Winter General Meeting Announcement and EFCL January Meeting Notes

EFCL Winter General Meeting Feb. 4 at Boyle Street Community League – dine with your community league friends!

The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 4 at Boyle Street Community League (9515-104 Avenue) and will be preceded by dinner at 5:30 p.m.  If you and/or another representative from your league are able to attend, PLEASE RSVP to Joanne Booth, no later than 12:00 noon, Friday, January 31.  We need to get an accurate head count for dinner and it sure helps to know how many reports to print.  Joanne can be reached at Joanne.Booth@efcl.org or at 780-437-2913.

Winter General Meeting Agenda Highlights:

• EFCL Draft Budget
• Discussion about civic engagement – how can we improve our role?
• Negotiations of groups rates with SOCAN and RE-SOUND
• City talks about new Recreation Model

By the way District B is looking for a planning committee representative. Help ensure our district has quorum at the meeting. Dinner is on us!

Highlights From the January Board Meeting

Download the January EFCL Board Meeting Package Here

EFCL Presses For League Involvement in Green Shack Program

The EFCL would like to see a greater role for community leagues in the development and operation of the popular Green Shack summer program.

This was main message delievered to senior city staff at our January board meeting, after hearing an update on the status of the 2014 program.

EFCL directors were told that the Green Shack program would be available in a half-day format at about 160 locations and a full day format in another 20 locations this summer.  All locations would be detemined and managed by the city, although leagues have been asked to contribute $1,000 each to a fund that would be used to expand the program to additional, city-selected sites.

EFCL reps thanked the city for rescuing the program, which faced major cutbacks when the province discontinued the Summer Temporary Employment Program (STEP).  STEP funds, along with contributions from community leagues, were used to pay for summer camp leaders.

However, the EFCL asked the city to consider a new role for the leagues, which would include an opportunity for input as well as involvement in program monitoring.  A set of measurement tools needs to be in place to determine the success of 2014 program, city staff were told.

• EFCL Seeks Input on SOCAN and RE:SOUND Negotiations

The EFCL would like to know if leagues would like the federation to negotiate a multi-year, all inclusive payment which would replace the annual fees that leagues with halls are being asked to pay to SOCAN and RE:SOUND.

The federation intends to survey leagues attending the Feb. 4 General Meeting at Boyle Street Community League.

SOCAN and RE:SOUND have been given permission by the Copyright Board of Canada to charge a fee to the owners of halls where music is being played.

In the case of SOCAN, which represents Composers, Authors and Music Publishers, the fee is $185/year if gross revenues at events where music is played does not exceed $15,422.83.  The fee is higher is the gross revenues are higher.

In the case of RE:SOUND, which represents the performers who first played individual pieces of music, the fee is $9 per event where music is played for the purpose of listening and $18 per event if dancing is involved.

Both of these tariffs force the leagues to do a significant amount of book keeping.

The objective of this exercise would be two-fold.  One would be to eliminate the need for any book keeping at the league level.  Secondly, we would negotiate a fee that is substantially lower than the leagues would pay if each of them were to pay these tariffs individually.  We believe that both SOCAN and RE:SOUND would be amenable to this approach, as it would save them a good deal of administrative legwork and book keeping.

Any payment that is agreed to by the EFCL would need to be recouped from all of the leagues that have a hall.  This could be accomplished by dividing the fee equally among the leagues that have halls and adding it to their annual EFCL membership fee.

If a significant number show an interest (through a straw poll) at our Feb. 4 meeting, then a formal motion will be brought forward at our Annual General Meeting in the spring. This will give each league executive ample time to discuss it.

• Federation Prepares for Business Plan and Civic Engagement Review

The EFCL is getting ready to start work on its 2014 – 2018 Business Plan, which will include its first ever review of league civic engagement practises.

This review will kick into gear at the Feb. 4 General Meeting, when leagues will be asked to describe how they decide to get involved in civic issues, as well as the process they use to research these issues.  Leagues will also be asked to comment on whether or not they consult with the general public or stick with their own members when they investigate these issues.

The EFCL will use the results of this meeting, along with that from subsequent league surveys and related research to prepare a list of best practises for everyone to follow.

• EFCL Seeks Access To League Financial Records

The EFCL is seeking access to league financial records, so it can do a better job of presenting their case to the city and other orders of government.

On Feb. 4, leagues attending the General Meeting will be asked to vote on this issue.  If approved, the federation will ask the city to pass along the statements each league supplies at the time it applies for its annual operating grant.

• Further Refinements Made to 100^th Anniversary Project Plan

The EFCL continues to refine its plan for the redevelopment of Hawrelak Park, as part of its 100^th Anniversary Project and I joined the committee for the last two meetings.

Following feedback from the leagues, the federation has opted for the plaza option which features a large central fireplace, along with displays showing the three key areas of league involvement (programs, facilities and advocacy).  The plaza will also contain a large map,

showing the location and incorporation date of each league, as well as ample seating and a raised area for small performances.

The historical development of leagues, including their involvement in areas like sports, crime prevention and cultural inclusion will displayed along a stream walkway.  The connection between leagues and the City of Edmonton is to be the focus of displays in a smaller plaza at the top of the development, next to a small pond.

• EFCL to Investigate Parking Problems at Community Leagues

The EFCL has decided to raise the issue about community league parking once again.  This time the focus is on motorists leaving their cars in league lots for weeks on end, in order to keep them off city snow clearing routes.

The federation will be meeting with the city shortly to find creative solutions.

• Federation Makes Suggestions To City About Surplus School Sites

The EFCL has written a lengthy letter to the city, summarizing the concerns it has heard from league on the surplus school site issue.

The federation raised a number of key points in the letter, including the need for a proper parkland assessment, before the decision is made to use a portion of the park site.

If a decision is reached to redevelop a portion of the park site, then the city should determine the which portion of the park site is best suited for a new development and what that development should be.  Once this is complete, then an assessment should be done on the interface between the new development and existing park site, as well as opportunities for community programming space within the new building.

Finally, the EFCL noted that the city needs to find ways to rebuild the trust of community residents who felt shortchanged by previous surplus school site development procedures.

• New Community Development Officer

The EFCL is pleased to report that it has hired a new Community Development Officer, Habib Fatmi.  Habib will be familiar to many people at the EFCL, as he has volunteered for the past three years at our Heritage Days and our volunteer appreciation events.

Habib’s original career has been in computer technology and as a business manager at various computer companies, however in recent years he has become increasingly involved as a cultural outreach worker, notably with the Mennonite Centre for Newcomers and the Mill Woods Welcome Centre.  He has also been active with the Mill Woods Presidents Council and has volunteered with a variety of community league and other non-profit programs.

We will look to Habib to lead our Cultural Inclusion initiatives as well as represent us on various city task forces, including the recent work we started with the city on reaching out to seniors. Habib replaces Shahriyar Khan, who took a position as a Cultural Liaison Officer with the City of Edmonton in early November.

• Al Innes Retires From EFCL Board of Directors

Former treasuer and long time director Al Innes has decided to retire from the EFCL board of directors in order to pursue other volunteer activities.

Al represented District C (Horse Hill/Clareview) for the past five and a half years and was also an original member of our 90^th and 100^th Anniversary Project Committees.

He was also a stalwart at many community events, including our Heritage Days promotion where he operated the football toss for hours on end.

Al will be recognized for his service at our Winter General Meeting, which is set for Feb. 4 at Boyle Street Community League.

Thanks to Allan for writing the notes for the January Board meeting.

David Dodge

EFCL District B Londonderry Representative

January EFCL Update

1. EFCL And League Budgets The Focus of January General Meeting

I saw this snowy owl in Camrose this week and needed
a picture for the blog, so here he is! 

The EFCL is holding a special general meeting at Royal Gardens Community League (4030-117 Street)  on January 30 to review the federation’s 2013 draft budget and business plan.  The objective is to get some feedback and direction from the membership on the key programs and initiatives the EFCL has in mind for the coming year.
Once that is accomplished, it was thought that this would be a good opportunity for leagues, in small group settings, to think about their own budget and program plans.  Here, it is our intention to encourage leagues to bring forward their latest budget and strategic plan so that others can hear how they were prepared and how they meet the needs of the host league.  We see this as a good learning experience for leagues and one that will encourage them to enroll in future EFCL workshops on these topics. 
We will have a league budget and strategic plan template on hand for comparison purposes, or to help out at tables that do not have any league material to review.

The rest of the agenda consists of announcements, board and planning committee elections, a report from the city and various EFCL staff reports, that will be dealt with by exemption.  There is also some time set aside for community league suggestions and concerns.

2. Balconies in Bloom 

The Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues has asked the City of Edmonton to include a “Balconies in Bloom” component to this year’s Communities in Bloom contest.  The goal is to give residents in apartments and condomium complexes a chance to take part in the program that recognizes the efforts Edmontonians make to beautify their property each summer.
Response to idea has been most favorable and work has begun on the means by which well groomed balonies can be recognized.

3. Area Councils Support Memorandum of Understanding

A draft memorandum of understanding received broad support at a meeting between the EFCL and the city’s eleven area councils on November 22.  The memorandum sets out the role for the federation and the councils and describes how they will all work together to represent and assist community leagues in Edmonton.
The federation has also agreed to host regular meetings with the area councils to share information and identify partnership opportunities.
Please review the MOU ask your community board if they can support the agreement.  Take your decision to your next area council meeting. You can download the latest version of the MOU here. The agreement is a pretty simple agreement for two of our important community organizations EFCL/Area Councils to cooperate. Evansdale CL looked at this last year and has already accepted it. Most of the Area Councils indicated they would support the MOU as presented at our last meeting. 

4. EFCL Refines Anniversary Project Design

An application has been made to the province’s Community Facilities Enhancement Program (CFEP) for $75,000 to help the federation flesh out the design of its 100th Anniversary Project in Hawrelak Park.  The funds will be used to help with the design of the community league plaza and stream upgrade, which is being planned as a comprehensive facility in the southeast corner of the park.
In addition, the federation has been meeting with the city’s consultant (Stantec), to look at water play options in the park.  Stantec has been charged with developing a conceptual plan for the water play feature and with determining an appropriate location for the facility.  One site under consideration is an open field between the existing playground and stream.  If this location is selected, the water feature would be integrated into the federation’s anniversary project.  The other location is north of the main pavilion in the park, near the northeast corner of the lake.
The consultants are scheduled to present their draft plan to the federation’s anniversary committee on January 14 and to the general public later that month.  It is due to present its recommendations to council’s community services committee on February 26.

5. Community Swim Consultation Meeting Set for January 23.  

A Community Swim Consultation meeting is set for January, 23, at 7:00 P.M., at St Anthony's Centre (10425-84 Avenue).   
The City is proposing two changes to the current program and would like feedback from league representatives.
The first change is to stop referring to this program as a rental.  Given that the city is providing the community swim supervisors, not the renters, it wants to start referring to the community swim nights as a community swim program, and manage it in a similar fashion to other city programs.
With this in mind, community leagues will no longer be required to sign rental contracts. Rather, communities will be asked to acknowledge their interest in being involved in the community swim program in their local pool. The City will calculate the program fee based on the enrollment seasonally, and leagues/ Area Councils would be billed monthly (there will be no change in how monthly rates have been calculated currently).
The second change is to view community swims as a continuous program where leagues will remain enrolled until they notify the City (Facility Booking Unit) of their intent to withdraw.  
It is hoped that the restructuring should remove a number of barriers and facilitate a smoother transition into and out of seasons.
These changes came thanks to the work of numerous area council folks!

6. Continuing Education Program Reaches Out To Community Leagues

The Edmonton Public School Board’s Continuing Education program is exploring the possibility of providing educational programs for community leagues.  The program have provided some examples of courses they could provide to community leagues.  It is also willing to accommodate any special request, if there is enough community interest.  Courses under consideration include; Effective Listening for Leaders, Intercultural Communication, Creating a Mentorship Environment, Effective Meeting Skills, Dealing with Difficult People, Managing Workplace Politics,  Conflict Resolution, Building Cohesive Teams, Team Building, Working with Different Generations, Project Management, Minute Taking.

7. Workshops Scheduled to Review Low Density Zone Changes:

As requested by several of the League representatives who attended the October 29th Public Hearing, the EFCL has organized workshops regarding the multiple low density zone changes under consideration by City Council.   The first workshop, held Dec 3rd at Glenwood Community Hall, was productive and its results will be posted on the EFCL’s website.
The next workshops will be held 7 pm, January 3rd at Pleasantview Community Hall, and 7 pm January 14th at Spruce Avenue Community Centre.  Council’s executive committee is due to consider the matter on January 28.

8. Neighbourhood Design & Complete Streets Guidelines Coming

Guidelines for New Neighborhood Designs and Complete Streets will be available for review by the public from January 28th to mid February.   During this consultation period the City project teams will gather feedback and then do their final revisions before presenting the Guidelines to Council for consideration.   The city will present its draft plans in each of these areas to the EFCL’s Planning Committee at its next meeting on January 23rd.

9. Two Board Development Workshops Planned

The following workshops have been scheduled to help community league board members improve their skills.

a) Tools for Treasurers: Thursday, February 7, 2013, 5:30pm, at the EFCL office. Linda Crosby, EFCL Financial Assistant, and Andrea Sage, Board Development Officer, will expand on key concepts introduced during the Leagues Alive 2012 session, with a strong focus on the necessity of having a budget and how to create and work within the budget the community league board has set.  This workshop will follow the EFCL general budget meeting set for January 30/13, so we expect a full class.

b) Social Media 101: Thursday, February 21, 2013, 5:30pm, at the EFCL office, presented by Joseph Carma, technology & social media consultant.  Joseph has generously offered to provide this opportunity for those community league board members who missed Leagues Alive 2012.

Thanks to Allan Bolstad for the core of this update.