Communities
and Bloom Committee
TOWN OF
Council
Chambers,
MINUTES
ATTENDANCE
Present Staff
Timothy
Armstrong Shanon
Elliott, Project Manager, CIB
Regional Councillor Jack Heath Catherine Harrison, Project Manager, CIB
Richard Jarrell Barbara
Nanninga, Mayor’s Office
Ed Law
Nirmala Persaud-Armstrong Julie Wilson, CIB Program Assistant
1.
CALL TO ORDER
Presiding Chair Shanon
Elliott called the meeting to order at
2.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF
Moved by Elizabeth Hutchison
Seconded by Tim Armstrong
That the minutes of the first meeting of the
Communities in Bloom Committee held on
CARRIED
3.
CIB COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON
Presiding Chair Shanon Elliott announced that Richard Jarrell has been designated Communities in Bloom Committee Chairperson for 2006.
Following his
acknowledgement, Richard Jarrell indicated that in order to speed things up, he
encouraged all members to submit their reports to the Chair in writing, at
least one week prior to the meeting.
4.
REPORT FROM PROGRAM
COORDINATOR
Shanon Elliott and Catherine Harrison jointly presented the CIB Event Planning Matrix [Attachment 1], and provided a detailed summary of each event and activity.
In addition, Ms. Elliott and Ms. Harrison also distributed and provided a summary of the following community promotional publications:
·
Official Launch Ceremonies of
· CIB Get Involved Flyer – providing the Spring and Summer Calendar of Events and showing color photos of various festivities held.
· 2006 Markham Blooms Garden Recognition Program – an information sheet providing the purpose, program overview, timing, resources and item for consideration.
·
Celebrate Our Environment – a document outlining
the 2006 calendar of community events celebrating
The theme for 2006 Markham Village Festival was discussed. It was pointed out that last year invited guests, particularly Members of Council, were encouraged to wear floral hats at the Festival. Several suggestions were made, i.e. that a similar “floral hat” theme be repeated this year; that everyone attending should be wearing hats with flowers to create awareness; that CIB committee should decorate straw hats and sell them; that spot prizes for the best decorated flower hats be given. Stemming from this discussion, the following motion was introduced:
Moved by Elizabeth Hutchison
Seconded by Tim Armstrong
That the “Floral Hat” theme be pursued in the Communities in Bloom Marketing Strategy, and in the Community Outreach Program at the same time.
CARRIED
It was suggested that Mark Cullen be made Honorary Chair; that Mr.
Cullen be invited to the Communities in Bloom Launch on May 13th;
and that Mr. Cullen be approached regarding broadcasting the event live on CFRB
Radio. This proposal was unanimously accepted with great enthusiasm. Following
discussion on the matter, Catherine Harrison was requested to contact Mark
Cullen with the aforementioned proposal.
5.
REPORTS FROM SUB-COMMITTEES
a) Community Outreach
Nirmala Persaud-Armstrong reported that her team made contact with several community organizations such as: Westmount Recreation Association, the Lion’s Club, the Rotary Club, the Cancer Society, and the LCBO. She advised that Community Outreach members from the past will continue to help in the event planning.
It was further reported that two letters were sent
out. The first letter (dated
It was
brought to committee’s attention that a majority of local service organization
signs located in prominent intersections are in dire need of repair/painting
and attention. Staff was requested to
investigate as to the ownership of the service organization signs and explore
the possibility of a joint beautification project between the owners and the Town
of
b) School Outreach
Elizabeth Hutchison reported
that two letters were sent out to schools – (1) elementary and (2) secondary
through the Parent School Councils, encouraging the students to participate in
the following ways:
(1) 20-Minute Makeover on Friday, April 21 -
participants are asked to spend 20 minutes outdoors picking up litter and
debris to “makeover” the community. Enter
our Schools in Bloom Contest -
providing details of their school’s environmental and stewardship activities
both inside and out. A grand prize of a
$250 gift certificate from a local nursery will be awarded. Create Mobiles for Display During Judges’
Tour – students are encouraged to create mobiles with an environmental or flower/tree theme, and the elementary school that submits
the most number of mobiles will be recognized with a plaque and a pizza lunch
for participants.
With respect to a question regarding volunteering for CIB towards a student’s community service hours, Ms. Hutchison responded that the 20-minute Makeover spent by a student picking up litter and debris outdoors could be credited towards his/her community service hours.
Shanon
Elliott distributed a copy of CIB Community Service Volunteer Opportunities
Flyer seeking student volunteers to staff CIB booth at community events and
festival during Spring and Summer. Interested students are asked to attend a
2-hour training session on Thursday, April 27th,
Staff was requested to add
c)
Special Events
Nil report
d)
Judges Tour
Barbara Nanninga presented
the 1st Draft of the CIB National Competition Judges Tour, Sunday
July 23rd to Tuesday, July 25th. The following suggestions were made:
Day 1
·
Dinner at Angus Glen – greeters are needed
·
Berczy Cemetery – children will be doing paper bag
luminaries
Day 2
·
Breakfast Meeting at the Civic Centre Canada Room – Three (3)
Environmental Leaders be designated to speak.
A Speech by the Commissioner should also be included.
·
Entertainment on Main Street Unionville – (weather permitting) – have
stage moving down the street; make a parade of performances; make the
presentation in front of the McKay House.
Bring small jazz group. Have Plan
B in case of thunderstorm/rain.
Day 3
·
Lunch at the Museum – to be replaced by lunch at First Markham Place
with spontaneous presentation. Ask
Fairchild TV to come out.
e)
Communications
Ed Law provided a summary of
the work plan discussed by his team:
·
Brochure
·
Visual Identifier
·
Banners
·
Website
·
Insert in Economist & Sun
·
Photo Contest
·
CIB Launch
·
Art Event
·
Horticultural Society
6.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Catherine Harrison presented a summary of the 2006 Performance Measures, listing some areas (goals) where performance could be measured with corresponding suggested targets.
With respect to
environmental awareness, it was suggested that environmental leaders in the
community be invited to the next meeting of Communities in Bloom Committee.
7.
OTHER BUSINESS
Nil
8.
ADJOURNMENT
On Motion by Tim
Armstrong, seconded by Barbara Nanninga, and CARRIED, the Communities in Bloom
Committee adjourned at
NEXT MEETING: