Masks, what’s our policy at KAL?
Given the Provincial guidelines of essentially no mask requirement in most places, we are going to relax the mask requirement at KAL.
For now, wearing a mask in all common areas will be discretionary.
However…if you do get COVID
Public health guidelines are:
You need to isolate at home for 5 days after a positive test or onset of symptoms
For 5 days after isolation wear a mask in community areas, and do not eat out or go to gym.
KAL goes smoke free. It’s official
You voted overwhelmingly for a smoke free KAL.
As of July 1st, 2022, NO SMOKING anywhere inside or outside the building.
Except for…
Those shareholders who are ‘grandparented’, having notified the RSM by July 1, 2022 of their wish to be grandparented.
Voting and the AGM
The Board has been fielding some concerns about how the AGM on May 31 was conducted. Get Quorum, the company which ran the meeting, did not follow KAL instructions, leading to confusion. We have taken this up with them, along with complaints that some could not hear the proceedings; they have acknowledged their mistakes and apologized.
The KAL voting rules are set out in By-law No 1.
We will post a KAL Voting Rules backgrounder on the website soon. For those who cannot access the website hard copies will be available.
Recruiting call:
The Budget Committee
The Board is looking for shareholders to serve on this year’s Budget Committee. If you have a background in finance, or better yet, work or worked as an accountant, your services would be greatly appreciated.
Interested applicants should send an email to the board
The Accessibility Committee
We are in the process of forming a new committee to address the Accessibility of KAL’s building, premises, and services. We invite any applicants who can join this committee for a two-year term. We especially welcome the participation of shareholders or residents who identify as having a disability, or who are or have been a caregiver or support person to any person having a disability.
Interested applicants should send an email to the board
Website news…
A new feature on the website thanks to the Grounds Committee is a Gardening Blog. It will focus on various aspects of our beautiful grounds and bring you a range of gardening tips and possible answers to questions you may have.
Photo + Video Gallery
And there are a few new photos in the gallery from the Social Committee’s Hot Dog and Ice Cream event earlier this summer.
A reminder…How to access the website
Click on the link from any device; computer, iPad /tablet or phone and you will see our site.
On the left-hand side is the public side for which no password is required. On the right click on Shareholder Home.
Username: website@21dale.org
Password: donvalley483!
The Kitchen Garden Team............
Every month this summer the Kitchen Garden Team from the Grounds Committee has provided us, free of charge, with seasonal fresh herbs and greens. Items such as, salad greens, beet leaves, tarragon and parsley.
It really is a luxury, and we would like to thank the team for all their hard work, specifically Linda Leenders, Denise Reaume, Alberta Nokes, and Colleen May. Future offerings may include actual beets, not just the leaves and currant tomatoes, smaller than cherry tomatoes.
What’s happening with the dying tree in the Visitor Parking lot?
Removal is scheduled on September 6, 2022. Visitor Parking will be closed that day. It is an American Elm. Look to a post coming soon on the Gardening Blog about the replacement trees.
Cyclists beware …
Several bikes and bike parts were stolen on the night of August 4 from the bike rack in the Visitors Parking Lot. There is not much that can be done about that unfortunately, except to remind shareholders that bikes should be parked in the Parking Garage in the designated spaces.
A few housekeeping reminders…
The pools…
Please make sure the outdoor pool gates are closed upon entry and exit.
The same request applies to the changing room doors for the gym and indoor pool
The Indoor Pool/Whirlpool will reopen September 9th.
Why the delay?
The pool is fine. The whirlpool was leaking. They are still testing the membrane. After they are sure the seal is sound they will tile, and the curing of the tile grout takes a number of days.
Big garbage items…
If you have any large items for the garbage, please only put them out in front of the building on the West side Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, no earlier.
Damaged drain (formerly Sinkhole)…what’s the status?
The change in title reflects the status of the project. The sinkhole referred to the depression in the ground, the cause of which was confounding. The mystery has since been solved. It is a cracked drain that needs to be replaced. The sinkhole has been filled in.
Our last report relayed the results of the exploratory dig which took place at the end of April and revealed a cracked pipe at a depth of 13 feet. Given its location in the ravine, the engineers (civil and geo technical) determined that it would make more sense from a financial, construction and conservation point of view to install a new insulated pipe a little more than 4 feet below the surface. (The lesser depth constitutes a smaller footprint for a trench and therefore a less invasive approach.)
Next, the engineers physically measured the circumference of the existing pipe and did some flow calculations to determine the size of pipe required. This has now been determined and the option of drilling horizontally in order to connect the new pipe to the city sewer system—and which would disrupt the ravine slope less—is being pursued. The engineers are preparing a feasibility report and once we have this, we can amend the drawings for submission to the city. (They require this).
(Anyone wanting a fuller history of “The Sinkhole” should look on the website under Sinkhole)
And finally, for those of you who enjoy a walk…
Here's some information about two walks you can take around our neighbourhood. Descriptions of both walks first appeared in KAL Green Newsletters, and a question was included in each. Each question received an answer; you'll find the details below.
Walk #1: Rosedale Valley Road
Take Crescent Road over Mount Pleasant to South Drive, then down South Drive to Park Road, then down Park Road to Rosedale Valley Road. You can view the signs explaining the historic significance of the spot.
Next, walk west on the north side of Rosedale Valley Road. The cars take the left fork to go up Aylmer; stay on Rosedale Valley Road. It narrows and veers east around past two apartment buildings, Fontainebleau Apartments and Arbour Glen Apartments. Then you'll come to a small city building. It looks like a house but has a huge garage and parking area, no sign to show what exactly it is.
Just past that, you can walk straight ahead and up stairs behind Rosedale Station to Crescent Road, or angle to the right and up a steep slope to Cluny Drive.
To get home, turn north (left) on Cluny, then east (right) on Crescent Road. On the south side, just after the bridge over Mount Pleasant is a paved path above Mount Pleasant to Scarth Road, which you can take to Sherbourne and then east along Maple and back to Kensington.
Here's the first promised question: Does anyone know more about the city building at the end of Rosedale Valley Road, noted above?
And here's the super terrific answer: Tim Howlett tells us the small brick building with the big fenced parking lot at the bottom of Rosedale Valley Road must be a city parks building. He's been able to read the signs on some of the vehicles. He shares his fantasy, that some day on one of his walks down there, the garage doors will all be open, revealing a "semi-secret café" - yes, please!
Walk #2: Scrivener Square
Head north on Glen Road to Crescent Road. Turn left (west) on Crescent Road; walk over Mount Pleasant Road, then take the first right (north) onto Wrentham Place. It dead-ends at Roxborough Street East. Cross to the north side of Roxborough, and turn left (west ); walk one block. Turn right (north) on Chestnut Park, which will turn west. At the next corner, Thornwood Road, turn right (north). After two blocks, Thornwood turns left (west) and becomes Pricefield Road. In two blocks, it turns right (north) at a playground. Walk north along the park for one block to Mathersfield Drive. Turn right (east). Mathersfield forms a loop: follow it east, then north, then west to get back to the playground. There’s no exit from the loop at the east end of Mathersfield. You’ll see it’s a street of newer homes. Your walk back to the playground, along the north side of the loop, will be between garages and the fence along the railroad tracks. It features a great view of the clock tower on the former railroad station, now LCBO, in Scrivener Square.
You can walk through the playground and Scrivener Square to Yonge Street, or turn around and head home. To get home, you can retrace your steps, or turn right (south) onto Cluny Drive after one block on Pricefield, and take it across Rowanwood and Chestnut Park to Roxborough.
Scrivener Square is named for the late Margaret Scrivener, who was an MPP in former Ontario Premier Bill Davis’ cabinet. She and her family lived at 119 Glen Road (east side, north of the bridge, where Highland Avenue dead-ends). Decades ago, every year for Hallowe’en, the Scrivener family placed pumpkins along their roof. The roof had spaces ideal for pumpkins.
Here's the second promised question: Does anyone know the term for the architectural feature (the spaces used for pumpkins) and perhaps the original reason for its design?
And here's the fascinating answer: Bill Angus explains that the places for Hallowe'en pumpkins on 119 Glen Road's roof "are crenellations, and were a feature of most European castles in the middle ages, and probably much earlier into Biblical times. They allowed the defenders of the castle or city walls to pop up briefly at the indentations and fire arrows or pour boiling oil over the walls to deter attacks." Pumpkin placement up there sure was jollier!
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