St. Ann's Bay Development Association

Meeting of 7 February 2012

Present: Loreto Doyle, Carol Kennedy, Dennis Laffan, Merrill MacInnis, James Murphy, Ruth Schneider, Rosie Smith, Angelo Spinazzola, Paul Weinburg, Jitka Zgola

Regrets: Marcelle Lavoie, Michée Lemieux, Anne-Claude Pépin, Aaron Schneider

1) Agenda
Approved, with two corrections:

1. moving Old Business to follow approval of previous Minutes
2. moving Vision discussion to follow New Business

(Moved: Carol; seconded: Angelo; carried)

2) Minutes of 13 September 2011:
Approved (moved: Loreto; seconded: Paul; carried)

3) Financial Report:  (Jitka)
Current balance of $6,601.70
Changes since last business meeting:

• $30 to Mike Crimp for cleanup day dump run
• $50 to SABUC for Tea Room rental (postponed AGM)
• $50 to SABUC for Tea Room rental (AGM, 17 January 2012)

Approved (moved: Jitka; seconded: Paul; carried)

Motion to replace Marcelle with Jamie as signing authority on SABDA bank account. (moved: Jitka; seconded: Loreto; carried)

4) Business Arising from the Minutes of 13 September:

• Protected Areas:
  The deadline to comment on the establishment of 12% protected areas in Nova Scotia is Friday 10 February.
  
  ACTION: Jamie will work with Aaron Schneider to draft a letter from SABDA to be submitted online with the public comments. The letter will support the establishment of a protected area in the French River (area 156) and Kelly's Mountain (area 202) areas.
• Non-profit governance:
  No potential students were identified for the online course from Dalhousie. Loreto suggested there may be alternative training sessions that are shorter and less costly.
  
  ACTION: Loreto will research other board governance and effectiveness training options.

5) New Business:

• Directors' and Officers' responsibilities—Jamie presented a document prepared in 2008 outlining the responsibilities of the SABDA Board of Directors.
  
  ACTION: Jamie will forward an electronic copy to Loreto; she will post it on the SABDA web site.
• Web site updates—Loreto updates the web site with minutes and next meeting dates as soon as possible. The web site is currently not available through search engines such as Google. Loreto previously made this decision to protect the names of SABDA members, and to avoid confusion with other groups of the same name. It was suggested that a link to the SABDA web site could be posted with the Events sheet, to inform and remind community members about the group.
  
  ACTION: Jamie will submit a request to Jim Steele to post a permanent link to the SABDA site in the Community Events sheet.
• St. Ann's Bay website—Carol described a conversation with Tom Wilson, where he said he could do a web site for St. Ann's Bay, to market St. Ann's Bay as a separate tourist destination. His rough estimate for cost was $25 per page (participating business or person) per year.
  
  Moved: Carol will move forward with a web site project (moved: Paul; seconded: Angelo; carried).
  
  ACTION: Carol will follow up with Tom to get more information. To ensure this action is carried through before the coming tourist season, we will discuss and follow up via e-mail.
• Cabot Trail signage—Carol provided an update on a meeting with Friends of the Cabot Trail and the Cabot Trail Working Association. Their plan is to make two signs, one next to the Gaelic College and one in Wreck Cove, informing drivers they will be passing through the St. Ann's Bay area. There will be a series of symbols for local activities and services on the signs, matched with signs on business buildings. There may also be several banners with one of three symbols (fishing boat, music, made by hand), to be posted on telephone poles. The main issue with this project is that once the signs are made, the community is responsible for maintaining and replacing them.
• I-fit gym—The County has applied for 2 I-fit Gyms (outdoor fitness centres), but does not know whether funding has been approved or where they will be located. Insurance will be the responsibility of the communities where the units will be located. Interested communities are to contact Sandy Hudson.
  
  Moved: That we forward this information to the St. Ann's Bay Community Health Group Society, which has the necessary D&O insurance (moved: Carol; seconded: Paul; carried).
  
  ACTION: Jamie will forward this information to Lisa Finney, Health Centre Coordinator.
• 2012 provincial volunteer awards—The Victoria County web site is currently advertising for nominations for County volunteer recognition. County winners are advanced to the Provincial awards.
  
  Moved: That we nominate Jim Steele for his work on the Events sheet, and other community involvement (moved: Paul; seconded: Angelo; carried).
  
  ACTION: Jamie, in collaboration with Merrill, will fill out an electronic submission form for SABDA's nomination of Jim Steele.
• Wind energy—Paul had been in contact with Scotian Windfields about speaking to the community on the topic of wind energy, but is not sure about this plan due to difficulties with NS Power in connecting wind energy to the grid.
  
  ACTION: Rosie will contact organisers from the Tatamagouche wind energy project, to learn more about how they have organised and built their community-owned wind turbine.

6) Vision for the New Year:

1. Government advocacy
   • Directors and Officers insurance
     Loreto suggested lobbying the Provincial government to re-introduce legislation (previously scrapped due to election) protecting directors and officers of volunteer boards against liability. This is important in Nova Scotia, as we rely so heavily on volunteer boards.
   • Internet access
     Loreto suggested lobbying for Internet access to be provided free of charge to all community halls and churches.
   • County bus service
     Victoria County is currently in discussions regarding the purchasing of a bus and hiring a driver for a County bus service. They are also looking at the Alderwood bus as an option.
     
     Moved: That we send a letter of support to the Victoria County Council (moved: Paul; seconded: Carol; carried).
     
     ACTION: Loreto will draft a letter of support to Sandy Hudson of Victoria County Council, and Jamie will sign and send the letter.
2. Fundraising
   Carol suggested that we hold some fun community events to fundraise for SABDA. This would enliven our group and raise awareness of SABDA in the community.
   
   ACTION: All Board members will give thought to potential fundraising activities.
3. Community building
   Paul suggested holding a music festival, in spring or another time when it would not conflict with current festivals such as Celtic Colours. Jamie noted that the issue would be securing a location for such an event.

7) Next Board Meeting: Tuesday 8 May 2012, 7:00 pm, at St. Ann's Bay Health Centre.

ACTION: Jamie will book the space and put a notice in the Events sheet.

8) Meeting Adjourned at 9:15 pm (moved: Carol; seconded: Paul).

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