Happy New Year!

A new year is an opportunity to share our plans and dreams for the upcoming twelve months. So at this time, I would like to share with you what 2017 may hold in store for our community.

The biggest dream is to finally realize the goal of improving our community facility by building an addition. As many of you know, shortly after we moved into our current building in 2002, an architect was hired to design a large addition. These plans have been tucked away for over a decade and subsequent community association boards have been saving money from revenues and casinos. Members have been discussing how the design could be improved and waiting for our neighbouring library and North Hill Centre mall owners to come through with their promises of renovations so that we could work with them to have an integrated design that would best serve our community.

After several extensions given to us by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission for future use of the proceeds we received from their casinos, we received a letter last October advising us that we would lose over $200,000 and possibly be removed from their list of charities if we did not submit a plan for the expenditure of their funds along with a time line. Suddenly, all our waiting for future collaboration with other interested parties was pressured into action.

Our response included a proposal to build a 3000 square foot addition that will be a multipurpose area. This new space will be versatile so that it can be partitioned when needed and suitable for a variety of uses such as meeting rooms, athletic studios, and banquets.  Casino funds and our sizable savings from general revenues over the years will fund the project. The time line for this project is estimated to be approximately 2 years.

As well, our board has contacted Councillor Druh Farrell and she has been sympathetic with our sudden call to action by facilitating a meeting with the city’s public library department and mall owner. We still hope that our project will fit into an integrated design even if it is done in stages rather than all at once. And we hope that you will contribute with your ideas and support so that we can create a design and renovation that will be worth the long wait! We will be asking for your input.

A much smaller project this year is to update our community association’s bylaws. They are outdated in some areas and inaccurate in others. Change requires a special general meeting with 21 days notice so please watch for further information and an invitation to attend this event.

I hope that you are looking forward to your own plans and dreams for 2017 and I wish you health and happiness.

Laura

Our Community Association board has had another busy year and as the new president of such an active and vibrant group of people, I have had to navigate a steep learning curve. Thank you to all who have helped me in this important and sometimes daunting leadership role!

I encourage you to read the directors’ reports about their many accomplishments and activities this past year. They will give you details about the many projects and activities that your board has been involved with over the last 12 months. I will now mention some of the highlights as well as thoughts on future endeavours for our community association.

First – the fun stuff! Our board voted unanimously last December to provide funds for maintenance of the outdoor rinks at Green Park. Thanks goes to Lucas Ramage for buying a snow blower and to his crew of neighbours for using it to keep the ice cleaned off. As well, our board was very happy to pay for several ice cleaning sessions to maintain the surface. The rinks were well used and enjoyed by residents of all ages and we have budgeted funds to continue maintenance again this winter!

Expenditures to also improve the enjoyment of our community facility included the purchase of a new scoreboard for the gym and, as you may have noticed at our meeting, a new outside entrance sign, and new flooring for rooms, hallways and washrooms. Thank you to Gunter Sammet for the scoreboard project and to Kathleen Staniland for applying successfully for a grant to pay for 75% of the flooring project and for supervising its installation.

Our board is trying to communicate with our residents more efficiently and effectively. Over the last year our Communication Director, Liz Stewart, has worked hard to improve and maintain our HH-BH.ca website, work with Great News Publishing to improve our newsletter, The Beacon, and set up Twitter and Face Book accounts. Thank you to Liz and her helpers for these important steps forward in engaging and communicating with residents.

Less fun but necessary was the hand-over of our community run kindergarten to the Calgary Board of Education at Briar Hill Elementary School. It was very unfortunate that our ability as volunteers to administer the program was no longer adequate, and regrettable that the change had to happen quickly due to unforeseen circumstances. The hours of work and worry that were involved were too numerous to count. I owe our board’s Education Directors, Jill Letal and JIll Hadland a huge thank you, and I thank everyone both on and off the board who supported us during this difficult project.

One worry is the decreased revenue that we have received from gym rentals. We depend on this source of income to pay for a big part of our operating budget. Some regular renters have moved to their own new facilities or other venues and we haven’t replaced them, leaving the gym empty more often. And some of the decrease may be due to our hurting local economy. Increasing facility rental must be a priority in the coming year.

And now a look into the year ahead:

Our casino funds have been carefully saved over many years with plans to use them to help finance a renovation or expansion to our facility. The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC) stipulates that their proceeds must be spent within a specific time period. We have been allowed to extend this period in the past but were recently told that our board must submit definite plans and a time frame in order to keep these funds. With that in mind, we have started preliminary work on a project outline which we must submit by November 24. This will be an exciting project and we look forward to receiving input from residents as it progresses!

Our cooperative play school has been an important program in our community for many years and is administered through a parent council who is ultimately accountable to our board. One priority this year is to improve our governance and strengthen our board’s ties with the play school through more direct supervision of its administration. This will also improve our community association’s support for the parents who volunteer.

One smaller but important project is to update our community association’s bylaws. As many of you know, quorum is rarely met at our AGM’s and the reality of small turn outs needs to be addressed. As well, communication has changed over the years and we no longer only rely on Canada Post and The Beacon to advertise meetings. Other articles also need to be updated and reviewed in terms of their legality and legitimacy. I hope that this will be done at a special meeting in the new year.

We are a small community with a big heart! I have been honoured to serve you and I thank you for your support in so many ways. Please know that you are always welcome to attend our meetings or communicate with board members individually, and that we value your input and participation in our community association.

Yours sincerely,

Laura 

November is now upon us and this is a particularly busy month for our community association’s board members due to our Annual General Meeting. It is scheduled for November 16, 7:00pm. It is a time for reflection on what has happened in the past year and for looking ahead to what needs to be accomplished in the future. I hope that many of you will take time out of your busy routines to come to the community board room and be part of our meeting.

As always, we hope to have Councillor Druh Farrell and Constable John Kastamonitis of the Calgary Police Service present so that you can voice your questions or concerns. You will be able to read board members’ reports on activities in the past year as we have tried to serve our community, and let us know what’s on your mind as we work together as neighbours to continue to make our inner city community the gem that it is.

As you know, our community association board is comprised of volunteers. We are all busy people with jobs and commitments but we believe that community service is worth the work and worry that it often involves. Our AGM is an important meeting for us as it is our chance to hear from you and receive your support or your concerns on how we impact our neighbourhood.

All board members are elected for a one year term that begins and ends at our AGM. Any community member with an active membership can run for election and vote, so this is your chance to be involved with who is on your board or to run for a position. As I am writing this message in early October, I know of two director’s vacancies that I ask you to consider filling – Sears Plume (of which I wrote about last month), and Education.

Our Education Director is involved with the running of our community play school, an important service that we offer parents with children aged 3 – 5. It is directly under the umbrella of our community association and as such needs to be supervised closely to fulfill our legal governance requirements. The Director acts as a liaison between our association and the play school parent committee and is an important resource person who can help make sure that we are providing a quality program for our children.

As well, we are always very happy to welcome new people who would like to join the board without a particular position. Bring your skills and passions and come be a part of our association! Learn more about what makes our community tick and take this opportunity to make a contribution to how our neighbourhood runs (and plays!). It’s also a wonderful way to meet your neighbours and find new challenges and personal growth.

I would like to now sincerely thank all those who have volunteered their time and talents as board and community members over the past year. Without your help in so many ways, Hounsfield Heights – Briar Hill would just be another dot on a big city’s map.

Please come out to our AGM on the 16th. For more information check Volunteer Opportunities on our website. Or contact any board member if you are interested in joining us!     

Laura