Grand Marais Property Owners Association News
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2006
Merry Christmas - J. Meagher - The GMPOA wishes a Merry Christmas and a Peaceful, Prosperous New Year to one and all.Municipal Elections - J. Meagher - The GMPOA congratulates the winners and all those who stood for election in the recent municipal elections. Steve Strang was elected Reeve, Ron Basarowich, Jerry Drobot and Ray Frey were elected as ward 1 councillors and Robert Belanger, Rod Cameron and Ed Gunning were elected as ward 2 councillors. Grand Marais is in ward 2.
Destination Grand Marais - J. Meagher - The Grand Beach and Area Development Corporation and the RM of St. Clements are spearheading an exciting new initiative, Destination Grand Marais. The GBADC presented to the RM, a plan to draw tourists to Grand Marais by creating green space, walking and cycling paths, a new business area, a tourist information centre with public washrooms and potable water, and more. In short, a plan to make Grand Marais a tourist destination. The RM has given to the GBADC, $15 000.00 to create a new proposal detailing how development will proceed. The GBADC will contact a qualified consultant to create the new proposal for presentation and public consultations in the spring of 2007. The GMPOA looks forward to participating in the public consultations and encourages all members to keep abreast of developments concerning this initiative.
Staircase To Grand Marais Historic Pier - J. Meagher - The GMPOA hopes to revamp its application for a municipal grant to build a staircase to the Grand Marais Historic Pier. The recent damage to the existing staircase and to the shoreline tells us that we need a more detailed plan. If you have the qualifications to design an appropriate structure to provide access to the pier without damaging the shoreline, you are encouraged to donate your exper e to this endeavour. The GMPOA will be able to add the value of your services as an in-kind contribution to the project and to the grant application. Once designed and approved, we will be looking for more volunteers to donate their time constructing the staircase. Once again, the value of all labour can be added as in-kind contributions to the project and to the grant application.
Garbage Collection - J. Meagher - Garbage collection is an issue the GMPOA hears about regularly. Two possible solutions have been discussed with the RM:
- Declare Grand Marais a Special Service Area/District - The RM would charge each property approximately $100.00 and tender a contract for garbage pick up in GM.
- Private Contractor to have his/her own dumpster(s) and contract with a removal company to transfer collected garbage to the Libau dump. The RM would extend the berm and the contractor would have keys to his/her dumpster(s) and to the transfer station gate(s).
OCTOBER 2006
Municipal Elections - Municipal elections take place October 25, 2006. The GMPOA strongly encourages all members to participate. Winnipeggers can vote at Bronx Park Community Club, 131 Chelsea Pl. (corner of Chelsea Pl. and Henderson Hwy.) 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. on election day. St. Clements residents can vote at their local polling stations 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. on election day. An advance poll will be held in the Council Chambers of the Rural Municipality of St. Clements in East Selkirk on October 20, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. You can also vote by mail-in ballot; contact the RM for more information. To make it easier for GMPOA members, we are mailing them information on how to obtain a mail-in ballot.For Reeve you may vote for Steve Strang or Ken Thomas. For councillors, you may vote for any three of the following: Robert Belanger, Rod Cameron, Roberta Dalman, Ron Fewchuk, Darlene Fisette, Ed gunning, Mike Millard, Roger Saunders.
Management Committee - The Management Committee met on September 30, 2006 to organize our activities for the next year. Standing committees, ad hoc committees and liaisons were assigned (see the About Us page for more info). If there is an issue you would like us to address, if you would like to help on one of the committees or if you have a contact that could help us, please contact us.
Communications Committee - The GMPOA wishes to extend special thanks to Dean Jones for voluntarily maintaining this website. We think it looks great!! Thanks are also extended to Judi Moxley for contributing photos to the website and to Linda Leonard for contributing her articles for the Memories Of Grand Marais page. We still need more photos and more stories so please contribute!
As well, if you have a business or you have a cottage for rent, you can obtain a free link from our site to your site/email by forwarding a completed Application For FREE Hyperlink to us. Please note, you must be a member of the GMPOA to qualify for a free hyperlink. Membership rates are currently $10.00 for a property owner's voting membership and $5.00 for an associate non-voting membership. Click here for a membership application.
Spirit Award - Outgoing president Mike Millard presented The Spirit Award for 2006 to the Gray family and the Sand Bar Motor Inn for their support of the community. Congratulations Tyler, Priscilla and Paul.
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| (L to R: Mike, Priscilla, Paul, Tyler) |
Grand Marais 1st Annual Fire Truck Pull - The fire truck pull raised $4400.00 that will be matched by other funds in order to purchase a thermal imaging camera for the East Beaches Emergency Centre.
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| (Your GMPOA team) | (The kids team) |
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| (GMPOA past President Mike Millard presents Fire Chief Mark Sinclair with proceeds from Fire Truck Pull) | (The winners) |
Manitoba Métis Federation Annual Fish Fry - Once again the fish fry was extremely well attended. The GMPOA along with the Grand Beach Cottage Owners' Association, the Manitoba Métis Federation, the Gray family (Sand Bar Motor Inn), the Snowdon family (The Village Store), the Millard family (The Geothermal Alternative) and Ken Avery (Trustee for Lord Selkirk School Division) sponsored the purchase of a notebook computer that was raffled off with all proceeds going to a fund, held in trust by the MMF, for local youth initiatives. This raffle helped raise $765.00!
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| (GMPOA past President Mike Millard with notebook computer) | (Betty Linklater celebrates her ??th birthday) |
Grand Beach Cottage Owners' Association - The GBCOA sends its greetings and has expressed its desire to work with us on projects of mutual interest. We look forward to doing so. The GBCOA also wishes to remind all that garbage Grand Beach cottage owners pay for their garbage to be picked up in the park. They respectfully request that all others refrain from dumping garbage in the park.
SEPTEMBER 2006
Membership - The GMPOA Membership Committee was struck with the goal to develop a working plan to enhance the association's membership base. The first annual membership drive was held on Sunday May 21, 2006. Twenty-eight association volunteers, acting as block captains, canvassed the Grand Marais community, delivering the association's first newsletter and successfully signing up 140 members - more than double the original membership of September 2005. Many thanks are extended to those who generously gave up the Sunday of the May long weekend to volunteer. Our membership numbers continue to climb and have reached 161 members as of September 2, 2006. However, all areas of Grand Marais are not well represented in our membership. We want to have a strong voice that will help the association achieve its mission, so we need to have as many members as possible. We have seen some positive change this past year but we still have a lot more to do.The 2007 membership campaign will kickoff in July 2007 but you can join anytime of the year. If you are interested in becoming a member of the GMPOA, you can download a membership application from this site and send it to us. At present, the fees are $10 for property owner (voting) or $5 for associate (non-voting) memberships. There is a restriction of one voting membership per property but non-voting memberships are open to anyone who has an interest in the betterment of Grand Marais.
Grand Marais 1st Annual Fire Truck Pull - This event was held on Sat., Sept. 2, 2006. Several hundred people came together to cheer on the 11 competing teams. It was nice to see different associations coming together to create a fun activity for the community and, at the same time, to help provide a thermal-imaging camera for the fire department; a win-win situation for all. Thanks to the Manitoba Métis Federation, the Grand Beach Cottage Owners' Association, the Rural Municipality of St. Clements and the Grand Marais Property Owners' Association for sponsoring this event.
Beachfest - Beachfest was held on the August long weekend at the Sand Bar Motor Inn. Several bands entertained making for a huge outdoor concert. Good music, good food and good fellowship made for a great weekend event. The GMPOA really appreciates it's 45 volunteers, as well as all the behind the scenes organizers. Well done! Through the event, several local organizations were able to benefit from this fund-raiser. The GMPOA offers thanks to the Gray family for this opportunity.
The GMPOA Annual General Meeting - Our AGM was held on Sept. 2,2006. Many members attended and a new board was elected. They are: Past President: Mike Millard; President: Jerry Meagher; Vice-President: Paul Leonard; Treasurer: Don Paulus; Secretary: Fran Chester; and directors: Heather Zilkey, Jerry Sherby, Julian Gorchinsky, Lou Savoie, Linda Leonard. This new Management Committee will be meeting soon to plan the year's strategy, and to continue the good works of the previous board. The GMPOA offers thanks and good wishes to the following guest speakers: Corporal Friesen - RCMP; Jeff Houghton - Grand Beach Provincial Park; Terry Neplyk - Grand Beach Cottage Owners' Association; Reeve Steve Strange- RM of St. Clements.
Sand Spit - (the sandy beach area south of Grand Marais Blvd.) Many improvements have been made to this area with the help of the RM, the Province of Manitoba, the Piping Plover Recovery Team and the GMPOA. Go for a walk and enjoy the changes being made to this area. We look forward to your feedback.
Staircase To The Fisherman's Pier - The RM affected repairs in June 2006. Thanks are extended to the Rm for improving access to this site.
Derelict Buildings - We received information concerning the process the RM must follow when declaring a property derelict. We are continuing to follow-up on two properties. Some remediation was seen in the fall (some appliances removed, access to buildings boarded up). The RM closed the file on these two properties this spring. The files were reopened and the outstanding concerns were referred back to bylaw enforcement in August. As well, several other bylaw enforcement issues were presented to the RM in August.
MAY 2006
The GMPOA has been following up on two derelict properties reported to the RM by GMPOA members. Clean up has begun on one of the sites and in conversation the RM has told us that bylaw enforcement has been notified about both locations. We requested info from the RM regarding the process for dealing with derelict buildings. We are still awaiting this info and we are following up our request in writing.
In conversation, the RM has also told us that, barring any emergencies, the RM will repair the existing staircase to the Fisherman's Pier in the spring of 2006. The GMPOA applied to the RM for a grant of $4000 to construct an additional series of steps and walkways to extend the existing staircase to street level. This would provide safe access to this well used site. We are awaiting a decision from the RM.
The Communications Committee has created this web site and a newsletter to disseminate info about the GMPOA and Grand Marais. Thank you very much to Les Sutherland and Encore Envelope for printing our newsletter at no charge. Please contact us if you want to share some info, memories, etc. on our website and/or in our newsletter.