Craig Walkington, Arthur Carter, Maureen Strickland, Anne Perry, Owida Downey, Alvena Cain, Mia Rankin

Fred Connors, Clarke Cromwell, Sharon LaFrambroise 

Call to Order - The meeting was called to order at 6:10pm.

Review of Notes from last meeting

The notes of the last meeting (October 29, 2002) were reviewed. Moved by Alvena that the last meeting notes be accepted, second by Anne. Motion carried.

Action Items from Last Meeting :

Update on Election to Fill Two Empty Seats - Nomination packages are available for people interested in filling the two empty seats on the CLC. Nomination deadline is 18 November 2002. The election will take place at the next CLC meeting on 26 November 2002. If there are any CLC members who know of anyone who is interested, please advise that the packages are available at the George Dixon Community Recreation Centre.

Report of the Plant Design/Operations Sub-Committee:

The Plant Design/Operations Sub-Committee met with Mike Kroger and Ted Tam of the HHS staff on 1 November 2002 to discuss the urgency of submitting our design concept proposals to HREP. The Sub-Committee was advised that they should submit their concepts as soon as possible as the design of the plant is in progress. In addition, the Sub-Committee was told that it must decide whether a building or landscaping should be placed on top of the plant at the Barrington Street level.

Discussion

The following points of discussion are highlighted:

• There was concern with regards to the feasibility of trying to use CIF funds to fund a building on top of the plant. It was felt that there are insufficient funds to build a building on any functional value. In addition, issues of who would be responsible for the ongoing operation and maintenance of a CIF funded building were raised. It was felt that it is unrealistic to fund and operate a building with the available resources.
• The issue of how much of the CIF fund could be used or "tapped" into for plant design aesthetics and landscaping was raised. It was felt that reasonable design elements and landscaping should be covered by the project itself and only "extras" above and beyond what was considered reasonable landscaping and finishing should be funded by the CIF. The CLC asked for clarification on this point. Craig will raise this issue with the HHS staff and report at the next meeting.

There was considerable review and discussion concerning the MacFawn and Rogers Discussion Paper that was written by George Rogers. It was felt that the discussion paper had valid points and that we needed to narrow down the points into what the committee felt was a reasonable proposal. After much discussion, it was felt that the following points should be emphasized in any design proposal:

• There should be a linear park along Upper Water Street that incorporates a walking/biking trail. The route could parallel a re-aligned Water Street and be designed as a wide sidewalk with lighting and intensive landscaping. This would aid in emphasizing the link between the downtown area and the Cornwallis/Gottingen/Barrington Streets areas.
• The materials used should be natural or brick with a particular avoidance of any pre-fabricated materials or anything appearing to be pre-fabricated.
• There should be an emphasis on landscaping around the plant that preserves the trees (North end of the site).
• Any landscaping should create a park environment that is conducive to usage, while at the same time being mindful of not creating an area that would encourage loitering and cause security and safety concerns.
• There should be an "sense of arrival" entrance at the plant.

Incorporating the above points, the CLC asked that George Rogers prepare two design concepts for consideration using the following guidelines:

• A historical Halifax waterfront industrial factory design.
• A design which introduces George Rogers' concept of the exterior design reflecting the interior functions.

Craig said that he would contact Mike Kroger at HHS staff to set up a meeting as soon as possible between the Plant Sub-Committee and George Rogers to discuss the two visual ideas of the plant that the group came up with, and to determine a reasonable submission date to the CLC of the design concepts.

(Note: Since the last CLC meeting on 12 November, a meeting with George Rogers and the Plant Design/Operations Sub-Committee has been arranged for 6:00pm on Thursday, 21 November 2002 at the George Dixon Centre).

The CLC noted that if a walking/bike trail is created, then the design must be incorporated with HRM's overall plan in this area. Arthur Carter said he would try to contact Peter Bigelow to gain more information on this area. The CLC also stated there should be traffic calming in the approach to the Barrington-Cornwallis Streets intersection in order to foster usage of a walking/biking trail.

The CLC asked if the HHS staff could gather information and images and/or websites locations showing sewage treatment plant designs from around the world that have utilized a deliberate and considered exterior design approach. It was felt that this information would be extremely useful in developing and evaluating design concepts.

The decision on what to place on top of the plant at the Barrington Street level (building or landscaping) was deferred to the next meeting.

Report of the CIF Sub-Committee :

The CIF Sub-Committee did not meet on November 5, 2002 as planned. The meeting has been re-scheduled to 6:00pm on Wednesday, 20 November 2002, at the George Dixon Community Recreation Centre.

Next Meeting Date :

The next meeting of the whole CLC will be at 6:00pm on Tuesday, 26 November 2002 at the George Dixon Community Recreation Centre. Please note that we will also be holding our election at this meeting to fill the two vacant seats.

Adjournment

7:35pm - Meeting was adjourned.