CELOS Annual General Meeting for 2022: Monday May 31, 2023, 12 noon to 2 pm

Proper notice was given to the members, all of whom are directors.

Present at CELOS headquarters: board members Jane Price (treasurer), Lily Weston (president), Mary Jane Young, Lea Ambros. Also: Mayssan Shuja Uddin (admin assistant) and Jutta Mason (administrator).

1. The 2021 AGM minutes and financial statement were briefly discussed. Motion to accept: Jane Price. Seconded: Lily Weston. Approved.

2. Elections: no board members resigned. The entire slate stands again. Motion to confirm this: Mary Jane Young. Seconded: Lily Weston. Approved.

3. The 2022 Financial report: Jutta Mason presented the financial report. Motion to accept, pending review which will take place by email: Jane Price. Seconded Lea Ambros. Approved.

General discussion, as Jutta reported on the activities of the past year.

From the CRA report:
- Continued to maintain and update 5 public space websites
- continued supporting the Dufferin Grove Park food garden/native species co-operative
- continued liaising with city park staff
- continued partnership with Indigenous literacy/public ovens program

Also:

- In May 2022, CELOS gave the second CELOS public space award to the coordinator of Dufferin Grove community gardens, Skylar Hill-Jackson, celebrating with a potluck picnic at the Dan’s Table seating area beside the big oven. The award interview and picnic pictures are here and here.)

In October 2022, CELOS gave the third CELOS public space award to Ladan Behbin and Blake Howard, owners of the neighbourhood grocery store Fresh Fields. The award interview and oven/potluck celebration pictures are here and here.

- CELOS continued to hold the City of Toronto 2020 LoveTO music performance grant for the organizing group. Their representative Chris McNeil wrote on May 21, 2022: “Unfortunately due to covid numbers continuing to rise a decision was made to not have it this June and instead to continue to wait and see. We may be able to do a scaled down version last minute or perhaps in the early fall and if that doesn’t happen then we will have to wait another year.”

Our question to him was: “Does the City go along with another year's postponement in your timing?” The answer was no, so on June 14, 2022, city staff asked for the funds to be returned, which they were ($2500).

August 22, 2022 “ghost oven” campaign: after a number of requests to allow the bake oven to be used again without a fee for community use, CELOS put up an information display on the back of the smaller bake oven (relocated in 2021 to the cob kitchen area). We followed this with letters to city management and bake oven supporters.

This brought about a change of approach by PFR management.

On Sept.22, 2022, the bake oven was used for the first of seven make-your-own-pizza days during the farmers’ market. In addition, there was one Sunday when youth made pizza and one Sunday celebrating the third CELOS Public Space Award. The report on how all those days worked is here

Cob kitchen: During the fall, CELOS worked with a homeless park resident, some community members, and Parks staff to repair the cob kitchen. This work is ongoing.

The reconstructions of the rink, rink house and the basketball court (Frank Pellegrino Co., contractor) were ongoing during 2022.

After discussion of Jutta’s report, the board agreed to support the goal of engaging in park animation activities including cob repair, food events, and playground/sandpit refresh. “We will look for windows of opportunity.” The meeting ended at 2 p.m. Moved: Lily Weston. Seconded: Jane Price. Approved.