All residents of McCauley, Central McDougall, Queen Mary Park, and Jasper Place were invited by mail to come to this meeting on May 24 at the Santa Maria Goretti Centre, to discuss “ideas and solutions to address concerns with problem properties in our communities.” This meeting was sponsored by Revitalization in each area. Resource people were on hand to assist discussion and provide advice, such as EPS, Edmonton Bylaws, Capital City Clean Up, Alberta Health Services, Housing, and Sustainable Development. Coffee and cookies were provided.

One of the first issues was to define a “problem property.” This seemed to relate to properties that were “chronic offenders.” There were six or seven large round tables, each full of residents, and the resource people circulated to various tables to provide help. Discussions were lively as residents shared their perspectives. This was the first of several meetings with a dual purpose: to inform the City about resident concerns, and inform local residents who is available to help, and what is being done so far.

At the end of the evening, each table summarized the discussion at their table, and the summary notes were taken back to Revitalization offices to create a report to the people and agencies as to the ideas generated. I am told this report is almost ready, and should be available by the time you read this. A valuable resource list was given to each participant, which included agencies, departments and resource phone numbers to call for help and complaints. These include:

• Alberta Health Services and Environmental Health: (780) 735-1800
• Edmonton Police Service: Emergency – 911; Non-Emergency – (780) 423-4567; Mobile Access – #377
• SCAN – Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act: 1-866-960-7226
• City of Edmonton: Fire Rescue-Fire Prevention: (780) 496-3628
• Community Standards – Complaints and Investigations: 311 or (780) 442-5311
• Landlord and Tenant Advisory Board: (780) 496-5959
• Zoning Bylaw (land use) and Development Permit Inquiries: 311 or (780) 442-5311

It was an interesting evening to hear about the various problems and situations, and how they could be handled. Watch for further information and more meetings in the Fall.

Joanne McNeal has been a McCauley homeowner for 11 years.