|
The yearly Annual/General Meeting of the Association was held on July 3rd, 2004 at the
Stokes Bay Community Centre. Present at the executive table were the President Nigel
Allwood, the Secretary Reg Fortune and the Treasurer Martin Hogarth. The Vice-President
Jim Sauve and the Trustee Michael Tyler were not at the table as they had recently
resigned/left their positions. They were, however, in attendance with approximately 20-25
others, presumably Association members, although this was not confirmed due to the lack of
Trustee function at the meeting. President Allwood welcomed the group assembled and
verbalized the agenda for the meeting; reading of the minutes of the last General Meeting, the
Treasurer/Auditor reports, a summation of old business, the election of new officers, and
opening the meeting up to items of new business. The Secretary Reg Fortune read the minutes of our last Annual/General meeting of July 5th, 2003. Moved by Michael Tyler, seconded by Will Rogers, that the minutes be accepted as read. Carried. Treasurer’s Report Treasurer Martin Hogarth reported that we presently have a balance of $591.04, on hand and in the bank. This balance is supported by bank statement of June 16, 2004, from the RBC Lion’s Head. Moved by Will Rogers, seconded by Nick Torra, that the Treasurer’s Report be accepted as presented. Carried. Auditor’s Report Auditor Nick Torra read and tabled his report on the financial statement for the year ended June 16, 2004 as well as the general accounting practices of the Association. Moved by Will Rogers, seconded by Betty Dunlop, that the Auditor’s Report be accepted as presented. Carried. President Allwood undertook a quick review of the particular issues tackled by the Executive in the past year, namely:
President Allwood started the discussion by outlining the current state and the division of opinion in the community over the street lighting in the hamlet, which was originally undertaken as a Centennial project by the Women’s Institute, a forerunner of the Stokes Bay Community Centre. The President expressed the opinion that as a safety issue and a contribution to the “dark skies” project in the Peninsula, we should continue to press the Municipality for full funding. Jim Sauve explained, in answer to a question, that the annual expense, estimated at a little over $4000.00, is supported by a grant from the Municipality that has increased over time to $2000.00 per year. The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Municipality has explained to the Association’s Secretary that any further support, or in fact full support, would mean the Municipality would then be the de facto owners of the lighting, thereby attracting a very substantial cost increase by Hydro. It is their feeling this expense is unnecessary and recommend the status quo be maintained. The Stokes Bay Community Centre Executive and members have indirectly asked us (letter on file to the Municipality signed by John Goy) to leave the matter to their management, as they are very happy with the arrangement. While no one could really disagree that full funding by the Municipality would be a good thing, on the surface, President Allwood requested a motion from the floor that because of the division on the issue, we back away this “holy ground” (quote J. Sauve). The motion was tabled by Jim Sauve and seconded by Will Rogers. Carried The Re-Construction of Tamarac Road Martin Hogarth stated it was his understanding the road is to be paved the week of July 12th. It seemed to be the general consensus the road re-construction was reaching a successful conclusion, with some reservations for the potential for increased vehicle speed due to the new surface. This would be further discussed under ‘new business’ as a community safety and policing issue. Lori Kirkland and Dick Kirkland raised the matter of the new drainage system flowing unwanted water to private property on the low side of Tamarac Rd. It was agreed they raise the matter directly with the Road Superintendent Bill Rydell and if not looked after to their satisfaction, request the Association’s intervention. Speed Limits A very detailed and lively discussion took place speculating what speed limits are in effect in various parts of the Hamlet and what they really should be. The general view supported lower limits in some places, as a genuine safety concern for our citizens and the orderly flow of traffic. Nigel Allwood read from the minutes of a recent “Committee of the Whole” report on the proposed road standards for Gauley Bay Rd, the only entry/exit for the proposed Greenough Point Development. Mr. Allwood went on to suggest the current posted limits in and around the Hamlet were by enlarge either inaccurate or not reflective of the Community’s safety needs. Motioned by Jim Sauve, seconded by Dick Kirkland, that we continue to press for a speed limit reduction to 40 kms per hour from the north Stokes Bay sign down to Hardwick Cove Rd and including Hardwick Cove, through the Hamlet itself and out to Greenough Point, with the by-law amended to include the institution of a safety zones within the hamlet and double fines for infractions in such safety zones. Liability Insurance President Allwood indicated we are currently paying annual dues of $20. to belong to the ‘Coalition’ of ratepayer groups who is currently looking into the cost for arranging a liability insurance policy that would provide coverage for all of the ratepayer groups belonging to the Coalition. This coverage is mainly to mitigate the risk the various group executives face when putting on community functions such as road clean ups, barbeques, etc., where personal injury could end up in a lawsuit against the Association. Other examples of risk in this regard were discussed, including unsuccessfully opposing developers and other such entities who could seek damages for a variety of reasons, or leaving Associations open to lawsuits for any potentially libelous comments made in communications undertaken on behalf of local ratepayers. President Allwood went on to point out that many ratepayers groups are and will have difficulty getting executive members, due to these uninsured risks. Mr. Allwood indicated he would support our purchasing such insurance, if found to be affordable, and asked for input from the membership. Nigel felt it was probably necessary to mitigate the risk to the executive should they find it necessary in dealing with local Government and others, to “hold their feet to the fire”. Secretary Reg Fortune suggested we consider tailoring our activities to avoid attracting these risks and therefore the necessity and expense of insuring against them. Jim Sauve gave support for this stance and went on to caution Mr. Allwood on his hardliner and often confrontational style in dealing with local politicians. Mr. Sauve stated it was never our mandate to attempt to run the Municipality or dictate to our Municipal Government how to run their affairs, but is more to work with them as much as possible to attract attention to our local needs. In the same vein, another ratepayer present, Kim Shaw, indicated she was a subject matter expert in the area of this type of insurance coverage and stated that part of the process from the insurance company’s point of view was, in part, to oversee any and all written communications before finalized to make sure they would not cause backlash. Kim offered her opinion that based on the most recent communications from our Association to the Municipal Government, that she had in hand, we would be denied coverage. It was her further opinion these communications were “very unprofessional”. Moved by Jim Sauve, seconded by Michael Tyler, that our Executive report back to the membership with information and a recommendation when the Coalition determines the cost, etc., etc., of such liability insurance. Carried. Communications/Relationship with the Municipal Government President Allwood, outlined many of the difficulties faced in trying to keep abreast of how our politicians are spending our tax dollars and how they run their business. These have included:
New Business Many concerns were raised over various safety issues such as speed limits and operation of ATV’s, licensed and unlicensed. Al Barriault feels that many people do not “feel” safe, given the current speed limits, condition of the roads and the likely worsening of these conditions with the imminent paving of Tamarac Rd., where he lives. Dick Kirkland, not a stranger in how local governments work, asked if we have a “Police Services Board” or something that fills the same mandate. He feels we should bring our concerns directly to them and not to the Mayor and Council and further that we should have a representative from that board (could be the O.P.P.) attend one of our meetings, and before the next Annual/General meeting, along with a representative from Council, to get the facts on the table and an action plan in place. Mr. Kirkland also raised the specter of ‘West Nile’ virus and wondered about the Peninsula’s readiness should local cases be confirmed, i.e. is there currently a contingency plan in place. This should be raised at the first opportunity, in his view. Election of Officers The following positions were declared vacant and the floor opened for nominations, as follows:
On a motion by Hank Nuis, seconded by Dina Allwood, the meeting was adjourned at 12:20 p.m. |