t the Association's Annual General Meeting November 8, attending members elected a new Board for the upcoming year. Returning for another term are fourteen individuals: Bob Adamyk, Jane Allain, Robert Burr, Caroline Calvert, Anne-Marie Corbett, John Graham, Michael Jenkin, Pat Kealey, Brenda Lee, Kristina Liljefors, Michael Loewen, Michael Lynch, Doug Stickley and Brian Tansey. Joining these wily veterans are six newcomers: Leo Doyle, Karen Fuller, Peggi McNeil, Sue Potter, Larry Spencer and Jennifer Tipper. All in all, we have some great talent on the Board, solid experience leavened with new energy and fresh ideas.
In addition to these twenty Board members, OSCA is pleased to welcome Jay Nordenstrom as an ex-officio member. Jay is the current Director of External Relations for the Carleton University Students' Association. We look forward to his advice on a range of matters including ways to improve the relationship between the community and the student body. We are also seeking ways to formalize a link with the Old Ottawa South business community.
Following the AGM, the new Board elected its Executive officers: Anne-Marie Corbett as Secretary, Kristina Liljefors as Treasurer, Michael Jenkin as Vice President and yours truly as President.
Finally, I would like to thank those leaving the Board for their contribution to making this community a better place in which to live. Special recognition should go to Brad Cairns, Glenn Elder, Derrick Keefe, Lora Lindsay and Abby Pollonetsky for much hard work spanning several years.
The proposal by the owners of Patty's Pub for an outdoor patio seating as many as ninety people continues to command Board attention. At our November meeting, Michael Jenkin, the chair of OSWATCH, noted that the nearby residents are appealing the decision by the province's Alcohol and Gaming Commission to allow such a facility.
The Board decided to use this appeal opportunity to correct some of the Commission's factual errors with regards to the OSCA Board process for coming to its position to oppose the patio. Further, we plan to challenge the Commission's disregard of a City by-law prohibiting such patios in close proximity of residential neighbourhoods.
The Commission does not normally consider zoning issues. However, in this case, as the City bylaw dealt specifically with patios, we believe they had an obligation to do so in determining what was in the public interest. How a non-elected Commission with members from outside this city could give such short shrift to a by-law adopted by elected officials, a by-law regulating a neighbourhood matter, is difficult to fathom.
Another land use issue concerns a chip wagon that has been a long time fixture at the corner of Sunnyside and Bank. It appears the parking lot is not zoned for this type of use. To deal with the problem, the City is proposing a zoning change so that the entire parking lot would be in conformance with a facility like a chip wagon. The OSCA Board's concern with this approach is that it might allow a large, take-away restaurant or some other undesirable development to appear on that already congested corner, once the chip wagon disappears. Consequently, we agreed to propose only the 'foot print' of the chip wagon be re-zoned. If this is not possible, then OSCA plans to oppose the re-zoning.
I am pleased to report that OSCA continues to be in robust financial shape. For the fiscal year ending August 30, 2000, OSCA recorded a small surplus of $4,200. This was achieved in spite of significant capital expenditures on our part - first, in providing nearly $8,000 to assist in renovations of the Old Firehall and second, in supporting the purchase of a new play structure for Windsor Park with a $700 contribution.
This newspaper, which is owned by OSCA, also recorded a modest surplus. And finally, OSCA was able to make a $25,000 contribution to the Old Firehall Redevelopment Fund, a charitable foundation established by the Board to allow fund-raising for a complete renovation and addition to our community centre.
So now we have three financially separate entities, all enjoying financial good 'health'. OSCA's treasurer, Kristina Liljefors or I will be pleased to answer any questions concerning OSCA's finances. I can be reached by e-mail at jgraham@iog.ca.
The Program Committee co-chairs, Brenda Lee and Anne-Marie Corbett, received Board approval for their proposal to spend an additional $4,700 on Firehall renovations, conditional on matching funds from the City. The funds will be spent on a variety of projects to make the Firehall a safer place for young children including
With this expenditure and the recovering of furniture in the lounge area, the interior of the Firehall will soon be in reasonable order. Our next order of business, in the short term, is to turn to the building's exterior. The long term redevelopment of the facility remains a strong OSCA priority. A committee of the Board is hard at work on this challenge. Expect more news from their work in future columns.
Have a safe and enjoyable holiday season. See you next year.