Sandy Hook Community Association

General Meeting

Thursday, May24, 2001

At Greenecourt Hall

 1.                   Call to Order

Meeting was called to order by the chair, President Sandra Sharkey, at 7:35pm

Her introductory statement is attached.

 

2.                   Presentation

Bob Patrick, Water Conservation Officer, and his assistant, Dave Crosby, of the SCRD were introduced by Gray Waddell. They had been specifically requested to talk to the SHCA about the SCRD water system with particular attention to Sandy Hook area. In particular they emphasized water conservation. They gave two ways to conserve water, a) to exchange high water volume toilets for smaller 6 litre ones, and b) purchase a 75 gallon ‘Rain Pail’ which are currently selling at half price - $81.00. They also pointed out the SCRD is giving a $100.00 rebate to anyone who exchanges their larger water consuming toilet for a 6 litre one. They pointed out that water consumption per capita on the Sunshine Coast is very high - some 518 litres per day versus the Canadian average of 350 litres per day. Other points they raised were that water quality is also of concern and that a $6,000,000 filtrations system is planned to start in June. Their presentation took 43 minutes and ended at 8:22pm at which time they were thanked on behalf of the SHCA by Gray Waddell.

3.                   Rules of Order

At 8:23pm the chair went over the rules of order for the meeting.

 

4.                   Minutes of AGM of 2000

The secretary read out the minutes of the 2000 AGM which were approved as read.

 

5.                   Treasurer’s Report

The treasurer, Barbara Scodras, gave her financial report as of December 31, 2000:

 

During the year 2000 we received receipts of $819.16 and expended $546.94 for a net receipts over disbursements for the year of $272.22. As we had started off the year with cash in the bank of $2,154.52 we now, as of December 31, 2000, had cash in the bank of $2,427.04.

Her report was accepted as presented.

 

6.                   Other Reports

1.                  Public Works. Bob D’Arcy gave an oral report and noted that his written report had been circulated.Attached.

2.                  News Letter. Julie Towle gave an oral report on the newsletters circulated from time to time in Sandy Hook.

 

 

7.                   Presidents Report President Sandra Sharkey gave her report copy of which is attached. She also read the Interfor letter of May 7 to the SHCA and the District of Sechelt letter written by Gerard LeBlanc to Interfor re ‘Hidden Grove’ After some discussion her report was accepted.

 

8.                   Nominating Committee Report. Julie Towle and Bob D’Arcy gave their oral report. They noted that  nominations from the floor are not allowed by the Society’s constitution.

 

A) Board Members stepping down:        Barbara Scodras, Dave Allen

 

B) Board Members continuing in office for the next year: Sandra Sharkey, Gray Waddell, Bob D’Arcy and Julie Towlie.

 

C) Board members whose term has expired: Harold Fletcher, Barbara Scodrass,

 

D) Persons nominated and agreeing to stand for election: Ivan Hardwick, Sue Jackel, Pat Moore, Din  Ruttelynck, Mike Uren and  Harold Fletcher.

 

Each board member, retiring and continuing, and the nominees were requested to stand and be recognized as their name was announced.

 

As the number of persons nominated do not exceed the required number to fill the board all nominees were declared elected by acclamation.

 

President Sharkey thanked all those who had served on the board and welcomed those who were elected.

 

9.                   The meeting adjourned at 8:53pm and all were invited to join in the refreshments.

 

 

SHCA Welcome and Introduction

 

ACM May 24,2001

 

Welcome to the AGM 2001. I would like to thank you all for showing your interest by attending and supporting your board.

 

Our agenda this year is limited to the items required by the Registrar of Societies our meeting should be very straightforward.

 

As you know, each year at this AGM we have a guest who speaks to issues of concern and interest to our membership. Last year our speaker was the Emergency Services Co-Ordinator for the Sunshine Coast, Mr. Bob Stubbings. This year the subject is Water.

 

Gray, our past president will introduce our speakers.

 

President's Report

 

At the beginning of this year our board numbers totaled seven.

 

Gray Waddell, who holds the office of past president, will remain with us for another year. Thank goodness for Gray or I would have had quite a time keeping informed and apprised of the local happenings as well as the history of our association.

 

Dave Allen, who was our Vice president has had to withdraw, due to work pressures and his travel schedule.

 

Barbara Scodras, our treasurer has completed her two year term and has chosen not to stand for another. I would at this time like to thank Barbara for her very thorough attention to our finances and for most thoughtful and well informed decision making. Some of you may be aware that Barbara is on the board at the Seniors Centre and is the Seniors Counselor and has a fairly full schedule. Thank you Barb, from all of us.

 

Harold Fletcher, our secretary has completed his two year term and will stand again. Harold says secretary is not really his bag, so we will need to find a position on the board more in keeping with his talents-perhaps treasurer.

 

Bob D'Arcy, our public works director has completed one year of his two year term. When Bob came on the board he was enthusiastic and had a wealth of ideas. He told us cheerfully that he was an idea man. As time passed Bob continued to come up with the ideas and since we had no employees for him to supervise, he became the doer as well as the idea man! ~

 

Julie Towle, the newsletter editor has also completed one year of her two year term. I am sure you all know Julie; she has been involved with the SHCA for many years and has done a great job of keeping us informed and infecting us with her enthusiasm.

 

And lastly, myself - I have one more year of a two year term.

 

Our roster can be 12 members plus the immediate past president. I understand that our nominating committee has been busy recruiting so I am hopeful that we will end the evening with a full, or close to full board.

 

As a board we are fortunate to have ongoing and productive relationships with the district of Sechelt staff and council and are appreciative of their help in our efforts to serve the community.

 

On another subject, some of you may already have had a visit from the local bears, but if not we would like to suggest the usual care

be taken at this time of year with regard to garbage and compost and of course steer clear of the mother bear and her cubs.

 

Our emergency preparation program is not faring that well. We have had little interest from the hook residents. The lower hook has been organized and the team leader, Tom Nash, will be contacting those who live on Coracle drive or place, Ark road, and Shrimp way this summer to do further planning.

 

Part of our problem with lack of interest is of course the fact that there are a number of part time residents in the hook, however with summer coming we should be able to start our next neighbourhoods. I would like to thank Dorothy and Bob Fraser for their offer to host their neighbourhood and I will be in contact.

 

There is a stack of Emergency Inventory forms at the entry table along with a list of those who have already completed the forms. Please take one and help us to get the inventory up to date.

 

We will begin the planning, for the Annual picnic soon and would really appreciate any help, so please leave your name and number on the list at the door if you would be willing to help.

 

Lastly, those of you who wrote to Interfor and the Ministry of Forests regarding block 350 may by now have received your letters of response from Jeff Pollock, the engineer with Interfor.

 

The letters to the individual households have addressed many issues that were brought UI) by different folks. The letter that the SHCA received is general and I will read it for you.

 

LETTER FROM INTERFOR

 

In order for us, the board to represent the community we will be calling on the membership for input and hopefully the majority interests will be served.

Please stay tuned for further developments; we will keep you informed via the newsletter.

 

Public Works Director Report

Submitted by Bob D’Arcy May 24, 2001

 

As new to the association and certainly new to the position of public works director I have no benchmark to judge whether this has been a busy or productive year for the job. Judging as just a volunteer I have found it busy and very rewarding.

Your director attended most meetings of the Sechelt Public Works committee to monitor any developments that might impact on Sandy Hook. An anecdote here serves to highlight the importance of such attendance. Past President Gray Waddell kindly accompanied me to my first public works meeting to introduce me to the process and to introduce me to the town committee. While an outsider can only monitor the meetings and is not expected to participate in any way, at the close of the meetings an informal opportunity arises to speak to the committee members. Gray asked when Klahanie and Coracle Drive would be repaved and then suggested that while the equipment was in the neighbourhood it might be used to patch the worst areas of Sandy Hook Road. The committee advised that nothing was in the budget for the extra work but ‘by mistake’ something might be done. Two weeks later we saw most of the bumps and holes patched. As the only community association with a member regularly in attendance at these meetings it is clear that the squeaky or should I say musical wheel gets the grease. I am sure that had Gray not spoken up the extra work would not have been done. Thank you Gray.

During the year your director, with the kind assistance of member volunteers, undertook several projects, notably:

1.      The erection of new bulletin boards at four of the mailbox locations in Sandy Hook. These are being heavily used. Our only ongoing problem is the activities of the infamous “map tack thief” who regularly steals the pins from the boards. I urge the membership to use their Sherlock Holmes skills and track down this terrible criminal in our midst.

2.      A new park was started. It is located between Skookumchuk and Deerhorn near the junction. The area was infested with European Blackberries and a good start was made in cutting these out. A gravel path was installed. The long-term goal is a natural area for bird watching and to look out at the inlet without any formal park amenities. A bench for sitting and enjoying the peace of the park may be considered. This will be a 3 or 4 year project in order to get rid of the blackberries and reintroduce native growth.

3.      Accompanied by director Julie Towle, your public works director met with town officials to assess and organize the addition of some playground equipment for Sandy Hook Park. The meeting was very positive and in the next year or so we anticipate reporting the success of this project.

4.      Your public works director also participated in the ongoing expansion and maintenance of the paths in the Sechelt Heritage Forest as well as the attempt at new paths in the contentious Cut Block 350.  A special thank you to Michael Davidson for his leadership of the volunteer work parties for both endeavours.

5.      A request to the town resulted in two new stop signs at critical areas in the community.

6.      We imposed upon SCRAPS resulting in the placement of a recycle bins at the turnoff for newspaper and for shiny paper. Your association is committed to monitoring these bins and reporting when they require emptying.

7.      While stretching the definition of ‘Public Works’, your director successfully launched our official Sandy Hook Community web site this year with the kind donation of web space from Coastal Cable. It was a decision of the board not to post the site to the search engines but rather limit the access as much as possible to community members and those they advised of the site. Limited in this way the site has still been averaging 6 hits per week and it is hoped that the information on the site is useful and informative to those who have computer access to the web.

 

For the next year, your outgoing director suggests the new board and director consider the following:

a)       Erection of further bulletin boards if the community shows an interest in this.

b)      Continuing the work in the new park

c)      Follow up on the meeting with the town to secure the playground equipment

d)      Continuation of attendance at the Sechelt Public Works committee meetings

e)       Such new projects as may be suggested by the membership and the board.

 

In closing let me express my appreciation to President Sandra Sharkey for her leadership in the past year, to all the board members for their commitment to the public works’ aspect of your association’s mandate and above all to the volunteers who responded so well to my calls for help.

Thank you.