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Upper Clearwater Farmers Institute plans constitution meeting

A special general meeting of the members will be held on Wednesday evening, May 13
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Right: Members of the new board of the Upper Clearwater Farmers Institute pose for a photograph following the organization’s annual general meeting on Wednesday evening

Upper Clearwater Farmers Institute needs to update its constitution and bylaws, according to president Andrew Nelson.

Speaking at the Institute’s annual general meeting on April 15, Nelson said a new set of bylaws had been imposed in 1984, replacing the original constitution, which dated back to the 1930s. Unfortunately, the bylaws from 1984 are not adequate, he said.

With this in mind, a new constitution has been drafted, based on one that was done in 2013 for a Farmers Institute on Vancouver Island.

A special general meeting of the members will be held on Wednesday evening, May 13 to vote on the new constitution, Nelson said.

If the new constitution is approved, it will be sent to the superintendent of farmers institutes at the Ministry of Agriculture for final review.

Also on the agenda during the special general meeting in May will be a financial rulebook that has been drafted by director Ulrich Patalong.

Several No Trespassing signs that the Farmers Institute erected recently around the Upper Clearwater Hall have created questions in the community.

The signs are the result of the number of RVs that park overnight by the hall during the summer, Nelson said.

Their presence plus the use of the hall’s outhouse have the potential to create liability problems.

Another source of questions has been the riding arena constructed next to the hall last year.

Cost of the arena, including extra insurance for the Farmers Institute, has been entirely covered by Wells Gray Riders Association, Nelson reported.

"We do not have a bean in the arena," he said.

Pay 50 cents to join

Nelson said that because of a procedural error no membership fees had been paid since 2005 and so technically the Farmers Institute had had no proper membership since that time. A letter was sent out on Dec. 1, 2014 and many members responded immediately by rejoining.

The superintendent of farmers institutes was made aware of the directors' findings and was fully supportive of the directors’ chosen course of action, Nelson said.

"Part of the reason for requesting completion of new membership forms is that new members have to sign to confirm their intent to abide by the bylaws of the institute and appropriate regulations. It is not simply a case of paying 50 cents," the president noted in his report.

Nelson also said that any member who joined since April 1 would be unable to vote at the AGM as the bylaws require 14 days membership before voting.

Shed built for tool loan program

A shed that was constructed next to the hall last year will be used one-third to store furniture from the hall and two-thirds for a tool loan program, reported Ulrich Patalong, the project coordinator. There is a dividing wall between the two sections.

A tool loan program has been one of the ideas that members have had since the hall was moved several years ago, Patalong said.

Money for the shed has been budgeted yearly since 2012.

The shed’s location was approved by a majority of members as part of the Farmers Institute’s master plan process, he said.

A total of about $7,700 was paid for materials for the shed during the last fiscal year.

Hall gets new roof

Patalong also coordinated putting a new roof on the hall.

Total cost of that project was just over $14,000, of which UCFI paid about $2,400 as its share.

Nearly all of the rest came from federal Gas Tax funding through Thompson-Nicola Regional District. Having a better roof would save energy by reducing the use of propane, Patalong pointed out.

About 20 people attended the 2015 annual general meeting, down from nearly 50 at last year’s AGM.

As reported in last week’s Times, the Farmers Institute had previously indicated that its directors did not feel it appropriate to have a reporter at the AGM. They felt they had been the victim of biased reporting by the Times in recent months. However, at the last minute the Institute reversed that decision.

The Upper Clearwater Hall, which is owned and operated by the Institute, has been the source of some controversy lately.

Following the meeting Nelson said, "I would like to add that everyone in the community is welcome to apply for membership of the Farmers Institute and that the Farmers Institute is a part of the community but does not profess to be the community."

"We have a lot of events planned for this summer, which the community shall be invited to and we hope to see as many of them there as possible," he said.