BICA Annual Members Meeting 2023 Summary

4:00 – 5:30 PM EST Saturday August 5, 2023

Ruby Island (TP2567)

Minutes

1. Call to Order – Patrick Thoburn

2. Approval of Minutes 2022 – Patrick Thoburn

• Moved – That the general membership approves the minutes of the 2022 BICA AMM
  • Mover – Zachary Shewchuk
  • Second – Scott Boatman
    • Passed: Unanimously

3. President’s Report – Patrick Thoburn

• Full Report appended to these minutes below.
• Patrick reviewed the priorities (voted on by members at the 2022 AMM) and the progress that the BICA Board has been working on over the past 12 months:
  • Fire safety – NEMI grant to subsidize the purchase of 10 additional pumps.Emergency preparedness – Training workshop and new emergency form.Environment – Love Your Bay Week communication.Family Fun Day – Family Hot Dog Day insteadStrengthen relationship with Whitefish River First Nation – There is interest in working together especially with regards to environmental issues.
• 2024 dues increase –Patrick reviewed the rational (inflation and primarily due to GBA dues increase).

4. Treasurer’s Report – David Farner

• David gave a high-level review of the financial situation.
  • Revenue from dues approx. $7400
  • Operating expenses used approx. 95% of revenue.
  • This doesn’t leave a large buffer for financing all the fun BICA events and activities and highlights the importance of the revenue generated by the annual raffle and auction.
• Moved – That the general membership approves the Treasurer’s Report for 2023
  • Mover – Jim Montgomery
  • Second – Ted Cowan
    • Passed: Unanimously

5. GBA Report – Liz Phillips

• Liz is now President of the GBA. Congratulations!
• Liz is in the process of visiting other member associations and is struck by how they are very different, but also very similar in many ways.
• Liz gave an overview of the current GBA issues and initiatives.
  • Coastal protection
  • Boating Safety
  • Water quality

6. NEMI Update

• Mayor Al MacNevin gave an overview of some of the challenges faced by NEMI
  • Opioid and mental health problems in the region
  • Burnout of staff and difficulty of recruiting and retaining new staff at the hospital
  • COVID made the situation even worse, although working together did help strengthen the relationship with First Nation communities on Manitoulin Island
  • The focus now is to work together across all disciplines to remove silos.
• Councilor Laurie Cook
  • Reiterated that the fire ban is still on
  • Reviewed some of the benefits we receive for our tax dollars, and encouraged the BICA community to take advantage of:
    • $5000 pump subsidy
    • Little Current Library
    • Rec Centre

7. Q&A

• David Alison congratulated and thanked Liz for stepping up to the role of GBA President. This was reiterated by Lindsay Richards.
• Neil Stanton asked Mayor Al about the criteria for removing the fire ban.
  • Mayor Al responded that it is not the Mayor’s decision – it is up to the Fire Chief. Mayor Al agreed that the current situation is confusing because the fire ban has been lifted in some neighboring municipalities and on Crown Land.
• Zachary Shewchuk asked Mayor Al about specific guidelines for what types of fires are allowed under the fire ban – BBQ’s, indoor fireplaces, etc.?

8. Emergency Preparedness and Fire Safety

• Emergency Preparedness – Sheila Williams
  • Reviewed the success of the training by NSSR and the OPP that BiCA arranged for members in July.
  • Reviewed the safety information sheet posted on the BICA website.Overviewed the Emergency Form that was laminated and made available to members at the meeting.
  • Acknowledged and thanked Kim Redston and Lisa Alison for the work on preparing this form.Stressed the importance of knowing your exact location when calling 911 for assistance.
    • Your Island Number may not be enough. Know your GPS coordinates and/or What3Words location.
  • Get first aid training – you need to be able to take care of yourself.
• Fire Safety – David Gallup
  • Thanks to the NEMI subsidy and 10 additional pumps, we now have 45 fire pumps in the Bay.
  • 72 members in the WhatsApp Fire Pump Group.
    • Stressed the importance that it is for fire emergency use only – no general chit chat.
    • Contact David Gallup to be added to the Group.
  • Tremendous response to the recent fire at the Vance camp.
    • The fire was under control withing 30 minutes of notification.Lessons learn: Personal safety and being properly dressed and equipped is important – responders need to be prepared. No shorts, or bare feet. Long pants, boots and work gloves recommended. Bring tools – rakes, shovels, etc.
  • BICA is trying to arrange Fire Pump Training and Fire Fighting Training in 2024.
    • Contact Patrick Thoburn if you know someone that could possibly do this training.

9. Members Brainstorm in Small Groups – All

• Attending members were divided into 4 groups each having a BICA Board member acting as facilitator and Spokesperson.  Each group was asked to discuss the following question for approximately 10 minutes and brainstorm ideas:
  • “What more can our community do to improve fire safety and emergency preparedness?”

10. Presentation of Member Ideas – Group Spokespeople

• Each group’s ideas were written on a large notepad and then presented by the Spokesperson.
• Following the presentation, each member was asked to put up two colored stickers for voting on ideas that should be pursued by BICA.

11. Board Nominations & Election – Trevor Marshall

• Nominations for the Board of Directors for 2023-2024
  • Patrick Thoburn
  • Sheila Williams
  • Celesta Bjornson
  • Liz Phillips
  • David Farner
  • Trevor Marshall
  • Bobette Jones
  • Scott Boatman
  • Jeff Baker
  • Chris Redston
  • Lisa Allison
  • David Gallup
• Motion – That the general membership approves the Board of Directors for 2023-2024.
  • Mover – Zachary Shewchuk
  • Second – Jean Paul Whyatt
    • Passed: Unanimously

12. Adjournment – Patrick

Meeting Adjourned at 5:45 EST

Minutes drafted by Chris Redston, Secretary

Presidents Report 2023 by Patrick Thoburn – appended to these minutes.

Environmental Report 2023 by Chris Redston – appended to these minutes.