SATURNA ISLAND PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

DATE HELD: Saturday, 05 March 2011

LOCATION: Saturna Island Recreation Centre

Saturna, British Columbia

CALL TO ORDER: 11:00 a.m.

In attendance:

Bernie Ziegler

Susie Washington-Smyth

Ron Monk

Murray Rankin

Ellen Bourassa

Bill Schermbrucker

Susan Jamieson-McLarnon

Ron Hall

Bryan Dixon

Guest: Tom Johnstone (for item 6.01 only)

1. CALL TO ORDER:

The meeting was called to order at 11:00 am by Murray Rankin. A proper quorum was in attendance.

2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

Amended as follows:

Ongoing Business – delete item 6.04;

New Business – add as item 7.01 a) Presentation at Galiano Islands Trust Meeting, March 9; 7.01 b) Islands Trust Revenue & Expenses; 7.01 c) Participation in Gulf Islands Ratepayers Association; 7.06 Freighters in the Channel.

Agenda approved as amended.

3. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES:

Noted regrets from Bryan Dixon. Motion: to approve minutes as amended.

Carried.

 

 

4. BUSINESS ARISING FROM MINUTES – none

5. COMMITTEE REPORTS

5.01 FINANCIAL REPORT:

Ellen Bourassa reported that as of February 28, 2011 the balance in the SIPOA bank account was $7,228.46. Half the funds committed for toilet rebates has been paid out so far.

5.02 MEMBERSHIP:

Ellen Bourassa reported that currently our membership stands at 209, minus 2 resignations.

Susie Washington-Smyth has sent an email and also met with Dawn Wood regarding the questions she posed regarding the membership figures and the treatment of multiple property owners. The details of membership eligibility are contained in the SIPOA Bylaws.

Action: Susie will circulate a copy of that email response to the other SIPOA directors.

6. ONGOING BUSINESS:

6.01 PILTS:

Tom Johnstone joined the meeting to clarify issues relating to PILTS (payments in lieu of taxes). Because the Crown cannot be taxed by local jurisdictions, the federal government legislated a regime of PILTS. Once the Crown has ownership of any lands, it determines the “tax class” at which the PILTS is set. Once land is designated as parkland, the Crown determines the use of the land and places an arbitrary value class on that land, unrelated to current market value. There is a standardized rate, regardless of whether the area is urban or rural: therefore, tundra parks, for example, are viewed no differently from the urban Citadel Park lands in downtown Halifax. Parks draw more heavily on local support systems than original land use (farm, forestland) so impact on the community is much greater. Therefore, the previous tax class should not influence the current one.

When the Saturna federal park system was created, an MOU between the federal and provincial governments was entered into, by which the federal government agreed to make payments toward fire protection services, garbage and water services which would be outside the PILTS system. It can be argued that they are not following the wording of the MOU.

Tom has approached the BC Surveyor of Taxes to request an informal hearing with the senior PILTS person in BC (Doug Rundell) and whether SIPOA, as an interested party, may be able to speak at this hearing. So far Tom has had no response to his request.

Motion: Bill Schermbrucker moved that the Board express their thanks and support for the work Tom has done in pursuing this matter.

Carried.

 

 

Motion: Murray Rankin proposed a resolution that Tom Johnstone be authorized to continue pursuing this matter and to seek intervention status at an informal meeting on behalf of SIPOA.

Unanimously Carried

 

 

Susie Washington-Smyth pointed out that BC Assessment has the best articulated assessment level in the country and the provincial valuation rates are more equitable. In informal dialogue with the federal representatives, perhaps the question to be posed is whether the valuations of Crown land : provincial rates are equitable. This informal discussion avoids a formal review of the issue. Our goal is for the Crown to pay PILTS to the level of the provincial valuation.

6.02 ROADS:

A letter was sent along with photos to the Minister of Highways. So far no response has been received. Bernie noted ambiguous wording in the Official Community Plan regarding the standard of roads on Saturna. Susie Washington-Smyth suggested that a letter requesting clarification be sent to Islands Trust, with copies also sent to our two local Islands Trust representatives and to Gary Richardson, with a request that this item be placed on the agenda for clarification at the March 18 Local Trust meeting.

Action: Bernie will send the specific wording in question to Murray, who will draft a letter then circulate it to the group for feedback. Susie will call Christina Harper.

6.03 WATER CONSERVATION:

On January 7 a letter was sent to SIPOA members as well as a separate letter to non-members of the water area. There were 78 responses from members and 1 from a non-member in support of SIPOA being included in the discussion process regarding water conservation. Susie forwarded this information to Gary Richardson for consideration at the next local trust committee meeting. Because of snow, that meeting was cancelled and rescheduled for March 18. The proposal is that a meeting be convened to design a process to deal with East Point water security issues and that it include SIPOA representatives. SIPOA board members who are available will attend the March 18 meeting to observe and report the information from members’ responses to our survey. They plan to express respect for the previous work done by the Saturna Water Committee and willingness to participate collaboratively with other representatives and property owners and Islands Trust representatives. Ultimately the decision of who shall be invited falls to the Islands Trust.

7. NEW BUSINESS:

7.01 a) Presentation at Galiano Trust Meeting, March 9

Bernie and Ron have been working on information regarding the Islands Trust Revenue and Expenses. A draft letter regarding the proposed budget was circulated for fine tuning. Specific modifications were noted and approved. Murray will sign it and copies will be sent to Gary Richardson and our local IT representatives. Bernie, Ron, Ellen and Hugh Grasswick will attend the meeting on Galiano Island. Presenters are allowed 5 minutes only. They will take 32 copies of the letter to the meeting and Ron will speak to the highlights. Bernie will address the budget process and need for community consultation early on in the budget cycle. He will also leave a sheet posing various questions, including IT, extensive use of consultants, grants for proposed projects, expenses, and transparency of the processes. A request was made for such information to be circulated to the rest of the board prior to meetings.

Action: Bernie will circulate his question list to board members for vetting prior to the Galiano Island meeting.

7.01 b) Island Trust Revenue & Expenses

These issues were discussed above. The letter and the list of questions which will be presented on Galiano will be posted for SIPOA members.

7.01 c) Participation in Gulf Island Ratepayers Association

There was discussion of participation in a multi-island rate payers association. It was agreed that communication is critically important. Various models of how that could be achieved were put forward. Bernie will continue discussion with representatives on other islands and will keep the board apprised of the dialogue.

7.02 Car Stop

Barrie Mathias from Pender Island will do a presentation on the Car Stop program, on March 12 at 1pm.

Action: Susie and Ellen will meet Barry at the ferry and take him to lunch. Susie will also do a mail drop to publicize this. If Murray is unable to attend, one of them will also introduce and thank him.

7.03 Possible Fare Increases: BC Ferries

The Commissioner of BC Ferries will make recommendation to the BC Legislature regarding ferry rates. If the government does not approve an increase of their contribution the ferry rates will have to go up since BC Ferries cannot go into a deficit position. This is an information item which SIPOA will need to track. There are two openings currently on the Ferry Liaison Committee.

7.04 SIPOA Website Use

Netiquette rules need to be posted again. Issues relate to the “reply all” mode which contributes to excess messaging. Also, strong opinions and negative presentation of personal views can contribute to divisiveness on the island. Is the website becoming the face of SIPOA? In fact, this is an unmoderated listserve, not a website. Also, some of what is posted is viewed as fact, even when it is not really accurate information. It would be preferable to have a formal SIPOA website, which represents this organization in a positive way.

7.05 SIPOA and the Community

Bryan noted several negative reactions when SIPOA is mentioned. Some of these reactions have historical roots but more recently the listserve activity has also alienated people. This issue will be brought up at the AGM as an administrative matter. Website development should include who we are, our constitution, and the posting of minutes.

Moved: Murray moved that Susie shall approach Al Razutis and move forward with updating of the SIPOA website. Also, that the AGM agenda include a proposal to move away from the listserve. Carried

Action:Susie will approach Al (or alternate if he is unavailable) and collaborate with him regarding the development of a website which positively reflects SIPOA.

7.06 Tankers in Plumper Sound

Is there a role for SIPOA in supporting current efforts concerning this issue?

Flag: to bring this forward for future consideration.

7.07 Date for Annual General Meeting and Elections

Proposed date: May 28 at 11am in Saturna Recreation Centre.

Ideas for a guest speaker were discussed.

Action: Murray will contact Melanie to see if the RC is available on that date.

Susie will check re terms of various board members and who is planning to continue.

7.08 Other

When there is a prolonged power failure on Saturna, after 2 days the telephones no longer function because the diesel generator goes down and the batteries cannot be recharged. This is a safety issue, especially for senior residents who may be unable to call emergency services.

Murray will send a letter to Darren Entwhistle, CEO of Telus and will copy it to Ian Elliott, Area Emergency Program Coordinator. Susie will send a draft of the specific information.

8.0 ADJOURNMENT: Murray Rankin moved to adjourn at 1:37 pm. Carried.