Hi community leagues in the Londonderry District B of the EFCL (Lago Lindo, Kilkenny, McLeod, Evansdale, Northmount, Londonderry, Steele Heights, Balwin, Killarney, Delwood, Glengarry, Rosslyn, Belvedere community leagues in Edmonton)
Here is a report on both the EFCL Board Meeting and the meeting of the EFCL Planning Committee.
EFCL Looks at Adding Wind Turbine to Its Renewable Energy
Arsenal
The EFCL board of directors has decided to
investigate the possibility of installing a wind turbine on the roof of its
office building (7103-105 Street). The
board made the decision after reviewing an energy audit that suggested a
turbine could be an effective way to reduce the federation’s energy bills and
carbon footprint.
According to audit, a wind turbine would cost
approximately $29,700 to install and would produce approximately $1,110 in
electricity each year, at today’s prices.
This equates to a annual saving of 4.8 tonnes of cardon dioxide
(greenhouse gas) if this electricity was produced by traditional methods (coal
and natural gas).
The federation will investigate potential
cost sharing opportunities, including the Taking Action to Manage Energy (TAME)
program offered by the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre.
The board’s decision comes only days after
the federation successfully installed a 1.2 kw, five panel solar energy system
on the roof of its office building.
Development of the solar energy system, which comes complete with an
energy production display monitor in the lobby of the office building, was done
as part of the federation’s solar and energy conservation program. This program saw the completion of energy
audits and installation of solar energy systems at seven community league halls
(Ritchie, Riverdale, Rossdale, Meadowlark, Alberta Avenue, West Jasper/Sherwood
and North Glenora) this spring.
Final Tripartite License Agreement Signed
The EFCL is pleased to report that all of
the community leagues with land have now signed a tripartite license agreement.
The last signatory, Glengarry Community
League, put pen to paper in a private meeting with EFCL president David Dodge
last week. A key precondition for
Glengarry was the development of an addendum that outlines the steps the EFCL
will take if it is ever needs to assume control of the league’s facilities, as
outlined in the terms of the license agreement.
This addendum is now attached to the document signed by Glengarry, the
EFCL and City of Edmonton.
Completion of the new agreement is a major
milestone for all parties. It provides
clarity on how the land the city provides to each league is to be used and how
disputes are to be resolved. It also
clarifies the supporting role that will be played by the EFCL.
Negotation of this agreement was also
accompanied by the creation of a significant city grant program to help leagues
build and repair their facilities.
Called the Community League Infrastructure Grant Program (CLIP), it
makes $3 million available each year for everything from painting a room to building
a new hall.
Edmonton Northlands Wants to Connect With Community Leagues
The EFCL is quite excited about a partnership opportunity
that is starting to take shape with Edmonton Northlands.
Northlands would like to see greater community involvement
in its operations, notably the annual K-Days Parade and K-Days Exposition
during the summer. They would love to
see leagues sponsor one or more parade entries and are exploring the idea of a
community night at the fair grounds, when league members could get in for a
reduced rate and community leagues could jointly operate an exhibit or game
(like our football toss) as a way to raise our profile and earn some money for
the leagues.
Both of these ideas seemed to have good potential,
particularly if the EFCL and Northlands were able to help facilitate the
development of parade entries and a booth at the fair, to make it easy for
leagues to participate.
Edmonton Northlands has been invited to make a presentation
on this topic at the May 29 Annual General Meeting of the EFCL. It is our intention to invite league reps to
sit on a committee to flesh out ideas and opportunities for 2014.
If this partnership is put into place, Northlands would
become one of the EFCL’s corporate sponsors and would be identified in our
advertising and at all of our events.
Parking and
School Construction on the Agenda:
EFCL to Meet with Edmonton Public School Board
The EFCL has invited the trustees and
senior staff of the Edmonton Public School Board to a dinner meeting on May 15
to discuss some key issues of mutual concern.
These include the plan for new schools in growing parts of the city,
retention of older schools in mature parts of the city and the provision of
adequate parking and drop off areas around all schools.
The federation is keenly aware of the role
a school plays in bringing people together in a community and wants to see as
many new buildings constructed and older buildings maintained as possible. It also wants to ensure community usage of
all school facilites.
Recent trends among parents to drive their
children to school has lead to an array of parking and drop off issues in the
immediate area of the school. In some
cases this has affected the local community league, when parents utilize the
league’s parking lot before and after school each day.
EFCL’s 100th
Anniversary Project Rolls Along
The
EFCL continues to make good progress on its 100th Anniversary
Project, which is earmarked for the southeast corner of Hawrelak Park.
On
April 24, the federation took part in an open house that the City of Edmonton
organized to show the public all of the changes that are planned for the park. These
included the city’s plan to construct a water play feature between the
playground and our project, as well as deepen one end of the main lake this
summer to enable swimming during triathlon events.
Most of the visitor’s attention – and that of the media in
attendance - was focused on the city’s water play project. The city’s consultant had two concepts on
display (see attached drawings). The
first drawing showed an extensive wading pool, complete with a central island,
surrounded by a large sand beach area.
New washrooms would also be included.
This concept was expected to cost approximately $4.4 million and would
utilize almost the entire grassy space between the playground and the east end
of our project (that starts with a small pond).
Additional features not included in the budget were a spray deck
($653,000), Parking Lot Expansion ($472,000) Walkway to the Parking Lot
($197,000) and Walkway to the EFCL Project ($18,000).
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| City proposal Concept 1 Beach Play - the EFCL project connects with the bottom left of the concept. |
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| City proposal Concept 2 Water Play - the EFCL project connects with the bottom left of the concept. |
We prepared a display that showed the conceptual plan for
the Community League Plaza, which will house a display on community leagues, and
a walkway by the existing stream, which will connect the city’s water play
feature to the main lake in Hawrelak Park.
Most of the 35 people who attended the open house were in
favor of our project and appreciated the fact that we were doing something to
recognize the contribution that community leagues have made to the City of
Edmonton. It was also evident that
Hawrelak Park is heavily used by many groups, as some people felt it didn’t
need any further development at all.
The two
water play features, along with a summary of the public feedback, will be
presented to city council’s community services committee on June 11. The committee will recommend one of the
concepts to City Council for approval.
In addition to this work, the federation has hired Marius
Veldtman, a consultant we worked with on our infrastructure assessment program,
to oversee the development of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for project
management and design work on our 100th Anniversary Project.
Marius has
located six Edmonton firms that are interested in submitting a proposal. He is now preparing the bid documents and
should have them ready to send out later this month.
Our
anniversary committee has expressed an interest in reviewing the responses, as
well as interviewing the company representatives. Once this process has been completed, it is
our intention to compare the RFP results to the city’s offer for project
management services before determining the best route to follow.
In
addition, the EFCL is reviewing the potential of developing a Cultural Heritage
Walk on the pathway next to the stream. The
walkway would feature displays that show the contributions individuals and
groups from different cultural backgrounds have made to the City of Edmonton
and as such, attract visitors to this part of the park. This component has the
potential to bring a number of other partners to the table, to help fund the
overall project and increase its appeal to all three orders of government.
The EFCL
could also use this opportunity to describe what it is doing to reach out to
people from different cultural backgrounds.
EFCL Wants In On Elevate Task Force
The EFCL Board of Directors made it clear
that they want to see a role for the federation in the revitalization of older
neighborhoods, which is the job of a task force trying to implement
recommendations contained in the city’s Elevate Report.
Board members were pleased to hear that all
three levels of government, along with the local school boards, are members of
the task force. One of the primary
recommendations of the report was to bring all of the key parties at the
table. The EFCL was also pleased to hear
that the city has appointed a staff person, Jack Araujo, to work on this
project.
The board was concerned to hear that the
task force has yet to identify any projects or programs, other than to begin by
comparing the capital budget plans of each organizations.
The board made it clear that they want to
be involved in the development and implementation of a variety of projects and
programs, including those that attract and retain families in these parts of
the city. The loss of families is a huge
concern to the federation, given the substantial investment many leagues have
made in local infrastructure (playgrounds, courts, halls and rinks) and the
manner in which families with children help bring the community together.
Ms. Araujo, who provided a status report on
the project at last week’s board meeting, said she would do what she could to
ensure that the federation is represented in some fashion.
Traffic
Safety Partners Discuss Speed Management Continuum
The Traffic Safety Partners committee, which
includes city staff, police, school board and EFCL reps, has given its blessing
to a newly-created method of analyzing and responding to neighborhood traffic
concerns. It is called the Neighbourhood
Speed Management Continuum and it looks at traffic speeds, traffic shortcutting
and number of collisions, along with the location of playgrounds, schools and recreation
centres.
The continuum will help the city determine the
most appropriate response to local speeding problems, including engineering
measures and speed reduction campaigns like the 40 km hour speed limit program.
Senior-Friendly Community League Promoted
The EFCL is working with the Seniors Coordinating Council of
Edmonton to determine ways in which community leagues can do a good job of
reaching out and engaging seniors.
Our plan is to hold one or more workshops where
representatives of leagues and various senior organizations review various
initiatives that leagues could consider.
This could include having a senior’s liaison officer on the board,
giving special consideration to the needs of seniors at league events and
ensuring that league facilities are accessible to people with mobility issues.
Information gathered at the workshop would be tabulated and
presented in newsletter articles, on websites and in the community league
resource guide, to name three. Workshop
participants would also brainstorm ways to develop and promote activities that
are of interest to seniors.
Leagues interested in this initiative are encouraged to
contact the EFCL’s community development officer, Shahriyar Khan.
EFCL Prepares For 2013 Annual General
Meeting
Preparations are
well along for the federation’s 2013 Annual General Meeting, which is set for
6:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 29 at Duggan Community League (3728-106 Street). This year’s meeting will feature
presentations on the federation’s Solar and Energy Conservation Program, the 100th
Anniversary Project and the new bar code system on community league membership
cards. Quick updates will also be
provided on Leagues Alive 2013, the Balconies in Bloom program, the Living
Local Arts and Heritage Program, our Civic Engagement Review and our new
partnership with Edmonton Northlands.
The federation will
also be seeking new board members in the west end, as well as planning
committee members in the west end and Castle Downs area.
Community league
delegates are urged to contact Joanne Booth at the EFCL, particularly if they
are coming for dinner, which commences at 5:30 p.m.
Vitalize Conference Looks Good This
Year
A number of board
and staff members at the EFCL are making plans to attend the provincial
Vitalize Conference, which is set for June 13-15 at the Shaw Conference Centre
in Edmonton. The conference is built
around the following seven themes: board governance, communication, human
resources, leadership, organizational development, technology and general
interest. This conference is a great
opportunity for leagues to provide their volunteers with training and a chance
to network.
The continuum and its use in promoting traffic
safety will soon be presented to city council for its consideration.
EFCL
Planning News
Light
Efficient Community Policy Complete
The EFCL, along with the Light Efficient Community
Coalition, played a major role in getting the city to consider developing a
policy to reduce light pollution and energy consumption, while enhancing safety
on city streets and city property.
EFCL Vice President David Gibbens and planning advisor Bev
Zubot represented EFCL on the advisory committee throughout the policy and
information document, working alongside very knowledgeable city engineers,
consultants, coalition members and city department staff. In addition to creating a progressive policy,
this project forged positive working relationships and a pool of experts that
we can turn to when communities raise street lighting or park lighting
concerns.
EFCL
Prompts the City to Review Bylaws for Eating and Drinking Establishments.
The EFCL Planning Committee and Central Area Council
encouraged Executive Committee of Council to support the Administration’s
recommendation to review the relevant Zoning Bylaw and the business license
bylaw. We are hoping that the amendments
will prevent the morphing of restaurants into late night bars, and will properly
evaluate parking requirements.
Body
Rub Centre Bylaw remains an important issue for the EFCL Planning Committee.
Our committee strongly believes that Body Rub Centres should
be more than 100 m away from community halls, schools and other locations where
children or vulnerable people congregate.
It plans to prepare background information and a survey that will be
distributed to leagues by email and at the AGM, May 29th. Bylaw amendments will be considered by
Council on June 10th.
EFCL
Gains Insights at Building Edmonton Symposium
Hosted by the City & the Urban Development Institute,
the symposium featured a number of developers and city planning staff in panel
discussions, along with EFCL executive director Allan Bolstad
Mayor Mandel, who gave the opening speech, sees Council as
the promoters of development. He said it
has only turned down two projects during his time on council. He said community leagues, not Council, are
the problem, when it comes to moving the city forward. He said leagues oppose affordable housing in
the inner city, oppose seniors and don’t want their complexes on surplus school
sites. He said they are also opposed to
too much traffic for no good reason.
In the panel discussions, developers such as Jodie Wacko
emphasized the importance of flexibility – all policy documents should be a
living document so that the rules can be changed on the fly in response to
customer demands. Allan Bolstad said
leagues are interested in stability – that the city should develop policies and
regulations and stick to them so people know the rules and can depend on them.
Tegan Martin-Drysdale of Redbrick Real Estate Services asked
why the EFCL and its leagues were so involved in civic and planning
issues. She noted that the EFCL and its
leagues do not represent everyone in the neighbourhood. Allan acknowledged that the leagues only
represent their members, but that the city often relies on them for public
input. He noted that the EFCL and its
leagues have some binding agreements with the city, relative to consultation,
and that leagues have been involved in civic engagement since their inception
in 1917.
EFCL
considers Active Role with Bike Routes
Given the level of discontent with the city’s planned bike
network, the EFCL has decided to explore how it could assist in the development
of welcomed, safe bike routes and bike infrastructure in neighbourhoods. Four
potential roles for EFCL have been identified through a meeting with
Transportation staff and Great Neighbourhoods.
a)
Assistance with social marketing of bike
infrastructure – promoting safety, community building, benefits of cycling (predominantly
a city role)
b)
Discussion
of safe bike route designs at the Transportation Safety Partnership Committee
meetings (EFCL staff Allan Bolstad and Shahriyar Kahn are members of this
committee)
c)
A review of Public Involvement Plans for bike
routes
d)
A bike route design workshop with leagues, in
the fall, sponsored by the City and the EFCL.
