December 2011 Board Package

News about Signs


The City has amended it's sign regulations. Community Leagues used to be able to place only two signs per year for two weeks. The new rules allow up to eight placements of portable signs per year for two weeks each for Community Leagues. Each placement requires a $15 permit.
If you own your own sign you need a licence to place signs. The $375 licence is needed by all sign owners, whether they are businesses or community leagues. The licence is good for five years. 


December EFCL Board Package Highlights


Download the EFCL December Board Package


4.2 EFCL Meet with Area Councils – Dwayne Robertson, president of the Area Councils of Edmonton Society has asked for a meeting to discuss a draft EFCL/Area Council MOU. An agreement was drafted some time ago and the Central Area Council of Community Leagues and the Castle Downs Recreation Society have approved the MOU. The idea is to get together and discuss how the two organizations can work together.


4.4 Family-friendly Multi-unit Housing Guidelines – That EFCL adopt and promote the December 2011 version of the Child/Family-Friendly Multi-Unit Housing Guidelines. These draft guidelines attempt to put some clear criteria forward that describe "family friendly" housing in order to ensure that higher density and other new developments are truly family friendly. (see board package for the draft) These guidelines provide 67 key points to assist us in advocating for more family friendly housing. This is a really nice piece. The purpose of the exercise for the EFCL is to help keep children and family friendly facilties in mature neighbourhoods.


6.3 EFCL City Budget Request – After our presentation to City Council in the budget process members of council chose to make motions for two out of our three funding requests. Councillor Ed Gibbons moved and councillor Kerry Diotte seconded the motion to increate the Community League infrastructure budget from $1.5 million to $3 million for 2012. Then Kerry Diotte moved and Kim Krushell seconded the motion for $30,000 in addition funding to match the money that EFCL members agreed to commit to a new community league development program. We also asked that the operating grants be increased again this year, but no motion was made by any councillor. CAUTION - remember these are simply the motions and this means these two funding requests are seriously in the running for approval, but they must still be approved.


6.4 Recreation Facility Review – A joint committee of the EFCL and Edmonton community leagues has been struck to review the city‘s development strategy for constructing major recreation facilities. The committee heard about the plans for the new facilities in Claireview, Stadium, Pilot Sound and the Meadows and Lewis Estates. Each of these facilities is worth about $115 million. The committee is interested in seeing these centres serve more as community hubs. We also discussed community league rinks and wondered out loud why they are not considered part of the City's inventory of recreation facilities. If they were considered and put on all the maps we may be able to come up with better integrated plans for recreation for Edmonton. We brought up covered rinks as a possible way to provide district facilities, and we briefly discussed old rinks that the City wants to close. Mostly we were in information gathering mode at this point. It was very interesting to see the plans laid out. The idea is to advocate for more living local options for recreation and to create a much more integrated system.

Winter Community League Event - Register Now, Get in on the Promos!
There is no time like the present to make a decision about your winter event and to motivate you to make a commitment the EFCL has ReMAX event kits for the first 15 leagues that email to info@efcl.org

Send us the details of your event

• Name of Event
• date and time
• location and address
• type of activities
• contact person

A new online rink map will be released early December and not only displays the location of your rink, but also the rink opening times, and any event any league is having (including those not involving rinks), any date, any theme.

That's all for now!

If you have any comments please email me anytime president(at)efcl.org


David Dodge

Inspiration and Creativity Builds Better Communities in Edmonton

Community League Showcase Awards


Inspiration and Creativity Builds Better Communities in Edmonton

The Community League Showcase was an
evening of inspiration and a tribute to
community leagues in Edmonton. 

A huge thank you goes out to councillors Don Iveson, Ben Henderson, Kerry Diotte and Amarjeet Sohi and EFCL board members  Rob Agostinis, Christine Bremner, Ken Shapka, Lindsay Smith, Veronica Vinge and Alf White and Allan Bolstad and the EFCL staff for helping host a very inspiring Community League Showcase Awards night on Saturday at the Italian Cultural Centre in Edmonton.


When the event was done I had this overwhelming sense that all of the folks in every one of our 154 community leagues needs to hear these stories and become inspired too.


It reminds us that when they are at their best, community leagues are creative, inspiring and amazing agents of change. Where else would a group of people such as the Castle Downs Recreation Society get together to rebuild a playground and end up building a $2.3 million community-inspiring facility and then travel half way around the world to reinstall the used equipment in the Philippines!


Where else but Dunluce would a group of people get together to address security concerns posed by natural forest in a neighbourhood and instead of cutting the woods down create a young environmentally minded group of Play Rangers who wanted to learn about the woods and save the trees instead. 


Where else but North Millbourne would a group of folks from the community get together with a local fitness business called “No more excuses” and get people from their community involved in “Sweat, Hope and Rock-n-Roll fitness event that helped get residents active and it raised $25,000 for inner City schools.


Where else but Duggan would a group of community folks get together to create a new kind of Community League Day event by welcoming immigrants from the entire Bhutanese Community and others from the Chinese community to a day of culture, food and music. And beyond the day, the Bhutanese are now engaged in their new community holding events in the Duggan Community Hall that is theirs too.


Or consider Alberta Avenue. When they recognized the power of the Arts community in their area, they created amazing events like the Deep Freeze Byzantine Winter Festival. Aside from making an amazing video about their event, these new connections ignited a spark of inspiration and a a new kind of engagement in their community.


And finally it’s one thing for a community to work to amass resources to build the amazing Terwilliger Recreation Centre, but it’s quite another thing to build community around it by embedding themselves in the process of building the centre and being open to new partnerships and possibilities. The Southwest Farmer’s market is an unintended consequence of building community. Plopped smack, dab in the parking lot between the high school and the recreation centre the new Farmer’s market is attended by thousands of people and already has a half time staff member. 


Or lastly, consider the Brintnell Park Society in my district of the City. Faced with the absolutely daunting challenge of deciding where to start building community in their neighbourhood, they decided to tackle the problem head on. They quickly became aware of the serious challenges being faced by new communities trying to begin living local and building even the most basic community facilities. Inspired by the impossible, this group entered a national Schneiders Picnic in the Park competition and wound up winning $100,000 that will go towards a playground in their area.


The key ingredient in every single case is the unbridled creativity that comes from true inspiration and community. Thanks to all of the community leagues for the uplifting evening. 

EFCL November 2011 Board Package

Hello District B Community Leagues

Download the EFCL November Board Package

A few highights from the November package

4.2 - Socan –First approved in 1994 the tariff was set up to apply to community halls that generate less than $15,400 from events where music is played. The rates are $185 per year. Please see the letter from Rona Ambrose, MP.

4.3 Covered Rink Proposal – It's going to the board for approval on Thursday. The idea is to dedicate $100k of infrastructure money to support a pilot project to cover a rink somewhere in Edmonton. Read more!

4.4 Transit Oriented Development – a proposed position statement that is going to the board to establish that higher density development around high speed transit be family friendly, that schools and public amenities such as parks and play areas be provided. See the statement in the package and let me know what you think.

4.5 City Notifications – because key stakeholders were not notified of changes to meetings community folks missed meetings about the location of a fire hall in Rossdales and changes to speedlimits in the 40-kph pilot communities. We think there should be a way for stakeholders to be notified when changes to the agenda's of City meetings are made.

4.6 Meeting with Edmonton Public School Board – after a successful meeting with the EPSB last May the EPSB has invited the EFCL for a follow-up meeting. We will follow-up on the issues we raised in May and topics considered by the Mayor's task force on the sustainability of older neighbourhoods.

6.2 Living Local Conference – 80 people attended the conference the EFCL hosted along with the Office of Great Neighbourhoods. Attendees were community folks, city staff and people from other non-profit organizations. There were three excellent presentations and discussions centered around ways to make communities involve and serve residents locally. The people involved felt the whole concept of living local needs to be advanced on an ongoing basis through leadership from the EFCL and the Office of Great Neighbourhoods. They also felt resources need to be dedicated to this effort.

6.3 EFCL Youth Connections – Michael Janz, the EFCL marketing director intends to make a proposal to the board on ways to engage young people in community leagues. We will learn what he is thinking at the meeting, but it involves a series of gatherings organized throughout the city! Hmmm, the Next Gen group helped create the Community Challenge, but it is generally felt that we have a ways to go to truely attract and engage younger folks in leagues. I look forward to hearing Michael's ideas.

6.5 Get a community solar system and energy audit? – That's the idea, to create a low cost small solar system for communty leagues on a pilot basis. The idea is to do something high profile (a solar system) and combine it with a community message board in the lobby of leagues and a comprehensive energy audit to help leagues understand what can be done to save energy on league facilities. In our research for this project I had the pleasure of touring my own hall with Rob Harlan from the solar energy society. He thought our hall was perfectly suited for a solar system, but it is even better suited for energy conservation projects that could save energy and money for the league. We (the EFCL) needs to raise some money to pull off this program.

6.8 Planning Report - check out the board package for these topics:

• EFCL makes headway on Grocery Store Restrictive Covenant Issue
• EFCL disappointed with new digital sign regs
• Communty plan for non-market housing in the works
• EFCL providing input into zoning bylaw changes for massage parlours
• Community Sustainability Task Force - report coming in December!

6.9 Executive Director's Report:

• EFCL 100th Anniversary
• City seeks builders for vacant school sites - the city is laying the groundwork for the development of 18 more sites
• Outdoor rink comittee winds up!

7.0 Community Services Report

• 103 Tripartite Agreements signed, sealed and in
• 51 applications for new capital funding totaling $3 million!
• Building Great Neighbourhoods - news about infrastructure spending
• Mayor hosting six senior's coffee parties
• more...

That's all folks, see the board package for more information on any of these topics.

Please email me your thoughts on these or any other issues you would like to see raised at the EFCL board meeting. 

Cheers,

David Dodge, District B Rep and President, The EFCL

Anthony Henday Opening Today - Update

Hi Folks in District B. 


Here is an update on the on the opening of the Anthony Henday from Councillor Ed Gibbons.


Anthony Henday Opening Today

With the opening of Anthony Henday Drive later today, it is likely that questions will arise about the status of 66 Street north and south of A Henday.  The following information is provided:

a) 66 Street between 167 Ave and A Henday will operate through the winter on the existing alignment.  Roadway maintenance has undertaken minor work to ensure that the roadway will be functional over the winter.  The road will be closed for reconstruction next spring to be reconstructed to an urban arterial roadway on the permanent alignment.  The work could not be completed this year due to the various utility relocations necessary prior to construction.

b) 66 Street between Henday and 195 Ave will operate through the winter on the existing alignment, and a temporary cross connection between the new and old 66 St alignment has been built.  The City and Sturgeon County are working together to ensure the road is maintained until the new connection from Henday north to 195 Ave is completed next year.  The existing road will remain in operation through this construction.

c) Access for trucks to new snow site - the new northeast snow site on 50 St just south of Highway 37 will be operational this winter (replacing the former, temporary site at 188 Ave and 66 St) - 24 hour truck access will be from 66 St/Henday interchange north via 66 St, 195 Ave and 50 St.

d) Alternative routes to 66 St - the new 82 St arterial connection is open to traffic and paved from 167 Ave north to 195 Ave, and 195 Ave is paved from just west of 50 St through to 127 St.  For callers who are concerned about the condition of 66 St south of Henday, we would recommend the use of 82 St as an alternative.  During the reconstruction of 66 Street north of 167 Ave next year, the primary detour route will be west along 195 Ave to 82 St.

e) Winter road maintenance - the City and the Provincial contractor have developed a strategy to ensure that maintenance of 82 St and 66 Street takes place across Anthony Henday.  Also, as of Nov 1, the Province has assumed maintenance responsibility for Manning Drive north of Henday and Highway 28A from Manning Drive to the City boundary.

This update was from Councillor Ed Gibbons. You can reach him at: ed.gibbons@edmonton.ca

I will be at the Area 17 meeting today. 

David Dodge

Update on Sinking Roads in Northeast Edmonton

Here's an Update on Sinking Roads in Northeast Edmonton from the City of Edmonton, provided buy Councillor Ed Gibbons:

Three neighbourhoods (Ozerna, Matt Berry and Hollick Kenyon) have had premature road base failure on a number of roadways as a result of wet subgrade conditions.  The mitigation measures for this are to dig up the road and base, install drainage systems to intercept the flow of moisture and replace the base and road surface.

This work has been ongoing for 3 years at the rate of about 1 km/yr.  The upcoming 3 year capital program continues this work and the most deteriorated areas are being programmed for reconstruction at an ongoing rate of about 1 km/yr.  The funding for this work is from within the neighbourhood renewal programs (both roads and drainage), and it is anticipated to take an additional 12 years to complete the work

The construction standards that led to this problem have been changed to avoid the same issue occurring in future.

This update was provided to Ed Gibbons by Brice W Stephenson, Manager, Transportation Operations.

This update was from Councillor Ed Gibbons. You can reach him at: ed.gibbons@edmonton.ca

The sinking roads issue has been a long standing concern of Area 17. 

Geo-Domes for Rinks - A very interesting idea!

At the October EFCL Board meeting a consortium of organizations presented a concept for a Geo-Dome cover for skating rinks.

Global Resource Efficiency Services (GRES) brought James Wall affiliated with GRES and representing Sprung structures, and Leigh Bond representing Threshold Energies Corporation and together they presented five options that ranged from a simple cover for a rink to a full blown covered rink, with geothermal ice plant. 

GRES Geo-Dome Brochure,
 click here to download the PDF.

A cover for a community rink presents a number of benefits: There is never any snow on the ice, the wind never blows and the sun never shines on the ice. As most rink folks know, snow can be a pain for outdoor rinks such as it was last year. And sun is the enemy of outdoor rinks because it can prematurely wreck the ice cutting the season short.

The entry level covered rink with no add-ons such as an ice plant or geothermal cooling system would cost from $300-$400K. 

A cover mean a rink is not only better for the skating season, but it would also be available for summer sports, farmer's markets, soccer parties and all sorts of other events.

Adding turf the covered rink further extends its potential use. Depending on the configuration it is possible to get as much as five months of ice.

They also presented a high end version of the rink that features an ice plant and a geothermal cooling system that can be used to keep the ice frozen and heat surrounding buildings at the same time. The deluxe version can cost 1 - 1.6 million dollars. However, if Edmonton were considering a civic policy designed to increase regional ice facilities, the geothermal system is 55% cheaper to operate than a conventional system with an ice plant. This could help bring new life to inefficient complexes and make the addition of more covered rinks a possibility.

The other thing these folks suggested was that projects can be staged in phases. A rink could be covered in phase one and later on a geothermal ice plant system could be added. In the geothermal version of the rink the heat harvested from beneath the ice is used to heat the stands, benches and nearby buildings such as halls or even a swimming pool. The presenters also talked about financing that may be available if it could be backed by hard assets. 

A very interesting proposal. For more information check out www.gresworld.com

October EFCL Board Package

Hi everyone,


Well, it's been a busy month with the EFCL Regular General Meeting, the launch of new programs and with the increased operating grants coming out.


Download the Oct. 13 EFCL Board Package


Here are some quick highlights from the October 2011 EFCL board meeting package.


5.1 pg. 5 – Community League Showcase – Nominate a project - please forward your suggestions of community projects that deserve to be highlighted to me and I would be happy to pass them on. Make sure we recognize those who deserve it!

5.2 pg. 8 – SOCAN – Did you hear from SOCAN recently? The EFCL hopes to set up a meeting with Edmonton area MPs to talk about SOCAN. The EFCL did fire a letter off to SOCAN clarifying our position and suggesting that leagues be treated better.

7.2 pg. 14 – Community League Day report - wow, 101 leagues officially participated. If you register early for next year we will be able to get even more attention for community leagues and league events!
What went well? What should we change? Did you value the event kits? Please take a minute to fill out our brief Community League Day Survey about the event.


7.3  pg. 16 – Living Local Summit – October 28th, 9am - 4pm Woodvale Community Hall 

a one-day gathering brought to you by the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, the office of the Mayor and the City of Edmonton. 

Help your organization, customers and members reduce transportation time, save money, and increase their quality of life. 

Help us develop a strategy to help Edmontonians do more daily activities closer to home and reduce the amount of time driving in our city. Good speakers and a very important topic for community leagues - don't miss the opportunity to attend and participate!

7.4 pg. 22 – Arts $$$$$$  Living Local Arts and Heritage Program up to $20,000 per project. The deadline for applications is Nov. 18, 2011. Examples of projects could be paintings, sculptures, murals, live performances, history books – anything the league believes would be of interest and benefit to its members. Preference will be given projects undertaken by artists in the community

7.6 pg. 25 – Sale of Membership Cards On Line – Though considerable questions arose, there was not a single person opposed to the motion at our RGM to allow EFCL to provide a printable membership card with the online sale of community league memberships. Now that this has been approved, a process will begin to assess the manner in which this can be implemented expect results sometime next year.

7.7 pg. 26 – Renewable Energy/Energy Conservation Initiative - this is in the process of development, but the idea is to support solar energy and energy efficiency projects at Community Leagues to save them money and reduce their emissions. 


7.8.1 – pg. 27 – 40 km/hr Speed Limit Project – The City‘s Transportation and Infrastructure committee has recommended to City Council that three of the six pilot communities keep their 40 km/hr speed limit, while the others see a return to 50 km/ hour and council confirmed that decision today.


7.8.2 – pg. 27 – Cultural Inclusion Project – Duggan hosted a welcome party for Chinese new Immigrants – working with ASSIST (the Chinese immigrant serving agency) we arranged a welcome party for new Canadians from China. Approximately 25 Chinese families attended "Taste of Duggan," a pot luck dinner, arranged by the league. Community members brought a variety of cultural dishes to share, and celebrate with their fellow neighbours. Everyone from the Bhutan community were in attendance (Approximately 40 families)!


Those are the highlights, as always please be sure to email me your thoughts and input on issues affecting community leagues!


Sincerely,
David Dodge
District B Rep. and President, EFCL

Living Local Arts Grants for Community Leagues - Act Soon!

Have a hankering for art in your community?

Have you always wanted to do an arts or heritage project in your Community League? You can see it now, a sculpture, an art mural, a young musicians workshop/performance or how about a series of historic photos that tell the story of your community's history?

Examples of qualifying projects:

• an event (festival, community celebration)

• artwork (mural, book, video, musical recording)

• interpretive presentation (exhibit, interpretive program, publication, performance)

The Living Local 2011 Neighbourhood Arts and Heritage Grants will provide up to $20,000 towards your project.

All you need to do is hook up with an artist/writer/musician in your community, write up your project and apply!

John Mahon, Executive Direct of the Edmonton Arts Council explaining the Community League Arts and Heritage grants program at the Riverdale Community League on Monday, Sept. 26. Photo Allan Shute, Riverdale Community League.

Here's the deal: 

1. The artist must reside in the Community League where the project is to take place
2. Up to $20,000 is available to be matched with 1/3 from the league (for a $30,000 project) – you can do smaller projects, but 1/3 of the money comes from the league
3. You must host a community event to share, celebrate or launch the arts or heritage project
4. Application deadline is November 18 - decisions will be made by December 12 and projects must be completed by June 30

There is $80,000 available for matching from the Edmonton Arts Council and the Edmonton Heritage Council. 

So find yourself an artist, get that idea down on paper – and who knows you could be sprucing up your community with an incredible arts or heritage project!

For more information and project
application forms, visit:
www.edmontonheritage.ca  www.edmontonarts.ca  Or contact:
David Ridley, Program Manager
Edmonton Heritage Council
livinglocal@edmontonheritage.ca
780.429.0166 ext. 232

Community League Day photos from Balwin, Belvedere, Kilkenny, McLeod, Steele Heights, Lago Lindo and Rosslyn

Community League Day was a big success all across the City with more than 101 community leagues hosting unique events all across Edmonton. The event kicked off Thursday with the world's largest crocket game. Mayor Mandel and a others joined in as we played crocket through 154 signs featuring the names of all 154 community leagues in Edmonton.
The idea was to drive the message home that community leagues are everywhere and very active in Edmonton!


Once the day arrived,  the highlight for me was Rosslyn's 50th Anniversary event held at Rosslyn Hall Saturday, Sep. 17th. The theme was 1961, after the year the community league was formed. There was dinner, reminiscing, music of the '60s and best of all some very creative outfits allegedly from the 1960s!
The MC was Barb Schmidt, the daughter of long-time Rosslyn volunteer Olive Sydor.
There were past presidents of both Rosslyn and the EFCL in attendance! Bill Marshall is both a part present of Rosslyn Community League and the EFCL.
Here are just a few photos from the event, including one of Greg Hilker, the current president of Rosslyn Community League and Bill Marshall a past president.

For me the day ended by celebrating with Rosslyn, but rewind the clock back to Saturday morning and that's when more than 101 Community League Day events kicked off all across Edmonton, Alberta. The Edmonton Journal headline was No Dalmatians, but 101 events planned Saturday across Edmonton.
The Journal also took special note of Steele Height in Edmonton's north end: Steele Heights celebrates survival on citywide community 

league day
The Edmonton Examiner advises readers to check back their print edition and website on Sept. 21 for coverage.

Then I went on a whorl wind tour of EFCL District B community leagues. Here are a few photos from Community League Day in District B.



I started at Balwin Community League's show and shine, an event that invited local and other car owners to come and show their stuff. Organizer Les De Zwaan was pleased with the turn-out and and had a few favorites among the vintage cars.
Belvedere Community League held their annula free BBQ and fun day for the kids with face painting, balloon art, free food and, most popular with residents, half price memberships for one day only! I ran into Mike Kelparchuk and Lisa and they were very pleased with their event.
Kilkenny held a safety fair and had free food and lots of fun activities for kids. They had a big turn-out including Councillor Dave Loken who stopped in to bring greetings.
McLeod Community League decided to jump on board with their own Community League Day event at the last minute with hay rides through McLeod Park, entertainment by the Sounds of Country band, jumpy arenas, popcorn and more. In spite of the late organization, folks turned out in good numbers! I managed to catch up with two past presidents Del Golinoski and Lionel Stenberg and June Golinoski and Ken Baker and many others.
Steele Heights planned a fun soccer parents-kids soccer game, had a huge jumpy arena and featured some local businesses and artisans at their event. They raised a little money for the "raise the roof" initiative to fix their hall.
My last stop was Lago Lindo up in the northwest forner of EFCL District B. They had their first ever fall celebration and corn roast featuring jumpy arenas, kids activities, good food and a great setting to come and hang out with folks in the community on a fall afternoon.
Great job everyone on your events!
See you soon.

News - Sep. 8 EFCL Board Meeting and RGM

Hello District B Communities:

I hope everyone is ready for Community League Day Saturday, September 17. More than 100 leagues are hosting events all over Edmonton.

Here are the District B events we know about:

• Balwin Show and Shine - Bring your ride and show your pride. 10am - 3 pm.
• Belevdere BBQ - free to all residents who purchase their membership this Saturday (half price memberships this Saturday only). Features Big Bin drop off, face painting, balloon artists from 12 - 3 pm.
• Kilkenny Safety Fair and BBQ - Free food, prizes, safety guest speakers, games, fun for the whole family. 11 am - 3 pm.
• Lago Lindo 1st Family Fall Festival - jumpy arenas, corn roast, BBQ, and more. 12 - 4 pm.
• Rosslyn Party in the Park 50th Anniversary - Sept. 16 meet and greet at 7 pm - Sep. 17 BBQ, sports, entertainment 12 - 4 pm and Sixties theme dinner and dance 5:30 pm until late - Sep. 18 pancake breakfast 10 am - noon.
• Steele Heights Fun Soccer and Fundraiser - kids vs parents soccer game form 10:30 am - noon and a "raise the roof" Community Market Fundraiser form 10 - 4 pm to raise money and awareness about much needed renovations. 

Evansdale held their Community League Day event on Sep. 10, a very successful sports and program registration along with horse-drawn wagon rides, jumpy arenas and free food!

News from the September 8 Board Meeting

Download the September 8 EFCL Board Package.

I did send a short report around prior to the Sep. 8th board meeting. Here is a short report on two items from the meeting itself.

6.4 Multiplex Recreation Strategy - The EFCL is forming a committee with three board members, two planning committee members and two members from the membership to discuss how community leagues think recreation facilities should be developed in the future. The City has committed to a number multiplex centres already - does this mean we will not see smaller, more neighbourhood developments at all? Does this mean some smaller facilities will close? What would really help communities "live local?" For example what about the idea of smaller covered rinks in communities that could extend and improve the skating season and also be used for summer events and farmer's markets. Lot's to chew on here. We will be looking for a few more committee members at the EFCL RGM on October 4 at Glenora Community League 10426 - 136 Street - free dinner at 5:30 pm

6.5 Community Sustainability Report - The EFCL board approved the Mature Neighbourhoods Sustainability Report. The report was produced by the planning committee and numerous meetings were held to seek input. It makes 30 recommendations designed to sustain and maintain mature neighbourhoods.

There is much more in the board package.

Regular General Meeting Agenda

You should have received the agenda and notice for the EFCL Regular General Meeting. Aside from this being a good opportunity to get together with leagues from all over the city and enjoy dinner together the membership will be discussing a few topics of interest. 

EFCL Membership Fee Increase - The EFCL Board is recommending an increase fees from 1.8% to 2.0% and to remove the $500 cap on membership fees for the Community League members of the EFCL. 

The money would be used to fund half of a new community league support program to assist presidents, treasurers, secretaries, facility managers, program directors - all of the key players in the league - to help them learn new skills, network with other leagues and develop workshops on things like filling out grant applications, strategic planning and bylaw improvements. Sessions we have hosted in the past were very popular. 

The board is proposing to fund the program with $22,000 from the increased membership fees, by finding cost savings of $8,000 at the EFCL and by asking the City to match our $30,000 with another $30,000.

Asking for a fee increase is obviously touchy thiing at the best of times. But the board felt the time was right since most leagues just now receiving a dramatic increase in their operating grants. 

Operating grants were increased an average of 44% this year and we are requesting another similar increase for next year. It was council that split our original request over two years.

Here is a chart showing how much league operating grants have increased in District B and how much their membership fees would increase from the proposal.

Since the cap is being removed the fee increase will affect bigger leagues who have more residents and larger operating grants more than leagues fewer numbers.

On average leagues are receiving an increase in operating grants of 44%. But as you can see some of the larger leagues benefit more than smaller leagues from the grant increases. The board is proposing that the price cap on membership fees be lifted which means larger leagues will pay an amount proportional to the number of residents they have in their area. CLICK ON GRAPH TO ENLAGE.

You can download the RGM agenda package and in the package there is a table listing the actual fee increases for all leagues. For example my own community leagues fees will go up $380 because our community league contains three neighbourhoods. However our operating grant went up $8,481 this year too. Leagues will decide and come and vote on October 4th at the EFCL RGM.

Online Membership Cards - the second item of interest that will come up at the RGM is a proposal to issue membership cards for the memberships sold online. A lot of leagues have asked for this and a lot of members have asked for this. Often when people buy membership online it's because they are having trouble getting in touch with their league and they are literally on their way to a sports registration. Getting the card and their membership number right away would be helpful for them. Each membership sold online would also include a message about the EFCL and about their community league. Most of the leagues in district B sell most of their own memberships at events and sports registrations so this will not affect us very much. But it would be more convenient for new members. Members will be asked to vote on this proposal at the RGM.

There is much more happening at the RGM as well, come out and participate!

Enjoy your Community League Day events!

Evansdale's early Community League Day

Hi District B Community Leagues

Saturday was an amazing Community League Day for Evansdale Community League.

Aside from the 25 C temperatures, for the second year running Evansdale combined soccer and program registrations with free jumpy arenas, horse-drawn wagon rides and free hot dogs and refreshments for anyone who came. More is better as Evansdale is learning. By combining soccer, Tae Kwon Do, belly dance and basketball registrations with the Community League Day party, numbers appear to be up in all corners. Evansdale holds its Community League Day celebrations on the second Saturday of September because sports registrations have been planned for that date years in advance. This means we miss the official community league day, but nevertheless it was a very good day!

Check out the photos: Evansdale Community League Day slideshow

Next week the official Community League Day swings into action as more than 100 leagues host events across Edmonton. The official kick-off is Thursday at 10 am at the EFCL offices as we engage the Mayor and some councillors in an out-sized game of crocket through a course consisting of 154 community league signs.

I have the honour of attending Rosslyn's 50th Anniversary Party on Saturday, September 17, but will be attending other events during the day. 

Good luck with your events!

EFCL Sep. 8 Board Package Get it now!

Hi District B Folks,

Sorry for the short notes, but it's late and I am just back from a very enjoyable long weekend! Here is a link to a page where you can download the EFCL Board Package for September 8, 2011. It's the first one on the list.

EFCL Board Package

It was a busy summer for the EFCL. The EFCL hosted meetings with three of the leadership candidates running to lead Alberta's Conservative Party: Alison Redford, Gary Mar and Ted Morton. Our goal was to discuss community issues with the leadership candidates, one of which will be the next Premier of Alberta. It was a worthwhile exercise, although we only met with three candidates.

6.1 (pg. 5) Community League Day is fast approaching - check out all of the leagues that have registered their events with the EFCL by scanned the Community League Day map here: 

6.2 (pgs. 6-8) Our Regular General Meeting is fast approaching - a draft agenda appears in this board package.

6.4 (pg. 10) MultiPlex Recreation Strategy - the EFCL and community leagues can summarize a lot of what we care about  under the banner of "living local" but what does this mean for large recreation complexes and how does this affect our community leagues, our facilities, our programs and our ability to maintain strong interest in our communities. The board will undoubtedly recommend setting up a committee to wrestle with these issues in the context of discussing large multiplex facilities. What about community-based facilities? Should be interesting! If you are interested please provide input too!

6.5 (pg. 11) Community Sustainability Report - the ERCL completed it's draft report on the sustainability of mature neighbourhoods and this has been submitted to the Mayor's Task Force on Community Sustainability. We invited members to workshops and our staff planner, Bev Zubot and the planning committee put a great deal of work into this. It's worth a look if you are interested in the sustainability of mature neighbourhoods. See the board package.

8.2 (pgs. 14-20) 2012 Budget Submission: The EFCL made its annual budget submission to the City of Edmonton. Last year we asked for $3 million for community league capital projects and another $1.3 million in operational funding. As you may recall this request was split over too years by City Council. Last year Council provided $1.5 million for capital projects and $668,000 in increases for operating grants. This year we resubmitted our request for a second increase of $668,000 in operational funds and $1.5 million in capital funding.  If successful this would mean another increase in operating funds for leagues and more money available for badly needed capital projects and upgrades. 

We also put a request in for what we are calling our Community League Growth Initiative. The goal is to provide more specifically training for community leagues executives. We think this will help leagues make the most our of their limited volunteer labour and to do more exciting programs for leagues.

That's just a few highlights from the September EFCL board package.

If you have any comments, questions or input please let me know!

This week I will be meeting with the Policy Chief on Tuesday and we have our regular EFCL Board Meeting on Thursday.

District B Report on EFCL Board Package July 2011

Hello District B Communities, here is an update from the July 14 EFCL Board Meeting. Download the package for the July 14 board meeting.

How is your summer going? I had the pleasure of meeting City Councillors, staff, business people in Medicine Hat last week as part of my regular work. I was there to learn about their "Hat Smart" program that provides rebates for energy efficiency and subsidies for citizens to install renewable energy on their homes and businesses. It's all part of Medicine Hat (also known as "Gas City) looking to the future and helping citizens and businesses learn to incorporate innovative new green energy systems into their homes and businesses. I mention this because I site on the City of Edmonton's Renewable Energy Task force and we are just now working on our final report for council. Would't it be great to see a program that offered Community Leagues the opportunity to install solar or other renewable energy systems as demonstration projects in communities in Edmonton?

Here is a summary, adapted from an email from Allan, of what came up at the board meeting, please refer to the board package for details.

1. Family Literacy Program.  The Family Literacy Group (which includes a former Area 17 person by the way) has a program called The Classroom on Wheels (COW) that is available for Community League Day events. The also have programs suitable for Community Leagues. You can contact Adrienne or Wendy at info.@famlit.ca
2. Community League Training Officer.  We will be pitching city council for $30,000 to cover half the cost of a new staff person, who will focus on workshops and training sessions for league executive members.  We proposed to fund part of this positon from a very modest membership fee increase, which we will be pitching to the leagues at the Oct. 4 RGM. This person would essentially help community leagues up their game. Many leagues ask for such assistance regularly! (pgs. 5-6)
3. Membership Fee Increase.  The board will be taking proposal to the membership to change the league fees to $275 plus 2% of the league’s annual operating grant, to help pay for the position noted above.  This will be discussed at the Oct. 4 RGM, so we will have to delay invoicing the leagues by about two months this year. We secured a 40% increase in operating grants for the leagues and as you will see below we are asking for another similar increase for next year.
4. 2012 City Budget Request. We will be asking for the $30,000 mentioned above, along with another $1.5 million in capital dollars for the leagues and $668,000 in annual operating grant money, both of which represent the second half of what we asked for last year.  In addition, we will request the customary inflationary increase for EFCL operations which is generally 2 or 3 per cent.
5. On-line Membership Cards.  The board has agreed to recommend to our membership on Oct. 4 that membership cards be available online so folks can get memberships easily and quickly in time for registrations. This is primarily a back up for leagues who normally sell most of their own membertships.
6. Family Oriented Housing and CB3 zoning amendments.  Recommendations from the planning committee were passed. (pgs. 14-15)
7. Meeting with the Planning Committee.  The board has agreed to meet with the planning committee and going over a work plan for the committee, to make sure everyone is comfortable with the direction we are going and the priority that is given to different initiatives. (pg 16)
8. Meeting with Aboriginal Agencies and Elders.  The board will meet with these groups to review our cultural inclusion project and other partnership opportunities.
9. Annual Meeting with Edmonton City Council.  The board decided that we should meet with Edmonton City Council once a year, as a matter of policy (so we will need to include this in our policy manual, Joanne).  We will set up a meeting for this fall. We have met with council each year for several years now.
10. Memorandum of Understanding with the Multicultural Coalition.  The board approved the draft MOU, which spells out how we will work with this organization. This is an important step and our increased cooperation with this group is most helpful to our ongoing work to reach out to new residents and folks from diverse cultural backgrounds. (pg 18-19)
11. Meeting with the Police Chief and Chair of the Edmonton Police Commission.  The board agreed to request a meeting, and invite representatives from Neighborhood Watch and Community Patrol.
12. Capital Ex Parade.  The banners are made, the balloons are ordered and work is proceeding nicely on dressing up the truck Al Innes has borrowed from Don Wheaton.  Everyone is welcome to join us on Thursday morning for the parade.
13. 100^th Anniversary Celebration Project.  The consensus was that we focus on the Hawrelak Park water feature option, which seems to match our plans very nicely.  We will try to flesh out a concept design with the city shortly.
14. Community Sustainability Workshop.  Approximately 30 people attended our second and final session.  The EFCL will use the ideas generated at this workshop to prepare a draft paper for the Mayor’s Task Force on Community Sustainability by the end of August.
15. Web Site Hosting.  The board has agreed to phase out this service over a number of years and not accept any new leagues. Many are now on their own and it's time we helped leagues move to their own hosting arrangements. (pg. 30)
16. Advertising Contract with TheOneCo.  The EFCL is considering the possibility of using this company to help sell advertising on its website. 
17. Covered Rink Proposal.  A local consortium is looking at building roof structures for outdoor rinks, along with geothermal systems that could help keep the ice cool while heating a hall nearby.  The consortium would like to pitch the EFCL on the idea in the next couple of months. It looks like a smaller community rink could be covered, cooled by an ice plant and a geothermal system for under $600,000. More on this later. (pgs. 37-41)
18. Surplus School Sites.  The city has just released a list of 19 sites that will soon be turned over to the market for residential, commercial or institutional purposes.  The EFCL will ask the city to notify each league and engage them in discussions to help determine the best use of these lands before asking for expressions of interest for various other uses. You will recall the first round of sites that were identified for "Affordable Housing." This is the next round. You can download a short report from Allan on Surplus School Sites. Please note there is a site in Miller.

I hope your summer is going well, there is much going for for community leagues this summer. 

David Dodge

District B Rep. and President, EFCL

Surplus School Sites

EFCL/Area Council MOU - Your input wanted!

District B Report, June 8, 2011

Download the June EFCL Board Package (or go to http://efcldistrictb.blogspot.com/ and use the link in the blog)

After the Area Council 17 meeting yesterday a few of us who went for refreshments after the meeting were met by Eric Johnson, the Past President of Kilkenny Community League. The energetic and inspiring former president has suffered some health issues and is recovering very well, if his spirits are any indication. I wish him a speedy recovery and thank him for all the great work he has carried out for his community over the years.

EFCL/Area Council MOU – last year a number of Area Council Representatives and EFCL folks got together and discussed developing a short agreement to help define and explain the roles of Area Councils and the EFCL (see attached document). The EFCL asked City Council to fund a positon to help coordinate and support both Area Councils and EFCL districts. The thinking was If these two organizations of community leagues communicated and worked well together, we could all get much more done more effectively and more efficiently. The City chose not to  fund the position. This means we are still left with the draft Memoradum of Agreement, which unto itself is still a good idea. The EFCL is considering how to move this along, as are some of the Area Councils, so this is an opportune time for District B Community Leagues to weigh in.

You guys are the bosses of both Area Councils and the EFCL. Does this proposed agreement sound like a good idea? Do you have any feedback on the MOU? I am asking as your EFCL District Representative. Please tell me how the two organizations can work together to BETTER help you with the business of running community leagues. Please send your feedback on the MOU to me, David Dodge email: president(at)efcl.org

Decision Items from the June 9, 2011 Board Package

Note, the minutes are no longer part of the board package because we should really distribute minutes before they are approved. You can get those from the EFCL website once they are approved.

EFCL Board Package June 2011 - District B Report

Hi District B Folks,

This must be the busiest month of the year for community folks!

Download the June EFCL Board Package

Decision Items

5.1 Board Retreat – the EFCL board is going to discuss the Area Council MOU at it's upcoming retreat so if you have any input on this please let us know in advance of that. The board will also discuss some new ideas of energizing leagues and update the EFCL business plan.

The EFCL hired seven cultural outreach workers to help connect a diversity of people with community leagues and we are working on a fascinating project with the Arts Council and the Heritage Council to support arts projects in community leagues. More on this soon.

5.3 (pg 8) - Transit Oriented Development – a series of recommendations are coming to the board on issues including managing density, family friendliness of the housing developed, access to transit and neighbourhoods, and much more. See pages 8-11 and send in your comments.

5.4 (pg. 12) RA8 Medium Rise Apartment Zone Changes – the EFCL Planning Committee suggests supporting increases in Floor Area Ratios if family-oriented units are built, that site coverage be limited to 45%, that transitions to smaller scale sites be increased and the the length of RA8 buildings be limited. See pages 12-13).

7.3 (pg. 16) Representatives from 21 community leagues attended the Community Sustainability Task Force meeting and discussed concerns about schools, changing demographics, housing, public safety and planning.

7.4.1 (pg. 17) Capital Ex Parade – the EFCL is entering the parade this year in order to promote community leagues in Edmonton. We would like to represent the many things that leagues. The  parade  is  on  July  21st  from  10:00AM  -­  12:30PM.  If  you  or  anyone  you  know  can  attend  and  participate,  please  email  ryan.troock@efcl.org.  It  is  essential  for  us  to  attract  a  significant  number   of  participants  (100  plus)  for  this  to  work.  

7.4.4 (pg. 18) Community League Day – September 17 – REGISTER YOUR event, there is going to be a 12-page features in the Edmonton Examiner and you will would to make sure your league's event is featured! Let Valerie know about your event: communications@efcl.org

7.5 (pg. 19)  Executive Director's Report – a number of goodies here:

• The Tripartite Agreement was approved by the EFCL Membership 65-2 and goes to the Community Services Committee on Monday June 13
• At a Neighbourhoods USA conference Allan learned about something called "Neighbourhood Redevelopment Agencies" that essentially purchases, restores and sells problem properties that are affecting the vitality of older neighbourhoods. Read more on page 19.
• Arts and Heritage Project - At  a  meeting  last  month,  the  Arts  Council  agreed  to  allocated  $50,000  toward  this  initiative,  while  the  Heritage  Council  tossed  in  $30,000.    This  will  let  community  leagues  triple  their  money  on  projects   that  celebrate  the  unique  character  on  their  neighborhood. (Also see 10.1 pg. 33)

District News

District J has a new representative! Veronica Vinge, the VP of Gold Bar Community League was elected as the new District J EFCL Board Rep.

Those are the highlights. There is much more in the board package!
If you have any questions about the EFCL, or if you have input please email your thoughts to me anytime: president(at)efcl.org

Have a great summer,
David Dodge

Area Council MOU

District B: Area Council 17 and Area Council 2:

Thanks to the more than 65 community leagues that attended the Tripartite Meeting at Rosslyn a few weeks ago. As you probably heard the new licence agreement was passed by 63 of 65 leagues at the meeting. I hope to get more information about operating grants and the new infrastructure program at the EFCL Board Meeting next week.

1) Your EFCL District B Representative:

Reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated! I am still your EFCL District B Representative. I was elected last year and my position is up for election in April 2012. The EFCL Board consists of 12 Elected District representatives. At the first meeting following the April AGM each year the executive committee is elected from among the 12 elected representatives. This year I was elected President, Christine Bremner was elected VP Internal, David Gibbens was elected VP External and Al Innes was elected Treasurer. You must be a District Representative to be on the board.

Each District also has an elected representative of the EFCL Planning Committee. Our representative is Ron Favell of Killarney Community League. His phone number is: (780) 456-4706. His email is: cherylmcnalley (at) hotmail.com

If you have planning issue concerns about City-wide issues please contact Ron. 

2) EFCL/Area Council MOU for your consideration:

Last year Area Council representatives met with the EFCL to hammer out a Memorandum of Understanding between the councils and the EFCL. This agreement was developed by a fairly strong contingent of Area Council representatives. Even though the position was not funded it is a very good idea for us to look at this an push it along if we think it's important.

The EFCL asked for funding from the City to hire a coordinator to help coordinate meetings, assist with key activities, help with communication and assist with volunteer recognition among EFCL Districts and Area Councils. The benefits of coordination could make us more efficient and much more effective. 

The City did not fund this position, but did fund the new capital grants program and the City increased operating grants at the time as well.

The draft MOU was emailed to Area 17 and Area 2 leagues. We should review the MOU at Area Council meetings and discuss ways of funding the position if we think it's still important.

 

EFCL Board Package May 2011

Hello District B Communities:

Report in advance of the May12, 2011 EFCL Board Meeting

Download the May12  2011 Board Package
It has been a very busy time with the Tripartite agreement up for renewal and a flurry of meetings. It was good to see the Area 17 communities at the annual Area 17 BBQ in the weekend. It was also good to meet with the executives of Steele Heights, McLeod, Kilkenny, Evansdale, Londonderry, and a few folks from Rosslyn in the last month. It seems everyone is very busy this month!
Reminder:

Tripartite Agreement special general meeting

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

Remember we must have quorum at this special general meeting to vote on the Tripartite Agreement. I attended the second meeting hosted by Area Council 17, 1 and 2 on May 5 and just a few leagues showed up. This is probably because by now most leagues have attended one of the many information meetings. IN addition I have also attended half a dozen league meetings to discuss the draft agreement. Please show up on May 17 to vote on the agreement – otherwise we will have to do it all over again!

For more information and downloads, visit the EFCL website's Tripartite page.

Highlights from the EFCL May 12, 2011 Board Package

6.1 –Recommendations for Public School Board - pg 12

After a meeting between the EFCL board and the members of the Edmonton Public School Board the board is considering a series of recommendations to the public school board to help preserve schools and mature neighbourhoods.

Please carefully read the report and feedback from the planning committee on page 13 of the board package and consider the following recommendations:

That the EFCL send a letter to the EPSB that thanks them for meeting with us and recommends the following:

1. That they send representatives to our Living Local conference on Oct. 28.
2. That they develop a program to promote neighbourhood schools
3. That they consider creating catchment areas for all programs of choice so that children living close to these schools are given priority when space is limited. 
4. That they ask parents to pay the full cost of transporting their children to programs of choice.
5. That they join us in lobbying the province to open up space for community programming in new schools, as well as creating more opportunities for all communities to have access to the schools after hours, as per the joint use agreement
6. That they put together a proposal, perhaps in conjunction with the Edmonton Catholic School Board, that asks taxpayers at election time to approve a 3% hike in the school portion of property taxes to help maintain schools in mature neighbourhoods and help the board meet other educational needs of their students.
7. That they do joint planning with the City to reinvest in mature neighbourhoods and attract more families with children to mature neighbourhoods.

As you will see from the report and feedback on these ideas in the board package there are diverse opinions on some of these ideas. Schools in mature neighbourhoods are often neglected in a budgetary sense which also contributes to their eventual demise. This is where the special levy idea came in to support the maintenance of mature schools. The other recommendation regarding subsidized transportation of children to specialty programs far and wide also attracted some discussion. Please read the report and send your feedback.

6.2 - Retaining Children in Mature Neighbourhoods - pg 15

This is a revised motion to create an EFCL policy regarding the retention of children and families in mature neighbourhoods to ensure the neighbourhoods remain viable and retain the infrastructure critical to strong neighbourhoods, such as schools. This draft policy brings a number of existing positions under one clear policy. It was in last months board package as a motion, but the board wanted it presented as a proposed policy instead of as a motion. This is that motion.

6.3 - On-Line Community League Cards - pg 17

When the EFCL started selling memberships online many leagues wondered whey we did not issue membership cards with the online purchase. Some leagues opposed this at the time, but in my travels to leagues most of the leagues I have heard from in the last few years wondered why we don't issue cards online saving leagues the work of creating and mailing or delivering cards to new members.

This issue is back before the board and membership and the choices are:

1. Email cards when the purchase is made online
2. Email a temporary card when the purchase is made online
3. Mail a hard card to new members who purchase online from the EFCL

Please see the report on page 17 of the board package and let us know how you feel. My sense is that emailing a membership card is the way to go. We have lost members because they can't figure out how to get one in time for sports registrations and the whole hockey fiasco is largely because of how hard it is to purchase and track memberships.

Don't worry we plan to strike a committee to consider this issue further and the recommendation to the board is that we bring the proposed solution to the membership at the fall AGM.

As you might have guessed I think this is a good idea. There is nothing preventing any league from having direct contact with their members anytime they like to welcome them to the league. But by being more responsive and by making it easier to get memberships we will be serving our members better, and we will keep members longer.

Let me know how you feel about this.

6.4 - 90th and 100th Anniversary Projects - pg 18

The EFCL is considering taking on a major park redevelopment project for its 100th Anniversary in 10 years. The idea came up from the committee that is trying to figure out what to do to celebrate our 90th Anniversary. The idea is to take step one this year, in our 90th year and build up to a major, big deal just in time for our 100th Anniversary. 

6.5 - Board Meeting Locations - pg 19

The board is considering a request to hold one of our board meetings at the new Terwillegar Recreation Centre. This raised the question of whether we should hold some board meetings in the regions of the city. The board will consider this idea at the meeting on Thursday. We don't want to make meetings a political football, but my sense is holding some meetings in different areas of the city occasionally would prove we are accessible and open. We will see how the discussion goes.

6.6 – Lobbying PC Leadership Candidates - pg 20

That the EFCL hold meetings with three or four of the key PC Party leadership candidates to discuss our primary concerns and initiatives. It makes sense to me to get out in front of the leadership race and brief would-be new premiers on the issues we care about in leagues.

6.7 – Creation of Rink and Carnival Committee - pg 21

That the EFCL appoint a board member to chair the 2012 Rink and Carnival Weekend Committee and invite leagues to provide representatives. This is your chance – do you want to help create an awesome Winter Rink and Carnival event across the City. Consider joining this committee that will surely be created at the board meeting this week. 

8.1.1 – Community League Memberships Sold through EMHA - pg 23

Reading the report I sense and understand the frustration of EFCL staff who are still trying to sort out the hockey membership fiasco, but I must say the tone of the report seems to suggest that it will be a problem for the NE Zone to carry on with the excellent relationship it was with leagues and with the idea of requiring community league memberships for players in the NE. This has not been a problem for us in the NE. The EMHA will vote on removing the requirement for a community league membership on May 11 (this week) and they will require 75% support to remove the requirement. Hmmmm, we will see what happens. I would prefer to see the way it works in the NE characterized as successful!!! Remember to give a hug to your NE reps next time you see them.

8.2 – Celebration of Neighbourhood Character - pg 24

The Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues is launching a project with the Edmonton Arts Council and Edmonton Heritage Council to celebrate the character of individual neighborhoods.

8.3 – Community League Day Examiner Insert - pg 25

We are exploring a number of promotional opportunities for this fall‘s Community League Day. These include radio promotions, social media, sponsorship prizing and a special 12+ page Edmonton Examiner insert.

8.5 – Executive Director‘s Report - pg 28

I know this report is already jam-packed, but see Allan's report for information on: Living Local Conference (Oct. 28), Hall Rental Meeting and Guide, Good Neighbour program and more.

8.6 – Planning Advisor's Report - pg 30

Please see Bev Zubot's report for information on recommendations from us on apartment zones, a new request for feedback on small-scale zones, Transit Oriented Development, and the Community Sustainabilty Task Force charied by Michael Phair. Remember Ron Favell of Killarney Community League is District B's new representative on the Planning Committee. 

That's it, please let me know if you have any feedback, ideas or issue you would like me to raise at the board meeting this week.

Cheers,David Dodge
District B Representative and President, the EFCL
May 9, 2011