Youbou Spruce-Up
It’s time to give Youbou and Area I a little spruce-up for Earth Week 2021. If you want to help the group effort, join us on Saturday, April 24, at 9:30 am at the parking area in front of the old sawmill site (overflow at Arbutus Park). (Please note that this has changed from the originally announced date of April 17 to comply with Covid recommendations.) We plan to clean up the shore-side slope there, plus other public lakeside sites as needed. And if you prefer to go it alone, we encourage you to walk around your neighbourhood with a trash bag, wearing bright clothing for safety, of course.
Covid protocols: While this kind of outdoor activity has a special exception in the BC Covid health orders, Covid 19 precautions will be in place, with appropriate social distancing recommended. Please wear a mask and gloves and bright clothing. Hand sanitizer and garbage bags will be provided.
Consider bringing: facemask and gloves, garbage grabbers, and loppers
Pick-up trucks welcome: If you have a pick-up truck and can haul junk to Meade Creek, we would appreciate it. We will reimburse drivers for tipping fees and gas. Area I Representative Klaus Kuhn has offered to pay spruce-up garbage tipping fees at the recycling centre.
Organizing groups: The Save Our Holmes Society (SOHS), the Youbou Community Association (YCA), and Right-of-Way Lake Access Committee (ROWLAC) are teaming up to bring this event to life.
Cans and bottles: Any cans and bottles collected by the group will be donated to the Youbou Community Church Society (YCCS), to help maintain the historic church building owned by the community. The drop-off is at 10335 Youbou Road.
Household debris: If you live in Area I and would like to dispose of personal items on Youbou Spruce-Up Day during the Spruce-Up hours of 9:30 to 1:30, the YCA will refund your tipping fees. Simply send your receipt to 10461 Youbou Road and we will reimburse you. Sorry, we will not have volunteers coming around to haul away items from private homes this year.
Updates: If April 24 is too soggy or if Covid restrictions are extended, we will advise of any changes via the YCA and Youbou Connection facebook pages.
YCA Annual Survey
Thanks to those who took time to express thoughts on activities and priorities by filling out our Survey 2021. The response slightly lower than last year, with a total of 80 people responding, compared to 114 in 2020. Below are the results:
New Year’s Eve Dance:Just over half of the respondents indicated they would be likely to attend a New Year’s Eve Party this year. We wonder if Covid concerns are suppressing the response, so may re-ask that question via facebook later this year to see if we should move ahead with our planning.
Community improvement:Access to the lake and road safety edged out emergency preparedness as the top issues this year.
• The top vote-getters for issues needing attention are (with highest interest first): public lake access, road safety, emergency preparedness and shelter, traffic speed, and invasive species removal.
• Of medium interest were removal of trash and junk, the redevelopment of Yount school, addressing powerboat speed and noise, and adding new parklands.
• Of lesser interest were trail maintenance, improving parks, and beautification projects.
• Other comments brought up the desire for sidewalks and/or a hiking and biking lane. A couple of mentions were made about logging on the hillside behind Youbou, an issue being addressed by the Save Our Holmes Society.
Giving back:Should we have excess funds to donate to a worthy cause, your top three designations would be to contribute to emergency preparedness, support needy families, and enable lake access efforts. Significant interest was also expressed in funding junk clean-up and eradication of invasive species. Less interest was noted in financing park improvements and historic building maintenance.
Our response:We appreciate everyone who expressed their thoughts and are thankful for your support and participation in our various projects throughout the year. Look for the complete survey results on youbouyca.comsoon. We’ll be discussing the survey results at our next board meeting and will be offering ways we can address the important points together in future newsletters.
Annual General Meeting Results
The 2021 Annual General Meeting convened on March 28, with the sharing of annual reports, the election of new directors, and on overview of our recent survey results. The annual reports for 2020 are now posted on youbouyca.comin the lower part of the main front page. Thanks to Bee Greenway for overseeing our election. Steve Watt was elected to join the board. Re-elected were: Spencer Day, Eva and Garry Fearon, Allan Gott, Lori LaFave, Julia Martinusen, Cheryl Morgan, Debbie Smith, and Randall Wilson. We welcome Steve to the board and thank all our board members and volunteers who served last year during a very unusual time.
Sign of the Times
Our very friendly elk on the Youbou Welcome sign has been busy this spring. Hopefully, you spied our leprechaun elk searching for a pot o’gold on St. Patrick’s Day. Be sure to catch the Easter bunny delivering eggs to elk friends before April 5. Thanks to Sally and Lesley for bringing a smile to our faces every time we come home.
Did you know?
• Youbou had its 15 seconds of fame at the end of March when Hallmark came to film a movie. It’s called Aurora Tea Garden if you want to add it to your watch list.
• The average cost of a home in Youbou is $615,088, according to the latest information from the CVRD. This places Youbou fifth in the ranking of home values in the CVRD region.
Are You a Member?
The Youbou Community Association is involved in helping community activities happen, such as our spring Youbou Spruce-Up, holiday decorating, hall dances and other events throughout the year. While we love our facebook friends, an official family lifetime membership in the organization is just $10 and involves filling out a form. It is a key to knowing what’s going on around Youbou as well as giving you a vote at our annual meetings. We’ll email you our colourful community newsletter every month. To join, reach out to cherylmtutor@gmail.com
Got News?
If you’d like to contribute news for the newsletter about a public event happening (or not happening) in or around Youbou and Area I, please send particulars about date, time and place to julia@raedwulf.org. You can also check our web site at youbouyca.comand our facebook page for the latest information.
Your YCA Board
Chair: Julia Martinusen
Co-Chair: Lori LaFave
Secretary: Randall Wilson
Treasurer: open
Social: Eva Fearon
Garry Fearon
Publicity: Allan Gott
Membership: Cheryl Morgan
At large: Spencer Day
At large: Debbie Smith
At large: Steve Watt