HARBORD VILLAGE RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
October 17 , 2006
Kensington Gardens
7 p.m.

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Chair Gus Sinclair, who welcomed all to the meeting. Approximately 60 area residents were in attendance.

Copies of the minutes of the 2005 AGM were made available.

Area Caucuses: The meeting broke into the Area Caucuses for discussion of local issues, with the following reported back to the entire group.

North East Stuart Schoenfeld

1. Robert Street field – University of Toronto wants to make changes to the use of the field, requiring significant reconstruction of the current layout. Residents object to the removal of the tennis courts and the rink, the planned artificial turf and its potential environmental impact, and the use of field lighting late at night. Residents are hoping to influence what U of T does, as this field and courts/rink are seen as very much a neighbourhood facility.

The question was raised of possibly turning the entire area into a park, as this neighbourhood is very “park poor”.

2. Robert Street traffic violations, including cars and trucks going the wrong way down the one-way street, and the impact on traffic and parking due to the new apartment building on Spadina.

3. How much intensification are we willing to support in our neighbourhood? Land is valuable, and monster homes are being built, e.g., at Brunswick and Sussex, and there is the possibility of infill in laneways. We need to keep an eye on changing use of neighbourhood facilities and spaces.

South East Tim Grant Outgoing rep, Maria Perin

1. There is an unruly campus coop in the area.

2. The pedestrian clearway issue on College Street has not been resolved.

3. The residents want to avoid chain stores moving into Harbord Street.

4. Garbage in the front of houses is still an issue.

5. The Heritage Conservation District work is ongoing on Robert Street.

South West Michael Heydon New rep, Jane Perdue

1. The disintegration of College Street since the reconstruction, e.g., dead trees.

2. There is a lot of bar noise in the neighbourhood.

3. Garbage on Croft Street is being left out, and is not being picked up.

4. More trees are needed on Harbord Street.

5. There is a wish to expand the Heritage Conservation District further west.

North West David Booz

1. Traffic going the wrong way on one-way streets. It was noted that there is no ”one-way” sign on Brunswick at the lane just south of Bloor, so someone coming along the lane has no sign telling them not to turn south.
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2. Litter, particularly at the Transac Club. The trash bins at the Transac club are not used correctly, and there is concern about rats etc. A resident has seen employees of the Green Room putting trash in the Transac trash bins.

3. Fence on the south side of the Green P lot between Borden and Lippincott – needs regular repair and paint that it does not get.

4. North West types are pretty happy with their neighbourhood!

South Central Richard Longley

1. An update on the trash and noise problem caused by student tenants on Borden Street, reported last year - with HVRA assistance, the landlady and the students were contacted and the situation resolved amicably, a good example of approaching problems such as these gently.

2. Demolition by neglect, at 61 Brunswick Avenue is a great concern, although several work orders have been issued against the house by the City’s building inspectors. If this is allowed to continue, the lower Brunswick Avenue section of Harbord Village Heritage Conservation District may lose what should be one of its finest houses and one that is unique to its neighbourhood. The suggestion was made that property taxes of such “scofflaw” owners should be raised.

3. Garbage is being dumped at the back of 90 Borden Street, i.e., on Croft Street (a concern echoed by Michael Heydon of Croft Street). Also, garbage is not being picked up because it offends the garbage and recycling “rules”; for example, mixed garbage and recycling materials, paint cans, heavy items, etc.

South Central member were advised that the most effective way of dealing with houses that allow garbage to accumulate on their porches may be to request a letter from the Fire Department to the offending owner. The TFD has more authority than any other agency in cases of garbage accumulation on private property, where it may pose a fire hazard.

4. Those who seek information on “green roofs” should visit ‘Green Roofs for Healthy Cities’ at greenroof.org. Consultation with qualified roofing contractors is advised before green roofs are created, since the consequences of ‘doing it wrong’ could be disastrous!

5. Residents are looking forward to the further improvement of the parkette at the corner of Brunswick and College. The suggestion was made to name the parkette ‘Catherine Cragg Park’, after a woman who did so much to secure its creation and one who contributed so nobly to HVRA, as well as its predecessor, SURA.

HVRA Committee Reports

College Street Richard Gilbert

Good progress was made this year in that, while some trees have died, 90 more were planted. We tried to get a new arrangement for patios, and are still working on this. We thought we would be able to wind down by now, but will have to keep on. There has been a decline in business on the street, and we may help address this.

Solar Project Tim Grant

Three meetings were held to launch the solar project, one at Tim s home, a second at St. Stephens in the Fields Church, to which 143 people came and a third at the Harbourfront Community Centre for those in multi-unit buildings. Two working groups have been set up, and are putting together all the pertinent information for the up to 200 households in Trinity-Spadina that may to purchase solar hot water heating and/or solar electric systems. We want to be able as individuals to feed solar electricity into the grid, and a form letter, addressed to the Provincial government, was handed out for people to sign to request that small contributors be allowed. More public meetings will be held in the Winter. A Request for Proposals will go out to contractors sometime this winter, and participating homeowners should have their solar panels sometime in the Spring.

Treeing the City Tim Grant

The Annex had a very successful project, subsequent to their tree inventory, to re-tree the Annex with native trees. The U of T Forestry Department has program called “Neighbourwoods” that would train 50 residents to identify basic trees and assess their age and condition. We would need $5 – 7,000 for this project, and are trying for grants.

Fall Fair Gus Sinclair

Everyone had a good time, neighbours enjoyed themselves and we made a bit of money. Financial Statement attached.

Graffiti Michael Heydon

The graffiti committee was formed 2 years ago with the intent of transforming graffiti vandalism. We started on Croft Street, and over the last 2 summers have work on 120 properties on Lippincott, Croft, and Borden. The work crews comprised students from Central Tech, St. Mary’s School, and local artists, who painted murals on Croft Street.

Heritage Conservation District Julian Kitchen

Phase I of the HCD, on Willcocks, lower Brunswick and some houses from lower Spadina, is complete. The designation protected the neighbourhood from certain renovations and a couple of fences that would have been problematic. Phase II, on Robert Street, Russell, and Sussex form Spadina to Robert, has started and is now in the inventory phase. Once the inventory is done, there will be a public meeting to decided if everyone wants to be an HCD. If other areas are interested in the designation, they should approach the HCD group. Richard Longley has put together a directory of suppliers for heritage renovations who are able to provide materials and work that is consistent with the Victorian character of the neighbourhood.

HVRA was nominated for an across the city Heritage Conservation award.

University of Toronto Sue Dexter

The University withdrew its objection to the rental provision of the Phase II Plan that would have evicted people in Huron-Sussex. Three neighbourhood associations objected to the plans of the University.

Communications Gus Sinclair

The HVRA Newsletter is put together by Jane Auster and Richard Gilbert, and the latest one asks questions of the candidates for the upcoming municipal election.

We are still working on the web site, and might have to spend some money to finish the work started by volunteers. The planned web site would be interactive, so members could update their files, pay membership dues, and check a calendar of events. The association would be able to do email blasts from the site.

Treasurer’s Report Gord Brown

Our bottom line is very healthy, we have $16,068 is equity. Some general comments; our Admin and Communication expenses were up this year due to the newsletters and flyers; donations were not as significant as 2005 because in that year we received monies for the College and Croft Street projects. Note; where funds are raised for a specific purchase, those funds are segregated and protected form year to year. Gord suggested we take some of that money and put it into a reserve ‘rainy day’ fund; establish bursaries to invest in building the neighbourhood.

A motion was made by Richard Gilbert, seconded by Jane Auster, that the membership authorize the Board to spend up to $3,00 for the development of a web site. After some discussion about the timing of the motion, it was withdrawn.

HVRA Neighbourhood Builder Awards

The first award went to the owners of 113&115 Robert Street, who wanted to build their dream home on two lots. After reviewing the options, they agreed to keep the facades of both houses, thereby preserving the streetscape in accordance with the Victorian neighbourhood.

The second award went to 264 Major Street owners for a beautiful renovation.

Constitution & Nominations Committee

Celia Denov, the Convener of the Committee, took the Chair and presented the slate of Officers of HVRA for 2006-2007, seconded by Robert Bell. There being no nominations from the floor, the slate was approved as follows:

Chair: Rory ‘Gus’ Sinclair
Secretary: Sandra DeAthe
Treasurer: Gord Brown

The Constitutional Committee moved the following amendment to the bylaws:

-Article 6 (a) shall be amended as follows: “There shall be four (4) officers of the Association: a Chair, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Membership Secretary. The officers shall be elected by the membership at the Annual Meeting for one-year terms and shall serve as members of the Board.”
-Article 6 (c) shall be amended as follows: On line 5, the words “membership lists and other” shall be deleted. On line 6, after “Association,” the words “other than the membership lists,” shall be inserted.
-Article 6 (e) shall be added as follows: “(e) The Membership Secretary shall maintain the membership list and associated data; develop strategies for membership development, retention and communication; and issue annual renewal letters, as well as coordinate Area Rep follow-up.”
Seconded by Richard Longley. Motion carried.

Gus resumed the Chair of the meeting and called for nominations for the new position on the Executive of Membership Secretary. Julie Simonetti nominated Katrina McHugh, seconded by Tim Grant. There being no other nominations, Katrina became the Membership Secretary.

The slate of officers for the 2006-2007 Constitution & Nominations Committee was presented, seconded by Cyril Greenland. There were no other nominations from the floor; the committee is:
David Wurfel
Kathy Wurfel
Susan Pfeiffer
Celia Denov
Marg Smith

Gus moved that a specialist position to be the liaison with University of Toronto, seconded by Pierre Beekmans and carried. Richard Longley nominated Sue Dexter as that liaison, seconded by Robert Bell and carried.

Extraordinary Expenses for 2007

Margaret Smith moved, seconded by Richard Longley, that the Board be authorized to spend up to $2,000 per year for newsletter production. Carried.

Cyril Greenland moved, seconded by Stuart Schoenfeld, that the Board be authorized to spend up to $2,000 for the Fall Fair set up. Carried.

The web site motion was reviewed and withdrawn earlier in the meeting.

Special Presentations

Speakers from Greensaver (Stephanie Bolton), Toronto Hydro (Joe Novosel), and Enbridge (Patricia Squire) spoke to the meeting about energy conservation in your home.

Stephanie Bolton addressed the benefits of energy conservation from the perspective of making energy saving adjustments to your house; she emphasized a saving of up to 30% on your energy bills, and better resale value. Visit www.greensaver.org.

Joe Novosel spoke about ways to lower energy consumption, and the various incentives that are offered, such as light bulb exchanges, energy challenges in the summer, and a governor on air conditioners. He recommended energy saver appliances, turning off computer monitors, which represent 60% of energy consumption, when not in use, and sealing your house.

Pat Squires spoke about the benefits of using natural gas, and the mandate of Enbridge to develop and implement energy conservation practices. Enbridge also offers various incentives, and there are also federal and manufacturers’ programs.

There were several questions for the speakers, and after thanks all round, the meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.