General Meeting – 25 February 2010

Friends of the Greenspace Alliance
Meeting of 25 February, 2010
Fieldhouse Restaurant, RA Centre

Members present: Joseph Potvin, Janice Seline, Cheryl Doran
Guest: Linda Fitzgibbon

The meeting commenced at 7:15 p.m.

1. Welcome and introductions

2. Drafting and adoption of agenda

3. Approval of minutes from recent meetings – deferred.

4. Discussion with guest Linda Fitzgibbons about what sort of protective designation should apply to semi-natural meadows that serve as spring/summer nesting grounds but that are mowed in the autumn. Linda outlined the background and situation.

Motion: Cheryl moved, seconded by Janice, to accept Linda Fitzgibbon as a member. Agreed.

5. Proposals for the Wildlife Festival. Janice reported that the Wildlife Festival will take place 27-28 March at Billings Bridge Shopping Centre. FGA will participate on condition of dropping the insurance requirement ($2 M insurance) with which we have an issue in principle.

Motion: Janice moved, seconded by Cheryl, that FGA pay $25 fee if FGA will participate in the 2010 Wildlife Festival (conditional on dropping the insurance requirement). Agreed.

6. Proposal for Eco-Stewardship Fair participation – Janice reported that the Fair will take place 24 April 10-5 at the RA Centre. It costs $50 for FGA to participate.

Motion: Janice moved, seconded by Cheryl, that FGA pay the $50 participation fee for the Eco-Stewardship Fair. Agreed.

7. Meeting with Ecology Ottawa – Joseph reported on an informal meeting with Graham Saul to explore areas where FGA and Ecology Ottawa could collaborate. Ecology Ottawa’s Election 2010 campaign and FGA’s GreenMyCapital initiative seem to be synergistic, and we agreed to continue discussions about that. We discussed a supportive role that FGA can play with groups like his that have municipal versus the FGA’s broader regional boundary. Graham also suggested we discuss commonalities with the new National Capital Environmental Network.

8. Treasurer’s Report
Motion: Janice moved, seconded by Cheryl, that FGA pay $30 to reimburse Amy Kempster for Federation of Citizens Association (FCA) membership. Agreed.

Motion: Janice moved, seconded by Cheryl, that FGA reimburse Janice Seline for her payment of the annual fee of $136.50 to Canada Post for the mailbox. Janice had had to pay with Interac, as the post office would not accept a cheque. Agreed.

9. New Business: No new business items were raised.

10. Adjournment at 9:15 pm