Minutes from Public Meeting

September 14, 2010

Club Roma, 7:30-9:00 p.m.

Introduction and Presentation: Suzanne Veenstra, Community Animator with Niagara Prosperity Initiative

• Welcome
• Introduction of Niagara Prosperity Initiative (NPI) and Community Animator position: here to listen to community, and facilitate discussion which will hopefully lead us into action
• Purpose of the meeting is to better understand the perspectives of the local community on what they would like to see happen within their community and how they would like to see it happen.
• Successful change happens when it comes from within the community
• Challenge residents to take responsibility for the prosperity of their community
• Observed trends taken from Animator Role:

• Strengths:

• The People
• Location
• Schools

• Weaknesses:

• Suffering business community
• Stigma and old reputation
• Condition of the streets

• Aware that there are other issues but let’s focus on the more tangible and more achievable concerns
• Money alone wont change the face of Western Hill
• Suggestions for change:

• Neighbourhood Welcome Sign
• Urban Forestry Plan- planting trees
• New Landscaping and flower planting
• Other options like banners, sculptures, anything is possible

• Remember that the sky’s the limit

What are your thoughts?

• Hate to see West Park close
• We need to have kids help out
• West end needs a community centre to hold community activities
• We had a community centre but it burned down. The City thought that West Park was going to take the place of a community centre and be a community school. It was for a while but then something changed and it no longer plays that role
• Improve the GO train station- put all money in one basket
• We have good kids in this community, but how do we change the poor reputation that stills holds on?
• Peter Thompson, Green Committee (GC): Create beauty where there may not be any now

• Welcome Sign: GC have set aside money for landscaping however fundraising needs to be done for the actual sign- $5000- suggested location for sign would be in the split of St. Paul St. West and St. Paul Cres.
• Gateway garden to Twelve Mile Creek entrance (paved path under the hydro lines going down into the valley). Prototype has been sketched out for the garden. GC has put money aside to make it happen, they just need to have some volunteers do yearly maintenance because it is not on City property
• Boulevard Improvement Program: put landscaping and flower plantings in front of businesses. The GC will meet any donation that is made for this program

• We need to come back to the basics and not be thinking about grand ideas. We have a lot of talented individuals in the community who could contribute to the projects
• Change has to come from within Western Hill
• City Council has been negligent
•  Need to file a complaint to have anything accomplished- this is how the system is set up
• Prioritization: Need jobs, pool resources to make it happen, entice new businesses, reduce red tape to get things accomplished
• We can’t penalize individuals who are trying to make ends meet in attempts to revitalize the area.
• Need incentives to develop the West End
• Root of the problem: not competitive
• WeCan is broke: send out 9000 copies of West End Story- $4000 each issue, 4 times a year
• Join the group that is trying to do something
• Who’s going to watch over this community?
• This community needs a place to focus- what does this neighbourhood need?
• We are a diverse community and for us to give to a project, we need to have an invested interest in it. Currently we don’t have a reason to welcome people into this neighbourhood. There is nothing to keep people here so why would people want to come here.
• We need to work with both governments to make things happen, City and Regional governments
• Councilor Kushner: City colleagues say that the West end is getting too much attention

• Will bring up the issue about the billboard at Burgoyne bridge to City Council
• Council argues against having a pool in West St. Catharines

• We need to deal with the business aspect differently than we deal with the community aspect

• Maybe a business improvement program
• Other fundraisers, to put back in community

• Some communities have vibrant service clubs, we do not. Maybe we should form one.
• Murals can be a great way to get rid of graffiti
• Kids painting the garbage cans is another way to get people involved
• Currently the kids have no ownership o f the community
• What is the tipping point for the community to really start to take pride in their community? It needs to start somewhere and it needs to happen with the people who live here.

Comment Cards Comments/Suggestions:

• Murals
• Garbage cans by bus stops
• Please remove the double sided bill board (eye soar) at the bridge
• Put all your eggs in one basket, do everything possible to get the Go Station to stay in the West Side. It is our only hope of beautification. It will bring the money.
• West Park S.S. has been identified in Watson Report for possible closing. What effect might this have on efforts to revitalize Western Hill??
• Let’s grow the grass roots, fundraise and get volunteers to get going with or without government
• With new developments- hospital and Centre for the Arts- Downtown- we are close enough to experience prosperity if we have venues, services, and beautify and have good businesses
• I’m interested to see how this project meshes with Western Hill Revitalization study and if there is an opportunity for future collaboration- City Planner
• Re-brand as “West St. Catharines” including on street signs
• TRW property next to VIA station- make them clean up that weed infested, rusting pile of junk
• Hanging plants on street lights on Rykert and Louth
• Some street planters along St. Paul West where they ugliest commercial buildings are
• Renovate the small park next to VIA station, add kids’ play equipment, a safe cross-walk etc.
• Get TRW to donate or sell that ugly parking lot as a local for a new community centre, or rebuild the community center where it used to be on Lloyd St.
• Get rid of billboard!!!
• Have students from community schools build box planters, artistically paint garbage containers for the streets
• Schools need to better integrated into the community for use by all
• Youth engagement can help reduce destructive behavior by youth
• 5 year tax holiday for new business; start off along St. Paul West and Pelham Rd.
• Parkette built up- Flummerfeld St.
• Sidewalks on some of the older streets need to be improved
• Brock students: I don’t know about coming year but noise has not been a problem but the throw garbage on the road, eg. Tim Horton cups, bag of McDonald trays and bags
• In Power view very few people use sidewalks, they walk on the road
• Parking on our street is terrible (Wallace) most nights it is hard to drive down for cars on both sides
• We would be interested in getting our students involved with community improvement plans

Conclusion- Suzanne

• Great suggestions
• We are not the place of action yet, so we will have a second meeting to discuss our ideas further
• Will stay in touch with what you to let you know when the next meeting will be
• Meeting minutes and updates will be posted on community blog: www.commonspace-oldwesternhill.blogspot.com