St Edmunds Property Owners Inc

Annual General Meeting

Saturday Sept 3, 2011

Minutes

1.0               Meeting opened by President Jack Schenk who re-iterated the Mission Statement of SEPO and encouraged active involvement by all members.

Introduced current Board of Directors who are present – David Almack, Udo Nixdorf, Bob Wilson, Rob Davis, Bill Wright and Jack Schenk

2.0               Year in Review.

Jack Schenk reviewed key events and issues of the past year including the following:

§     The Municipality of North Bruce has a new CAO, Bill Jones as well as a new council. Deputy Mayor John Bainbridge and Councilor Betsy Stewart are in attendance.

§     Residential taxpayers account for more than 95% of the tax base for the MNB. Taxes continue to rise.

§     SEPO has championed the pursuit of payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) from the Provincial and Federal government for a number of years. With very limited communication to the ratepayers, the municipality received a 21%[D1]  increase in PILT payments last year.  $506,000 had been budgeted for this year but we have received $941,000. There has been no indication of how this additional revenue will fit into the planning process.

Finance and Membership.  

§  A copy of the Year End Financial Statement was provided and reviewed by Udo Nixdorf. Thanks extended to Hugh Tanner and Ron Goodall for their assistance. The yearend financial position was $1200 ahead of the last fiscal year with a positive cash position of $6000. Moved by Bob Wilson, seconded by Brenda Davis to accept the Financial Report. All in favour.

§  Current paid membership is 259 with 19 new members. This number fluctuates yearly but is relatively consistent. A breakdown of members is as follows: 32% residents; 58% Ontario residents with a permanent address outside the township; 8% US residents; 2% residents of MNB other than St Edmunds.

§  Email distribution of minutes and communiqués is still pending. Server capacity is an issue and we need to explore options.

3.0               Medical Building Fund Raising.    

§  The executive proposed a $1500 donation to the building fund for the new medical health facility. Since this exceeds the spending authority of the executive, a motion from the floor was required. Moved by Gus Parsons and seconded by Jace Weir to make this donation. Approved by all.

§  Rob Davis provided an update of the fundraising campaign. With a goal of $300,000, slightly more than $200,000 had been raised at the time of the meeting. Fundraising activities planned for the fall include the Chi-Cheemaun dinner cruise on Sept 17, catering the September and October WIN luncheons, the annual Fallfest dinner (Oct22) and a dinner on Nov 18 to be hosted and fully sponsored by the Kritikos family at their Princess Hotel. We will be conducting additional mailing campaigns this fall and are optimistic that our goal will be achieved through the generosity of the entire community. The Tobermory Health Services Auxiliary is a registered charitable organization and is managed completely by volunteers.

4.0               Elections

§     David Almack confirmed that all current Directors present would stand for office for another term. Before this meeting, Craig Adams and Helen McFarlane advised the Board that they would not stand for re election.

§     Nominations from the floor for new members

·                     Jace Weir nominated for office by Rob Davis. Jace accepted the nomination

·                     John Zych nominated for office by Ruth Bainbridge. John accepted the nomination

§     Moved by Barney Hopkins, seconded by Brenda Davis that appointment of all current directors and nominees be accepted. Approved by all.

§     An executive meeting will be scheduled during the first week of October during which roles will be determined. Jack Schenk advised of his intent to step down as president after 5 years.

5.0               Guest Speaker – John Bainbridge

John provided an insightful talk on the Official Plan Process as it relates to the Municipality of North Bruce Official Plan. A summary of John’s address is as follows:

§  Commercial developments within the community have begun to transform the appearance of the community

§  Current zoning of property has been in place for a number of years. If a property which had been zoned commercial was used as residential, this property was placed in a holding category. If the land use changes, then council is to be asked to lift the holding category. However, this holding category can be lifted without any communication to adjacent or effected property owners.

§  A public meeting took place in Tobermory on Aug 27. This meeting was led by the Bruce County Planning Department. There was a review of the maps of the affected areas, a number of questions and some discussion. Verbal feedback was given by attendees but written submissions are necessary to record concerns and suggestions for changes. Written submissions establish a record of your concern that needs to be considered. Without this paper trail, your input will likely be lost or ignored. The Bruce County planners will return at a future date with a first draft of the Official Plan, seeking again input from the community.

§  This is an opportunity to influence the way that Tobermory develops

§  The Official Plan sets out the vision, some broad goals, and the general policies for the development of the community

§  But it does not stand alone

§  It must comply with the similarly broad visions and goals set out by the Province in the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) and the County's Official Plan

§  Out of these three documents comes the really important regulation called the Comprehensive Zoning By-law. which implements the Official Plan

§  So there is a hierarchy - the PPS, the County Official Plan, the Local Official Plan and the Zoning By-law

§  When the review of the Official Plan is completed the Zoning By-law will be changed.

§  The whole process will take about four years

§  In the meantime the existing rules continue in place and what you have seen happen this year can continue unabated

§  I will leave it to you to imagine what Tobermory may look like in four years time when the review process is complete

What can be done?