My apologies for the delay in reporting the meeting. I'd planned to write directly after the meeting but was sick and working full time. Blogging took the back burner to sleep.
I missed the first few minutes of the meeting as I was talking to a friend and neighbour outside the community room. She had wanted to attend the meeting but brought along her young daughter (along with colouring materials to keep daughter occupied). Unfortunately our current leader, while great at organizing events, is short on both tact and patience. Instead of explaining that the meeting was very organized with several speakers and wasn't suitable for a young child, she was too abrupt and left my neighbour feeling unwanted at the meeting. Please, if you want to attend the meeting, you are more than welcome. But they are no longer suited to children. They are long and would be boring to young children. Plus they tend to run past a child's bedtime (running from 7:30 to 9pm). Heck they run right up to my bedtime. If you have a totally breastfed baby, I will argue your case. Otherwise your best bet is to find someone to watch your child for those couple of hours. Previously our meetings were fine for children (I used to bring my son) but they were a lot more informal then too.
When I came into the meeting, Gobal Mailwaganam (Associate Vice President of Operations), was discussing a moving camera system. I missed the initial information but from what I gathered after the meeting, the camera is one that is set in one location but can be moved to problem areas. Sadly it does not record sound but can be used to gather information about what tenants (and their visitors) are responsible for certain issues.
The 8th floor in building 201 was once again a huge issue. Tenants reported excessive noise on an almost continuous basis during the day and fighting at 4am. Plus people in the problem apartment (and the people visiting the apartment) have been trying the doors in the vicinity. Their neighbours are scared to leave their apartments, worried about who they might run into.
The town of Whitby has no time limits on noise complaints. You can call in complaints regarding excessive noise at any time. One tenant complained that the music from the apartment beside hers was so loud, her pictures were shaking on the walls but was worried to call as it wasn't between 11pm and 7am. The non-emergency line for the police is 905-579-1520.
There are still issues regarding urine and spit in the elevators of 201 and at least one person asked Gobal to request cameras in the elevators. It would be nice but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for them.
Security was brought up again. Right now we don't have security at all. It was brought in, briefly, to deal with the children who had been running wild around the buildings, but that was temporary and they are gone (the security, not the kids). If Cap-Reit feels there's an issue that needs security, they'll hire them again but otherwise they rely on cameras.
One tenant complained (and was promptly agreed with) that a big issue is the lack of follow-through regarding issues. An issue is brought up, management agrees it's a problem, then nothing is done. The tenant specifically mentioned tags on cars, noting that the spot next to him has multiple cars that use the same spot. Gobal promised to do better. We'll see.
I brought up the laundry room on behalf of the tenant who was not able to attend due to having her child with her. She was concerned because the washers in the laundry room smell. Gobal was going to call Phelps Laundry Service to deal with the issue.
A representative came from EnerCare Connections (formerly Stratacon) to answer questions regarding hydro. The first question was if smart meters in apartments were even legal as the tenant knew there had been issues in Toronto regarding this a few years ago. The representative explained that back in 2009, some landlords in Toronto tried to force all their tenants to pay hydro, even the ones who had been there for years, claiming it had been in their lease when they originally signed. Hydro payments were suspended for half a year while this issue was sorted out. The end result was that they are legal but existing tenants cannot be forced to pay rent. New tenants have the choice of moving in or not, existing tenants can sign up for hydro if they want but otherwise stay with all-inclusive rent.
The next question was regarding the two meters showing up on each bill. Each apartment has two breakers in the unit. One is for the electric heat and the other is for the rest of the electricity in the unit. Each breaker has a smart meter. Both meters are yours, you are not getting charged for another unit.
Then came the question regarding the $17.50/m administrative fee. Whitby Hydro is the company that supplies everyone's hydro in the area while EnerCare Connections does our billing. Cap-Reit gets billed for the administration of the bills and that fee gets divided between the tenants.
Any tenant who wants to view their hydro consumption can view their account at: my.stratacon.ca. Information from the smart meters are downloaded daily.
Several complaints were made regarding the state of the windows in the building. It's hard for tenants to cut down on heating costs when they can feel wind blowing through gaps in their windows. Gobal insisted that tenants can just put in a work order for window repairs, even though a tenant insisted she'd done that and was told nothing could be done. He said that third party repairs could be done via Trimark. We'll see at the next meeting if requesting third party repairs via a work order makes a difference.
Work is still going on via Elizabeth Roy (our west ward councillor) to get a bus shelter on White Oaks Court. There was one there for years, between 200 and 100, but it blew down in a storm several years ago. Several members from the group will be writing a letter to the town of Whitby explaining why a bus shelter is needed and stating the previous shelter was not vandalized.
And, it's about time, handicapped access is being installed at 201, with a key post and push button away from the door. If this is successful, the rest of the buildings will also have posts and buttons installed.
The squash courts have been cleaned up and are in use in 201. They will be working on each court individually. This will be great. I know my children loved using the squash court in our building years ago. It had a basketball hoop and was wonderful on cold or rainy days when the kids wanted to run around and play.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 7:30pm in the community room (at 101) for anyone who wishes to attend.
