Seven Community Leagues selected for EFCL Solar and Energy Conservation Program

Draw held today for leagues involved in solar program

Today the  Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (EFCL) selected the seven lucky community leagues who will get to participate in a new and innovative Solar and Energy Conservation Program.

The successful leagues are: Rossdale, Riverdale, West Jasper Sherwood, Ritchie, Alberta Avenue, North Glenora and Meadowlark.

Warren Saurer of the Solar Energy Society
being interviewed by CTV at the launch
of the EFCL Solar and Energy Conservation
Program in June. Photo David Dodge

Each of 15 community leagues filled out an application and submitted a cheque for $6000 to qualify to get in the draw for the program. Successful leagues get package that includes a small 1.2 kW solar system, a comprehensive energy and carbon audit and an LED monitor system to report energy production and to program community league programs inside the hall.

The EFCL was only able to raise enough money for seven leagues to participate in the program so a draw had to be held to select the qualifying leagues. 

Being president of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues didn't matter today in this random draw since my own community league (Evansdale) was not successful in the draw to participate. Neither was McLeod, also from District B of the EFCL, the district I represent.

To summarize we had enough money (from our own funds, a $30,000 grant from the City and from leagues themselves) to involve seven community leagues in our Community League Solar and Energy Conservation Program.


Video of the draw held at the EFCL offices: July 4, 2012

The program was discussed over the last year or so, but it was just officially announced about one month ago and 15 leagues sent cheques for $6000 (ore more) to the EFCL to qualify for the draw that happened today. That is very rapid turn-around for leagues to not only display interest in a program but commit their hard-earned cash as well. We actually heard there are other leagues that would have joined the draw if they had more time.

Today in a draw witnessed by numerous community leagues, two city staffers and the EFCL staff seven leagues were chosen as successful candidates for the program.

The cheques will be returned to the leagues who were not successful. Based on this level of interest the EFCL may try to raised additional money to allow more leagues to participate in this innovative renewable and energy conservation program.

As president of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues I am thrilled at the level of interest and excitement in this program, but naturally I am disappointed that my own community league (Evansdale) was not successful in the draw. I have asked the energy conservation audit folks and the solar folks for independent quotes should we decide to participate in solar or energy conservation on our own. There is a remote possibility that the EFCL will try to raise more money to involve the other leagues who demonstrated serious interest in joining the program.

David Dodge

District B Rep and President EFCL

Notes from the June 14th EFCL Board Meeting

Allan's Notes From the June 14 Board Meeting

Applications Roll In For Solar and Energy Savings Program

Five community leagues – Ritchie, McLeod, Evansdale, Riverbend and West Jasper Sherwood – have decided to invest in the EFCL’s Solar and Energy Savings Program.  The pilot project will see each league get a 1.2 kw (five panel) solar energy system, an information display monitor, an energy and carbon audit and a chance to take part in a provincial energy retrofit grant program.

The EFCL, which along with the City of Edmonton is subsidizing the cost of the program, has spots for seven leagues to take part.  Each league is required to provide a cheque for $6,000, along with some league contacts and basic information about their hall.  If more than seven leagues apply by the July 3 deadline, a draw will be held on July 4.

In related news, the federation decided to enter its own office building in the program, at a cost of $14,000.  The EFCL negotiated this arrangement with the suppliers separate from the league program, so that it wouldn’t impact the amount of subsidy money available.

EFCL Explores Opportunities With Indigenous Games

The Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues is working on a partnership proposal with the organizers of the Alberta Indigenous Games, which is set for Aug. 5-9, 2013.

The plan focuses on the recruitment of volunteer coaches, to help run team sports such as soccer, softball, volleyball, basketball, ball hockey, lacrosse and canoeing, as well as coaches for individual sports like golf, archery and athletics.

The coaches would prepare the athletes for a month or two prior to the games, which will be held in Edmonton, St. Albert, Leduc and Enoch.  All participants on Edmonton teams in the games would need to have a community league membership in order to participate.  Participants, largely with the help of their coaches, would then be introduced to community league and other community-based programs after the Games.

Games co-chairman Allan Ross and Edmonton Public School Board consultant Dawn Marie Marchand pitched the proposal to the board at its meeting Thursday night.

They expect to see between 2,000 and 3,000 participants, aged 12-18, take part in the Games.  They will include people from First Nation, Metis and Innuit backgrounds.

The EFCL plans to hold meetings with interested sports organizations to help get this project off the ground.

Infrastructure Assessment Program Winding Down

Community leagues have until December 31 of this year to apply to the EFCL for infrastructure assessment funding, according to decision reached by the board on Thursday night.

After that date, all remaining funds in the program will be redirected to other federation projects.

The infrastructure assessment funding is available to any league that needs to do work that wasn’t covered in the basic hall assessment that was completed by Stantec or Williams Engineering in the past couple of years.  Sample projects are geotechnical reviews, to determine the integrity of the hall foundation, as well as investigations to locate and determine the degree of hazard presented by asbestos in the hall.

The EFCL is willing to cover 80% of the cost of the review, on projects up to $20.000.  Leagues are expected to obtain three quotes for the work before applying to the federation for funding.

Applications should be sent directly to the EFCL executive director, Allan Bolstad.

Presenters Sought for League’s Alive Conference

EFCL Board members were asked to bring forward the names of community league executives who would be willing to make a presentation at the federation’s conference on Nov. 3.  Confirmed topics at the conference are as follows: Consensus Building, Board Governance Basics, Developing Policy, Bylaws, Role of the President, Role of the Treasurer, Connecting with your Community, Road to Accountability, Use of Gaming Proceeds, Volunteer Engagement and Recruitment, Social Media, Building Operations, Crime Prevention, Community Gardening.

Online System For Membership Card Distribution Well Accepted

The EFCL has yet to receive any complaints from Leagues or customers about the online sale of membership cards.  We have also yet to notice any cases of people trying to take advantage of leagues with very low membership fees.

Requests far outweigh submissions to the Supplier Marketplace

We have only had three submissions so far from Community Leagues for our Supplier Marketplace.  We do get a lot of leagues interested in finding a recommended supplier – 1,260 visits that page in May alone - so we need to promote this service to our Leagues and continually remind them to submit suppliers.

Living Local Arts and Heritage Program (Year Two) Launched

The EFCL launched the second year of its Living Local Arts and Heritage Program. 
The program is open to any league that wants to hire local artists to do a project that showcases 

June 2012 EFCL Board Package

June EFCL Board Package

Download the EFCL June 2012 Board Package

The solar program includes
five modules, a
eomprehensive energy audit
 and an LED monitor.

5.3 Solar and Energy Conservation Program
As you have probably heard by now about 18 community leagues showed up at the information session for the Solar and Energy Conservation program. In addition I know McLeod passed a motion to apply and I heard Northmount and a few other District Leagues may be interested in this program. See my blog post on the Solar and Energy Conservation program for more information or visit the EFCL website page on the program. You have until July 1 to fill out an application and send that with a cheque for $6000 to the EFCL to qualify for this $22,000 program. If more than 7 leagues apply there will be a draw.


5.4 Community Swim Fees
A motion is before the EFCL board to support the City's plan to not adjust fees for community swims in the middle of the season if a community league drops out of the program or joins the program mid-season. If a league leaves rates will not go up for the leagues still involved and if a league joins the rates will not go down. Rates will only be adjusted once each year depending on how many leagues are involved. This makes sense to me. And it does not affect us in District B that much.


5.5 Make it mandatory for leagues to provide contact information
The EFCL serves as a central contact point for community leagues when people can't find out who to talk to about their area. And the EFCL needs to communicate with leagues to let them know about programs, and all sorts of things that are of interest to leagues. But sometimes it's like pulling teeth the get basic contact information for the leagues. The board is considering an option to require leagues provide contact information as part of their membership payment process each year. It's good for the leagues if we can send people to them and provide them with ongoing information so this seems logical to me - some folks may balk, but I am not sure why since it's in the league's interests to make it possible for folks to contact them. Let me know what you think.


5.6 Associate Memberships
A proposal is coming to the board to ask the EFCL Governance Committee to recommend a strategy for leagues to have people sit on their boards from outside their boundaries. Note we are not deciding on a policy yet, but we are providing guidance to the Governance Committee to look into this. Note I have great personal reservations about policies that make it easy for leagues to attract board members, soccer players or any other folks from outside their boundaries since this almost always causes friction and bad-blood between leagues. It can hurt a league that is already hurting by cannibalizing their volunteers. I am not even sure why Associate Memberships are even required in most cases. Frankly there is little leagues can do to prevent somebody (a soccer coach for example) from volunteering in another community, but most leagues try to respect membership boundaries. In my league you must live in the boundaries to be a member of our league. If a coach wants to coach for Lago Lindo from Kilkenny they should still buy a membership in Kilkenny, shouldn't they? These are the sorts of issues that can really cause problems. THOUGHTS?


5.7 Summer Operations at Community Leagues
The EFCL is simply urging Community Leagues to consider staying as active as they can in the summer months where there are high demands for activities and programs. You can reach many people in the summer!


5:10 City Growth Strategy

The EFCL Planning Committee has recently reviewed the City’s 6th draft of the Growth Coordination Strategy and believes there is much more work to be done before it should go to Council for consideration. Please see the board package for the recommendations and discussion of this topic.


5:11 Neighbourhood-friendly Social Housing

The recommendation coming to the board suggests the EFCL participate in a working group to develop guidelines for neighbourhood-friendly social housing projects. It also recommends the EFCL apply for a research grant to develop some Good Neighbour Guidelines. See board package for details. The recommendations here make sense to me.


7.6 Community Development Officer's Report - Shahriyar Khan
You can read Shahriyar's report on 40 km speed limits, Jackson Heights traffic concerns, Cultural Inclusion Program, Crime Prevention and the Gym User Committee meetings.
However I would mostly like to draw your attention to a comprehensive report that Shahriyar has written on our Cultural Integration Program thus far. The report is being presented to the board for later discussion at our July meeting.


Online Membership Cards

And lastly I purchased my own Community League Membership for 2012-13 online to test out the new system and I did indeed receive a membership card via email from the EFCL, so the new system is working.


That's it. If you have any comments, suggestions and issue you would like me to take to the EFCL please let me know.


David Dodge
EFCL President and District B Representative

Solar Energy Conservation Program Launches

About 18 Community Leagues showed up for an information session on the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues new Solar Energy Conservation Program on Monday June 4, and the EFCL offices on the Southside. 

The EFCL is offering leagues the chance to invest $6,000 and get $22,000 worth of solar modules, energy conservation audits and an LED monitor for their halls.

Warren Sarauer of the Solar Energy Society of
Alberta showing a panel at the launch of
the new EFCL Solar and Energy Conservation
Program. Photo David Dodge

The program is attracting considerable media and community league interest. In my travels to community leagues Belvedere, McLeod, Lago Lindo, Evansdale and a few other EFCL District B leagues have expressed an interest in getting involved in the program.

The program also offers an opportunity to add extra sets of 5 solar modules for $5,000 if ordered at the time of signing up for the program.

Leagues that came to the information session at the EFCL offices on June 4 were keen to get the Energy Audit being done by C3 Returns - a comprehensive energy audit of their halls that includes information about retrofits and what the energy paybacks might be.

The solar systems are very small, and include five 240 watt solar modules, all of the wiring, permits, hall assessment and installation certainly attract attention. And that's the idea of the program to help leagues engage in a high profile energy production and conservation program that will help community members see energy efficiency and solar energy systems in action.

So far I am aware that McLeod and Evansdale have passed motions and are cutting cheques to get in on the application process. There is room for only seven leagues in this pilot program and interested leagues must complete an application form and submit a cheque for $6,000 to the EFCL before July 4, 2012 to be considered for the program. If more than seven leagues apply then a draw will be held to select the leagues.

The application forms should be at the efcl.org website in the next day or so. Or email me and I can send you a copy of the form.

That's all for now.

David Dodge
EFCL President and District B Rep.

Report on May EFCL Board Meeting

Download the EFCL April 2012 Board Package

Thanks to Allan for preparing this report on the EFCL May 2012, Board meeting.

EFCL Executive Team Elected

The EFCL is pleased to report that all four members of its executive team have agreed to serve for another year. 

• David Dodge, from Evansdale Community League, has been re-elected for his second term as president.

• David Gibbens, from Meadowlark Community League, has been re-elected for his second term as Vice-President External.

• Christine Bremner, from Highlands Community League, has been re-elected for her third term as Vice-President Internal.

• Al Innes, from Evergreen Community Association, has been re-elected for his third term as Treasurer.

EFCL Bylaws allow executive members to serve for a maximum of three consecutive terms.

Living Local Arts and Heritage Program Information Session Set

All community leagues are welcome to learn about the Living Local Arts and Heritage Program and the money that is available to help leagues reach out to local artists in their area.

The session is set for 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 29, at Newton Community League (5520-121 Avenue).   Two leagues that qualified for funding last year will be making presentations: Hazeldean Community League will describe the sculpture and other interpretive displays it is putting together to acknowledge the history of the railway along a greenbelt that runs through the community.  Alberta Avenue – in conjunction with Eastwood and Parkdale/Cromdale Community Leagues - will describe how it is using digital audio interviews with long-time residents to put together interpretive performances and publications commemorating the history of the area.

Staff from the all three sponsoring agencies – the Edmonton Arts Council, Edmonton Heritage Council and EFCL will be on hand to describe how this year’s program works.

EFCL Awaits Decision on Infrastructure Assessment Dollars

The EFCL is expecting a decision next week on its application to redirect $234,000 in infrastructure assessment money to three other projects.   If approved, the federation will redistribute the money in equal portions to its 100^th Anniversary, solar energy and rink roof projects.  The federation will also notify the leagues of the pending change, in the event that leagues have any last-minute plans for additional assessment work.

City council’s community services committee has recommended to council that the application be approved.  Council is scheduled to vote on the matter on Wednesday, May 16.

Leagues Welcome to Attend Good Neighbors Awards Program

Everyone is welcome to attend the Good Neighbours Awards ceremony, which is set for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 15^th at City Hall.

One winner has been selected for each of the city’s 12 awards.  All nominees are to get a certificate of recognition from the City of Edmonton.

The EFCL was proud to be a sponsor of this year’s program and will welcome the input and support of leagues as we prepare for next year’s program.

EFCL Encourages Leagues To Join SOCAN Tariff Appeal

The Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues is encouraging all member leagues to ask for an exemption to tariff #21, which compels leagues to pay an annual fee of $185 for the right to play music in their hall.  The fee is paid to the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), which has recently applied to have this tariff extended to 2013.

Leagues wishing to add their voice to this appeal are encouraged to send a letter no later than June 30 to Gilles McDougall, Secretary General, Copyright Board of Canada 56 Sparks Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C9.  His e-mail address is Gilles.McDougall@cb-cda.gc.ca

Leagues are also encouraged to contact their member of Parliament, as the federal government appoints directors to the Copyright Board and sets out the rules under it operates.

The EFCL will soon be supplying each league with a draft letter outlining the rationale behind our position.

Front Yards In Bloom Seeks Nominations and Offers Training For Judges

Anyone interested in nominating front yards for recognition in the city’s Front Yards in Bloom program is encouraged to contact Megan Rogers, at megan.rogers@edmonton.ca.  Selections of  well-attended flower gardens, edible front yards, or natural yards, are made throughout the month of June.

Community Leagues are given the task of selecting the top two yards in their neighborhood.  League volunteers are welcome to attend one of the following judge training sessions:

• Sat. June 9 – 2:00 to 3:30 pm Edmonton Horticultural Society, 10746-178 Street
• Tues June 12 – 7:00 to 8:30 pm Edmonton Horticultural Society, 10746-178 Street
• Thurs June 21 – 7:00 to 8:30 pm 11001 107 Street

To pre-register please send an e-mail note to neil.lang@edmontonhort.com or leave a message at 780-378-5320 and state which session you would like to attend. For more info see: www.edmontonhort.com/frontyardsinbloom.  

It’s Time to Book League Gym Time

Information sessions on Gym booking procedures have been organized on the following dates:

• May 16 –  Medium Gym User
• May17 -  Small Gym User
• May 24 -  Large Gym User

Time:  6:30.   Location:  Central Lions Senior Centre (11113, 113 Street).

For more information, contact Shauna Richard, at shauna.richard@edmonton.ca, 780-495-1964

EFCL Learns How to Make the Most Out of Winter

The federation was pleased to team up with the City of Edmonton to discuss a city-wide strategy for winter activities.

Held at Glenwood Community League hall on April 19, the evening featured a presentation from Councillor Ben Henderson, who showed photos of his recent fact finding trip to northern Europe.

Perhaps the main conclusion from the evening was to focus on ways to help Edmontonians enjoy a variety of different winter activities when the weather in conducive.  This could include the lighting of cross country ski trails, the provision of snow to community leagues for informal toboggan runs and snow sculpturing and the construction of semi-enclosed shelters, complete with overhead electrical heating, next to outdoor rinks.

Participants noted that it is very risky to plan a large scale outdoor event, particularly if it is held on multiple days, given the extreme and rapid fluctuations we experience in winter weather.

EFCL Planning Committee Hard at Work

There seems to be no shortage of topics for the EFCL planning committee to consider these days.

Current key initiatives include a review of the city’s policy on siting cell phone towers, the design of new neighborhoods, the development of family-friendly, high density housing, and the redesignation of surplus school sites to other uses.

Fall Conference Plans Shaping Up

EFCL board development officer Andrea Sands has released a draft agenda for the Nov. 3 “Leagues Alive” Conference at the Mayfield Inn Hotel.

The following is a list of the sessions that are confirmed:

• Board Governance Basics
• Bylaw Basics
• Consensus Building
• Connecting with your Community (covering newsletters and use of social media)
• Cultural Diversity
• Developing Policy
• Dos & Don’ts of Social Media (title not yet confirmed, but dealing with the good, bad & ugly of 21^st century communication strategies)
• Road to Accountability (the 1^st confirmed “sponsored” workshop with Wanita from FPB; planning to have her introduce speaker and be available during & after workshop for questions)
• Role of the President
• Role of the Treasurer
• Volunteer Engagement & Recruitment
• Use of Proceeds
• Building Occupant (designed to provide introductory information on complex topics related to efficient operation of league buildings: electrical, lighting, HVAC & water)
• Community Gardening (still planning to secure a rink related workshop)
• Crime Prevention (will include Hall Rental, Personal & Building safety)

We are also pleased to report that Community Services has accepted our invitation to work together on planning and implementing the conference and has assigned three CRCs to the task.

Board Responds to Concerns Raised About the 100^th Anniversary Project

While an overwhelming majorify of community leagues voted in favor of the federation’s 100^th

Anniversary Project, a few concerns were also raised at the April 30 Annual General Meeting.

It was pointed out that some leagues might have in raising the $400 supplemental membership fee each year from 2012 to 2016 to help pay for the project.  Other leagues wanted to know what would happen with their money if the project didn’t pan out.

In response to those concerns, the board approved the following motions:

That the federation seek ways to mitigate any hardship that the supplemental fee might cause on leagues that are in financial distress.That the federation not make any material changes in the nature of the anniversary project without the support of the membership. Further, if the EFCL does not proceed with the project, the supplemental membership fee will be refunded.

Estimated to cost approximately $2 million, the anniversary project features a three-phased set of upgrades to Hawrelak Park, including a Community League Plaza, stream walk and water play feature.

Online Membership Sales Now Include Card At Time of Purchase

As of May 2, the EFCL launched the issuing of membership cards with online purchases.  So far we think our computer debugging is complete but we will see with time and more transactions.  Please advise your leagues that they can distribute skate tags at Community League day or at the rink when it opens.

Leagues Encouraged to Refer Quality Suppliers

Many of our members call EFCL to ask if we know of a vendor we could recommend that other leagues have used.   Now through the supplier marketplace you can help your peers and recommend a supplier of a service or product.

It could be a painter or a paver, a custodian or snow remover!  Whoever you were happy with – let us know by registering on  supplier marketplace at www. efcl.org

EFCL Reaches Out to Under 40 Crowd

Edmontonians over 18 and under 40, living on the southside, are welcome to join the federation for a free evening of fun, brainstorming, entertainment, drinks (compliments of AlleyKat Breweries) and eats.  Southside leagues are welcome to send a rep as well.

When and Where: 7:00 p.m., Thursday, May 31 at Strathcona Community League.

70 leagues attend EFCL AGM - elections and 100th Anniversary are highlights

More than 70  community leagues attended the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (EFCL) Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday, April 30.

It was great to see Rosslyn, Belvedere, Delwood, Killarney, Evansdale, Kilkenny, Steele Heights community leagues from our district (B). 

EFCL Elections

And thanks to Shawna Walsh, president of Evansdale for nominating me for my third term as district representative. This will be my final term since The EFCL has term limits of six years. A total of 12 district representatives are elected across the city and they form the Board of Directors of the EFCL. At the first meeting of the new board each year the board selects it's executive committee. Numerous board members retired this year including: Rob Agostinis, Veronica Vinge, Donna Woodford, Alf White and Ken Shapka.

New to the board are Shaffeek Ali (Millwoods), Barry Davis (Terrwilliger), Sandra Mueller (Castledowns), Manon Aubry (downtown). Re-elected or still on the board are: Christine Bremner, David Gibbens, Al Innes, and Lindsay Smith. The first board meeting is the second Thursday of the month.

EFCL Planning Committee Elections

A total of six people were elected or re-elected to the EFCL Planning Committee and we are most pleased to say that the Planning committee is also nearly full. Our planning representative in District B is Ron Favell, the president of Killarney Community League. This means he attends the planning committee meetings and these are the folks that make recommendations to the board and membership on city-wide planning issues. The committee has done some amazing work over the last year and the EFCL is rapidly earning respect on planning issues because of it.

A. Susan Bennett -Wrisdon

B. Ron Favell

C. Kathy Murrie

D. vacant

E. Jamie Post

F. Ian O'Donnell

G. Cora Shaw

H. vacant

I. Elaine Solez

J. Lori Jeffery-Heaney

K. Deepali Medhekar

L. Imy Bhatty

EFCL 100th Anniversary Project

The EFCL 100th Anniversary attracted the largest discussion of the evening and it seems there is an appetite for Edmonton's community leagues to unite and build a Community League Plaza in Hawrelak Park to celebrate the concept of community leagues and the 100th Anniversary of the EFCL. The motion was to ask each community league in Edmonton to contribute $400 per year for five years as seed money ($310,000) to raise more money from the different levels of government and privately, to build a community  league project in Hawrelak Park. Phase one of the project is a community league plaza adjacent to the lake that will name all of the community leagues in Edmonton and through interpretive signage celebrate the many contributions of community leagues to the City of Edmonton (soccer, hockey, playgrounds, rinks and other recreation facilities and much more). Phase two will feature a walking trail along the naturalized stream and the third phase a water park feature for kids, just like communities do in so many parks across the City.

The vast majority of the 70 leagues in attendance at the AGM approved this initiative and support in the amount of $400 per year for five years. Only three opposed and three abstained. The motion adds $400 to the EFCL fees for each league over five years and removes the fee once the five years are complete. This does not happen very often, that all of the leagues in Edmonton work together on a project and it seemed pretty clear that the members of the EFCL thought this was a good idea.

April 2012 EFCL Board Package

April EFCL Board Package Highlights

Download the EFCL April 2012 Board Package

EFCL Elections on April 30

My position is up for election this year so we require a quorum of our District B Community Leagues to attend the April 30 EFCL AGM so we can ensure we elect our District B Representative.


I am letting my name stand again this time. If elected this would be my final two-year term since we have term limits at the EFCL. A good thing! 


So whether you support me or not, please come out to the AGM. Dinner is at 5:30 pm and the meeting starts at 6:30 pm. Please RSVP so we can ensure there is enough food.

• EFCL AGM 
• Monday, April 30 
• 5:30 pm dinner
• 6:30 pm AGM at Beacon Heights Community League
• 12037 43 St  Edmonton, AB

I am letting my name stand again this time. If elected this would be my final two-year term since we have term limits at the EFCL. A good thing!

Highlights from the board package:

3.1 Senior's Liaison Position - a few folks from community leagues and one from the City are making a presention to make the case for community leagues to consider including a Senior's Liaison Positon on their boards.  In my mind any new idea that help community leagues adapt to changes in their communities and garner more interest in community leagues is a good idea. And this demographic is certainly growing for the foreseeable future.


5.1 Elevate Report - In our report to the Task Force on Community Sustainabilty the EFCL recommended a permanent multi-jurisdictional Mature Neighbourhoods Sustainability Agency be established with the mandate to sustain healthy, vibrant mature neighbourhoods. This decision item asks the board to write a letter urging four levels of government get together in an innovative partnership. We also suggested create an agency to oversee collaborative community sustainability work in Edmonton. One thing we have learned in the last year or so is when the different levels of government communicate and cooperate and when there is some community involvement to keep them honest - good things can happen.


5.2 Neighbourhood Park Consultations - This is a holdover from our meeting last month when we ran out of time. The City is looking at all sorts of new and some innovative ways of getting better parks sooner in new neighbourhoods. The recommendation to the board of the EFCL is to support this and push for: 1. Consultation, 2. Public Involvement, 3. Resources, 4. Remove a Municipal Govt. Act exemption that allows rezoning of surplus school sites without a hearing, 5. That the CITY require a normal public engagement notification process for planning and development decisions on surplus school sites. See the board package for much more on this. 


5.3 Homeword Trust Plan for Housing and Supports - After a meeting with the Homeword Trust folks four EFCL representatives concluded this plan is not in conflict with the EFCL's position and interests on the distribution of non-marketing housing. A letter is proposed to Homeward Trust that generally supports their plan and repeats our interest in "being at the table" with the non market housing providers. 


9.1 AGM Agenda - For a sneak peak at the AGM agenda look at page 14 in the April Board Package. 
Highlights:

• Under 40 Social Evenings to being younger folks into Communty Leagues
• Living Local Arts and Heritage Program renewed for 2012!
• Appeal of SOCAN Tariff #21 
• EFCL bylaw changes - nothing too exciting
• EFCL 100th Anniversary project - A motion is coming to the floor to ask each league for $400 per year for five years to contribute to the EFCL 100th Anniversary project to acknowledge, celebrate and promote community leagues at a major feature in Hawrelak Park
• Elections will be held in Districts: A, (B) C, D, E< F, G, H, K and L (B should be listed here - this list is suspect and will be checked at the board meeting).
• Reports on Cell Towers, SOCAN, Portable Signs and more.

9.2 EFCL 100th Anniversary Project - Motion to contribute $400/league/year for  5 years
As leagues have seen in a letter the EFCL is proposing a major Community League Feature in Hawrelak Park that would highlight the achievements of communities and even feature the names of all 155 community leagues on patio bricks or in a display. The project is estimated to cost up to $2 million dollars. The EFCL is proposing to create the project in three phases. 

Links to the digital documents of the proposed 100^th Anniversary project.   - 

Download Concept Drawing          

Download Project Overview Presentation - 4 MB pdf

The board decided to propose to the membership (155 community leagues) that each league contribute $400 per year for five years to seed this project. The EFCL would then take that money and add in some EFCL money and use it to raise funds from all levels of government.
Community Leagues will have a chance to vote on this proposal on Monday, April 30 at the EFCL AGM scheduled for 6:30 pm at Beacon Heights Community League. If the motion passes all leagues will be asked to kick in $400 for each of five years to get the program started.
Check out the program description in the board package! It's a pretty exciting project and it would be the first major City feature that promotes and celebrates the work of community leagues. It's our 91 Anniversary this year!

That's about it. There is more, much more in the board package. Use the download link at the top of this blog.


If you have any comments, feedback or input please fire an email off to me or call anytime.


David Dodge president( a t )efcl.org
President and District B Representative
EFCL