Saint Patrick’s Day 2017

Submitted by Candace Weir

The Coop’s annual celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day at the Curling Club is one of the most enjoyable ways of celebrating our community.  

Around 50 coop members of all ages came together on Wednesday, March 16th to share snacks, some beer (or other drinks) and lots of conversation. The bigger kids formed their own huddle on the couches, playing board games and talking or watching the curling. It was a very relaxed evening.  

Many thanks to Marzcena for organizing the venue and the refreshments.

Update on Pumping Station #2

Submitted by Candace Weir

Shake, rattle and roll, it must be 7 am.  

The drilling crew is probably on it's last week on the worksite.  They have drilled 39 pylons: 6 of which are huge, 19 of which will support the building.  Each pylon has taken about 6 cubic feet of concrete.  Impressive!

This was the view from my balcony earlier this week.  The drill behind the remains of last summers basil crop was about 5 feet from the edge of the unit.  The next photo gives a better view of the business end of the drill.  They drill for a bit, withdraw the bit, then knock and spin off the detritus and get back at it.  Each hole takes several tries to complete.

The machine delivering the concrete in the holes drilled resembles the back leg of a huge grasshopper.  

I didn't get pictures of the crew negotiating the huge steel beams into the cement.  One wrong move and there would have been no 743.  I really appreciate just how good everyone is at their job.

Phase 2 should be fun.  

C-Train Tunnel Testing

Submitted by Eric Moschopedis

The star indicates where the drilling was happening.

Did anybody see this giant truck parked in the middle of the Bow River or along the pathway last week? I was so curious as to what was happening that I tracked down one of the workers associated with it. Turns out they were gathering core samples from below the river and all the way to the bedrock, to see if it would be a suitable place for a tunnel for the proposed C-Train line. The gentleman I spoke to told me how strict The City was with the drilling. One day they needed to halt all operations because the drilling was kicking up too much silt and polluting the river. If you see the truck east of Centre Street Bridge, The City isn't drilling for the C-Train, but a proposed new sewer line.

Conversation Café Topic: Volunteering

Submitted by Jane Roberts

from: clipartfox.com/

At the Conversation Cafe held on January 15, 2017, there were several topics covered, and this topic is volunteering. Many ideas were brought forward for consideration:

• creating a "volunteer deposit" : members could pay money into a fund, and be refunded for volunteer work; another option was only requiring a deposit from non-volunteers
• because we are not in a rental situation, members who do not attend χ number of meetings must attend an education event
• a letter sent out to non-volunteers
• members should RSVP to meetings? Why aren't members attending meetings or sitting on a committee? (survey)
• member Involvement follow-up twice a year? Or ask a volunteer to do this?
• send out a form with the annual income form, that asks about contributions/committee involvement
• put an Education piece in the newsletter about what counts as volunteering
• consequences for non-involvement - becoming a member not in good standing? Members not fulfilling obligation as shareholder/member
• value of volunteer time compared to market rates (for housing)
• what is the cost of not volunteering/paying for property management
• creating work credits (i.e. 100 volunteer hours) - taking the long view of contributions and the ebb and flow of what members do
• one year without volunteering = monetary penalty added to member's housing charge
• why doesn't the Board call people in and ask them about issues they might have?
• encourage members to volunteer; we don't want regular volunteers to feel resentful, and we don't want to shame non-volunteers
• carrot vs stick - the carrot is more successful; possibility of incentives for volunteer work
• consider the social value of helping in the community; it's a good practice for children
• there is great value in showing up, helping and contributing
• positive effects of meeting neighbours, building community, ease of conversation and getting to know people
• activities that can be done on an individual member's schedule
• recording volunteer activity and/or meeting attendance
• offer education on the physical and other benefits of volunteering (Gladwell* example about heart attacks); articles and/or interviews in the newsletter about the medical and measurable benefits

*An excerpt from Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/books/chapters/chapter-outliers

Grounds Report for April

Submitted by Pamela Boyd

The Grounds committee is in the calm before the bursting-of- spring storm, hoping and encouraging everyone to plant those egg carton seedings - flowers, herbs, veggies - for planting in the gardens a month or so hence and trading up with neighbours.  

Watch for Spring Shoots, a co-op wide event in mid May for:

the trading of seedlings,
the sharing of tips and gardening ideas,
an amazing weed finding game with prizes and tons of fun,
the drinking of tea and the munching of goodies and….
the watching of neighbours finally crawling out from
their winter hovels, white and creaky, the kids taller
and bigger and stronger than ever.  

from clipartfox.com/

Composting

The City has announced an expansion of their waste and recycling bylaw.   It states; “Similar to our multi-family recycling requirements, your building owner or manager will be responsible for setting up a food and yard waste diversion program.”

We’ll be working on the details for this over the next few months to have a full composting program up and running by the fall or sooner.  Watch for updates.

Many thanks to whoever drained Sunnyhill Lake.    

HILLHURST SUNNYSIDE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Submitted by Eric Moschopedis via HSCA newsletter:

Save the Date! Annual General Meeting April 25, 7pm

All residents of Hillhurst Sunnyside are invited and encouraged to attend. Come spend the evening with us and learn what the HSCA Board of Directors and our various committees are up to. What did we achieve in 2016? What are our plans moving forward in 2017?
 
Members must have their 2017 memberships purchased and paid for by March 25, 2017 in order to vote for Board of Director positions. Members of the community association who are in good standing are permitted to vote and run for board positions during the meeting. To access the nomination form online please visit: http://hsca.ca/annual-general-meeting-2/
 
Resident participation in the voting and nomination process is highly encouraged. Our Board of Directors at HSCA has an active involvement with numerous programs, events and activities in the facility. The Board also operates critical task forces and committee, such as the Planning Committee and the Sustainable Centre Task Force, which help shape long-term planning goals for the community of Hillhurst Sunnyside.
 
Please contact our Board Vice Chair Ken Uyeda, or our Executive Director Quentin Sinclair for details: k.uyeda@me.comor quentin.s@hsca.ca

SUNNYHILL EASTER POTLUCK