The Pitt Meadows Community Foundation will be holding an annual general meeting of the membership as soon as it has financial reports ready, said president Terry Becker.
“The annual general meeting of the members will be called once the completed financial statements are received from the foundation’s accountant and approved by the board of directors,” she said in an email.
The timing of the financials work will be dependent on external accountants, Becker added.
The last AGM for the foundation was in May of 2017, and there was no AGM in the 2018 calendar year.
In November, Becker said the meeting would be held “in due course,” before the end of 2018.
That deadline passed, and she said this week that the non-profit group has filed for an extension.
“The board has been working hard with the limited information, missing reports and financial information and relevant documentation that was passed along to the current board of directors, to present a competent report to the members and this board has done a very good job,” she said.
“We are excited about this upcoming year.”
The group awarded two $500 bursaries during the past Pitt Meadows secondary graduation ceremonies in 2018.
The foundation – incorporated in 1983– used to award a Pitt Meadows citizen of the year, but that did not take place in 2017 or 2018. The citizen of the year is chosen by the Pitt Meadows Community Foundation and is generally a part of the annual community celebration Pitt Meadows Day.
Members, in the past, also organized community events, including Christmas in the City and Chinese New Year celebrations.
“The foundation’s membership structure has people filling out a membership form due at the beginning of the year and mailing/remitting it along with payment to the board of directors for approval,” said Becker.
Some local residents have complained about being unable to join the foundation.
Becker, who is past-president of the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Chamber of Commerce, as well as that of a Rotary Club, and the current chair of the Pacific Sport Fraser Valley, said the foundation will deal with new memberships directly. She added the board of directors is following the proper process laid out in the bylaws and legislation.
The cost of membership is $20.
In May 2017, members of the sitting city council and their family members were elected as the foundation’s board of directors.
Former mayor John Becker and former councillors Bruce Bell, Mike Stark and David Murray were all elected as directors. Terry Becker, wife of the former mayor, was elected president, and Wayne Elkerton, husband of former councillor Janis Elkerton, was also elected a director.
Norma Murray was the only director who was not either a councillor or a spouse of one. Her late husband, Tom Murray, championed the zero tax petition that became a divisive issue in Pitt Meadows and was supported by John Becker when he was mayor.
The new board replaced one that included then foundation co-president Michael Hayes, who ran against Becker for Pitt Meadows mayor in 2014 and is now a councillor, as well as Gwen O’Connell – also elected to council this past fall – and Carole Kubb, who helped on the Hayes’ mayoralty campaign.
The foundation reported assets of $136,000 at the end of 2016.