Craig Walkington, Alvena Cain, Owida Downey, Maureen Strickland, Arthur Carter, Clarke Cromwell, Anne Perry

Sharon Laframboise, Fred Connors, Sharon Martin

Review of Notes from January 20, 2004 Meeting

Moved by Maureen, second by Anne to accept the notes from the January 20, 2004 meeting as amended. Carried.

Matters Arising From January 20, 2004 Meeting :

1. Design Ideas Meeting with HRM Staff - It was recommended that this meeting (which was tentatively scheduled for Monday, 23 February 2004) be deferred until more work could be done to prepare for the meeting. The consensus of the meeting was that we would only have one opportunity to make a presentation to key HRM staff and that we must be fully prepared for the meeting. Craig said he would contact James and/or Deborah to determine the progress on setting up this meeting and aim for another date.
2. Public Information Meeting - It was recognized during the visioning meeting that there is a need to break down the barriers of distrust that exist between the community and this project. As such, CHCA has offered to host meetings with key groups around the community to explain the project and explain how the CLC was formed and its role. There may also be a requirement to have a representative from the HHS project to explain the technical details of the project (noise and odour control, etc). It is felt that this very effective organization (CHCA) would be a good conduit for the information. CHCA said that they would also devote their next newsletter to the CLC and the project. Craig cautioned that it is important that there is no blurring of the roles between the CLC and CHCA. The CLC endorsed the initiative of CHCA in their objective of getting information out to the community. .
3. PIIP Role - Participation of Deborah and James - Craig briefly outlined his discussion with Deborah. Deborah indicated that she did not wish to convey any perception that HRM was controlling the CLC and the CLC process and that they were here to support us. She also stated that they would only come to meetings when invited. The CLC were comfortable with this feedback.

Visioning Meeting Follow-Up 

Craig began by thanking those who had been instrumental in drawing a large crowd of over 100 people to this meeting. He said that there was a need to maintain the momentum and positive attitude that flowed from this meeting.

We will send a thank-you letter to all the people who came to the visioning meeting and give them information on the three spots that are vacant on the CLC. Owida and Alvena said they could help address the envelopes.

The speakers will be sent personal letters which will include a few points that Craig would like made in all of the letters. The following CLC members will write to the following speakers:

Owida: Reverend Moriah

Maureen: Frank Palermo

Arthur: Maureen MacDonald

Craig: Ross Cantwell (Anne would like Ross to be thanked for his clear explanation of the history of the CLC)

Maureen will get the points from Craig and then get them to the letter writers. It is expected that the letters will be sent before our next CLC meeting.

The CLC would like to get the tapes transcribed from the visioning meeting as they will be important foundation material for the future. It will likely cost around $80.00. Craig will contact James to ask for approval.

Craig briefly outlined the suggested process as recommended by Ross Cantwell. Specifically, Ross states that a strategic plan is required. He also states that substantial consultation with the community is required in order to succeed and "sell" the program. Ross said that the following themes became apparent during the evening: Youth, Education, Recreation, Housing, Employment, and Physical Improvements. Ross suggests that we need to get $30,000 from the Community Integration Fund (CIF) to run the consultative process which will take a minimum of six months. He also suggests that we run a series of workshops on each of the above themes and ask each workshop to prepare a short list of projects for implementation, and finally run one large workshop at the end of the process to prioritize the issues and to develop implementation mechanisms.

Community Planning Model

Maureen suggested that it is clear that the Community Development Corporation is the logical way to proceed to effectively spend the CIF. She stated that rather than doing a strategic plan, we should consider implementing a Community Planning Model. She brought materials on this model which has been used with the First Nations communities throughout the Maritimes. It is a six stage process as follows:

Stage 1 - Gathering Background Information

Stage 2 - Identifying Strengths and Issues

Stage 3 - Researching Route Causes

Stage 4 - Establishing a Vision

Stage 5 - Building a Framework

Stage 6 - Developing an Implementation Strategy

There is monitoring of the plan and the projects following its implementation.

Maureen stated that it is a very systematic and open process that relies upon community consultation through every stage. It would take about a year to conduct, but the end result would be a "people's plan" that the community will buy into. It is envisaged that the CIF would fund the various projects identified in the plan. The CLC would act as the steering committee for the plan and the CLC would be consulted at all stages.

Maureen asked how the process would work to implement the conduct of this project. Craig said that he would contact Deborah and James and ask them to come to the next CLC meeting to discuss how we progress this issue.

Maureen will request more copies of the community planning model book from the Cities and Environment Unit. They will be left at the George Dixon Centre and CLC members will be informed that they are there and can be picked up for review before our next meeting.

Other Business :

1. Anne asked about the exact process for choosing new CLC members. Could Sharon Martin and/or Craig bring that information to our next meeting. 
   
2. There is a workshop entitled Strategies for Overcoming Community Opposition to New Residential Development-the NIMBY Workshop on February 19. Anyone who is interested in attending should contact Craig to see if the registration fee could be covered by HRM. 
   
3. Clarke Cromwell will be taking a short leave of absence as of Feb. 24.

Next Meeting Date – 6:00pm on Tuesday, 24 February 2004 at the George Dixon Centre.

Adjournment - The meeting adjourned at 7:15pm.

Please advise Sharon Martin at 490-4567 or e-mail at martins@region.ha lifax.ns.ca or Craig Walkington at 420-2751(W)/422-6968(H) or e-mail at craig_walkington@scotia-mcleod.com if you are not able to attend the next meeting.