Remember this claim that the board couldn’t get things done at the monthly meetings even though they had Committee of the Whole meetings with in camera sessions? They decided on having ‘Executive Meetings’ which were closed to the public. Now they want to operate without any input from landowners and refuse to answer questions about their actions on OUR behalf. They want us to sit like sheeple and applaud them but must never question them – that is harassment! https://www.mycomoxvalleynow.com/34727/policy-on-union-bay-executive-meetings-coming-later-in-2018/

As for the concern of the public being shut out from regular meetings, Jacques indicated that wouldn’t take place.
“It’ll never come to that,” said Jacques.
He also re-stated that the board found it hard to get “any kind of business done”, making a reference to the use of profanity during meetings from landowners.
“I’ll leave it at that. There is no big conspiracy here to hide anything from the public.”

POLICY ON UNION BAY “EXECUTIVE MEETINGS” COMING LATER IN 2018

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JAMES WOOD, STAFF WEDNESDAY, APR. 25TH, 2018

 The board of the UBID and landowners are pictured during the district’s Annual General Meeting on April 19, 2018. Photo by James Wood/98.9 The Goat/Vista Radio

UNION BAY, B.C- An official policy on public closed-door meetings in Union Bay will be coming later on this year.

That’s according to the chairperson of the Union Bay Improvement District (UBID) board of trustee’s, Peter Jacques.

Earlier in April, Jacques spoke with 98.9 The Goat on the trustee board’s practice of “executive meetings”, which had come to public attention after residents of the area were physically blocked from attending a gathering of the trustees at the UBID office.

“Our Bylaws and closed meeting policy makes reference to separate meetings and special Board meetings but not always include “In Camera” sessions,” said Jacques, in a previous written statement.

“It is the Boards intention to clarify and add to the intention of this policy by rarifying our Bylaw to reflect the term “Executive Meeting”. It is also the Boards intention to not impose “In Camera” sessions in these meetings except only when necessary.”

Jacques said the board was considering the decision due to difficulties in getting business done while the public is present at their meetings, and indicated that the UBID is now considering regularly holding “executive meetings” of the board, where the public will not be invited.

The rough plan for the meetings was for them to be held the first Monday of every month, closed to the public. However, they would have public agendas and minutes would be taken. Those minutes will then be shared with the public at the next meeting of the board.

British Columbia’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs has said that “executive meetings” are not a legislated term, though there were certain circumstances in which the public would not be invited to a meeting.

Speaking last Thursday, Jacques said that policy on the meetings would be addressed in the next few months, and stated that he believed it would be approved. It would take a majority of the board to send it over to Municipal Affairs for final approval.

At the time, he said the pending election for now-former trustee Jim Elliot’s spot would need to be finished before a policy was considered. That election is now done, with Elliot losing to Ted Haraldson, with 242 votes to Haraldson’s 274.

Haraldson speaks during the district’s Annual General Meeting on April 19, 2018. Photo by James Wood/98.9 The Goat/Vista Radio

A swearing-in date for Haraldson has not yet been determined. Gordon Mason, the administrator for Union Bay, indicated it would take place before the board’s next regular meeting.

As for the concern of the public being shut out from regular meetings, Jacques indicated that wouldn’t take place.

“It’ll never come to that,” said Jacques.

He also re-stated that the board found it hard to get “any kind of business done”, making a reference to the use of profanity during meetings from landowners.

“I’ll leave it at that. There is no big conspiracy here to hide anything from the public.”

The next meeting of the board will be on May 24, 2018.

Don’t forget to check out Susanna’s blog at: https://unionbay.news.blog/

Here is a short video clip from Jan. 19, 2011, when the board illegally locked out the electorate from Jan. 2011 through April 2011 when they were turfed out. This Chair is just making things up claiming there is concern violence may erupt at the monthly meetings – closing them to the public against UBID’s own bylaw. Was there a threat of violence in the protest he took part in? Why is he comfortable making this outrageous claim now because some landowners expressed their dissatisfaction with this boards tactics?

How about this admission by Lone Jednorog that the disruption at the All Candidates Meeting Oct. 19, 2016, was planned by her, Ted Haraldson and Rick Bitten.  These three paranoid people planned a disruption at the Union Bay Community Hall.  Lone Jednorog claimed she was assaulted and Rick Bitten actually apologized to Jednorog on behalf of the Union Bay Improvement District for the ‘assault’ at the inaugural meeting the same month, to distract and deflect blame for his part in this disruption.  The thing is – there was never any assault charge laid against the person Jednorog claimed ‘assaulted’ her.  Just more bullshit.

Here is a video clip of the disruption.  The Moderator had asked all candidates to take their seats at the table.  I have identified Jednorog with a red J and her husband who allowed his wife to be bait for an altercation so he could jump in like a big shot.  Rick Bitten identified.  Jednorog’s husband:  “You ever touch my wife and it will be the last thing you do”.  Bitten:  “Great meeting guys, shows what you are”.  Can you hear anything in this video to back up her wild claims about the landowner ‘screeching’ inches from her face, and Bitten repeatedly saying “Let her go… she’s a woman..let her go?  Nope – didn’t think so.  And the current Chair/Dictator took part whole heartedly.  Paranoid and truth challenged hypocrites.

This is Canada. We are free to express our dissent. If our elected officials gang up and make rules and regulations to prevent another elected official from participating/receiving documents/information this is no longer a democracy. Haven’t we all been told the only remedy is at the ballot booth?

Now we have thugs hijacking our votes because they are afraid of a woman who has the nerve to ask questions on OUR behalf.  Nevertheless, she persisted.

Geez, lots happening and I got behind!

Great that we have caught the eye of CBC. This is a big story and no doubt there will be follow up articles. We no longer have a democracy – we have a dictatorship. These clown trustees have no clue and need to go as soon as possible.

Kudos to Kathy Calder for speaking up. Wish more landowners paid attention to what is going on.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/isn-t-this-canada-union-bay-residents-banned-from-public-meeting-1.4982878

‘Isn’t this Canada?’ Union Bay residents banned from public meeting

Residents concerned over month-long boil water advisory

Joel Ballard · CBC News · Posted: Jan 19, 2019 11:00 AM PT | Last Updated: an hour ago

Turbidity in Langley Lake on Vancouver Island has risen above acceptable levels for drinking water. (JET Productions)comments

Union Bay resident Kathy Calder wants to know why she can’t drink her tap water.

Her community, in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, has been on a boil water advisory for more than a month. Calder was looking forward to asking some questions at Thursday night’s Union Bay Improvement District [UBID] public meeting.

However, a letter posted to the district’s website Jan. 10 says residents are banned from attending the public meeting, which consists of elected officials.

The officials say they invoked the ban because past meetings have been sidetracked by heckling. 

The boil water advisory and the subsequent banning of residents from public meetings has fuelled tensions in the small coastal community of 1,200, where some residents believe their most basic democratic right — access to information — has been thwarted.

An Improvement district is a local authority that provides services for a community. In Union Bay, it’s run by five elected trustees.

‘Are we not entitled to see and hear what’s going on?’

Since Dec. 15, 2018, the residents of Union Bay, on the east coast of Vancouver Island, have been forced to boil their water due to a high turbidity level in nearby Langley Lake, where the community draws its water.

Some residents wonder if increased development and logging near town may have affected the water quality. But district officials say heavy rain and winds have kicked up particles in the water and increased turbity. 

Turbidity is the measure of the cloudiness of fluid.

Residents say the poor water quality is an urgent matter, noting some local stores are running out of water.

• Social media tensions boil over in Prince Rupert water advisory row

“We’re very, very frustrated,” said Calder, who moved to Union Bay with her husband in 2015. “We’re in our late 50s and it’s not good to have to boil everything.”

She wants to address district officials directly to voice her concerns.

Landowners from Union Bay, BC, have been banned from attending their upcoming public meeting. (JET Productions)

But district chairperson Ted Haraldson is adamant the weather is to blame for the poor water quality. He added stricter drinking water regulations introduced by the province in August 2018, have also led to the advisory.

Haraldson admits, however, that he doesn’t know when the boil water advisory will be lifted and people will be able to drink water straight from their taps again.

Calder wanted to raise her concerns at the next public meeting, from which the public is now banned.

“Isn’t this Canada? Are we not entitled to see and hear what’s going on in our community,” said Calder.

‘It is a privilege to be attending a board meeting’

Some residents say the heckling allegations from the district are unfair, arguing residents aren’t always to blame.

Resident Janet Thomas said board members are often seen heckling each other at meetings.

Indeed, videos from meetings held in October and November show how proceedings often descend into chaos, as trustees continually speak over each other.

At the November meeting for example, what began as a correction to the minutes quickly devolved into chaos as board members bickered, resulting in Haraldson threatening to call the police on one of the trustees. Eventually, the residents too became riled.

Haraldson said he’s run out of patience. “It is a privilege to be attending a board meeting,” he said.

“I would love to see people attend this meeting, to listen to what’s said in a governance manner. But that’s not what’s happening.”

He says a handful of culprit tend to cause the most problems. Yet, instead of banning only them, the entire community has been punished.

• Comox Valley to receive new residential care facility, but critics say these decisions are taking too long

The move has angered many residents. And the lack of information is driving residents like Calder away.

Calder said she and her husband are considering selling their home and moving, which saddens her.

“We thought this would be our retirement home.”

https://www.mycomoxvalleynow.com/48814/union-bay-chair-says-thursday-meeting-moved-without-notice-due-to-fear-of-disruption/

UNION BAY CHAIR SAYS THURSDAY MEETING MOVED WITHOUT NOTICE DUE TO FEAR OF DISRUPTION

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JAMES WOOD, STAFF FRIDAY, JAN. 18TH, 2019

 UBID chair Ted Haraldson is pictured during the UBID trustee meeting of November 16th, 2018. Photo by James Wood/98.9 The Goat/Vista Radio 

UNION BAY, B.C- Ted Haraldson will be keeping the doors closed.

That’s what’s been indicated by Haraldson, who is currently serving as the chair of the Union Bay Improvement District trustee board. The board functions as the local government for Union Bay, with a focus on water service.

As of January 11th, 2019, the public meetings of Union Bay’s government have been closed to the public. The reason for the decision was said to be heckling at board meetings.

Trustee Susanna Kaljur, who often opposed the rest of the trustee board, was suspended a few days later.

The latest board meeting was scheduled to be held at the Union Bay community hall on Thursday evening, and it was later moved without notice to Courtenay. According to Haraldson, who spoke with the MyComoxValleyNow.comnewsroom on Friday, it was held at a “secure location”.

He stated that the board suspected there may have been problems, had the meeting been held as scheduled in Union Bay.

“Hopefully, this won’t be happening again, and again these meetings are closed to the public,” said Haraldson.

“The only public meeting is going to be the AGM (annual general meeting) in April, and that is one that everyone will attend, and people will be able to speak, and all the rest. That is going to happen for sure.”

Haraldson stated that a video recording of the Courtenay meeting will be going up on the Union Bay website within “the next couple of days”, and indicated the meeting’s agenda would also be released at the same time.

He added that Union Bay’s upcoming trustee election would be moved to take place a week before the AGM, with the new trustees to be introduced at that gathering.

As for whether or not the rest of the board’s public meetings (which are barred to the public) will be held in Union Bay, Haraldson indicated that would be the case.

He figured people needed time to “calm down”, and stated he wasn’t comfortable with the move in the first place. However, he maintained it was “done for a reason”.

Asked what would happen if people didn’t “calm down”, he did not have an exact answer.

“I’m hoping that there is no violence in the workplace, and harassment, and cyber bullying calms down, to where people become civilised, and to go to a meeting, without having to have this thing occur,” said Haraldson.

He still maintains the AGM will be open to all, and said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“During the AGM, people will be able to speak,” said Haraldson.

“Entering the AGM, there will be a sergeant at arms present. If there are any problems, whatsoever, those individuals will be removed. Otherwise, an AGM is a public meeting, and that is open to the public.”

Haraldson also believes he has the support of Union Bay landowners.

“Many people tell me that,” he said.