The January meeting of the Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District trustees was delayed from the usual first Wednesday to the second Wednesday of the month.
Because most of the meeting proceded civilly and efficiently, we are summarizing matters and providing transcripts only where there are areas of disagreement or details that we believe are of interest.
Signal to noise ratio (good/bad/ugly) = good
The January 21st 2026 Sounder has three articles reporting on this meeting:
- Fire Board Update on Privacy Breach
- Fire Board sets up internal committee to assess heated December 3, 2025 meeting
- WorkSafeBC approves Fire Board policy for creating a respectful workplace
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction of late agenda items and adoption of agenda
Correspondence - none
Financial report - none
- Finance Committee
- Communications Committee
- Hiring Committee
- Website Committee
- Freedom of Information Response Committee
- Policy and Bylaw 97 Review Committee
- HR Committee
- Privacy Breach Committee
BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES and UNFINISHED BUSINESS
- Privacy Management Update
- Bylaw XXX: Fire Department Establishing Bylaw
- Respectful Workplace Policy Due to WorkSafe BC
- Records and Information Management Bylaw
- Election
- Capital reserve management
- Motion related to capital reserve management
- Safety assessment
- Use of ceiling projector
- Performance management framework
- Privacy breach
- Deadlines on applying for advances on tax levy
- Select committee to review legislation and develop a strategy for psychological safety at meetings – offer to facilitate
- Fire extinguishers – refilling on island
CALL TO ORDER
CODE OF CONDUCT: this was listed on the agenda but not discussed.
INTRODUCTION OF LATE AGENDA ITEMS AND ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Added to the agenda:
- Trustee meeting safety assessment (Trustee Chorneyko)
- Capital reserve management (Trustee Mercier)
- Motion related to Capital reserve management motion (Trustee Moeller)
- Use of ceiling projector (Trustee Appel)
- Creating select committee to develop performance management framework (Trustee Bussler)
- Move guest speaker to first item on agenda
For in camera meeting on January 22:
- Fire chief to develop a work schedule proposal that reduces overlapping coverage between chief and deputy, thereby reducing reliance on duty officers. (Trustee Bussler)
Motion to accept amended agenda CARRIED.
GUEST SPEAKER
[VIDEO 00:11:00]
Alex Strachan of Gabriola Connects made a presentation promoting a new community platform on the website gabriolaconnects.ca. “The platform is designed primarily for mobile devices, and its intent is to make all permanent Island information available for everyone at any time.” The platform would provide emergency and community alerts, categorized by urgency; an events calendar; a BC Ferries widget; community forums; emergency contacts information; a module for recruiting volunteers; and a business/service directory. Emergency alerts would provide a mechanism for the fire department to have direct communication with community members who sign up for notifications. The platform is highly customizable.
The current iteration of the website has scraped material from other organizations in order to provide a demonstration, when finalized organizations could choose whether to enter content manually or continue to have material scraped for automatic updates.
Mr. Strachan asked the Board to endorse Gabriola Connects as a community resource, in order to encourage other organizations and residents to participate.
Board members asked a number of questions. Trustee Chorneyko asked how the platform would interface with already existing platforms such as Voyent Alert. Mr. Strachan said that VA is regional, this would allow for more localized information to be provided. Trustee Chorneyko asked the Chief if this platform would be useful; Chief Sprogis replied that much would depend on the new Starlink system that is being added to vehicles, and whether it will provide connectivity in areas which have previously not had it. Trustee Bussler asked about the costs of the system and who would maintain it and pay for the domain; Mr. Strachan said that he would do so. Audience member Liz Ciocea from GROWLS asked that any such platform include representation from organizations working with animals; Mr. Strachan said that the platform was fully customizable. Audience member Jacqui Braid asked what kind of security would protect people’s information; Mr. Strachan said that the platform is built on Supabase and that “everything is encrypted.”
ADOPTION OF MINUTES
[VIDEO 00:28:00]
Adoption of December 3, 2025, General Meeting Minutes
Amendments to minutes:
Point of Order on correspondence policy (bottom of page 2 of the minutes in the meeting package): Trustee Mercier asked for an amendment on the minutes regarading a Point of Order discussion. The Point of Order was that the Chair did not follow correct process when replying to correspondence, and asked that the Board return to doing so. The Chair ruled that his point was “not well taken.” The decision of the Chair was appealed, with three trustees voting against the decision of the chair and two voting to support the Chair.
Subsequently a motion passed that the Corporate Office record that “the correspondence with landowners was handled improperly, and that the board recommit itself to adhere to the correspondence policy adopted at the November general meeting.”
Trustee Mercier said that the record showed that the decision on the appeal of the Chair’s decision failed, so the decision stood, but with three trustees voting against the Chair and two voting for, it should have been reported that the point was “well taken”. The Corporate Officer said that with a 50/50 vote stood because a tie was not a majority. Trustee Mercier did not pursue the matter further, and the minutes were not amended.
FACTCHECK: Six trustees were present at this meeting. The Chair is not allowed to vote on an appeal of their ruling, so only five trustees voted on the matter. Two trustees voted in favour of the Chair’s ruling that the point was "not well taken", but three voted against, which would seem to be a clear majority and mean that the vote should have been recorded that the Chair was overruled and the point was “well taken.”
Point of Order on Policy Review Committee exceeding its mandate: (page 5 of the minutes in the meeting package) Trustee Mercier made a motion “that that the minutes be amended to reflect that my point of order regarding the policy review committee was ruled well taken” as reflected in the meeting video, which meant there was no vote on sustaining the chair, as had been recorded. Trustee Moher objected to such amendments being proposed during the meeting, rather than being provided to the Corporate Officer “in a timely fashion” that would allow for checking video records prior to the general meeting rather than during it. Trustee Moeller proposed passing the motion with an amendment stating that it was “subject to the corporate officer verifying the video timestamp”. The amendment to the motion was accepted and the motion was carried.
FACTCHECK: although the discussion was long and confusing, reviewing the video shows that Trustee Mercier was correct, and that there was no vote on sustaining the chair.
Amendment re the motion that “Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department be struck from the first section under responsibility”: (page 8 of the minutes in the meeting package) should be recorded as “not receiving a second”, rather than “not accepted.” Accepted.
Publishing draft of Bylaw 97: Trustee Bussler enquired as to why this had not happened, the corporate officer said that it would be done when the minutes were approved and posted.
Recommended Motion: To make a correction to the October 1, 2025, minutes, Unfinished business #5, changing the word Board to Chair. Add that the motion was amended by Chair Mercier. Carried.
CORRESPONDENCE
[VIDEO 00:37:10]
None received as of January 7. Trustee Mercier inquired about a letter received on January 7th and it was clarified that it was received after the deadline. He also asked if union correspondence had been replied to and clarification as to where that item stood, which was provided. Trustee Moher said that the board should not discuss that item as it was a legal matter. Trustee Mercier said that although the content of the correspondence was confidential, he did not think “that the the existence of a request for information from the union is something that is a secret matter.”
FINANCIAL REPORT
[VIDEO 00:41:10]
No report; next Finance Committee meeting is January 21 at 2 pm.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
1. Finance Committee
no report no meeting
2. Communications Committee
[VIDEO 00:41:40]
Trustee Moher thanked Trustee Appel for the work done and said that they will be looking at setting a date for the next meeting.
3. Hiring Committee
[VIDEO 00:42:25]
Four people have been interviewed and the search is closed.
4. Website Committee
[VIDEO 00:42:55]
Full report is included in meeting package.
Recommended Motion:
That the Board direct the Website Committee to develop a page on the Trustee section of the website entitled "Respectful Workplace Policy", noting that the page is in an early, exploratory stage and has not yet been brought to the Board for discussion, facilitation, or approval.
Motion to table
Motion to table motion until the next meeting, “because the potential acceptance of workplace policy is later on this agenda.” CARRIED.
Recommended Motion: WITHDRAWN
That the Board strike a small working group of a few trustees to review, adapt, and edit the draft page content and report back to the Board with recommendations by mid February.
5. Freedom of Information Response Committee
[VIDEO 00:44:55]
No meeting since previous report. Trustee Bussler explained for the record that the purpose of the select committee is to find ways to streamline the FOI process by making all available information easy to access.
6. Policy and Bylaw 97 Review Committee
[VIDEO 00:47:25]
No meeting, no report. A meeting will be set up.
7. HR Committee
[VIDEO 00:48:20]
No report.
The committee consists of Trustees Bussler, Mercier, and Moeller. Trustee Mercier said that no chair had been assigned for the committee and requested that one be designated in order to help facilitate work going forward. It was agreed that Trustee Bussler would act as Chair.
8. Privacy Breach Committee
[VIDEO 00:49:50]
CORPORATE OFFICER: So the privacy breach Committee met on Friday, and that was the first access we had to the computer. It appeared that the computer was not routinely accessed since 2015 and there was one small access in, I think they were just seeing if it worked, in 2022. It appeared that the majority of the information had been removed from the computer. There was not 10 years worth of records on that computer, but unfortunately, there were a few documents that contained private information. We've identified 20, er, 57 people who I am now in the process of compiling all the information, and then I have a letter written. I'm contacting Equifax tomorrow to get the contract all ready to go, and so by the end of this week or early next week, I'll start sending them out. Some of [the] emails are over 15 years old that I can find, so it may take me a while to track people down. I suppose if there's some firefighters who were around at that time who have kept in regular contact with individuals, who might be willing to provide contact information after the first round of emails bounce back, that would be great.
CHAIR: So it looks like basically everybody that worked for the fire department between 1996 and 2015 are at slight risk. It turns out it's a very, very slight. The person who had the computer was a firefighter, I won't mention the name right now, but I don't think it was a data breach. I mean, it wasn't the kind of data breach with people using that information to set up phony bank accounts or anything like that. And so we're dealing right now with making, making happy the membership that was involved with this, and and we're going to offer Equifax. Equifax offers a service where if they think you have a data breach—
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: Identity monitoring.
CHAIR: Identity monitoring, okay, and so we're offering that to these people, and I can apologize to the people as a member of this board. I don't think anybody was even there when this happened, but you know, it's all new to us. I will tell you that, I have to say, that it didn't fall off truck, it wasn't picked up in the street, it wasn't in a dumpster somewhere. It was taken from this hall. And we're not going to go any farther into that, because it doesn't do us any good. But nobody at this hall was responsible, as far as I'm concerned. And what I can understand from, what I believe here, nobody at this hall was responsible for that data breach. What should have happened, perhaps, is that the machine should be, a hard drive should have removed or destroyed or whatever, but it didn't happen. It shouldn't have left the hall. So yeah, and we're going to deal with FOI, because that's, we have a responsibility to FOI to deal with [unclear] We’ve prepared, we’ve got a report ready, so… that’s the story. Anybody? No? It was a hot potato, I’ll tell you that one.
REPORTS
CORPORATE OFFICER REPORT
[VIDEO 00:53:55]
Report is included in meeting package. Updates: the first batch of information has been submitted to the auditor.
Trustee Bussler asked about the timing of the audit and the CO said that she thought it was April 6th, which gives us a good cushion to review the books before the election.
Trustee Mercier asked if the board would have an opportunity to review the financial records prior to them being submitted for audit. The CO said that this would happen through the Finance Committee. Trustee Mercier noted that the Local Government Act requires presentation to the board, so that has to happen before they are submitted for the March 23rd deadline. The CO noted that because they are still closing year-end reports, timing might result in needing an extra meeting.
Trustee Chorneyko volunteered to do a review of the draft Bylaw 114 (Records Management) prior to bringing it to the board.
FIRE CHIEF REPORT
[VIDEO 00:57:30]
Report is included in meeting package.
UPDATES
Updated call volume numbers:
- December 2025: 33 calls: 2 burn complaints, 2 hydro fires, 1 investigation, 3 alarms activated, 5 public assists, 1 wires down, 1 motor vehicle incident, 18 first responder/medical.
- 2025: 463, down about 67 from 2024.
Current staffing:
- 37 firefighters, including 2 chiefs, one temporary Corporate Officer.
- eight recruits now at exterior firefighter level, 18 frontline firefighters certified for 10-01, two uncertified firefighters, 17 emergency medical responders, and six new candidates.
CHIEF: We're still at the same officer structure, the officer pool consists of seven officers, including four lieutenants, one per platoon, one Hall Captain per Hall, and one lieutenant that also manages the medical training and equipment. Duty Officer response responsibilities are shared amongst those seven. The increasing work workload on administration demands due to the growth of the administrative load, including fleet equipment inventory, has identified the needs of the third position. So we're still, still pushing forward for the assistant chief or a second, third full time member to keep up with all the duties and recruitment.
REQUEST FOR MOTION:
THAT staff provide Trustees with copies of all GFPID facility-related contracts entered into with third parties, including CECA, BC Wildfire Service, and ESS, as well as an update on the status of the agreement with BCEHS. [CARRIED]
OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES UPDATE
The Chief reported that the Fire Department’s operational guidelines are under review; the documents are on the website.
NOTE: Presumably these are on a members-only section of the website as we were unable to find them.
UPDATE ON MOTION that the chief report on the changes to service provision with the SOS contract, and provide records of those changes at the next general meeting: the updated contract has been provided to Trustees.
Discussion. Trustee Mercier made a motion
THAT the board accept the contract distributed by the Chief for consideration AND that it appear on the agenda for February.
which would allow work and courses to go ahead without yet having a formal decision to accept the contract. [CARRIED]
UPDATE ON MOTION: To approve the purchase of a heat pump for Hall 2 and allocate $6000 from Capital Reserve Funds (Hall Maintenance). Three quotes have been received and all were higher than the amount approved. The Chief requested that the amount of authorized funding be increased. Some discussion of whether the extra funding should be sourced from a capital reserve fund, which requires a Bylaw. [CARRIED]
Trustee Appel noted that Callout stats are now on the website under the dropdown Home menu.
RECOMMENDED MOTION:
To approve moving the money ($4000) from the sale of the auto-ex equipment to Capital Reserves – Equipment [CARRIED]
During discussions Trustee Chorneyko said he believed that the money was more needed in the operating account, given that “based on my best calculation, we're going to need to get in advance on the 2027 levy to the tune of $410,000 in order to stay solvent in June of 2027… it's my opinion that we have plenty of capital cash and not enough operational cash.” The Chief noted that the money was from the sale of equipment so that it made sense to put it in the Equipment fund.
TEMPORARY STAFF MEMBER: Trustee Bussler asked for clarification on status and it was explained that it was temporary in the sense the person currently filling the position might not do so for the entire year.
BCEHS HOSTING AGREEMENT: Trustee Bussler asked if the agreement had been put into effect and invoiced. The Chief said that the fee for December had been invoiced but that the power outage in January was not charged for.
DEPUTY CHIEF REPORT
[VIDEO 1:23:30]
Report is included in meeting package.
ASSOCIATION REPORT
No report
BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES and UNFINISHED BUSINESS
1. Privacy Management [Ed: Program] Update]
[VIDEO 1:26:00]
On-going.
MOTION by Trustee Chorneyko
THAT the corporate officer provide the trustees with a work plan and timeline for bringing the GFPID into compliance with 36.2 of WIPA, which is implementing a privacy management program, and have this due in February.
After some discussion a motion was made to table this motion to the February general meeting, after the hiring process for the new Corporate Officer was completed. [CARRIED]
2. Bylaw XXX: Fire Department Establishing Bylaw
[VIDEO 1:30:40]
Standing item (additional information in Corporate Officer Report).
3. Respectful Workplace Policy Due to WorkSafeBC
[VIDEO 1:31:05]
Recommended MOTION
To approve the Respectful Workplace Policy
The Corporate Officer noted that the WorkSafe response to the draft provided was that it was “very good”.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: I'm not going to support this policy because I don't agree with the tone of it. I'd like to point out that one of our roles as leadership is that we set the tone and direction of the culture of this organization. And I find that the tone of this policy to be very punitive and harsh, and that is not the organization culture that I think we should be setting. The thing about respectful workplace policies or programs is that they're a combination of carrots and sticks. Well, one stick, that's the bullying and harassment policy, which is important, but probably more important than that stick are the carrots, things like code of conduct and organizational values, things that help set expectations of the organizational culture in a positive way. Both the carrots and the sticks are important aspects of a respectful workplace program. My issue with this policy is with the extent that each of these things are emphasized. I find it way too heavy on the punitive side, the stick side, so I calculated it. Based on my evaluation, and using the word count, I got 96% stick and 4% carrot. And I think respectful workplace policy should be more in the 50-50 range, like half carrot, half stick. So it comes back to our role as leadership. What is the culture we as leadership want to implement? Do we think we can create respect in the workplace with a big stick? Is that the culture of this organization? So for that reason, I'm not going to be supporting it.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: So I'm not going to support this policy because I don't agree with the tone of it. I'd like to point out that one of our roles as leadership is that we set the tone and direction of the culture of this organization. And I find that the tone of this policy to be very punitive and harsh, and that is not the organization culture that I think we should be setting. The thing about respectful workplace policies or programs is that they're a combination of carrots and sticks. Well one stick, that's the bullying and harassment policy, which is important, but probably more important than that stick are the carrots, things like code of conduct and organizational values, things that help set expectations of the organizational culture in a positive way. Both the carrots and the sticks are important aspects of a respectful workplace program. My issue with this policy is with the extent that each of these things are emphasized. I find it way too heavy on the punitive side, the stick side, so I calculated it based on my evaluation, and using the word count, I got 96% stick and 4% carrot. And I think respectful workplace policy should be more in the 5050, range, like half carrot, half stick. So it comes back to our role as leadership. What is the culture we as leadership want to implement? Do we think we can create Respect in the workplace with a big step is that the culture of this organization? So for that reason, I'm not going to be supporting it.
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: I spoke up against this policy last time as well, and I still maintain that position. Maybe it could have been done a lot more succinctly, and some of the things that Dave is saying right now, I would echo, in that any other bullying and harassment policy—I know this is respectful workplace policy, but any other bullying harassment policy that I've seen typically speaks to what is excluded as well. It speaks to this. "This is what bullying harassment looks like. This is what it is not." And we don't speak to that at all. But again I raised that in December, and I will maintain that position.
TRUSTEE MOELLER: I just want to point out that we have an open file for WorkSafe and that we're required to have a policy. We've had two extensions, and we kind of need something in place. This can always be amended later if people don't agree with it, but I would strongly suggest that we approve this today so that we can get that back into compliance.
TRUSTEE MOHER: I've seen a number of policies with respect to this, and I find that ours is a combination of different types of policies that bring in both the Employment Standards Act and Workers, sorry, I still say Workers Compensation, so that I find it very fulsome in how it's been put together. I did to some extent think that WorkSafe would come back and say, "Oh, look at this or look at this," to have them come back and actually say, "We like it,you've done it, we accept it," tells me that we've done something properly and we've done something correctly. And I think we would be remiss in not filing this with them, and then in a year, which is what they recommend, that we review every year, we can look at changing it in a year. So my recommendation is to move forward with the approval of this policy, file it with WorkSafe, and then mark it to come up for renewal in a year, and then look at that point. Because we have a duty to follow the Employment Standards and WorkSafe in terms of the documentation of what's going on within this policy. So that's where I stand.
CHAIR: Everybody’s been pretty clear against as to my responsibility as the chair to make sure that that does happen. That's the other part of this, and we are all responsible as trustees to make sure this does happen. We can't—we have to have that policy. We have to have a policy. And we we submitted a policy to them, and they came back. I haven’t seen that before, where the government says, "Oh, you did a really good job." You know, that's not something I’ve seen before. So…
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: John pointed out that the extension actually ended today. So if we are going to submit it, we should probably submit it soon.
CHAIR: Obviously we can change it. But we need to get some in place today.
TRUSTEE APPEL: Sorry, just a question. Do we need to add that to the motion, [so] the recommended motion is to look at it again in a year? Policy. I don't
TRUSTEE MOHER: It says in the bylaw that we review yearly, [unclear] the policy.
[multiple voices]
CHAIR: I don't think there's anything in here that says that you can't bring it up in six months.
TRUSTEE MOHER: But it's guaranteed within a year that this would be reviewed, and at that point we can see what's not working or what is working.
CHAIR: So we have a vote on the floor.
[multiple voices discuss if it was seconded]
CHAIR: So we can have a nice little vote now. Okay, hands in the air for affirmative. Carried. [pause] I understand everybody's concerned. I do. We can. We can speak about that later.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: Please put me down as a no.
CHAIR: Okay, and do you want to be put down as a no? [to Trustee Bussler, who indicates that he does]
TRUSTEE MOELLER: Before we move on... Part of the non compliance was that we had to provide training to the staff of the GFPID, so that would be Corporate Officer, Chief and Deputy, on bullying and harassment, and I have to email him back, the person, the case file manager, and save that training has taking place. So I ask the three of you, if it has not taken place, to do it promptly.
CHIEF: No, it took place end of the year.
TRUSTEE MERCIER: Does that training not have to be provided to all of our employees?
TRUSTEE MOELLER: Well, it was specific to the GFPID three employees, because they already have a bullying and harassment policy. [to Chief] And my understanding is that you guys are providing it. And this was a specifically related to the board. So that was my understanding of where the problem was arising from, because these three had not been receiving that as part of the fire department.
CHIEF: We've also got training in HR practice planned for...?
DEPUTY CHIEF: January 27th.
CHIEF: Bullying and harassment and other HR policies.
CHAIR: I'm gonna mention that I was under the impression that they wanted the trustees to take that training too, at the very least these power[point] transportation up here, there's seven points. I think that we should sit down and do that. I don't know how we strike a meeting to do that. It shouldn't take long. It's 15 minutes, apparently, to go through it.
TRUSTEE MOELLER: So, you know, the case officer said that that would be their recommendation, but because we're not paid we don't pay into work safe. So they don't have any jurisdiction for us. Yeah, so we don't actually have to take the training.
CHAIR: I know we don't have to, but we should. We'll leave that.
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: John, are you saying that, are there two bullying and harassment policies now, is there still a GVFD one and a GFPID one? Because I mean, we wrote this one to cover both entities.
TRUSTEE MOELLER: Well, I can't say if there's another policy, that I don't know.
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: That was what it sounded like.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: I think it's in the OGs. [Ed: Operational Guidelines]
TRUSTEE MOELLER: My understanding was that membership already been receiving bullying and harassment training, but the three that specifically worked for the GFPID have not been, and that was the problem. I mean, maybe they have been, but it was identified as one of the non-compliance issues.
UNKNOWN SPEAKER, CHIEF?: We are not, we are [unclear].
TRUSTEE MOELLER: So every year you guys review that? Okay, I will report to the case officer that it's been completed.
4. Records and Information Management Bylaw
[VIDEO 1:41:25]
(This item was previously covered with a motion carried at the December 2025 meeting that the Corporate Officer develop a draft bylaw for the board to review by March 2026.)
NEW BUSINESS
1. ELECTION
[VIDEO 1:41:35]
Election Date
NOTE: information on the upcoming election is now available on the gabriolafire.ca site.
Recommended Motion
That the Board of Trustees set the date for the upcoming election, and that the Board consider May 6 with advanced polls on May 2 or 3 as the proposed election dates, with the final date for both the Election and the Advance poll to be confirmed by Board resolution in accordance with applicable provincial legislation and required notice periods.
Discussion: Trustee Mercier suggests finalizing details and making a friendly amendment to simplify the motion. After some discussion the following motion is agreed on.
AMENDED MOTION
THAT the Board of Trustees set the date for the upcoming election as May 6th, with a full day, 11am to 7pm of advanced polls on May 2nd. [CARRIED]
Hiring of the Returning Officer
MOTION
THAT the Board of Trustees hire Cheryl Hannebauer to work as the Returning Officer of the upcoming election. [CARRIED]
Temporary Chair for the election
MOTION:
That Trustee Appel act as Chair for all election responsibilities for the 2026 Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District Election. [CARRIED]
NOTES: The Chair of the GFPID must be available during the election, as per the Election Policy adopted at the November 2025 general meeting:
VOTING (3): Poll clerks will confirm the eligibility of the voter. Any questions regarding the eligibility shall be directed to the Returning Officer. If the issue cannot be resolved, it shall be referred to the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District or delegate.
Under DEFINITIONS (6) in the same document, it is stated:
If the Chair is a candidate, these duties shall be assigned to a Trustee not currently a candidate in the election. This transfer of duties shall be in writing.
2. CAPITAL RESERVE MANAGEMENT
[VIDEO 1:54:40]
MOTION
THAT the Board recognizes shortfalls in policy governing the management of capital funds and direct staff to devise policy that reflects the requirements of the Local Government Act and guidance from the Improvement District Manual, a report on this process to be made at the March general meeting. [CARRIED]
MOTION
THAT instructions be provided to TD Bank, where the capital accounts are held, such that confirmation of a registered Bylaw and dual authorization be required for disbursement or transfer of funds from capital reserve accounts. [CARRIED]
MOTION
THAT the briefing documents circulated in advance of this meeting on this matter be disclosed to the auditor for 2025. [CARRIED]
MOTION
THAT the Corporate Officer can get electronic access to these accounts. [CARRIED]
3. MOTION RELATED TO CAPITAL RESERVE MANAGEMENT
[VIDEO 2:07:40]
MOTION
THAT Trustee Moeller’s correspondence responding to the briefing materials related to the previous motion be included in the package to the auditor. [CARRIED]
4. SAFETY ASSESSMENT
[VIDEO 2:08:45]
[NOTE: Any complaints with regard to safety would properly be handled in camera, so the public will have no knowledge of any specific matters referenced during this meeting.]
MOTION:
THAT trustee Moeller and Trustee Chorneyko are authorized to spend up to $10,000 to hire a third party HR consultant to do a safety assessment of the December 2025 general meeting, and to come up with a process to manage safety concerns in trustee meetings going forward.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: I'm making that motion.
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: seconds, opening discussion.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: I just think we need to do this. There's two parts here. One's a safety assessment of last meeting. There were safety concerns brought up, and I think that we need to take safety seriously. And as such, I think we need to do a safety assessment of that meeting so that we can fully understand the safety issues that came up and understand how to move forward from that. The second part of it is to come up with a process to manage safety concerns in trustee meetings. People are talking about safety concerns in these meetings, and we do not have a process to deal with safety concerns in these meetings. So part of that's just to come up with a process, you know, reporting, and then a way to evaluate these safety concerns. So that's going to take—I think we need a third party. I don't think we have the skill sets in place to do this, so I'd like to, with trustee Moeller, which I haven't asked you about, but that we get a third party HR consultant in to deal with this.
CHAIR: Can I speak I don't think we need to spend $10,000 on a safety issue. I think we all understand, if you watch the tape and understand what went on the last meeting. I don't think it was all that bad, but there was some safety concerns. And the safety concerns are these, that you cannot treat your staff badly. You can't do it. That may be an issue that has been, there may have been an issue in the past, that cannot go forward. We have settled law from WorkSafe BC on how you treat staff, particularly how the trustees should treat staff, and I think that's where this comes from. I am getting really tired of the idea that every time we see a problem, we throw $10,000 at a third party person that comes in and spends two hours and says, you know, this or that. I think that what we need to do is strike a committee and sit down and look at that tape and the transcription to understand what goes on and how we can change it. There has to be a peace plan in place here. We can't just keep on with this war. And it's, you know, it's been fine today, but we got out of hand. I'm sorry for that last meeting we had. Well, I don't think we need to spend $10,000 on it. That's a lot of money, and it keeps coming. We keep talking about saving the taxpayers money, and then we don't. So I would like to say that that we strike a committee of three, perhaps, people, and they sit down and work this out, and never mind the third party. If we can't come to agreement, at that point, perhaps we do a third party intervention. But I think that we have the tools. We certainly have the tools, and we've been told by the government, in no uncertain terms, what we have to do, what I have to do as a chair, and what the responsibilities of all the trustees are. It's very, very clear. And, yeah, I think anybody that sits as chair of this place has to understand what the responsibilities are. And so that's what I'd like to say, is we strike a committee, I don't care if it's all of us that sit down, but I think it's time we sit down around the fire and work this out. But if it's gonna be three people, it's gonna be three people.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: I'd just like to say that this organization is extremely polarized, and I don't think... We need the third party perspective in order to understand what's going on here. And that's my opinion.
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: I don't think anybody here intends to treat employees poorly, and I'm not, and I don't, I personally don't see it. Like, I know there were issues at the last meeting that allegedly came up. I would be amenable to trying to create, to bridge that divide, that polarized divide, because it does exist. And maybe we don't need to spend the money, but we would need representation from a diverse set of Trustees.
CHAIR: I mean, we're all adults, you know, we should be able to do this. The idea that we're polarized, that's certainly true. I think we need to get less polarized. And I think there's a sit down and talking about what going forward... You know, what are we doing? Are we working for the district, or are we going to have personal vendettas? I mean, that's got to end. So do we have any volunteers? I'm sorry to say this, but do we have any volunteers who would sit on that, on that committee?
[multiple voices]
TRUSTEE MOELLER: I agree with you, Dave, that something needs to be done. I guess the problem I have with what you're proposing is I'm not really sure exactly what we'd be getting from this consultant out of it. You know, they'll take our money. I have no doubt about that. But, you know, what're they going to be able to give us that's actually going to resolve issues, I'm not, I'm not sure I understand that. And so that's, that's the kind of part where I'm a little bit, like, if I don't know what I'm asking for I’m very unlikely to get what I want, and that's the kind of piece I'm missing. So maybe the thing to do would be to just have like, you know, what Eric suggested, just do it internally. Try to figure out what we're asking for.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: We need to understand what constitutes a safety problem. People are pounding the table about safety issues, and I don't believe there's safety issues, and—
CHAIR: You don't believe there is.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: Not really. But there’s, so there's a difference in opinion as to what a safety issue is, and so we need an appropriate matrix to understand what constitutes a safety problem and what isn't.
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: And that's what I just, really quick—that's what I was speaking to a little bit earlier, in that what WorkSafeBC does, is they tell you, “This is not bullying and harassment, this is bullying and harassment” and getting at that a little bit. But again, I'm okay with not spending money on this and figuring this out internally.
TRUSTEE MOHER: I would recommend,and I know we have a motion on the floor, that we do the training, and that might give us an explanation. I would also be very careful about using the word “safety” to explain situational procedures that are happening that cause people to feel uncomfortable, because there's a big difference in the field when you're talking about a safety issue, because that could be ladders that aren’t being repaired and all that kind of stuff. We're talking about something totally different, I think. And that confused me when you started to say we need to look at safety. So my recommendation would be that we vote on the motion, however, but that what we look at is doing the harassment, the training through WorkSafe, take a look at that, get some definitions going, some really solid terminology that we could use, and try to identify what some people think they're talking about before we move on.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: And that's the issue, Diana, is that last month, it was the safety card that was being played, and—
TRUSTEE MOHER: I don’t remember the word “safety” being used, but that’s okay.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: Yeah, it was used.
CHAIR: Is it on the transcript, safety? Was that word used?
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: Yeah, it would be on there.
CHAIR: You don’t know?
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: Yes.
CHAIR: It was used.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: Yes.
CHAIR: Okay. By who?
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: I think Diana.
TRUSTEE MOHER: I may say that somebody may not feel safe, but I don't say it in a way that we need to do a safety check. To me, that means something totally different, totally different. So that's why I'm saying we need to look at some common terminology as we move forward. And my recommendation is, once we voted this, is that we look at that training thing that WorkSafe talks about and getting some common terminology going, and some common footing going, so that—and what our legal responsibility is, because there's a very clean line between what some people think is okay to say and do, and what is absolutely not okay to say and do. And I don't think that people are respecting that line very well, and I think this might help us figure that out.
[VIDEO 2:18:47]
NOTE: As previously reported by the Chair, the lawsuit by former Corporate Officer Matt Dow against the GFPID and named individuals was settled out of court, and the details of the settlement are confidential. The lawsuit obviously incurred expenses unrelated to settlement costs. During the December meeting, Trustee Chorneyko asked the Corporate Officer to report on any such associated costs; lawyers’ fees, third-party HR costs, and the hours spent by staff working on the lawsuit, including the fire chief. During an acrimonious discussion in response to this request, Trustee Moher said: “And I'm going to say this right now, and I'm going to say it loud, because we have an obligation under WorkSafe to provide a safe, healthy workplace for our employees, the three of those ones that are sitting in this room, and quite frankly, I think you're doing a shitty job of that, because we constantly pick off one item and one thing, and we point it at one person or another person, over and over and over again. And I'm sorry, but it needs to stop.” This appears to be the only reference to safety during the discussion.
CHAIR: Can I just say something? I got some clear guidance from from the investigator here on island for WorkSafe BC, and he suggested, at that time because of that meeting, there was some issues with FOI that I got to address, that I get with the Ministry of Municipalities, which I have not done yet, but, but FOIPPA certainly. And that you cannot bully or harass or belittle your employees, particularly in a public forum. They are paid employees. And if you got a problem with paid employees, then you need to do that in camera. It has to be in camera. It cannot be here in a situation like this. And that comes from the floor, and it comes from the trustees, and that's law. That's settled law.
CORPORATE OFFICER: I took a free respectful workplace course at BCIT, and I was surprised of what they consider bullying and harassment, because they ask you, is this bullying and harassment? And I got a lot of the questions wrong because I didn't think it, but obviously it’s the law. So it would be interesting for other people to take that, to see…
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: Yeah, and so bullying and harassment is one thing. Last meeting, it was specifically the safety card that was being played, and that's what this motion is about, is about the safety aspect of it. Which is fine, I understand that’s different than bullying and harassment.
CHAIR: I don't understand the safety card. It sounds like another card people keep talking about—
TRUSTEE MOHER: He’s saying that I used the word, and I’d have to know the context in which I used it.
CHAIR: Yeah, nobody’s playing the safety card.
CORPORATE OFFICER: But it’s the psychological, that’s the psychological—
TRUSTEE MOHER: The psychological safety card.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: Psychological safety.
TRUSTEE MOHER: Well, then you have to say that. You don’t just say “safety.” But can we vote on the on the thing on the floor so that we can move to the next thing, and then get to the end of the meeting, because we have, I'm certain people waiting [unclear].
CHAIR: I have one thing to say, if I may, before we go to the vote. And I, I don't know if it would change the vote at all, but anyway, I was talking to the Workman's Comp, and they don't have anybody here on the island right now that will come to speak to us and give us a training, but they do have somebody in Vancouver, so if we get really serious about it... if we’re really serious about it, we could get somebody in from Vancouver at their expense, and train us on what is legal and what's not legal to do in meetings, in terms of interacting with employees and actually interacting with each other. And I'd like to do that. It's not going to cost us anything. I'm not into putting up $10,000, I’m not into putting up a thousand bucks. I don't think it is warranted at this point. But this is an option that we can do. I mean, we're looking, looking at these expensive HR firms, third party firms, when we don't have to, there’re… The government has these people, if you can get them, if you ask nice, and they’ll come and do that for you. So anyway, discussion? Okay, hands up in the affirmative.
[Trustees Chorneyko and Mercier vote in favour, MOTION NOT CARRIED]
I think it didn't make it, but we need to talk about that. That's all there is to it. I appreciate you bringing it up, but—
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: What’s great about talking about it, so piggybacking on this, can we then make a motion to to keep this internal? Because the reason I voted no on this is because we do have a Plan B.
CHAIR: Well, do you want to make the motion?
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: Yeah, so that we strike a small select committee.
[Motion is seconded]
CHAIR: You, you, and who? [indicates Trustees Bussler and Chorneyko]
TRUSTEE MOELLER: There’s a motion—
CHAIR: No, before we get there… so you make a motion—
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: Yeah, to strike a select committee for the purpose of reviewing legislation related to bullying, harassment, and education materials, and then coming up with a strategy on how to create some definitions. I think which is what Diana talked about—
CHAIR: We can sit there and watch it on the big screen, drink beer…
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: —and then just bring that back to the board, and Ray and I will do that. Anybody else who would want to join. [Trustee Chorneyko raises his hand]
CHAIR: All right, your motion?
TRUSTEE MERCIER: Can I suggest that we name a chair of the committee now?
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: So we can actually schedule a meeting.
CORPORATE OFFICER: And who’s on the committee again?
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: Ray, myself and Dave, and I'll chair.
CHAIR: You will chair. Okay, in the affirmative, put your hand up.
[multiple voices, Trustee Mercier asks about a reporting deadline]
TRUSTEE MERCIER: April?
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: Yeah.
TRUSTEE MERCIER: Okay.
CHAIR: What was the motion again? Sorry, we had—
[multiple voices]
CORPORATE OFFICER: to strike us a select committee consisting of Trustees Bussler, Appel as chair, and Chorneyko, for the purpose of reviewing legislation and coming up with a strategy to bring back to the board. And I’ve got a few missing words.
UNKNOWN: By April.
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: Yeah, by April. A strategy related to bullying, harassment and respectful workplace.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: Could we add safety in there?
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: And safety, sure.
TRUSTEE MOELLER: Is this for the meeting?
[multiple voices, unclear]
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: I think for the meetings.
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: To run the meetings?
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: Yeah, because these issues are, these are things that are coming up about these meetings, about how unsafe these meetings are and so—
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: So based on a review of the meetings…
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: Yeah, let's review the meetings, and comments and complaints that have come up out of these meetings.
[multiple voices]
[Trustee Moeller indicates that he wants to sit on the committee]
CHAIR: Kind of broad there.
[multiple voices]
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: If we keep it more general in terms of, rather than getting into the details of what we're going to be doing, but to understand the purpose.
CHAIR: I hope we're not going to the anonymous thing again, okay, we just can't have that.
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: I don't think that's the purpose of this, this is coming up with, like, looking at what's happening, is there a safety issue, what can we do differently.
[multiple voices]
TRUSTEE MERCIER: And I believe that Trustee Bussler is going to be the chair.
CHAIR: I'll give our corporate officer a minute here to redo that.
CORPORATE OFFICER:
To strike a select committee of trustees Ray Appel, Oliver Bussler (as chair), David Chorneyko, and John Moeller, for the purpose of reviewing legislation and then coming up with a strategy for psychological safety at meetings, and bring it back to board at the April meeting.
CHAIR: Shall we do that again? Hands in the air in the affirmative. [CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY]
5. USE OF CEILING PROJECTOR
[VIDEO 2:26:30]
Details are in the meeting package.
Trustee Appel moved to make use of the projector in upcoming meetings. He explained the procedure for using the overhead projector to display public information as needed, and then provide the slidedeck via the Calendar, noting that it will involve a little more work for Trustees. MOTION CARRIED.
The Corporate Officer noted that it is difficult to find a way for Trustees to also view the material projected, because the screen is behind many of them.
6. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
[VIDEO 2:28:40]
MOTION: to create a select committee tasked with developing a performance management framework for the full time staff.
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: So that's basically for the Fire Chief and the Corporate Officer, being the full time staff, the Fire Chief deals with the deputies.
[seconded]
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: So in terms of what the intent here is, is basically just to look at what what might be some performance goals, what might be some metrics, things that we don't have right now that would then, if we hire a new corporate officer, they'll be on probationary period, so we should really be looking at their performance over that time. Same thing goes with any paid increases that may be contained in in work contracts that are a function of performance, so we can deal with that. And then just, I think, naturally, it's good to have a way to provide feedback in terms of what the annual priorities are, and and what, how the person is performing against them. Any place I've ever worked at, I had that. So yeah, what I’m looking for is a select committee, and I don't have any, and I'm not— We can talk about different metrics, we talk about different targets and how to apply them, and then we would bring that back, obviously, to the board [unclear]. So looking at performance targets. And I'd be willing to chair that, or if somebody else wants to do it that’d be fine.
[The Chair and Trustee Moeller indicate that they will sit on the committee. Discussion of when to report.]
MOTION:
To create a select committee tasked with developing a performance management framework for the full time staff, to report to the March meeting. [CARRIED]
QUESTION PERIOD
[VIDEO 2:31:15]
CHAIR: Alright then, question period. Let’s do question period.
JACQUI BRAID: You guys mentioned the meeting about the privacy breach?
CHAIR: Yes.
BRAID: That was held. Can I ask who was, who was in attendance at that meeting?
EJ: In attendance was Paula Mallinson, your friend, Trustee, um…
DM: Moher.
DC: Paul Giffin was there too, wasn’t he?
EJ: What’s that?
DC: Was Paul Giffin there?
CO: No.
DM: No.
EJ: And myself, and the corporate officer. And Wayne was there for, to help them set up, and then he had a thing to do.
BRAID: So I, at the last meeting, it was brought up that maybe Paula Mallinson would be brought in, and I actually opposed that.
CHAIR: Did you?
BRAID: Yeah, she's no longer an employee, and we're talking about a privacy breach, and even though it was her computer and, and so, I mean, like this, it just seems odd to me that that like, so who opened up the computer and—
CORPORATE OFFICER: I was the only one who touched the computer at all.
BRAID: So why did you need Paula Mallinson there?
CORPORATE OFFICER: Because her file keeping system was not what we considered good. And she was able to say, “Let's check that file, let's check that file”. And files that I would naturally check, there was nothing in them of relevance. So she was helping us where she looked, where she had filed things. But she was also, it was very clear to her that it was not 10 years worth of stuff on the computer, so therefore that she could tell us that majority of the personal information had already been taken off.
BRAID: So are you following the, Wayne had mentioned the steps to go through with the organization. Are you guys following those?
CHAIR: I believe we are, because it falls to me as a chair to deal with FOI, and that's what we're talking about, is FOI.
BRAID: No, we're talking about a privacy breach.
CHAIR: That's what it is, FOIPPA. The other half is privacy. When you have a data breach in British Columbia, you have to interface with FOIPPA. That’s what you have to do.
BRAID: What was the website that you had mentioned?
TRUSTEE MERCIER: There's, there's a PDF document setting out the steps that need to be followed, I'm sure you’ve seen it. I circulated it.
CHAIR: And that has not been followed?
TRUSTEE MERCIER: I think you may, there may be some confusion here. So, because, to my knowledge, which extends up to the beginning of that meeting, it was being followed, but it's the, [muttering and looking for info on the laptop] there we go…
It’s a PDF document put out by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, it’s the one that sets out the form for the notification and various steps that need to be taken.
CHAIR: So we’re aware of it.
TRUSTEE MERCIER: My understanding is that you're following it.
[Ed. NOTE: the reference is to “Privacy breaches: tools and resources for public bodies.”]
CHAIR: We are following it.
CORPORATE OFFICER: Yes.
CHAIR: At that meeting we were following it.
TRUSTEE MERCIER: Which I believe, is, answers your question.
BRAID: Yes, it does. I just also have a question, because at the December 3 meeting, this was, you were going to, you said that within a couple of days that you were going to be looking into it, and then this meeting took place in January.
CHAIR: Yes, it did. You know why that is? Because we didn't steal the computer. Okay? I didn't steal the computer, and I have [audience muttering], I actually don't have to explain that to you, because we are volunteers here, and we got a great big hot potato dropped in our laps, and this is the best we could do, was, the timing involved. Okay?
BRAID: I, I, okay…
TRUSTEE MERCIER: I just want to make sure that my understanding and your understanding align. I don't think that we're asserting that there was a theft, are we? Have we concluded that there was a theft, because that’s …?
CORPORATE OFFICER: No.
CHAIR: Did I say theft?
[multiple voices saying “yes”, unclear]
TRUSTEE MERCIER: You talked about the computer being stolen, so—
[multiple voices]
CHAIR: Yeah, I don't know. I don't know, I don't know how other to categorize something that left the building without authorization. I guess maybe it's not a theft, it’s a borrow? It's a whatever. But it left, you know, like I said before, it didn't fall off the back of the truck, it wasn't picked up in the ditch. That's not what happened. It was removed from this place without permission. You guys maybe know more about that. I wasn't there.
PENELOPE BAHR: No, but you're saying you are. You are saying, you're saying, you know.
CHAIR: Nobody as I understand took responsibility for saying that so-and-so, and I think I know who so-and-so is, that you can remove this computer—
BRAID: My question is more about the handling of the data breach now, right? So whether you know, whether you think it was stolen, or how it left the hall, I mean, ultimately, it left the hall and, and it, you know, I think maybe my privacy was breached. And what I was given at the last meeting was some assurances that I would be notified? Or that it was going to be opened up properly. And it was at that meeting that it was suggested that maybe we bring in Paula Mallinson. And I'm on record as saying I don't think that's a very good idea. And now at this meeting, I'm hearing that that just happened.
CHAIR: Can I ask you something? What is your beef with Paula Mallinson?
BRAID: She's no longer an employee here. You've already had a serious data breach, and to, to bring in…
CHAIR: She put the data there.
BRAID: She's no longer an employee, though. I don't have a beef with her. I just have a, I have a problem with, you've already had a privacy breach and, and it, it seems to me like we're just falling back on old ways of doing things, and “just get this person in” and, and, and you know, you're, you're having, you know, you're having freedom of information, you're trying to get together policies, and I understand you're trying to do the right thing, but you're not listening to people when they say, “I'm not comfortable with somebody having, you know, my, my information”. And you have a corporate officer, you have, you know, and just willy nilly bringing in X. I just, I have a little bit of a problem with it, but what's done is done. I just, I just think that you need to, you need to listen to people when they when they maybe say—
CHAIR: And we do. We do. But the issue here is that you have the entire, the entire time pretty well, I'm pretty sure, from 1996 to 2015, that that computer was in use here in the hall, and for whatever reasons it was put aside. It should have been wiped, I know that, but it wasn't. Paula Mallinson did the data, she put it in there. Okay? No, I don't think anybody else, nobody else has stood up and said and said that he did. So I kind of trust her. We have an A NDA [Non Disclosure Agreement]. She has an NDA with the hall, so she legally cannot speak to anything that was on there. I saw the whole process. I don't even remember your name on that. It may have been there. If it was there at all, it was with SIN numbers attached to it. And what we have done, just so you know what we have done, we've got a report out to FOI, which we have to do. The case isn’t closed until they tell us it’s closed, and we're trying to get ahold of all the 57 people that are mentioned in there, and with their SIN numbers. Some of them passed away, and we have some difficulty with finding emails to contact them, and in certain, certain cases, there's incomplete information there as to who this person is. So it's going to take us a couple of days to get that together. And what we're doing to begin with is getting ahold of everybody, individually, who we have a list of that were, their SIN number was there, and letting them know that there has been a data breach and what they want to do with it. And, it may take us a week to do so, you know.
BRAID: I understand that. I just, I have an opposition to—
CHAIR: But, just so you know, and other people in the hall would know this. There's probably six people in this hall who knew who took it, and they're, they're not making, making a stink about it, because, because they know that person is not capable of using their, their information for nefarious purposes.
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: When I learned about Paula being given access to the computer, I also, I sent Eric an email because I was concerned about it too, because it wasn't clear to me—We, we changed between corporate officers as well. So there could have been a time where that computer was used by the new corporate officer. So there's information that Paula didn't previously have access to, and I don't think that's right for a, for a non employee, but Eric has told me that there is a non disclosure agreement, apparently, that Paula signed, he’s going to share it with me.
CHAIR: And we all signed a non disclosure. We already have one. I mean, trustees, already have that, like, but the corporate officer has one. Paula does. She came in and did some work for us last year, and had signed a new—
TRUSTEE MOHER: For about three months.
CHAIR: —for about three months, when we were without a corporate officer. So I want to say that she's, I guess she was an employee there for a little while, for three months. I'm not concerned about it, I'm personally not concerned about—
BRAID: Well, I voiced my—
[multiple voices]
CHAIR: I trust her as much as anyone else in the room.
TRUSTEE MOHER: Thank you for bringing that up. Thanks Jacqui, that’s—thank you. I’ve made note of it.
[VIDEO 2:42:25]
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: We, we've already, last year, we've gotten a $100,000 advance for this year and, come next October, we need to make that decision for 2027.
WELLS: Well, you need to get a budget for 2027, and you probably will have to access money as you indicated, but I just didn't want anybody to get caught short and need that money in May, and find out they don't have enough.
TRUSTEE CHORNEYKO: Yes, we're, thank you Char, we’re aware of these things.
[VIDEO 2:43:20]
TRUSTEE MOHER: That's fantastic. Can you send her an email, the corporate officer?
FREI: Sure, yeah, absolutely.
TRUSTEE MOHER: So we have your contacts.
FREI: Yes, I have actually sent you one before, but I’ll do it again.
TRUSTEE BUSSLER: As the chair I’ll bring you into it as well.
[VIDEO 2:44:15]
CHIEF SPROGIS: I’ll come by and help you out.
CIOCEA: Okay, but would that ever be a possibility? That we could, we could pass something, because a lot of us bought those fire extinguishers, right? They're fantastic. I used it one time, and they are… but I just thought, well, see I never leave the island, I seldom leave the island. And I thought maybe it could be a day for the fire department to… but can that be done?
CHIEF SPROGIS: Yeah, we can look into it, or we could maybe bring in a group, to…
CIOCEA : I mean, you could make a day of it. If there’s a charge it could be worked out.
[general assenting noises]
CHAIR: Anybody else. No? Well, we would like to adjourn this meeting and move into a meeting, move to an in camera session to consider confidential, legal personal matters for bylaw 97 [unclear]. Next general meeting, by the way, is February 4, 2026 at four o'clock.
ADJOURNMENT
Next general (open) meeting: February 4, 2026 at 4:00 pm