Craig Walkington, Anne Perry, Alvena Cain, Owida Downey, Clarke Cromwell, Sharon Laframboise, Fred Connors

Mia Rankin, Maureen Strickland, Arthur Carter

Review of Notes from Previous Meetings

A Moved by Sharon L, second by Owida to accept the notes from November 4, 2003. Carried

Presentation by Deborah Story - Public Involvement & Information Program (PIIP) 
Deborah Story, Manager for HRM Marketing, Design & Print Services, gave a presentation on the PIIP. She indicated that her department has been contracted by the Harbour Solutions Project (HSP) to develop and implement the PIIP. The following is a summary of her presentation. 

Role of the Public Involvement and Information Program Managers:

•  2 staff from HRM Shared Services, Marketing, Design and Print Services Section

•  Deborah Story

•  James Campbell   

•  They are communication specialists and not technical experts

•  They will develop the strategic and operational communications plan for HSP with input from the CLCs

•  They will provide communications advice and support to the HSP Office

•  They will act as the liaison between the HSP Office and the 3 CLCs to provide updates on the progress of the project and to provide answers to and gain input from the CLCs

•  They will establish a bulletin board in each of the three CLC communities and provide updates and information

•  They will attend CLC meetings & support their communication efforts, e.g. newsletters

•  They will hold news conferences/technical briefings for the media

•  They will organize open houses, displays, groundbreaking ceremonies

•  They will develop presentations and educational kits

•  They will develop mechanisms for receiving concerns from the community and responding to them

•  They will convey information on specific Project milestones to the general public by specific media relations

•  They will ensure that construction notices are relayed to those who are affected and that the HRM Call Centre has info to respond to inquiries (Note: Craig asked if those notices could also be e-mailed to the CLC)

• They will develop and maintain web pages for HSP on the HRM website
  

Following Deborah's presentation, various members of the CLC expressed the following points:

•  Craig outlined the CLC's main mandates (CIF Spending and the Plant Design/Construction/Operation)

•  That the CLC wants their concerns and issues to be taken seriously by the HSP and HRM

•  That we are a volunteer organization with little or no resources with the exception of Sharon Martin; therefore, we need assistance in meeting our mandates

•  We want to conduct a "Big Ideas" meeting and will need a great deal of assistance in getting that project moving

• Will the PIIP help the CLC be more effective in meeting its objectives? Deborah said "yes". 
  

HRM Volunteer Conference 
Craig reminded the CLC about the conference on 21/22 Nov 03. The following people from the CLC will be attending: Anne, Craig, Owida, Sharon L, and Maureen. The HSP Office covered Sharon's registration, with the others being covered by Councillor Sloane.

“Big Ideas” Meeting
It was decided that this meeting would be held in January 2004 (Note: The date has been set for Tuesday, 20 January 2004 at the North Branch Library). Several names were added to the list for consideration for the guest speakers: (George Gray, Joan Mendes, Craig Cromwell, Gus Pendleton, Maureen MacDonald, Simon Garfield). The above names, along with those collected at the meeting on 4 November 2003, will be reviewed at the next meeting and the CLC will decide who should be invited. The "Big Ideas" meeting will help the CLC in developing a vision for the community. Craig asked Deborah Story if help from the PIIP could be provided in planning and executing this meeting.

The issue of members not attending meetings was raised again. Craig said that he will talk to Mia Rankin to determine her intentions with regard to her participation on the CLC as she has not been able to attend the previous 3 meetings.

It was asked if it was intended to fill the two spots vacated by Ross Cantwell and Larry Tench. Craig said yes, but they had to be filled by people who are willing to "roll up their sleeves and work" and not just be present at the meetings. Craig stated that if people had names in mind they should propose them.

Next Meeting Date– 6:00pm on Tuesday, December 2, 2003 at the George Dixon Centre.

Adjournment - The meeting adjourned at 7:11pm

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 meetings.