COAL CREEK HISTORIC PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 26, 2010 MINUTES

Present: Lillian Tosoff, Marie Lowe, Carol Snaden, Imogene Lim, Joyce Lowe, May Gee, John Leung, Grace Doherty, Josephine Peyton, Florence Bell
Guest: Kathleen Fenner, Anthropology student

Announcements: Card of thanks from the Tosoff family read out.
Ray Iwassa sends his greetings. He will be back in Qualicum Beach October 31.

1.Motion to approve the agenda. (Flo/May). Carried.

2. Motion to adopt the September 28 meeting minutes. (Josephine/John). Carried.

3. Unfinished Business
a. Nanaimo Trip. Photos of the Chinese Memorial Gardens visited by John, May and Joyce were shown.
May and Joyce
b. "In Chinatown" screening. 18 attended, including Mayor Bates and Councilor Sproule.
Imogene provided clarification of the film's intent. It is an artistic mood piece, a film within a film with the cameras as a ghost, making people question what happened to these people and Chinatown.

c. Museum community display case. John set up a display of the pavilion and Joyce and May added photos to show its stages of creation. Our display time is up October 31.
As a related issue, Josephine mentioned that the Queen of Cumberland (Inter-Island ferry out of Victoria) has a Cumberland display on board. Parts of the display need to be updated.
ACTION: Flo to take to the next museum board meeting
Josephine to contact the museum and chamber to see if they are aware of the display, know who was responsible for setting it up, and would be wiling to update it.

d. Hanson Lau Travel. Lillian reported that there had been contact between OAP President Bev Berkley and Hanson Lau but no response has been received yet to her subsequent e-mail. Grace will remind Mr. Lau in future communications.

e. Pangaea Arts presentation of "Jade in the Coal" by award-winning author Paul Yee will open in Vancouver November 25. This historical drama is about Cumberland Chinatown circa. 1900. Contact has been made with Ken Lowe about a picnic reunion group list for invitations for a gathering at 1:30 pm November 28th at St. John's College. UBC. Meaghan Cursons will also provide a list of local people who should be invited.

f. Student project updates. Imogene's Anthropology students visited Cumberland on October 1st. Their 12 interest areas include: interviewing former Chinatown residents; linking old photographs, artifacts with specific gravesites in the Japanese cemetery; documenting information available elsewhere (e.g. Provincial and other archives) to add to the museum's collection; general interest in the Japanese community; Saito House funding/ designation/ purchase feasibility; musical instruments used in early Cumberland, with a view to a possible concert as a fund-raiser, and Japanese internment.

g. Financial summary of Park funds from Christine Mathews. Copies of the summary were distributed and discussion ensued about the details. Grace advised that the surplus of $2359.81 includes early donations to No.1 Town and the No. 1 Town portion of the Ad Hoc Committee funds, neither of which would have been earmarked as such by the Village. Donors are now advised to state on the cheque or in a letter the specific intent of the donation. The amount involved is $1390.10. This would mean a surplus for the picnic shelter pavilion project of $969.71. In addition $5,000 Public Works in-kind was allocated in 2010 for the pavilion project and only $2565.84 used so far. Use of the balance will depend on availability of staff as well as additional work we might request.
MOTION: That funding that was earmarked for No.1 Town be kept specifically for use in No.1 Japanese Town. (Flo/Carol) Carried.

h. Picnic shelter pavilion finishing details/ grand opening. The group decided to discuss opening details at a future meeting. In the meantime members were asked to think about parking/pedestrian issues around the pavilion site. Shuttle transportation from the Village was brought up, as was use of golf carts.
Finishing details are: Landscaping, specifically good quality fill around the gravel pad which drops off sharply to swampy land, possibly a liability issue; weatherproofing the interior roof with clear stain; adding the black plaque with the Chinese letter saying prepared by May; and installation of some means of donor recognition. A bronze plaque similar to the one in No. 1 Japanese Town would provide continuity, a boulder with either a plaque or sandblasting would be more theft-resistant. Joyce will pass on information about a local sandblasting company.
MOTION: That Grace send the four finishing detail issues, in the above order of priority to Manager of Community Services, David Durrant for consideration of options and costs. ((Joyce/May) Carried
MOTION: That a temporary sign be put up thanking donors, with a notation that a permanent sign is to follow. (Carol/Josephine) Carried.

i. Purchase of Saito House. No further word from the Village. The museum is interested in partnering with the Village in pursuing acquisition of the house, and as mentioned above, will be working with Imogene's students on researching feasibility.

j. Plantings in the Park. Grace contacted Village Planner Judy Walker about a site visit, generating a list of appropriate trees for the Park for consideration by future donors and attending a future meeting. She is amenable to all three suggestions. Discussion included choosing memorial garden site(s), considering future events when determining planting areas, taking into account mature sizes of trees and revisiting the Park Projection Plan to look at the larger picture.

4. New Business

a. Invitation to participate in the February 19, 2011 Cumberland Heritage Faire. Communication is the 2011 theme. Collections are welcomed as display items.
Josephine will bring a book of old Vancouver Island postcards to the next meeting

b. 2011 Budget. Four agenda items were discussed for future consideration. It was decided to minimize the number of small items for the November meeting and concentrate on revisiting the Park Projection Plan (1 hr) and work on the 2011 budget submission (1 hr). Imogene said that the December 28 meeting would provide an opportunity for a longer meeting for continued in-depth discussion or to look at other issues. Other areas identified are the pavilion opening ceremony and reception, finishing details for the pavilion, memorial plantings. The group agreed to try this approach for a couple of months. As possible, Grace will send out announcements and shorter items by e-mail/phone and if there are still agenda items left, the focus items will be marked with an asterisk.
ACTION: Members were referred to www.thecumberlander.ca site for the Park Projection Plan and goals and objectives (Under the article titled "Coal Creek Historic Park Funding 2/2".
Grace will provide copies to those without e-mail.


c. Chinatown donations. John has passed two additional donations totaling $300 on to the Village. This brings the Village Chinatown funds up to $1269.71 plus $1311.00 for one picnic table. There is $1500 for the OAP-donated table in the Credit Union account. May has the funds for the 2 hawthorn trees. May and Marie advised that funding for a third table is almost ready to be donated and that a fourth table donation is under discussion.
d. No.1 Town donation. Grace brought in a $421.83 donation from the No.1 Japanese Town Ad Hoc Committee for No.1 Town projects; the balance of their funds after the cherry tree project was completed.


5. Next Meeting: November 23

6. Motion to adjourn (Joyce).



Grace Doherty, Chair
Acting secretary