Minutes of the West Shore Parks and Recreation Society Board of Directors Meeting held October 10, 2019

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Minutes of the West Shore Parks and Recreation Society Board of Directors Meeting

Thursday, October 10th, 2019 in the WSPR Fieldhouse

PRESENT: Directors Joe Martignago (Chair), Kim Anema, Loranne Hilton, Braden Hutchins (City of Langford Alternate), Robert Earl

ABSENT: N/A

STAFF PRESENT:

• Sandy Clarke, Acting Administrator
• Geoff Welham, Acting Manager of Recreation
• Wade Davies, Manager of Operations
• Grant Brown, Manager of Finance
• Chantelle Bremner, Recorder

PUBLIC PRESENT:

• Jonathan Huggett, Consultant
• Al Wills, Victoria Bowmen Association

CALL TO ORDER

1. The Chair called the meeting to order at 3:01pm.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

MOVED/SECONDED BY DIRECTORS ANEMA AND HILTON THAT THE AGENDA BE APPROVED. CARRIED

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

2. MOVED/SECONDED BY DIRECTORS ANEMA AND HILTON THAT THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 12TH, 2019 BE ADOPTED. NO ERRORS, NO OMMISIONS CARRIED

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

3. Victoria Bowmen Association Al Wills highlighted the following:

• The Victoria Bowmen Association has held successful championships at WSPR over the years.
• The Victoria Bowmen Association would like WSPR to consider allowing for an archery range to be built to the right of the tennis courts. They have the resources and will help to make the range safe. All of the details pertaining to this request have been sent to staff.

MOVED/SECONDED BY DIRECTORS ANEMA AND HUTCHINS THAT STAFF PRESENT A REPORT INCLUDING ALL OF THE DETAILS OF THE ARCHERY RANGE REQUEST AT ONE OF THE NEXT BOARD MEETINGS. CARRIED

CHAIR’S REMARKS

4. N/A

STANDING COMMITTEES

5. Finance Committee Chair of the Finance Committee, Director Kim Anema highlighted the following: The Finance Committee is currently reviewing the draft 2020 budget. A discussion took place around early approval of 2020 capital funding for the indoor turf and sports floor. This allows the product to be ordered and installation and payment will occur in 2020.

MOVED/SECONDED BY DIRECTORS ANEMA AND HILTON TO APPROVE A BUDGET OF UP TO $300,000 TOWARDS THE INSTALLATION OF THE SPORT COURT. CARRIED

OLD BUSINESS

6. a) RFP Update

   1. Appointment of Fairness Reviewer Acting Administrator, Sandy Clarke highlighted the following:
   • An RFP went out to both parties that participated in the RFEI.
   • There was an on-site visit with both parties in preparation of the upcoming collaboration meetings.

   Jonathan Huggett commented on the following:

   • The RFP has been reviewed by proponents and a few addendums will be distributed to both parties. Keith Hennessy has expressed interest in the Fairness Reviewer position and is an excellent choice. Previously, he drafted the RFP for the Save-On-Foods Arena.

   Acting Administrator, Sandy Clarke commented on the following:

   • CFO of Colwood, Christopher Paine put Keith’s name forward for consideration to the board. The fees align with what the board approved as an expenditure.

   MOVED/SECONDED BY DIRECTORS EARL AND HUTCHINS TO APPOINT KEITH HENNESSY AS THE FAIRNESS REVIEWER. CARRIED

   2. Evaluation Team Appointments Acting Administrator, Sandy Clarke commented on the following:
   • CFO of Colwood, Christopher Paine is confirming these appointments. The previous evaluation committee will continue as the evaluation team for the RFP. The team members include Jonathan Huggett/Braden Hutchins/Kim Anema/Sandy Clarke/Christopher Paine/Lori Cyr.

   Consultant, Jonathan Huggett commented on the following:

   • Input from others outside of the mentioned team members will be included as needed. These are external advisors and will be resource experts used as required.

   MOVED/SECONDED BY DIRECTORS EARL AND HILTON THAT THE EVALUATION TEAM WILL INCLUDE JONATHAN HUGGETT, BRADEN HUTCHINS, KIM ANEMA, SANDY CLARKE, CHRISTOPHER PAINE, AND LORI CYR. CARRIED

NEW BUSINESS

7. a) Pottery Studio Relocation Staff Report Acting Manager of Recreation, Geoff Welham highlighted the following:

• WSPR staff would like to relocate the pottery studio from the Q Centre to the Centennial Centre for Arts Culture and Community (CC) after the outcome of the Q Centre RFP is determined.
  • The Pottery Studio has grown over the last 5 years and a number of factors have created challenges with the location of the studio at the Q Centre. These include:
    • Limited capacity for program growth.
    • Inability to add more amenities such as wheels and storage because of space restrictions.
    • Volunteer burnout as they are overseeing 40+hours weekly of drop-in programs.
    • Noise, parking, and odour issues from the space being located beside dressing rooms.
  • In 2017, WSPR staff rebranded Centennial Centre as Centennial Centre for Arts Culture and Community.
  • WSPR has a lease agreement for CC and this expires in December 2022. The City of Langford has offered to extend this lease for 5 years, with the option of a further 5 years after that.
  • The relocation would further strengthen the arts and culture program delivery. The positive impacts include:
    • Greater staff support for drop-in programs including supervision of volunteers, addressing cleanliness issues and communication with clients.
    • Revitalize and substantially increase usage of current spaces at CC, and further enhance pottery/arts programs.
  • The relocation of the Pottery Studio to CC will in turn create a new programmable or community use space within the Q Centre which will generate new revenue. Possible usage examples include: office rental space, fitness/workout space, youth centre or childcare programming space.
  • The estimated cost to move the Pottery Studio is $60,000. The move to CC would increase the net revenue potential by $8,000 after year 1 and $12,000 after year 2. The rental of the Pottery Studio space in the Q Centre would also generate new revenue of approximately $7,500 per year.

There was discussion among the board and it was decided that the pottery studio would be relocated to CC regardless of the outcome of the Q Centre RFP.

MOVED/SECONDED BY DIRECTORS ANEMA AND HILTON THAT THE POTTERY STUDIO BE RELOCATED FROM THE Q CENTRE TO CENTENNIAL CENTRE FOR ARTS AND CULTURE AND COMMUNITY. CARRIED

FOR INFORMATION

8. a) Administrator’s Report Sandy Clarke, Acting Administrator highlighted the following:

There is a Province-Wide Shake Out Earthquake drill on October 17th at 10:17am. The focus will be on helping people with disabilities and children during an evacuation. An ammonia response drill will also be conducted, as an earthquake may cause damage to the plant.

The Health and Safety Committee attended a full day of training for workplace inspections and accident investigations on September 27th. This will strengthen the committee’s work in these areas. All WSPR staff participating in the annual review of the Bullying and Harassment Policy. The review is being conducted through survey gizmo to make the training more accessible and improve tracking.

WSPR is nominated in multiple categories in the Best of the West Shore Award and has been voted into the top 3 for the category of BEST PLACE FOR FITNESS in the WestShore! Winners will be announced at the celebratory banquet at Olympic View Golf Club on Thursday October 24th 2019.

In September, The Juan De Fuca Arena Improvement Project received official approval for the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program – Community, Culture and Recreation. The grant will contribute $1,298,217, with the remaining 35% of the project funding coming from WSPR capital reserve. This project involves replacement of the JDF arena floor, new dasher boards, spectator seats, and dressing room upgrades. Anticipated completion is in the spring of 2021.

Early September was extremely busy at the Q Centre as WSPR hosted the Senior Men’s Lacrosse Mann Cup. The championship is a best-of-seven, East vs West series and saw the Shamrocks playing the Peterborough Lakers. The series concluded after 5 games and created tremendous energy and excitement in the facility. Ticket scans showed 10,803 spectators attended the 5 games.

The Q Centre hosted several other large events in September. The School District 62 Teachers conference was held on Monday September 23rd and brought over 1500 teachers to our site. 2 large SD62 cross country events also took place on our grounds at the end of September/early October. On Saturday October 5th, 2019 at 7 pm the Q Centre will host an alumni hockey game for charity. The Greater Victoria Firefighters face off against the Boston Bruins Alumni, led by NHL Legend Ray Bourque. 100% of funds raised at this family-friendly event will go towards the purchase of a second stage recovery house. Game day fun will include chuck-a-puck, 50/50 draws and a silent auction. The Victoria Grizzlies will assist with game day festivities, and local celebrity announcer Cliff Lequesne will be co-announcing with Boston Bruins announcer John Horrigan.

Maintenance has had several senior staff retire in the last few months, creating new opportunities for current staff. The Maintenance department was also reorganized to reflect our current staffing needs.

This summer, Parks staff observed an increase in camping and issues related to drug use on our property. RCMP were called several times to assist with incidents. We continue to see RV camping increasing in facility parking lots. While staff encourage these individuals to move out of the parking lots, there is a lack of enforcement available.

There has been a staffing change in the Fitness & Aquatics Department with our Fitness Programmer leaving after 10 years to take on a new role with the District of Saanich. We are very fortunate to have hired Krista Enderud for the position, who has a strong background in Fitness Programming with several other municipalities in Greater Victoria. Krista began on October 1st, 2019.

Swimming lesson registration for fall is very strong with significant waitlists due to the upcoming 6 week pool closure in November/December. Many families are also returning to our lesson program from other facilities. 107 additional classes were added to the fall schedule to accommodate the waitlists, which resulted in 380 additional participants registering in lessons.

Planning continues for the Indoor Sports Floor. Staff are updating the allocation policy and fees and charges rates to ensure both are in place for January 2020. The required facility upgrades are complete, including support beam padding, boarding windows, lighting fixture cages and floor levelling. The space currently hosts 16 hours weekly of drop in pickleball; weekly Friday evening Roller Skating drop in; and rentals from lacrosse and fastball user groups as well dryland practice for the JDF Figure Skating Club.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY

IN CAMERA

9. MOVED/SECONDED BY DIRECTORS EARL AND HUTCHINS THAT THE MEETNG MOVE IN CAMERA. CARRIED

Chair, Joe Martignago asked members of the public, and staff other than the Administrator and Recorder to leave for the duration of the in camera session.

ADJOURNMENT

10. MOVED/SECONDED BY DIRECTORS HILTON AND EARL THAT THE MEETING BE ADJOURNED AT 5:30PM. CARRIED