2014 Annual General Meeting Minutes

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SHERIDAN HOMELANDS RATEPAYERS ASSOCIATION (SHORA)

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2014

Date: December 4 th

2014, 7 pm

Location: Sheridan Park Alliance Church

Attendees: Board members Charles Thornton (President), Pieter Kool (Vice-President),

Anne Culpeper, Julianna Eddy, Denise Gilliland (Editor), Else Grech

(Treasurer), Shawn Lancaster, Shirley Secor, Alvin Tedjo, Tim Tibbs

(Canvassing Co-ordinator), Lina Tasca (Secretary), and approximately 45 residents

The 2014 SHORA Annual Meeting opened with the singing of our National Anthem.

Shora President, Charles Thornton, welcomed attendees to the AGM, and new residents to the community.

Shora’s Year-in-Review:

Charles briefly outlined Shora’s activities throughout the year.

May -- Community Garage Sale (huge success)

June – Concert in the Park (huge success)

July – Shakespeare in the Park (over 500 in attendance)

October – Meet the Candidates (for City Councillor, Ward 2) – over 250 attended

November – Pumpkin Parade (over 250 pumpkins on display, and over 400 viewers)

December – Christmas Lights Competition – Prize money donated to Deacon’s

Cupboard

Creating and maintaining a skating rink this winter will be undertaken by Tim Tibbs – at least a dozen volunteers will be required

Updating and maintenance of Shora website, by new webmaster, Shawn Lancaster

Creation and maintenance of Facebook page by Julianna Eddy

Sheridan Times – Advertising in newsletter more than pays for the publication

All current Board members will be returning in 2015, and three new Board members joined since the 2013 AGM – Julianna Eddy, Shawn Lancaster, and Alvin Tedjo

Current Board members were introduced – ideally we would like one more member

Shora Membership – currently about 462 members, up 10% from last year

Election of Board of Directors:

Prior to the election of the Board, Pieter Kool spoke briefly about the Sheridan Times. Pieter is responsible for obtaining advertisers and asked if anyone is interested, or knows someone who would be interested in advertising in the Sheridan Times, to please contact him through

the Shora website. The Sheridan Times is distributed to over 2300 homes in the Sheridan

Homelands as well as many businesses.

Shora is also very interested in obtaining a corporate sponsor(s) for our events, specifically

Shakespeare in the Park. There is no charge for attendance, but we ask attendees to make a donation to support this production. A corporate sponsor would assist greatly. Please contact

Pieter for further information.

Pieter Kool, Vice-President, introduced the current Board Members and asked if anyone else was interested in joining the Board. Leslie Leaver volunteered to become a Board member. A motion was put forth by John Braith, and seconded by George Pachiadakis to re-elect the current eleven members, as well as new member Leslie. From a show of hands, most everyone in attendance was in favour.

Guest Speakers :

Charles welcomed Trevor Barton from the Region of Peel, who will be speaking on recycling, and Constable Phillip Stiff, Peel Police, who will be speaking on the new identity pen.

Tim Tibbs, Canvassing Co-ordinator, thanked all the canvassers for their tremendous efforts and the members that joined for their support of our Ratepayers Association. Ideally we would like to have at least one canvasser per street. Therefore, many more volunteers are needed.

Anyone interested is asked to contact Tim through the Shora website. We will try to start the canvassing in early spring.

Tim confirmed the ice rink will be created again this winter. We currently have 10 volunteers, but would like at least four more. As the rink will require flooding each morning and night, 14 volunteers would ensure that each person would only have to help once a week.

Dennis Semwogereie (Homelands Dr.) volunteered. Any high school students volunteering will earn community service credits.

The floor was opened to questions. One individual asked what membership was like in other ratepayer associations, as Shora, at 462 members, was slightly over 20%. Charles advised he is not aware of membership figures for other assocations, but confirmed that Shora is probably the largest association in south-west Mississauga. Tim confirmed that he has records going back to 2001. At that time, membership was double what it is now, and his goal is to get back to that level. To do so, more volunteers are required!

Charles advised that in 2015, it is our intention to welcome all new residents to our area. New homeowners’ names and addresses will be provided by some of the realtors working in our area, and a Shora member will visit these people, welcome them to the neighbourhood, and provide them with a few back issues of the Sheridan Times and a one-year membership.

Else Grech, Treasurer, reviewed the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and 2015 Budget, which were displayed on the screen. Else thanked Pieter for his tremendous effort in obtaining ads for the Sheridan Times. The ads totaled $10,000 in revenue, and the cost of producing the

Sheridan Times this year was $7,590 plus additional costs of $500. Money made from this publication is used to offset costs incurred with Shakespeare in the Park, Pumpkin Walk,

Garage Sale, Concert in the Park, ice rink etc. Our focus is to break even at the end of the year.

One individual asked what the cost is for advertising in the Sheridan Times. Pieter confirmed a full-page ad costs $500; the back page is $600; half-page ad is $260; quarter-page is $135; and business card is $75. Anyone that pays in advance for both issues receives a 10% discount.

Else asked for a motion to approve the budget. The motion was put forth by George

Pachiadakis. From a show of hands most in attendance were in agreement.

Trevor Barton from the Region of Peel confirmed that five hundred thousand tons of waste is managed annually by the Region of Peel, and approximately half of this is recycled.

Commencing January 2016, garbage pick-up will change. Organics (green bin) will continue to be collected weekly. Garbage and recycling will be alternated every two weeks – i.e. organics and garbage one week, organics and recycling the following week. Bulky items will continue to be picked up weekly. New carts/bins will be delivered to all households in

December 2015. The carts will be available in three sizes – 120 litres, 240 litres, and 360 litres.

These carts are made in Canada, and built to withstand Canadian winters. They will also supposedly be raccoon-proof!

More information on these changes will be available on the Region of Peel website after

January 15 th

2015. Also, Region of Peel will be holding open houses from January to March to provide further information regarding the forthcoming changes.

Constable Phillip Stiff provided an overview of the new ‘trace pen’, which is available at

Home Hardware for $20. Each pen has microdots implanted with a unique set of numbers and you can mark about 50 items with one pen. It is not foolproof, but is an excellent deterrent.

When stolen property is retrieved, the police will know to whom the goods belong. The markings are virtually invisible. This pen is good for both indoor and outdoor use – bikes, cameras, etc. Etching devices are also available, but etching is very visible and will decrease the value of some items. You should keep a list of your valuables, along with serial numbers, make and model, photos, etc. The more information you have, the more helpful it will be to investigators.

Constable Stiff spoke briefly about the speed bumps and speed signs on Fifth Line. These are good deterrents. The speed bumps have now been removed to allow snow removal crews to clear the streets during the winter.

Cram-a-Cruiser drive will be held on December 6 th

between 10am and 3pm at the Loblaws store at Glen Erin and Eglinton. All donations will go to the Mississauga Food Bank, which is the over-all umbrella for all food banks in Mississauga.

Constable Stiff reviewed the crime map (available on the Peel Police website: www.peelpolice.ca/crimeprevention . The crime map shows one dot for Sheridan Homelands, which indicates one car break-in.

During a six-month period, Peel Police received 1,279 calls from South Mississauga. Of these,

369 were from Sheridan Homelands, but only 152 required a police report. During that period, there were 14 lost properties, 8 car thefts and 3 break and enters, which is considerably lower than other areas. Always acknowledge the presence of someone at the door. You do not have to answer the door, but ask who it is. If someone wants to break-in, they will not if they know someone is in the house. The low crime rate is attributed to the diligence of residents and the

Ratepayers Association. Sheridan Homelands and Sherwood Forest Ratepayers Associations are the largest and most involved in their communities.

Kathleen Jay, liaison with Peel Police (PCLC), thanked all the residents for their generous contributions to the cram-a-cruiser program (previously held at Sobeys). The next one, as mentioned by Constable Stiff will be on Saturday, December 6 th at the Loblaws store, Glen

Erin and Eglinton. Another drive will be held just before Easter.

Peel Police also sponsor Toys-for-Tots. This charity helped 6,000 disadvantaged children in

Peel Region last year. Corporate supporters include Mulligans and Canadian Tire.

Peel Police 11 Division has an open house each year on the last Saturday of May. There are many activities and food, and lots of fun for everyone.

The floor was opened to questions.

Brian, who backs onto Sheridan Park School, complained about the school buses that are parked at the schools as they are an ‘eyesore’, and has asked Charles to speak with our

Councillor to see what can be done to have these buses removed. Can they go back to being parked where they were previously?

The subject of outdoor lighting was raised as certain areas are quite dark and dangerous at night.

Another problem area is Thorn Lodge and Homelands – it is difficult to know where to cross the street.

Charles asked that anyone with questions email him at president@shora.ca

with all the details and he will contact Karen Ras.

Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

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