Public Commons

• Correspondence with city staff

Part of Community Engagement

Date: Mon, 03 May 2010

From: Jutta Mason
To: Costanza Allevato
CC: Kelvin Seow, Dave Hains======

Hi Costanza --

You mentioned about follow-up. Here's the question I think we need to ask now: "How can we learn from each other?" That means, practical learning, i.e:

(1) which activities that developed at Dufferin Grove can be incorporated into PFR practices, and (2) what new information can PFR give us to alter our approach?

For the next 3-4 months, there will be a lot of print up at the park, about policies affecting the activities we've developed there. I think it would be a good sign of "community engagement" if PFR staff could add to that material, specifically addressing those points. (If you send it for posting, we'll staple it!) We're about to set up two new front-page folders on the CELOS website, which will have copies of what we posted on the various park sheds etc. Would you like me to highlight those passages that are puzzling and need clarification from your side?

I think the ombudsman's report on the need for transparency (in the case of the PRF banning but also generally) is a good guide here.

Another big interest for us as well as you, as you know, is budget. How is money spent, and where is it wasted? (Using the parks we know as the practical example.) If it's wasted, who can stop that waste? This is even more topical in an election year. Do you want to get together or just work away at this stuff separately, keeping each other informed?