September 26, 2015 Meeting Notes:

*includes an amendment clarifying the existing Board-led legal actions re Duffee

The organizational meeting was held at Cabin # 58 with 12 people in attendance.

Lisa Wildman chaired, calling the meeting to order at 2:10 pm.
She presented that the purpose of the meeting is to form a cabin owners’ association, and proposed that this association would ultimately elect three members to the Suffern Lake Regional Park Board providing representation for the three fairly distinct areas of the Park:

  • Lakefront
  • Central
  • West End

If cabin owners have input by electing their own representatives to sit on the Park Board, they can ensure that the Board is serving cabin owners’ interests. All cabin owners deserve equitable and fair representation. Thus far, there are many inequities and much unfairness in how cabin owners are treated. Rules for one are not applied to another and the Board often takes punitive action toward cabin owners.
Other Regional Parks in Saskatchewan have cabin owners’ associations that are actively involved on their park boards. Not only is a cabin owners’ association necessary for fair representation; the recommendation outcomes from September meetings with both the RM of Senlac and legal counsel in North Battleford, identified that this was the best route to take.
Participants received a handout sheet “Why a Cabin Owners’ Association?”

Norm Zigarlick spoke about the document that was handed out and discussed the following issues:

  1. Indemnification insurance for Board members:
  • The RM appointed representatives have insurance; the Cabin representatives do not. It is unclear whether Rushenko has insurance through the Village of Senlac.
  • In April of this year, The Regional Parks Act was reviewed and changed. Park Boards and their members can now be held liable.
  • The problem now becomes who is going to want to sit on the Board as a cabin rep when they have no coverage?
  • Insurance is now impossible to procure for cabin reps since there is a legal suit underway (Weningers), *AMENDMENTas well as an action involving legal correspondence (Duffee).
  1. Park pinewood purchases from an Alberta supplier:
  • It is illegal to import barked pine wood into Saskatchewan (for prevention of pine beetle infestation).
  • Both the wood supplier and the Park received official warnings from Saskatchewan Department of the Environment (Rob Grainger, Lloydminster office) once they were made aware of the Park’s purchase.
  • The pine beetle has devastated forests in BC and Alberta, and through imported firewood, it is now in Saskatchewan’s Cypress Hills forests.
  • The minutes David Kiefer sent out from their “special meeting” (August 25, 2015) noted that it was a supplier problem, that the irm that supplied the wood had misled them as to the origin of the wood.
  • In conversations with Lakeland Firewood Supply, the firm asserted that they did not mislead anybody, that they do not source wood in Saskatchewan but provide Alberta wood to their many Saskatchewan customers.
  • They claimed they did not know about the pine import laws and have since informed their cross-border customers that they can provide everything but barked pine.
  • Keifer has in effect called the wood firm liars, and although there are no plans for the supplier to address this allegation, it is another potential liability for the Board.

Discussions:

  • The Board pays $4500.00 in insurance every year, but what is it for? What does it cover? Our responsibility would be to cover our members.
  • Jim Duffee asked whether Senlac contributed to the Park. Peter Warwaruk noted that the contributions of all municipalities are “a little better than $2000.00.”
  • Norm Zigarlick noted that what is presented every year as an audit is, in fact, not. There are large gaps in it; for example, $3000.00 of legal expenses having to do with the Weninger issue are not indicated in the financial records.
  • Information about how money is spent is not freely available.
  • Jim Duffee noted, in regards to the Weninger case, that the Planning Development Act of 2008 allows for variance between properties. Also, although the situation regarding his septic system has been mentioned at past Park Board meetings as proceeding through legal channels, Jim never received written notification of concerns until August 18, 2015.
  • Again questions were asked. How do we establish a workable Board when confrontation is so popular? Where is the transparency? What goes on in the Board meetings, where are the minutes? Why are they not available?
  • Norm Zigarlick stated that looking at the pine beetle problem stemmed into looking at firewood in general. In 2009/10 the average cost of a load of wood was $2250, but one load had cost $6310. When asked about this difference, the Board indicated that it cost $4000 to unload the wood. This seems unrealistic when one person with a truck could unload it within an hour. According to the financial statements, it appears thatthe Park sells the wood for exactly the amount that it was purchased for not taking into consideration the costs of bucking and splitting it. It was sold for $201/cord where private interests within the Park are selling it for $300 a cord. This indicates some kind of a management problem.

Additional issues:

  • Propane tank inspector made the rounds on Friday due to complaints received about both Scott’s and Robert’s tanks. While he did these inspections, he also went looking at other people’s tanks including Dale Rushenko’s and Peggy McFadyen’s.
  • Robert Lauringer indicated that he had requested that it be clearly stated in the minutes that he was asked to resign from the Board, however, in David Kiefer’s minutes of the “special meeting” it is not recorded as such which is misleading to anyone aware of the actual events at that meeting.
  • In the Weninger case, nobody from the Board had talked to the Wenigers’ neighbors until Robert Lauringer did so, but Robert was led to believe that the neighbor was talked to on a number of occasions. He found that the neighbor did not have any problem with the Weningers building onto their cabin. Furthermore, Keifer had told him in a phone call to make sure the problem with the Weningers was sorted out, but then when Robert brought it up at a Board meeting, Keifer wouldn’t acknowledge that this discussion with Robert had taken place. Robert also mentioned that he had been fighting for set meeting times and that meetings were always scheduled around David’s schedule.
  • It appears that Keifer is filtering information and controlling meeting times.
  • Peggy McFadyen stated that if we choose to form an association, our goal would be to have input and have information.

Following the preceding discussions of issues and problems, people began stating what they wanted a cabin owners association to be:

  • We should have set meeting times and minutes readily available
  • We need to be able to go to Board meetings which means knowing when and where with enough notification time to arrange to attend
  • We need collaboration, not confrontation
  • We need the truth
  • We need to have representation that’s accountable, looking after our interests
  • There needs to be 2 year terms for Board members (mentioned by several owners through both email and personal discussions)
  • We need equality and clarity of information
  • We need meetings to be productive and transparent
  • We need cooperative working relationships
  • With the beginnings of an association, we can go out with truth to other cabin owners to share its goals and wishes
  • We want a website for accountability
  • We need to have a mechanism for things to work
  • Monthly get-togethers to build community and relationships so people can get to know each other and build camaraderie, we aren’t here for a fight
  • It was discussed that each person who owns/lives in a cabin, over 18 years of age would have an association vote
  • As cabin owners we should be able to use the club house for meetings

Lisa Wildman summed up the association goals: “We will be a productive association, promoting transparent transfer of information, working cooperatively and collaboratively with existing board members and RMs and aiming for equal, elected, effective and accountable Board representation.”

Robert Lauringer moved that we create a cabin association as per the definition above. Goldie Hynes seconded the motion. All were in favour and the motion was passed unanimously.

Next steps:

  • Identify an interim leadership team of Chair and three cabin owners from the suggested areas of lakefront, central and west
  • Register our association
  • Recruit the temporary members for a 3 or 4 month building period
  • Build upon our membership
  • Have monthly meetings to encourage relationship building and trust

Next meeting:

  • 7:00 p.m. Saturday, October 24
  • Location to be determined