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My last report on the COP Committee was back in October, just before that month’s meeting. We had our Family Violence Presentation Night on November 9, 2011 which took the place of the November meeting. Normally that would have been it for the year but we did have an impromptu meeting at our Christmas party as some urgent issues had come up. This resulted in an extra meeting in January, with the regular one being January 25th. Highlights from: October 26, 2011 Meeting. · We had two guests for the evening who were concerned about truck traffic on Maltby Road, between Victoria and Watson Roads. · Doug Smith explained that this was due to the new golf course. · When the golf course was completed, this stretch of road would be paved and it was scheduled to be completed by the end of November. · Six Committee Members had attended the COP Conference at Aboyne. · Once again, it was very informative. · There is a move afoot to change the name of the Committee from COP to SCC (Safe Community Committee). · Dave Haley, Road Watch Committee Chair, had sent out letters to the community regarding presentations on Road Watch but had not received any responses yet. · Dave, Councillor Susan Fielding and Sandra Solomon had made a presentation on Road Watch to the Centre Wellington Council of the Whole. · They were looking at starting up a Road Watch Committee as part of Council as their COP Committee was not interested in pursuing it. · There was some concern regarding the grant received for Road Watch in 2010 from Council for the implementation of the program. · This money had been absorbed into general funds at the beginning of 2011. · Road Watch was still being implemented and this funding was still required. · It was suggested that Glenna contact Council requesting that the balance be returned to COP. · Final details for the upcoming Domestic Violence Presentation on November 9th were discussed. · Councillor Jerry Schmidt was in charge of the Silent Auction and everything seemed to be falling in to place. · There were lots of really nice donations. · Sandra was to do up a Thank You poster for the sponsors. · Glenna Smith asked for entertainment ideas for the pre-talk time period. · Susan would ask Paul and Wendy McDonald if they could provide it. · The refreshments were all under control. Sandra, Holly Franklin and Mary Schmidt were taking care of them. · Speaker gifts, advertising and Thank You letters after the event were also discussed. · As the Santa Claus parade was taking place very soon after the Domestic Violence Presentation night, it was decided that we would not participate in this year’s parade. November 22, 2011 Meeting. · This was a brief meeting held during the Christmas party to discuss urgent matters. · Glenna had heard back from Brenda Law and Council had interpreted the Road Watch grant differently and we would not be getting the funding reinstated. · Some financial decisions needed to be made and it was decided to hold a Special Meeting on January 10, 2012 to discuss how to handle these matters. · As there was still a balance in the COP Committee account, it was decided to ask Dave Haley to see about getting 3 or 4 more Road Watch signs for the Township. · Sgt. Mike Ashley noted that, while there were not a lot of incidents being reported, the signs were making a difference in the Township. · There was some discussion on the name change of the Committee to SCC and also input for the design of the new logo. · This will be further discussed at the January 10 meeting. · It was noted that in January there would be a change in Council representation on the Committee and both Councillors Wayne Stokley and Jerry Schmidt where thanked for their support during the year. January 10, 2012 · Glenna was pleased to see so many of the Committee present. · She welcomed Susan who would be the Council representative this year. · Councillor Wayne Stokley was also remaining on the Committee as a private citizen. · Glenna briefly recapped matters that had been dealt with over the past couple of months: · COP Conference (Sandra had a report if anyone was interested in it), · Maltby Road paving between Victoria and Maltby Roads (Bill noted that it was partially paved. Wayne explained that the weather had prevented the completion and it would be done in the spring), · Family Violence Presentation Night (had been a great success but all felt the speaker should have included male violence in her talk). · Susan, a member of the Guelph Mercury Editorial Board, had addressed this in her first column (worth reading - www.guelphmercury.com/print/article/654961) · Speed limits on Concession 7 (Wayne noted that Council had decided it would not be lowering the speed limit and asked the Road Superintendent to look at other means to make the road safer). · Glenna read a letter from Insp. Scott Smith outlining his vision for the Safe Community Committee. · COP Committee Members had lots of concerns with the changes: name of the Committee, logo (despite being told we would have input, one had been presented to us as a fait accompli) and the goals. · Other COP Committees were also not keen on the idea. · It was decided to invite Insp. Scott Smith to the regular meeting on January 25th to answer our questions. · Our Goals for 2012 were set: continue with Road Watch and Domestic Violence and try to implement the Vial of Life in the community (already done at Mini Lakes). · The meeting dates for 2012 were set: January 25, February 22, March 28, April 25, May 23, June 27, August 15, September 26, October 24 and November will be decided closer to the time as this will be our Family Violence Presentation night. · The officers for the year were elected: Glenna Smith, Chair, Sandra Solomon, Secretary, Susan Fielding, Puslinch Pioneer reporter, Dave Haley, Road Watch Chair. · Through a misunderstanding, the Road Watch signs were not ordered. · Council had given us two options regarding handling of the COP/Road Watch finances. · We could continue as we had in the past or we could open our own account and be responsible for the handling of our own finances. · We decided to continue on as before. · As we would need to change the Committee logo on the Road Watch pamphlets, it was suggested that Glenna ask Council for a $1,000 grant for 2012. · Glenna had received a notice from Duff’s Church regarding an entertainment evening on March 24 and 25, 2012. · The Committee decided that they would participate in a short skit and we would think up ideas for the January 25th meeting. January 25th Meeting: · Once again there was a very good turnout of Committee members and Mayor Dennis Lever and Councillor Ken Roth also attended. · Glenna welcomed Insp. Scott Smith who gave a very good presentation on the Safe Community Committee (SCC) and its goals. · Scott outlined his reasons for wanting to implement the new Committee: while Wellington County was the second safest County in Canada, he felt they could do better. · Crime (especially violent crime) was down considerably but motor vehicle collisions were still very high and personal injury and suicide attempts/deaths had not declined. · Safe Communities Canada is a national organization and was started in 1996 by a retired policeman. · It falls under the WHO which has granted this organization powers to certify communities across Canada as safe communities. · They ultimately receive not only a Canadian designation but also an international designation. · Local SCCs are made up of political representation, educators, businesses, health care professionals, Fire and Police Departments and citizens who live and work in the community. · One of the benefits of the safe community designation is economics. · People/companies will want to relocate to safe communities creating jobs and improving the local economy. · Scott stated that he did not want our Committee to change but rather to be a part of the local SCC. · We could keep our name and our logo. · We would have members who sat on the SCC and would bring ideas for goals, etc. back to our Committee · The two committees would work together to achieve success. · Scott had answered many of our concerns. · There will be a big presentation in March in Aboyne that will be the start of the local SCC and after that they will have a lot more information. · The Committee members were asked to think about how we could incorporate the current logo into one reflecting us being a member of the SCC · These ideas are to be presented at the next meeting. · After Scott’s presentation on the SCC, we felt comfortable confirming the goals we had set at the January 10th meeting. There may be additional goals we can add once the SCC is up and running. · A subcommittee of Glenna, Doug Smith, Frank Montgomery, Vaughan Norman, Dave Haley, Holly Franklin and Sandra Solomon was set up to work on the skit for the Duff’s entertainment evening. Our next meeting will be held on February 22, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Township Offices. All are welcome to attend |