Kitichissippi United Church (KUC) open house

Kitichissippi United Church (KUC) held an open house on Thursday June 18 to present their plans to the interested citizens on their Westboro Church property.

KUC was formed from three congregations – Westboro, Northwestern and Island Park churches. They are currently using the Island Park location for the next three to five years while they deliberate on how to consolidate their properties. They are now focusing on what to do with the Westboro location because the current building least suits their needs. At the moment a dozen community groups use the building including a day care.

However, the many stairs in the buidling create access problems and maintenance costs are very high.

KUC board members presented a number of four options for the property:

1. selling the site (the least desirable option in their view),
2. working with a community group interested in taking over the property,
3. redeveloping the property as the home for KUC, as well as for use by other community groups and
4.  redeveloping the property for community use and secondly for KUC outreach activities.

Redevelopment of the property will be costly and would involve the construction of a new building as the current structure is not practical nor an effective use of space. Any redevelopment would also be subject to parking by-laws and therefore would probably require underground parking.

KUC is committed to thoughtful planning process that involves the community and ensures that the future use of the property reflects KUC’s mission.

During the meeting, KUC board members encouraged community residents to share ideas on potential community groups that might be interested in partnering with KUC on redevelopment of the site. The KUC board expects to take a decision in October on which option to pursue. Only a few members of the community attended the meeting. However, WCA welcomes the open and consultative approach to planing that KUC is using and encourages interested residents to participate in future events.

A message from Hampton Iona

The 3rd Annual Summer Party is on for tomorrow (Friday the 26th) between 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m at Iona Park. We’ll have games, BBQ, music, bubbles, swimming and more!!! No rain date, so we are on rain or shine.

Here’s a few tips to make tomorrow a fun day:

• Bouncy Castle will be hot on little feet, bring socks.
• Don’t forget the sun screen, hats and blanket to sit on.
• We will be selling hot dog for $1 each
• Baked goods at .25- .50 each and FREE coffee in the morning.
• Please bring a travel mug for the coffee.
• We will have limited drinks to purchase, and please note that we wish to be kind to mother nature so we decided NOT to sell bottled water. We will however have water available for free to drink. Please bring a reusable water bottle to use.
• Fruit and freezies will also be on hand and there might even be a visit from the ice cream truck

This is a free event sponsored in part by the Hampton Iona Community Group. Dovercourt and The Morris Home Team have provided the BOUNCY CASTLE free of charge for the party as well. So invite your friends, neighbours, spread the word and come out to celebrate the start of summer!!

Upcoming event: Solar H2Ottawa

This just in…

Find out about solar hot water systems and how to take advantage of great financial rebates.

Using solar heat means less demand for fossil fuels & electricity.
Reducing the amount of fuel you burn means lowering GHG emissions, less pollution, and more money in your pocket. Investing in solar technology also means a bigger payback on the biggest investment of your life – your home.

Solar H2Ottawa is an initiative that aims to inform consumers about the benefits of solar water heating while making it cheaper!

Tuesday June 23, 2009
7 pm – 9 pm
Assembly Hall, Dovercourt Recreation Centre

Future of Westboro United Churchill building: Public Meeting

Kitchissippi United Church is inviting residents to attend an open discussion on the future of the former Westboro United Church property on Churchill Avenue on Thursday, June 18^th at 7:00 pm. For details, see the following letter:

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OPEN LETTER FROM KITCHISSIPPI UNITED CHURCH TO LOCAL RESIDENTS ADJACENT TO THE FORMER WESTBORO UNITED CHURCH

 Dear Neighbours,

For generations, Westboro United Church has been an important institution in the community on Churchill Avenue.  It continues to provide space to a variety of Community groups while the future of the congregation is decided, and is in regular use for this purpose.

Last year, the congregation of Westboro United Church agreed to amalgamate with the United Church congregations of Kingsway and Northwestern.  The current base of the new Kitchissippi United Church is on Island Park Drive at the former site of Kingsway United Church.

The Kitchissippi United Church congregation is about to commence a process to determine the future use of the former Westboro United Church on Churchill Avenue. The Church is considering 4 potential options for the Churchill Avenue Site.

i) Selling the property,

ii) Granting the property to a community organization with goals consistent with the Church’s Mission,

iii) Redeveloping the property primarily for Kitchissippi United Church and partially for community use, or

iv) Redeveloping the property primarily for community use and secondly for KUC, allowing space for Church Outreach activities.

 Our first step will be to consult with the local community.  To this end, we are inviting residents who live adjacent to the Church to an open discussion on the property at the former Westboro United Church on Churchill Avenue on:

Thursday, June 18^th,
7:00 – 8:30 pm. 

The congregation plans to make a decision on the issue in October 2009, and given the time for planning and execution, expects that you will see no change in the site until mid 2010 at the earliest.   The Kitchissippi United Church will assess the pros and cons of various options before making any decision, and the views of local residents are an important part of the process.

Upcoming event sponsored by the Federation of Citizens’ Associations (FCA)

Our Ottawa: Power and Decision Making at City Hall

• How are decisions made at City Hall?
• Where does power lie at the City of Ottawa?
• How is the public involved?
• What are the best practices from cities across Canada and the world?
• Should Municipal Parties play a role?
• What changes, if any, need to be made to make our City government more responsive to the citizens of Ottawa?

Join us for an open discussion about these questions and City leadership as a whole.

Thursday, June 18th, 2009
6:30P.M.-7:00 P.M. (Refreshments)
7:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. (Discussion and Debate)
Room 2000, Minto Building, Carleton University

Panelists include:

Ms. Leslie Donnelly
Deputy City Clerk, City of Ottawa

Dr. David Zussman
Jarislowski Chair in Public Sector Management, Telfer School of Management;
Chair, Mayor of Ottawa’s Taskforce on Governance Report

Dr. Christopher Stoney
Professor, Carleton University
School of Public Policy and Administration

Mr. Bob Brocklebank
Federation of Citizen Associations

The 2nd Annual Mothercraft Ottawa Touch-a-Truck event needs volunteers

Mothercraft’s Touch-a-Truck event gives kids young and old the opportunity to get up close and personal with vehicles of all shapes and sizes.

The event this year takes place on Father’s Day at Lincoln Fields Shopping Centre, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There’ll be over 30 vehicles for kids to explore, arts and crafts, food (c/o Busters), a strongman demonstration and other activities. 

Proceeds from the fundraiser go toward supporting Mothercraft programs such as pre-natal and parenting support, learning and child care.

We received an email from Mothercraft. They’re short a few volunteers to help in a variety of roles: set-up, clean-up, runners, security, truck assistance, staging, etc.  Shifts are flexible and range from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Volunteers will be fed and watered! High school students can earn volunteer hours by attending the info session as well as for their participation at the event.

For more information call 613-728-1839 or email lilianne@mothercraft.com

Thank you!

A big thank you to the buyers and sellers who made it out to the Westboro Garage Sale last Saturday. It was a huge success!  Thanks as well to Dovercourt for helping with the planning and logistics, as well as the volunteers who came out to help.

It is always wonderful to see the community come together like this. 

We hope to see everyone at Westfest too!

Westboro Garage Sale – this Saturday!

Just a final reminder that the Westboro Garage Sale will be held at Dovercourt Saturday June 6th.

A few tables are still available to rent – only $10 each. Just call and book through Dovercourt (who have been very supportive partners for this community event.) 

We’re still accepting donations to the WCA table as well. It’s a great solution if you don’t want the fuss or hassle of selling your own stuff! If you’re interested, please drop your goods off at the WCA table the morning of the sale.

A final note to sellers: the garage sale begins at 9:00 a.m. WCA members will be there around 8:15 to start setting up tables.

A few neighbors have let us know they weren’t up to bringing  their boxes to Dovercourt but offered to donate their $10 table rental fee to the WCA instead. Great idea! We thank you for your support… ! Please note that the proceeds of this event will be put towards our projects in the coming year, including the rejuvenation of Clare Gardens Park.

Re-Development on McRae Avenue: Update

The proponents of the major “Westboro Collection” project on McRae Avenue and Scott Street have  submitted their formal development application. The supporting documents are now available on the City’s web site here (warning: some of the documents are quite large).

The deadline for comments from the public is June 24^th, however the WCA will be requesting that this deadline be extended. We are also working to arrange for a community information session as provided for under the City’s development application review process.

Watch this space for more details soon.

Revised Clare Gardens Park plan

For everyone who’s been following the renewal of Clare Gardens Park… check out a PDF of the revised concept plan.