CELOS Annual General Meeting for 2021: Monday May 30, 2022, 8 to 9.30 pm

Proper notice was given to the members, all of whom are directors.

Present at CELOS headquarters: Jane Price, treasurer, and Lea Ambros, former board member, Jutta Mason (administrator).

Present by email: Lily Weston (president) and Mary Jane Young.

1. The 2020 AGM minutes and financial statement were briefly discussed. Motion to accept: Jane Price. Seconded: Lily Weston. Approved.

2. Elections: no board members resigned. The entire slate stands again. Also, Lea Ambros agreed to rejoin the board. Motion to make Lea Ambros a director: Mary Jane Young. Seconded: Lily Weston. Approved.

3. The 2021 Financial report: Jutta Mason presented the financial report. Motion to accept: Jane Price. Seconded Lea Ambros. Approved.

General discussion, as Jutta reported on the activities of the past year.

From the CRA report:
- Continued to maintain and update 5 pubic space websites - continued supporting the Dufferin Grove Park food garden/native species co-operative
- continued liaising with city park staff
- updated our chronicling of the effects of covid19 policies on public spaces
- hosted onsite meeting with international team engaged with public ovens and food security
- began partnership with Indigenous literacy/public ovens program

Also:

- In November 2021, CELOS gave the first CELOS public space award to park friend and local musician Laura Repo, celebrated with a potluck dinner at CELOS headquarters. The award interview and dinner pictures are here and here. (The second public space award went to community garden coordinator Skylar Hill-Jackson, the day before this AGM – the award interview and picnic pictures are here and here.)

- CELOS continued to hold the City of Toronto 2020 LoveTO music performance grant for the organizing group. Their representative Chris McNeil wrote on May 21, 2022: “Unfortunately due to covid numbers continuing to rise a decision was made to not have it this June and instead to continue to wait and see. We may be able to do a scaled down version last minute or perhaps in the early fall and if that doesn’t happen then we will have to wait another year.”
Our question to him: “Does the City go along with another year's postponement in your timing?”
His answer: “I have not heard back from them yet.”

- The new (again) management of PFR in this area appears uninterested at this point in most of the pre-lockdown park activities that CELOS was involved in, e.g. the bake oven programs and the adventure playground etc. According to the city councillor’s office, their office is aware of “changes to processes and procedures and the shift towards a more streamlined approach.” Apparently this is not a problem for the city councillor, who at any rate says she is not seeking re-election. There has been some discussion of the missing programs on Erella Ganon’s listserv, but only briefly. The writers appear to have the impression that nearby developers ought to chip in more money and the programs would then resume.

- The farmers’ market has returned to the park, with many matching tents, located near the playground. There are food vendors as well as farmers, and also a few park staff, but so far (early June) there has been no use of the relocated bake oven nor the cob kitchen.

- The cob courtyard kitchen is falling into disrepair with missing shingles and holes in the plaster, after two years of no city maintenance and only minor repairs by Mayssan. Just before the farmers’ market returned, city staff installed a new prep counter and a new serving counter. However it appears not to be used by the market, and by the time this report was written it was still unpainted.

- In 2021, Dufferin Grove Park was a test site for the city on moving homeless park campers into (mostly) permanent housing. This involved many park staff from divisions previously not involved in parks, including some management-level staff using the park as a temporary office. By late summer 2021 it also involved 24-hour security. By the time the first snow came, there were no more tents. PFR staff have said that 24-hour security staff would return to the park this season but there’s little sign of them yet (by June 2022). There are signs up prohibiting any camping and so far that seems to be sticking.

- There was an Indigenous encampment in the former main fire circle from May until September 2021. Then the campers left, but since then they have still come on some weekends to make sacred fires and sometimes to sell things. The city supports their right to make fires without a permit, and also to drive through the park to the site.

- All other park campfires are now under the Permits Department, so there are very few.

- The reconstructions of the rink, rink house and the basketball court (Frank Pellegrino Co., contractor) are ongoing.

During the May 30 discussion the mood was to mostly stand by and watch developments. Jutta wants to continue to archive changes, with board approval.

The meeting ended at 9.30. Moved: Lea Ambros. Seconded: Jane Price.