HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CRA AGM
The CRA Annual General Meeting was held on June , with 24 attendees, of which at least 18 were members in good standing, exceeding the quorum minimum of 15 for voting on official business.
The meeting covered off a review of CRA activities since the last AGM in June 2020, provided a financial overview of fiscal 2020 and completed it’s official business with unanimous approval. Here’s a link to the meeting minutes for further details.
___________________________________
CRA BOARD CHANGES
At the AGM the following motions relating to changes in the board composition were unanimously carried:
Three new board members were elected to positions vacated during 2020/2021. We warmly welcome the following new members to our board:
- Sam Lyon (City and CHCD Liaison)
- Jeremy Neuringer (Saftey , security and joint Police Liaison)
- Katie Tozer (Event Chair, 2021 Forsythia Festival)
A further motion was made to increase the size of the board of
directors from 9 to 12 directors and to give the Board delegated authority to nominate such other individuals as it deems appropriate to fill such spots, in its discretion.
The CRA has received a robust response to its recent call for new board members and is currently completing a review process to identify additional residents to join the board.
___________________________________
CRA NEWSLETTER TAKES A SUMMER HIATUS
The CRA newsletter will be taking a bit of a summer break following this issue, and will return to your inboxes sometime in August.
We will continue to post any ‘breaking’ Cabbagetown news on the CRA Facebook page Twitter account.
___________________________________
GTGK LAUNCHES SUMMER MATCHING PROGRAM
When COVID-19 shifted schools online, Green Thumbs Growing Kids (GTGK) TRIPLED the number of schools it reached. In addition to serving students in the home base of Regent Park ), they reached 9 NEW neighbourhoods, (including Riverside, Parkdale, Eglinton West and Lawrence Ave) PLUS 4 NEW cities (Richmond Hill, Mississauga, Scarborough, and Whitby).
Before the pandemic, their programs were in person and staff performed many of the necessary garden caretaking tasks alongside students. Now Staff are doing double duty running programming AND tending the gardens. But the budget has not adjusted to reflect this growth.
GTGK has launched a summer matching program to build much needed funds to help with the budget shortfall. Read more about how you can help.
___________________________________
UPDATE ON GARDEN SUITES STUDY
The Garden Suites Study looks at expand housing options in Neighbourhoods as part of the Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods (EHON) work program, endorsed by City Council in July 2020.
A Proposals Report, including draft Garden Suite regulations, is going to the June 28, 2021 Planning and Housing Committee meeting. The draft regulations contained in the Proposals Report will form the basis for ongoing consultation.
Additional information about the Garden + Suites study is available at www.toronto.ca/gardensuites
___________________________________
SOME TORONTO BEACHES DEEMED UNSAFE FOR SWIMMING
Toronto is home to 11 supervised public beaches, eight of which are blue flag certified this year, meaning the city regularly conducts inspections of E. coli levels to see which ones are safe for swimming on any given day. Unfortunately, only two beaches have been given the green light for swimming in recent days: Woodbine Beach and Bluffer’s Beach Park. A report from Mira Miller at BlogTO.
___________________________________
CITY NEWS UPDATES
CITY STAFF REPORT RECOMMENDS RENAMING DUNDAS STREET
In June 2020, City Council received a petition calling for Dundas Street to be renamed. The street is named after Scottish politician Henry Dundas, who scholars have concluded played an instrumental role in delaying the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, causing more than half a million more Black people to be enslaved in the British Empire.
Read the background to the city’s Recognition Review and Response to the Dundas Street Renaming Petition
A City of Toronto staff report which recommends a renaming of Dundas Street and other civic assets with the Dundas namehas now been scheduled to go before the Executive Committee on July 6. If approved, the report will then be reviewed by City Council at its July meeting.
The recommendation follows discovery sessions, extensive academic research and a review of over 400 global case studies, and furthers the City’s commitment to anti-Black racism, Indigenous truth and reconciliation, as well as building a more inclusive and equitable Toronto.
BIKE SHARE FREE RIDE WEDNESDAYS ARE BACK
Mayor Tory, Scott Collier Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) President, and Rhonda English, Chief Marketing Officer, CAA South Central Ontario (CAA SCO) recently announced the return of Free Ride Wednesdays during the month of July.
Thanks to the Bike Share Toronto / CAA SCO partnership, Bike Share Toronto riders will ride for free every Wednesday in July. Riders can take out a bike for up to 30 minutes, return the bike to any station, and take out another bike for an additional free 30-minute ride for a 24-hour period.
ParkPlayTO AND SUMMER IN THE 6IX RETURN WITH KIDS PROGRAMS
Mayor Tory has announced that ParksPlayTO and Summer in the 6IX will return this summer to engage Toronto youth, children and their families at parks and outdoor spaces across the City for a second summer.
Beginning Monday, July 5, ParksPlayTO will offer free drop-in and activity-based, recreation programming Monday to Friday at 74 locations.
Check ParksPlayTO and Summer in the 6IX for more information.
FREE SUNSCREEN RETURNS TO 75 WATERFRONT PARK LOCATIONS
The City of Toronto, the David Cornfield Melanoma Fund and the Douglas Wright Foundation are collaborating once again to provide free sunscreen through touchless dispensers at select park and trail locations along the Toronto waterfront. The dispensers are available at 75 locations in City parks along the waterfront, from Marie Curtis Park in the west to Bluffers Park in the east.
Since 2017, #BeSunSafe has offered sunscreen dispensers in select Toronto city parks, protecting close to 250,000 Torontonians.
___________________________________
PANDEMIC/VACCINE UPDATES
As we all happily move into phase 2 reopening (with case counts remaining consistently low!), we will be closing off the pandemic/ vaccine news section, after nearly 15 months of coverage. We will roll any future related updates into the main newsletter content.