Submitted by Herta and Eric
The last couple of weeks in August has been very busy. Our contract with Urban Matters officially was signed at the end of July, but our first number of tasks weren’t scheduled to begin until mid-August to accommodate for vacation time. But we are up and running in a very substantial manner. See below.
Engagement: Gathering and sharing information
Lee Prevost Housing Development lead for Urban Matters started the process of gathering information and ideas from co-op membership at our annual Birthday Party celebration. He spent ten minutes at the outset providing information on the rehabilitation plans for our building, accessibility analysis, and engagement. Lee explained how Urban Matters will facilitate these processes in order to move us forward in a meaningful, evidence-based manner. He then spent several hours talking to individuals and small groups to determine their hopes, concerns and expectations. One of his questions to members was their preference and expectation for how information could be shared on a regular basis. As expected there were a diversity of views—with members needing a combination of methods, including paper, electronic, public presentation etc. Engagement with the membership will be an ongoing process.
In addition to the internal engagement program that Urban Matters and Planning and Development will be undertaking, there is substantial work to be done with our external stakeholders. These include groups such as the Community Association, Ward Councillor, City of Calgary, CMHC, Curling Club and people in the neighbourhood. It is paramount that we either re-engage with organizations that have been committed to Sunnyhill in the distant and recent past, as well as, build new relationships with the broader community. Urban Matters’ strategy is to engage early and engage often. The logic for this type of engagement is to not only keep stakeholders informed and engaged, but to intercept concerns and hearsay and address them in an honest and generous fashion.
Performing an accessibility analysis
Jerome Lengkeek, an accessibility expert, gathered data from six units this month (two different layouts of our three, two and one bedrooms). Data included not just measurements of rooms inside units but also inspection of common space, landscapes, connection to transportation systems as well as parking availability. This was the first step on determining how and if some of our units can be made accessible through a retrofit process and whether or not we can meet the 20% benchmark set by the National Housing Strategy (NHS) funding requirements. Stan Leyendorst from Inclusive design will be responsible for analyzing the data. How ‘accessibility’ is defined by the NHS is an ongoing question and under discussion by many Co-ops across Canada.
Urban Matters will present the Accessibility Analysis to the membership at the September General Meeting. This will be the start of a very important conversation and a decision making point for SHC. Bring your neighbours!
Initial Design investigations
A preliminary look at our property was undertaken by Modern Office of Design And Architecture (MODA) in August. This company was recommended by both SAIT and University of Calgary Faculty of Environmental Design in previous discussions with the Planning and Development Committee. MODA will prepare a schematic study as the basis for the rehabilitation and sustainability requirements of the NHS. This work is in the early phases and we expect to have much more to report in September.
Project Initiation Meeting
On August 21, Planning and Develompment undertook a Project Initiation meeting with Urban Matters. The purpose of the meeting was to “confirm the project vision and principles of success, roles & responsibilities, scope of work & timelines." At this time Urban Matters would also "collect information including existing proposals, plans, drawings, financial information, and stakeholder engagement summaries." The bulk of this work had already been completed prior to us signing on with Urban Matters, so we didn't get into deep detail on any of this. Instead, the agenda of the meeting was—as indicated in the scoping Proposal-to "review the workplan, identify key stakeholders, background & history, information sources and any additional actions that would support a fulsome feasibility process.” The meeting was very productive. Minutes can be found here.