Membership Renewal
You will receive a membership renewal notice on March 15. Please renew your membership by April 1st if possible as it helps us with numbers. If you’re not planning to renew, or need more time please contact Michael. A late fee of $100 will be charged starting April 13.
The key return refunds are going to be applied at membership renewal because this is the easiest way to do a large number of refunds. The membership fee is unchanged at $225 this year, but you will see the fee reduced to $175 and a charge of up to $50 depending on how many keys you returned. Our membership system does not allow for discounts, only for fees, which is why we must apply it in this way. If you returned 0 keys, you will pay $225 (charge of $50). If you returned 2 keys, you will pay $175 (0 additional charge). If you didn’t return your keys last year, we’ll have another opportunity to return them for next year.
If you have a credit on your account, please press Invoice Me instead of Pay Online. An invoice will be generated and you can apply your credit against the invoice, and then pay online.
Digital Key Changeover
We will be changing over to the digital key on April 1 at the start of the new membership season. We will send an invite to the Salto KS system to everyone who has not registered for their digital key this week. It expires after 3 days so please register when you receive the email. Once you have registered with Salto, you need to download the Salto KS app on your phone. Google Link Apple Link
When you create your digital key, it will not work immediately as it needs to be authorized in the backend. We will set everyone up at the end of the week, but if you need access sooner, please reach out.
We have recorded videos to show how to open the lock Phone Fob
There are still a few fobs available for purchase.
Please contact Michael if you’re having any issues.
Membership Survey Results
Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond to our membership survey. We asked many questions related to your experience at the club, questions related to management, and for project suggestions. All of this information is very helpful so that we can do what you want with the club. We had 96 responses which is similar to last year (93). The summary of member experiences is shown below:
We’ve improved in every category since last year, and overall the results are very high. The men’s change room was updated with shelves for the items that were being stored in there, removing the pile up of junk. We bought new paddling racks to move the canoes and kayaks closer to the water and closer to the ground. We didn’t do anything on the washrooms unfortunately, but there was an improvement in that category as well.
We had a look at the overall experience, and the rating is similar between sailing and paddling members and between recent and long-time members. It’s nice to see that everyone is having a good experience.
There were 3 people who were not receiving emails (97% have no problems). If you have any issues, please check your spam and add WaterRatsSailingClub@wildapricot.org to your contact list.
Finally, 96% of members thought that the executive would make good use of the feedback provided by the survey. We try hard to listen to the members and appreciate the confidence in our work that was expressed.
Work-Play-or-Pay
In 2023 we introduced a ‘Work, Pay, or Play’ program as an expansion of our ‘Work or Pay’ program. The new program credits members one hour of volunteer work for attending club organized social events and races. 70% of members thought that the new program was a positive change for the club, and 65% thought that it improved the turnout at social events. We also found that it improved engagement with only 25% of members completing zero hours in 2023, compared to 45% in 2022. However, we found that only 40% of members completed all of the hours, which was the same as 2022. And 45% of members indicated on the survey that they had trouble completing their hours due to lack of volunteer jobs. In the 2022 survey, members thought that both the volunteer hours and cost were too low. In 2023, members thought that the cost and hours were too high, so it appears that we may have overshot. Based on all of this information, we are changing the hours and rates to what is reflected in the schedule below (under Updated Program):
|
Hours Worked/Played
|
2022 Cost
|
2023 Cost*
|
Updated Program
|
|
0
|
150
|
300
|
260
|
|
1
|
125
|
270
|
220
|
|
2
|
100
|
240
|
180
|
|
3
|
75
|
210
|
140
|
|
4
|
50
|
180
|
100
|
|
5
|
25
|
150
|
75
|
|
6
|
0
|
120
|
50
|
|
7
|
0
|
90
|
25
|
|
8
|
0
|
60
|
0
|
The change will be applied retroactively for 2023. We decided to make the first few hours cost more, so that members who were close to completing their hours had a smaller penalty. As well, the number of hours required has decreased to 8, of which 4 can be completed by ‘play’. As result, members who are active in our social events or racing will have to complete fewer work hours compared to 2022.
February SGM Results
The club held a special general meeting on Feb 7 to vote on whether we should allow members with Catamarans to store a Laser free of charge, instead of for the fee of $200 that was previously changed. The motion passed 17-16. Following this motion, the executive also voted to allow members with Dinghies over 15’ to store an additional boat free of charge to align these rules. The limitations now become:
Catamaran members: 1 catamaran, 1 dinghy under 15’, 2 canoes/kayaks
Dinghy/Laser members: 2 dinghies (max 1 over 15’), 2 canoes/kayaks. 3 dinghies can be stored for an additional $200
Paddling members: 2 canoes/kayaks. 3 canoes/kayaks can be stored for an additional $200.
As a reminder, members who want to bring new boats to the club must register them with the club and obtain stickers before bringing them to club. These limits are subject to availability of storage space (currently no issues).
Maintenance of your boat and surrounding area
On our membership survey we received a number of complaints about the condition of other members boats. Water Rats is a community and a space shared with over 300 people. We all want to be proud to come to the club, and share the space with our friends and family. Everyone has a responsibility to maintain their boat and area around it in a way that we can all be proud of. Specifically, members must cut the grass around their boat, make sure that the cover is maintained (not ripped or covered in lichen), and make sure that their boat can moved (no flat tires, etc). The top of the boats should not be used for storage. Let’s all try hard to make Water Rats a beautiful place to sail and paddle.
Lockers Available
We have a few of the smaller lockers available in the container. They cost $40 for the season. Please contact Michael if you would like one.
Storage Locations
A few members indicated in the survey that they were not happy with their storage location. If you would like a change in your storage location, please reach out to Michael (Sailing) or Shona (Paddling) to discuss possible solutions.
Sail Tubes Follow Up Survey
Members indicated interest in the sail tubes in the membership survey. We’re conducting a follow up survey for obtain more details for planning. If you are interested in renting a sail tube please fill out the survey.
Volunteer Jobs
We received a number of great suggestions for projects in the membership survey. We’re still going through the list of projects, but we’ve selected a few to start on and are looking for some volunteers to help with them. Also, please note that the survey was anonymous; if you volunteered for a project in the survey response, we don’t know who you are. Please contact Michael if you’d like to volunteer for a project not on the list.
Ramps to the Beach
We would like to build stairs/ramps down to both beaches. We are looking for a total of 6-8 ramps so that we can make these areas more accessible for members. Please contact Michael to help.
Sink
We received many requests to improve the hand/dishwashing station at the club. We are looking for a member to scope out what would be involved in this project, the costs, and a plan for how to do it. Please contact Michael to help.
Washroom
Likewise there were are number of requests to improve the washroom situation. We’re looking for someone who can find a supplier and obtain a quote. The cost for this project is likely high, so we’ll probably need to raise membership fees to pay for it and we will bring it to this year’s AGM. Please contact Michael to help.
Clean & Repair Clubhouse Exterior
The Clubhouse has several areas mildew where the caulking needs to be replaced. The roof needs to be cleaned with TSP. There are areas of the exterior that are splitting and need a fiberglass repair. Please contact Barbara to help.
Deck Refinishing
The clubhouse deck needs to be sanded and repainted. Please contact Barbara to help.
Website Content for New Members
We would like to improve the content on our website, with a focus on providing information for new members. Please contact Annette to help.
