December is here, and your community league is all geared up for the winter months. In the last few weeks of October, the League hosted a clean-up in the Friendship Garden just north of the Boys and Girls Club. As the trees are getting a little larger, it really is becoming a pretty space, but it does need a little TLC (tender loving care) from time to time. This summer, the League arranged for three clean-ups of this space, and had several volunteers lend their hands, shovels, and smiles to get it done. Our thanks to everybody who came out!

On October 31, the League also hosted it’s first-ever Halloween Warmer. We set up a fire pit and chairs, served hot chocolate, and roasted marshmallows. We had many neighbours stop by, including the fire department, who had to blow out the occasionally-flaming marshmallow. It was a very nice night, and we’re looking for ways to host more of such natural gatherings of neighbours. If you have any ideas for that and are willing to help pull something together, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you!

Programming at the McCauley Skating Rink is set to resume as soon as the cold hits. The Community League has a new agreement in place with the KIDS organization for the 2015-2016 season, so we’re ready for another great year of skating and fun!

As we have discussed previously, the League is looking to build a permanent structure on the site connected to the Rink. We’re still early in the process, but we are hosting a community conversation on December 10 to discuss what that might look like. So, please come out and share your thoughts with us on what type of building you would like to see on the McCauley community rink site. There will be a short presentation on a few other community buildings that other leagues have built, and then we will share our ideas. Come and be part of the conversation on Thursday, December 10, 2015 @ 7 – 9:30 p.m. in the basement of Sacred Heart Church (10821 96 Street).

Community safety was a major issue this past summer. With all the downtown development and the downturn in the economy, McCauley and many other neighbourhoods have seen a marked increase in the numbers of struggling people coming through. We had higher incidents of gang violence and crime, and higher levels of disorder at businesses, with greater garbage and needles in our alleys and parks. The Community League applauds the tremendous efforts made by police, emergency responders, and clean-up efforts. But, we also recognize that this has been a very hard year for many in our neighbourhood.

On October 16, three members of the board attended a morning briefing with the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) to discuss some of the challenges we’ve experienced. At that briefing, we learned that the (EPS) is rolling out a major change in the coming months. They call it a Layered Public Safety Density Model. It will involve cooperation and coordination between private security, Community Peace Officers, Alberta Peace Officers, and Police. As well, they are moving to a new deployment structure that will see a restructuring of beats in a ripple pattern beginning from City Hall/the Arena District. After a very difficult year that saw their resources severely stretched, EPS is hopeful that this new strategy will bring healthy change and renewal to the work of community safety.

In consultation with the Safety Council and McCauley Revitalization, the Community League has also made a formal request to the assignment of a Neighbourhood Empowerment Team. This team, composed of police and social workers, will give our community much greater ability to respond to concerns, many of which simply cannot be addressed by volunteers.

Lots of good stuff and important work is on the go. If you’d like to connect with us, here’s the best way to do that – our website: www.mccauleycl.com. Or, you can email us at mccauleycommunityleague2014@gmail.com. We also have a pretty active Facebook site, so look us up there if you haven’t already. If you’d prefer a more personal engagement, you can also stop by and visit us at our board meetings. We meet the first Tuesday of every month from 7-10 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club.

Mike Van Boom is the President of the McCauley Community League.