Submitted by Andrea Bergen
Education Opportunity
Submitted by Belle Auld
BOARD LEADERSHIP CALGARY
Board Leadership Calgary is pleased to announce a Learning Event for Non-Profits 2018! Registration is now open
· Would you like to be a more effective non-profit board member?
· Do you want to increase your understanding about board responsibilities, funding, and financial management?
· Do you want to know more about recommended and promising practices for non-profit organizations?
A one-day learning event for current or potential Board members and staff of small non-profits, as well as members of community organizations and grassroots groups. This learning event will provide you with a variety of sessions and networking opportunities addressing non-profit governance, as well as finance fundaments, creative ideas and resources.
Date: Saturday, November 3, 2018; 8:30 am to 4:00 pm
Location: Bow Valley College (345 6th Ave SE, Calgary)
Registration: $30.00 (includes lunch and refreshments)
This year’s topics include: Board governance basics, non-profit budgets, board roles & responsibilities, fundraising, bylaws, policies and objects, grant writing, strategic planning & thinking, organizational diversity, volunteer engagement and many more!
If you are interested in attending this, please let Andrea in the office know. And bring back what you learn to SHC.
Estate Sale
Submitted by Pamela Boyd
ESTATE SALE
# 34 Sunnyhill Lane
Suzanne Gibson’s furniture and household items - all really good stuff!
Saturday Oct 20 and Sunday Oct 21 - 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
(We may even serve tea)
Agency for Cooperative Housing has a new website
Submitted by Jackie Durrie
The Agency’s new website has been built with housing co-ops and their members in mind. Resources are front and centre.
Your Business talks about what your co-op needs to do to stay in good financial shape. Need forms for reporting vacancies and arrears to your board? We can help.
Your Buildings shares information about taking care of your property. Have a look at our new Guide to Building Condition Assessments.
The Environment is all about saving and sustainability. Download CHF Canada’s Model Sustainability Policy, which is full of ideas and easy to adapt. Because one size doesn’t fit all.
Best of all, you don’t need a password. The door is open and we’re inviting you to visit.
Buildings Committee Report
Submitted by Jacky Durrie
Here is the latest from the Buildings Committee
Eavestrough cleaning
We would like to remind everyone that fall is here and with will come eavestrough cleaning. When the cleaning is scheduled notice will be sent out from the office giving approximate dates for this work. People who like to leave their windows open or park their car close to their home may want to move them to keep them from accidentally getting dirty.
Window maintenance
Are you tired of the sticky windows that vibrate, chatter and are hard to open? I wish I could say you are getting new ones, however here is a little DIY tip that can help your windows work smoothly. All the windows have plastic/nylon glides on the top and bottom. These glides can be easily pried off with a narrow slot screwdriver. Try switching places with the barely worn glides from the top of the window and place the worn glides on the top and the good condition ones on the bottom. After this make sure to vacuum the window tracks so that they are free of dust and debris.
Spruce up your home for winter
Did you know that you can find out how much money is in your unit fund by contacting our handy dandy office co-ordinator? You can use these funds to do little odd jobs around the house such as replacing that broken plug cover, replacing sticky door locks and even buying a new shower rod if your old one is rusty. Contact the office co-ordinator for specific details.
Kitchen repairs
Are your kitchen doors looking dumpy? Is the counter top cracking? Is the plastic cover on your kitchen doors peeling or cracking; are your cupboard doors falling off? The Buildings Committee has funds to repair these items. Use the blue service request forms available in the office mailbox to submit a request. All requests will be reviewed and fixed in order of greatest need.
Time to turn off those outside taps
Fall is here and that means it is time to give the garden one last watering and then turn your outside taps off from the inside and leave the outside tap open so that it can drain properly.
CHF Canada News
Submitted by Jacky Durrie
Co-ops celebrate National Seniors Day: Oct 1
National Seniors Day is coming up on Monday, October 1st. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the seniors in our lives – friends, coworkers, family and members of our co-op communities.
At the 2015 CHF Canada AGM, members adopted a resolution to encourage member housing co-operatives to annually recognize National Seniors Day on October 1st. The resolution, put forward by Toronto’s Hugh Garner Housing Co-op, encourages co-ops to call on their municipalities to issue a proclamation for Seniors Day with recognition from local politicians and dignitaries.
There are many ways to recognize and support older co-op members in your housing co-op. Some ideas include:
planning a celebratory event,screening CHF Canada’s Aging in Place Videoor just taking the time to check in with an older person in your co-op who could benefit from support or a social visit.
This year, Ottawa’s Dovercourt Housing Co-operative will hold a meeting with all members to celebrate senior members with a cake and snacks. Each senior will receive flowers and letters of recognition.
What is your co-op doing to celebrate National Seniors Day? We invite you to post your activities on CHF Canada’s Facebook page or Twitter or email them to Emily Doyle at edoyle@chfcanada.coop.
Daly Co-op renovations make Aging-in-Place easy
Ottawa’s Daly Co-op is undergoing a serious makeover!
This 88-unit co-op is in the middle of a series of major renovations that are making the co-op safer, more modern, and more accessible, especially for seniors and members with disabilities.
Most of the approximately 130 members in the 35-year-old co-op are over 45. The building was designed to be wheelchair-accessible, and more than 30% of members use wheelchairs.
With CMHC’s agreement, the co-op negotiated a $3.1 million loan from Your Credit Union through CHF Canada’s Refinancing Program to pay off a line of credit and fund the reconstruction.
Among other things, the updates include:
bathroom renovations,rolling and walk-in showers for wheelchair users,exterior safety lighting,replacing carpets with flooring,parking lot reconstruction and resurfacing,washer and dryer upgrades.
Five ways to celebrate Co-op Week: Oct 14-20
Did you know that the third week of October is Co-op Week across Canada?
Co-op Week is a chance for members to celebrate the co-op advantage. Here are five ways your co-op can join in the celebration:
Show your love for co-ops by downloading these Co-op Week posters. Post in common areas of your co-op to get members excited about Co-op Week.Host a screening of A Silent Transformation, a film about co-ops. Invite neighbours in your community to join.Hold a Cheese and Chocolate Social featuring products from co-op producers. Camino, Gay Lea & St. Albert Cheese are just a few of the delicious co-op options you can try.Organize a co-op walk to explore the other co-ops in your neighbourhood.Decorate your Co-op Week event with the latest co-op merchandise from The Flag Shop.
If your co-op is on social media, be sure to share your events using the hashtag #CoopWeek2018.
Happy Co-op Week!
October Featured Resource: Good Member Service Charter (new)
Housing co-op boards of directors should strive to deliver good service to co-op members.
Your co-op can use CHF Canada’s new Good Member Service Charter to commit to a high standard of member service.
Radon Gas – Should you be concerned?
Submitted by Rose Ing
The Education Committee would like to provide some information about the potential dangers of exposure to radon gas.
Radon gas:
Is found in high levels in 1 in 8 Calgary homes
Is a naturally occurring colourless, odorless gas that is produced from the decay of radioactive decay of uranium in soil and rock
Is the second leading cause of lung cancer (primary cause for non-smokers)
Damages DNA and increases the risk of lung cancer
Effects are not immediate and usually takes 15 – 20 years after exposure
Enters homes through cracks in walls, floors and foundation and through floor drains
Levels can vary greatly between neighbouring homes
What can you do?
Let the Education Committee know if you would like a radon gas test kit for your home – if there is enough interest we may be able to bulk purchase kits from the Lung Association
Set it up to test the radon levels in your home for at least 3 months
Send the test kit to the lab listed on the package for analysis
For more information, please take a look at the following Health Canada fact sheet:
and the Lung Association fact sheet here.
Board Bytes for September…
This month we had lots to catch up on as we did not meet over the Summer. Highlights:
We thanked Helen Wirrell for her involvement on the board and welcomed Jacky Durrie and Mark Terrell.
The Fall begins, then, with one Board vacancy.
We assigned tasks as follows:
Officers - Mark (keeping Privacy Officer role until next AGM), Jacky, Janice
Secretary - Phil (will continue for now)
Treasurer - Robert
Vice-Chair - Sarah
Chair - Phil
…And semi-sorted our liaison roles to committees (one of us was stricken by the flu on the night, so will finish this conversation next meeting):
Finance - Robert
Janice - Grounds
Sarah - Member Selection
Mark - Planning and Development
TBD - Education
TBD - Buidlings
We updated the Co-op members with signing authority: Robert, Sarah, Janice and Philip
In September we took the following actions or made the following decisions:
Reviewed draft of updated Buildings Committee Policies - they now ready for a final tidy up and presentation to the Membership
Approved $3,000 allocation to supplement P and D Committee’s approved budget. Amount needed to contract consultant to conduct a 60 year housing analysis (costs and revenue) as per the request of the City of Calgary as part of our land leasing/purchasing discussions.
Referred spending decisions regarding the following to the annual budgeting process due to start in October: SACHA flood money ($6,215), balance after reaching new mortgage and paying CMHC to pay down previous mortgage ($138,672.83 + about $18,000 saved in this fiscal year as a result of paying down our original mortgage)
Instructed Planning and Development to isolate the costs of repairing/replacing three capital items: windows, balconies, roofing - all considered priority by our Mortgage lender (First Calgary)
We set our next Board meeting for October 10th at the Curling Club.
Comments/questions are welcome, please route through Andrea at the office.
Co-operatative Housing Federation of Canada AGM Report
Submitted by Sarah Reimer
The following is a written version of the presentation given at the Summer GM by Sarah Reimer
“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit” – an ancient Greek proverb.
This saying featured strongly in both the presentations and the theme, culture and spirit of the CHF AGM in Victoria. We, the co-op movement as a whole, seems to be at a unique crossroads where we will find ourselves faced with choices that will greatly impact future generations of co-op members.
We’re stronger together- that’s the essence of the whole co-op movement- what struck me at the AGM, in the workshops and networking was that this is not only true on a per co-op/ individual member basis, but as a movement too. Seeing the variety of co-ops represented and hearing about their creative solutions put our co-op into a clearer perspective for me. I was particularly impressed by the work done by CHF, namely the successful lobbying they’ve been championing which has brought the co-op model to the table at the federal level. I also learned more about the land trust movement, which also shows that by joining forces with other co-ops, we, as a whole, have the opportunity to become a force to be reckoned with.
Vision and purpose of co-op housing as presented at CHF AGM- we were challenged with working to create opportunities and develop sustainable systems of governance and housing to ensure that co-op housing expands in scope, cultural awareness, and helps to solve housing crisis for variety of people.
CHF and its members pledged to uphold and work towards UN’s 17 sustainable development goals in 4 broad areas of eradicating poverty, improving access to basic goods and services (in our case, housing), protecting the environment (by making our co-ops increasingly green) and by building a more sustainable food system (in the form of permaculture projects on our land).
I had the privilege to attend three amazing workshops, one about boards and their structure, function and procedures, another about funding opportunities and practical solutions around increasing our ‘green’ness; one presenter focussed on the value of updating or renewing items, even something as simple as dual flush toilets en masse, rather than piecemeal as this makes available refunds/ rebates etc not otherwise available. I also took full advantage of networking opportunities and met key people around new and innovative funding options; discovering in the process that, in many ways, we are like other co-ops, but we are also amazing; we have a lot of hidden strengths and live-in assets yet to be fully appreciated. There’s a lot we can learn from organisations like CHF and SACHA; yet I was amazed at how ‘on the ball’ we are. A funding option which had been released less than a month prior and was news to me, was already known to the planning and development committee, who were already working to position us to access that resource. It was great to be able to see some of the pieces of the puzzle together, against our own unique backdrop.
I made some amazing connections, the full value of which hasn’t yet been realised; I look forward to continuing those relationships for the betterment of Sunnyhill and for the co-op movement as a whole.
My biggest takeaway is that co-op housing isn’t, nor can it be, simply about our current housing stock and current members; it is and must also be about who still needs a co-op unit and who will be housed in our units in 10, 15, and even 50 years; we need to make decisions now to enable us to secure co-op housing in perpetuity.
The loss of Suzanne Gibson
Submitted by Pamela Boyd
The coop has lost a long time member Friday September 21st at 5:00 am - Suzanne Gibson in #34, finally succumbed to cancer after a two year ordeal filled with amazing patience and good humour. She will be missed tremendously.
This obituary will be in The Herald on Thursday September 27 to Sunday September 29.
Gibson, Suzanne (Suzy) Byrl, BA, BA, MA, PhD, May 10, 1953 - September 22, 2018. Suzy was a Calgarian born and bred. Although life took her elsewhere - to Hamilton, Ontario where she completed her PhD - or to Gwanju, Korea, where she was an Associate Professor for several years - she always returned to her beloved Calgary. She was proud of being a second generation Calgarian and a third generation Albertan.
Prior to completing her PhD in 18th Century English Literature at McMaster, Suzy did a BA in English, a BA in History and an MA in English Literature at the University of Calgary. She taught for many years at the University of Calgary and at Mount Royal College before taking up the position at Chonnam National University in Gwangju. After her retirement she took on an active role in the Sunnyside Housing Coop where she had lived for many years.
Suzy was an academic to the core, never too sick to have a discussion about the finer points of grammar or usage. She was also so much more. Her career included a stint as an airplane dispatcher and she had an impressive knowledge of car engines. She played a mean guitar, was an avid pool player and was always ready for a song or to bust out the dance moves. Suzy was a force of nature: larger than life and always the life of the party. She will be greatly missed by her family, Greg and Judy McCaffrey and Phillip McCaffrey, as well as her extensive family of special friends.
A musical gathering to celebrate and remember Suzy was held on Sunday September 30, 2018 at The Block 2411 – 4th Street N.W. from 6-9 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Suzanne’s honour can be made online to the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.
Celebration of Myrtle Lambert's Life - Reminder
Submitted by Kathleen Shepherd
A celebration of Myrtle's life will be held on September 21 at Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. This is a potluck with light refreshments such as squares, cookies. Please come with any memories, stories that you would like to share about Myrtle.
Myrtle passed away on May 22 after residing in the Coop, unit 768, for almost 38 years. She was very active in the Co-op and also the Community. Please do join us on September 21 to celebrate Myrtle's life.
Education Committee Meeting
Submitted by Belle Auld
The next Education Committee meeting is October 11, 7 pm at #825.
Thinking back on the goats
Submitted by Pamela Boyd
So we all saw, or at least heard about, the goats on the bluff, right? There were 140 of them, a couple of shepherds, two horses and a Boarder Collie making up the team. They’ve rotated on now, but at night they were penned by the Centre Street Bridge and during the day munched their way across the breadth of McHugh Bluff from July 29 to Aug 15.
This is part of the city’s brilliant strategy for dealing with invasive plant species. They say the grazing also helps “to encourage biodiversity, the growth of native vegetation, enhance health in natural areas and is part of the City’s integrated approach to managing invasive species"..…good thing the co-op is so vigilant about tracking down Creeping Bell Flower!!
To me, the sight of these lovely creatures ranging across our bluff, is…well….wonderful, beautiful, and visible proof of the city’s commitment to their biodiversity plan. Just as we, in the co-op and on the Grounds Committee, are committed to our biodiversity plan. It’s not just about ensuring we are not harbouring invasive weeds, but that our own beautiful and coveted piece of inner city land is a welcoming place for all kinds of species….from bees to trees, from robins to raspberries, bats and woodpeckers and many thousands more.
The Grounds Committee is committed. This year saw us building bee houses for some species of non-honey-making bees; bat houses to encourage local bats to become co-op residents, if not actual members. We wanted to attract Merlins and Kestrels to keep our Magpie numbers in check but putting up Kestrel houses turned out to be not such a good idea in our close co-op spaces. We’re hoping a house or two on the bluff may attract the aviary hunters and that when the time is right a food forest will occupy some of our land.
The goat program made me feel that perhaps the co-op and the city are partners, after all, in striving towards a truly green inner city. Certainly it is good for them to see that our commitment is strong. And when it comes time to renegotiate our lease, the city will bear this in mind and see our value as green thumbed, inner city partners.
Celebration of Life for Myrtle Lambert, Long Time Resident of Sunnyhill
Submitted by Kathleen Shepherd
A celebration of Myrtle's life will be held on September 21 at Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. This is a potluck with light refreshments such as squares, cookies. Please come with any memories, stories that you would like to share about Myrtle.
Myrtle passed away on May 22 after residing in the Coop, unit 768, for almost 38 years. She was very active in the Co-op and also the Community. Please do join us on September 21 to celebrate Myrtle's life.
Goats, Goats, Goats!!!
Submitted by Cindy Schnee
Planning & Development Committee documents
Submitted by Eric Moschopedis
A Planning & Development section has been added to the Documents page of our website. Currently, you'll find the Building Condition Assessment & Reserve Fund Study and the Environmental Assessment report.
Concerned about someone sleeping on our grounds… or wandering around obviously high… or singing at the top of their lungs after dark or….?
Submitted by Belle Auld for the Education Committee
Phone the Downtown Outreach Addictions Partnership (DOAP) Team, 403-998-7388 if you see someone who seems to be intoxicated, loitering, trespassing or sleeping in an area that they should not be, but is not being aggressive.
If someone is being violent or aggressive, phone 9-1-1 or the Calgary Police non-emergency # 403-266-1234. (info borrowed from Alpha House Society)
You can also pick up a free naloxone kit from any pharmacy if you are concerned you may run into someone who has overdosed (it may save a life).
Reminder: Enmax Power Disclosure Authorization
Submitted by Andrea Bergen and Mike Whittington
***Edited to add: 28 of 66 units have submitted their forms to date. This power usage information is important for the Planning & Development Committee's anaylsis.
Please submit your completed forms ASAP to facilitate the work of this busy committee. Forms are due by July 27th.
Mike Whittington in #807 has delivered to all units the Enmax Power Disclosure Authorization Forms that were discussed at the last General Meeting that was held on May 29, 2018.
Please complete these forms and drop off to me at the office or Mike can come and pick them up if you give him a call.
Thank you and have a wonderful day
Andrea Bergen
_________________________________________________
At last general meeting, there were questions regarding where to find the information for the ENMAX Authorization form, which is located on our power bills. I’ve used an ENMAX sample bill to demonstrate where the numbers are. If a co-op member is using a provider other than ENMAX, look for the same two numbers on your respective power bill.
1. Find the Site ID and Meter # on page 3 of your bill.
2. Write those numbers on the Authorization form in the proper fields.
3. Complete the following lines of the form:
Name (First Last)
Signature
Date
Address
Put checks under “Most Recent 12 Months” and “Cumulative Excel”
4. If your authorization form is complete you can either hand it in to Andrea at the office or you can let me know and I will pick it up from you.
If you have any questions regarding this or need my help at all, you can call me (Mike from 807) at 403 969 3486 or e-mail me at mike.whittington@hotmail.com.
We just had our baby (Hooray!) so I am pretty flexible with when you can contact me and I don’t mind stepping out for a bit to visit at your unit if you need help!
Regards,
Mike @ 807
General Meeting
Submitted by Andrea Bergen
Please see the updated General Meeting agenda for the July 20th General Meeting (available on the Documents page).
I look forward to seeing everyone there.
Grounds Committee Survey
Submitted by Cindy Schnee
Please either fill in electronically and send via email to the office at sunnyhill@shaw.ca or print, fill in and hand into office.
Also, the next Grounds "walk around" is Monday July 23 at 7:30 pm. If you have questions, Grounds Committee members will be out an about.
Thanks in advance!