Apex Property Owners Association

APOA AGM MINUTES

Held March 25, 2023 @3PM in the Gunbarrel Dining Room 23 Members pres.

Representing the Executive: Arnie Erickson – President, Barry Leigh – Vice President, Diane Pew – Treasurer

President’s Report – Arnie Erickson

It’s been another wonderful ski year.

Another community organization, the Apex Community Association, is moving forward with initiatives to meet the community’s needs.

We haver seen our property values increase – an indication of the quality of the ski resort and the lifestyle afforded Apex residents.

We have a short agenda with little activity involving mining and we are still dealing with forest harvesting issues. There has been a change in the way logs are being transported due to on site processing and this has posed an increased risk to the public on the Apex road.

We are losing board members and are hoping members will come forward and offer to take a place on the board.

Treasurer’s Report – Diane Pew

As of March 25, 2023 our accounts contain the following:

Checking account $2001.65

Savings $30.62

Term deposits of $14837.50 came due and reinvested into one $10,000 3yr term paying 5.5% and one 12 month cashable of $4933.98 paying 3.25%.

Expenses for the year totaled $2104.65

Road Report – Gord Reum

Unavailable – report to be given by Subrina Monteith

Guest Speakers

James Shalman – Apex Resort

This summer’s fire event had the potential to be a serious threat to the village. The crews of the BC wildfire service did a phenomenal job protecting the community. We were also fortunate that snow melt and rain earlier in the season increased the amount of moisture at higher elevations and winds during the fire were favorable in limiting its advance.

Apex like other ski hills has been dealing with a lack of available staff and have had difficulty recruiting personnel. Conditions were amazing for the start to season. Revenue for the year was up 23% but expenses were also up. The Resort’s safety record is better than the industry average. Up-coming work activities include summer grooming, painting of the lifts and generally sprucing up the village.

There are plans to purchase a new groomer.

A new water treatment system is being installed which will result in a rate increase for users.

Questions from the floor:

• Is a portion of payments collected set aside in a contingency fund for repair and replacement? Shawn Whittey’s answer was “yes”
  
• How is the water system maintained?
  Shawn replied that maintenance was ongoing.
  
• What other entities are associated with the Apex water license?
  Shawn answered that the license for water is in partnership with the cattleman.
  
• Regarding fire mitigation, could there be fire-smart work be done in the area below the waste transfer station and along the creek?
  James replied that work was planned and that some of those areas no longer posed a risk.
  
• Would a portion of the rate increase go to a reserve fund?
  Shawn Whittey responded that the rate increase would go into a reserve fund for future repairs to water system.
  
• Regarding rumors of effluent getting into Keremeos Creek.
  Shawn replied that the creek is routinely monitored for water quality and has always been within required standards.

Subrina Monteith -Area I Director RDOS

Everyone is encouraged to Join Voyent Alert. Working on getting Apex our own postal code. For now property owners should mark their location with a “pin” in Voyent Alert to ensure that they get alerts. This summers fire event showed the value of the fire dept at Apex. Mutual aid from other fire departments was available because we now have a certified fire department.

Waste Transfer Station issues, Subrina reminded everyone of the scheduled large item pickup.

Questions from the floor:

• Could it be scheduled earlier for those who live out of town?
  The RDOS will consider doing that but the greater amount of snow at that time will make it more difficult.
  
• Where can condos place the large item for pick-up?
  Refer to the handout or look on the RDOS website
  
• There are problems with people not properly sorting their recycling
  Efforts are being made to educate users but if compliance does not improve, changes will be made to the program. So far no organization is interested in taking on a bottle drive with the wine and beverage bottles that have been collected.
  
• Regarding road maintenance: Let Subrina know if you have positive comments that she can pass on about the snow clearing work done by AIM.

Fire Hall – out to tender for design. Construction will possibly begin this summer.

Arnie then commented on the safety issue of dangerous encounters with logging trucks – log hauling has changed – now tandem trailers are being used. He wondered if there could be a role for pilot cars Larry Richardson stated that pilot cars are not feasible. He felt that education of drivers using the road would help improve safety when encountering logging trucks.

James said that there have been incidents involving Resort personnel and he has talked to the company He said that the company is concerned and wants to know when there is an incident. James said that he also wants to be advised of incidents involving logging trucks.

Stuart Seigel asked if there was anyone who did snow removal from roofs. No one was aware of any such service.

Elections

Arnie: One board member left and there is another possible departure which would leave us one short of our required number. He is asking members to seriously think about coming forward.

Meeting Adjourned

In Attendance:  Arnie, Liz, Diane, Barry, Subrina

1. Season Opener event: 65 people attending
2. Facebook page, more people are joining
3. Dog patrol, there were 29 complaints to Bylaw enforcement last quarter from Apex resort. They are patrolling and warning people to have dogs on leash
4. Roads, there have been very few issues with our Argo due to very little snow. Still a big bank across the lower snowshoe trails. This will be brought to Argo’s attention
5. Apex Matters. We will add our form of membership to Apex Matters. Barry will attend to this also we will post the APOA AGM for Saturday, March 23. He will check that the hotel is available to confirm that date
6. Fire Brigade , Discussion re APOA joining in on a social event with the fire brigade. Arnie will check with Gary regarding this.Their AGM is Feb 6 th
7. Membership , Discussion regarding how we can enhance our presence. Barry will deliver our membership forms to the mountain shop and to the general store. Currently only 20% of owners are members
8. Forestry: Jeff absent
9. Nickel plate park, appears to have stalled at this time
10. RDOS Report
Wildfire Issue. Jeff will be doing a Wildfire & Forestry Presentation for the RDOS directors on Mar 7th. There is also an application for money to go towards studies regarding wildfire issues in local communities , which would include Apex Resort
Waste Transfer Station: Subrina stated the station will stay in the same location. The resort is definite that it remain where it is. Currently, the issue is is that the lease of four years needs to be extended. If that is all approved it is hoped the station will proceed in May of 2019
– Property tax, Subrina stated that property tax will see a slight increase in the following year
– Arnie commented that the increase should be a flat tax and not a mill rate property tax
11. Correspondence, there are four new memberships that just came in through the mail
Excel membership list has been updated
13. next meeting, February 24 at 3 PM at Arnie’s
AGM. Temporary date of March 23 at 3 PM at the hotel. To be confirmed

• Season opening social is being catered at Apex Mountain Inn by Chad and Colin (Edge Bistro)
  • Diane will ask Mike Dugan, James Shalman, Tricia Wilson (new Nickel Plate GM), Apex Fire Brigade rep. to attend.
  • Subrina will give RDOS update
    (Note: The social had to be pushed out one week and Subrina has a previous commitment.  She will provide an RDOS update to read at the social. )
  • Jeff will do a forestry committee update
• Enhancing our presence
  • Subrina’s Facebook page has been set up, has been shared with “official” Apex village Facebook page
  • Jeff will put board meeting minutes summary on website after each board meeting.
• Treasurers report
  • $40 spent for website and domain.
  • Will set up ability to use e-transfer to pay for APOA membership
• Road report – Subrina attended Argo meeting with Jenny and provided the report
  • Argo will start prioritizing Apex roads before road to Nickel Plate (e.g. so school kids can get to school bus)
  • Argo will start towing cars parked on road
  • Jenny asked them to be proactive rather than reactive when snow is forecast.
• Forestry committee report
  • Subrina to arrange Linda Larson, Subrina, APOA meeting
  • After meeting, Jeff to call a forestry committee meeting to discuss and plan next steps
• Potential topics for discussion at upcoming meetings with area MLAs Dan Ashton & Linda Larson:
  • Forestry
  • Proposal to expand Nickel Plate Park
  • Jurisdiction and protection of riparian areas within village
  • Hazard of sleds on roadways, noise of sleds on roads, in valleys near Apex
• Subrina’s RDOS update:
  • Still no official update on transfer station
  • Wildfire protection is in top 5 of RDOS director priorities
  • Diesel has joined Area I planning committee for land use and planning variances.
  • Sabrina is investigating the history of the transfer station funding and where the funding has been spent, and where the funding is at.  Arnie expressed his concern that RDOS hasn’t been able to close this issue for many years.
  • Subrina has asked RDOS staff to do a full zoning and bylaw review. She is looking to creating an approach to making bylaws more area specific.
• Next board meeting Sun Jan 13 at Apex.

• Sabrina Monteith, our new RDOS Area I Director, attended our board meeting.
• ARGO stakeholder meeting is on Nov. 14. Jenny A. will attend, as will Subrina.
• Forestry committee update:
  • Provincial government tabled Bill 49 which changed how resource professional associations are regulated and governed by the gov’t. This was in response to the recommendations from the Professional Reliance Report earlier this year.  This change is only in response to the 1st two recommendations of the report’s 121 recommendations.  It will not have any immediate impact on Apex residents, but in the long term looks to be a significant improvement on government oversight of the professional associations involved in natural resource management.
  • Peachland is a test case for a substantial industry, government, First Nation cooperative effort at wildfire risk reduction.  The process involved selective logging by Gormans (reducing fuel load but leaving the large fire-resistant trees), then a prescribed burn managed by First Nations and funded by provincial gov’t, then replanting with deciduous trees (which are far less fire prone than conifers). Sabrina and John Davies (wildfire consultant for RDOS) will look into the possibility of having more wildfire work done at Apex.
• Social committee – Dec. 8th will be the date for APOA’s 2018-2019 Season Opener Social at the hotel at Apex
• Sabrina Monteith update:
  • Some movement on the transfer station.  Public information should be available.
  • Sabina is looking for an Apex person to sit on the district land use planning counsel. APOA recommended various names, Subrina will follow up with them.
  • Sabina is going to start an Apex Residents Facebook page.  This will be a property owner’s only page used for enhancing RDOS-Apex Resident communications.
  • Sabina also emphasized that “RDOS is complaint driven”, so if something is not right — noise, snow clearing, etc. — the best way of getting results is by contacting the RDOS (e.g. bylaw enforcement) and describe the issue.
• After much discussion it was decided to remove the strata membership option and have only individual property owner memberships.  The strata option has caused a fair bit of confusion among the membership, and most importantly has turned out to be overly complex and time consuming to keep track of.  The board feels the $30 per household APOA membership fee is extremely affordable, and likely is not a deterrent for joining APOA.  We’ll explore implementing an eTransfer option for paying the $30 to make it simpler for owners to join.
• Next APOA Board meeting is on November 29th