Upcoming AGM and Assorted Bits & Bytes

GECA Annual General Meeting – May 24th, Links of Gleneagles Clubhouse, 7pm

By now you have all likely seen the coloured road signs announcing our upcoming AGM and would have received your combination “notice of meeting/voting proxy” delivered to your doorstep in early May.  We hope to see as many of you there in person as possible, or at least represented by your voting proxy.  The AGM is important because not only is it one of the few times per year we get to meet our neighbours in a social setting…it also allows you to discuss common issues and concerns and hear from your Board about how your $125 annual HOA fee is being spent.

This year in addition to the usual Powerpoint on landscaping and financials, we will provide an update on the ongoing Jones Estate saga and be getting a visit from Fabrizio Bertolo of the Town of Cochrane, who will address your questions/comments about those giant green organic bins now sitting in all of our driveways and garages!  Hopefully we all come away as experts in organics recycling.

We would also love to hear from potential new blood!  If you would like to let your name stand for President, Secretary, Board Director or simply offer to volunteer for any community/social events we may look to organize over the balance of 2017…please e-mail me back and let me know.  We’ll also do an open call on the floor of the AGM.  In my fall letter asking for your e-mail addresses, we got some great feedback on things that you’d like to see in the community.  I will share some of those ideas at the AGM but as you will see, everything needs money and volunteers. I’d like to have an open discussion about community engagement and the reality of our existing annual fee which has not changed in a decade, effectively reducing our purchasing power by a significant amount over the same amount collected in 2008.

Annual Fees – Reminder

As of May 5th we still had 190 households that had not yet remitted their annual HOA fee for 2017.  That’s a relatively unsettling 20% delinquency rate, especially given our website is back up and running and it is now simple for snowbirds and other absentee owners to pay via Paypal.  Please do your community a favour and make your payment as soon as possible—your timely contribution actually serves two purposes as it keeps our kitty where it needs to be to finance our spring/summer beautification costs, and saves us money in that there is less time spent chasing delinquent accounts.  You can click on the “Pay Your Fees” tab on this website to go directly to the secure Paypal site to pay by credit card, or of course do things old school and send a cheque in the mail.

Street Sweeping – Reminder

Please take note of the signs posted in your subdivision for dates and times of upcoming TOC street sweeping efforts!  If everyone can have their cars/RVs off the street for the periods indicated, we can rid our community of as much gravel as possible.  Asthmatics, motorcyclists and your windshields thank you!!

Public Open House – Detached Garage Regulations Changes – Thursday, May 25th, 4-7pm, Cochrane RancheHouse

This is not really applicable to Gleneagles but some of you may have additional property elsewhere in Cochrane so passing this notice along as a courtesy to the TOC.  The Town is holding a public open house to provide information about proposed changes to the accessory building (detached garage) regulations in the Land Use Bylaw and to get feedback/comments from residents. At the open house you will have the opportunity to review the proposed changes, ask questions of staff, and provide comments. For more information you may contact Riley Welden at 403-851-2577 or [email protected]