Range Operator’s Facility Review
| Hello Folks, An update is long overdue. It has been a very busy and exciting year for us. I want to give you a clear picture of how your dues are being used. I also want to highlight areas and opportunities were you can get involved in the activities that continue to grow and improve our community as a volunteer, political activist, community partner, or sponsor. This is a brief overview; if you have questions, concerns, or wish to help in any capacity, please contact me. I will meet with you to provide the details and rationale you need. Transparency is critical to building our outdoor community. In addition to our meeting our responsibilities to the membership, legal commitments and compliance with Canadian Firearms Act and the CFO’s directives we have a upcoming mid-range (10 year goal) critical to the survival of our club, community and our educational, sporting and recreational activities. We must remain united and focused, improving and building our facility to ensure we give the City every reason to renew our lease in 2041. Sustainability Fund One of the most discussed items this year was using our Sustainability Fund use to maintain, repair and upgrade our electronic security systems. The Range Committee, which we call ‘The Odd Job Squad’ because they not only meet to advise and vote on decisions they are also the core group that physically maintains and improves the facility. This is a novel arrangement and it insures that the people supporting the Range Operator and our member/users know the realities of the facilities physical operations and have real experience in maintaining and improving them. The motion allowing the use of funds for these upgrades was both a critical need and appreciated as fundamental step forward. Members individual contribution to this range fund is $60.00 each year, and there is a total of $770,666.17 in the fund today. This fund was created used to maintain the range in its current location or to move to another location. Over the summer, much of our effort centred on bringing all our electronic infrastructure up to date. As I indicated in our meeting, this infrastructure was in poor shape primarily because there weren’t enough funds transferred to the Operating Account in recent years to maintain the range infrastructure in addition to the electronic systems, These systems are critical not only to protect our members, facilities and resources but they also provide us with the ability to respond quickly and accurately to political, policing and enforcement concerns/issues. After an extended period of lower than required financial support only allowing us to address ‘no option’ issues the decision was made to use the necessary funds to act rather than react before we were in a position that was untenable. This summer we completely replaced end‑of‑life, non‑functional servers; replaced expired cameras; upgraded critical cameras; completed miles of fiberoptic network; installed cameras to signal us when trespassers are present; rebuilt the gate system; and added facial recognition. The facial recognition feature confirms an access card presented to gain entrance to the facility or protected areas within, is being presented by the rightful member present. This live image confirmation adds an essential modern layer of security to address increasing concerns such as non authorized access but also protect members investment. Jeff and I can now fully access and review our security files to respond to any inquiries, including unsafe activities or even lost items.As you are well aware, operating a range in the centre of the city brings unique challenges as well as many layers of internal and external responsibilities to our organization. We will invest about $60,000.00 this year in bringing our security systems up to date. Even with this expenditure, we should still be able to set aside $100,000.00 into savings this year. It’s important to keep your membership dues at the current price to maintain our competitive advantage. Moving forward we will have a managed replacement cycle that should be easy to manage and spread costs into smaller planned amounts. This has meant that the fees you pay for operation have been used for enhancing our grounds, facility, our tools, and our equipment The Gate Recently members accessing the facility have been inconvenienced by the gate. The gate drive system was in dire need of replacement after damage in addition to the normal wear and tear of over 2.5 million cycles. We require a very specific system that will only allow one vehicle at a time to enter. George Latta is the expert who looks after this system. He replaced the damaged unit with a new one with upgraded electronics; however, after a couple of weeks some of these components were found to be defective. We conducted an extensive search to source what was needed but could not find a replacement. The manufacturer is in Italy, and Italian manufacturing almost completely shuts down over the summer. With this situation being completely untenable George determined that we must operate the system with off‑the‑shelf electronic components that will be easy to diagnose, maintain, and repair. This whole process has taken several weeks, and we are now in the experimental stage of development. George has done an amazing job, but this does highlight the need to support proactive measures rather than wait to react as that often makes the situation not only more complicated and disruptive but often also more expensive to resolve. To provide context the actual gate is over 30 years old. It is bent, twisted, and damaged from a variety of incidents. It is still functional but has caused many issues, so a new gate will be built by the Odd Job Squad and installed. Odd Job Squad (Range Committee) As mentioned before our Range Committee is referred to as The Odd Job Squad. In our club the Range Operator is a ‘Chair.’ position. The bylaws provide each Chair and their committee with the ability to manage their areas. The Odd Job Squad is the Range Committee that works with the Range Chair to meet the responsibilities of managing the Shooting Sports Facility (Range) and address needs and challenges that arise . These volunteers are very connected with the range in general and intimately knowledgeable through their specialties. You will find them at any time maintaining, building, and repairing our facility. We know members want to see their dues used. We are building this facility and making improvements gradually but also continually. This year, after advice from the Odd Job Squad, we purchased a new mower and a land level. Many members have commended these volunteers for these accomplishments. This group meets on Tuesdays and then goes for a meeting and a meal at the end of the day. The list of activities and priorities are attached if you are interested in volunteering with us. Rental Income Our potential rental income stream allows us to offer enhanced programs while maintaining and building our facility to better serve members. This year the Odd Job Squad, among other projects, increased the shooting lanes for the Alberta Sheriffs. The Sheriff’s under direction of the Premier are increasing their staff levels and as a result they are increasing their presence in our facility. This increases our political profile, stabilizes our dues, and provides additional revenue for projects and programs. Our facility has a very competitive advantage with the proximity to amenities, classroom, storage space, and world‑class ranges. We welcome these people to our community. External Politics An election is coming up, and we need you to be active politically. Scott Sweetman, our Community Relations Chair, and I will be creating ways that you can be involved and educated during these elections. These council members will most likely be the ones we negotiate the lease with in six years. Your political involvement, vigilance, and commitment to our Shooting Sports Facility—along with our electronic security infrastructure—keep us open where other facilities have been closed. The civic election is ramping up with candidates visiting the range already. Ryan Parker for example has always been a great supporter. He uses information gained by touring the facility to defend us in his meetings. He was totally impressed with how serious we are about security and the enforcement of our rules. Jeff also provided a tour during National Range Day to Councillor Jenn Schmidt-Rempel and her husband. They were very interested in what our community does and the things we do to serve and protect not just our membership but the community around us. These are just two examples but our activities to assist our Civic representatives and leaders is ongoing and another critical part of our continued vitality as an active community based club. We must continue demonstrating to civic leaders that we are serious about safety and security on the range and equally serious about the safety of the surrounding neighbourhoods. Sharing information and helping educate other citizens in our region on these points is something we can all participate in and it makes a difference! Keep up the amazing work everyone and you can count on more to come. You can click on the link below to download a copy of the current agenda / work list for the ‘Odd Job Squad’ (Range Committee) Sincerely, Rick Blakeley, RSA, MBA Range Operator 403‑308‑3451 lfga.range.operator@gmail.com |