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Fraserview Co-op in Vancouver: a New Path for Successful Cooperation

Submitted by David Broadhead

This story is part of a greater success for co-ops in the Vancouver area. CHF BC and the Community Land trust are working with the City of Vancouver on seven diverse housing co-ops. The Fraserview Co-op will charge market based housing charges and in turn subsidize the operation of other co-ops which target lower income families. They use a program like ours with a larger scale. It is a great example of co-ops working together under co-op principles. Just imagine what we could do here.

We're Turning 40 & We Need Help!

Submitted by Marzena Czarnecka

Hello, Sunnyhillers! Guess who’s 40 this year? That’s right. Our little Co-op started housing Calgarians 40 years ago this coming August. So we are going to celebrate with a fabulous party.

Coming? Want to help out? Fabulous. Here’s what needs to be done:

RIGHT AWAY:

1. SAVE THE DATE: Mark Saturday August 18 down on your calendars and plan your summer holidays around it. You don’t want to miss our fortieth, do you?

2. INVITE PAST CO-OP MEMBERS! In touch with old neighbours? Let them know about the party! They are most welcome.

Here is the link to our Facebook Event

And here's a poster you can email to your friends.

3. INVITE VIPS! Members expressed interest in having our mayor, MLA, alderperson and perhaps other VIPs at the event. We also need to send invites to SACHA, HSCA and our other community partners. If you want to take the lead on this, please email Marzena ASAP.

4. WRITE AN ARTICLE about our history and birthday party for the HSCA Newsletter and the SACHA and CHF publications.

5. PREPARE & SEND A PRESS RELEASE to the local media about our birthday, our 40th, and the importance of cooperative and affordable housing. I can work with you on this and provide you with the press contact list – but I’d sure appreciate if someone else took the lead on this.

SOON (in July)

6. TIME CAPSULE! We have Sunnhill Time Capsules from 1988, 1998 and 2008. Let’s prepare a fabulous one for 2018! I need someone to take the lead on this and prepare the container, contact members about ideas of what they could put in the capsule, etc. Almost anything goes here—but we need someone to take charge of this project and make it happen.

7. BOOK MUSICIANS AND ENTERTAINMENT! Or at least bring a ghetto blaster, iPod, or karoake machine. If you want music at the party—please raise your hand and provide it.

8. BOOK THE BOUNCY HOUSE FOR THE KIDS! Self-explanatory, right? Right. Call me and I’ll tell you what to do.

IN A BIT (early August)

9. REMIND YOUR NEIGHBOURS that we’re having a party—we need a volunteer to deliver posters and another volunteer to call members.

10. INVITE NEIGHBOUR-NEIGHBOURS—we need a volunteer to spread the word to our surrounding community and our out-of-coop neighbours by posting in our Sunnyside Facebook group etc.

11. GO GROCERY SHOPPING! What’s party without snacks and booze? If you can coordinate and buy our food, raise your hand!

12. ORDER OR MAKE A GIANT CAKE! Self-explanatory, right? But someone’s gotta buy it / make it.

THE DAY OF (AUGUST 18)

13. BOUNCY HOUSE DELIVERY: Someone needs to be on-site at noon to arrange for the delivery of the Bouncy House.

14. BOUNCY HOUSE SUPERVISION: We need parents to take shifts making sure the kids are safe.

15. OTHER GAMES? If you want more fun and games for the kidlets—we’re all for it—but we need you to take the lead on organizing and supervising these.

16. OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THE DAY: Love taking pictures? Good. Have we got a job for you! Who’s gonna do it?

17. SET UP: We will need extra tables and chairs in the Common. Can you be the muscle that provides them? Awesome—raise your hand!

18. FIREWOOD: We can’ t have a firepit without firewood! Can you buy and deliver the wood for the 18th? Thanks!

MORE IDEAS?

We want to make this a fabulous day for all of us and our community, so if there is something you want to do to celebrate our 40th—come tell us you want to take the lead on it, and we will see how much $ in the party budget we have to support it.

FULL DISCLOSURE: If there is an idea you have, but you aren’t willing to do the work to see it through—it probably won’t happen.

To help make the party fabulous, please contact Marzena at 587.998.7101, paddleink@gmail.com or through FB message.

And see you on August 18 (and before that at the Stampede Breakfast!).

For the Social Committee,

Marzena Czarnecka

Member Selection Update - Welcome and Farewell

Submitted by Susan Russell

As of July 1st, SHC will bid farewell to Crystal Tite and family from #10 SHL. Crystal and her family have lived in the co-op for seven years and during Crystal's time here she spent four years as a SHC board member and three years on the Member Selection Committee. Thanks for your hard work and contribution to cooperative living Crystal, we will miss you!

Member Selection would like to give a warm welcome to Mahlah Hanson, Ben Arkell and their three children who will be moving into #10 SHL.   Welcome Mahlah and Ben!

The Member Selection Committee meets as needed and meeting times are arranged depending on members' schedules. If you are interested in joining the committee please contact Susan Russell or Buzz Viberg.

Low cost internet for low income families

Submitted by Belle Auld

Low cost internet for low income families: (this from Innovation, Science and Economic Development / Government of Canada)

The Connecting Families initiative is investing $13.2 million over five years, starting in 2017-2018 to help bridge the digital divide for Canadian families who may struggle to afford access to home Internet. With this funding, Computers for Success Canada will develop a secure online portal that will enable eligible Canadian families to access high speed Internet service packages for $10 per month from participating Internet Service Providers. 

The lowest-income families, those that currently receive the maximum Child Care Benefit (CCB ), are eligible for this initiative. Eligible families will be contacted via a mail-out starting in the fall of 2018.


This initiative should be available in the fall of 2018. You can find more information at the page below: 
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/111.nsf/eng/home

Grounds Committee Learns About the Birds and the Bees

Submitted by Pam Boyd and Bob Bott on behalf of the Grounds Committee

The Grounds Committee is working to support and increase biological diversity in the coop. We have introduced bee and bat boxes as well as boxes for merlins and kestrels in the trees.  Prompted by member’s concerns that encouraging raptors into the coop would be a threat to our songbird population, we invited Katrina Jansen, biologist, Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation, for a co-op walk around and discussion on biodiversity in the coop.

Our June 1 meeting with Karen was very useful and informative, and we covered a number of areas.

She confirmed that the preferred prey for merlins and kestrels in our area would be house sparrows and rodents. Chickadees are too small, while robins and flickers are too large. The current magpie population is likely discouraging other birds, and the presence of the raptors would discourage magpies and pigeons, but there would be some decrease in other birds using areas near the raptor nest. 

However, there does not appear to be an appropriate location in the co-op for merlin/kestrel boxes because (A) raptors are sensitive to the noise of traffic and mechanical sound from the pump station near the south location (although it might attract a woodpecker), and (B) they themselves can be noisy and aggressive, and boxes should not be placed near a foot path or the play area.

Neither box has been occupied this spring, and we will remove the box near the one-bedroom units, but will leave the one further south in case it does attract a woodpecker.

Other threats to our song bird population are:

Cats. They should be inside, on a leash, or confined to a “catio” cat patio. '

Next biggest threat - crashing into windows. Decals are available from a company called WindowAlert that are highly visible to birds but translucent to humans. They are also sold by Amazon Canada.

Do not feed bread to ducks or other birds. It leads to “angel wing” bone disorders and diabetes.

Bat boxes look good but should be painted black. Bats like heat. It may take a while before bats find them and take up residence. Guano will collect under the boxes; it’s great fertilizer. Location on the pole in the laneway behind 3rd St. looks good.

Bee boxes look great.  If more people want them, let us know. 

If you don’t want to attract skunks, pick up fruit on the ground; fallen fruit is their favourite food. However, skunks are beneficial because they eat mice and wasps (yes, they eat wasps!), and they will only spray if threatened.

She recommended we plant mountain ash trees, which are good supplemental natural winter feeding sources for songbirds (especially birds like waxwings) and are also a good source of early spring food for migrants such as robins.  But we would need to watch for infection and remove them if they get infested with emerald ash borer (beetle whose larvae eat the trees). 

One of the merlin-kestrel boxes in a spruce tree (too high, according to Katrina). JP did a lovely job building them.

One of the merlin-kestrel boxes in a spruce tree (too high, according to Katrina). JP did a lovely job building them.

Get to know Robert Perry

Submitted by Don McCabe

Last year, the Comminucations Committee published an interview with board members with the intention of introducing them to the Co-op members. We would like to continue with the idea of publishing Board and Member profiles, but in a slightly different way. 

10 Questions for Robert Perry

How long have you lived at SunnyHill?  Over ten years this time. I lived here in the 90s for a three years as well.  And a coop in Montreal.

What do you like best about living here? Getting to know neighbours. I like the south facing balcony… 

What do you like best (and least ?) about being on the Board? Best about being on the board.  Best interest of the coop.  Keeping that target in mind and in action.  Least, the writing of policy is soul destroying.  Fortunately we on the board are merely reviewing and commenting on the real work done at committee level.

Have you / do you work/career outside the home? If so, in what, and for how long? I am working for a charity at a senior director level.  Setting strategy, budgeting, reporting, etc.  Been here for over 10 years.

What are you reading and watching these days? I have about 5 books on the go.  From gardening, philosophy, travel.   And I read twitter.  I think the 100 character limit on twitter is destroying my ability to sit a read for an extended period of time.  Watching shows on the Netflix.  Its great, have not watched tv for years now.  And only to pull on some sports games.  This usually during the final.  i.e. game 7 of the world series. 

Where did you go to elementary school? Brentwood Elementary school in Calgary.

What was your favourite subject in high school? High School was an endless series of awfulness.  My favorite high school moment was leaving and realizing that I never had to go again.  Favorite was social studies.

What was the scariest thing you’ve ever done? That kept me awake and on edge, sleeping next to a stream entering a river.  The banks were shifting all night long making super loud noises, that really freaked me out as there was a grizzly bear feeding on a moose about 1km upriver.   Each splash sent my heart a flutter.

What is your favourite out-of-city destination/activity, and why? The national parks. Close, easy and always beautiful

What is your favourite in-city destination/activity, and why? Walking through Prince’s Island Park, or boating on the bow.  Close, easy and always beautiful

Biological Diversity in the Co-op

Submitted by Robert Bott

Biological Diversity in the Co-op

7 p.m. Friday, June 1 (meet by the office)

Walk-around followed by discussion with Katrina Jansen, biologist at Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation

Katrina runs the Education and Volunteer programs at the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation. She has received a BSc. in Conservation Biology from the University of Alberta, along with a Master’s degree in Geography from the University of Toronto. Katrina has been involved with conservation in a wide variety of ways over the past 9 years, including working as an environmental educator and as an endangered species biologist.  At AIWC, Katrina focuses on increasing public knowledge and interest in a wide variety of Alberta wildlife, including bats, owls, and her personal favourite, skunks! She hopes that better understanding of these and other animals will lead people to better protect their local wildlife species. https://www.aiwc.ca/  

The Grounds Committee invited her to help us answer questions raised recently about wildlife in the co-op – specifically the erection of two merlin-kestrel boxes (which have so far not been occupied).

A walk-around will be followed by a discussion in the common area (or office if it rains). Short introductory remarks, then Q and A. Here is s a preliminary listof questions:

·         Are the boxes properly located?

·         How would it affect our other bird populations if the boxes are occupied by merlins or kestrels?

·         What attracts magpies to 837-839 (and possibly other areas), and what can be done to discourage them?

·         Based on our location in the valley beside the bluff, what species would be most beneficial ecologically? How can they be attracted?

·         What species have negative effects? How can they be discouraged?

·         Any comments on the bat and bee boxes we’ve been putting up?

·         Any comments on cats?

Planning and Development - What's Up?

Submitted by Phil Cox, Planning & Development Committee

Lots going on…  Here is a round up:

April 27th - Sunnyhill has #2 meeting with the City of Calgary to discuss our lease - present were:

  • Councillor Druh Farrell and her team - stewards of the process
  • Corporate Leasing - current holder of our lease,
  • Calgary Housing - carrying the affordable housing mandate for the City
  • CMHC - interested party invited by Calgary Housing
  • SACHA - already active in affordable housing discussions at the municipal and provincial levels,  invited by Sunnyhill

Sunnyhill presented our operating model; how we maintain a subsidy-surcharge system without external funding support.  We also showed our housing charge rates for 1, 2, and 3 bedrooms since 2010.  With these two pieces of information we demonstrated that we meet the City’s criteria for affordable housing.  The way we do it, being a housing cooperative, doesn’t fit the norm,  thereby making us something of a curiosity.  The City’s message to us: “we are on the path toward a sale or a lease option under the City’s affordable housing program, we are just not sure what that price should be.”  They requested that we work with CMHC to assemble a costed concept for the deep energy retrofit and the new development with financing scenarios in place.  They want to see that we can develop a formula that keeps us more than 10% under market rents for our part of Calgary and able to provide the subsidy-surcharge program as we do today.

April 30th - Sunnyhill says good bye to its old, expensive, mortgage - We submitted our letter of acceptance to “avail ourselves of the Mortgage Loan Pre-payment Initiative”.  We are now permitted to pre-pay our existing mortgage on the terms and conditions outlined in the agreement - and we need to by June 30 or face penalties -  but to do this we need to refinance.  See below.  

In process - Sunnyhill is negotiating a “bridging mortgage” with First Calgary Financial.  The loan will allow us to pre-pay our existing mortgage and thereby end our current housing agreement with CMHC.  And the loan itself will be at an interest rate that is much lower than what we have been paying - the margin of difference in interest rate, or the saving, will be 5% or approximately $4,000/month. 

It’s a “bridging” solution because: a) we don’t yet know exactly what we need to borrow to finance our improvements and, b) we can’t get the best rates until our land security is sorted with the City either through another lease or a sale.  What is up in the air right now is the amount we need to borrow in the short run and the term of the loan.  We have organized a General Meeting ahead of the June 30th deadline so that we can agree on the best scenario based on options that will be prepared by Planning and Development and the Board.

In process - three bits of research -

a) technical specifications and costs for installing solar panels,

b) a study of the feasibility of replacing hot water tanks with water on demand systems, and

c) an exploration of land trusts as an alternative land security arrangement to the lease or sale options. 

More on these as the news comes in…

Helping to keep our bees alive

Submitted by Belle Auld, Education Committee

Neonicotinoid insecticides (neonics) have been connected to bee deaths  -colony collapse disorder. Here is a list of places in Calgary that sell plants and what they say about neonics:

Golden Acres – they are “pretty sure” their plants do not contain neonics

Greengate – say they do not use neonics

Home Depot – currently using neonics. They say, “we’ve already committed to phasing out the use of neonics on our plants by the end of 2018”

Lowes – currently using them. Will be phasing them out until 2019

Plantation – they say most of their plants have not been treated with neonics

Sunnyside – they are pretty sure their plants do not contain neonics

Walmart – currently using them

Solar Canada Conference 2018

Submitted by Andrea Bergen

Solar Canada Conference June 20-21, 2018 | BMO Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Treaty 7 Territory

Learn about the conference and register to attend. There are 5 spots for Sunnyhill members to attend the Expo only portion of the conference! 

There are 2 dates to choose from:

  • Entrance to the Expo and Happy Hour June 20th (only if June 20th or both days are selected)      - OR –
  • Entrance to the Expo and Farewell Dessert Reception June 21st (only if June 21st or both days are selected)

 

Native Bee Boxes at Sunnyhill

Submitted by Don McCabe on behalf of Grounds Committee

Bee Box.jpg

Building bee boxes with Grounds Committee this past weekend (April 28, 2018) got me thinking. Perhaps there are others in Sunnyhill that are fascinated by our native bees, and might not know that:

  • bees are the group of insects that are winged as adults, are social, and have short tongues; they differ from wasps in not having a constricted abdomen
  • bees evolved about 100 MYA with the emergence of flowering plants
  • there are about 25,000 species of bees worldwide
  • there are 300-400 species of bees in Alberta and about 800 species in Canada (taxonomy is on-going)
  • less than 5% of all species build hives and produce honey
  • the well-known honey bee (Apis mellifera) was brought from Europe to North America in 1622
  • bees eat/collect flower nectar and pollen, and thereby are key pollinators
  • some native bee species are flower-specific
  • some of the best plants for native bees: gum weed, potentilla, cinquefoil, vetch, bearberry, prairie clover, crocus, cactus
  • like cuckoo birds, there are species of native cuckoo bees that lay their eggs in the nests of other bee species
  • most of our native bees nest in ground (old burrows, dens, etc.) or in crevices (even hollow raspberry canes)

In the coming weeks, keep your eye out for little turquoise and purple boxes around the co-op, and your fingers crossed that some queen bees find them homey. Please do not disturb.

We will be checking the boxes in the fall and reporting our findings to the Alberta Native Bee Council. If you would like to be involved, please contact the Grounds Committee.

Treaty 7 Land Acknowledgement

Submitted by Mia Rushton

As Sunnyhill looks to the future it makes sense that we also acknowlege the past. The Communications Committee has decided to include on our public website an acknowledgement of the history of the land that we live on. 

The text of our acknowledgement is borrowed from the University of Calgary's extended acknowledgement. A short video featuring Elder Reg Crowshoe and a pronunciation guide can be found on the U of C's Territorial Acknowledgements Resources page. 

Update from The Member Selection Committee

Submitted by Susan Russell

With Myrtle's recent move, the co-op has had some housing shifts. Member Selection filled unit #768 internally and as of May 1st, Sunnyhill member, Rose Ing, will be moving from unit #763 to #768. The committee is pleased to welcome new members Ben Gruihn, Joleen Edmondson, their young son and "baby on the way" to SHC. The family will be joining the co-op on May 1st and will be moving to unit #763. Welcome Joleen, Ben and family, we look forward to seeing you around!

The one bedroom waitlist is currently open and applications can be made through the SHC website. The member selection committee meets as needed when a unit becomes available. If you are interested in joining the committee contact Susan Russell or Buzz Viberg.

Raise a Glass!

Submitted by Buzz Viberg and Kathleen Shepherd

It is with a heavy heart that we said goodbye to long time resident and much loved local identity Myrtle Lambert who has moved out of Sunnyhill and into the Rosedale Hospice. Myrtle became a resident of Unit 768 in 1981 and has called it home ever since.  We have been her Co-op family for 37 years and will I'm sure, raise a glass in memory of her many contributions as we celebrate the Coop's 40th Anniversary this year.

Originally a farm girl from New Zealand, Myrtle has always spoken her mind and been a valiant supporter of the' underdog'.  Under her watchful eye Myrtle became 'caretaker' of our community whether it was ensuring the safety of it's residents by reporting any 'suspect goings on' to authorities, cleaning up around the grounds or being vigilant about ensuring our flora and fauna didn't get damaged.

Nature and animals played an important role in Myrtle's life, she was instrumental in having many of our trees we enjoy today planted and gave generously to several causes. We are so grateful for the contribution Myrtle has made to our community during her many years here. She will be missed by many and remembered fondly. 

A huge "Thank you!" Myrtle and God Bless you for everything.
Love, the Co-op xo

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