Very brief minutes of the Britannia Neighbours meeting, 31 May 2007
Present: Eva, Pat, Jane, Helen, Penny
Regrets: Margaret, Katherine

We met on the benches out in front of the Britannia Info Centre.

The two carved Michael Rose benches have been removed from the Napier Square Greenway; the City has them in storage and if Michael wants them (and can find new suitable homes for them) we and the City agree that he can have them. The City will be reinstalling the bench-around-the-tree that was removed two years ago.



In the meantime, the City has placed a few giant boulders in the spot where the benches were. (Should we get Victoria Oginski to paint the one under the potatoes to look like a potato?)



We have asked the City (Greenways Branch) if they will provide us with some new plants/shrubs so we can beautify the spot where the benches used to be. We’d also like their help to move a couple of the boulders to more suitable locations in the Napier Square Greenway. Penny to e-mail Sandy James to enquire about when the plant material will be delivered and to let us know that and also when a City work crew might be available to help us. When they come, we’d also like them to remove that large ceramic pipe that folks use as a trash bin…





(note: e-mail sent; no response yet)
We will organize a neighbourhood work party for after the plants are delivered and when the City crew can come.

Additionally, we will be having a work party this Friday (June 8) at 10:00 a.m. to plant bulbs and tidy up. Please come if you can!

Katherine Polgrain will be watering as needed over the summer (up to twice a week) and Britannia Neighbours will pay her.

There are two Car-free Commercial Drive events this summer (June 17 and July 22). At last year’s there was a “spoken word” stage in the Greenway that attracted a large audience and resulted in many trampled plants. We definitely want to avoid further damage this year. Pat and Penny are in contact with the Car-free Commercial Drive organizers and have been assured that the Greenway will be protected. (One suggestion made was that the “spoken word” events could take place a few feet farther west, on the paved Brit courtyard.)

The BIA/Ian MacSorley offered to sponsor the Garden Tour this year. We discussed and agreed that we are not in need of sponsorship. Pat will be in touch with him and suggest other avenues for sponsorship.

There have been complaints about the group of between 6 and 12 people that hangs out in the Greenway. They used to hang out on the Michael Rose benches, but now they occupy the “living room” area in the southwest corner. It’s very unsightly; they leave garbage and cigarette butts everywhere ... and they do intimidate some people. We discussed, however, and agreed that it’s a public space and if they aren’t committing any overt crimes or disturbing the peace, they have every right to be there.





Pat and Penny got some red tulip bulbs from John Odong (968-6026). They are being pulled out at Queen Eliz Park and if we didn’t take them, they’d be thrown away. We’ve been told that they can be planted now, so we are having a planting day on Friday June 8th to get them into the ground.

Pat will contact Glen Anderson who oversaw the installation of the mosaics in both Mosaic Creek Park and the Napier Square Greenway. Especially in Mosaic Creek, some of the mosaics need repairs. Some of the Napier Square Greenway mosaics could use small repairs to keep them looking perfect. Can we pay Glen to fix? Will he do it? How much will it cost. Pat to find out.




Brenda Racanelli had asked us to discuss repairs needed in Mosaic Creek. Apparently the furniture needs to be repaired as well. Penny to get back to her. It would be nice if the costs of Glen’s time could be shared three ways by Brit Neighbours, Brit, and the Park Board.