Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSafe & Healthy - 2009-06-02SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 2, 2009 CITY OF KITCHENER The Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee met this date, commencing at 4:00 p. m. Present: Ms. L. Booth, Ms. S. Franzen, Ms. D. Ahluwalia, Ms. T. Beaulne, and Messrs. B. Pegg, P. Doherty, D. Pellerin and Superintendent B. Larkin. Staff: L. Palubeski, Manager of Program and Resource Services M. Hildebrand, Director of Community Programs & Services D. Campbell, Manager of Community Resource Centres L. Korabo, Committee Administrator The Committee Administrator brought the meeting to order and advised that the Chair and Vice-Chair were unable to attend today's meeting, therefore, it would be necessary to appoint an Acting Chair. Ms. Franzen was appointed as Acting Chair and began the business portion of the meeting. 1. DRAFT DIVERSITY STRATEGY As presentation of this matter to Council has been delayed, today's input gathering session has been deferred to the September meeting. 2. BUDGET As requested at the last meeting, staff has spoken with the Chair and Vice-Chair and a meeting has been scheduled where a process will be discussed /developed to deal with requests made from the 2010 budget. A presentation will be made to the full Committee when meetings reconvene in the Fall. 3. DOWNTOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE -UPDATE Mr. D. Pellerin commented on growth in the Downtown: increased construction; public attendance at events; and, long term plans concerning the installation of cycling lanes. A suggestion that an information presentation on the Market be scheduled for the Fall was taken under advisement. 4. DRAFT TERMS OF REFERENCE Ms. D. Campbell, Manager of Community Resource Centres, presented the draft Terms of Reference developed by staff based on input /feedback received from members over the past two months. As a reminder, Ms. Campbell gave a recap of the process followed and stated that it was hoped that the Terms of Reference could be finalized today to allow for submission to Council for approval. The Committee began its review of the proposed Terms of Reference and agreed to work towards consensus in the areas that have been recommended for change. Ms. Campbell noted that all proposed changes are noted in bold and it was these changes that the Committee would be requested to discuss and agree to, if possible. The current Terms refer to two members of Council being on the Committee; however, as only one member is generally appointed, a change to note only one member of Council was agreed to. Staff have drafted new wording for the 'Purpose and Scope' for the Committee based on feedback and direction and felt that the recommended wording captured the essence of the Committee's wishes. The new 'Purpose and Scope' was agreed to with only minor wording changes. Under 'Committee Composition and Reporting' it was noted that this was where the greatest changes would be seen as it is proposed that the Terms be changed to request that in addition to members at-large and representatives from the Inner City and Suburban neighbourhoods, appointment from sectors of the community rather than from specific agencies be included. A lengthy discussion occurred concerning the proposed sectors to be represented on the Committee. The sectors as presented for discussion were selected after in-depth reviews of memberships of other community and safety councils. It was noted that the recommendation SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 2, 2009 - 21 - CITY OF KITCHENER 4. DRAFT TERMS OF REFERENCE (CONT'D) to change to sector representation would enable a drawing of applicants from a broader cross- section of the community and allow for more flexibility during the committee recruitment process. A concern was noted that the sectors must act as stakeholders on the Committee and these representatives should be able to be strategic, proactive, having the ability /authority to make things happen. It was further noted that sector designations should not preclude specific stakeholders from being identified as a valuable members of the Committee. The Committee was in agreement with this statement and agreed that the Waterloo Regional Police Services should be designated as having an appointee on the Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee in addition to a sector representative from law enforcement. It was suggested that a business sector representative be added and to also separate 'community and land planning' into two separate sectors being 'social planning' and 'land use planning'. The Acting Chair cautioned members to be mindful of the size of the Committee when considering additional members as larger Committees can be ineffective when trying to conduct business. Clarification was requested concerning the difference between 'social planning' and 'land use planning' and following this clarification it was agreed to separate the two and add them as separate sector representatives. Prior to finalization of the sectors being proposed, members were asked to consider if any other organizations were imperative in order for the Committee to function successfully and if they should be specifically listed as having representation. No other organizations were agreed to by the Committee. The final list of sectors to be included are • law enforcement; • sports /recreation; • education; • social planning; • land use planning; and, • business. In addition it was confirmed that a representative from the Downtown Advisory Committee continue to be a member. In order to be mindful of the Committee's overall size, it was recommended that the numbers of 'at-large' members be reduced and it was agreed that 2-3 community members 'at-large' would be an appropriate number. The Committee then reviewed and approved the remainder of the changes which were administrative in nature and stemmed from the recommendations of the Advisory Committee Review. A suggestion was made to change the name of the Committee by deleting the reference to 'healthy'. It was noted that a healthy community is the result of a safe community and the work that is done to achieve this status. As it had been suggested by the Advisory Committee Review that the focus of this Committee was too large, perhaps part of the reason for this is that the name perpetuated the view of having too broad a scope. Some members felt that the proposed new 'Purpose and Scope' provided a more narrow focus to be followed and that in itself would define the work of the Committee. The name is not tied to the work and therefore, it was felt that a change was not needed at this time. It was noted however, that Council may wish to change the name of the Committee once it views the proposed Terms of Reference. The Committee agreed with the proposed changes as discussed and amended, and agreed that the proposed Terms of Reference be placed before Council for approval. SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 2, 2009 - 22 - CITY OF KITCHENER 5. WORK PLAN Ms. D. Campbell provided a recap of the process followed to date to develop a work plan. She noted that at the May meeting, the Committee selected its two areas of focus for the remainder of the current term, being: • access, equity and inclusion; and, • community and civic engagement. Members had been asked to attend today's meeting with ideas for action items under these two focus areas that would be of interest to them and to also consider using partnerships and collaboration to achieve them successfully. Unfortunately there was insufficient time to undertake this discussion, therefore, it was recommended this item be deferred to the Committee's meeting in September. Members were reminded that their suggested action items should fit into the new scope of the Committee and be achievable within 15 months. Consideration of available staff resources should also be factored into any proposed action item. Members then briefly discussed the program delivery items that have been undertaken in the past and whether or not these should be continued given the Committee's focus is changing to be that of a higher level and more strategic one. Members brainstormed the following list of programs and identified how these will be dealt with going forward. • Little Black Book -now being looked after by staff • Festival of Neighbourhoods -sponsorship will continue in 2009 • Downtown Graffiti Removal funding -led by the KBDA • Outreach Worker funding -led by the Working Centre /Collaborative • Poverty Reduction -Province is taking a lead and local agencies (ie. Social Planning Council) are also taking this on. 6. ADJOURNMENT On motion, the meeting adjourned at 6:10 p. m. Linda Korabo Committee Administrator