If you have been following my regular contributions to Tidings for the past few years, you will know that I have been regularly signing off with “Property Team Leader (Pro tempore)” You may have seen this Latin phrase or one of its variants such as pro tem or just p.t. in other applications, any of which best translate to “for the time being” in English. In my case the “time being” is approaching three years from the time I made it known that I wished to retire from this responsibility. Actually, I have been serving in this roll for many more years than that. So much has changed over the many years I have led the Property Team and the years before that when I first began working with the Property Team a year or so after I retired in 2002. I really do not have any insight on how property matters were handled prior to that time, but I can say from direct experience that the Thursday Group has been the key component and heavily involved in a wide variety of hands-on activities inside and outside the building and around the property. At times over the years it was not unusual to have a dozen or more volunteers involved on a given Thursday morning ... mowing, trimming, painting, cleaning, moving snow, repairing things, changing light bulbs, and more. That is not to say that all the vital and demanding tasks were done by the Thursday Group. We have always had important and ongoing major tasks done by volunteers who do not typically participate with the Thursday Group, and that is a good and vital thing!
With all of the good work that has been done, we have not done so well keeping our collective eye on the larger picture for property needs. Over the years, we have placed heavy reliance on the Property Team leader to keep track of all the near-term and long-term property needs and to take appropriate action to tend to these needs. This mostly centralized approach no longer serves us well. As the number of available volunteers has reduced over the years, our heavy reliance on volunteers tends to drive available people resources to address only near-term matters. The bigger picture gets too little attention.
Certainly we need to look at near-term needs, but we also need to keep a balanced eye on the broader picture and well as the future. It is clear to me that the current approach places too much reliance on the Property Team leader and is not sustainable into the future. On the other hand, the best or better approach is not obvious. To help us discern a better way a Property Task Force is being formed to look at all the various Property Team tasks, options to accomplish them and to make recommendations to council. Folks who have agreed to serve on this task force are all experienced with our property matters in varying ways and degrees. I believe they have the requisite insight and experience to ask the right questions and come up with a sustainable path to the future. I look forward to working with them and seeing their recommendations.
David Mercer, Property Team Leader (Pro tempore)