EFCL November Board Meeting Notes

It's been very busy getting back into the swing of things as your Londonderry District B representative at the EFCL.

The EFCL November Board meeting was held on Nov. 14 and although the meeting's agenda seemed light the meeting went well on into the evening! 

Download the EFCL November Board Package here.

There are three significant initiatives I am excited about with enormous potential to enliven and enrich the community league movement in Edmonton:

The Winter Cities Council 

Isla Tanaka at the Winter Cities

presentation at the EFCL Leagues

Alive Conference in November.

I sit as an EFCL representative on the Winter Cities Council a hybrid council of the administration and City Council and the idea is quite simply to help us have more fun with winter as a city, as community leagues and as residents of the mostly northerly big city in North America. I also hosted a session by Susan Holdsworth, Winter Cities Coordinator, on Winter Cities at the EFCL Leagues Alive Conference. It was a big hit.

Jason Watt of McLeod at Leagues
Alive.

People from communities are very excited about the idea of upping our game significantly when it comes to winter festivals and the involvement of community leagues in innovative and engaging ideas to rock winter. I and the co-chair of the Winter Cities Life stream that is working on ideas like creating a guide to rocking winter based on best practices from around the world and the idea of combining the community leagues 50-60 winter carnivals with some of the bigger winter events to someday host a massive Edmonton Winter Festival, of which community events are a central component. A number of folks stepped forward to say they want to help. We are working on how to proceed now!

• Check out the WinterCity Strategy Consultation Summary (note the mentions of community leagues!)
• And here is the Winter Festivals & Events Guide

Civic Engagement Strategy On The Agenda For Next General Meeting

Elaine Solez (EFCL planner), Councillor Ben Henderson,
David Gibbens (EFCL past president),
Christine Bremner (director), David Dodge (director)
 and Linda Crosby (EFCL staff) at Leagues Alive.

The EFCL has decided to use a key portion of the Feb. 4 general meeting to discuss the civic engagement practices of the federation and its member leagues.  This would include methods the EFCL uses to gather input from the leagues and how this is subsequently presented to the City of Edmonton or other orders of government.  It will also include methods leagues use to gather input from their members, before taking a position on a particular matter.  Examples of relevant issues would include zoning changes, social housing policies, traffic safety and crime prevention, to name four.

The general meeting will be held in Boyle Street Community League’s new hall at 96 Street and 103 A Avenue downtown. 

The idea of the Civic Engagement strategic planning process is quite simply to find new ways for people in community leagues and the leagues and EFCL to engage members and citizens in new and innovative engagement that gets communities a say in the issues that affect our neighbourhoods and in turn have more of an impact on building a better city. Lofty goals yes, but if we have more of a say, then we will accept more responsibility and we will tackle difficult issues and help build a better city. 

This month the Civic Engagement Committee met with Simon Fairbrother the City Manager, Linda Cochrane the General Manager of Community Services and Gary Klassen, General Manager of Sustainable Development (and planning) with City of Edmonton. These are baby steps. At this meeting we shared our  desire to work with the city to have more of a say and help find better solutions to some of our most vexing issues ranging from bike lanes to infill and other issues.

Abundant Communities Pilot Project Grows

Howard Lawrence presenting the Abundant
Communities Initiative at Leagues Alive.

The third big deal is the Abundant Communities Initiative. I also hosted a session by Howard Lawrence and Anne Harvey (CRC) on this amazing initiative that begins by simply engaging deeply with members of the neighbourhood to ask the question what are you involved in, what would you like to be involved in and what gifts you have to share.

The  Abundant Community Initiative, which has been piloted in the Highlands neighborhood this past year, is coming to Oliver, Bannerman and one other, soon-to-selected neighborhood in 2014.

The program is based on the selection of community connectors, usually one per block, who interview people in their area to get a sense of the activities and neighhborhood improvements they would like to see take place.

The progam director then connects people with like interests together, as well as connecting them with the local community league.  The objective is to help people make friends and get involved in activities with their neighbors, which is exactly what community leagues are all about.

John McKnight, a well-known neighborhood activist who helped started the Abundant Community initiative in the United States, is scheduled to give a talk on the movement at the Santa Maria Goretti Centre at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 3. I will be attending.

More Highlights From the November Board Meeting

Good Turnout For League’s Alive

Mayor Don Iveson at the Leagues Alive Conference.

The EFCL wants to thank all of the league reps who braved the winter storm and attended the League’s Alive Board Development Conference at Grant MacEwan University on Nov. 30.  Despite dangerous road conditions, close to 100 members from 57 leagues attended 17 board development the sessions.  LaPerle Community League, with five delegates, took home the $500 popcorn maker for best attendance from a community league.

Delegates also had an opportunity to mix and mingle over lunch with Edmonton’s new mayor, Don Iveson, and councillors Scott McKeen, Ben Henderson, Andrew Knack and Mike Nickel.

Early reports suggest that delegates quite enjoyed the day and found the development sessions most helpful.  A more comprehensive evaluation will be done over the next couple of weeks, in preparation for next year’s event.

EFCL To Make Another Pitch For Green Shack Funding

The  Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues has decided to make another pitch to the provincial government for funding for the city’s Green Shack program, where children from over 100 community leagues are provided with meaningful day camp experiences over the summer months.

Last year the province eliminated funding for the Summer Temporary Employment Program, which many community leagues were using to help pay for a summer camp leader.  The government subsequently provided $150,000 to help ensure that camps continued in high needs parts of the city.  It has made no commitment for 2014.

In addition, the EFCL will be asking Edmonton City Council to approve a request from the Community Services Department for $275,000 in Green Shack funding in 2014.  This money will help bring the program to more neighborhoods.

EFCL Meets with Members of City Council.

Councillor Scott McKeen at Leagues Alive. 

The EFCL has decided to hold a series of one-on-one meetings with members of Edmonton City Council, to pitch our 2014 budget request and to help develop a positive working relationship.

The EFCL has two financial requests before council.  One is for $40,000, to help cover the cost of preparing the federation’s 2014-2018 business plan.  A key part of this plan will be to examine the civic engagement practises of the federation and its member leagues.

The second request is for $600,000, to help cover the cost of the federation’s 100^th Anniversary Project in Hawrelak Park.  The EFCL intends to ask both the provincial and federal governments for a similar donation, as soon as the city is on board.

EFCL Assembles League Input on Surplus School Sites

The EFCL has collected a good deal of input from its members on the redevelopment of surplus school sites and will be communicating their concerns and suggestions to the City of Edmonton shortly.  The key points include: 

• Finding ways to gather the views of all residents of the community, such as a survey sent to each household. The survey would follow public meetings and would include pros and cons of various options.
• Ensuring community input is sought at all points along the way, including the league’s advice on time, place and format of meetings with the league and community at large.
• Assisting leagues with getting information to community residents and providing a fair, one-person-one-vote process for determining the will of the community before requesting the league motion to consider re-siting the development.
• The possibility of considering more than one alternative location (currently only one alternate site can be considered, which may be divisive in communities).
• Giving appropriate consideration to housing type and to community benefits such as a coffee shop, day care and/or meeting room in the development.
• Finding ways to improve trust between the City and communities on surplus school sites—some communities are still of the view that their site has been declared surplus to park needs.
• As a separate process led by Community Services, the City should offer to work with leagues to identify park impacts and how to address them, including ensuring appropriate transitions between the housing development and the park, appropriate park amenities for new residents, e.g., a seniors complex would likely need accessible walkways and benches with arms. This process should take place as soon as the site and housing type are determined.
• The City has committed to considering the EFCL feedback in finalizing the engagement process that will be piloted with a few surplus school sites in 2014.  Hairsine Community League has already volunteered to be included in the pilot consultation exercise.

New Community League Forming in The Hamptons

The EFCL is pleased to report that a new community league is forming in The Hamptons, a neighborhood in the far west end of the city.

An organizational meeting has been called for Nov. 27, where a group of residents hopes to have the league’s bylaws adopted and an executive elected.

Residents in The Hamptons have been working on the creation of a community league in their area for the past 18 months.  One of the key challenges has been to work out a relationship with the Glastonbury Homeowners Association.  The homeowner association represents residents living in Glastonbury, which is immediately to the north, and in The Hamptons.  To date the association has dealt exclusively with Glastonbury Community League, which has been in business for seven or eight years.

Creation of a new league in The Hamptons will bring the EFCL’s membership to 157, which is an increase of eight leagues in the past six years.

If you have any comments, suggestions or questions please contact me anytime at districtb(at)efcl.org

David Dodge,

Londonderry District B Director

Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues

Back in the saddle at the EFCL Board as your Londonderry District B Rep

Hello it's been a while since I've written a blog report on what's happening at the EFCL. As many of you I made my first foray into politics running for Ward 3 in the civic election. I stepped down as president of the EFCL to do that and I took a short leave as your district representative.

I must say running for office is one of the best community education programs you can enroll in! We knocked on 9,000 doors in our end of town and today I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that I have a much clearer idea of where I live in our great city and who I share our community with. I also must say running for office is the biggest, most intense volunteer project you will ever take on and I am deeply grateful for the 100-150 volunteers who helped my campaign. If you curious about the results check out the city's website. We garnered 6,063 votes, but it was still 500 votes shy of enough.

My congratulations to Dave Loken for winning a second term and to Hakin Isse and Rob Bernshaw for their campaigns in Ward 3

The election is over, now back to
work on community issues.

The best part about running for office, especially for a compulsive community volunteer such as myself, is it represents a fantastic opportunity to make new contacts in cultural, arts, union, business, political and many more communities. I feel like I have a much better idea of who we are as Canadians in our community of communities.

If you are curious what our campaign looked like check out our website at daviddodge.ca and our Facebook page.

My congratulations also go out to the incumbents and new city councillors Scott McKeen, Andrew Knack, Michael Walters, Bev Esslinger, Michael Oshry and Mike Nickel. 

Andrew, Bev and Michael have served recently on community league boards with Andrew and Bev having served as presidents. This is quite a different council from a community perspective. I look forward to four years of excellent collaboration with th City of Edmonton and City Council.

EFCL DISTRICT B NEWS:

Leagues Alive - Nov. 16 register now!

David Dodge and David Gibbens
with now former councillor Kim
Krushell at Leagues Alive 2012.

Don't missing this wonderful opportunity to network and learn at the Leagues Alive Conference on November 16, 2013. See EFCL Leagues Alive webpage.

Here is a list of all of the sessions. Check out a detailed list of sessions in this PDF. As of today there is still room in many of the sessions. There is also a chance to have lunch with your favourite city councillor as well. Don't miss this awesome event.

8:45 AM	For the Love of Winter
8:45 AM	Managing Your Assets
8:45 AM	Role of the President
8:45 AM	Role of the Treasurer
8:45 AM	Understand and Utilize Your Website and Social Media
8:45 AM	Working With the City 1
10:30 AM	AGLC Use of Proceeds
10:30 AM	Board Structure for Smooth Sailing
10:30 AM	Role of the Secretary
10:30 AM	Social Events and Recreational Programs
10:30 AM	Take a Tour!
10:30 AM	The Abundant Community
1:00 PM	Boosting Board Productivity
1:00 PM	Communications, Newsletters, E-News and Facebook
1:00 PM	Conflict Conundrums Detangled!
1:00 PM	Fundraising and Grant Writing
1:00 PM	Park Redevelopment
1:00 PM	Working With The City 2

EFCL RGM HIghlights

The RGM was on Oct. 29 You can still get the RGM meeting package (PDF) here!

If you missed the EFCL regular general meeting there are some big changes occurring at the EFCL and news about projects too.

Staff Changes

• The EFCL is pleased to announce that Elaine Solez will be our community planning advisor for the next 11 months. She is filling in for Bev Zubot, who is joining her husband Bob on a sabbatical in Lyon, France;
• The EFCL is also pleased to welcome to its team Amanda Henry, who will be filling the position of Board Development Officer;
• Also Shahriyar Kahn, our Community Development Office is leaving the EFCL for a position with the City of Edmonton. 

EFCL Community Development Program

Shahriyar was working on some very good projects for the EFCL including these three:

New Neighbourhood Recreation Model

The city is proposing a new model for delivering sports and recreation programs at the neighbourhood level. The EFCL has met with the city about this, and obviously the community leagues are one of the biggest deliverer of programs at the neighbourhood level. It's not clear year how this will work and whether it will be better than the way it was run in the past. However, being the optimist I sense there may be a tremendous opportunity for community leagues to play new roles. We'll see.

Cultural Inclusion Program

The EFCL is working with the Bredin Institute to connect newcomers with community leagues. This follows on the success of the program we ran a few years ago. Most other levels of government agreed we made tremendous headway in connecting people in cultural and immigrant communities with community leagues when the EFCL was able to hire five part time cultural outreach workers from various communities. This idea was fantastic and it demonstrated very significant potential but has had no funding to hire workers since. My hope is this program will continue to evolve and grow because community leagues have enormous potential here.

Traffic Safety - Can an integrated approach help neighbourhoods slow cars down?

Time and time again when I was running for election I found roads in the communities where people have constant problems with drivers speeding down roads in the community. There are 1,400 collector roads in communities. With the help from the UofA a Traffic Safety Assessment Tool has been developed that would look at statistics to help determine problem areas. This is useful, but I also think new strategies are needed to address the problem where the statistics won't flag a concern, but local residents are experiencing problems. Some community people are actually taking matters into their own hands and putting signs on their own property. (read more in the RGM report).

When you think about these programs and the other reported in the RGM package there are many very positive initiatives underway that demonstrate a very significant potential for community leagues to play new and interesting roles in shaping our communities and our city.

EFCL 100 Anniversary Project News

Also at the general meeting members had an oppportunity to provide input on the 100th Anniversary project that seems to be proceeding nicely. Two concepts have been produced that emphasize different aspects of what we had hoped to do in this community league feature at Hawrelak Park. You can still provide input by filling out the EFCL 100th Anniversary Project Survey at the EFCL 100th Anniversary Project webpage.

EFCL March Meeting Notes

1)   Board Members Decide to Work the Phones

EFCL board members have decided to call each of the leagues in their district to remind them of two important sessions that are just around the corner.

The first is our Volunteer Recruitment and Screening Workshop, Thursday, March 28 at the EFCL Office.  This session will focus on ways to recruit new volunteers, as well as methods to screen potential volunteers.  Light dinner at 5:30 p.m., meeting at 6:00 p.m.  RSVP to Andrea.Sage@efcl.org

The second is our Volunteer Recognition Event, which is set for 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, at Myer Horowitz Theatre at the U/A.  Leagues are encouraged to send all of their key volunteers.  Attendees will be treated to a speech by motivational speaker Laurel Vespi, a series of short videos on Community League activities and a social mixer.  Leagues are encouraged to send photos of their events to Valerie.Pachal@efcl.org.   Please RSVP to Kris.Morra@efcl.org.

2)   EFCL To Review Civic Engagement Strategy

The EFCL has decided to review the manner in which the federation and its member leagues get involved in civic issues.  The goal is to find ways to do a better job of responding to civic issues and complement the city’s public engagement process.

A committee has been struck to oversee this exercise.  Board members David Dodge, David Gibbens, Christine Bremner and Masood Makarechian have volunteered to sit on it and the federation’s planning committee has been asked to provide two members as well.

The federation is already holding meetings with senior city staff on this issue.  The results of this exercise will become incorporated into the federation’s 2014-2018 business plan, which a consultant will be hired to prepare.

3)   Federation Protests STEP Grant Cut

The EFCL has decided to protest the elimination of the Summer Temporary Employment Program (STEP) and ask the province to restart it or put a similar program in its place.

The federation believes the 40-year-old program was anything but broken.  In fact, we think it was working very well.

It was providing meaningful employment for students and allowed many non-profit groups to provide programs that would not have otherwise happened.

One such program is the “Green Shack” summer camp program that community leagues have been running with the assistance of the City of Edmonton.  Community leagues used STEP funds to hire camp leaders at approximately 180 locations across Edmonton last year.  The program gave thousands of Edmonton children an opportunity to learn skills, play sports, make friends and have some fun.  Leagues are now scrambling to find ways to finance this program without the provincial dollars.

4)   Living Local Arts and Heritage Program Made Easy

The EFCL, along with its partner agencies Edmonton Arts Council and Edmonton Heritage Council, have come up with some new rules to make it easier for community leagues to access the Living Local Arts and Heritage Fund program.

Instead of submitting a grant application, leagues will be asked to provide a letter of intent, outlining the nature of their project.  Program staff will then work with the league to flesh out the initiative and help it meet key program criteria (i.e use of a local artist in recognizing the historical character of the neighborhood).   Once the criteria is met, the project will be funded and work can proceed.

Leagues will still be asked to put up one third of the funds on projects worth up to a maximum of $30,000.

5)  Public Consultation Set for 100^th Anniversary Project

The EFCL will be presenting its plans for upgrading the stream in Hawrelak Park and developing a community league plaza at a public information session on Wednesday, April 24.  Scheduled to run from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Victoria Golf Course Club House, the Open House is being organized by the City of Edmonton for the public to see and comment on various changes planned for the park.  This would include changes to the main lake to accommodate triathlon events and other park upgrades the city has in mind.

The EFCL is continuing to flesh out its development plan, which received a boost when city council decided to develop a water play feature between it and a nearby playground.  The project now has the potential to offer interesting elements to people of all ages.

6)  Sun Shines on Solar and Energy Conservtion Program

Work is proceeding nicely on the EFCL’s solar energy program.  Energy and carbon audits have now been completed on all seven halls (Ritchie, Riverdale, West Jasper/Sherwood, Rossdale, Alberta Avenue, North Glenora and Meadowlark) and each participating league has been presented with a report that listed a series of suggested energy conservation measures for the league to consider, complete with estimated costs and payback period.  A similar assessment of the EFCL’s office building is currently underway.

Each league in the program and the EFCL is eligible to apply for provincial grant money to help offset the cost of upgrades.

In April, the Solar Energy Society will be installing solar energy systems on the roof of each hall, along with energy monitoring equipment including a display monitor that the league or EFCL can also use as an electronic message board.

The EFCL plans to make a presentation on this program to league delegates attending the federation’s Annual General Meeting, which is set for May 29 at Duggan Community League.

7)   EFCL Checks Into Bike Routes

The EFCL will be meeting with city staff shortly to review the city’s bike plan and see how it can help with the public consultation effort.

The federation is hoping that plans can be developed that facilitate a network of safe, attractive routes that communities can help plan and design.

Awards Handed Out At International Traffic Safety Conference:

8) Nominations Sought For Community Traffic Safety Award

The City of Edmonton has created a Community Traffic Safety Award to recognize community members who have contributed to traffic safety initiatives in their community.

Nominations are open for any community member(s) who meet the following criteria:

• A demonstrated personal commitment to traffic safety in a non‐paid or volunteer capacity
• Accumulated history of involvement in traffic safety (minimum 3 years)
• Support for traffic safety initiatives that improve community quality of life

The Nomination of potential recipients can be made via email to Gerry Shimko, the Executive Director of the  Office of Traffic Safety, at Gerry.Shimko@edmonton.ca by March 31, 2013. The nomination should include the name of the nominee, contact information, and a descriptive narrative outlining how the nominee(s) meet the above noted criteria.

Award winners will be recognized at the International Traffic Safety Conference, which is going to held from April 29- May 2, 2013 at the Shaw Conference Centre.

In conjunction with the Traffic Safety conference, the 2^nd Annual Run Walk Ride 4 Traffic Safety (RWR4TS) will be held on Saturday April 27^th.  The goal of this event is to increase awareness of vulnerable road users and raise funds for an excellent cause, the Memorial and Traffic Safety Fund.

There will be a 5KM Walk, 5KM Run, 10KM Run and a 10KM fun bike ride. There will be prizes, free food, displays, music and fun activities for the kids making this a great day for the entire family!

 

Volunteers are need for the event.  To register as a walker, runner, and cyclist or as a volunteer, please use the Running Room Website:  http://www.events.runningroom.com/site/?raceId=8499.

9)  EFCL and Leagues Prepare Joint Report on Low Density Zone Amendments

Following City Council’s decision in October, 2012 to delay consideration of amendments to low density zones, EFCL has been busy educating leagues and getting feedback from leagues on the proposed amendments.  We held three workshops and presented the results to Executive Committee of Council on February 11, 2013.  The workshops defined the concerns, but not the precise changes desired by leagues.  Thus, on March 6^th, EFCL coordinated a meeting of league representatives who wanted to develop joint recommendations to Council.  We prepared a report to Council based on the feedback from the workshops and the March 6^th meeting.  The report will be distributed to City Council, Administration and to leagues prior to the public hearing on March 18.   Leagues will be able to use the report to assist them in writing their own letter to Council if they wish.   EFCL is also coordinating the speakers who will present the recommendations at the March 18^th meeting.

  

Here are the key recommendations 

1. Define the location criteria for various types of housing in the Use Section of the Zoning Bylaw, in order to create certainty that the location criteria will not be varied.
2. Change the Mature Neighborhood Overlay (MNO) Front Setback to be 1.5 m within the general context of the block face.
3. Add a location regulation that would limit front garages to locations where the majority of the homes already have front garages.

4. Instruct Administration to create front garage width and protrusion regulations.

5. Clarify that a) MNO consultation shall not be waived, and b) affected parties have 21 days to respond to variances requested by the developer. 

6. a) Eliminate the minimum widths of 10.0m and 12.0m for Duplexes, and for Semi-detached that are arranged along the depth of the Site.   Make minimum widths of Duplexes the same as minimum widths of Semi-detached Housing.  

b) In the RF2 and RF4 zones, define duplex housing as a Permitted Use on specific locations recommended in the Infill Guidelines, rather than making duplex housing a Permitted Use everywhere.  

7. Send RF3 proposed amendments back to Administration to address multiple issues, as detailed in this report. 

Suggested future work:

-Implement the following Residential Infill Guidelines

1. Access to sunlight and privacy
2. Well-designed outdoor amenity spaces
3. Landscape plans indicating retention of mature trees (or tree canopy replacement), and
4. Protection of a critical mass of single family housing in the core of mature neighborhoods.

-Monitor and reduce excessive variances to regulations.

-Develop public engagement plans for future text amendments.

10)                EFCL Seeks New Board Members

The EFCL is in the process of setting up meetings in District D (West Edmonton), E (Jasper Place) and J (Capilano) in order to elect directors to the board.  Districts D and J have been without a director for over two years and David Gibbens, EFCL vice-president and District E director is nearing the completion of his six-year term on the board.

11)                EFCL Selects Names for Each of its Districts

In order to help with identification, the EFCL has selected the following names of each of its twelve districts.

District A: Castle Downs/Calder.

District B: Londonderry

District C: Clareview/Horse Hill

District D: West Edmonton

District E: Jasper Place

District F: Central

District G: The Avenue East

District H: Terwillegar/Riverbend

District I: Greater Strathcona

District J: Capilano

District K: Whitemud Creek East

District L: South East

Thanks to Allan for putting this report together.

If you have any questions or comments please drop me a line anytime.

David Dodge

President and Londonderry District B Rep.

Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (EFCL)