I am beginning to think spring has finally arrived! The sun has been shining for a few days and as I look out onto the Bay I see the ice shrinking bit by bit around the edges while the centre is getting darker and darker. So happy to see this!
Possibly the first thing on everyone’s mind will be the water level for this year. The last report on April 6th from GBA indicates that the Corps of Engineers is anticipating water levels to be at about the same level as last year. I hope that means that all our docking changes last season will still work this year.
The GBA (Georgian Bay Association of which West Carling Association is a member) held its AGM on April 7th in Toronto. There was a good turnout and much information shared. We were advised that Hydro One did not eliminate the seasonal rate which is good news. Also the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) has been replaced by a new organization – The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). The reason for this change is to give local communities a stronger voice in local land use planning. A brief summary of GBA’s interpretation of the main changes are on our website.
The complete minutes of this meeting will be posted on our website. It should be noted that there are some committees where new members are being sought. You do not need to be a representative to GBA but a member of one of its member Associations.
Bob Donaldson, the executive Director of GBA is stepping down after 10 years of exemplary and much appreciated service. Rupert Kindersley, current President of GBA, has been appointed the new Executive Director. John McMullen, Past President will take over as President for the coming year.
Your Board of Directors appointed a Membership Committee last fall to develop strategies to increase our membership. We are at 116 members and our high was once 300. So there is work to be done and the Committee has been doing just that. The first report came to the Board this month.
There were five initiatives recommended and these were approved by the Board. These were:
Work has begun on all of these and if anyone has an interest in working on one or all of them, please let me know. Board members may also be reaching out to you for your help. You will hear more about this in the coming weeks.
Our Annual Picnic and Regatta will be held again this year. You will remember last year’s had to be cancelled because of the weather. This year we will also have a rain/wind/weather date. The event will be held on Saturday August 4th and the rain date will be Sunday August 5th. I do hope you will join us. More information will be available in the coming weeks. Keep checking the website.
As you know, our newsletter is only in digital format and I encourage you to forward it to your relatives and friends and print a copy for your coffee table.
I look forward to our summer on the Bay. I hope it’s a good one!
All the best,
Pam Wing
Download this story and the entire WCA Spring Newsletter May 2018 in PDF format (1.5MB).