3rd Kanata (Bridlewood) Scouts - Group Committee

 

Meeting Results

 

Meeting Date:  January 14, 2002

 

Attendees:       Garth Jonah                               Group Chairperson

                        Jerry Rankin                              Group Treasurer

                        Barry Campbell                          Quarter Master

                        Brenda Jaenen                           Group Secretary

                        Mike Ellwood                             A Colony, Alternate Contact Leader

                        Kelly Fontaine                           B Colony, Contact Leader

                        Kathy Wilson                             A Pack, Contact Leader

                        Wayne Fontaine                        B Pack, Contact Leader

                        Stephen Redshaw                      C Pack, Contact Leader

                        Bill Samulack                            Troop, Contact Leader

 

Regrets:           Penny Cody                              A Colony, Contact Leader

 

Absent:            Lesley Lehman                          C Colony, Contact Leader

                                                  

 

Call to Order:  Meeting was called to order at 8:07 p.m. by Garth Jonah, group chairperson.

 

 

Opening Remarks:  Garth welcomed everyone to the first meeting of 2002.  

 

 

Proposed Agenda:   The published agenda was modified by Garth Jonah with two additions:

               -  Executive Requirements for 2002/2003

-          Changes to the Transportation of Youth policy

 

The modified agenda was approved by Jerry Rankin and was seconded by Barry Campbell.  All attendees voted in favour of the modified agenda.

 

 

Approval of Previous Minutes:  No alterations were made to the minutes of the December 10, 2001 Group Committee Meeting.  The minutes were approved as per a motion from Bill Samulack and seconded by Barry Campbell.  Motion carried with no dissentions. 

 

For filing purposes, the December 2001 minutes were signed by Garth Jonah the Group Chairperson and by Brenda Jaenen the Group Secretary.

 

 

Chairperson’s Report: 

Michel Gagné agreed to coordinate the Bridlewood School Rink operations for the Group. Michel attended a seminar put on by the City of Ottawa in early December.  It is believed that the insurance coverage provided by the BCA insurance policy and the Scouts Canada Insurance policy, as well as individual insurance coverage by the participants using the rink is sufficient to cover any liabilities that may arise from the preparation and/or use of the rink.  The water valve at the Bridlewood School was moved to a new location in order for it to be better protected from the weather.  Unfortunately, the school was still awaiting a part for the new valve and this prevented use of this water source during the School Holiday period in December and Early January.  This valve is still not working properly.

 

Michel has advised that he will look at use of the water truck as a source of water.  Garth is currently unsure as to whether the payment for the water truck would be paid for by 3rd Kanata or from the Bridlewood Community Association.   ACTION (097):  Garth Jonah to determine if 3rd Kanata must pay for the water truck to flood the rink.  Weather has not cooperated during the past month due to the milder weather making it very difficult to put the rink in.  Current weather forecasts for the week of January 14, 2002 should help with the rink preparation.  As a result of the milder weather, Garth indicated that 3rd Kanata would probably receive a smaller fee than in previous years from the Bridlewood Community Association for maintenance of the rink.

 

The National Council of Scouts Canada are developing a revised policy concerning the transportation of youth for Scouting Activities.  This revision centres on the fact that parents should be responsible for arranging transportation to Scouting activities held away from the regular meeting place.  An article in the Leader’s Magazine of August/September 2001 provides some information on the revised approach and it is still being worked out at National, Provincial and Regional level.  It is recommended that All Sections within 3rd Kanata implement this revision, i.e., Parents are responsible for transporting or arranging the transport of their children to Scouting activities.  The Group and Section Contact Leaders must ensure drivers are properly insured, and licensed, must provide the drivers or parents with the duty of Care document and appropriate orientation.  Driver orientation may include: arrival and departure times, passenger check off, review of the route and emergency plan, commitment to follow the route, commitment to minimized contact with children other than their own children, sharing of cellular telephone numbers, emergency contact number.  I believe that this would mean that each Section should appoint a Parent Coordinator for this requirement.  The Parent Coordinator should be provided with guidelines on this issue and the Chairperson will provide these as soon as possible.  This will probably be done in a “policy statement” format.  ACTION (100):  Contact Leaders should start arranging to have section transportation coordinators.  Transportation coordinators cannot be leaders.  These persons will receive 10 bond points.

 

Scouts Canada is changing its approach with respect to the training of Adult Leaders and Assistant Leaders (youth).  Youth, aged 16 or over, may not be trained as Assistant Leaders and may attend the Wood Badge I and II courses.  These courses are also identified under new names.  Basic Program Planning and Delivery is the new name for Wood Badge I while Advanced Outdoor Skills and Program Planning and Delivery is the change in the Wood Badge II Course. Also, according to the Strategy Update contained in the August/September 2000 edition of the Leader Magazine, more emphasis will be on the learning by doing approach.  There is a Regional Trainers’ Session scheduled for 2 February 2001 in Bell’s Corners and more information may be forthcoming from that session.

 

3rd Kanata’s Beaveree/Cuboree Planning Committee has held two meetings since the December Group Committee Meeting.  Planning is progressing.  It is anticipated that the planning tempo will increase between now and the event itself, scheduled for 2 and 3 Feb 2002.  The Go/No Go decision date is 30 January 2002.  A telephone call out system will be implemented to pas the “No Go” decision, etc.  My thanks to Brenda Jaenen for chairing the last planning meeting held on 4 January and for her work on reviewing all of the paperwork and actions required to ensure that we are on top of our planning.

 

 

 

 

Treasurer’s Report:   Jerry Rankin reported the following bank account balances:

 

Bingo Account                           $  1,714.67

General Account                        $22,203.19

            Sub- Total:                   $23,917.86

Less: Outstanding Cheques:       $     579.54

                        Total:               $23,338.32

 

 

 

Quarter Master’s Report:   Barry Campbell’s reported that: 

·         The snow blower was brought home, tuned up including oil change and a new spark plug was provided.

·         Purchases included a new gas can, two wrenches and a replacement lid for an existing gas can

·         Received and inventoried the Venturer equipment that went to CJ.

·         Finally disposed of the four sleds.

·         Trying to connect with Dave Western to get the rest of the Venturer equipment.

 

Barry submitted his 2001/2002 operating budget of $1,100.00 to Group Committee as follows:

                                    $500     -           New acquisitions

                                    $600     -           Repairs

A motion was made to approve the 2001/2002 Quarter Master’s budget by Garth Jonah and seconded by Bill Samulack.  Motion carried with no dissentions.

                                   

 

Secretary’s Report:  Sleepover Information obtained from Fort Henry was forwarded by email to Pack and Troop Contact Leaders.  The package sent via Canada Post was turned over to Kathy Wilson for review and planning purposes.

 

Brenda attended a wellness fair at her place of employment.  One of the booths was Environment Canada who graciously sent Brenda a package on Preserving the Environment complete with adult leaders guide, children’s packages, etc.  This information was passed onto Darrell Bond in A Colony for consideration in A Colony’s program development.  Anyone wishing to see the information is advised to contact Darrell directly.

 

A sign-off list was circulated at the meeting to have Contact Leaders indicate that they have reviewed their bond point summaries and requirements with their respective families.  The following sections have not signed-off on their bond point discussions:  B Colony, C Colony,  A Pack and Troop.  Sign-offs will also be required at the April and June Group Committee meetings to ensure we have no surprises or conflicts with parents at the end of the scouting year.

 

Brenda still hasn’t received confirmation that she has been registered for the February 8th Group Committee Training course.  She was told that she did not have to attend the Friday night session because she had completed her Gateway 1 training.

 

 

 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Action Registry Review:

All outstanding action items were reviewed and updated as appropriate in the action registry.  A short summary of all action item updates is included below:

·         Action Item 002 (Submit 2000/2001 Year-Ends) – Kelly provided information to Jerry on January 7th.  Item closed.

·         Action Item 007 (Send thank you notes for tent donation) – Garth signed the notes and placed them in the mail on January 13, 2002.  Item closed.

·         Action Item 011 (Arrange for Wood Badge II for Jay Crowley) – No information has been received for this one.  Garth needs to escalate in District again.

·         Action Item 015 (Present Pictures and Plaques to CJ Leaders) – Phil and Wendy have been invited to troop meeting on January 17, 2002 in order to present them with their plaques.

·         Action Item 033 Rick Hopper receipts) – Name was incorrectly recorded as Bill Hopper.  Fixes made to indicate the individual is Rick Hopper.

·         Action Item 059 (Section Bank Account Information) - Item re-assigned to Jerry Rankin who is to chase those sections who have not provided this critical information to the Group Treasurer.  Garth wants to know who has gone into each of the banks and signed the cards for the section accounts by January 25th, 2002.  At least three current registered leaders should have signing authority on the section bank accounts.  ACTION (099): Bill Samulack to close out Troop bank account at the Bank of Nova Scotia with Tony Empey.  Tony Empey is not a member of troop and as such should not have signing authority on this account (for Bill's protection).  This must be done by January 25, 2002.

·         Action Item 067 (Revisit Group Constitution) – Garth will bring this policy statement to Group once he is able to review it against the new national policy.

·         Action Item 070 (QM 2001/2002 Budget) - Barry requested $500 for new acquisitions and $600 for repairs to equipment.  Budget approved by attendees of meeting.  Item closed.

·         Action Item 076 (Troop Adult Neckers Required) - Bill and Linda have each others phone numbers.  Steve wants item to remain open until confirmation from Bill that neckers have been received.  Troop leaders have not been invested yet.  ACTION (098):  All troop leaders to be invested by January 24th.  If Bill is unable to invest the leaders, then Garth will come and do it.

·         Action Item 078 (Arrange for Spring SFA session) – Garth will check with Judy Middlemiss to see what weekend would be best for her and that will be the date for the spring SFA training session.  A reminder should be issued to leaders that it will take at least six to ten hours of pre-work on the computer before attending the hands-on session.

·         Action Item 082 (A Pack 2001/2002 Budget Required) – Kathy submitted her budget for A Pack which was in line with the other packs.  Group Committee approved the budget amount of $1,575.85.  Item closed.

·         Action Item 084 (B Colony Receipt Submissions for blankets) - Kelly Fontaine submitted receipts in the amount of $449.07 to Jerry Rankin on January 14/02.  Item closed.

·         Action Item 087 (Submit Fall Yard Waste Bag stats to Jerry) - B Colony and B Pack both have their original alotment of yard waste bags left and will keep them for the Spring fundraiser.  Item re-assigned to only Kathy Wilson to provide her stats to Jerry. 

·         Action Item 088 (Storage of Yard Waste Bags) - Garth indicated that the bags had to be stored in a very dry area off of the floor.  Barry indicated that there was room in the storage shed for them.  Item closed.

·         Action Item 090 (Store hoses in BCES school) - Bridlewood School has no problem with us putting the hoses in the school.  Item closed.

·         Action Item 091 (Rink Duty Insurance Coverage) - No SFA certified person is required to be on-hand during maintenance periods.  Paul van Steen indicated that the insurance between the Bridlewood Community Association and Scouts is not a problem.  The only insurance liability is that hockey players are not covered by the policy but spectators are.  Item closed.

·         Action Item 092 (Plan for group swim-ups and function) - Pairings need to happen to plan for swim-ups.  Pairing should be B Colony with B Pack, A Colony with C Pack and C Colony with A Pack. Swim-up should be planned for the May 2002 timeframe.  Contact Leaders are responsible for arranging.

·         Action Item 093 (Fort Henry Sleepover) - Item re-opened and re-assigned to Kathy Wilson who will review the package from Fort Henry and decide if 3rd Kanata will participate or not this year. 

·         Action Item 096 – (Troop bumped from BCES on 2001.12.13) - Garth had a discussion with the city with respect to being denied access to the school on December 13/01 because of scheduled parent-teacher interviews but for which the school did not use.  Apparently if there is a school event then no other groups can use any of the rooms even if the school isn't using that room.  Garth is questioning the policy because the same night the BCA used the school library.  The issue of the shared resources - community centre and school needs to be explored with the city more.   Bill indicated that he doesn’t mind being bumped from his facility as long as he is provided with adequate notice so that alternate arrangements/plans can be made.  ACTION (101):  Garth Jonah to pursue meeting location bumping timeframes with the City of Ottawa.

 

 

Spring Fundraising Campaign  (Yard Waste Bag Sales):

Brenda contacted the City of Ottawa to find out when the Spring waste pick-ups would begin. The City of Ottawa indicated that waste pick-ups would begin in our area on April 15th and would continue on a regular basis up to and including the fall of 2002.

 

ACTION (102):  Garth to contact Prescott Paper to order more yard waste bags (the actual amount to be determined once all the final tallies are in from all sections with regards to how many packages are still left from the fall fundraising campaign.  Please refer to outstanding Action Item 087 for more information.

 

If the majority of sections are in agreement, Group will target yard waste sales to occur for a couple of weekends in April at the Hazeldean mall and potentially one weekend in May as well.  Details will be confirmed at the February 2002 Group Committee meeting.

 

Garth reminded group members that 3rd Kanata may have to give a portion of our profits to Carleton District.

 

ACTION (103):  Contact Leaders to send their thoughts to Garth on how to advertise the yard waste bag sale.  For example, should we have the sandwich boards out, advertisements in the Kanata paper, etc.  Kelly suggested that we contact the local schools to have notices included in their respective school notices that go home to parents. 

 

 

Leaders Barbeque:

With reference to action item 094, Contact Leaders are reminded not to plan any section events for June 22, 2002 as this is the date set for the second annual Leaders Thank-You Barbeque.  The executive will be responsible for the planning of the event.

 

According to an article in the latest Leader’s magazine, no alcohol is permitted at any scouting activity or event but the question was raised whether this would apply to a leaders only function.  ACTION (105):  Garth to enquire as to any caveats of the “no alcohol” policy which would affect the leaders BBQ.

 

Garth still has warrants of appointment to present to 2000/2001 leaders.  ACTION (106):  Garth to present 2000/2001 warrants of appointment to 2000/2001 leaders at this year’s BBQ (or separately if the leader is no longer registered).  

 

 

Beaveree/Cuboree Update:

The planning committee is down to the wire – with only three weeks until the big event.  Planning is under control.  Planning figures have been done with 900 participants over the two days.  Registrations have not yet started to filter in.  A combined crest for both days has been finalized and 900 of them have been ordered.  The 3rd Kanata team has been doing a wonderful job of planning.

 

 

Standard First Aid:

Bill asked that the spring SFA training session be opened up to the youth.  Only Robbie Samulack has indicated an interest in partaking in the course.  He is the correct age as mandated by the course.

 

Spring dates will be set based on the schedule of Judy Middlemiss (please refer to Action Item 078).

 

 

 

NEW BUSINESS:

Scout Week:

Scout week is scheduled for the week of February 18th through February 22nd.  Coordination of scout week activities and festivities is typically done through the group scouter or training prime. Considering that 3rd Kanata does not currently have a group scouter and that most group members are planning the Winter Beaveree/Cuboree, it was therefore suggested that group leaders merely emphasize and celebrate at each individual section meeting.   It was suggested that leaders inform their youth that their uniforms could be worn to school during scout week. 

 

The three 3rd Kanata Packs have arranged a joint Kub Kar Rally on February 18th at St. Anne’s Catholic school to celebrate scout week.

 

 

 

Scouts/Venturer’s Uniforms:

Garth provided an updated to group on the use of Scouts/Venturer’s uniforms.  The upgraded policy information is a direct result from the recommendations made by the Youth Advisory Committee:

·         The weekly wearing of the uniform is not compulsory

·         Uniforms need only be worn for special occasions and ceremonies such as investiture

 

3rd Kanata’s troop is currently uniformed for all meetings but we need to look at the policy more closely before the next scouting year begins in the fall of 2002.  Group members discussed the cost to parents of having to purchase a uniform that would be worn on a fairly irregular basis and thought that this would be an unnecessary expense to parents.  Group also discussed  the possibility of providing input on having a consistent non-uniform. Bill Samulack raised the concern that the badge program would have to be abandoned by troop if uniforms were dropped.   ACTION (107):  Group Committee (Troop in particular) to review and implement Troop/Venturer Dress Code for 2002/2003 scouting year.

 

 

Leaders/Group Committee Members 2002/2003 Commitments:

Garth is trying to prepare for the 2002/2003 scouting year and doesn’t want to be in “frenzy mode” again trying to ensure that there are adequate leaders for each of the sections.  ACTION (104):  Contact Leaders to sound out your leaders for their intentions for the 2002/2002 scouting year - I.e. are they remaining, moving up, retiring, willing to take on a different role, etc.  Contact Leaders plans to be included in this.

 

Garth Jonah indicated that he would be looking for a new Group Chair since he has been doing it for three years and feels he needs a change.  Garth also indicated that he is looking to stay on as a scouter and/or district trainer next year.

 

Kelly Fontaine indicated that she would like to see someone else take over as Contact Leader for B Colony but she is willing to stay in the colony to provide any necessary guidance and support.

 

 

 

BUSINESS ARISING DURING THE MEETING:

·         The following sections have not submitted their written reports for January 2002:

o        C Colony

o        A Pack

·         Wayne Fontaine received good feedback on “The Jungle Story” play organized by Garth Jonah. Feedback indicated that people really enjoyed the performance and there was a suggestion that the activity be repeated next year.  Garth indicated that this was an opportune event as the performance happened to align with the Cub Program and that future performances may not have anything to do with the Scouting movement.  Two hundred dollars in Scout Shop gift certificates were handed out as door prizes over the course of the two days.  Even with the door prizes, a small amount of money was made; all of which went to Carleton District, as this was a district-sponsored event.  

·         A REMINDER to colony and pack Contact Leaders that Beaveree and Cuboree registrations are due to either Brenda Jaenen or Kathy Wilson by January 18, 2002.  3rd Kanata sections should ensure that they meet all deadlines.

 

 

 

The next group committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 11, 2002 at 8:00 p.m. at the Church of the Nazarene.

 

 

Adjournment:  Kelly Fontaine moved and Mike Ellwood seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:50 p.m. Motion carried – no dissentions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

 

Brenda Jaenen,                                                                          Garth Jonah,

Secretary,                                                                                 Chairperson,

3rd Kanata Scout Group Committee                                             3rd Kanata Scout Group Committee

 

 

 

Attachments:  Action Registry

 

 

These minutes were approved at the February 11, 2002 Group Committee Meeting.