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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowntown Advisory - 2000-06-08DOWNTOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE Thursday, June 8, 2000 The Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee met this date under the Chairmanship of Councillor Mark Yantzi, with the following members present: Councillor, Karen Taylor- Harrison, David Corks, Trudy Beaulne, Tom Brennand, Molly Green, Doug Hoch, Donna Kuehl, Anita Petsche-Good, Denise Shelbourne, Debbie Schlichter, Denise Strong, Ruth Tomlinson, Peggy Walshe Regrets:Nancy Brawley, Regis Coladipietro, Chris Cowie, Mary Drandzyk, Howard Marr, Mike Peng, Howard Rotberg, Brenton Toderian, Barry Zehr 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA An amendment was made to the agenda to delete Brenton Toderian, as he is not available to make his presentation in regards to the Uptown Waterloo Up-date. Moved by:Karen Taylor-Harrison Seconded by:Anita Petsche-Good CARRIED 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was moved that the minutes from the May 11, 2000 meeting be accepted. Moved by:Karen Taylor-Harrison Seconded by:Ruth Tomlinson CARRIED 3. UPTOWN WATERLOO UP-DATE – BRENTON TODERIAN As Brenton Toderian is unable to attend today’s meeting, his report is deferred to a later date. 4. ST. MARY’S UP-DATE RE: CHOICE MOTION – MARK YANTZI Mark Yantzi reported that there are no longer any plans for legal action being taken against the closing of St. Mary’s High School. The motion was read and it was made clear that the motion was changed to include all downtown core schools, rather than just St. Mary’s. 1 ST. MARY’S UP-DATE RE: CHOICE MOTION – MARK YANTZI cont’d Discussions to place as to whether or not a study is underway of the impact the closing of schools in city cores will have, i.e. much like the study being done for the downtown Waterloo area. ACTION: David will contact the school boards and investigate if a study is being done. Discussions took place regarding the need to look at the community impact, not just the financial aspect of closing schools. Possibly the way to go is to have an official study done in regards to closing schools and the impact that it has on the community, i.e. social, economical, etc. ACTION: David will find out what other cities have done. 5. NEW POLITICAL WARD BOUNDARIES – MARK YANTZI A map of the old boundaries and new boundaries were handed out to the committee, see attached. Mark Yantzi reported that the Province advised the City go from 10 to 6 councillors, with 4 moving to Regional council. The City then took the initiative to redo the ward boundaries and submitted this to the province. Discussions to place as to how this new boundary map came to be. Mark advised it was based on equalizing areas of existing and projected population. It was felt that this new ward boundary map would be in place for at least 3 years or more. 6. UP-DATE BY DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT TEAM (City and KDBA) David reported that the new building at 72 Victoria St. in the warehouse district is 85% leased. With the success of the conversion of this building, there are possibly other buildings that will want to make the change. The Kaufman building is down to 2 offers to purchase, with the proposal being conversion to residential rental units. There soon will be a press release about the Forsyth building and the City’s partnership. 2 UP-DATE BY DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT TEAM (City and KDBA) cont’d Manulife’s purchase of the King Centre is final, they are bringing another 300 employees down to this location in the late summer and eventually will have over 2,000 employees at this location. Additions to the Sears portion of the building are planned with $17 million already assigned for reconstruction. Most of the evicted tenants are being replaced to other locations in the downtown. The front portion of the King Centre will remain as retail. We are helping to find space for Theatre & Co. Ziggy’s Cycle has bought the West Mall at King & Francis Streets. He has good plans for this sight, bring races, etc. to the downtown. The fire sight at the East end of King St. is finally being leveled, there was an insurance problem, that’s why the delay. It will be developed into a grassy area until the owner is ready to rebuild. Molly Green reported that the Motorcycle Show & Shine was a very successful event, more than 5,000 people attended. $743 was raised for the Children’s Wish Foundation. Molly also commented that a lot of businesses in that end of the downtown were quite busy because of the event. th Two up-coming events in the downtown: Sunday, June 11 is the Teddy Bear picnic and parade, all are welcome to attend, see the attached flyer. The event is being held to try and develop a community event to link businesses and neighbourhoods. Lots of fun for everyone! The second event if the annual stth summer sidewalk sale June 21 –24, lots of prizes to be won. This will coincide with the Waterloo County Fest Wagon Train, which will also visit downtown Kitchener and the Multi-Cultural Festival happening in Victoria Park. th Cruise night is coming up July 14 and will be extending into the East End, with the main stage at King and Frederick Streets. The Millennium Mural Project is coming along well. The KDBA are preparing the call for entry and are still reviewing three walls for options of space. The first being 1 Queen St. N. (Highball Restaurant & Lounge), the second being the T.D. Bank at King and Frederick Streets, and the third location is the Market Square wall on Scott Street. The theme for the mural is “Cherish the Past and Celebrate the Future”. The Highball Restaurant is open on Queen Street. The Morning Glory Bakery is opening soon – see attached flyer, looks great! Space is available for hosting evening meetings. This is part of OASIS and combines transitional residences upstairs and the bakery downstairs. 3 UP-DATE BY DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT TEAM (City and KDBA) cont’d Caffe Bollero is open on Water St. next to the Inner City. Anita Petsche-Good commented on the unattractive consumers who hang out at the Sports Café, it’s not appealing for shoppers in the downtown to be confronted by them. Can anything be done about this? David Corks reported that the Alcohol and Gaming Commission has been taken over by OPP officers who would be able to enforce more of the by-laws. We will continue to encourage the officers to make regular visits and monitor the situation. Downtown Auto won the AIA Car Care of Canada Award. This is a significant award, out of 30,000 entries across Canada, Downtown Auto was voted the overall best shop. The KDBA will feature this company in the next Original City th View available in the K-W Record on July 6. Ka Seng Grocery Store is moving at the end of June to the Krug St. plaza. Ka Seng still has a one-year lease left on the property and it could very well be left empty. Englert’s is consolidating with their Waterloo location and relocating to Waterloo at the end of June. The corner convenience store is moving into their spot. Schmid Jewelers is moving into the old cigar shop. Discussions took place regarding the article in The Record of Metropolis’ suspension of their liquor license. Karen Taylor-Harrison asked whether or not we could inform the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Metropolis’ closing and the suspension of their license – see the attached newspaper article. It was moved that a letter be sent from the Downtown Advisory Committee to the Alcohol & Gaming Commission informing them of Metropolis’ fire and currently they are closed for business and that Mr. Darryl Moore failed to inform them of this at the hearing. Moved by:Karen Taylor-Harrison Seconded by:Tom Brennand CARRIED ACTION: The Downtown Development staff will write this letter. 7. NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION UP-DATES th Civic Centre There will be a pot-luck picnic on June 11, all are welcome. In regards to the old gaol, hoarding will be 4 NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION UP-DATES cont’d put up and it is the neighbourhood’s wish to get painters to come in and decorate it. Cedar HillsBrian Wolfe from Property Standards came by and discussed a list of houses in the neighbourhood that need some changes to them. Hopefully Cedar-Hill will be “spruced up”. Mount HopeDoug Hoch encouraged all of us to call Brian Wolfe regarding property standard concerns in our th neighbourhoods. August 17 there will be a summer carnival. There are also a lot of small-scale block th parties happening. Movie night is June 26. The neighbourhood is participating in the graffiti program. Victoria ParkOnce again, movie nights will be held on Wednesday evenings in August. 8. HOMELESSNESS UP-DATE Debbie Schlichter and Trudy Beaulne reported that a lot of things are happening in regards to the homeless. Claudette Broadshaw, federal minister responsible for homelessness, announced that $305 million in federal money will be given out to help combat homelessness. Mayor Carl Zehr would like Kitchener to be included in their share of the money. Kitchener’s vacancy rate is low at 1.1% so we need money to support the homeless for emergency and permanent shelters. Debbie is suggesting that the Region should take the lead and then the supporting municipalities join with letters of support. Karen Taylor-Harrison wanted it stated that emergency shelters aren’t O.K, but that housing is the real issue – feels that this is a band-aid situation, and that we don’t want or need any more in the downtown area. Debbie indicated that it is a Regional issue. The following resolution was made: Whereas homelessness is a Regional issue and shelters are only one component of the response to homelessness, the Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee requests Kitchener City Council to urge the Council of the Region of Waterloo to respond to the Federal Homelessness Initiative 5 HOMELESSNESS UP-DATE cont’d and request inclusion in the distribution of the $305-million of Federal money designated for the homelessness, to combat this issue locally. Moved by:Trudy Beaulne Seconded by:Debbie Schlichter CARRIED 9. NEW BUSINESS Mark Yantzi asked the Committee how we would want to handle summer meetings? It was decided to still have the July meeting, and cancel the meeting for August. Peggy Walshe informed the Committee that the As-You-Like Café located in the library has won an “Eat Smart” award, which is part of a provincial program and recognized by the Ontario Heart & Stroke Foundation. All Committee members agreed this was a good new item for the downtown. A motion was made to adjourn the meeting. Moved by:Anita Petsche-Good Seconded by:Donna Kuehl CARRIED LIST OF ATTACHEMENTS 1. City of Kitchener Ward Boundary Maps (old and new) 2. Teddy Bears’ Picnic and Parade flyer 3. Morning Glory Café & Bakery flyer 4. Metropolis Nightclub newspaper article 5. Homelessness newspaper article 6. Downtown Idea Exchange 6