1 Ward 12 (Uptown Chapter) Community Action Network (CAN) January 31, 2011 - 6:30 p.m.

Community Care Access Centre - Boardroom Meeting Minutes Attendees: Richard Munn, Chair Brian Kelly, Secretary Louis Delongchamp, Treasurer Rene Germain, Community Development Coordinator, City of Greater Sudbury Jason Ferrigan, Senior Planner, City of Greater Sudbury Cst. Ken Birtch, Greater Sudbury Police Services (GSPS) Bernice Hibbs, Judith Prior-Kelly, Jim Robidoux, Uptown CAN residents Agenda Item 1. Welcome by Chair / Call to Order Chair Munn welcomed the group. As well, he welcomed Ms. Rene Germain, our new Community Development Coordinator. 2. Approval of Agenda The agenda was presented to the group for approval. Motion to approve by Judith Prior-Kelly, seconded by Jim Robidoux. Carried. 3. Approval of previous Minutes Motion to approve: Bernice Hibbs; seconded by Brian Kelly. Carried. 4. Guest Speaker: Jason Ferrigan, Senior Planner, City of Greater Sudbury. Jason Ferrigan made a presentation on the Downtown Sudbury Master Plan, an initiative to create a vision for Greater Sudbury Downtown, and a Master Plan and Action Strategy to deliver the Vision. The object here was to address

2 four questions: What is the Downtown? What is the objective of the Master Plan? How will this be achieved? How may the CAN be involved in the process?

The Downtown area is basically defined as the region within Ste Anne Rd., Paris St., and Elgin St., along with some of the bordering property, and it is the site of the original village which existed over 125 years ago. It currently has about 600 residents, and between 6000-9000 people work in the area. Existing facilities were listed ( e.g.: retail / dining / entertainment, etc.), and the area is small enough to be walkable. Briefly, the Plan endeavours to increase the residential population, provide more incentives (shopping, tourism, etc.) to attract more business and other investment, and at the same time, to maintain the heritage of the oldest part of the City. The current activity is to complete and publish, by June 2011, the Sudbury Downtown Plan & Action Strategy . A number of consulting groups are involved, including Urban Strategies Inc. (http://www.urbanstrategies.com ) of Toronto, and a local architecture firm (http://www.ybarch.com/ ). More information may be accessed at: www.growdowntown.ca The CAN involvement suggested by Jason included submitting comments/feedback to the growdowntown website, and attending a public information session on March 8 at St. Andrews Place Jason mentioned a meeting (Ideas workshop) on February 3; Chair Munn will attempt to attend. Jason responded to Chair Munns question about the target scope for the plan by noting that business organizations, as well as the City, would have to be involved in implementation. It was also noted that potential new downtown establishments might include a School of Architecture and the Franklin Carmichael Art Gallery. Cst. Ken Birtch asked about the safety and security component (CPTED) in the process; Jason indicated that it was included, and that this and other inputs would be entertained in the formation of the plan. . 5. Guest speaker: Cst. Ken Birtch, Greater Sudbury Police Services 1. Zone 30 Cst. Birtch spoke about the Zone 30 initiative (referenced in previous meetings), and the formation of the NOAH group (New Opportunities And Hope) which includes a number of neighbourhood individuals, as well as social service

3 agencies. The initiatives include graffiti eradication, a youth centre to engage local youth away from elements of drug use, and indoor and outdoor emergency/survival/safety exercises (see *1 footnote). The GSPS has consulted with agencies in several other centres to compare notes on successes. He welcomed attendees to participate in the activities; their meetings are held every second Wednesday at Better Beginnings Better Futures, 450 Morin St. 2. CPTED ( Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) In response from our CAN to have GSPS perform a CPTED audit in our neighbourhood, Cst. Birtch, in conjunction with Bernice Hibbs and Richard Munn, surveyed the area and took photos of notable conditions, such as litter in front of the Munns home on Mackenzie, and improper parking on Patterson Street. Monitoring was carried out on vehicles which were parked across the sidewalk and for extended periods on the street; a recommendation that another [of the older-style square cement] garbage container be placed near the Munn home. The next concern over the safety aspect of design was the arrangement of the loading area at the new Shoppers Drug Mart on Frood Road (and Elm). It is a secluded area without sufficient surveillance, and it has [fence] features which permit individuals to obtain access to the roof of the building. Efforts by Police to address concerns over the design did not achieve the communication hoped for. Since the original problems were identified, lighting and surveillance has been improved. Judith Prior-Kelly asked if a report recommending environmental design changes had been prepared in response to our request for the audit in our area. Cst. Birtchs response was that there were some hedge issues in the lane between Patterson and Baker Streets, and that the High School had been visited by the Police to raise awareness that the lane [Etc.] would be subject to patrols. As well, the parking violations on Patterson Street resulted in ticketing, and the problems seem to have stopped. Bernice Hibbs reiterated the request by noting that there were possible streetlighting issues, possibly related to tree overgrowth, and asked about recommendations to deal with this. Cst. Birch indicated that if there were additional issues beyond the original ones identified, they could be dealt with. Cst. Tanya Geick would be the likely person to carry out any further CPTED activity. 3. Oxycontin issues Cst. Birtch presented a series of images and statistics regarding the Oxycontin problems in Sudbury. The number of related deaths is doubling every 22 months, and is over four times that of traffic deaths. Many of the users obtain drugs from those with prescriptions; this suggests an issue with over-prescribing, A number of other statistics and situations were described; the conclusion was that this problem is larger than most people realize.

4 6. Old Business 6.1 a) Safety and Security COPs (Citizens On Patrol)

Jim Robidoux reported on the status of our involvement in the COPs program. The program is active; there are seven sections of the program in Sudbury, ours being one of them. However, a lack of participation in our section has limited the number of patrols in our area to about 3/month, well below the average. Jim encouraged interested parties to get involved; the next opportunity to do so will occur in the spring. Jim has passed the testing, and will be patrolling soon. A change in the system allows volunteers to be shared among the different sections; this improves the utilization of resources. [There are sufficient vehicles.] There are about 80 COPs volunteers at this time. Bernice suggested that a perceived reduction of safety issues over time in our area may have lessened the sense of urgency among the neighbours. Jim will submit information about the COPs program to Rene Germain for distribution via CANmail. 6.2 a) Environmental and Beautification Projects Vacant USW Property follow up letters

Chair Munn indicated that he has written to the new Mayor regarding any movement on having the property developed as some form of park. Rene noted that there had been signs that a condo development might take place, and she agreed to look into the matter. b) c) Graffiti eradication / mural projects & Signage and graphic design project

Chair Munn initiated a general discussion on these items. He reported that he had spoken with Bruce Cowan of Sudbury Star regarding a tidy-up at the front of their building, and that they were very supportive of this. Possible activities included cleanup and planting of some decorative flowers/shrubs. Follow-up on this could be carried out after the winter. As well, the discussion touched on having murals on the walls adjacent to the CBC facilities and Journal Printing. It was noted that Councilor Landry-Altmann had spoken with the owner of the home on Baker St. (E. of Mackenzie) to obtain permission to have Sudbury Secondary art students apply a mural to the retaining wall. Richard reiterated that in order for us to proceed on getting neighbourhood banners/ signtoppers / other signage, we need to establish a theme (e.g.: heritage architecture), and a graphic to accompany it. Richard introduced the idea of approaching a crowdsourcing graphic designer to obtain examples of designs for the project. An example would be an organization called 99 Designs (http://99designs.com/ ), and the short video from this website was shown to the group. Rene asked if Cambrian or Boral had been approached to assist in this

5 process, and Richard noted that we are very limited in personnel to interface with them. Rene agreed to meet with Richard to provide support in these efforts. Various discussions ensued at this point. d) Planting beds at Library

Judith reiterated that support for the planting project would take place starting in the spring. Bernice, and Lori Wall of the DEWCAN have offered to participate. e) Spring 2011 cleanup blitz school involvement

This item was not covered. 6.3 a) CAN Business Content for website.

A general discussion took place regarding how the website might be arranged, and how information would be provided for it. Rene agreed to meet with Richard to explore ideas on ways and means of moving forward. b) Joint meeting of Ward 12 CANs Joscelyne

This item was not covered. c) Home Inventory / Heritage update from Daniel / Judith

Daniel did not attend this meeting. Judith indicated that she was unable to devote much time to this matter since the last meeting. She and Daniel will meet with Rene to discuss how this process could be initiated. 7. New Business No new business was introduced. 8. Adjournment Motion to adjourn forwarded by Judith Prior-Kelly; seconded by Bernice Hibbs. Carried.

NOTE:

The next meeting will be on February 28/11 ( 6:30 p.m.) at the CCAC Boardroom

*1 [re* Item 5.1: http://www.northernlife.ca/PhotoGallery/02-14-11-01/index.html ]