 Editor: Suddenly after 5 years of intense work by tenants, Kipps Lane is said to have NO FORMAL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION - I SAY BULLSHIT
Mayor Anne Marie De Cicco-Best and her husband Tim Best as well as roughly two dozen candidates came to a community meeting held by the KLCA at Sir George Ross S.S. in August 2006.
Mayor DeCicco-Best and Tim Best both ate pieces of a chocolate cake provided by another Mayoral candidate in attendance that night Mr. Ivan Kasiurak. That is a matter of Record. I served the Mayor and her husband personally.
Yes the KLCA is Real & Spectacular as Ivan might say, Accounts of our Death are Premature and False!! Sincerely,Editor: David DimitrieFounder and Leader of the KLCA After Spending $400,000 the Kipps Lane Initiative has developed a framework for change on Kipps Lane. Ironically ALL of the 7 Items on the KLI Neighbourhood Action Plan have been addressed by the Kipps Lane Tenant/Community Association over its 5+ years of existence. With the resources we have we have identified and worked on each item and many more. Unfortunately at the meetings of the KLI that I attended I was NOT ALLOWED to tell those in attendance about the work that the KLCA had accomplished in the Kipps Lane Area and beyond since 2004. In fact, I wasn't allowed to say anything about the KLCA. It was as if we never existed. Even when problems came up advertising the KLI meetings I was not permitted to speak about how the hugely successful Northeastender.ca could help advertise KLI meetings and what it wanted to accomplish despite assurances at the November 4th meeting from Lynn Livingstone that the site would be used more by the KLI and the City at no cost to them. It was very clear to me from the very early meetings of the KLI in December 2008 that the KLCA was not welcome at the KLI/KLRWG meetings and I would be given no chance to explain the years of work that had preceded the City by the KLCA in the Kipps Lane - Huron Boullee Corridor.
It should be made clear that a great deal of work had been done a full 3 years in the Kipps Lane area by the KLCA long before the City arrived with its $180,000 Kipps Lane Initiative. We laid the groundwork and were then ignored and stifled.
The work goes on. We don't seek government money and never will, in order to run our community group unlike the KLI and the Kipps Lane Residents Working Group and the group run through the London Intercommunity Health Centre.
In addition, the Northeastender.ca which is the Official Voice of the KLCA addresses these various issues day in and day out in a web site which has attracted over 450,000 hits in its first two years.
Still the KLCA is not mentioned when the Draft Report states that the area has NO FORMAL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION. The KLCA accepts no public funding of its day to day operations. The Kipps Lane Initiative has spent $400,000 Public Dollars in its first 2 1/2 years of experience.
In another development The KLI developed a Draft Neighbourhood Action Plan which claimed that there is no Formal Community Association on Kipps Lane.
Somehow it has forgotten to look on its own Stakeholders list which features the Kipps Lane Community Association which has just passed its 5 year anniversary.
The association has accomplished great things in its 5 years but it spends very little time patting its own back. There is no Doubt that Kipps Lane has a Community Association. It's called the
KLCA and it has covered all of the key priorities which the City has identified
without spending a dollar of the Citiy's money.
Mayor Anne Marie De Cicco-Best and her husband Tim Best as well as roughly two dozen candidates came to a community meeting held by the KLCA at Sir George Ross S.S. in August 2006. That is a matter of Record. Neighbourhood Action PlanKipps Lane Resident Working GroupDraft VersionVisionA community respecting nature,nurturing people of all ages andcreating a great place for everyoneto live.Mission Statement
The Kipps Lane neighbourhood,a diverse, inclusive communityworking together building afoundation for a positive andsafe environment. Neighbourhood PrioritiesBased on the results of the resident survey, the Kipps Lane Resident Working Group identified 6priorities for the neighbourhood. These priorities and the goals for each of them are presentedbelow: Community Engagement and InformationTo increase opportunities for Kipps Lane residents to be involved and engaged in their neighbourhood through the use of communication and information. EnvironmentTo create a new environmental standard in Kipps Lane for the city of London by changing people’s behaviour to create attractive places to live. Neighbourhood MaintenanceTo provide a physical environment which is appropriate and attractive to residents, through maintenance and improvement. Physical Structures, Programs and ServicesTo ensure that programs and services are available and meet the needs of Kipps Lane residents and have physical structures appropriate for those programs. SafetyTo increase our feeling of safety and celebrate our diverse and positive voices. TransportationTo increase opportunities for all residents in Kipps Lane to travel to their destinations easily, safely and in a convenient manner.
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