Sentry Page Protection

Grounds Committee Update

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw on behalf of the grounds committee

We are all enjoying the extended summer, but preparations for fall and winter are well underway.

  • You'll notice that the picnic tables and the immovable bench in the common space have been repaired and spruced up. Thanks to those who took on these tasks! We ask members to please take care of these items as they are so useful to our membership and would be very expensive to replace outright.

  • Thanks also to everyone who came out to weed and then move mulch into the Food Forest and then move mulch under common space trees. Some of the trees along the 7th avenue sidewalk now have more mulch than they need and members are welcome to scoop some of that up for their own use.

  • Please continue to deep-root water the trees around your unit while the ground is not frozen. It has been a long, dry summer and our trees need that moisture. Let a sprinkler run over the roots (not right up against the tree trunk) for 1-2 hours, once per week.

  • When the temperature does drop to consistently below zero, please make sure your outdoor tap has been turned off from WITHIN your unit and the tap on the outside left open so that water does not freeze and expand in the pipes. Basement flooding occurs from such frozen pipes! If you have any questions about how to do this, please contact a Grounds member or a Buildings member who can come and help you.

  • We are going to try a new approach to the management of our Snow Removal contract this winter, and then the lawn care contract next summer. These contracts will now be handled by our Office Coordinator who is in a better position to respond to members' immediate concerns and communicate efficiently with the contractor because he is on site weekdays. If you have information you want to relay Monday-to-Friday about snow removal, such as areas that have been missed, checking when the crew is expected on site, commendations for work well done, etc. please call or email the office (sunnyhill@shaw.ca). On weekends, please continue to address concerns to the SHCgrounds@shaw.ca email address as we check our email daily to be able to respond in a timely manner to members. At the time this is being written, we still do not know which contractor will be hired for snow clearing. We are waiting for the Board to review the bids then finalize and sign that contract. Watch for an update in the November Newsletter.

  • When you are planning for spring flowers, please be very mindful about using "wildflower" seed packets that don't explicitly name the seeds that are contained within. The City Website on invasive plant species warns about the packets containing seeds for such species as Himalayan Balsam and Creeping Bell Flower which are NOT native and can be bad for the native species we want to encourage.

  • The Grounds Committee always welcomes new members to our crew. Winter is our period of planning for the busier seasons, so it's a great time to start on Grounds and contribute to the planning process, learn about how things work, and get to know the other Grounds Committee members. Just email us for the next meeting date - we set the dates to work for our committee members!

What to do if you see drugs or needles or people using them

Submitted by Belle Auld, Education Committee

We recently had an incident of what could have been someone using drugs in the Coop. They left behind the remains of a small fire, broken glass, empty prescription bottles and a white powder.

The Needle Response Team came and cleaned everything up for us. It turned out that the white powder was probably not drugs, according to the team, but best to be safe.

So, if anything like this happens again, please phone: the Needle Response Team at 403.796.5334. They are open 7 days a week from 7 am –3 pm.

If you need them outside those hours, please leave a voicemail. Often DOAP Team will cover the Needle Response line after 3pm. Jose in the office has their business cards.

If you see someone who is very intoxicated or high and you are concerned for them or yourself, please phone: The DOAP (Downtown Outreach Addictions Program) Team at 403.998.7388. Open 24/7.

Also for your information, from the Safe Needle Disposal Information Guide, “if you get poked by a needle:

  • Let the wound bleed as much as possible

  • Flush the area with flowing water

  • Wash the wound well with soap and warm water

  • Call Health Link – 811 – or seek medical attention for an assessment.”

Thanks to Helen Wirrell for reporting the incident.

Special General Meeting

Join Zoom Meeting on September 25, 2022
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88988637157?pwd=cG5IdmhiNTZDcGQyd0pJRkJmQlJuZz09

Meeting ID: 889 8863 7157
Passcode: 572619
One tap mobile
+12042727920,,88988637157# Canada
+14388097799,,88988637157# Canada

Motion for Special General Meeting:

Whereas CMHC has confirmed that Sunnyhill is eligible for funding under the Federal Community Housing Initiative to assist members with housings costs greater than 30% of household income

It is resolved that Sunnyhill accept this offer as a supplement to our existing internal subsidy program.

Background:

This would be a Special Resolution, requiring a two-thirds vote of members present for a general meeting. The motion could be amended or withdrawn depending on which of three possible scenarios (outlined below) receives majority support from members attending the special general meeting.

In August, Sunnyhill received confirmation that we were eligible to receive funding from CMHC under the Federal Community Housing Initiative. The funding is to be used to assist low-income households with their housing costs to ensure that no household pays more than 30% of its income on housing charges plus heating (natural gas).

To receive the funding, Sunnyhill will have to make an annual income report to CMHC including individual income declarations from the households receiving funding. Sunnyhill would have to show how we distributed the funding to the eligible members.

Sunnyhill has until September 30th to accept the funding for the current year. Accepting could provide significant additional revenue to Sunnyhill--tens of thousands of dollars annually.

As a result, members need to consider the following three scenarios.

  1. Sunnyhill accepts the funding and suspends its internal subsidy program until the funding is no longer available. (Note that this option might complicate and negatively affect our current redevelopment negotiations with the City and funders.)

  2. Sunnyhill accepts the funding but maintains its internal subsidy program and uses the funding to increase the subsidy for households that would still be paying more than 30% of their income on housing and heating. (Planning and Development Committee recommends this option because it would not further complicate our redevelopment plans.)

  3. Sunnyhill refuses the funding and maintains its current subsidy program. (This option would negatively affect those members currently spending more than 30% of income on housing and heating.)

We advise members to study the attached documents outlining how the program works and what assistance is being offered. The pros and cons of the program will be discussed at the general meeting prior to voting.

“The Lane” - Sunnyside’s Newest Destination Hotspot

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw

If you haven’t had a reason to come check out the finished construction along Sunnyhill Lane, you really owe it to yourself to swing by and take a look. This is the culmination of the City realizing it had to extend the sewer system to go further than just a few metres north of 7th Street. Those of us on the Lane got to watch some serious construction since early June, alll very exciting if you like big machines digging deep holes.
And now, in keeping with “if you build it, they will come” - the newly paved Lane is teeming with kids.

If you’re a kid, what’s not to love about an expansive flat surface where there used to be holes and gravel? You can bounce a ball, You can run barefoot. Your wheels can roll so fast you can glide like the wind.

The chorus of voices suddenly crying out in unison, “CAR!” Is music to our ears - a spontaneous moment of harmony. Where once fierce opponents battled each other in two-on-three ball hockey, or raced down the lane - scooter versus rollerblades - there is suddenly cooperation, the priority now to keep each other safe. And as that car passes, neighbourly interaction: the driver rolling down her window and asking incredulously “Have you kids seriously been at this since I last saw you three hours ago?!” And being reassured by laughing faces “oh no, we did go in for lunch!”

The timing couldn’t have been better for the reopening of a paved Sunnyhill Lane that now has a full-length sewer system to drain the puddles (some would say small lakes) that plagued us. Well before the onset of blustery fall weather, with plenty of summer days left for our community to make the Lane our own, we’ve been throwing around ideas of basket ball hoops and painting the pavement to encourage interactive activities and discourage vehicles speeding. We are hoping to host a gathering very soon to celebrate our new space - perhaps an afternoon tea with scones. Stay tuned for the date.

Grounds Update

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw on behalf of Sunnyhill Grounds

Thanks to everyone who came on short notice to the Food Forest Weeding and Mulching weekend! We got the job done and still have mulch to spare, so members who want some for their yards are welcome to help make the pile disappear.

A small Gardening Club crew has been monitoring the common spaces for Creeping Belleflower and carrying out search-and-destroy missions for that and for thistle, but we are still expecting members to dig out these weeds from their own yards and along their fence lines.

With a little luck, this month we will have a local artist creating a mural for us on one of the garbage enclosures on Sunnyhill Lane OR 4th Street (the artist is still determining that). Details will be sent to the membership by email from the Office.

Grounds welcomes new members to our committee - get in touch with us at SHCgrounds@shaw.ca and we'll let you know when we meet.

Yvonne on behalf of Sunnyhill Grounds

Reminder Robert's Rules Workshops

Submitted by Belle Auld on behalf of the Education Committee

Want to know about applying Robert’s Rules to our Coop meetings?

Got questions about Robert’s Rules? Bring them to the Zoom workshops August 28 th and/or August 29 th or submit them in advance.

By request of the Sunnyhill membership, the Education Committee is hosting two workshops based on Robert’s Rules of Order and Team norms for better meetings.

Carmen Wyton* of Ripple Enterprises will present two 30 minute workshops:

  • Part 1 Sunday August 28 at 2 pm – Overview of Robert’s Rules and practical application in the coop business proceedings. 

  • Part 2 Monday August 29 at 7 pm – Meeting norms and practices. Based on outcomes from the Robert’s Rules discussion, a collaborative workshop will be facilitated to establish meeting norms that all members are comfortable with.  The intent is to establish expectations for meetings, and to have a known plan of action when meetings go off track. 

Each presentation will be followed by a 15 – 20 minute question and answer period. Carmen is inviting us to collect questions in advance that she will answer during the workshops. Please submit questions to the Education Committee at shceducation@shaw.ca

Please plan to attend.

Zoom links (copy and paste to your browser’s address bar):

  • 2:00 pm Aug 28,
    https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81937914128?pwd=OUtPK042cUNURDJIRTd3ZEZKWnZwdz09

  • 7:00 pm Aug 29,
    https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81806381303?pwd=WVVvNGRkZlROVmRhZUFleTJIY3Y1UT09

These workshops will be presented on Zoom and recorded so members can view them later.

* CARMEN WYTON, is the principle of Ripple Enterprises, founder and current Chair of the Women’s Health Coalition of Alberta.  Carmen has more than 25 years experience working with non-profit organizations, government advisory councils, charities, and industry associations in multiple areas of the private and public sector.  Carmen is also on the Executive of Public Affairs Association of  Canada.

Ground's mid-summer update

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw on behalf of the Grounds Committee

The Grounds Committee regretfully accepted the resignation of our chairperson, Mahlah, at our July meeting. Mahlah has done a tremendous job over the past 2 years bringing her organizational skills and “let’s get this done!” approach to the Grounds Committee’s responsibilities. She deftly managed the Snow Removal and Lawn Care contracts as well the Arborist work. The bridge at the south end of the Food Forest was one of several projects she made happen. She gave more to Sunnyhill over the past 2 years than many members give in a decade, and did it as a relatively new member herself.
So, our committee would love to have some new recruits to help replenish our ranks as we figure out how to fill these big shoes.

Quick update on Grounds Projects:
- Black knot blight was pruned from a few of our trees, and we lost one entirely to this blight. Thanks to the members who alerted Grounds to problems with trees in our co-op. We keep a running list of things to bring up when our arborist visits, so feel free to email us if you have any concerns. Shcgrounds@shaw.ca

- Liam did a fantastic reorganization of the shed space. Thanks to everyone for signing out items you borrow, and alerting Grounds to any concerns with equipment

- A few common space gardens are managed by members, but we are still looking for someone to give some TLC to the flower bed on the south side of the Garage. It was an area that was beautifully managed by Herta until she moved in the spring.There are funds for purchasing plants, ideally perennials, if anyone feels so inspired.

- We have been asked to consider how we could provide space for the Sunnyside Bike Lane project being proposed to the City by Sunnyside community members. This may be a topic for discussion at an upcoming General Meeting.

- Thanks to everyone who is ripping out invasive species such as creeping bell flower! Keep up the good work.

- Last, but not least: mark Sunday July 7th on your calendars! It’s the next Co-op Grounds working bee.
This time we will be focussing our attention on the Food Forest.- doing some much needed weeding and spreading of mulch. Come join us from 10:00am-12:00pm or part thereof. Meet your neighbours, learn about our Food Forest, and enjoy some refreshments!

Robert’s Rules education Heads Up and request for questions

Submitted by Belle Auld on behalf of the Education Committee

The Education Committee will be hosting two workshops based on Robert’s Rules of Order and Team norms for better meetings.

We have contracted Carmen Wyton of Ripple Enterprises to conduct two 30 minute presentations:

• Part 1 Sunday August 28 at 2 pm – Overview of Robert’s Rules and practical application in the coop business proceedings.

• Part 2 Monday August 29 at 7 pm – Meeting norms and practices. Based on outcomes from the Robert’s Rulesdiscussion, a collaborative workshop will be facilitated to establish meeting norms that all members are comfortable with. The intent is to establish expectations for meetings, and to have a known plan of action when meetings go off track.

Each presentation will be followed by a 15 – 20 minute question and answer period. Carmen is inviting us to collect questionsthat she will answer during the workshops. Please submit questions to Chris at tommythecat19@hotmail.ca or Belle at belleauld@gmail.com

Please plan to attend – we know Robert’s Rules may not be the most exciting topic for many of us, but we feel it is important for our community.

These workshops will be presented on Zoom and recorded so members can view them later.

About that AGM Motion...

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw.

The following motion was made and passed at the June 18 AGM: 

“That any co-op member who is presently and actively involved in Sunnyhill remediative or legal processes be precluded from consideration for nomination to the board until such time that  the processes the member is involved in have been permanently resolved within the community or external agencies or organizations.  And that if any current Board member is actively involved in these processes they are suspended from the board until such time as these processes have been permanently resolved.”

 I believe it is instructive to look at this as an example of why our Co-op should not make policy in a rush.

  • Members must be given a heads-up that a motion is being made on important policy so that they can think about the meaning, the wording, the application, etc. ahead of the meeting. Ideally 10 days so it goes out with the agenda, but even 24 hours is still better than springing it on people at a meeting. In this instance, the motion was made to try to prevent Philip Cox from running for the Board. He made his intentions known on June 7 in the SHC Voice. There was time for those writing the motion to get it into members’ hands before June 18.

  • We make general policy in order to address a singular situation or person at our peril. Certainly a specific problem can nudge us to close a gap in our policies somewhere. That might even be the case here. But there are better ways to address singular situations. Arguments challenging Phil’s nomination could have simply been made when he was nominated. Raise the specific concerns, ask him to answer each one. Instead we now have a policy to address one situation that could be used in ways we haven’t considered.

  • The policy’s wording is problematic

  • “Remediative” is not a word. See Webster’s dictionary.                

  • if we mean “mediation” we should say mediation. If we mean “processes to remediate a problem,” that is casting a very wide net and needs to be defined. 

  • the word “actively” is redundant

  • “processes have been … resolved.” Processes don’t get resolved. Processes end. Conflicts get resolved. 

  •  the word “permanent” is excessive. Only time will tell if a conflict was permanently or temporarily resolved. If something is resolved, it can be considered resolved until proven otherwise. 

4. Some immediate problems with this policy come to mind: 

  •  one could argue that being involved in mediation in the co-op demonstrates good will and intention to resolve disagreements.  This policy implies that a member presumably trying to resolve disagreements would be kept off the Board, while a member refusing to engage in “remediative processes” would not have this policy applied to them and be free to run.

  •  we leave open the door to members regularly challenging those who are already on the Board, rather than building the Board’s ability to recognize when Board members should recuse themselves from a discussion. We need to build trust in our community, trust in our Board. Transparency, communication, processes such as recusing oneself, are ways to build trust. For example, the argument that a Board member could not reasonably have access to the Board email if they are in mediation is a bit of a stretch. The fact is that Board members could open the Board email at any time and learn information that affects them as people (ie learning my best friend and neighbour is in serious arrears). If there is a declared conflict of interest, it is not impossible to have the Board take the extra step of having one Board member always scan email and put anything pertaining to mediation involving another Board member into a separate file. 

  • if the Board DOES play a role in mediation, do those Board members who simply volunteered to represent the Board have to step down temporarily, even if they are not personally involved in any disagreement?

  • we have no mechanism in our bylaws for Board members to come off the Board temporarily. Are those positions then required to be filled temporarily if it leaves more than 2 positions open?

I think there may be good reason for us to not have people on the Board at a time when they are part of legal action by or against our co-op. We could consider making it a reason for “Disqualification” under section 12.5 of our bylaws. And that brings me to the most important consideration about what happened at the AGM when this motion was passed:  The election and qualification / disqualification of directors is a matter of BYLAWS. 

Bylaws have rules about how and when they can be made / amended /repealed and what must be done after we change them.  Those rules are in the Cooperatives Act. Changing bylaws is “Special Business” as per the Act. The following, from  “Cooperatives Regulation”, 24(1) lists what isn’t Special Business.  24(2) makes the point that making and amending bylaws MUST be Special Business.  24(3) indicates that the kind of motion that was made at our AGM would have to be sent out when the notice of the meeting was sent out. (And according to our SHC bylaws, that is 10 clear calendar days)

Special business

24(1)  All matters dealt with at a special meeting of a cooperative and all matters dealt with at an annual meeting are special business, except

        (a)    consideration of the financial statements

        (b)    an auditor’s report

        (c)    the election of directors

        (d)    the remuneration of directors and delegates

        (e)    the appointment of an auditor

        (f)    the approval of patronage returns if the by-laws require member approval of patronage returns,

        (g)    consideration of the minutes of the previous annual meeting,

        (h)    consideration of reports of directors or standing committees, and

        (i)    any other matter that the by-laws specify is not special business.

(2)  Amendments to articles and the making of by-laws and amendments to them may not be specified under subsection (1) as matters that are not special business.

(3)  Notice of a meeting of a cooperative at which special business is to be transacted must (a)    state the nature of the special business in sufficient detail to permit the recipient to form a reasoned judgment about the special business, and

        (b)    subject to subsection (4), contain the text of any special resolution to be submitted to the meeting.

 

So, we must now deal with this. We can use it as a learning opportunity for ourselves about generally how we should go about making policy in our co-op.  And we need to address that the way this motion was presented and passed at the AGM broke the rules of the Cooperatives Act. This whole thing must be revisited.

Nesting Neighbours

Submitted by Nicole Montford.

One of the great things about living in the Sunnyhill Co-op is our proximity to nature but sometimes that nature comes closer to home than we would like! That was the experience of one member of our co-op who found a nest in their dryer vent recently.

A picture of a nest in a dryer vent.

A picture of the nest recently found in a member’s dryer vent.

Dryer vents are an attractive spot for many birds because they are warm, dry, and the proximity to humans can deter some predators from bothering their nests. This is dangerous because nest materials can completely block air flow, creating a fire hazard.

While many bird species are winding down their brooding season, there are still some that will continue to lay eggs throughout the rest of the summer. It is important to keep an eye out for debris hanging out of your dryer vent and birds coming and going from the vent. These are early signs that a bird is making a nest in your dryer vent.

A table of common birds, their laying season, and number of broods per laying season. Robins, April — August, 2-3. House sparrows, March — August, 1-4. Magpies, April, only 1. House Finch, March — August, 1-6

A few common birds, their laying season, and number of broods per season.

The most direct way to prevent birds from nesting in your dryer vent is to use a bird proof vent cover. If you find that your dryer vent has become a home, Calgary Humane Wildlife Control is a very good source of information.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Since sharing this story there have been some questions about the nest that was found. Here is some additional information:

  • This happened back in May, the eggs have since hatched, and the baby birds are no longer there.

  • The nesting birds were actively visiting the nest but fled when the member investigated the dryer vent, just a few minutes before the picture included in this article was taken.

  • The bird that nested there collected a lot of material for the nest, including the Magpie feather that is visible in the photo — it was not a Magpie that had nested in the vent.

  • The dryer vent in this story had a standard cover over it and was not an open hole. The birds either found a way to remove part of the barrier or slipped through gaps in the cover. The cover was only removed when the nest was being investigated, which is when the photo was taken. It has since been replaced.

The Prospects for a Sustainable Downtown Calgary

Link submitted by Philip Cox.

Bold Ambition, Sacred Cows and a Place to Belong: The Prospects for a Sustainable Downtown Calgary is a recent editorial written by Dr. Bryon Miller (professor of Geography, and coordinator of the Urban Studies Program at the University of Calgary) and Dr. Noel Keough (co-founder of the Sustainable Calgary Society). One of the key suggestions is to increase non-market affordable housing models (like co-operative housing) and the authors include a shout out to our very own Sunnyhill Housing Co-operative!

Member Login
Welcome, (First Name)!
Forgot? Show
Log In
Enter Member Area
My Profile Not a member? Sign up. Log Out