Apex Property Owners Association

Minutes can be viewed as a PDF file.  Click here.

Apex Master Planning Update

Our last newsletter discussed the efforts of Apex Mountain Resort (AMR) and the Province to further consult with the Penticton Indian Band (PIB). The goal is to work towards an “accommodation agreement” with the Band which responds to the interests of the Band.

In December, APOA was advised that various possible development scenarios identified by the consultant had been presented to the PIB. They asked AMR to identify their preferred scenario or option. Any ski area plan is intended to balance lift capacities, accommodation capacity and new development. The intent is that revenues from new development will support investments in new lifts.

Once again, AMR has agreed to attend out AGM (see details below) and provide an update.

Denis O’Gorman

Forest Harvest Planning

Through late November notification, both Weyerhaeuser and Gorman Brothers, the principal forest operators around Apex, called for public comment on their amended Forest Stewardship Plans (FSP’s).

Amendments are proceeding because government directed in January 2007 that a set of objectives laid out in the Okanagan Shuswap LRMP (Land and Resource Management Plan) be built into the FSP’s which forest licensees must prepare. These new objectives cover a range of important topics including wildlife, biodiversity, riparian areas, cultural heritage, recreation areas, regionally significant trails and scenic areas. FSP’s must lay out strategies to achieve these objectives. For example, strategies spell out provisions for consulting with recreational user groups prior to forest road construction or harvesting. Note the FSP’s also outline the companies’ proposals regarding beetle attack areas.

To see APOA’s response to these draft FSP’s, please go to our website at:

http://apexpropertyowners.com/news.html

Denis O’Gorman

Community Wildfire Protection

A conversation with RDOS Emergency Services Manager, Mark Woods, resulted in some disappointment. Turn-over and other capacity problems at RDOS have resulted in delays in applying for provincial funding that would pay for the necessary “operational planning”.

Mark’s hope is to still secure a skilled and experienced individual to lead this exercise. This will obviously entail a considerable amount of coordination with the forest operators in the area (Weyerhaeuser and Gorman Brothers) as well as the Forest Service. As well, APOA has stressed the importance of close liaison with APOA and other reps to ensure community values and concerns are properly taken into account.

Denis O’Gorman

APOA Annual General Meeting

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Longshot Cafeteria

Apex Mountain Resort

2:00 PM

Registration and collection of membership dues

($25 cash or cheque)

2:20 PM – 5:00 PM

Meeting Agenda:

• President’s Report
• Treasurer’s Report
• Committee Reports
• Proposed bylaw amendment
• Election of Directors
• RDOS Report by:
  Area Chair Bill Schwarz
• Apex Mountain Report by:
  CEO Louise Burgart
  GM James Shalman

Okanagan Vista Trails

Last March, a workshop was sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts (MTSA) to start the process of addressing conflicts over winter use in this area, described as the “Apex Intensive Recreation RMZ (or Resource Management Zone).”

MTSA assumed responsibility for Recreation Sites and Trails from the Ministry of Forests who, with the Penticton Outdoor Club, initially developed the Okanagan Vista Cross Country ski trail system. The club, partly related to Government’s policy respecting insurance, has withdrawn from an active role in the area.

Meanwhile its accessibility has led to growing use and related to that, growing conflicts between skiing and snowmobiling. While the 2007 meeting led to acceptance of the trails map from the 1995 protocol as a starting point for confirming designations, the agreed follow-up meeting to work on outstanding issues, implementation measures, and a recommended statement on the future management of the area has yet to be convened.

Such a meeting is being actively encouraged to address conflicts the LRMP (2001) clearly identified, and which, in the absence of action, continue to grow.

Denis O’Gorman

Apex Fire Brigade Society

FIREMEN’S BALL

Fundraiser

Saturday, March 15th at 6pm

at the Gunbarrel

Dinner, Dancing, Live & Silent Auctions

Magic Tricks, and VALDY IN CONCERT!

TICKETS $55

Reserve your tickets

at Double Diamond Hostel – 292-8256

(Limited number of tickets available.)

Apex Volunteer Fire Brigade

Your Fire Brigade Society has been hard at work:

• Fire boxes are now installed and equipped throughout the village. This will allow the brigade to quickly get fire hoses to almost every building in the village.
• Calling 911 now generates a call to the top tier of the brigade’s call-out phone tree (see below).
• The society’s fundraiser, The Fireman’s Ball will be held the evening of the APOA AGM – Saturday, March 15.

Jeff Brown

Fire Emergency Phone Tree

For police emergencies, call 911. Volunteers have no policing authority.

For medical emergencies, call 911. The Fire Brigade is not equipped to respond to medical emergencies. You should also call the Apex Resort office at (250) 292-8222. They will contact the local Ski Patrol.

In case of fire, call 911 from a safe location. However, you should also keep the full list of volunteers with you. 911 operators will only contact the top tier of the phone tree. In the offseason, this may not be sufficient! You should keep phoning volunteers until you talk to someone who is on the mountain and able to respond. The volunteer will then continue working the phone tree to contact as many volunteers as are available to respond.

In case of fire, start calling phone numbers in the following order. Once you have contacted a volunteer they will organize the phone calls to alert all volunteers. All numbers are area code (250).

• Bob Thompson 292-8399 (fire chief)
• Apex Resort 292-8222 (business hours)
• Steve LaPrairie 292-8536 (h), 490-7869 (m)
• Gary Vollet 292-8257
• Steve Sheridan 770-0158 (m)
• John Davis 292-8118 (h), 490-7952 (m)
• Dave Anderson 292-8752
• Rick Felker 292-8135

Other Emergency Numbers:

• Forest Fire 1-800-663-5555
• Fortis (electricity) 1-800-769-3766

Feeback from the APOA, response from Gorman Bros.

Below is the original letter sent by Denis O’Gorman to Gorman Brothers Timber Ltd.

To see the response from Kerry Rouck click here.  (It is a PDF file).  It is simplest to view the PDF file as this provides Denis’s comments and Kerry’s response interleaved in context. Read more…

Feeback from the APOA

From: D O’Gorman [mailto:denisogorman@telus.net]
To: ‘brian.drobe@weyerhaeuser.com’
Subject: AMENDMENTS TO WEYERHAEUSER FSP

Dear Brian,

On behalf of the Apex Property Owners Association I am forwarding some comments on the FSP amendments advertised by Weyerhaeuser Canada. Read more…

Fire Brigade Established

A group of Apex residents has recently stepped up to the challenge of providing fire protection for the property owners and businesses of Apex Resort. Bob Thompson, a retired fire fighter with over 30 years experience, spent numerous hours reviewing the village layout, analysing requirements, and developing the equipment requirements and fire fighting strategies needed to protect our homes. By far the most experienced member, Bob is the fire brigade’s training officer and “the guy in charge” at any fire. Bob began training a small group of volunteers this summer. Read more…

The Regional District’s Community Wildfire Protection Plans began in 2004 to improve fire prevention in the urban-forest interface. The purpose of the program is to assist communities in the development of plans that will assist them in improving forest fire prevention and protection. The program is funded by the Ministry of Forests and Range and administered by the Union of BC Municipalities.

The outcome of the planning stage of this program has been released by the regional district, and is now posted on the RDOS website at: http://www.rdos.bc.ca/index.php?id=530.

The APOA has recently received notice from Director Bill Schwartz that the Solid Waste Transfer Station initiative has been completed.  This is the conclusion of a significant effort to implement a solid waste management system for Apex. The outcome is that no transfer station will be forthcoming.  Director Schwartz’s letter can be viewed here.

BACKGROUND

The review of solid waste disposal options for Apex began with an RDOS ruling that waste received at the Campbell Mountain facility must satisfy landfill use criteria, which includes formal recycling.  Apex did not meet this requirement.  RDOS initiated a “conceptual solid waste management system” study which noted:

• there is no overall solid waste collection system for the community
• problems with use of the Apex compactor bin including ad hoc loading and unauthorized use by non-payers
• some strata condos have formalized collection while  others have owners/renters fending for themselves
• unorganized collection for residential homes including those with several rental rooms, and
• the small size of the Apex resort community.

The study looked at options for commercial establishments and strata condos. It also looked at residential service options including collection, community bins and a transfer station.  The transfer station was seen to be important for non-strata residential garbage disposal.  Conceptual designs and cost estimates were developed.  This was followed by a review of siting options by a consulting engineer.

RDOS established an Apex Residential Solid Waste Advisory Committee and participants included Steve LaPrairie, Ron Mason, Rob McIntosh and Denis O’Gorman (replacing Joe Dhara).  On-site meetings were held and siting options were also reviewed by the Ministry of Transportation and Highways because of road safety issues.  Revised cost estimates were then prepared by RDOS.

Concerns were expressed about service costs and Director Schwarz indicated that these should generally not exceed those levied elsewhere in the RDOS.

PRESENT SITUATION

As a result of reviewing revised costs based on alternative configurations Director Schwarz concluded that estimated cost levies remain too high and that he would recommend that this project proposal be discontinued.  His explanatory letter is posted on the APOA website.

A fundamental factor remains the present size of the community.  In the interim, the technical memo by RDOS provides useful thought on improving commercial and strata waste disposal.  The problems of unauthorized use of commercial bins and worse yet, illicit roadside disposal remain to be solved.

Ideas anyone?

The contact is Beth Cavers, RDOS solid Waste Management Coordinator (490-4121).

Denis O’Gorman

The New APOA Website

We have a new and improved APOA website! Same address, but with a new look and capabilities. The goals of investing a little more time and money in the website are many:

• Simplify the membership process by allowing members to purchase their membership online.
• Improve the ability of the APOA to communicate with its members through the APOA online newsletter and links to relevant articles and websites.
• Provide an archive of APOA information such as board meeting minutes, newsletters, etc.
• Provide an online calendar of events.
• Simplify the management of the website so that more people can be involved in contributing and maintaining its content.
• Create a forum for discussion among APOA members. Topics like the volunteer fire department generated much debate but consensus building was difficult partly due to a lack of venue for discussion and information exchange.

Over the coming months the board hopes the new website will become the focal point for APOA related information and discussion. It is the most timely and cost effective way for a small group like the APOA to communicate with each other. This is especially true in a resort community where getting everyone together for a face-to-face discussion is so difficult.

If you haven’t yet joined the APOA it is easier than ever. We use PayPal, the same online payment service used by EBay, so you can be assured it is both safe and secure.

Of course e-mail continues to be an important method of sending timely APOA information to our members. If you have already joined but not provided the APOA with your email address, please consider doing so. Simply send an e-mail to apexpoa@yahoo.ca. The APOA only sends out e-mail only when needed (we hate spam as much as you do), we never reveal your address to others, and it helps keep our membership fees low since each letter we send by traditional mail is expensive in postage, stationery, and volunteer time.

We hope you enjoy the new website.

Wildfire Protection at Apex

Many of you will recall the presentation at our March 2007 AGM by Richard Swanson, the consulting forester hired by the Regional District (RDOS) to prepare an overview assessment of community fire risk. Given the expected impact of the mountain pine beetle on surrounding forests, this assessment is most timely.

Swanson’s preliminary report is now done and Mark Woods, the RDOS Emergency Services Coordinator is having the report for Apex and other communities posted on the RDOS website (http://rdos.bc.ca) under the Emergency/Protective Services department. Three documents pertinent to Apex will be available:

• The Fire Hazard Assessment report.
• An interface fire hazard map.
• The fire assessment form which describes risk conditions and fire suppression capabilities.

Some of the points made in Swanson’s report are that:

• The Fire Weather Danger Rating has a long history of Danger Class 3 and above (High).
• Most of the area has moderate to high fuel loads.
• The topography of some of the interface area is usually steep, making fire suppression difficult.

Swanson concludes, “The Apex Resort area has a high hazard rating for the areas that have a forest interface … residential and commercial (uses) in the Apex village have a lower rating due to the distance from the fire interface, the lack of trees, fire hydrants and the amount of roads and parking areas”

The report recommends:

• The community should have its own volunteer fire hall.
• Removal of overhanging branches and clean up of fuels is required on an ongoing basis.
• A fuel modification area should be established around all residences in the Apex resort area.
• A fuel break should be established to protect the community from a wildfire moving through the Apex area. Consultation with the Ministry of Forests would be necessary to ensure it is established with the proper location and dimensions.

The report notes, “It is important that lot owners … make a joint commitment to minimize the risk by following fire smart practices … lead and organize themselves for fire protection and emergency strategies … meet with the Protection Branch of Ministry of Forests to go over fire safe practices”.

In terms of next steps the RDOS indicates this overview assessment needs to be translated into an operational plan for reducing hazards. Mark Woods has indicated there is a good potential to secure funding for this next stage of work. This would potentially include accessing the services of Protection Branch personnel in the months following the peak fire season.

To follow up, your APOA board will be seeking a meeting with RDOS Area Director Bill Schwarz and key RDOS staff (possibly jointly with Ministry of Forestry) to discuss steps in a feasible action plan.

Given Swanson’s reference to the community organizing itself for fire protection and emergency strategies, the Volunteer Fire Brigade column, below, deserves your attention.

As a sobering final note, I recently received the price of renewed fire insurance for our property. The increase over last year is staggering! Clearly there are some challenges
ahead.

An update on the wildfire protection initiative will follow in our next edition of the newsletter.

A brief post-script: the RDOS emphasized the desirability of home addresses being visible from the street to assist emergency personnel. Yours truly is delinquent in this matter
and will have to get our house numbers up!

Enjoy your summer!

Denis O’Gorman

Volunteer Fire Brigade

The Fire Protection Service Referendum held on March 31, 2007 asked Apex property owners whether they were prepared to accept higher property taxes in order to fund a volunteer fire department. As you probably know by now, the referendum was defeated: 101 No, 86 Yes. It seems the cost of a taxation funded fire department was too high for the majority of residents. So now what?

There are still things our community can and should do to protect ourselves against fires and other emergencies. It will take a long time for help to arrive from Penticton or Keremeos; we should be able to do more than just stand around until help arrives. The APOA is continuing with the first step, which is to encourage volunteers who are willing to respond in case of an emergency. Then some basic information gathering and documentation is needed (e.g. the location of existing fire fighting equipment), followed by the drafting of an emergency response plan. We also need to establish a call-out tree so volunteers can be notified quickly.

We’ll address the simple things first. Where are the fire hydrants? How do we keep them working? Are there hoses available and accessible? Who can be trained to use them?

The group can be organized as a volunteer fire brigade, which would be an independent not-for-profit society funded through donations, fund-raising, and perhaps government grants. The regional district (RDOS) can help plan and organize fire fighter training for the volunteers, and liability insurance is available for fire brigade members. Equipment will likely be the biggest challenge, so we’ll need to determine what equipment will make the biggest first-responder impact and find a way to purchase it. Hopefully the citizens of Apex will respond positively to the inevitable fund-raising required to purchase the training and equipment needed to protect our community.

In the meantime, we are all reminded to make a point of inspecting our property regularly and reducing the risk of fire spreading to and from the adjacent buildings and forest. Often it is the little things that make a big difference at the early stages of an emergency. Is your yard clear of dry wood and underbrush? Is there a street address clearly visible at the front of your property? If a passer-by notices your cabin is on fire  will the call to 911 sound something like this? “Help! There’s a fire up at Apex! It’s the greenish-yellow cabin, third from
the left on the first street on the right after the T-junction. You know … the cabin with the tree that blew over last winter!”

Apex Resort and the APOA are committed to help improve the emergency response capability at Apex Mountain, but volunteers are essential. If you are a permanent or frequent
resident of Apex and are willing to get involved in a volunteer fire brigade please contact Steve LaPrairie at steve@apexresort.com, or call 250-292-8536.

Jeff Brown

Summer Social

Sunday September 2, 1PM – 4PM

Plan to be on the mountain on the afternoon of Sunday September 2. Yes, it’s the annual APOA fall social, and this year we are teaming up with the Gunbarrel for a special treat, literally. The Gunbarrel has a new chef, Dave, and he has invited APOA members to taste-test his new menu. Dave is providing APOA members free appetizer-sized portions of what he calls his “new healthier menu”, and we will be voting on our most and least favourite dishes. So this isn’t just an opportunity to sample free food, we will be impacting the winter season’s menu at the Gunbarrel. And you thought the APOA didn’t have influence!

The Gunbarrel will also be providing us their famous “Burger and a Beer” (or wine or pop) for $10, so don’t worry, no one will go away hungry.

If last year’s fall social is any indicator they’ll be a big turn out so we want to ensure Dave prepares enough goodies! Please let us know you are coming by send an e-mail to apexpoa@yahoo.ca. And don’t forget, if you haven’t already done so please purchase your APOA membership either at the fall social or online at www.apexpropertyowners.com.

September 2 is the last day of summer operations for Apex so be sure to bring your mountain bike.

See you at the social!

An open letter to Apex property owners

APOA MEMBERSHIP

The APOA Board is writing to encourage your membership in the Apex Property Owners Association, which represents the property interests of its members.  APOA was established as a society in 1995 to represent the interests of member property owners at Apex.  Although the specific topics and issues change from time to time, that fundamental purpose remains unchanged.

Heavy rainfall precluded attendance for many mountain property owners at our March 24, 2007 annual general meeting. Issues of importance to us all were brought forward, including community wildfire protection initiatives. We also heard that escalating insurance costs for property owners in unprotected areas such as Apex is becoming a growing concern. The APOA has heard these concerns and continues its efforts to address them.

APOA remains a focal point for discussions with Apex Mountain Resort, the Regional District, Provincial Ministries and resource development companies on a range of topics. These include resort master planning, community planning, fire protection including wildfire protection, solid waste, road maintenance, resource harvesting impacts and so on.  When any of these organizations seek input from the community, they look to the APOA as a contact.  For that reason alone, having a viable society in place is important.

Even as a volunteer organization, APOA has expenses.  For example as a registered society we must carry liability insurance, and it takes over 40 annual memberships to cover that expense alone each year.  A portion of membership fees is used to support necessary web-hosting.  As well there are AGM facility rentals, postal box rental and various routine costs which your membership fee supports.

In return for your fees, volunteer APOA board members endeavour to serve as the “voice” of member property owners throughout the year. We therefore hope you will renew your membership or join for the first time.

We also ask you to encourage your neighbours to join.  Privacy laws preclude us from obtaining existing lists of property owners. Therefore one-on-one contact assistance remains an essential way of linking up.

APOA membership has never been easier.  With our recent upgrades to the website it is now possible for you to:

• Register at www.apexpropertyowner.com/join.html. You will automatically be added to the APOA newsletter mailing list.
• Pay your membership fee online via credit card, or
• Mail your cheque to  APOA at  PO Box 20116, Penticton, BC V2A 8K3.

Thanks for your consideration of this membership appeal, and hope to see you at the fall social on September 2.

Sincerely yours,

Denis O’Gorman

Past President, APOA