED SAFETY AUDIT - CIVIC CENTRE NEIGHBOURHOOD The Committee was advised that the President of the Civic Centre Neighbourhood Association had requested the assistance of the Committee to undertake a safety audit during the week of September 25, 2000. It was noted that the neighbourhood has concerns regarding lighting due to the large number of trees lining streets. Ms. Dean advised that she had proposed a date deferral of 1-2 weeks to the neighbourhood association in order that a preparatory meeting of volunteers could be held, more planning of routes undertaken and the formulation of teams could be completed; and was waiting for a response. Ms. T. Beaulne noted that once a definite timeframe is established, two confirmed dates will be required. One evening meeting would be required to orientate the volunteers and the second date would be the actual safety audit of the neighbourhood. Mr. B. Stanley commented that the Business and Planning Services Department will be undertaking a 5-year review of the Inner City Secondary Plans in 2001 and observed that concerns could be seen as related issues and reviewed by staff. A general discussion followed concerning different areas of the city and related lighting concerns. FESTIVAL OF NEIGHBOURHOODS Final preparations for the Festival of Neighbourhoods are now in progress. Setup of the Committee's display will be needed between 12:00 Noon and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 1, 2000. The event runs between 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Committee volunteers are asked to meet in the Civic Square. Ms. J. Dean listed those items which are planned to be displayed at the Committee's booth: Little Black Book; information on Youth Issues Awards & Grants Program; information on the Graffiti Busters Program and possibly the sale of Graffiti Busters t-shirts. She also advised of discussions held with a local cartoonist who had suggested that an interactive children's colouring display could also be included. Pictures to be coloured would be safety related. Discussions also included a suggestion that an activity book on safety tips be developed for display. Ms. N. Brawley advised that the Kitchener Downtown Business Association might have a supply of crayons that could be used. A further suggestion was tabled that would have the Committee's Powerpoint presentation running for public viewing. Ms. Dean will look into the logistics of this but noted that if a laptop was to be used, the display would have to be staffed at all times. Ms. Beaulne advised that the 1999 winners of the $10,000. community grant (Doon-Pioneer Park Neighbourhood Association) will be using the grant towards the purchase of a mobile skate facility. She further stated that the Neighbourhood Association will also be fundraising. PRIORITIES REVIEW Ms. N. Brawley circulated a draft chart that she is developing which will list the Committee's priorities in relation to the strategies developed under the Compass Kitchener initiative. It was noted that the majority of the Committee's goals related to Strategic Direction #4 of Compass Kitchener, although some may also fit under strategic directions involving raising of awareness of safety issues in the Downtown core area. Ms. Brawley and Ms. Dean will meet to finalize the set up of the document before presenting it to the full Committee for input. Ms. Marie Morrison will be invited to attend the Committee's October meeting to provide an overview of the Compass Kitchener Strategic Directions and also give details on next steps. It was recommended that members of the City-Wide Youth Issues Sub-Committee be invited to attend this portion of the October Safe City Committee meeting. UPDATE - LIGHTING DEMONSTRATION PROJECT An update was requested concerning the July 4, 2000 presentation by Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest which requested the Committee's support and funding for a Lighting Demonstration Project relating to re-development of the parkette located at the corner of Benton and Charles Streets, the facade improvements at Hans Haus and the lighting of an SEPTEMBER 5, 2000 SAFE CITY COMMITTEE MINUTES - 27 - CITY OF KITCHENER 10. UPDATE - LIGHTING DEMONSTRATION PROJECT - (CONT'D) adjacent public laneway. It was noted that the Committee had previously approved an expenditure to pay fees for a lighting consultant to prepare the drawings requested. Ms. J. Dean advised that she had contacted the lighting consultant but, because of the tight timelines given, he could not commit to preparation of the required drawings. However, he was able to provide direction to engineers involved in the re-development of the parkette as to the preferred location of conduits for use in conjunction with a future lighting plan. In early 2001, he will have an opportunity to prepare a lighting design for the parkette and laneway which will be tendered in the Spring. There will be no lighting of the parkette before that time. On another matter of lighting, Councillor Taylor-Harrison noted that she had received comments from a member of Council that had emanated from a neighbourhood meeting. It was the opinion of residents in others areas of the City that the Downtown core area was receiving more that an equal share of lighting upgrades. Mr. B. Stanley advised the Committee of the recommendations that had been adopted by Council in 1998 under the Downtown Lighting Study and noted that he would provide a copy of these recommendations for attachment to the October 3, 2000 agenda. SAFE COMMUNITIES ACTION PROJECT (SCAPE) Ms. J. Dean provided information on a new initiative that is being proposed by the K-W Sexual Assault Support Centre (SAS) in the area of youth violence prevention. Ms. Dean met with Ms. Sadia Gassim to discuss how the Safe City Committee might become a partner in this program. She felt that this may provide another opportunity for Safe City to 'piggyback' on a program that is being delivered by another organization, similar to the WOW undertaking that is connected with Kitchener Housing Inc. This prevention program is aimed at youth and families living in non-profit housing complexes and is a 2-year, 2-stage process providing both long and short-term strategies. SAS is facing a submission deadline of October, 2000, and is therefore requesting community partners to help develop the program for submission to the National Crime Prevention Centre (NCPC). The Committee discussed ways that it could become involved but it was agreed that insufficient information had been provided by SAS to make a final decision on whether or not a partnership was feasible, thus making further discussions premature. The Committee agreed that, if an extension to the submission date could be arranged with SAS, it would review further details at its next meeting and discuss a possible partnership with regard to the youth violence prevention program. Ms. T. Beaulne will speak with Ms. Gassim and obtain more detailed information for circulation to Committee members prior to the October 3, 2000 meeting. It was also suggested that Ms. Gassim be invited to attend the meeting to respond to any questions or concerns members might have. Mr. D. Schnarr questioned whether the Safe City Committee should develop guidelines for groups who with to solicit the assistance of the Committee for various projects. However, it was suggested that this could be done after the Committee has finalized its priorities. ADJOURNMENT On motion, the meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m. L. Korabo Executive Assistant/ Committee Administrator