Craig Walkington, Anne Perry, Alvena Cain, Owida Downey, Maureen Strickland, Clark Cromwell, Arthur Carter, Delaine Clyne

Sharon Laframboise, Bryan Darrell, Sharon Martin

Call to Order - The meeting was called to order at 6:04pm.

Review of Notes from June 8, 2004 Meeting - Moved by Maureen seconded by Anne to accept the notes from the 8 June 2004 meeting. Carried. 
 

Matters Arising From June 8, 2004 Meeting :

a. Follow-Up From Meeting With HRM Staff - At the last meeting Maureen asked Craig to determine what the process was to ensure that the design concept proposal is formally presented/incorporated into the HRM plans. Craig said he had sent an e-mail to Holly Richardson on Monday, 28 June, but had not yet heard anything.

b. Contact with Dawn Sloane Regarding Newspaper Comments - Craig said that he contacted Dawn to outline the problem. The result was that HRM issued a press release on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 clarifying any confusion about the statements that were published in The Chronicle-Herald article on 17 May 2004. The news release is enclosed.

c. Capital District Open House - Thursday, 17 June 2004 4:00 to 7:00pm - Both Arthur and Craig attended this event. The open house focussed around the various concepts and areas that are part of the overall Capital District Planning process. It was useful information.

Public Meeting - 21 June 2004

a. Thank You - Craig thanked all involved for their assistance in preparing for the meeting and for their tremendous efforts during the meeting. There were over 90 people in attendance. The final vote tally was 65 Yes and 13 No. With the votes cast at the previous meeting on 17 May 2004, the total stands at 87 Yes and 13 No and 1 Spoiled Ballot.

b. Issues Arising at the Public Meeting:

- Is the CIF money guaranteed ? Craig said he had written a letter to the mayor (enclosed) outlining that many people were concerned that the CIF money would not be available when the CLC finally tabled its recommendations to HRM Council. In the letter to the Mayor, he requested that the Mayor and/or Council make a public declaration that the CIF is guaranteed and that they make this declaration as soon as possible.

- Can the CIF be placed in a holding account to earn interest pending the approval of the proposal and plan ? - Craig said he sent an e-mail on this matter. He said that he had received a phone call from Howard Barnes, who is responsible for the HHS Project budget, stating that the CIF is guaranteed and is listed as a line item in the overall HHS Project. He did say that it cannot be set aside into an account to earn interest. Craig said that he asked for some sort of a statement from the HHS Project that can be used to present to the public. Maureen asked if the CIF would be released to the CLC all at once or in portions following Council's approval of the proposal. It was recommended that the proposal be written to reflect that all funds should be released at once.

- Meeting with D&D Water Solutions Architect - Craig said that now that the contract had been signed with D&D WS, we should be able to meet with their architect(s) to convey our concerns and to ensure that our points are fully considered. Craig said he sent an e-mail to Ted Tam, Deborah Story and Dan O'Halloran requesting the meeting. Ted Tam responded by e-mail as follows:

The contract has been signed with D&D Solutions for the construction of the treatment plants. The contract will be in effect very soon (contractor have to provide insurance and bonding). After HRM received the appropriate bonding and insurance documentation, the contract will then goes into effect, HRM and the contractor will start our initial meeting.

Setting up a meeting with the contractor's architectural team with us and the Halifax CLC will be arranged ASAP.

We will keep you up to date as to the progress and looking forward to work with the Halifax CLC. Thanks.

Craig said that he would ask Ted Tam for the Effective Date for the contract.

- Upper Parking Lot on STP - Craig said that he was concerned about a statement made by Dan O'Halloran that there would be parking on the same level as Barrington Street which would be besides the plant, but not on top of it. Craig said that he had sent an e-mail requesting clarification on this matter and had received the following e-mail from Dan O'Halloran stating:

For clarification, the upper parking I referred to is shown on the original proposal graphics and on the preliminary site plan, and is at the upper (Barrington St) level but not on the plant. This is a proposal at this stage, not "cast in stone", and would be dependent on the future use of the roof space. There will be a requirement for non-pervious surfacing of this area (e.g. paving of some kind), to reduce or prevent storm water getting down the side of the building. Hope this helps.

Craig stated that he is concerned that this upper parking lot will interfere with our design concept proposal and that we should endeavour to resist this usage in this area of the plant. This issue will be discussed at the meeting between the CLC and the architect for D&D Water Solutions.

c. Other Issues from the Meeting:

- Employment Opportunities - The issue of job opportunities was raised during the public meeting. During the meeting Councillor Sloane said that there may be some opportunities and that the members of the community should signal their interest. The CLC is concerned that there is an expectation that the CLC will do something in this area; however, this area is not within the mandate or control of the CLC and should be handled by the HHS Project. Craig said he will send an e-mail to Ted Tam and Councillor Sloane requesting that they handle this issue in future.

- Craig said that for future public meetings the CLC members should sit in a row facing the audience to convey that the whole committee is speaking and representing the community.

Community Planning Model Proposal - Net Steps :

a. Proposal - Maureen said that the sub-committee had met and currently have a partial draft of the proposal prepared.

b. Letters of Support - The sub-committee presented a draft of a letter requesting support for our proposal from various businesses, institutions, and key members in the community. A draft response letter that would be signed by the recipient was also discussed. Letters of support are required as part of our proposal to HRM Council. The CLC reviewed the letters and made suggestions for changes. The letters will be finalized within the next 10 days. In addition, the CLC also reviewed and made changes to a list of prospective recipients of the request for support letters. It was agreed that we would do a final review of the list at the next CLC meeting and then delegate the names to the CLC members who would distribute the letter.

c. Approval of Door-to-Door Canvassing by Clark - It was agreed that Clark would canvass support by going door-to-door in the community. The sub-committee will prepare a statement outlining the Community Planning Model Proposal and attach it to a list where people can sign to signify their support. This material will be available for the next-sub-committee meeting.

d. Getting on HRM Council Agenda - Maureen asked Craig to determine how we can be placed on Council's Agenda for the late August-September timeframe to present the proposal. It is important that this be planned now. Craig said he will contact Deborah Story and Councillor Sloane to arrange this matter.

e. Next Sub-Committee Meeting - The next meeting will be at 6:00pm on Tuesday, July 6, 2004. At Maureen's house.

Newsletter - This item was deferred until after the 21 June public meeting. It was decided that we would discuss it at the next regular CLC meeting. 
 

Other Business :

a. Halifax CLC Section on Halifax Harbour Solutions Website - Craig said that he had visited the site and that it now contained all of the meeting notes and other relevant documents. The link for the website and Halifax CLC is as follows:

halifax.ns.ca/harboursol/HalifaxCLC.php

b. Updated Halifax CLC Contact List - Owida requested that the list be updated and circulated to the CLC members. Craig said he would work with Sharon Martin on this matter and he would have it ready for the next meeting. In addition, he said he also has to update the list for the website. For privacy reasons, this list will only contain the names and no contact numbers for the CLC members with the exception of Craig.

c. Capital District Plan - Clark asked if he could get a copy of the overall plan. Craig said he would try to get a copy from Holly Richardson.

Next Meeting Date - 6:00pm on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 at the George Dixon Centre.

Adjournment - The meeting adjourned at 7:20pm.
 

Letter to Mayor

Halifax Community Liaison Committee

C/O 5230 Cornwallis Street

Halifax, NS B3K 5T6

420-2751(W)

422-6968(H)

email: cwalk@hfx.eastlink.ca

June 24, 2004

Halifax Regional Municipality

Office of the Mayor

P.O. Box 1749

Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3A5

Your Worship:

I am writing on behalf of the Halifax Community Liaison Committee (CLC) for the Halifax Harbour Solutions Project (HHSP).

On Monday, June 21, 2004, the Halifax CLC conducted a public meeting at the George Dixon Centre. The purpose of the meeting was twofold:

•  To provide an update on the HHSP - Presented by Dan O'Halloran of O'Halloran Campbell

•  To present and solicit support for the CLC's Community Planning Model Proposal - This presentation was followed by a vote

Following each presentation, the audience was given an opportunity to ask questions and voice their concerns. There was one particular point that was raised many times by various members of the community; specifically: "Will the Community Integration Fund (CIF) money be available from HRM Council when the Halifax CLC tables its recommendation for approval?" Councillor Sloane and several CLC members stated that the $1million CIF had already been earmarked and that this funding was protected. Notwithstanding these assurances, the public was not convinced that the CIF will be available. This lack of confidence is clearly hindering the work of the CLC to advance our proposal and plans for the community.

As you are no doubt aware, there is a great deal of mistrust and doubt in this community. As such, I am writing to you to request that you and/or HRM Council make a public declaration that the CIF allocated to the community hosting the Halifax sewage treatment plant is guaranteed and it will be available. We feel that this is the only way that the public will be reassured. We also feel that such a declaration will aid in securing the community support that we require for our Community Planning Model Proposal. We further urge that this declaration be made as soon as possible.

I am available to answer any questions that you or HRM staff may have on this issue.

Yours truly,

(Original Signed By)

Craig Walkington

Chairman

Halifax Community Liaison Committee

CC (via e-mail):   

Halifax Harbour Solutions Project (Special Committee)

Ted Tam & Deborah Story

News Release

Community Group to be Asked to Vote on Integration Fund

(Wednesday, June 16/04)-- The Halifax Community Liaison Committee (CLC) of the Harbour Solutions Project has scheduled a meeting for early next week to enable area residents to vote on a proposal for use of the $1 million Community Integration Fund.

Residents living or working in the area bounded by North and Cogswell Streets, North Park and Agricola Streets and Barrington Streets will be eligible to vote on the proposal, which calls for the eventual establishment of a Community Development Corporation.

The CLC is recommending that a study be conducted using a community-based planning model to determine the community's needs. Once these needs are identified, it is proposed that a Community Development Corporation be established, which would be funded by the Community Integration Fund. At this stage, the Halifax CLC is still soliciting support from the community for this proposal .

District 12 Councillor Dawn Sloane and Craig Walkington, Chair of the Halifax CLC, reiterated today there seems to be some confusion by some in the community now that small businesses and individuals wanting to go into business could access the funds at this time.

In an article published by The Chronicle Herald on May 17, 2004, Councillor Sloane and Mr. Walkington discussed various options on how the Community Integration Fund could be spent.

Mr. Walkington said today "These statements may have given the impression that decisions had been made that portions of the $1million fund could be spent on supporting small business in the Gottingen Street area through improvement grants."

There are two areas regarding the statements in the article that require clarification.

Councillor Sloane said "Only if Regional Council approved the recommended use of funds, and only if a Community Development Corporation were established, could any funds from the Community Integration Fund be used for that purpose.

The meeting will be held on Monday, June 21, 2004, at the George Dixon Centre, beginning at 6 p.m. It will be followed by a free BBQ for the community participants.

-30--

Councillor Dawn Sloane 
(902) 488-4812

Craig Walkington 
Chair, Halifax CLC 
(902) 420-2751