April 15th Meeting

The meeting was held to provide information and to gather feedback on the addition of Sylvia Holden Park to the Urban Park RFP.

There were three presentations followed by questions and comments.
Caroline Vanneste, president of the Glebe Community Association went through the sequence of events leading up to the inclusion of Sylvia Holden Park in the RFP. You can find Caroline's presentation here.

Clive Doucet, Capital Ward Councillor, put the concerns over the community park in the context the the greater Lansdowne redevelopment and expressed his support for initiatives to protect the community park. Also, Clive is going to pass a motion before council to request to remove the community park from the RFP.

Adrian Evans, a concerned citizen who lives close to the park spoke convincingly about the real risks of having the community park included in the RFP. Adrian's presentation is here.

Unfortunately no one from city staff attended the meeting. Invitation letters were sent by the GCA and followed-up on. Apparently city staff was specifically instructed NOT to attend.

There were many questions after the presentations. The questions were positive and mostly centered around what could be done to save the park. We also heard from a few of the "hundreds" of dog owners who use the dog park. Apparently this is the only dog park in the city that is totally fenced-in with high fences.

About 80 people attended the meeting. Also, two names were drawn for the park coloring contest. Congratulations to Leo and Rachel, each winners of $20 Miss Tiggy Winkles gift certificates.