Bayou Park Ratepayers Association
Executive Board Meeting Minutes
DATE: Thursday May 20th, 2021
TIME: 8:00 PM -9:35 PM
LOCATION: Google video call from 3686 Shadow Creek Road
ATTENDEES: Claire Lysnes, President | Kait Hunter, Secretary | Natasha Borutski, Director at Large| Bruce Topping, Director at Large
REGRETS: Lance Brown, Past President | Neil Fenton, VP | Hillary Kimsal, Communications | Rick Talbot, Treasurer
MINUTES
1. Meeting called to order by Claire Lysnes
2. Approval of Agenda
Motion to Approve: Claire Lysnes 2nd: Natasha Borutski
VOTE: All in Favour
3. Approval of Minutes from previous meeting (April)
Minutes are delayed due to technical difficulties. Defer approval to June Executive Board meeting.
4. Open Issues
a) Small Business Page
Go live at end of month with soft launch on website. Natasha has until May 31st for updates. Continue to reach out to members who own local businesses.
b) Traffic calming
Bruce will reach out to Severn Township this week to see what they have budgeted in 2021 for traffic calming. Suggestion to defer any petition to our membership until the summertime so as not to distract from the Membership Fee Campaign messaging. Due to the provincial government stay-at-home order, day-to-day traffic on the streets in the Bayou Park neighbourhood has decreased significantly.
c) Feedback box at the Beach Park
Defer to next meeting due to Neil's absence.
d) Purchase of new trees for the Beach Park
Defer to next meeting due to Rick's absence.
e) Beach Park Spring Clean-Up
Nick Dreidger has kindly cut the grass at the Beach Park. Ask for additional volunteers to mow grass over the summer.
As a provincial stay-at-home order is currently in place, we had to postpone the Beach Park Clean-Up day scheduled for May 16th. Discussion on how to proceed. Suggestion that we clean up one family at a time. Unknown future Covid-19 restrictions. Ask members independently to help? Reschedule to June 5th weekend when small, outdoor gatherings of 5 people will be allowed? Limit to 5 Executive Board members only? Will monitor the outdoor gathering restrictions as the province opens up for an ideal time.
f) Sand
The beach sand is nearly all overgrown with grass. We have about 10 x 15 feet worth of sandy area left. In previous years the sand spanned approx. 20 x 60 feet or more. Shoreline is overgrown with weeds. Rick has allocated up to $500 in the budget for more sand to be purchased.
Motion to order up to $500 worth of new sand for the beach: Claire Lysnes. 2nd: Bruce Topping.
All in favour.
g) Yoga class at the beach
Defer to next meeting due to continued provincial gathering restrictions.
5. Executive Report
Update on Corporate Standing
Ontario government has a template non-profits can use to draft bylaws. Need to create these and have them voted in by the membership.
However, Claire is working on the first step: completing paperwork to have BPRA address and list of officers/directors updated with the provincial government. Following that, we should be able to gain access to the records the Canada Revenue Agency holds for the BPRA and see what is owing to them (paperwork and/or taxes). As a non-profit the BPRA may be exempt from paying taxes.
Neil's contact who is an Arborist has taken a look at the Beach Park trees, and stated that the Ash trees are in good health at the moment. No sign of the Emerald Ash Borer.
We will want to have the trees re-evaluated each Spring.
Membership Fee Campaign
51 Households have paid their fee to date, including 1 gifted membership. Of these, 38 were EMTs, 8 credit, and 5 cash. Claire is working on sending receipts to each member who has paid (via email, or print-out in mailbox for those members who have not given us their email address).
A reminder to the Executive Board members to pay their family's membership.
Deadline for the Early Bird Draw remains eod July 1st. Winner will be announced the week of July 5th. People in the neighbourhood are excited about the $100 Home Hardware prize; lots of great feedback. Communications will continue to be sent out and all executive members will help with maildrops to those households who have not yet paid their fee.
Will consider doing door-to-door collection in July/August, pending Covid-19 local case count and restrictions.
We have received much positive feedback about our approach to collecting membership fees this year.
Local business owner Billy Brown of Eat Learn Grow has offered to donate and build a 3x8 feet pine slat raised vegetable garden bed, with compost, valued at $200, to our members. We would like to save his offer to use as a raffle/silent auction item for our August Family Fun Day & BBQ.
6. Communications Report
Volunteers, Randi & Kerri Fogarty and Ginette Pineo have started to deliver our newsletters. We put out another call for additional volunteers.
Households per street have been counted to increase printout accuracy.
Updated the Beach Park sign.
126 Facebook group members.
Membership Fee Campaign communications - additional general communications have gone out to our email list and neighbourhood mailboxes. Now starting targeted communications to those households that have not yet paid. First of these communications went out on May 12 & 13. Will send another after the long weekend, in approx. a week's time, including a mailbox drop. If need be, we can send invoices out via Square, our payments system, to those households that have not yet paid. We will wait until the Early Bird deadline passes before we consider this further.
7. Financial Report (provided in advance by Rick, who is absent)
Property Insurance: to add on to our existing insurance, the Co-operators quoted:
Shed coverage $25,000 + contents $10,000, trees/grass/shrubs coverage up to $10,000. $1,000 deductible. Would increase our yearly premium by $125.
Motion deferred to next meeting due to Rick's absence.
Thank you letter for Les Courts, who donated the Membership Fee Campaign $100 Home Hardware gift card, drafted.
Rick was approached by a member about creating a community vegetable garden at the Beach Park.
Deferred to next meeting due to Rick's absence. Need to ask member who requested for more information as the Executive Board does not have the man power to create/tend a garden at the moment. Volunteer participation has been limited due to Covid-19 gathering restrictions.
8. New Business
a) Meet Your Neighbours/Executive Board event
Brainstormed how to hold this event in June in light of Covid-19 gathering restrictions. This is an event which was well attended in past years. Option of a zoom call was discussed. Discussed sending out Executive Board member bios to membership if we can't do an in-person event. Send out welcome cards to new members in neighbourhood? Combine with Fun in the Sun: Kids Day at the Beach?
We agreed that our planning of this event will hinge on Covid-19 outdoor gathering restrictions.
b) Golf event
Golf courses open this coming weekend. Bruce will reach out to Evergreen Golf Course about booking a date for a BPRA golf/mini-golf event in June.
c) Bruce wondered if we should be doing more to help seniors in the neighbourhood, i.e finding volunteers to get their groceries. Discussed pros and cons of setting up a volunteer network, and noted that whatever the BPRA does in this area, we need to be careful not to put vulnerable people at risk of Covid-19. Discussed putting a note in upcoming communications, encouraging members to check on their elderly neighbours.
d) Community Garage Sale
Postpone to discuss in June due to current provincial Covid-19 gathering restrictions.
9. Member Inquiries
a) Neighbourhood Airbnb
The log home at 2690 Westshore Cres is a Airbnb. Severn Township has a bylaw prohibiting short-term rentals. Members have complained to the BPRA about party activity at this property and the infringement of the bylaw, as well as the current provincial stay-at-home order. We understand that Severn Township and the OPP have been involved.
Members raising concerns that disruptive party activity and/or vandalism will occur at the Beach Park property. Owner of this property has not yet paid their 2021 membership fee.
Motion to implement rule that guests visiting the Beach Park must be accompanied by a member at all times: Hillary Kimsal. Second: Bruce Topping.
All in favour.
b) Community Vegetable Garden
See above.
c) Request to revisit No Dogs Allowed policy by member Judith Beamish.
Claire advised member that this policy was recently reviewed at another member's request. See December 2020 meeting minutes.
Executive Board members decided not to revisit the policy at this time.
10. Next meeting: June 17th, 2021 via Google Meeting
11. Adjournment @ 21:35