Union Bay ending one year and starting another with Boil Water Notice

Happy New Year…..

An annoying burden: “That old car is an albatross around my neck.” Literally, an albatross is a large sea bird. The phrase alludes to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” in which a sailor who shoots a friendly albatross is forced to wear its carcass around his neck as punishment.

Chris Jordan’s ALBATROSS film trailer Warning sensitive viewing material

Elimination of MSP Premiums

British Columbia (B.C.) residents will no longer be charged monthly MSP premiums as of January 1, 2020. Enrolment in MSP remains mandatory for all residents.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/health-drug-coverage/msp/bc-residents/msp-premium-elimination-jan-1-2020

Two years after winning the election on a campaign that included the complete elimination of medical services plan premiums, the provincial government introduced legislation to make good on its promise.

The NDP government made the announcement Thursday, though most of the details released were already known. British Columbians will no longer pay the MSP premiums as of Jan. 1, 2020.

The MSP program will continue to provide health benefits, and residents of the province are still expected to enrol.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/no-msp-premiums-by-2020-ndp-introduces-legislation-years-after-campaign-promise-1.4356138

On our walk today we found an interesting instrument by the Union Bay Estates site. It was mounted on a tripod, so I decided to go get some answers.

Located across from Russel Street and 19A HWY in Union Bay

Now that was interesting….

Well Trustee’s balls in your court, and about those 2020 resolutions

Information from the Improvement District Trustee’s Handbook 2009

Improvement district trustees are elected by landowners in order to direct the
operation and administration of those public services for which the improvement
district is responsible. Being a trustee requires an investment of personal time and an interest to serve the public during the course of the trustee’s term. While trusee’s may receive modest financial compensation for their duties, being a trustee is not a full-time position with a regular salary.

The board of trustees has the authority to hire employees to manage the day-to-day operation and administration of the improvement district, to provide support to the board and to implement board decisions.
Every improvement district is required to establish two corporate officer positions. One position is responsible for corporate administration and the second is responsible for
financial administration. The same person can be appointed to both positions and
assigned any title the board decides is appropriate such as manager, administrator, or
corporate officer. A number of mandatory duties are assigned under the Act to each
position but the board of trustees can assign additional duties.
Mandatory duties assigned to the corporate officer in the Act include keeping and
protecting the minutes of the trustee meetings, bylaws and other records. Mandatory
duties assigned to the financial officer in the Act include expending and disbursing
funds in the manner authorized by the board of trustees and keeping accurate records of the improvement districts financial affairs.

The principle of collective decision-making also extends to actions such as speaking on
behalf of the improvement district. If a trustee expresses an opinion that is different
than the opinion of the board of trustees, the credibility of that trustee, or the board,
may come into question. For this reason, many boards of trustees develop a policy
regarding who can speak on behalf of the improvement district to the media, its
landowners or to other organizations. Often this role is assigned to the chair.

I received this from a Union Bay landowner and forwarded it to Chair Vandenberg for clarification. I will p0st answer in a update.

This is the best guess of remuneration payable to three administrative staff for 2020.

                                          $201,733.64

From the UBID web site under budget 2020, this is the remuneration payable to three administrative staff for 2020.

UBID office hours from the web site as follows; Tuesday to Thursday 9:00am- 4:00pm                                    Closed over lunch from 12:00 noon- 1:00pm                       

Closed Monday and Friday

From this information the following is an estimated breakdown of remuneration per staff person.

1) Accounting clerk, receptionist, part time                                                                                            52 weeks per year, 6 hours per day, 3 days a week                                                                                 936 hours per year at $ 30.00 per hour                                                                                                        $28,080 per year.

2) Deputy CAO part time                                                                                                              52 weeks per year, 6 hours per day, 3 days a week                                                                                                            936 hours per year at $ 50.00 per hour                                                                                                                                                                 $46,800 per year

3) CAO (Chief Administration Officer) is earning $ 126,853.65 per year            

No one knows how many hours are worked

From: Hein Vandenberg <hvandenberg@union-bay.ca>
Date: December 31, 2019 at 1:45:25 PM PST
To: Paul Allard <paallard@icloud.com>
Cc: Ian Munro <ian@leadingessentially.com>, Ian Munro <imunro@union-bay.ca>, Rick Bitten <rbitten@union-bay.ca>, Haraldson Ted & Frances <cfbxv@shaw.ca>, Susanna Kaljur <SKaljur@union-bay.ca>, Gordon Mason <gmason@union-bay.ca>
Subject: Your Questions

Hi, Paul,

1. UBID Governance Review. At this point, until a consultant has been designated by the CVRD, there is not a lot of information.  The UBID Board is being proactive and has voted Trustee Munro to represent the Board at the Advisory Working Group.  When we get solid information as to how the process unfolds, we will post it on the UBID website (under the Governance Review Section).

2.  Administrative Staff Hours.  I appreciate your active involvement in the community, and have two suggestions about the question and how best to address it.  The first would be to direct the question to the UBID CAO as it is his responsibility to manage and deal with the employees – not the Board.  Please recognize that the hours the UBID office is open to the public do not necessarily reflect the actual hours worked by the staff.

The second suggestion, while more difficult to make, would be to encourage landowners to engage directly with the appropriate parties in the UBID (i.e. Board, Administrator).  It is much more challenging to engage questions via a public blog space than one-on-one with the landowners.  I hope you will accept the realities of the challenge this presents to us as a Board and I appreciate your assistance in creating a more direct dialogue.

Regards,

Chair Vandenberg.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.

We were sharing a dinner with friends in Union Bay. The conversation topics ranged from Union Bay shenanigans to leaders that opened the gates of hell. Then an interesting topic took over the conversation, how small we really are…..

The new year will usher in 2020, what’s your priority in the small time on this very small planet we call earth our home? Some Food for thought…….

While we were taking a stroll in Union Bay, homes were humming with great anticipation, the children were awaking knowing that Santa had visited. Christmas day had finally arrived, and we wondered who was naughty and who was nice. Such an exciting holiday season that people around the world celebrate Santa Claus and the gift of giving. Where and when did it all start? I decided to go get some answers……

If you were to ask people where the legend of Santa Claus began, they’d probably start by telling you that the name “Santa” is merely a moniker for Saint Nicholas, a man who existed a long time ago and was renowned for his generosity toward children.

By all accounts, his story begins in the fourth century AD in what is now modern-day Turkey. A man named Nicholas became the bishop of a village called Myra. He was later canonised, and soon became one of the most popular saints in Christianity.

Unlike the modern depictions of Santa, the Dutch version of Saint Nick rode on a donkey and wore a tall pointy bishop’s hat.

In the same way kids today leave out a glass of milk with some cookies for Santa and his reindeer, Dutch children would fill their clogs with straw and leave them out for the donkey to eat.

When they woke the next morning, they’d find the straw gone and their shoes packed with presents.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a safe New Year

On our walk today we skirted around the banks of Washer Creek and headed towards the coal hills. At the base of the outlet into Baynes Sound we found sand and I wondered…..

Hmmmmm, now that was interesting….