Winter 2019/2020 Newsletter

As always, the Board of Directors would like to welcome all new residents and owners to Somerset Gardens. Below is the latest condo news.

Safety and security – By now, you will hopefully have seen the Building Security Notice by Liz Marples, our Property Manager, regarding the importance of calling police when we encounter people sleeping in our stairwell or for any other events that could jeopardize our building’s security. During the Board’s recent meeting with constable Stephanie Lemieux, the community police officer for Centertown, she too stressed the importance of calling police to report such incidents, not only for obvious safety reasons but because resources are allocated and the appropriate strategies implemented based on the calls/reports received for a particular area. She encourages residents to contact her directly at lemieuxs@ottawapolice.ca with any questions or to follow up on any calls you have made to the police. She also completed a CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) audit while she was here, pointing out some potential areas of concern. Rest assured that the Board is looking into each item on the audit and also plans a comprehensive security risk assessment in the New Year. We remind you in the meantime to not let any strangers follow you into the building, politely asking them to buzz in instead.

Annual General Meeting – Hopefully you have marked your calendars after receiving the advance notice of the upcoming Annual General Meeting. A reminder that it will be held on January 29, 2020 at St-John’s church, 154 Somerset St West at 7:00 p.m., with Registration starting at 6:30 p.m. Note there will be three positions open for the Board elections.

HVAC Filters – A reminder that a filter that is not regularly replaced can cause (very costly) problems and even shut down your heat pump. For this reason, filters are provided to residents upon request by the property manager FREE of charge. Filters should be changed, on average, 3 times per year. Used filters are not recyclable and should be discarded in the garbage bin.

Recycling – Plastic bags and other refuse have been making their way into the recycling bins. Please note that plastic bags are not recyclable and that materials not belonging in a recycling bin could make cause the whole bin to wind up in landfill instead of the intended recycling facility. Please consult the City of Ottawa website for information on garbage and recycling: ottawa.ca/en/garbage-and-recycling

Maintenance issues – For maintenance issues, you may contact our Property Manager Liz Marples at lmarples@condogroup.ca or (613) 237-9519 ext. 231.

For emergency repairs, both during and after business hours, please call the emergency line at 613-762-5704.

Board Members: Allyson Downs (President), Sonia Myre (Treasurer), Sandy Kusugak (Secretary), Kristina McLean (Director), Susan Ayala (Director). Board Members’ Email Address: somersetgardens@live.com
Website: www.somersetgardens.ca