Craig Walkington, Anne Perry, Alvena Cain, Kristian Curran, Clark Cromwell, Delaine Clyne, and Bryan Darrell

Mark van de Wiel, Greater Halifax Partnership (GHP)

Call to Order - The meeting was called to order at 6:03 pm. 

HRM Council Approval of the CIF Proposal. Craig said that on 6 March 2007 HRM Council approved the proposal to establish a Community Investment Fund (CIF) that was reviewed during the last CLC meeting on 13 February 2007. This is a significant milestone in the CLC’s work. The two local papers reported this approval, but each paper failed to report that the community had spearheaded the proposal, even though Jim Donovan stressed this point during the presentation to Council. In addition, the CLC and the community had been congratulated for its work by several Councillors. As such, Craig said he wrote a letter to the editor of each paper outlining that the proposal was developed after much consultation with the community and hard work by the CLC. The Chronicle-Herald printed the letter on 14 March 2007, but it is not known if The Daily News printed the letter.  

Presentation of by Mark Van De Wiel. Mark gave a presentation on the next steps for implementing the CIF project. He updated on the latest developments and the work that he has completed in terms of talking with various groups and organizations, which can offer advice on establishing and running the CIF. He said the current focus is to get the CIF started under a management board with the appropriate governance structure. The objective is to have the CIF up and running by September 2007. During his presentation, Mark outlined such points as to the responsibilities of each organization (i.e. HRM, GHP, CIF Management Board, and the Halifax CLC), potential challenges, and the proposed milestones. Mark said that two key areas needed immediate input from the CLC as follows: 

Review of Notes from Previous Meeting – Meeting of 13 February 2007.  Moved by Alvena, Seconded by Clark to accept the notes from the meeting of 13 February 2007. Carried. 
         

Attendance at Future Meetings.  Craig stressed to the CLC membership that it was important for them to attend future meetings as there will be important decisions to make over the next 5 to 6 months.  A quorum of the CLC is needed to validate the decisions, and future work and meeting the project milestones would be contingent on making earlier key decisions.   Craig stressed that the CLC’s work and the assistance provided by Mark and the GHP cannot be delayed.  

Next Meeting Date –6:00pm, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 at the George Dixon Centre.

Adjournment – The meeting adjourned at 7:37 pm.