ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
PARK THEATRE, WASAGAMING
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2nd, 2012
President Trevor Winters introduced Roy White as our Parliamentarian and Roy gave a short biography of his qualifications and experiences.
Trevor also asked Roy to be chairman of the elections as Past President Bruce Hembroff is not available.
Trevor asked any members of the press that were in attendance to come forward at the end of the meeting and he would give them copies of our constitution and handouts,
Trevor explained the new voting cards and procedures – colour coded cards for voting and elections.
Trevor said that Nelda Didychuk and Jo-Ann Lambaert arranged scrutineers.
Trevor reminded members that each cabin has only 1 vote. At the Spring General Meeting a motion was moved and seconded by 2 people in the same cabin.
The meeting was called to order at 10:13 a.m.
President Trevor introduced the Board Members.
President Trevor asked if there were any additions to the agenda.
Randy Woodman, 23 – 3rd St. S. – suggested the agenda be put on line.
President Trevor said we would try to put it on line about a week before meetings,
Randy Woodman said there is nothing set out in the agenda to deal with major decisions and suggested that an amendment be made to designate who makes major decisions. He would like a motion be made to lay out that major decisions be made by a vote.
Roy White explained that there is nothing in the constitution and suggested a motion would need to be made.
Randy Woodman, 23 – 3rd St.S. – Could there be a motion added today.
Roy White – It can be added today.
Randy Woodman, 23 – 3rd St. S. – Would like this added to the agenda
3rd St.N. – Would like a committee to review the constitution.
Roy White – We need a motion to do that.
Randy Woodman, 23 – 3rd St. S. – is disturbed about comments made by Roy White in the Annual Spring Meeting held at the Jamboree Hall on July 2nd, 2012. Randy asked what the mechanism is if members do not agree with decisions of the Board. If you provide 30 days notice of a motion, it requires a 2/3 vote. Randy suggested that there should be some mechanism to address what members can do if they disagree with the Board.
Roy White responded that they can remove elected representatives by voting them out of office,
Randy Woodman, 23 – 3rd St. S. – There is no mechanism to remove Board Members from office.
President Trevor –The process if you disagree with the Board is to give a 30 day Notice of Motion for the following meeting.
Randy Woodman, 23 – 3rd St.S. – suggests a change in the constitution to allow changes.
President Trevor explained that when something is not clear in the constitution, you go to Bourninot’s Rules.
Greg Fleck, 25 – 3rd St. S. – Randy Woodman is asking for the constitution to be made clearer. They want a review of the constitution to specify when the Board can make a decision.
President Trevor asked that this discussion be left for Item 10 on the agenda.
MOTION: That we accept the agenda as amended. Moved by Sandra Kluka, 75 – 3rd St. S., seconded by John George, 4 – 4th St. S., Carried.
MOTION: That we accept the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of September 4th, 2011 as distributed. Moved by Esther Mark, 30 – 1st St. N., seconded by Bob Parnell, 6 – 4th St.S., Carried.
MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES:
The Community Plan remains unsigned.
Speed Limit Signs have not been placed on the wood sheds due to the costs.
The web site issues seem to be resolved as we have moved to a new server. There has not been any more spam.
The survey has been completed and reported on.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT:
Trevor Winters explained that the Board is a volunteer Board and are only an advisory Board to Parks Canada. According to parliamentary procedure, we refer to Bourinot’s Rules for clarification.
INTRODUCTION:
As of this annual meeting, I have completed 4 years as President and Chairman of the CLCA so this, my final report to you, will be slightly different than previous reports. Before I enter into a report on Board activities I want to offer a few comments for your consideration.
- The CLCA is a volunteer board with advisory authority only. We operate under a Constitution and By-laws which are established and approved by you, the cabin owner members of the CLCA. These are on our web site for everyone to see and review
- The position of President and Chairman is unique. A Chairman runs meetings in a timely appropriate fashion and a President answers members’ questions on behalf of the Board. Board members are always welcome to make comments, but the President will be the designated spokesman. During the course of our meetings, it will be necessary to switch roles between Chairman and President, depending on questions or comments from members. In the past, this change of roles has been understood and tolerated by members, but I have found that this switching of responsibilities is disconcerting and confusing especially for graduates or participants of Toastmasters. They are correct that the 2 positions as defined by parliamentary process are separate and will often raise Points of Order to the effect that when the Chair is responding as President, the Chair should be turned over to another individual in order to maintain impartiality. This can be accomplished by turning the chair over to the Vice-President during these periods, BUT that starts dragging our meeting through time consuming “process and procedure” which serves to eat up time. This is an issue that the CLCA Board and membership may need to address, – we can proceed as we do now on the understanding that one individual holds two separate positions, or we can change it. For meetings to run smoothly there needs to be recognition of the two roles, or we need to separate the functions.
- I want to stress is that serving on the Board is voluntary, and those of us on the Board do it because someone needs to be sure the voice of cabin owners is heard at the Parks Canada level and in the various committees and sub-committees of Park users.
- I would encourage everyone to read and understand our Constitution and By-laws and even Bourinot’s Rules of Parliamentary Procedure Fourth Edition in order to help meetings run smoothly and efficiently. Neither are fun reading but for the past few years we have experienced a mis-interpretation of procedural rules to attempt to sway opinions There are correct rules of procedure and as an Association, we have been fortunate to have one of the pre-eminent authorities on procedure to assist with correct rulings.
This past year has been an extremely busy year and obviously controversial. The decision in January of 2012 to accept Parks Canada’s offer for a dual system for provision of water and sewer services in the cabin area, and our recommendation to proceed, is not a decision that will ever be accepted by every single cabin owner. The Board knew that then, and we know it now. Since that decision we have heard stories and allegations that some cabin owners will be forced to sell because of the $5000 infrastructure charge (which can be amortized for as long as 20 years if that is your wish). On the other hand, as President I hear from cabin owners, who due to health issues, will be selling their cabins if they do not get a washroom and water into their cabins. Is the dual system perfect? In my opinion as President and Chairman it is as close to perfect as we can achieve. No cabin owner is forced to sell for either financial or health reasons. People may opt to sell because of increases caused by the rent review, but they are not forced to sell over water and sewer. No one has to plumb in their cabin, but we will all now support and be in compliance, with the national regulation on water and sewer as is stated in our Constitution.
I speak for the Board when I say that given the clearly stated Park Regulations regarding water and sewer, that we see that Parks Canada has, by all accounts, done us a favour be providing a dual system. I recognize that not all cabin owners will agree with this, and as a board we have provided all information that we possibly could. Clearly as a cabin area we had reached a point where either we moved forward, or that recommendation was in all likelihood, going to be taken out of our hands. We will come into compliance with National Regulations, we will not be forced into installing plumbing in our cabins. This is a fair and reasonable solution, at a fair and reasonable cost.
FUTURE YEARS:
Future Boards will continue to have challenges to deal with and as cabin owners we will have decisions to make. One of the primary responsibilities of a Board is to look into the future and bring issues (as they are identified), forward to membership for their review, understanding and recommendation. There will be issues beyond the dual system which future boards will have to deal with and I would like to lay a few of these out for your consideration.
- Back lanes – we are having a few issues with back lanes that are causing significant operational problems for the Park. Back lanes are getting overgrown with trees and we are encroaching on the back lanes as well. If we are to continue running blading equipment, garbage and wood trucks down the back lanes, there has to be adequate room.
- Trees – we need to be thinking about a structured plan to cull out the older trees and start a re-planting effort. Thinking that our current trees are all saveable is not realistic, they are not salvageable and we need to look at how we are going to deal with them.
- Future of the town site and Park fees. We are a short season Park and always will be. That presents issues for our restaurants and businesses that are unique from Banff or Jasper. This will be discussed at length at the WTA and reported to you, but there are lots of ideas in the cabin area which we can bring forward to the WTA
- Cost of Park services and what we as property owners are expected to contribute as compared to the citizens of Canada. Environmental programs are conducted for the benefit of all Canadians so how much do we as park tenents pay, and how much should we pay beyond the average Canadian.
- Cook Shacks – I am a very strong supporter of the cook shacks, but not everyone is, and as President I do hear about this. In the future this will likely be a discussion topic.
- Rentals, as an association we likely need to think about rentals because as our site costs have increased, people may want to rent their cabin for a month or a few weeks every summer to help off-set their costs. Do we need a set of guidelines on rentals.
- Lease options – as there are 3 options available to us for leases, we need to understand the implications of each option before we commit to it.
- Boat storage and car parking, depending on whether you own a boat or not there will be differing opinions, but our area is tight, so parking is an issue.
- Building guidelines and the building of ready to move cabins (RTM’s). RTM’s are a great solution to less construction in our area, but what about our roads and trees, hydro lines are a separate independent issue
- Telephone and hydro lines, do we bury them.
In the past 4 years the Board has worked very hard. We have established a functional web site, developed Board policy on important issues to our area, provided accurate and timely newsletters, actively researched and reported to cabin owners on issues in the park and our area, had a health inspector come in to inspect our facilities, started the process of tree renewal through a very proactive approach, written a set of operational by-laws, conducted a review of building guidelines, pro-actively took on a forward look at our issues by co-operating with the Park on a comprehensive survey and offered special cook shack meetings to bring discussions to smaller more comfortable groups. I thank the board for all their work, because it has been considerable.
I want to stop at this, but before I sit down I want acknowledge and thank everyone I have worked with over the past 4 years. In particular, I want to acknowledge the current board, for having the foresight to understand an offer from Parks Canada that everyone knew would be contentious, for having the wisdom to discuss and analyze that offer in a rational and reasonable way, for having the courage to act on the offer and the discussion we had, and finally to have the strength of character to remain firm to the solid, sensible decision that was made and to continue to patiently explain the decision to those who are concerned. I thank you and acknowledge you as going way beyond any expectation for a volunteer Board. Thank You
As we have an extremely full agenda and I expect that several items will take some time as we work through them, so lets get started, especially as we want to be out of here by noon.
Trevor Winters
President, Clear Lake Cabin Association
UPDATE FROM PARKS CANADA:
Dale Wallis reported that they are going to forge ahead whether the community plan is signed or not.
Dale reported that the response to the medial emergency at the Spring Members Meeting (a person had collapsed due to the heat) was slow due to the congestion in the area of the Jamboree Hall. The Park is considering the purchase of a manual pump system which would be transportable.
The Park has been considering emergency evacuation plans for the cabin area. Collapsible poles will be placed in the old road exits to allow quick exits in emergencies.
The Jamboree Hall is in need of repairs to the facia and shingles and they are hoping for some funding for these repairs.
Marilyn Mutter, 107 – 3rd St. S. – raised an issue re the conditions for connection to sewer and water. Once the lease is signed, If a cabin is sold, do the owners first have to connect to sewer and water.
Dale Wallis – That is not the intention. After the sale, the new owner should connect.
Marilyn Mutter, 107 – 3rd St. S. – Would like to have this clarification made.
Dale Wallis – Will make this clarification.
Randy Woodman, 23 – 3rd St. S. – Regarding the dual system, it is a fair assumption that at some point a decision will be made re the usage of washrooms. Will it be Parks Canada that makes that decision
Dale Wallis – According to the agreement, nothing will be done for 5 years, and then the future of each building will be decided only through discussion with the Board.
Trevor Winters, 23 – 2nd St. N. – What about the shower building.
Dale Wallis – The shower building is a separate issue. It will remain until it is no longer required. The Board in discussion with the Park will make those decisions.
Greg Fleck, 25 – 3rd St. S. – would like to encourage the Board to provide members with detailed information on the impact of issues. For example, if there is an expansion of lot sizes adding trees to a lot, there could be additional cost to members when those trees needed to be removed. The Board should try to keep members informed
Dale Wallis – There may be some expansion of lots as the surveyors are unable to put the pegs in the ground due to the trees. The cost of removal or care of the trees falls to the owners. Removal of trees for development purposes is the responsibility of the cabin owners.
Pam Lucenkiw, 30 – 3rd St.N. – Asked about the status of sheds in the development of the guidelines.
Dwight McMillan – A cabin measuring 16 x 24 can have a shed, but a cabin of 16 x 32 cannot have a shed. A shed must fall within the total square footage
Pam Lucenkiw, 30 – 3rd St.N. – Has a concern about the trees as more and more are coming down.
Dwight McMillan –This will be discussed with the new board.
Pam Lucenkiw, 30 – 3rd St. N. – Is there a plan re reforestation
Dwight McMillan –This is one of the plans that will go forward with the new board.
Dale Wallis – Explained that this had been a challenging year and expressed his thanks to all owners who talked to them about issues of concern to them. Dale asked members to continue to phone, email or visit over the winter.
Dwight McMillan – He will send out information on leases and sewer and water as it comes available. He also extended an invitation to members to contact him.
Barry Randell, 74 – 1st St. S. – Will the park gates be open all winter? Will this create issues re fire insurance, etc.? What about snow removal? This winter will be busy.
Dwight McMillan – There are thoughts about closing construction in July and August. The leases will allow members to occupy cabins from April 1st to October 31st and the Park will try to have the water on longer, depending on weather. Yes, the gates will be open this winter.
Barry Randell, 74 – 1st St. S. – Will the fire hydrants be operational in the winter.
Dwight McMillan – No.
Todd Gutz, 53 – 2nd St.S. – Asked for explanations about the 20’ height and the flow of water.
Dwight McMillan – Explained that in 2005 phase 1 of sewer and water, deep water was put in – designed for phase 2 – all information is now in place. The height of the cabin from the ground up to the floor is up to the plumber as he needs to have access under the cabin. The maximum cabin height from the finished floor to the peak is 20 feet.
Lisa Ross, 14 – 1st St. S. – Would like information from the Park re elevations, etc. Will the Park provide drawings, etc. so the plumbers know what to do.
Dwight McMillan – Yes, there will be drawings the plumbers can access. The Park hopes to start work in the fall of 2013. The Board will be updated, and information will be put on the website.
Lisa Ross, 14 – 1st St. S. – Will the plans be ready by next spring. Would like the information on the website as soon as possible.
Dwight McMillan – The office will try to get the information to the Board quickly.
Lisa Ross, 14 – 1st St. S. – The Board should post information on the website and hopefully have a newsletter.
Lynn Smith, 49 – 4th St. S. – Questioned that each lot is valued at $75,000.00. She feels that lots backing on the lane are less valuable. What is the process of deciding the value of the lot is $75,000.00.
Dale Wallis – The process for appraisals is managed through Parks Canada public works. They hire a company to do the assessment. The assessors said all lots are equal. The assessment can be arbitrated once your lease is signed. The assessment to date is tentative as the final assessment will be done by the end of October. Once this information is available, the documentation will be sent out.
Lynn Smith, 49- 4th St. S. – What is the process to look at the big picture, the whole area re back lanes, garbage, etc. How can members have input?
Dale Wallis – The Board determines member meetings, cookshack meetings, etc. Members can speak to the Park personally. The Park has data from surveys, individual members visits to the office, etc. We need to talk about what works for members. We want to see community continue to develop. (example – take a tree, plant a tree)
Trevor Winters – The Board tried cookshack meetings two years ago, but really had only 2 or 3 small ones. We all need to talk about issues.
Gord Mutter, 107 – 3rd St. S. – Feels that the $75,000.00 lease value cannot be substantiated. The Board should negotiate with Parks Canada to bring the amount down. Parks Canada needs to negotiate with the Board.
Dale Wallis – The assessment was done without consideration with sewer and water. No one has a leasehold there, so the evaluation was done on what the land is worth. Parks Canada or the Board cannot argue the evaluation. The evaluations are provided by Public Works.
Tim Basaraba, 5 – 2nd St. N. – The value of $75,000.00 is too high. There is infrastructure there, how much still to be done. He suggests that the lines not run to the cabin fronts, but members run lines themselves in the spring of any year.
Dwight McMillan – The assessed value of all lots is $75,000.00 no matter what the value of the cabin. Parks Canada decided to go to the property line. 50% of the infrastructure is now done, the other 50% remains to be done. Parks Canada decided to go to the front of the cabin to avoid further disruption to the streets.
Dale Wallis – Just received an emergency message that Washroom 9 would be closed for the rest of the weekend.
Trevor Winters – Joan James has developed a single sheet describing the leases and sewer and water giving comparisons. Staying on one year camping permits will cost $2,300 per year. Leases and sewer and water approximately $1,525.00 to $1,550.00 per year. There will be a one time infrastructure charge of $5,000.00. If any member wishes, the Erickson Credit Union will loan the $5,000.00 and amortize it over 20 years with an average yearly payment of $368.00. If you choose the lease option tied to the Consumer Price Index, the lease rate will only increase by approximately $15.00 per year. As the Municipality of Park expand the use of the water treatment plant, our fees will go down. The release fee will be waived.
TREASURER’S REPORT:
Clear Lake Cabin Association Treasurer’s Report as of August 31, 2012
Revenue: As of June 29, 2012 $3,994.06
Income from Memberships 5,880.00
Total Revenue to August 31, 2012 $9.874.06
Expenses: Bank Cheques $ 31.50
Printing 96.79
Eyepatch Sweatshirts 228.10
Board meeting hall rental – June 30/12 40.00
Board meeting hall rental – August 26/12 100.00
Coffee and Buns for meeting – August 26/12 20.79
Receipt books and voting cards 14.61
Total Expenses to August 31, 2012 $ 531.79
Total Assets to August 31, 2012 $9,342.27
Westoba Bank Balance as of July 31, 2012 $8,404.67
Add outstanding membership deposits 1,060.00
Subtract outstanding cheques 135.40
Add Westoba Equity 8.00
Add Westoba Share 5.00
Bank Reconciliation $9,342.27
Respectfully submitted by Joyce Harland, Treasurer of CLCA.
Members in attendance – 173
Proxies – 84
Total Cabins Represented –257
Motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented by John George, seconded by Roy White. Carried.
ELECTIONS:
President Trevor called on Roy White to preside over the elections.
As Roy White is not running for re-election, he will be running the election.
Nominated for the president of the Board –Gary Cavanagh
Roy called for further nominations. Bernie Williams, 12 – 4th St. S. – nominated Brian McVicar. Brian accepted. John George moved nominations close, seconded by Mary Kreutzer, 72 – 3rd St. S., carried.
Scrutineers announced 95 votes for Gary and 146 votes for Brian. Brian McVicar is the new president
Nominated for Vice President – Scott Jordan, no further nominations, Scott declared elected.
Nominated for Secretary – Gloria Belliveau , no further nominations, Gloria declared elected.
Nominated for Treasurer – Joyce Harland, no further nominations, Joyce declared elected.
Nominated for Board – John George, Joan James, Keith Vinters and Brad Collett.
Call for nominations from the floor. Gary Toews, 36 – 1st St. S. – nominated Nathan Fleck. Jody LaFleche nominated Paul Barnabe. Lisa Ross nominated Larry Janzen. Nominations declared closed. Elected to the Board for a two year term are John George, Joan James, Keith Vinters, Brad Collett and Paul Barnabe.
GENERAL BUSINESS:
SPEED BUMPS have been requested on the South Road.
Dale Wallis said they have put movable speed bumps on Tawapit and found that they had to move them many times due to complaints about noise. Speed bumps really have not been very effective. Dale also has a concern as bikers have been injured. Perhaps need to try stop signs, etc.
Trevor Winters – Discussion is required on this issue.
Brian McVicar – Please take down license numbers, make of cars, etc., and bring it to the attention of the Board and/or the Park.
Randy Woodman, 23 – 3rd St. N. – Near a school in Winnipeg, they have four speed bumps in a row.
Trevor Winters – Take down the information. No further action needed.
BUILDING GUIDELINES REVIEW – The Board will meet with Dwight McMillan respecting the height of cabins.
CONSTITUTION – Trevor Winters asked Brian McVicar to take over the chair.
Wayne Clayton, 109 – 3rd St. S. – We need to look at the constitution and tighten things up to make it clearer. Motion that a special committee be struck on the constitution to report back to the Spring Members Meeting in July, 2013.
Gary Toews, 36 – 1st St. S. – Would be reported back with recommendations.
Wayne Clayton, 109 – 3rd St. S. – Bring back recommendations on the constitution. It is time for a review.
Trevor Winters, 23 – 2nd St. N. – It is stated very clearly in our constitution. Rules of Procedure in Bourinot if not covered in our constitution. A motion requires 30 days motion with a 2/3 majority.
Wayne Clayton, 109 – 3rd St. S. – We just need clarification
Unknown, – 4th St. N. – A review is good, Major issues need a mail in vote.
Brad Collette, 70 – 4th St. S. – Would like Joelle Robinson’s name put forward for the committee.
Greg Fleck, 25 – 3rd St. S. – Members should have the constitution they want.
Brian McVicar – There is interest in reviewing the constitution. Will call for vote
Gerald Young, 13 – 4th St. N. – The motion did not say form a committee.
Randy Woodman, 23 -3rd St. S. – The Board is an advisory board only, however, the Board is recognized as authority by the Park. Should there be a mechanism how these decisions are made.
Greg Fleck, 25 – 3rd St. S. – Looking for way members can help the Board make the decisions and give some direction to the Board.
Wayne Clayton, 109 – 3rd St. S. – Did not take exception to Board’s action, supports Trevor’s information to members, but just wants to clarify his position.
Brent Munroe, 75 – 2nd St. S. – Make a motion with regarding major decisions, things which cause members thousands of dollars.
Brian McVicar – This is inappropriate. Many people have left and a new Board has been elected. Similar tactics as used in the July meeting.
Brent Munroe, 75 – 2nd St. S. – Want to prevent issues be including review.
Trevor Winters, 23 – 2nd St. N. – The Board will strike a committee to deal with major decisions.
Wayne Clayton, 109 – 3rd St. S. – Will withdraw Motion.
Brent Munroe, 75 – 2nd St.S. – Will withdraw motion.
Trevor Winters returned to chair the meeting.
CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT
MOTION: That the CLCA Constitution be amended in Article III, entitled “Fees”, to add subsection 3, to state: “The membership period shall be for two years commencing April 1, of every even year, and terminating March 31, of the subsequent even year,” Moved by Gary Cavanagh, seconded by John George. Carried.
Trevor Winters thanked Gary Cavanagh for his many years of service to the Board. He also thanked everyone in attendance.
Motion by Gary Toews that the ballots be destroyed. Seconded by Brent Munroe. Carried.
Next Meeting will be held at the Jamboree Hall on June 30th, 2013.
Meeting adjourned at 11:18 a.m.
The above minutes have been posted for information purposes only and still need to be accepted by the membership at the AGM in September, 2013.
