Draft Minutes
Annual General Meeting of the
Victoria Downtown Residents’ Association
January 10, 2009-01
At: Victoria Events Centre on Broad Street
Present: Robert Randall (Chair and Chair of the Land Use Committee), Sandra Meigs (Board Member), Robert Florida (Secretary,), Andrew McKinnon (Treasurer); Resident Members of DRA: Hugh Kruzel, Wendy Bowkett, Sharon Jayatunge, Lawrence Mackett, C. Brankston, Liz Dichmont, Janice Florida, Wayne Carlow; Non-Resident Members: Yule Heibel; a few other guests.
Regrets: Charlayne Thornton-Joe (Former Downtown/Harris Green City Councillor Liaison
- The meeting was called to order at 2:05 pm.
- Agenda, with the deletion of the City Council Liaison Report, was approved by acclamation.
- Minutes of the AGM of 10 February 2008, with the correction that the Carlows are resident members rather than non resident, was approved by acclamation.
- Chair’s Report (appended). Accepted by acclamation. Robert Randall noted that the DRA now has approximately 120 members. He called for volunteers to produce the newsletter—we hope to have two issues this year.
- Treasurer’s Report (appended). Accepted by acclamation. Andrew McKinnon noted that our modest surplus of roughly $1000 should disappear next year if we are successful in publishing two news letters.
- Land Use Committee Report (appended) was presented by Robert Randall, Chair of the LUC. Accepted by acclamation. After the report, there was general discussion about the radically reduced rate of construction downtown as a result of the economic downturn. No doubt the growth of population in our area will slow as a result. In the last five years the downtown population has grown from around 700 to approximately 2000 souls.
- City Council Liaison Report: there was no report as Charlayne Thornton-Joe, the previous Downtown/Harris Green City Councillor Liaison had another engagement. Dean Fortin, the recently elected Mayor, has not yet appointed replacements for the liaison positions.
- Election of Directors: Sandra Meigs, one of the founders of the DRA, is stepping down from the Board as her term has expired. Her work for downtown residents has been steady, generous, and effective. Before the DRA was constituted, downtown residents as a group had no official voice at City Hall and other levels, and now we are a well respected community association that participates at many levels. We expressed our thanks and gratitude to the Godmother of the DRA on her retirement from the Board. Sandra did promise to stay involved as a DRA member. Robert Florida, and Robert Randall’s terms as Directors will expire this year. Andrew McKinnon’s term will expire in 2011. All three agreed to continue on the Board for the current year. Cathy Brankston, Hugh Kruzel, and Wendy Bowkett were elected by acclamation to sit on the Board. Welcome back to Wendy, who had been DRA Treasurer before her recent sojourn in Vancouver. Welcome to Cathy, who has been a very active DRA member for some years. And welcome to Hugh, a well-known activist in city politics.
- Election of Officers: The following officers were elected by acclamation to another year term:
Robert Randall, Chair
Andrew McKinnon, Treasurer
Robert Florida, Secretary
- Other Business: Three members reported on their service on various committees as DRA representatives.
- Robert Florida outlined his participation on the Douglas Street Busway Advisory Committee, expressing some regret that the project was shelved after some businessmen and women objected it.
- Andrew McKinnon reported on the work of the Needle Exchange Advisory Committee. He expressed some reservations about the intentions of VIHA and some concerns about the impact of the Needle Exchange on our community.
- Cathy Brankston had a tale similar to Andrew’s to tell of her experience at the Our Place advisory meetings.
Adjournment at 2:55 pm. After the meeting there were light refreshments arranged by Cathy and Wendy. Thanks to Andrew for arranging the use of the Victoria Activity Centre and to Wendy and Cathy for the good eats!
Appendix I, Chair’s Report
Downtown Residents’ Association Chair’s Report, Delivered by Robert Randall, Chair
January 10, 2009
In my second year as Chair of the Downtown Residents’ Association, I’ve witnessed encouraging evidence of continued progress.
While not an exhaustive list of every project we were involved with I’d like to share a few things we did in 2008.
Our membership continues to increase and this morning it now stands at 120 members.
The DRA joined forces with the Downtown Victoria 2020 organization in putting on
an all candidates meeting in the days leading up to last November's Municipal election.
Instead of the traditional question and answer session we organized a trade show-style
event that better accommodated the number of candidates. We want this to be an
ongoing part of the election process and look forward to hosting future events for the
benefit of Downtown residents. I thank the members who volunteered their time to organize this.
I'd also like to thank Councillor Charlayne-Thornton-Joe for her work as Council Liaison to the
DRA. She's done a great job of keeping us informed of all things of interest to Downtown
residents. Her commitment to the vitality of Downtown is unmatched and we have been lucky
to have her. Mayor Fortin has yet to assign Councillors to communities so far this term so right now we are without an official Council Liaison. Charlayne wished to be here on an unofficial basis
but a prior commitment with the Lions Club means she sends her regrets.
Our goal for 2009 is to produce two newsletters. We're looking for volunteers to
help create content, get advertising and so some desktop publishing. The newsletter
is a great recruiting tool and a good way to express your creativity so l encourage
people with an interest in publishing to get involved.
We've continued with our Roving Refinery events and look forward to more in 2009.
These outings help bring together Downtown businesses and residents to show our
neighbourhood as a safe and vibrant place to enjoy and also to give members old and new a
chance to meet the Board, and our Council Liaison.
Our goal is to have even more activities that involve Downtown residents. Events that
engage the community and take advantage of the great resources at our doorstep. We
will need your help to accomplish this. As we increase our membership we bring on
board the talent and experience needed to achieve great things.
We look forward to another successful year. Thanks for your help.
Robert Randall
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Appendix II, Treasurer’s Report
Victoria Downtown Residents’ Association
Treasurer’s Report
January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008
Prepared by Treasurer
Andrew MacKinnon
Presented at the AGM
January 11, 2009
By
Andrew MacKinnon
In accordance with the Victoria Downtown Residents’ Association (DRA) Constitution, the following Report, Financial Statement and Budget have been prepared for the Annual General Meeting for the review of the DRA Board and Membership.
The DRA is not required to have an audit completed.
This the fourth report year for the DRA since the Society became a financial entity on November 1, 2004. At the AGM of February 10, 2008, a Statement of Income and Budget were presented. The Constitutional Year End is December 31st.
The DRA receives base funding from the City of Victoria, which is supplemented by membership fees and donations.
In addition to the base grant for Communications and General Operations, the DRA received an additional grant for the Daring Design Project in 2007. The monies from this project have not been spent. Removing the amount of the project grant from the regular operations provides a more accurate picture of the current financial position and year performance.
Victoria Downtown Residents’ Association
Statement of Income
January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008
Revenues
Annual base funding2,320.00
Project Grant (carryover)4,490.00
Memberships & Donations 335.00
Interest 6.52
Total Revenues7,151.52
Operating Expenses
General and Administration 445.34
Communications
Website Hosting 153.70
Newsletter
Printing 444.35
Postage 611.93
Total Expenses1,655.32
Net Income less Daring Design Grant$1,006.20
Proposed Budget for 2009
Income
Base Funding2,320.00
Daring Design Project4,490.00
Memberships & Donations 400.00
Newsletter Advertising 150.00
Total Income7,360.00
Operating Expenses
General & Administration 500.00
Communications
Webhosting 170.00
Newsletter
Printing 900.00
Postage1,200.00
Total Expenses2,770.00
Net Income less Daring Design Grant$100.00
Appendix III Land Use Committee Report
DRA Land Use Committee Report, Presented by Robert Randall, Chair LUC
January 10, 2009
The DRA Land Use Committee looked at a variety of rezoning and variance applications in 2008,
some minor, some large.
The Committee spent many hours meeting with architects and developers who wanted to
propose new buildings and renovate older ones.
We can be proud of the consultation that was achieved as proponents saw our input not as
a burden or bureaucratic obligation but as a rewarding opportunity to receive valuable
feedback and constructive criticism from residents, the people that know Downtown best.
Meetings often begin over coffee and a few sketches on a napkin and end many months
later with a report with member's comments delivered to City Council and the Planning Dept.
Members can be assured our Land Use Committee made sure developers and architects
were held to the highest standards possible with their building's environmental standards,
crime prevention standards, aesthetic qualities and neighbourhood suitability. Our feedback
was eagerly sought and the quality of this dialogue has manifested itself in the high
quality of the new buildings we see in Downtown today. The relationship was such that even
projects that did not require official community consultation were shown to us because our
thoughts were respected and valued.
However, the drastic economic downturn meant that lenders pulled the plug on many of the
projects we've invested much time and effort in. Projects large and small struggle to convince
international banks what we've known all along--that Victoria is a wise place to invest in and
those with long term vision will be rewarded.
Here a just a few of the projects our volunteers have been involved with in 2008:
• The Hudson mixed use development
• The Radius mixed use development just to the north.
• The Atrium; BC Ferries Headquarters at Yates and Blanshard
• 834 Johnson condo across the street
• 601 Herald
• 613 Herald condos
• 937 View/930 Fort condos
• 680 Broughton condo
• Gateway Green office project
• 947 Fort office project
• St. Andrews office project
The Land Use Committee looks forward to further opportunities to have residents' concerns heard by Staff, Council and the development community.
Robert Randall
End of Minutes
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