Seymour Valley Community Association Minutes
Lynn Valley RecCenter
3590 Mountain Highway
Tuesday, February 5th, 2002.

recorded by Michele Payne

65 resident-members were in attendance from 51 homes in the area.

Acting Chair Andrew Karlstrom of Treetop Lane called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m.  He welcomed all attendees, and spoke briefly on the nature of a community association, outlining two elements of an effective one:

a) democratic representation of the area residents, and

b) a coming together to solve issues affecting residents.

Andrew then presented the Charter of the S.V.C.A. :  “ To improve the quality of the Seymour Valley Community by fostering an informative, cooperative and cohesive environment and by ensuring there is democratic representation.”   He asked if any one was opposed to this vision.  No opposition was given.

A member asked whether anyone from the original S.V.C.A. was present.  Bill Ryan identified himself.  A member queried what had happened to the process and when the last AGM was held.  Bill Ryan spoke briefly of past activities and the saving of the bank above Riverside, but said that since 1997 the organization had withered and that an AGM had not been held since then.  He commented that it was wonderful to see this revival now.

Andrew next introduced five previously nominated Candidates for the proposed seven Director  Board of the SVCA:                       

Each spoke briefly.  The Chair then called for any more nominations from the floor:

Andrew then moved that the proposed seven positions be increased to nine.  Seconded by Ron Davies.   Question was called, all in favour by a show of hands, passed unanimously.   Andrew declared the nine candidates Directors of the SVCA by acclamation.

Next on the Agenda were the Guest Speakers:

Barbara Murray spoke about Bear Awareness – described her involvement in the Bear Network, a committee formed in NVD, and introduced Tony Webb, the developer of the non-lethal bear kits ready for use in the District, except for a lack of training.

Phil Holland gave an update on the Speed Humps, and reminded all that the district survey is now in process.  Several members raised concerns about ambiguous questions that were difficult to answer and make sense of if you had responded to remove the humps.  Some said they felt the survey showed bias by emphasizing the speeding issue rather than safety and that there were more suggestions about more humps or traffic circles than about sidewalks, or widening the road.  Other members expressed their displeasure that only one per household was allowed.  Members asked how this would be tabulated and whether the District Staff would give the Advisory group the results.  Bill Maurer of the Advisory group stated that the staff seem always reluctant to divulge information and that it was unlikely the District Staff would even discuss with us what recommendations they would take to District Council based on this survey.

A member commented on the good timing in reviving the SVCA since this was an election year.

Eric Andersen of Block Watch spoke on behalf of Glen Parker the Area Captain who could not attend.  He indicated that the Block Watch units were not well formed on Riverside Drive and encouraged more participation.  He mentioned that B&Es had increased in the area, that it is free to join Block Watch and that any household can obtain a free security assessment to improve their defense against burglary.  Insurance companies often give 10-15% discounts to homes in a Block Watch area. 

Willy Schuurman spoke on Seymour Conservation Area Protection and Enhancement.

He noted there were local and non-local users of the area , which had impacted on the traffic issues on Riverside Drive.  He noted that two groups, the GVRD Water and the GVRD Parks both made decisions about our area, yet often had differing views, and worked at cross purposes.  He stated he would like to represent the SVCA in meetings at the GVRD level, and encouraged members to contact him with their views on bicycle and dog issues in the park.

A member asked about the upper valley connection through to Braemar Road that was once proposed.  Although it seems to have been dropped now, other members queried the involvement of the SVCA with the Official Community Plan.  Bill Maurer explained that our area actually falls within three separate OCPs and that we would invite any interested members with some time to get involved as a committee as the OCPs were huge documents and issues.

Bill Maurer spoke about the SVCA, drawing attention to the website he had created at www. seymourvalley.ca where anyone can access all the current documents and correspondence on numerous issues.  Members were also encouraged to provide their email address to make communication easier, and to subscribe to the specific emailing lists that interest them.  The SVCA Board will try to establish a communication network (to the 500 homes in the SVCA) by having smaller group captains (possibly using the Block Watch system) to fan out information either by phone or letter drop off where we do not have email links.  He also noted that the District allotted only 13 cents per adult resident, so that our annual budget was only about $140.00, which was mostly spent on this AGM.  A donation box was at the entrance.

A member stood to express his appreciation and to thank those who had put in so much effort to communicate with all the residents, and to formulate the new SVCA.  There was a round of applause from the floor.

Andrew adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m.

Michele Payne tallied the collection box, for a total of $74.60 to the SVCA.