President's Letter. Fall 2020.

P.O. Box 65, Pender Island, BC V0N 2M0

Fall 2020

My goodness, what have we gotten into with this virus? We, on Pender Island, are so lucky to have a relative natural isolation. I don’t believe we have any cases thus far. It will be very interesting to see how things unfold over the winter. We wish the businesses and individuals affected by Covid, the best possible outcome and hope that a vaccine materializes, ASAP, to vaporize the threat.

As with many aspects of life in 2020, not a lot has gone on with MLPOS this year. Our board meetings have continued either via Zoom or open air distancing at Thieves Bay Park. Our marina team has been busy, behind the scenes, managing and maintaining the largest marina on Pender Island. The fishing doesn't seem to have improved much but the resident killer whales have finally made a few appearances this summer.

I'd like to thank our dedicated volunteer board of directors for their tireless commitment to keeping the MLPOS engine running. I'd especially like to thank our secretary, Kathy Gilbert, for her several terms on our board providing invaluable experience and knowledge in municipal affairs as well as for her dedication to seeking out solutions to many of our issues. She will be greatly missed. The marina directors: General Manager, Wally Foster, Projects Manager, Art Curtis, Maintenance Manager Ian Syme, and our new Operations Manager, Robb Zuk. Other directors: Vice President, Bob Coulson, Tennis and Recreation, Mike Wiley, Treasurer, Jean Deschenes, our dedicated Director at large, David Reed, who also served as the Assistant Marina Operations Manager. And last, but never least, our amazing Office Manager, Joanna Rogers.

Although it's beyond our board’s control, the difficult issue of the Magic Lake Estates sewer upgrades has made significant progress with a members’ vote of support, followed by notices to those on sewer, regarding the options for individual owner payments. We are awaiting news on a significant grant application which was made possible by a successful referendum to further support our future sewer system upgrades.

This year, before Covid, Ian Elliott, and our Fire/Rescue Department facilitated by a government grant, spearheaded a FireSmart program for Pender property owners. This included free FireSmart property assessments to identify potential fire risks and suggestions on how to mitigate these risks. Ian did an assessment of my property and it was very helpful and educational.

We can only hope that the Coronavirus is conquered before too long. Until then, batten down the hatches.

We will be facilitating our 2020 AGM via Zoom on October 17th 2020.

Jeremy Harwood, President.