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Welcome to KARA Inc.

Kleinburg & Area Ratepayers' Association Inc.

Kleinburg and Area Ratepayers’ Association (KARA) is a Corporation of the Province of Ontario whose purpose is to represent, promote and protect the general interests of those who reside in Kleinburg, Nashville, Purpleville and the surrounding area.


KARA’s 2009 Report Card of Key Accomplishments

General:

  • Held 12 monthly KARA Board meetings
  • Directors attended over 80 additional meetings in the community, City and Region
  • To implement a traffic action plan
  • Held an interactive Annual General Meeting with over 150 members
  • Strongly advocated for the Pierre Berton Discovery Centre to be located in Kleinburg
  • Assisted and supported Kleinburg Nashville Tennis Club in seeking court upgrades in Binder Twine Park
  • Supported the Vaughan Health Campus of Care. Called for further community consultation and input on new hospital development.
  • Received Award of Merit for Service to the Environment from Ontario Association of Landscape Architects for Kleinburg New Forest South
  • Supported creation of a Community Action Site on the Humber River
  • Communications:
  • Published 11 monthly editions of “The Spirit”.
  • Provided residents with electronic notices of community events
  • Created Kleinburg History DVD Presentation
  • Held an interactive Annual General Meeting with over 150 members
  • Maintained up- to-date website at www.kara-inc.ca
  • Participated in creation of Walking Tour Booklet
  • Created a KARA Membership Flyer
  • Development and Traffic:
  • Previewed and commented on development applications for Kleinburg, Nashville and Area
  • Submitted comprehensive comments to City and Developers regarding Nashville Heights Development
  • opposed expanded construction yard and dumpsite uses for rural lands and promoted the preservation of agricultural land uses
  • represented residents to City and Ontario Municipal Board in opposition to 10360/10384 Islington condo application
  • Participated in the OMB Hearing on Ward Boundaries
  • Presented a deputation to Committee of the Whole on increasing lead times for committee hearings which resulted in Vaughan increasing notification period for Committee agendas.
  • Opposed the removal of Block 61(Nashville Heights) from Rural Lands Study
  • Participated in City’s new Official Plan visioning process and Kleinburg-Nashville Focused Area Review
  • Actively participated in the Region’s Western Vaughan Transportation EA Committee and urged Region to prioritize the extension of Major MacKenzie to Hwy 50 to relieve traffic pressure on Nashville Rd.
  • Worked with Region, City and York Regional Police to address traffic speed and volume issues in, around and through our community
  • Continued to lobby City to transfer Stevenson Rd. right-of-way to TRCA
  • Vision and Events:
  • Organized the third annual Holiday Community Food Drive with 70 volunteers
  • Actively participated in the City’s Kleinburg Streetscape Master Plan Study
  • Held Spring Clean Up Day at Kleinburg New Forest
  • Organized “Walk Under the Eco-Lights” evening
  • Held Appreciation dinner for KARA volunteers

  • KARA Wins 2 Awards for Protecting Greenspace in Kleinburg

    1. OALA CERTIFICATE OF MERIT FOR SERVICE TO THE ENVIRONMENT
    ( click here to link to Ontario Association of Landscape Architects site )

    2. For “Protecting Tomorrow Today”

    The Ontario Parks Association (OPA) recently honoured KARA at their annual conference held on January 11th, 2010 in Toronto, with their “Protecting Tomorrow Today” award. This award recognizes a group or community and their contribution towards OPA’s mandate “Protecting Tomorrow Today”.


    Second Award for Kleinburg New Forest! (L-R) President Ken Schwenger, Landscape Architect and nominator Mark Inglis, and Vice-President Bob Klein

    In his speech to the large gathering of OPA members, Ontario Parks Association Past President Vic Hergott gave the following address before he presented the award to KARA. The award was accepted by our Association President Ken Schwenger, and Vice-President, Bob Klein. “The Spirit” has excerpted Mr. Hergott’s speech below for its readers:

    “Sometimes financial goals can be mated with environmental desires. Through 20 years of continuous efforts of the Kleinburg and Area Ratepayers’ Association, the vision of a 40 acre forest has been created by the community, for the community and defining the community. It is now a wildlife refuge where once herbicides maintained an annual crop of corn. It is a passive recreation resource that has been under siege for twenty years, threatening to be developed for housing, a fire hall, parking lot and a dog park. It stands as an educational resource that partners KARA with Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and the City of Vaughan.

    KARA was intent to ensure the sanctity of their vision. By offering monetary awards of thousands of dollars, KARA partnered with the University of Guelph Landscape Architecture department to provide the land as a competition and learning site. Through a public forum a design was selected as the guiding master plan. For ten years thereafter, annual and sometimes biannual community planting days were organized, funded by Binder Twine Festival proceeds. Hundreds of volunteers were assembled for events that ran rain or shine. They were events that created memories for the youth of the community. Now adults, those children return to their roots to discover a treed legacy that they helped to create. Today is Yesterday’s Tomorrow!

    Other community groups can learn from the actions of KARA to protect what is dear to the community and important to the environment. Their work is not complete. The latest threat to the evolution of the 40 acres into a forest has rekindled the fires of KARA. In 2008, KARA presented the legacy of Kleinburg New Forest to City of Vaughan Council to reinforce their commitment to this community space.

    KARA has learned that urban pressures will continue to menace the community’s desires for a greenbelt that distinguishes the Village of Kleinburg from other communities of the City of Vaughan. New planting and maintenance events will continue to be planned. The notoriety of events will further the education of those who imagine this open space as something other than the Vision of Kleinburg New Forest.


    Draft Kleinburg Nashville Focus Area Study Consultant's Report (Background / Design Options / Preferred Plan) - click here


    Pierre Berton Discovery Center in Kleinburg Village Core?
    (click here for what KARA's Board had to say on behalf of members)

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    Berton Discovery Center may be close to finding a home
    (click here for local media story in Vaughan Today)


    What are KARA's 2009/10 goals?

    • To guide and encourage development consistent with Kleinburg’s Official Development Plan - OPA 633
    • To enliven the cores of our villages
    • To implement a traffic action plan
    • To review the long range plan for water supply and sewage treatment
    • To assist residents with improvement of local services
    • To preserve and promote green spaces
    • To conserve our heritage and historical properties
    • To communicate effectively with the community
    • To liaise with and add value to other community organizations (including Council and the BIA)

      How do I contact KARA?
    • Call a Director (see 'About KARA' for telephone numbers)
    • Write to KARA at PO Box 202, Kleinburg, ON, L0J 1C0
    • or email us at: KARA@kara-inc.ca image image image
    Visits to KARA's Homepage: