November 2010

HSCA Board of Directors Meeting
Thursday, November 25, 2010
6:15 PM

6:15 pm – light dinner served
6:30 – 6:50 pm – Introductions/friendly discussion
6:50 pm – meeting called to order

Board Members Present: Tim Kitchen (Acting Chair), Robert Perry (Secretary), Thibault Dambrine (Treasurer), Lorna Cordeiro, Anthony Sayers, Maria Lee, David White, Jay Michi (Executive Director)

Regrets: Kerri Treherne, Carol Armes from the Ward 7 Office

Guests: Jim Stirling to present the concept of the Kensington First Community Garden

1.     Approval of Agenda and Minutes: (7:00pm – 7:15pm)

• Declaration of Conflicts of Interest – None Declared.
• Approval/changes to Agenda
• Lorna introduced one change to the agenda and that was with regard to the use of HSCA emails and letterhead. The proposal was to discuss who had access to HSCA Letterhead and who was using HSCA emails, and then to discuss appropriate uses. (Item 3 (b))
• There was also a request to ad an as a discussion item “staff resources to budget (Item 2(b))
• Approval of Minutes from Board Meetings of the October 2010 Board Meeting.

• Motion to Approve the Minutes: Tim K. Seconded: Thibault D.
• Motion to Approve the Agenda: Lorna C. Seconded: Tim K.

2.    Committee Presentations: (7:05pm – 8:05pm)

Community Vitalization Committee

i) Jim Stirling presented the preliminary plans for what is being called the Kensington Community First Garden.

-10 people from the community go together on July 20, 2010 for the first meeting. They’ve been meeting on a consistent basis since then.
- “So far the City has been very supportive. We’ve been getting a lot of advice from Parks and Ald. Farrell wrote a letter of support.”
- The plans are for a garden that would occupy the SW portion of the Hillhurst Athletic Park (the grounds of the community association) just west of the existing playground that is currently being used by Churchill Park Day Care. This space was deemed “under-utilized” and therefore was considered an ideal location.
- The plans are for 20 plots. 15-17 for volunteers who help get the garden going and 3-5 to be designated for the use of families at Brenda Strafford Centre.
-The group has to have their application into the city by the end of 2010 and is currently working (in consultation with Jay) on a number of grants.
-Jim presented the conceptual drawings and the Board had an opportunity to ask a number of questions. Most of these questions were of a logistical nature and Jim assured the board that the group and Jay have already been in discussion with the City to resolve. Examples: Water Sources, setback from the soccer pitch, proximity to day care, etc.

Questions arising from the presentation:

1) The Garden will be covered under HSCA’s liability coverage. Will that impact our premiums/increase our rates?  Jay: not materially, but I’ll have to find that out from Toole Peet as we get closer to shovel ready.

2) Is Sunnyside Garden covered? Jay: Not sure on that.

3) What is the plan for the garden’s long-term operational structure? Jay: presumably very similar to the existing garden – we already have policies and procedures in place.

Jim explained that what he needs from the HSCA Board is a letter outlining the Board’s general support, explaining that we will assume the liability involved in the project and that HSCA would agree to act as the Financial Agent for the project, meaning that we would hold in trust any grant monies received that are intended to be spent on the garden.

Motion to compose a letter from the Board to Jim Stirling detailing our agreement to support the garden in the ways outlined in the last paragraph: Robert Perry

Seconded: Anthony Sayers

Motion Carried.

2) a) Meeting with Alderman Druh Farrell scheduled for January 11, 2011 from 7pm – 9 pm
-Agenda items open for discussion.

2) b) Finance Committee

i) Revenue growth through bookings, based on Tim’s rudimentary calculations we are     only at 30% capacity. Jay protested that figure stating that we will never have every     room booked from 7 am to 11pm, 365 days a year. Jay did concede that the new     booking system will assist us in determining where we have the biggest room from     growth.

ii) Fundraising
A suggestion was made that we host a fundraiser at some point in the future.
The comment was made that first we need to determine what the project is (this sequence of conversation has appeared in the minutes at another meeting in 2010!)

iii) Signing Authority
If you’re on the finance committee or you’ve been asked to be a signer, please consult with Jay on what you need to take with you to BMO Brentwood.

iv) Budget Preparations
We need to put together a budget by the end of the year
Jay: The budget is my responsibility and my domain as ED. Last year I put it together in consultation with program leads and then I presented several drafts to the Board for review, comment and ultimately approval.
Thibault: When do you think you’ll have the first draft Jay?
Jay: By the first week of December.
Lorna: As per the added agenda item, we just want to make sure that the budget reflects appropriate staff allocation to achieve desired outcomes discussed during our strategic planning retreat in October.
Jay: Absolutely. I will need the help of the Finance Committee, as I did last year, to ensure that the budget reflects Board priorities and objectives.

v) Roof – 90% complete
- Some delays due to poor weather conditions.
-Jay explained that final payment is being held until the project is complete.

2) c) Community Planning

David presented a power point presentation that outlined various significant     development     proposals on the table. All together, Hillhurst-Sunnyside is looking at     400,000 sq/ft of new residential space! It’s imperative that we develop a     comprehensive, transparent strategy to evaluate this applications coming in.

2) d) Communications Committee
-Terms of Reference have been developed
-Recruiting new members, an article has been written for the Voice.

2) e) Heritage Committee
-Terms of Reference have been developed
-Sunnyside Grocery – discussing options
-Battistella Development may affect a building that fits the definition of “Vernacular Deco”
-Work with our city partners
-We’d like to work on naming the orchard
Tim:  Doesn’t the orchard already have a name?
Lorna: I’m not sure, we’ll have to look into that.

3) Board Governance Structure (8:50pm)
-Tim presented the work him and Anthony put together on Board Roles and Terms of Reference     for the Board Executive. Since time was not permitting, he asked all Board members to review     this material up on HSCA’s Google Docs zone, for the next meeting.

4) Scheduling of Events for 2011
-Tim to put together a list of meetings for 2011

Meeting Adjourned at 9:20pm