With a healthy quorum and the assistance of Bill 53, the business of Edgemont Community Association went ahead, virtually, again this year at the ECA 2021 AGM on May 12.
On behalf of the ECA Board, big thanks are given to our four retiring Directors: Brett Plaizier, Connie Boucher, Brent McConnell, and Jo-Ann Wither, with a commensurate welcome to ECA’s four newest Directors: Barb Elms, Kathleen Stewart, Changling Luo, and Shaffic Fazal.
In a busy board of 15 members, a certain amount of retention, a soupcon of Mid term directors, and an infusion of new Directors is a hearty recipe. ECA has a good balance of each category with six Directors returned, five in the middle of their terms, and four brand new Directors. Remember, the contact info for the ECA Board is on the inside of the Inside Edgemont newsletter, every month.
Left to right, top to bottom: Bill, Elspeth, Elaine, Pam, Rick, Vishal, Terry, Bruce, Shaffic, Anil, Changling, Barb, Min, Scott, Kathleen
At this writing, Alberta is achieving good vaccination levels and the province is looking to reopen as that positive trend continues to improve. The ECA and ECC staff are working diligently to reopen as safely as possible.
Social experimentation is continuing apace with the City’s pilot project of allowing alcohol consumption in public parks. Currently, “Alcohol in Parks” is restricted solely to designated picnic tables, including two of the tables in Edgemont. The one located just north of the Edgepark gazebo in our wonderful pathway system and one on the west hill overlooking the Edgepark gazebo. The expectation is that this experiment will result in ripples, not tidal waves, upon the tranquil sea of society. Please use this provision sensibly, there are impressionable people of every age sharing the same park. You can book a two-hour period online – which gives you precedence for that time slot – or simply use the designated space if it is vacant 11:00 am to 9:00 pm. I am often amused at the contrast between European and North American consumption rules, yet these are, nevertheless, the rules in Calgary! Some of your intrepid Directors may have been sighted testing out the program June 6. The work of ECA never stops!
By now, we will all have seen the many roadside signs cropping up seemingly everywhere in Edgemont. ECA supports businesses in our community but on the other hand, there is the beautification of our neighbourhood to consider. Specifically, signs are not allowed in Parks, major thoroughfares, or near intersections, and they will be removed and discarded if they are in the way of landscaping and mowing by both ELM, as well as City crews. Signs work, or they wouldn’t appear, yet some form of détente between business and beauty would be preferred.
Speaking of ELM and beautification, there seems to be an underground movement of landscape anarchists liberating our display materials, both the summer growing things and the winter ornaments, and releasing them to free range in their private garden displays. Please understand that our plants are ordered once a year and our ornaments are reused year over year, so replacements are either costly or nonexistent. Please keep the ELM displays intact!
ECA had a long overdue Community Cleanup in May, because we had to call off last year’s event due to COVID. I have never seen the lineup of vehicles all the way down the hill to Edgevalley Drive and Edgemont BLVD intersection (and probably beyond!). It was a hectic day of emptying vehicles as fast as our magnificent volunteers could heft and chuck armloads into the city trucks. The city crews were excellent and most helpful! There was no lull and we had to cut off the lineup at least 30 minutes before the event ended. Director and Secretary, Pamela Wilson, and her crew at the metal recycling depot just couldn’t bear to see all the bicycles go to the crusher and set them aside. Elspeth Kirk (Communications) put the word out on Facebook and Twitter letting folks know, with the result that there were no Bikes after that evening. ECA Directors will take that excellent reCycling (pun intended!) effort into account for subsequent cleanups.
Community instigator, and now ECA Director, Barb Elms – even prior to being re-elected to the Board – organized a Thursday afternoon convocation of five Food Trucks at the ECA parking lot from 2:00 to 7:00 pm. What a smashing success it was! Barricades were set up to ensure no cars were allowed to take their usual route through the parking lot and they proved to be unnecessary after the first hour because no driver would have even thought there was a roadway through the crowds that persisted until 8 pm! Edgemont Food Trucks is forecast to run the last Thursday of each month. Mark your calendars. Dinner out with the added bonus that the Food Trucks donate a portion of their profits to the ECA!
You may notice that the picture on this article hasn’t changed since the 2021 AGM. Well, another mistake was made at the ECA and yours truly was elected President of this active Board. I think it is just to keep me out of the way while the real workers get the job done, but here we are, anyway.
With luck, you are enjoying a bit more normalcy this summer and the world is opening up, bit by bit.
Sincerely
Bill Kirk
