By John Shea
At its Annual General Meeting on October 18, 2021, the Lowertown Community Association met and elected its 2021-2022 Executive.
Norman Moyer stepped down after having served for several years as President of the LCA. In his place, the LCA elected Co-Presidents Liz Bernstein and Sylvie Bigras.
Bigras has been a proud resident of Lowertown for over 35 years and is a recent addition to the LCA Executive. With a background in media relations and communications, she is currently Assistant Press Chief for Team Canada at the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, her 17th Olympic experience. Fluently trilingual, she has worked as an emcee, moderator and facilitator on numerous national and international events and conferences. Bigras is passionate about her community and wants to work on ensuring a better balance between meeting the needs of residents in need, while providing a thriving, safe and healthy neighbourhood for all who call Lowertown their home.
Bernstein is a familiar face to the LCA and Lowertown residents. She has served as a volunteer, board member, President and Vice-President of the LCA at various times over the last decade. Bernstein has lived in Lowertown since 2005 and is passionate about the Lowertown community and ByWard Market. She is an advocate for taking action on the environment, nature, active transportation and the nexus of the climate and housing emergencies in the community. In addition to serving as Co-President, Bernstein will chair the Environment and Active Transport Committee.
Avery Burns continues as Secretary on the LCA Executive. Burns moved to Lowertown in 2018 and since then has become attached to the community she now calls home. She joined the LCA in 2020 and is using her role as Secretary to learn more about the community, its issues, and opportunities.
Lloyd Morrison is a resident of Lowertown and will once again play a critical role on the LCA as Treasurer.
Sandra Milton has returned to Co-Chair the Safety Committee and is joined this year by Julie Lanteigne. Milton, who resides in the “Wedge”, became involved with the Safety and Security Committee 2015. In addition to serving as Co-Chair of the Safety Committee (renamed from Safety & Security), Milton is the Chair of the Friends of Lowertown Parks and Facilities.
Lanteigne moved to Lowertown in 2018. Passionate about community involvement, Julie got involved with the LCA after meeting Sandra to discuss safety and security issues. As Co-Chair of the Safety Committee, she is excited to promote the committee’s mandate of safety for all residents.
Julie and Sandra are determined to ensure the committee supports all residents’ concerns in order to ensure Lowertown continues to thrive. Mme. Lanteigne est aussi bilingue, donc vous pouvez la contacter en français.
Returning as Chair of the LCA Planning Committee is Warren Waters. Waters retired to Lowertown in 2009 and is a self-described “recovering World Banker”. Waters is encouraging Lowertown residents who want to live in a better community to consider participating in or joining the Planning Committee adding that the more residents who become involved in planning and development issues, the more the LCA can shape a better community. The Planning Committee’s objectives are to understand and respond to planning and development proposals and to reflect the community’s views. The committee’s objectives are to follow up on the implementation of the ByWard Market Public Realm Plan, ensure the adoption of a new Official Plan – particularly given that the city-wide rezoning has just started, closely track the National Capital Commission’s development of Nepean Point and the Alexandra bridge, monitor and comment on active development applications and zoning amendment proposals and site plans, and finally participate in pre-application consultations which, if individuals are willing to sign an Non Disclosure Agreement, give the LCA a chance to influence development proposals before they are received by the city.
Nancy Miller Chenier and Andrew Waldron will serve as Co-Chairs of the Heritage Committee. Miller-Chenier has been a resident of Lowertown East’s “Wedge” for more than four decades. She was an early “reinvestor” in an area that was part of the massive urban renewal of the late 1960s. She became involved with community heritage in 2011 as co-founder of the LCA Heritage Committee. After an academic and professional life that combined social history with social policy, she is excited to use her experience to build knowledge of and engagement in Lowertown’s long history and its evolving built heritage. Waldron has returned to the Lowertown Community Association’s Executive to focus on local heritage projects, including the development of the City’s Heritage Conservation District Plans. He is an architectural historian and heritage conservation manager who has lived in Lowertown for the past five years.
Newly formed in 2020, the LCA’s Arts and Culture Committee will be co-chaired by Kendra Hughes and Fiona Barbaro Sant. Barbaro Sant is a newcomer from Malta while Hughes is a native of Ottawa. They have both called Lowertown home for the last five years. As Co-Chairs, they are committed to creating community through the arts and are lovers of public art, live music and exploring Ottawa’s food scene. Active volunteers who are passionate about social justice, Hughes is also a member of the Board of Directors for House of PainT and sits on the Board for the Lowertown Community Resource Centre. They have both lived and worked internationally with multicultural communities and in the arts, and collectively speak five languages. Both Hughes and Barbaro Sant enjoy working and engaging with people from every culture and welcome any new members to join the committee.
Finally, rounding out the list of LCA Executive members is John Shea as Director of Communications and Community Outreach. A resident of the Wedge, Shea has a background in communications and joined the LCA after having been impressed by the active participation of Lowertown residents in LCA meetings through Zoom during the pandemic. He is looking forward to adding communication platforms as well as increasing the frequency of communications to ensure Lowertown residents have a full view of the LCA’s work and can communicate on important matters through any means they wish to engage.
Lowertown residents who are interested in becoming involved in the Association, are looking to join a specific committee or simply want to be added to the LCA’s email list, are encouraged to contact info@lowertown-basseville.ca.
John Shea is the LCA Director for Communications and Outreach