Columere Park Community Association AGM, August 22, 2015
Beach Parking Lot
President Glenn Baumback brought the meeting to order at 10:03am, Quorum in attendance
Glenn stated that non-members were welcome to listen to the meeting but no questions would be heard from non-members.
Bonnie presented the April 30, 2015 Annual Financials; Revenue was almost $11,000 greater than expenses, and almost $2500 higher than budgeted, due to greater than expected dues being collected, and repairs and maintenance, security and insurance being less than expected. Financials were approved at the board meeting prior to AGM. No questions were asked regarding the financials.
Brett asked the membership to please treat the beach toys with greater respect and return them to the racks when finished with them. The Kayaks and especially the paddle boards will not last much longer being treated this way, and the board is considering not replacing them as they wear out. Several community members expressed an interest in having them replaced as they wear out. It was thought the beach toys cost approximately $6000, they have now lasted 5 years and are amortized over 5 years, so they are lasting as expected and $1200 was not considered an unreasonable amount paid by the CPCA given the enjoyment by the community by having these toys on the beach for all members to use.
Kevin spoke to membership about Golf carts being driven on the roads; the RCMP are threatening to ticket those riding golf carts on the road. He asked that parents in the community police these better, that no one without a learners should be driving them on the roads and drivers should be keeping speed to a minimum. Our Columere park roads are considered BC Highways, and rules pertaining to them can be enforced. If we don’t look after policing these issues, the RCMP will.
Drew Sinclair spoke on behalf of the local Fire department; he gave a brief update of the fire situation in the area,and members who are away from their cabin for any length of time should move outdoor furniture away from their buildings as they tend to trap embers and spread fire more easily. He spoke about golf cart safety and the fire department is having increased calls for serious injuries on these units. He reminded the community to wear their life jackets on any water craft. Finally he reminded the community that fireworks are also part of the current fire ban. Fireworks should not be sold in stores, if you should see fireworks being sold in any stores, please let the RDEK know.
Glenn asked that anyone with an old boat on the beach that has not been moved for over a year, would you please remove from the area by fall, as the board is intending to have any boats not used recently moved out of the area in the late fall, to clean up that part of the beach.
Jim gave a quick update on the BBQ held today between 4-8.
Tracy Flynn from the Columbia Lake Water Conservatory spoke about the health of our lake; Our lake turns over every 60 days which greatly helps in maintaining its health. We must be very diligent in not allowing foreign species such as zebra and other invasive mussel species into our lake as they can overtake a lake very quickly and there is nothing you can do once they are in your lake. They can live for months in lifejackets or boats, so please be careful to not allow them into the lake. There is increased weed growth in the lake, and boats chopping up the weeds spreads them, so avoid weed beds with your boats. As well she reminded the membership that the speed limit 100 meters off the east shore is 10 km, to prevent harm to certain species living on that side of the lake.
Mike updated the community on the RDEK collecting community dues; He outlined the reason the board initiated this conversation with the RDEK was to facilitate the collection of dues by the treasurer, as it is the largest job and consumes many hours of time by volunteers. He also outlined the many questions to be asked and information to be collected in order to make a decision by the community, and that a committee will be struck to look into these and more details before taking it to the community for a possible vote. Wendy Booth spoke on behalf of the RDEK on this topic. She explained that the RDEK would not even consider this as an item on their agenda until at least January of 2017, and she briefly outlined the process of asking permission from the community at that point.
Carleen spoke briefly about the BSSC (Beach Safety and Security committee); that was struck at the May 17th meeting, and the report that they presented to the board on August 1st. The greatest risks facing the CPCA are drowning and pedestrian/train collision, and a few of the potential solutions offered by the committtee were funnel fencing and zig zag gates, improved signage and sightlines around the tracks. The CPCA must consider the beach in conjunction with the Rae’s as the landowners, and CP rail, and therefore invited Dave Rae to talk to those present about the recent situation with CP rail. Dave reported that CP recently met with him regarding their decision on how to improve safety of our crossing. They are no longer allowing for the south pedestrian crossing, the North crossing will now be changed to allow pedestrian’s, vehicles and boats across safely, and an 8′ fence must be constructed on the East side of the tracks along the entire beach. Some questions were asked regarding width of pedestrian gate to allow for large items (windsurfers etc.) to be carried through, Dave assured them it will be wide enough for that, and whether or not this will be a key card access gate is up to the board to decide.
Glenn requested a motion for $15,000 to be budgeted for the CPCA’s portion of the fence and gate, Royal Burritt made this motion, Ron Routledge seconded, carried.
Glenn asked for 5 new volunteer board members from the community to replace those stepping down; Paul Roggeman, Kevin Hughes, Mike Lelek, Bonnie Semeschuk, and thanked them for their service to the community. Laurie Tregaskis, Mark Thomas, John Willson, and Archie Clark volunteered.
Ted Wood motioned to elect Glenn Baumback as president for the 2015/16 year, Pat Merz seconded, carried.
Glenn asked the community for a show of hands for those in favor of the board starting a legacy fund to raise the funds necessary for a new playground to replace our rapidly deteriorating one, a majority voted in favor, the board will organize a fund and committee to oversee the project.
Dan Bakos made a motion to strike the CPCA from the RDEK agenda to collect dues for Columere Park, Brenda Lamore seconded, followed by a discussion of the motion including the effort involved in collecting dues, an etransfer system was suggested, a vote was held and the motion was not carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:32am