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Announcement
Victoria West Community Association
and the
Victoria West Community Centre
February 24, 2010
The Board of the Victoria West Community Association is pleased to announce a motion that was unanimously carried by all Directors who were present at a meeting held on February 6th, 2010.
"That the VWCA notify the City of Victoria that it wishes to exercise its option to operate the building at 521 Craigflower Road, Victoria as the Victoria West Community Centre."
The decision to exercise this option was made after a VWCA Strategic Plan was drafted under the facilitation of a professional and independent organizational management consultant. The consultant was hired using funds provided by the City to assist the VWCA in making an informed and thoughtful decision regarding its option to take over the operations of the building. The Board believes that operating the Centre will better enable the VWCA to achieve its vision, mandate and mission (below).
Priorities
Priority areas of focus required to realize the option include: staffing, finance and budget, facility operations and administration, programming and events, communications and marketing, governance and volunteer development.
Should an agreement between the City and the Association be reached as expected, the Directors of the VWCA would be responsible for maintaining both fiscal prudence and services standards under various laws and regulations, and to various stakeholders - most notably the Victoria West community.
Growing over time
The Board is initially endeavouring to meet the key requirements of the community, and to grow the program capacity offered at the Centre over time toward a deeper fulfillment of our mission. Taking into account these important responsibilities, specific staffing decisions and program offerings will be finalized by May 1st, 2010 and posted on the Victoria West Community Association website (www.victoriawest.ca). For those who were not able to input into either of the two visioning sessions that the VWCA hosted on January 26th and February 15th, 2010, please provide your program suggestions to any of the VWCA Directors, or via the website.
The Association is grateful for the support offered by Victoria West neighbours and by other Community Associations in pursuing this option. The Association is also grateful for the collaboration provided by the YM/WCA and City during this transition process.
The Board is very excited about this opportunity and encourages Victoria West neighbours to rise to the challenge of making the Victoria West Community Centre a vital place to meet, work, learn and play.
To view the draft vision and mandate of the VWCA and the new Victoria West Community Centre, click here.
Update re the Vic West Y
January 11, 2010
Since the announcement by the
YWCA of Greater Victoria to suspend operations at the Vic West Y the Community
Association Board is, with the support of the City, undertaking a feasibility
study regarding operating the facility as a community centre. We are, with the
assistance of a consultant, gathering information about financing, programming
and operations of other like organizations in addition to the current
operations of the Y. Facility condition and ongoing upkeep/maintenance will
also form part of the review.
As part of our information
gathering we will be holding a couple of community meetings over January &
February to hear some initial thoughts from the community on what they think
should be offered if it were a community centre.
The Board is operating under
a very tight time line as we must present the results of the feasibility study
to the City by the end of February.
Jo-Ann Youmans,
President
A message to the
Victoria West community
Dec 3, 2009
Since 1979, the
YMCA-YWCA has operated in the Vic West Community as part of a three party
agreement with the City of Victoria and the Vic West Community Association. On
December 1 the Y gave notice to the City and the Association that
the Y would be withdrawing from the agreement at the end of June 2010.
The decision to
withdraw from the agreement was an operational decision made by the Y believing
that both the needs of the community and the community itself has changed
significantly since the three party agreement was first struck. The decision
creates new opportunity for the community of Victoria West.In the New Year the
Association will work with the support of the City, and a consultant, to
consider options for future services and programs for the community; and,
whether they can feasibly be delivered in the Vic West Y building.
The
Association believes in public consultation in planning decisions that will
impact the Vic West community and will provide opportunities for community
members to be involved in the planning processFor parents and
community members who have been impacted by the announced changes, the
Association acknowledges the difficulties that change brings. We look forward
to having your support and input as we plan for the future of the Victoria West
building.
Johnson Street Bridge ("the blue bridge")
The required number of citizens signed a petition in favour of having a referendum on the bridge replacement project and presented it to counsel on January 7. Counsel has committed to taking this issue to referendum at an as yet undetermined time. For more information please see the links below.
City counsel voted last year in favour of replacing the 1928 bridge, citing seismic and structural concerns. For more information click here.
Community members have concerns that the process to move ahead with the
bridge is flawed, that there are alternatives, and that Victorians need
more of an opportunity to offer input. Click here for more information.
There are also traffic management concerns such as traffic
approaches, movement of bicycles and pedestrians, and traffic calming
for entry into the community of Victoria West.
Mega-yacht Marina Proposal
A marina for mega yachts is proposed for the inner harbour on the
Songhees water lots. A link to the developer's site can be found here. You can also visit save victoria harbour
which outlines community opposition to the project. To view the letter
written by the City of Victoria to the Province of BC, click here.
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