Calling all Residents of Columbia Place!

The Council is looking for a small team of people to lead the Landscape Volunteer Committee and is having a meeting for those interested on October 5th at 6:00 PM in the Common Room.

Ideally, people interested would be willing to commit to approximately eight hours a month towards:

• Attending monthly meetings regularly - no "member at large" positions available.

• Taking the lead and following through specific task items like granting applications; setting up gardening events (weeding, planting, seeding); and investigating landscape companies for the Financial Advisor Council Member to generate quotes.

• Communicating with residents and getting feedback as required.

• Communicating with the Grounds Council Member about issues, needs, etc.

• Be able to participate in seeding, weeding, and planting events (with expectations of accommodations as needed).

So if you're interested in leading the charge on community lead landscaping please bring your passion to the meeting on October 5th at 6:00 PM in the Common Room!

If you're interested in working with the committee, but can't commit to the above, fear not! There will be plenty of opportunities for residents of Columbia Place to do drop in volunteer work!

Strata Council 1758

Hello Owners!

September 7th at 6:00pm the council, along with special guest Celeste Ramsey, will have some presentations for everyone in the Common Room! There will be two presentations:

1. The council will showcase the results of the survey to owners, look to invite owners/residents to participate in a subcommittee regarding landscaping (details during presentation), and review current projections for timeline with the East and West side drainage work.
   
   

2. Celeste Ramsey will present an idea for the Easement (section of land that is not part of our current landscaping agreement with Green Image due to an ownership grey area), timelines and options for those changes, and goals of the potential volunteer subcommittee regarding this project.

Following the Presentation by Celeste Ramsey, the council will review any additional information and a Q&A period will be had. Please consider bringing note taking tools, as we would like to save all questions until the end of both presentations. Finally, we will have the second survey released shortly after this (along with a more clear rating system, as your feedback was heard!). 

For those not able to attend, we will make the slide shows available after, along with a Q&A summary when we send out the second survey.

The council is excited to share what we can with you, and get some final feedback on the direction we will be taking with some of our landscaping!

Strata Council 1758

Hello Owners!

Telus has reached out to the building to offer a free upgrade of our infrastructure to their fibre optic line. The building will be getting the required equipment installed in our Electrical Room (West). This provides an opportunity for owners to have it run directly to their door as well. As stated above, this will be occurring June 2, 2023 from 9:00am to 4:00pm. 

What does this mean for you?

• This is a no cost (free) option for all owners - You do not need to be an active Telus customer to have them run fibre to your unit. You are under no obligation to switch to their fibre or any of their other services if you agree to have them run fibre to your unit.
  
  

• Suite access is limited to your front door only. They will install the pass through above your front door. They will also clean up after they install the passthrough. The visual change to your unit will be a small white circular plug above your front door on the inside, and a slim rectangle case above on the outside.
  
  

• You may provide written permission, via email or black mailbox, to allow the council to let the installers access to your unit if you will be unavailable to do so. This relies on the emergency key you may have provided; if you have not provided one, please communicate with Cheryl for a solution that works for you.
  
  

• You may decline now and change your mind at a later date (beyond June 2), but you will need to contact Telus and set up a time yourself.
  
  

• Declining or accepting will not impact your current Telus or Shaw services.
  
  

• If you wish to change your plans or services, you must contact Telus yourself.

We're happy to answer what we can about this process, but please remember that specifics about features and benefits should be directed to Telus.

Strata Council 1758

Please Move Your Vehicles and Belongings From Your Stall April 1st 

from 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Noon)

Hello Owners!

Power washing of the parkade is coming up (April 4, 5 - details to come) and to prepare, we are asking owners to clear out their stalls for the above date and time.

Volunteers will be coming in and clearing the space with leaf blower and brooms, so please ensure that your items are out of the space. If you need assistance or cannot make that happen on April 1, please contact us at council@columbiaplace.ca.

As a reminder, only your vehicle, bicycle and a cart are allowed in your stall.

Hello Owners!

We're happy to report that the online booking of the Common Room is online and available here! You can also find it in the navigation menu!

Hello Owners,

Further to the approved motion of 2022 regarding the water ingress issues on the East Wing, we are pleased to inform you that the work is now complete to ensure that no further ingress can occur in the areas that were addressed. 

Once the soil was removed around the perimeter of the South East corner of the East Wing, it was identified that there are no perimeter drains whatsoever.There was drain rock only which was thoroughly infiltrated by the roots of the trees and bushes that had been planted years ago.  In fact, there were roots growing out from and under the condo walls.  The drains from the patios above were simply set into the drain rock. Additionally, our previous solutions were not enough and were more of a “bandaid” in effect. Digger Dale Contracting worked very closely with the City of Saanich, their engineers and their inspectors, as well as Parks to ensure we had a long term solution.   

During this work, it was determined that after many years the building has settled and therefore, the slope that should be away from the building is now leading towards the building.  In addition, current BC code requirements were not in place all those years ago and the torch-on water protection was only 12” up and 12” out from where the building walls meet the pad (which is the ceiling of our parkade).  This was replaced with torch-on that covers the entire concrete wall and 24” out on the concrete pad as per current code requirements.  In addition, perimeter drains were installed and hooked into the municipal sewer.

Ultimately, it is evident that we will need to complete this work around our building in order to keep water ingress at bay.  A motion will be tabled at our annual general meeting.

-Strata Council 1758

Hello owners!

Barb has done her scouring of the building and we've posed the results on the Holiday Door-Off! page - the competition was fierce, but I think we can all agree that the winner was everyone in the building! 

We hope the year ended off as best it could for everyone! Thank you all for being apart of our community. It's been a delight getting to know each other and we look forward to a New Year with all of you!

With much appreciation,

Strata Council 1758

Hello Owners!

Barb has issued a friendly challenge to the building! She wants to see which door can  be decorated the best during the month of December! 

You may choose any holiday decorations (anything goes!) you'd like to brighten the mood during this cold and wintery month. Plus its an opportunity to connect with your neighbours and bring your own style outside your unit!

By December 30th, Barb will go around each floor and take photos. We'll post them the Holiday Door-Off page for everyone to see!

Strata 1758

Do you need that knife sharpened that will be carving your Christmas turkey?  Or any other knives, scissors or other blades that you’ve been meaning to get sharpened?

Vern of Sharp & Sharper Sharpening Services has kindly agreed to come to our parking area with a mobile unit on:

Saturday, December 3, 2022 @ 10:00 am

It only takes approximately 5 minutes to sharpen a carving knife. 

The cost is $.65 per 1” for knives; $2.25 per 1” for a pair of scissors; or $2.50 per 1” for a pair of pet grooming scissors.

Payment is by cash, cheque or e-transfer.

-----------------------------------

If you’re interested, please let Martha know at secretary@columbiaplace.ca

Dear Owners,

All city permits have finally been approved and the resolution of the water ingress on the East Wing, South Side is about to commence.  Digger Dale Construction will be here this week to obtain access the municipal drain.  On Monday and Tuesday (Nov 14th and 15th) of next week, the dig will commence with the roofer following immediately to apply the membrane as the walls are exposed.  This will be followed by the laying of drain tile which will be attached to the municipal drain.  Drain rock and backfill will follow.

Expect heavy equipment to be operating around the east wing of the building during the above-mentioned dates.  Please avoid using the common area in the east wing to walk your dogs as there will be construction vehicles in motion.

Thank you,

Strata Council 1758

Hello Owners,

After a great deal of negotiations, all permits have been obtained with the City to proceed. The excavation will commence on Monday Oct 31, 2022.

The Plumbing Inspector was on-site yesterday and noticed that waste had been dumped in the hole that was previously dug. He was very upset and concerned that the white chalky substance, which looked like drywall waste would further compromise the drain bed.

PLEASE NOTE: Do not use the excavated areas to dispose of any waste or the plumbing inspector will halt our project.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely, Strata 1758

I’m sure we’ve all been there. Pulling into the back lot and wondering if that person we don’t recognize walking to the sidewalk is actually visiting an owner or not. Maybe we’ve noticed a car parked for many hours without a visitor pass. Maybe you’re not comfortable engaging, or want to be the polite person who assumes good intent. For whatever reason, you choose not to engage. 

Well, that’s totally fine! You’re allowed to choose who you do and don’t talk to after all! 

However, sometimes you do see that person taking advantage of our visitor parking. Maybe it irritates you and you just don’t know what options you have. Well, the council would like to remind you that you have a few.

• If you see something, say something. You don’t have to be confrontational (remember, they still might be another owner’s guest after all), but you can say “hello” and politely ask a few questions. If they’re not here visiting, you can also politely ask them to move their vehicle, as this is private parking, reserved for our guests and deliveries.

• You can remind guests to ask for a parking pass (which are available to all owners in the lobby) to display on their dashboard - so their vehicle can be identified properly.

• You do not need to be confrontational, but can clearly remind people that their vehicle may be towed if they’re seen abusing our visitor parking. If the person is rude and/or ignores your polite statements, please get a hold of a Strata Council member so we may engage or call the towing company.

While the Council is the elected representative of the Strata, the members do have other responsibilities in their personal lives that will not allow us all to be here at any given time. We ask for patience if there is an escalation that requires action on our part, as it can take a bit to figure out who is available to engage during the day. We are also just regular owners who volunteer to help maintain our common building and property and possess no more legal authority than any other owner.

So, you might be thinking “that’s fine and dandy, but what about intruders?”. We are happy to report that there has not been a reported break since April 2020! We can likely owe this to owners doing their part! This includes:

• Not letting strangers waiting at the door in and letting the owner who knows them buzz them in.

• Remembering to lock their entrances (and windows for the ground floor).

• Securing their property with locking devices in the common areas.

• Checking to make sure there are no followers when entering the parkade.

• Engaging people who you don’t know in areas you don’t expect to see them. How many new neighbours have we met this way!

Sadly, we recently received a report from an owner who had their catalytic converter stolen from their vehicle parked outside. We believe this happened this month, but no specific date/time. Please continue to keep an eye out and don’t be afraid to ask friendly questions in strange situations.

Hello owners!

Vancouver Island Strata Owners Association (VISOA) has sent a new newsletter to the council regarding one of the potential new NDP Leadership candidates and their affordable housing initiative. While the council has no political affiliation or preference, some of the changes could affect our bylaws if they're elected and agenda is approved, etc.  You may find the newsletter from VISOA here.

VISOA is asking owners to provide feedback to this person and to share it with VISOA. This is completely optional and has been posted for informational purposes only.

Additionally, we now have a page which links to VISOA, Condominium Home Owners Association (CHOA) and Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) for those looking for references. From those links, you can subscribe to their ongoing newsletters and view all their free articles.

Hello Owners!

The Strata Council is looking for any and all bicycle owners who either no longer ride or have wall parking spaces!

In an effort to create more space at the bike rack, the Strata Council is offering owners with a wall parking spot the option of having an eyelet installed for you to secure your bike to. As not all owners have this option, we ask that those with wall spaces consider this to free up space in the bike rack. At present there would be a small fee associated with this (around the $5.00 21.00* mark), but depending on the total number of owners interested, this could change. Please email Blair at parking@columbiaplace.ca if you're interested!

Additionally, we are looking to identify owners who no longer ride their bikes and offer them the Council's services to donate or dispose of their bicycles free of charge! Please email Barb at grounds@columbiaplace.ca if we can be of service.

* 1OCT22: There was an error in the original email and post stating the price for the eyelet was $5.00. While that is the cost of the eyelet itself, the epoxy to secure it and the relevant small accessories for the job brings the total cost to approximately $21.00 once installed

Welcome to the new Columbia Place website! Our goal is to have this space become a one-stop shop for upcoming events, info, and general awareness of our building. 

We are looking for feedback on what this space should include and how you wish this tool to evolve, so please drop us a line at webadmin@columbiaplace.ca if you have any ideas and suggestions!