Thank you to everyone who attended our Annual General Meeting that was held on November 21, 2023! We had a great turnout, and want to thank you for your support. Below are some of the highlights from the meeting:

Past President Olga Maciejewski gave the welcome message and called the meeting to order, noting that quorum was met.

Nichole Wyatt, with Communications, gave the land acknowledgement. Riverbend is located on traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, the Métis Nation (Region 3). 

Past President Olga Maciejewski introduced the Board members and new team members who have joined this year, and gave an overview of the meeting agenda. She stated the agenda was adopted from 2022. She then gave a thank you for her time with the RCA, saying that it was a true gift, and how it was something she enjoyed doing. 

Olga also introduced our guests; Rep for MLA Tanya Fir, Ward 11, Sarah Representative for City of Calgary Ward 11 Councillor, Holly Shaw. 

New President Ryan Munday introduced himself and stated that he is excited for his new role as president. He thanked the current board and staff for helping him in onboarding, and thanked past-president Olga Maciejewski for her tireless work in her former role. 

Amit Khare, Vice President, Business Operations  went over the highlights from the 2022-2023 Annual Report. 

Some highlights include: 

○ Secured $13,000 via donations and fundraising activities

○ Organized a successful ‘Spring Plant Fundraiser’ event

○ Secured $46,600 in grant funding

○ A note about the successful application with Employment and Social Development Canada- Enabling Accessibility Fund, we replaced the front doors to the community centre and added wave activated accessibility buttons.

○ A note about being successful with our application for the ENMAX Community Solar Program and installed solar panels on the roof, which will help us offset our energy costs.

○ Increased the security of the facility by adding security cameras and integrating the last 3 locks with the facility-wide electronic lock system.

○ We celebrated ‘Rink Grand Re-opening’ on Feb 11, 2023 together with our key supporters: Ward 11Councillor- Kourtney Penner, MLA Tanya Fir, Parks Foundation CEO -Sheila Taylor and Harvey the Hound!

○ We fully closed $640,000 All-season Rink Makeover Project including the addition of 10 in-ground picnictables.

○ We submitted final reports and closed all project grants.

Nichole Wyatt, with Communications also spoke about some highlights from the annual report, going over partnerships and communications. She introduced the new Communications Assistant Anthony Murdoch, and asked members in attendance to follow the RCA on social media. She also went over upcoming events, as well as spoke about past events. 

Samantha Moulds, Memberships & Partnerships Director, went over membership growth, and member benefits for businesses. 

Olga Maciejewski went over the Treasurer's Report, which included an overview of the audited financial statements from 2022-2023.

She noted how the financial performance has shown that the RCA has a $24,000 deficiency. There are several factors that contribute to this, including skyrocketing costs of utilities, noting how the newly installed solar panels might help in this regard. Also, the increasing costs due to high inflation, along with the high costs of insurance do not help. She also spoke about the capital assets, which has gone from $100,000 to $1 million in only a few years. 

Overall however, the RCA’s financial position is doing well, and has gone up since 2022. Overall cash on hand cash flow situation is healthy. 

It was noted that the Treasurer is still vacant and needs to be filled. 

Patricia Medhurst, Director at Large gave thank you to the staff at the RCA, Community Manager Delby Auktor, Facility & Grounds Maintenance Worker Terry Martineau, and Communications Assistant Anthony Murdoch.

She then went over the current vacancies, which include: Treasurer, Director of Grants, Director, Programs and Events, Director, Community Beautification. 

Volunteer Resources Director Natalia Gonzalez thanked all of our amazing volunteers who have offered their time and hard work over the past year. She then went over all the events that took place, including the 35th anniversary celebration, and the rink celebration. She thanked Ken Schultz.

If you are interested in volunteering or know someone who would, please submit an expression of interest via our website on our volunteering page.

Members elected Ryan Munday into the President role and the following directors were elected for the 2-year term:

• Secretary- Vladimir Ivanov

• Director, Communications- Nichole Wyatt 

• Director at Large - Alina Cotovanu

The official part of the meeting concluded at 7:43 PM

Remainder of the meeting was spent on presentations by Melodie Tang and Brenda Perreira, the Director of Traffic, Safety and Crime Prevention. Questions & Answers as well as networking with neighbours followed while enjoying snacks. 

Traffic updates included

• Educating our residents about the tools the City of Calgary and Police have

• Traffic Awareness and communication campaign

• Increased our community engagement by 15%

• Raising awareness about the Deerfoot Trail Improvement Project

• Looking to build a subcommittee for increased communication with local governments

• City of Calgary completed a study for left turn signals at the busiest intersections in the community

• Ped Crossings with lights to be upgraded in 3 of the most dangerous locations

• Speeding in the community continues to be an issue 

• Tickets encourage more police presence. 

• Thank you to Holly Shaw for helping our community improve traffic conditions

Brenda went over important traffic updates and safety for the community, including Riverbend Gate and 18th street. 

A call for volunteers for a Traffic Team was emphasized.

If you are interested in volunteering or know someone who would, please submit an expression of interest via our website on our volunteering page.

A representative from the Green Line project Adam Noble-Johnson then gave an update to all on the project, and answered questions afterwards. 

• Development Phase began April - 16 months long

• Green line progress graph is contract from development to implementation (Construction)

• Construction began on several enabling projects, BDURP, 78 Ave, Due diligence (Hydrovacing, geotechnical work, minor Engineering design confirmations), Lilydale

• Olympic way upgrades are ongoing to improve transportation efficiency

• To be open potentially as early as 2030

• The Green Line will be a different vehicle than the rest of the system

• Southill will not have any parking, nor will Ogden

• Existing bus routes might change, but access to Chinook station should not be reduced. 

• Greenline@calgary.ca

This concludes the 2023 Riverbend Annual General Meeting. Thank you to everyone who participated and brought forward questions, ideas and suggestions.