Harbord Village Residents’ Association
Minutes of HVRA Board Meeting
November 21, 2006
Kensington Gardens

Present: Gus Sinclair, Sandra DeAthe, John Pham, Katrina McHugh, Jane Perdue, Leslie Thompson, Sue Dexter, Michael Heydon, David Booz, Stuart Schoenfeld, Margaret Beare, Richard Gilbert, Richard Longley, Tim Grant.

Guest: Lucia Frndova

Regrets: Jane Auster

1. Chair’s Welcome: The meeting commenced at 7:03 p.m.

2. Introductions: The two new Executive members, John Pham and Katrina McHugh were introduced and welcomed, as were the two new Board members, Jane Perdue and Leslie Thompson.

3. Approval of Minutes: The minutes of September 19, 2006 were approved without changes, moved by Sue Dexter, seconded Richard Longley, and carried.

4. Area Concerns/Planning 2006-2007: The Board will use the Area Concerns from the AGM caucuses as we go forward.

A comment from the NE refers to a new building as a “monster home” – is this how the house is actually viewed, or does it look this way relative to the workman’s cottage beside it? Should cottages be downzoned? We should keep an eye on architectural styles and the size of houses as the neighbourhood continues to intensify. We will discuss in the future whether we should have a committee on this.

5. a. A motion from Tim Grant was presented and discussed: “That HVRA pay a student $12-$13 per hour, and up to $400 in total, to develop a contact list of the 200-400 absentee landlords in the Harbord Village”

While it is hard to get contact information for non-residents, Adam Vaughan’s office can help; the student would have to work with his staff. This is public information, but not organized to make it easy to access; a title search has to be done.
Seconded by Richard Longley, and carried.

b. Richard Gilbert led a discussion about our website, which was done years ago and is now not as functional as it should be. We need a dynamic website where residents can join the Association, pay membership fees, and read about HVRA. Mark Treleaven, an expert in the field, weighed what is available and what we can afford, and evaluated two submitted proposals for us. Both were very good, but one was recommended because the feeling was that the supplier would work well with the Board. The recommendation was made to hire Jason Moore to develop our website.

Mark Treleaven arrived at 7:45. He recommended we spend $1,600 to get the website done, and $600 for one year’s maintenance, to train Board members and respond to questions that may arise. The actual total would be $2,400, which includes an additional $200 for software, licenses, and a new ISP. At the end of the first year, we could negotiate any needed ongoing maintenance at an hourly rate of $50.

We cannot spend this amount unless approved at a general meeting. Gus will cover the costs until the spring meeting.

Sandra moved, seconded by Tim, that we approve in principle the website development. Carried.

David Booz moved, seconded by Margaret Beare, that the Board support in principle the Website Sub-committee’s recommendation that Jason Moore develop our website. Carried, with one objection, from Katrina McHugh.

c. Gus sent a congratulatory email to Adam Vaughan, and invited him to our December board meeting. Action: Richard Longley will write a letter of thanks to Helen Kennedy.

d. Sandra reported that a tree (a Serbian spruce) has been planted in the planter, which is serving as a test pinch point, at the corner of Robert St. and Bloor St. Someone has adopted the tree and has decorated it for Christmas.

The meeting adjourned at 8:12 p.m. Next meeting December 19, 2006, same time, same place.