St. Ann's Bay Development Association

Annual General Meeting

12 March 2013

Present: Janet Dauphney, Loreto Doyle, Michée Lemieux, Rosemary McLean, Ton Megens, James Murphy, Ulrich Nikolai, Aaron Schneider, Ruth Schneider, Rosie Smith, Andy Watt, Tom Wilson, Jitka Zgola

Regrets: Ian Greene, Anne-Claude Pépin, Angelo Spinazzola, Paul Weinberg

1. Call to Order
   Welcome from the Chair, James Murphy, at 13:15.
2. Agenda
   Approved as amended (moved: Ruth Schneider; seconded: Janet; carried.)
3. Minutes of AGM of January 17, 2012
4. The minutes of the 2011 AGM were read aloud by Michée. Approved (moved: Ruth Schneider; seconded: Loreto; carried.)
5. Financial Report (Jitka Zgola, Treasurer):
6. The carried balance from 2011 was $6,648; the current balance as of March 12 is $10,149. Income in the past year included:
   • June 2012—grant of $2,000 from Victoria County for the community/tourism web site project
   • February 2013—grant of $3,000 from Victoria County to market the area as a destination, with web site updates, social media, etc.
7. Payments in 2012 included:
   • $1,500—deposit to Mike Targett, the developer selected for web site project
   • $28.59—Society registration fee, paid by and refunded to Jitka
   • $17—web site domain-name registration fee, paid by and refunded to Loreto
8. $4,250 is still owed to Mike Targett for completion of the web site project, leaving SABDA's current equity at $5,853.
9. Motion: to approve the financial report by Jitka; seconded: Janet; carried.
10. Chair's Report (James Murphy, Chair)
11. The Chair's Report will be e-mailed to SABDA members and incorporated into the meeting minutes.
12. Action: James will e-mail the Chair's Report to SABDA members.
13. Web Site Presentation by Mike Targett
14. Mike Targett presented a Photoshop image of his proposed web site design, followed by the WordPress interface that business owners will use to submit content to the web site. Some noteworthy details regarding the proposed site's organisation follow.
    • Local businesses and attractions will be listed in the "People and Places" section. When a visitor lands on this page, the listings will be sorted randomly. Visitors will then be able to sort listings based on their interests; for example, by geography, season, activity, etc. The pages in this section will be managed by the individuals or groups who own or manage the listed business or attraction.
    • The "Spend a Day" section will present suggested itineraries. Visitors will be able to print a map to follow, or the whole page. Itineraries may also be used on mobile devices; however, we note that cell phone service is unreliable in our area.
    • When listers log in to their listing page, they will be taken to a "dashboard". There will be varying levels of access, so listers will only be able to see and alter their own pages. Administrators will have access to all parts of the site. All content uploaded to the site will be tagged with keywords, which will be used to allow visitors to sort content.
    • When we enter new content, WordPress will analyze the content and provide suggestions on how to make the information more likely to appear in search engines such as Google. Mike Targett will also be providing guidance on this topic at a later date, per our contract.
    • Mike suggested that local businesses have a Google+ profile for social networking. Businesses who sign up for Google+ are mapped and validated by mail, and are then privileged in related Google searches.
15. New Business
    • Board membership
    • Motion: That we do not replace the late Carol Kennedy, Vice Chair, on our board for the remainder of our term; that this board formally acknowledge Carol's passing, and record here our appreciation for her service, both during this term, which brought our current web site project to the team, and over many years of SABDA's history. Moved: Loreto; seconded: Ruth Schneider; carried.
    • Michée tendered his resignation from the SABDA board.
    • Motion: To accept his resignation, and thank Michée for his time and efforts volunteering with SABDA. Moved: Loreto; seconded: Janet; carried.
    • Motion: To maintain the SABDA board at its current number of eight members. Moved: Loreto; seconded: Janet; carried.
    • Nova Scotia Protected Areas
    • The Province of Nova Scotia is currently increasing the percentage of lands in its "protected areas" to 12% of the province's land area, and has been calling for feedback from the public. SABDA submitted a letter in support of protecting specific local areas in the first round of consultation. The area of concern is still up for consideration in the second round.
    • Chris MacInnis's land, which includes both sides of the Barrachois River and the Cabot Trail, was bought by the Department of Natural Resources. In the first round of consultations, the Province was asked to include this piece of land as one of the protected areas. In the revised map for the second round, it has not been included.
    • An additional concern is that a parcel in the middle of the "wilderness area" has been designated as a mineral assessment area, and might be removed from the protected areas. If mineral exploration takes place, roads will be built through the wilderness area, and the watershed will be affected.
    • Community members are encouraged to write letters and submit electronic feedback to the Province on these latter two issues. The deadline to respond is May 1. Public meetings will be held at the Inverary Resort in Baddeck on Tuesday 26 March, from 14:00 to 17:00, and from 18:00 to 21:00.
    • Motion: That SABDA will write two letters to the Province addressing these two issues separately. Moved: Aaron Schneider; seconded: Ruth Schneider; carried.
    • Action: Michée will find the parcel ID numbers for the areas of concern.
    • Action: Michée will draft a letter regarding the inclusion of Chris MacInnis's land, and submit it to Jamie to be forwarded to the SABDA board and the Province.
    • Action: Aaron and Jamie will write a letter regarding the mining exploration permit, to be sent to Sterling Belliveau of the Department of the Environment, and Charlie Parker of the Department of Natural Resources.
    • Cabot Trail Roadwork
    • The roadwork along the Cabot Trail has been postponed for one year, with no notice given to local residents and businesses. Businesses had already made plans based on the five-year plan previously outlined by the Province and posted on its web site. The road is in extremely poor condition, and if it is not redone this year as previously planned, it should at least be repaired.
    • Motion: That SABDA will submit a letter to the Province outlining our concerns with the postponement and the lack of communication. Moved: Rosie; seconded: Janet; carried.
    • Action: Rosie will draft a letter and circulate it to the SABDA board.
16. Scheduling of AGM and Next Business Meeting
17. Motion: To schedule the 2013 AGM for Tuesday 15 January 2014. Moved: Jamie; seconded: Ruth; carried.
18. The next regular business meeting will take place on April 22 at 7 pm. Tentative location is Simply Pizza.
19. Adjournment
20. Motion: to adjourn by Ruth; seconded: Janet.

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