ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – OCTOBER 17, 2002

Welcome: It is my pleasure to welcome all residents, guests, elected representatives and members of the Executive to our Annual General Meeting of 2002. This evening, we will briefly explain what it is we do, what we were able to accomplish during the past year and how we spend the monies collected from our membership campaign. When we have completed the presentation of our respective reports, we will hold our annual elections.

President’ Report:

I. For more than 50 years, the Centennial Community and Recreation Association, more commonly referred to as the CCRA, has been working to make the Centennial Community a great place to live — by promoting and supporting community improvement, preservation of the environment including clean air, open space and sound land use in development and by supporting recreation facilities and programs. It is staffed by volunteers from the community who look after any issues which affect us, to do whatever they can to improve our quality of life and to spread the knowledge of those issues and events throughout the community.

II. Our communications include our newsletter and our website. We publish the newsletter 10 times per year but when it is important to get information out more quickly, we prepare and deliver flyers and notices to all residents, either by hand or enclosed in the Scarborough Mirror. We maintain a website on which is posted up-to-date information about our community, local services, important contact information and the current status of issues affecting the Centennial Community. During the last year, we have also gone out to you with referenda to ask your opinion on critical issues affecting our area.

III. The CCRA has represented the community in dealing with the development of the Yellow Moon and Quest/Intracorp properties, the finalisation of plans for the Port Union Village Common and the proposed development of the property known as 76 Brumwell, by Candituft Developments. We have also dealt with numerous severance requests that varied from the Centennial Community By-law. We’ve done this by attending the Public Review Committee meetings, City Council meetings, meetings with our elected officials and with developers and by participating in hearings at the Committee of Adjustment and the Ontario Municipal Board. We’ve researched information about issues raised and communicated with all agencies which could help ensure that the best interests of the community were being served. When it comes to development, our experience has been that developers and/or government agencies occasionally miss issues that have the potential for producing long-term effects which are not always in the best interests of the Centennial Community. When this has occurred, we’ve brought it to their attention and encouraged them to look harder. The CCRA is also a participant in the ongoing dialogue on the development of the City’s new Official Plan.

IV. We’ve represented the community in dealings with the city related to traffic. We were part of the project team that participated in the Environmental Assessment of the proposed widening of Port Union Road which the Centennial Community opposes, as well as the evaluation of other alternatives for traffic-handling in our area. Our requests for help from the City in dealing with speed and safety issues along Port Union have been addressed by the installation of traffic lights at Port Union and Conference.

V. We have helped organise and support community events such as Winterfest, Earth Day, Heritage Day and the Sunday Concert Series. All of these have required not only volunteered effort but also financial support. We’ve put on our own ‘50’s Dance to raise money and to have some fun. We put our support behind the skateboard park and donated money towards it. We’ve donated money to other local groups and rewarded students for their excellence.

VI. We liaise with the Police on crime and crime prevention and pass on that information to you through the CCRA NEWS. This past year we have also been one of the community associations which were invited to participate in the planning of the new 43 Division.

VII. We work with all three levels of government and the Conservation Authority on the continuing development of the Waterfront Trail and have investigated and supported other conservation and environmental issues.

It’s been a busy year and we’ve had some success. Every year, we have the good fortune to meet a number of great people who are interested in the health of our community and who jump right in to help. This year is no exception. Our successful membership drive, the monthly distribution of the newsletters and the volunteers who help out at each event are examples these good-hearted people who ensure the existence of the CCRA.

There is still a lot to do. There are issues still to be resolved with the Yellow Moon and Intracorp developments. Brumwell is an example of how another development can seemingly come out of nowhere. There are still traffic concerns and environmental concerns and plenty of other issues that require our diligence and involvement. The proposed widening of Port Union has yet to be resolved. The preservation of Meadowvale Road is another issue where the outcome could cause our community irreparable harm and therefore, we must be involved with any planning. No doubt, there will be other issues to deal with that we know nothing about, at the moment — but we’ll have to.

This is your community. Be interested and be prepared to help. With your involvement, this will continue to be a great place to live. Thank You.