EFCL Board Package April 2011 - Report

Hello District B Communities:

Highlights from the April 14, 2011 EFCL Board Meeting

Download the April 14 Board Package here

4.0 Election of EFCL Officers - the district representatives elect the new executive of the EFCL after the April AGM each year. The following is your new executive of the EFCL:

President: David Dodge
VP External: David Gibbens
VP Internal: Christine Bremner
Treasurer: Al Innes

It is worth noting that the new EFCL executive has excellent representation from the northeast. Al Innes is from Claireview, Christine Bremner is from Highlands and yours truly is from Evansdale. Past President Davie Gibbens is from the west end.

6.0 - Page 14 - Tripartite Agreement - All of the comments from community leagues were gathered and taken to the April 6th meeting of the Tripartite Task Force. The task force of community league representatives and City representatives agreed to make many changes to the draft agreement. Some suggestions were not accepted because the committee thought them inappropriate or felt they were already dealt with in the agreement. A definitions section was added and an introductory clause was added clarifying that leagues own their facilities. The agreement is a better agreement thanks to the input from leagues. The revised agreement went to the EFCL Board on April 14. It was approved for recommendation to to the membership (unanimously I might add).
For history's sake, remember it was District B that led the call for new negotiations on the Tripartite Agreement that got this task force going in the first place. We were very well represented by on the negotiating committee. All of our concerns were injected into the process numerous times during the process.
We have met with interested leagues in our district at two major metting. I have also met with several individual leagues to discuss the agreement and the reaction is quite positive. This is a better agreement that our 1999 agreement and it is a better agreement than the agreement some of our leagues did not sign.
Please talk about the agreement with your executive and come the May 17 Special General Meeting of the EFCL at Lauderdale Hall to vote as a member league on the agreement. Your community league votes to decided if the EFCL accepts the agreement and then again to determine if your league accepts the agreement. Please show up at this meeting to ensure we get quorum.

6.2 - Page 15 - The EFCL Talent Show is being discontinued. After disappointing registrations for this year's program, the board voted to discontinue the event after many successful events over the decades. Perhaps times have changed, or perhaps it's YouTube and the myriad of opportunities people have to show off their talents these days, but whatever the reason the EFCL talent show is no more. Watch for a tribute article in our newsletter.

6.5 - Page 18 - Child Friendly Housing and Neighbourhoods - the planning committee made an attempt to amalgamate a number of existing policies and statements that the EFCL has made regarding family and child friendly neighbourhoods into one document. While the board agreed with the spirit of this document it was felt we could not pass it in the form proposed to the board. The board asked staff to put the proposed policy in the format of EFCL policies and bring it back once again. Your comments are welcome.

6.6 - Page 20 - Letter of Support for Youth Emergency Shelter in the NE - The board considered my request for a letter of support for a shelter in the NE as requested by Marg Day and the communities of Area 17. Although the board is very sympathetic to this initiative it could not provide a letter of support due to the EFCL Governance Policy that states we do not take positons in issues that do not affect a majority of our members. Instead the EFCL will provide a letter wishing the the group well in its work and suggesting advocates for the YES work and consult with the local community league once it is know where it is being proposed.

6.7 - page 21 - Agenda for meeting with the Edmonton Public School Board - the EFCL is meeting with the EPSB about: 1) Promotion of neighbourhood schools; 2) Inclusion of community space in schools; 3) Revitalization of older schools and 4) Shared use of school parking lots in off hours. I asked number four to be added to the list because I have seen kids being forced to park in neighbourhoods across busy streets at night to get to soccer games in our parks while very large school parking lots sit empty at night. We need to have better community relations with our schools.

8.4.1 40 KPH Speed Limit in Communities - In a letter to City Council the EFCL reported on the six pilot programs that ran in communities in Edmonton. The community leagues that participated in the program were very supportive of the initiative and most actually recommended the limit be applied to neighbourhoods across the City. I presented this report to City Council last week. However problems with enforcement were noted by many people, whether it's a 50 kph limit or a 40 kph limit. City council seems to be opting to consider speed limited on a case-by-case basis in communities after a long meeting of the Transportation Committee last week. This is because of mixed feedback from citizens. What does your community league think? Please pass your thoughts on to us. Policy folks tell us that uneven speed limits across the City are NOT a good idea.

8.5.3 Edmonton Community Challenge - presented by the EFCL and Nextgen we are running the community challenge on June 3,4,5 this year. Please visit www.ecc.edmontonnextgen.ca for details on how to get young and old involved in a very special community event this year!

That's it for now.

Please send your comments to districtb@efcl.org
David Dodge, President and District B Rep
Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues

EFCL Board Package April 2011 - Tripartite Agreement

Hello District B Community Leagues:

Download the April 14 Board Package here

Please let me know if there is anything you would like raised at the Board meeting. Here is news from the EFCL AGM. 

District B has a new planning representative:

Congratulations to Ron Favell of Killarney CL  - Ron will attend planning committee meetings and represent  our District. Congratulations Ron!

Tripartite Agreement special general meeting

May 17, 2011 at 7 pm at Lauderdale Hall, 12937 - 107 Street.

Version 2 of the draft will be available for download and review by the week of April 18th, 2011.    Download the current  draft tripartite agreement - along with a brief tripartite overview and read the comments from the meeting on our news article at the EFCL website.

Pool Allocation Meeting

April 27 at Strathcona Centre Community League Hall located at 10139 - 87 Ave.  

Doors at 6:30 meeting at 7:00 pm.  Please RSVP@efcl.org 

New deal allows CL to book public times at 25% discount. Cost is reduced by the number of leagues participating. Leagues can keep existing "new" deals too.

Cultural Integration Workshop

 The EFCL is holding a cultural integration workshop to get some input from leagues about ways to reach out to newcomers and native Canadians.

7:00 p.m., April 11, at Lakewood Community League (260 Lakewood Road East) in Mill Woods. RSVP@efcl.org

The goal is to find ways to reach out to ethno-cultures and immigrants. We are hiring outreach workers to help with language and cultural issues. Leagues should come out and provide input and feedback to ensure the program works for leagues. Many leagues in our area talk about the challenges of working with and attracting diverse participation in league activities - come on out and help make it happen!

Community League Day is September 17, 2011 - Register your event!

As soon as you confirm with your board inform EFCL of the name of the event, date, time, address, and activities planned.  Be sure not to miss the advertising deadline and stay tuned to this page for details of prizes, promotions, and a great fall promotion.

Hall Rental Workshop - April 28 Lauderdale Community League, 12937 - 107 St, 7 to  9 pm. Modeled after the successful rink workshop held earlier this year. Come for presentations, to share and to learn.

Website Workshop - May 4, EFCL offices, 7103 - 105 St 7 to 9 pm. Come out and see a very high-end web solution for leagues that sells ads, memberships, executive lists and much more. 

EFCL Board Package March 2011 - Tripartite Agreement

Hello District B Communities,

What a busy week. There is plenty of news following the EFCL Board meeting last night. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Here are the highlights from the meeting last night.

David Dodge, District B Representative

Download the board package for the March 10, 2011 meeting

April Calendar

• April 04 EFCL Annual General Meeting - 5:30 to 9:00 PM
, Woodvale Community Hall, 4540 - 50 Street
• April 14 EFCL Board Meeting
• April 16 EFCL Talent Show
• April 19  School Board Meeting—Neighbourhood Schools
• April 20 Swim Allocation Meeting
• April 27 Planning & Development Meeting
• April 28 Hall Rental Workshop

6.3 - pg 15 - Triparite Agreement - NEW INFORMATION

The new Tripartite agreement will be distributed this Monday at long last. The negotiation process was very successful. We addressed all of the issues raised about the previous agreement, cleaned up some of the language, reduced the mentions and role of the EFCL in the agreement to appropriate roles, and best of all we secured a new 50 per cent matching capital fund for on-lease community league projects and a 40 per cent increase in operating grants.

District B Special Report - Tripartite Agreement

District B Report

David Dodge

March 6, 2011

Hi everyone in Distrit B:

I will send a link to the EFCL Board Package as soon as I receive it. Meanwhile here are a few important updates for your attention. As always, if you have anything you would like me to bring up at the EFCL Board meeting this Thursday, please let me know.

AT LONG LAST THE EFCL PRESENTS:

The Draft Tripartite License Agreement

EFCL is holding a meeting at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 23, at Rossdale Community League Hall, 10135-96 Avenue, to present and review the draft Tripartite License Agreement. This is the agreement that determines how leagues can use the land they have under license with the city. We will be sending out the draft agreement shortly after the EFCL board deals with the matter on March 10. This agreement will be ultimately be voted on by the membership at the Annual General Meeting, which is set for 6:30 p.m., Monday, April 4 at Woodvale Community League. Dinner at 5:30 p.m. – RSVP@efcl.org for both events.

District B Update

Hi everyone in District B:

I will send a link to the EFCL Board Package as soon as I receive it. Meanwhile here are a few important updates for your attention. As always, if you have anything you would like me to bring up at the EFCL Board meeting this Thursday, please let me know.

AT LONG LAST THE EFCL PRESENTS:

The Draft Tripartite License Agreement

EFCL is holding a meeting at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 23, at Rossdale Community League Hall, 10135-96 Avenue, to present and review the draft Tripartite License Agreement. This is the agreement that determines how leagues can use the land they have under license with the city. We will be sending out the draft agreement shortly after the EFCL board deals with the matter on March 10. This agreement will be ultimately be voted on by the membership at the Annual General Meeting, which is set for 6:30 p.m., Monday, April 4 at Woodvale Community League. Dinner at 5:30 p.m. – RSVP@efcl.org for both events.

EFCL Board Package Feb. 2011 - District B Report

District B Report:
This is been a very busy month of meetings: the EFCL Trade Show, the EFCL Alberta Cabinet meetings, the TriPartite Licence committee, Rink Program Workshop, Area 17, Steele Heights, Killkenny and Evansdale’s Little Kickers program and more.

Download the EFCL February 10 Board Package - pg. numbers refer to the board package

6.0 pg. 15 – Community League Infrastructure Grant Program

Preliminary details of the new City capital grants program. Grants will be offered in three categories small, medium and large projects. See the board package for more information. The grants and the increasing operating grants are tied to the new Tripartite agreement process.

8.2 pg. 20 – Community League Operating Grants

This comes up later in the agenda, but it is connected. The operating grants for community leagues are increasing by about 40%. This will mean the base amount will increase from $3,500 to about $4,900 and the per capita amount will increase from $1.47 to $2.07 (I hope this is accurate). The increased operating grants are also tied to the new TriPartite Agreement.

TriPartite Agreement

I am pleased to report the TriPartite committee has at long last arrived at an official draft of the new agreement. After a few last minute tweaks at the Wednesday meeting of the committee it should be ready to present to leagues very soon. The plan to host a meeting with interested community leagues and go over the draft agreement with them in detail. This will likely happen in March. Then the goal would be to present the agreement to the EFCL membership at the AGM on April 4, 2011.

It has taken almost two years, but there is a sense on the committee that the agreement is improved in many ways. Perhaps the biggest achievement of the process was securing a $1.5 million a year increase in funding for the next two years.  Stay tuned for more details!

6.2 pg. 16 – Community League Rink and Carnival Day

Today the board approved a motion to create a new winter Community League day to help promote rinks and rink programs and winter carnivals. The very first Community League Rink and Carnival Day will be in February 2012. All that is left is to pick the date, which will be done with input from the leagues. The idea is to promote outdoor ice and winter programs by hosting a lot of our events on one day in the winter similar to the way the Community League Day worked last year. More than 90 leagues participated and it brought a great deal of attention to  leagues and their programs.

6.4 pg. 18 – Meeting with the Edmonton Public School Board

We are working to organize a meeting with the EPSB to discuss the importance of retaining neighbourhood schools and offering to partner with the school board to find ways to retain as many schools as possible.

8.2.2 Pg. 20 – The Rink Program Workshop

 This meeting was a success. See notes in package and see my EMHA-EFCL Outdoor Rink meeting blog post for the secrets of a successful program from Shirley at Belvedere and much more information.

8.2.4 pg. 22 – Meeting with Provincial Cabinet

The meeting with Cabinet ministers was a big success and very well attended considering it was a last minute opportunity. This is the second time the EFCL has been able to meet with the provincial cabinet and it was a very good opportunity for community folks to roll up their sleeves and work on issues with the provincial representatives. A very good event!

8.3.1 pg. 24 – Edmonton Community Challenge

It’s back, the Edmonton Community Challenge is just the thing to get new, young community leaders involved. Last year we gave away $14,000 in prizes. Check the EFCL website for more details. The event is June 3-5.

8.3.4 pg. 24 – Living Local

The process to work with community and other groups to define what Living Local means continues with a meeting on March 9, 2011. We are hoping to get support from the City to host a major summit on living local in the fall. Living Local is about being able to do as much as you can in your own community.

8.3.5 pg. 24 – Community League Day 2011: Saturday, Sep. 17

Start your engines, book your parties, start planning your events and join with your fellow community leagues in creating a massive collection of incredible events in as many communities as possible this year. More than 90 leagues participated last year!

8.4.2 pg. 25 – Swim Time Allocation Meeting

There is a meeting coming soon, notices will go to those who have participated in the previous meeting and others!

8.5.1 pg. 28 – Retaining Families in Mature Neighborhoods

The EFCL will contribute our message to the Mayor’s Task Force on Neighborhood Revitalization about retaining families in the places we call mature neighbourhoods.

8.6 pg. 31 Community League Hall Lookup

Ding, ding, ding, a new feature has been added to the EFCL website. There is now a Community Hall Lookup function. Please click here to check it out and click here to get the form to update your hall information at the EFCL website. While you are at it make sure your executive information is up to date as well! This is very worthwhile, even if you have your own website since many people will land on the EFCL website to look for halls and communities!

Wow, what a crazy month. I also have an update on insurance for you once I get a change to write it up.

If you would like more information please let me know. If you would like me to raise an issue at the EFCL please let me know that too!

Cheers,

David Dodge

EFCL-EMHA Rink and Winter Program Workshop

SPECIAL REPORT:
Outdoor Rink meeting with Community Leagues

The EMHA, the EFCL and 18 community leagues gathered at Crestwood Community Hall on Saturday, January 29 to discuss what we (EMHA/EFCL and community leagues) can do to support programming and the use of outdoor rinks in Edmonton.

We were joined by Bill Whitefield of Sports Central and a couple of special guest presenters: David Proden of the E4C Learn to Play Hockey program and Shirley Barton of Belvedere Community League.
If, for whatever reason hockey can no longer support this requirement then perhaps there are other ways we can work together to support community league rinks, and entry level programs in the communities. More on this later.

Community Leagues have 120 rinks city-wide!

Saturday however was not about hockey-community league politics, but about the challenges leagues face running outdoor rinks and what leagues can do to enhance the use of community league ice.
There are some inspiring things happening in leagues in Edmonton. Shirley Barton of Belvedere started looking after the ice in this north-end neighbourhood talked about their program at Belvedere.
What Makes a Successful Rink:

Here are the top eight things that make a great rink in a Community League according to Shirley:

1. Rink attendent with a positive attitude and is approachable
2. Hours of operation are clearly posted
3. Telephone answering machine reflects the hours of operation and closures due to weather
4. Assurance that the community league is a safe place to drop off children
5. Communicaton with local schools about rink times
6. Lights on nightly, even if there are no skaters, people come if they see the lights
7. Music playing on the rinks
8. A rink shack concession

For Shirley, those are the key ingredients of a great outdoor rink program in a community. She also suggests a few other add-ons that can really make a league's rink get popular:

• Learn to skate programs from the City
• Equipment loaning on site (skates and other equipment)
• Relationship with Sports Central - community leagues can refer folks to them to get skates and equipment
• Yearly photos of skaters posted on bulletin boards - builds a sense of history
• Community rink events: hot dog Sundays, milk jug curling, skating games, hockey skill competitions or a 3 on 3 tournament
• Skate sharpening on site - Belvedere has skate sharpening right on site, a popular thing!

As you might have guessed Belvedere has a successful program.

From the Floor:

At the January 29 meeting, the folks present also broke into two groups and talked about challenges and some ideas for improving programs.

• Challenges:
• Community league folks mentioned the following challenges and ideas for improving rink programs:
• Challenges:
• Ice not level
• Old rinks
• Insurance - hockey teams covered if the coach says ice ok (from hockey folks)
• CL insurance probably ok if community league is in control of facility - so rentals for $ might be different?
• Staffing/volunteer shortage can be issue

Ideas:

• Group buys for equipment, snow blowers
• Share old equipment, excess equipment
• Build-it event to level rink and refurbish boards etc. – one league did it for $3,000
• Rink hours must be predictable
• Lights on, Music on
• Rink not locked and open all the time – several examples of this
• Open late - 11 pm - adult groups use it after 8 pm
• Send email to Hockey Edmonton about ice availability
• Corporate and family rentals are possible?
• Love to do 3 on 3 tourney with other leagues
• Would like more attention on outdoor rinks and programs
• Love this meeting - need more networking for rink & program people in CLs

A number of leagues have experimented with offering the use of skates and equipment and many note that this does allow significant numbers of kids to skate and even try pushing a puck around the ice.
One reaction to the meeting was agreement that networking for rink attendants and program people is a really good idea!

Many of the community leagues attending the meeting already host winter events ranging from simple events to full-fledged winter carnivals.
A number of folks thought it is a really good idea to have a City-wide winter community day to promote outdoor rinks and programs.

Community leagues have many excellent ideas, but the question remains how hockey can work with their founding partners in Community Leagues to support and promote the biggest supply of outdoor ice in Edmonton and support and encourage programs at the community level.

David Dodge,
January 31, 2011