There have been a few questions/concerns that shareholders have asked the board since December’s AGM, and we thought that rather than respond directly to only those shareholders, we would answer them for everyone and keep everyone informed.
- A question was raised about the water system and how many certified operators we have in case one person was unavailable, sick, etc
- We currently have 3 certified operators and our new water director, Don Murphy, will be taking the course this spring and getting up to speed. We will also have the new caretaker certified when they get started this spring.
- It is not a requirement to have certification to assist or work with the water system, but it is implied that someone with certification will be available for consultation and to oversee the process.
- Some questions were raised about whether shareholders or directors should be paid for work done on the property – the case in point was work done on the new caretaker’s cabin.
- The work was done by individuals who were shareholders or directors and the work was more than a number of hours or a weekend that would normally be donated for a volunteer project. These individuals were remunerated for their services at $18/hr for labour and $30/hr for skilled work.
- Notices were posted on Facebook asking for help with the cabin build and we had 2
- shareholders respond. The board also looked locally for available/interested contractors for assistance and was unsuccessful. Coupled with
- Covid it was difficult to attract labour (skilled or not) to BLE in 2020.
- The compensation paid for the work done on the cabin is in compliance with the BLE articles. A copy of the articles can be found on the BLE website (birkenheadlakeestates.ca).
A suggestion was made at the AGM that we should look at these articles and make changes to them. The board discussed this suggestion and it was felt that there was nothing wrong with the process that had been followed for this project and the legal costs and effort required to explore changing the articles were prohibitive and unnecessary at this time. If shareholders feel strongly about the need to make changes to the articles, they can email the board at BLE.board.secretary@gmail.com. If there is sufficient appetite for change, a vote to decide whether to change articles related to remuneration could take place at next fall’s AGM.
- Related to item 2 above, it was suggested by a shareholder that there was a conflict of interest with board members being paid for work, as the board owns the budget and controls the purse strings. It was pointed out by another shareholder after the AGM that this is not actually the case. The shareholders own the budget, which they vote on and approve. If the budget is approved for the cost of services, it should not matter who does the work as long as hours are documented and wages paid appropriately for work done.
- It was brought to our attention that it is in our articles that the past treasurer and president sit on the board for a year after their terms end to ensure a smooth transition and passage of information to their successors in these important positions. We have new treasurer this year, so our past treasurer will be invited to meetings that involve budget discussions in 2021.
- It was suggested by a shareholder that in light of the challenges we have had with caretaker communications over the last number of years that have left shareholders divided on the cartaker’s performance, we might consider hiring a company to manage the maintenance/caretaker. The board discussed this idea and decided to use resources to update the caretaker contract and to draft an updated list of procedures and expectations of the job. The goal of these is to clarify expectations for future caretakers and facilitate improved communication. It was felt that hiring an outside company would not only be expensive, but would add another layer of complexity to communication between the board/shareholders and the caretaker that was unlikely to improve communication or solve problems. In order to keep clear communication with this year’s caretaker, Norm and Mario will be the liasons for operations and Don will be the liason for water related items. The board is asking shareholders to direct comments or concerns about projects that require the caretaker’s attention for water issues to Don at board.water@gmail.com or for operations issues to either Mario at BLE.board.operations35@gmail.com or Norm at BLE.board.operations@gmail.com
- A shareholder with a lake front property suggested that we as a community and/or the board take action to lobby our local MLA to get his support for leniency on the moratorium on docks. He pointed out that it is a bit ridiculous that only a select few lots are allowed to have docks. He suggested that enough time had elapsed since the last request had been denied that the portfolio had likely changed hands and suggested it was time to try again.
- Considering that approval to renew our current Park Use Permit is still pending in the Parks department, the board decided to wait on this matter until the new Park Use Permit is in hand. Once that agreement is renewed for the next term, we could find out whether BC Parks has any appetite to discuss amendments to our Permit conditions. Depending on the outcome of these discussions, we can decide, as a group, whether to escalate the matter politically. This could possibly be an item that could be proposed before the next AGM and discussed in that forum.
- For interest/information, the Province (not just BC Parks) has established permitting/approvals processes for docks on inland and coastal aquatic Crown land; the Park Use Permit for BLE specifically contains clear conditions regarding the addition and removal of docks on Birkenhead Lake.