ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
NOVEMBER 22, 2006
PRESIDENTS REPORT
Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the outgoing executive of the curling club for their hard work over the past years. The former executive members are:
President Ron Root
1 st Vice President Lana Aker
2 nd Vice President Rick Aiello
Past President Debbi Woods
Secretary Marv Damen
Club Manager Brent Aitken
Ladies President Jill Suffolk
Men's President Kevin Sparks
Mixed President Don Bolivar
Seniors Coordinator Gary Smythe
Juniors Coordinator Susan Hanson
Curl BC Reps Sandra Gallaway and Ross Radford
Webmaster Ettie O'Connell
Thanks to this group, the Comox Valley Curling Club is in excellent financial condition, and their work has prepared us well for the upcoming years.
After a long arduous set of negotiations with the Regional District of Comox/Strathcona, they agreed to a five year lease agreement for the facility, with no increase in the rental rate, and a structured process to maintain and upgrade the facility through an equitable cost sharing arrangement. Tony Pisto also has to be recognized for his valuable contributions to the lease negotiations.
As you will see in the financial statements, 2005-2006 was financially successful, and this executive as well as the management and staff of the club are to be congratulated for their fine work.
A special thanks goes to Brent, Rick, Jill, and all the volunteers who go the extra mile to make our time at the club an enjoyable experience.
Please join me in a round of applause for the outgoing executive.
Since the current executive assumed our duties in May 2006, we have had a number of meetings and have discussed a myriad of topics, from digital cameras to a new curling facility, and everything in between. I will try to highlight some of the issues that are before the executive that may be of interest to you.
One of the first things we did was to call a meeting of both the outgoing and incoming executives, as well the management and staff, and a number of members that we felt represented a cross-section of the club membership.
This was called an affinity meeting and was chaired by Paul Mansueto.
All participants were asked to think about what they would like to see done to make our club better, and put those items on a sticky note which were then posted on the wall and categorized. Over 150 items were listed in many categories including facility upgrades, communication, planning, marketing, membership, staffing, bonspiels and club social issues. It was a very enlightening session that tells us that we all have a lot of work to do to bring these ideas to life. Since the list has been prepared, the executive have embarked on some of the identified issues, and we will continue to bring the views of the membership forward as the year continues. Thanks to all who participated in this session and to Paul for initiating it.
The status of the facility has taken a lot of our time over the last year. As part of the lease negotiations, it was agreed that an architectural review on the building be completed to determine the long-term status of the facility. As a result of that review a number of issues were revealed, and those issues were roughly estimated and priorized. A summary of those issues was attached to the lease document and committed to by both parties to follow up on and complete, subject to discussion and approval by both the Curling Club executive and the Regional District.
In the short term, we must upgrade our ice plant room to meet current fire and boiler safety codes. This work includes adding a separate small building to house the gas fired hot water tanks that are currently in the same room as the ammonia system, which is not up to code. We are also required to completely fire separate the plant room to ensure an ammonia leak will not escape into the rink area. We are presently negotiating a cost sharing arrangement with the RD, and expect to have this work tendered early in the new year and completed in the summer of 2007. The cost estimate for this work is around $80,000, but we are working with the RD to prepare a firm engineered estimate, and the value may change. Once we have completed the estimate and confirmed the RD's cost sharing commitment, we will come back to the membership for your approval.
In the longer term, we have to look at replacing the plant condenser, as it is original equipment from 1959. The same goes for the concrete slab and piping, which is also original equipment. Both items are functioning well presently, but we need to be aware of the potential exposure.
The affinity session identified a desire to renovate the lounge area, which I support. The roof over the lounge area may require upgrading earliest, and at that time we should look at a renovation plan.
Other structural issues are being discussed, such as seismic upgrading, electrical upgrading and dehumidifier and heat pump replacement. These long term issues are obviously very costly, so we are proceeding cautiously as we and our partners discuss the long term viability of the facility.
Our club membership seems to be down twenty members this year, with the mixed and ladies leagues both not full.
Our bonspiel season is coming up early in the new year and we are working to make these events bigger and better than ever, and everyone's participation and enthusiasm is required to have great events.
We are hosting the Senior Men's Coastal Playdowns on Feb 2-4, 2007, and the North Island BC Club Challenge Playdowns on March 30 April 1, 2007. An organizing committee chaired by Ron Schmidt is planning for these events, and I encourage you to get involved to promote our club and stage the best ever playdowns.
I invite you to visit our Comox Valley Curling Club website and the Curl BC website. Both sites contain a lot of information on curling throughout the province and the Comox Valley . We will be publishing as much information as possible on the club website, including event updates and winners, pictures, newsletters, and anything else we can think of. We have a new digital camera that Jill is looking after at the bar, and it is available for all members to take pictures of events and happenings around the club and submit them to Ettie for publishing on the website.
We will do our best to communicate with the membership over the season, and I again encourage you to get involved with your club so we can strive for the goals identified by the membership as important to you. Any of the executive would be more than happy to discuss any issues and ideas you may have.
That is my report. I ask that you save any questions you may have until we have completed the Auditors presentation.
Thank you for your time.