It was back in March of this year that a special meeting had called for the residents and board members of the Rota Villa Housing Society in Castlegar.
The continuing administration of the residential facility which caters to those on fixed incomes was in some doubt as some residents were in favour of the reins being taken up by BC Housing, while others were not.
A vote was held, and while a 64 per cent majority preferred BC Housing guidance, the required majority was 75 per cent.
"Our meeting in March resulted in the society remaining as is and electing a new board," said outgoing society secretary Brian Brady in an email following the society's June 13 Annual General Meeting.
"Thursday night a new board was elected," Brady's email continued, "headed by interim chair Elmer Williams, Barb Olson as Secretary, Marian LaBrie as treasurer, and directors Terry Kaufman, Doug Patan, Joan Hall, and Bob Ferguson. One additional director is awaiting confirmation. It appears that this group wants to make things work locally, but will be hindered, in my opinion, because five are tenants and will be in a conflict of interest in many situations. Interest from outside Rota Villa seems to have dwindled since the March meeting."
Some residents of the 40-suite seniors facility (11th Street and 7th Avenue) had had issues with with a possible change in the administration of the complex – directed for a number of years by an independent society following it's original construction which had been arranged by Castlegar Rotarians.
An interested onlooker in this ongoing issue has been Castlegar city councillor Deb McIntosh, who was also in attendance at the June 13 AGM.
Members of the board were encouraged to take an active role in overseeing the day to day operation of the Villa, and taking also, according to McIntosh, a pro-active approach toward the long-term future of the facility.
"It's good that there are people coming on board to help them out," said the councillor on June 15, "it's up to them to get the board going and keep it going." McIntosh emphasized that the ball is in the board's court.
"They have a full slate of officers and hopefully they can take it to the next step now, which is either declining BC Housing's offer, or running it as a society. But they have a big job ahead of them and I hope they're up for the task.
Sandy McCreight (seniors advocate) and I have offered to be on the outside as advisors, in an unofficial capacity, to help them move things forward."