Village Point Improvement District

The 2021 Annual General Meeting will be held online via Zoom.

Please register in advance for this meeting:
https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Yoc-GvqDIvH9TJTfX4tE2D-cFnW1C_7AXB 
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Agenda

1. Approval of the agenda
2. Approval of the minutes of the 2020 AGM
3. Business arising from the minutes
4. Chairperson’s report
5. Auditor’s report
6. Appointment of the auditor for 2021
7. Financial results from 2020 (see below)
8. Budget for 2021 (see below)
9. Questions from the floor
10. Elections of trustees (reported to Saturday March 27th)
11. Adjournment

Financial overview

Why an AGM on zoom?

The AGM was originally to be held at the Adachi Pavilion, Dinner Bay Park, Mayne Island. However, we received notification from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs that current Provincial Health Office (PHO) Order on Gatherings and Events prohibits public attendance at meetings (including Improvement District AGMs). Fortunately, our Bylaw 112 allows us to hold our AGM electronically. We will do so using the Zoom Meeting platform. You will receive further notification of the link to attend

Bylaw 112 is now in effect and motions from the floor will not be allowed. Residents must communicate with a Trustee at least 2 weeks ahead of the AGM if intending to present a motion.

The Elections of Trustees must be in person

Furthermore, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs recommends that improvement districts spread out in-person interactions by holding elections separate from AGMs. The election is set for March 27^th, 2021 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at the Adachi Pavilion, Dinner Bay Park, Mayne Island with COVID-19 protocols in place. In-person voting is necessary because property owners must produce ID in order to vote.

There are two Trustee positions up for election, each for a 3-year term. To be eligible to run as a Trustee you must be a Canadian citizen, 18 years of age or older, have been a resident of BC for the past 6 months and be an owner of land, or their spouse or common-law partner, located within the defined area identified in Village Point Improvement District’s Letters Patent. Anyone wishing to run for Trustee is asked to fill out the nomination form found on the website under Trustees wanted. Scroll down to Next Steps #5 to find the form. In order to allow time to prepare for a possible election, nominations must be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to the AGM.

Nominations are now closed. We have received nominations for three candidates. See their bios here.

UPDATE: our AGM going online

This year, the 42^nd Annual General Meeting is scheduled for March 20^th, 2021.

The AGM was originally to be held at the Adachi Pavilion, Dinner Bay Park, Mayne Island. However, we received notification from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs that current Provincial Health Office (PHO) Order on Gatherings and Events prohibits public attendance at meetings (including Improvement District AGMs). Fortunately, our Bylaw 112 allows us to hold our AGM electronically. We will do so using the Zoom Meeting platform. You will receive further notification of the link to attend

Bylaw 112 is now in effect and motions from the floor will not be allowed. Residents must communicate with a Trustee at least 2 weeks ahead of the AGM if intending to present a motion.

Elections of Trustees (in person)

Furthermore, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs recommends that improvement districts spread out in-person interactions by holding elections separate from AGMs. The election is tentatively set for March 27^th, 2021 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at the Adachi Pavilion, Dinner Bay Park, Mayne Island with COVID-19 protocols in place. In-person voting is necessary because property owners must produce ID in order to vote.

There are two Trustee positions up for election, each for a 3-year term. To be eligible to run as a Trustee you must be a Canadian citizen, 18 years of age or older, have been a resident of BC for the past 6 months and be an owner of land, or their spouse or common-law partner, located within the defined area identified in Village Point Improvement District’s Letters Patent. Anyone wishing to run for Trustee is asked to fill out the nomination form found on the website under Trustees wanted. Scroll down to Next Steps #5 to find the form. In order to allow time to prepare for a possible election, nominations must be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to the AGM.

Nominations must be received via email at vpid@shaw.ca by 5:00pm on Friday, March 5^th, 2021.

2021 Metering Survey

Thank you to the 136 homeowners who answered the survey put out by the metering committee in mid-January. One third of the responders are permanent residents and the majority (43%) are non-resident, staying on Mayne between 40 and 100 days a year. The majority of respondents are over 60, and most properties (73%) have only 2 occupants or less in general. 15% of respondents seem very opposed to having meters. In general, respondents were hoping that meters would:

1. Allow VPID to charge water based on actual consumption
2. Encourage water conservation
3. Help detect leaks

However, the majority of homeowners would not expect to pay more than $500 per property for an installed meter, and would expect to spread this cost over 2 years or more. A large majority is opposed to the publication of individual consumption. 60% already collect rainwater, and another 24% plan to do so. Half of the respondents made extensive use of the open-ended question at the end to convey their opinions; their comments fill 9 pages! Many respondents used this to qualify their answers to the earlier questions. In the comments, we see the same split of, on one hand, supporters of metering (“let us pay for what we consume”) and, on the other hand, opponents to such a move (based on cost, inequity, ineffectiveness at water conservation). The comments also highlight a few areas that would require better information about our system (actual consumption patterns, leaks, bounded supply, operating costs), and about meters themselves. A more complete report with all the comments and opinions is available on our VPID website at https://vpid.ca/2021-metering-survey/

Leak Detection

VPID has an outflow meter at the Tank Farm that identifies the volume of water flowing to households. This meter is monitored 24/7/365 using cellphone technology. Between January 24^th and 25^th, there was a higher-than-normal outflow of 5 gallons per minute, which continued for more than 20 hours, then stopped. We ask that if you have a leak on your property, or inadvertently leave a valve on for a considerable length of time, that you notify VPID so that staff do not waste time searching for a problem that has already been rectified.

Septic Tank Pump Outs

In January, a notice was sent out to the residents connected to the community septic system requesting information on when their septic tanks had been last pumped out. The feedback received was reassuring that residents are concerned and being responsible. Conversations are now taking place between residents to double-up on truckloads to reduce pump out costs. This type of co-operation is plus for our District. Thank you

Update: as of March 5 we have received 5 nominations. See their bios here.

A board of five trustees is responsible for the stewardship, governance, and long-term planning of Village Point Improvement District’s drinking water and shared sewer resources.

The Village Point Improvement District is seeking nominees for two trustee positions, to be elected at our annual general meeting on March 20^th, 2021 at the Adachi Pavilion, Dinner Bay Park.

Both positions are for a term of three years (2021-2024).

Involvement

Trustees meet once each month. In addition, each trustee is expected to serve on at least one of the following committees, which generally meet monthly: Audit/Finance, Human Resource/Governance, or Operations/Compliance. They may also be contributing to ad hoc committees on various topics.

Qualifications

Trustees must be homeowners within Village Point Improvement District or their spouse. They must be Canadian citizens, and have resided in BC for the last 6 months.

The most important qualifications for a trustee are a desire to serve and represent the community, collaborate with their fellow trustees in the planning and oversight of our operations, and oversee the wise use of our community’s natural, financial, and human resources.

If you have the above qualities, please consider serving on our board of trustees.

Knowledge of organizational governance, budgeting and finances, and the technical side of drinking water and sewer management would also be strong assets. However, if you lack these abilities, know that we have qualified staff who manage the daily operations of our water, sewer, finance, and administration functions.

Next steps, if you are interested…

1. Read our letters patent (our founding document or mandate)
2. Draft a short bio describing yourself and your interest in the position. Submit it and we will publish it in advance of the annual general meeting.
3. Download and read the Trustee Handbook
4. Between now and our AGM, take time to familiarize yourself with the Local Government Act and read the Improvement District Manual.
5. Sign a nomination form, attesting to your eligibility, available here (Word) or here (PDF)

If you have someone in mind whom you would like to nominate, please discuss it with them before submitting their nomination. The job of trustee is a serious commitment and we strongly encourage all candidates to give serious consideration to the role, well in advance of the annual general meeting.

If you are interested in numbers, lots of numbers, read our water report for the year 2020.

In short, over the calendar year, we collected and treated 5.7 million US gallons of water, used a tiny fraction for various purposes, lost some due to leaks (27,000 gallons), and distributed to our homeowners 5.6 million US gallons.

http://vpid.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/VPID-2020-ANNUAL-WATER-REPORT.pdf

 In 2020, the average household consumption in the Village Point Improvement District was 65 US gallons per day per household (that is, 245 liters per day). We anticipate this average to rise over the years. Several years in a row we had to have water trucked in by the end of summer. This has led to discussions about how to encourage conservation. And one question that has arisen is whether we should install household water meters?

    The VPID board of trustees has set up a committee to investigate this question, including the costs for installation and for operations, the pros and cons of having individual water meters installed for each household, benefits or drawbacks for the community and for the individual homeowner. 

The committee would like to harvest opinions and suggestions from our 237 homeowners through a survey. This is not a vote.

(This survey is now closed).

You may see a summary of the results here. Or read a longer report here.

In October, we completed the drilling of a new well: number 19. Located near our plant on East-West road, it is 440 feet deep (134 m), and 149 feet below sea level (45 m).

Read the report written by Ian Cocker, Al Maxwell and Mike Sywulych, as well as the plan for completing the hook up to our system in early 2021.

A first VPID homeowner forum was held on November 19th, 2020, organized and moderated by retiring trustee Don Enright. You will find a summary of the discussion in this PDF file.

The next homeowner forum will take place on May 8th at 11:00.

AGM

The long awaited 2019 Annual General Meeting was held in the Adachi Pavilion on October 16 at 1:00 pm. Seventeen VPID landowners were in attendance and COVID-19 protocols regarding physical distancing, wearing of masks, hand sanitising and bringing own chairs were strictly adhered to. Thanks go to Ron Weeks for accepting the role of ensuring appropriate safeguards were followed. Two Trustee positions were up for election (Don Enright and Al Maxwell) as their 3-year terms were finished. Only 2 nominations were received and consequently Philippe Kruchten and Al Maxwell were elected by acclamation. A big thank you to Don Enright for agreeing to stay beyond his 3-year term until the AGM could be held. A 28-page AGM package was handed out. Landowners who were unable to attend and would like a copy of the package are asked to contact the Administrator at (250) 655-0843 or email at vpid@shaw.ca

New Well #19

The contract to drill a new well was awarded to Red Williams who was the lowest of three bidders for the project. Drilling started on September 24 and was completed on September 28. The new well is 440 feet deep, located on the right of way leading to the Tank Farm and is expected to provide water at a rate of between 7 and 10 gallons per minute. In order to protect the well from falling stones, a liner was installed on October 3. A water sample was sent for chemical analysis and meets Canadian Drinking Water Standards, except for iron, which was expected as the drilling operation creates high levels of iron. Next year, work will continue to complete the project and bring the new well into production before the summer. A pump test will be done to confirm the rate of flow. Additional water testing will be done to ensure that the water test falls within Canadian Drinking Water Standards in order to achieve source approval from VIHA (Vancouver Island Health Authority).

Bylaw 112

The VPID Board has been working on a new meeting Bylaw 112 which replaces Bylaw 69 and 95. The Ministry provided helpful advice on several areas to make the Bylaw more explicit and comply with Government regulations and we are now waiting for Registration by the Inspector of Municipalities. The new bylaw will be posted to the website when it has been Registered. A major change is that motions from the floor will not be allowed. Any landowner wishing to present a motion, must first solicit support from a Trustee who would then present it at a Board meeting for consideration. If the motion is accepted, it will be included in the AGM notification. This procedure was created in order to provide opportunity for members to have prior knowledge to enable informed debate during the AGM.

Homeowner Forum

The VPID will be holding its first-ever homeowner forum on November 19, 2020 at 7:00 pm. The intent of the forum is to allow landowners to voice opinions and provide ideas for consideration by the Trustees on issues such as budgeting, water usage and capital improvements. The forum will be held via Zoom and anyone wishing to participate must contact the Administrator at (250) 655-0844 or vpid@shaw.ca to register and obtain instructions for joining the meeting. When registering, please identify the top questions you wish to ask Trustees in order that informed responses can be prepared.

Administration

OUR EMERGENCY NUMBERS ARE: 1-866-317-9839 and 1-866-398-9256.

We would like to thank all property owners for keeping their accounts current.
We also appreciate the positive feedback from property owners as we try to navigate this unusual time of COVID-19. Thank you very much.