February Meeting/Water issues

Meeting Minutes

Date: February 3rd 2026

Meeting called to order: 5:31 pm

Information that the meeting is recorded was given. Rules for the meeting: one person with the microphone is speaking, then we will address the question. If someone has a lot of questions please write them down on a sheet of paper so we could answer them at the end of the meeting. Directors are not the lawyers so any advice given during the meeting is not legal advice and should not be construed as such.

Directors introduced themselves

Attending: Pat Suter, Candace Burt, Kristine Brownscombe, Rick Playfair, Kim Grimwade, Emilia Kaminska, Ryan Friesen, Judy Doyle.

Ryan Friesen resigned from the director position. He said that he abstained from voting on the sign about water restrictions, but still was harassed and threatened by some of the residents in Hixon. He doesn’t want to be put in that position again. Ryan gave the resignation letter to HCA secretary, and sent an email to hixonhall@gmail, his keys were given back to Pat.

Guests and Members in attendance: Ashley Martin, Kurt LaPlante, Gerald Thompson, Marie Bazell, Larry Thompson, Veronica Potts, Ricky Sascona, Brian Wells, Chelsea Diemert, Kristin Goes, Ian Billinger, Joe Frickey, David Wells, Gory Rondeau, Zoe Prieston, Chere Wiggins, Dan Davis, Chelsea Brownscombe, Rachel Proulx, Gail Horrocks, Selena Dean, Robert Carson, Dustin Swanson, Victor DiGangi, Dustin Wilson, Cameron Ius, Kim Gibbs, Valerie Giesinger, Jack von Ryn, Sheldon Clare, Adam Schaan, Art Kaehn, Barbara Metcalfe, Cathy Playfair, Tamara Colebank, Sharel Coelen

Motion to approve previous minutes: postponed to March.

Treasurer’s Report: $61,753.37 – for general hall maintenance, $4,4875.70 is grants for specific things that cannot be used for anything else. Example of grant money: theater group, soup group, Halloween, Easter Information given about money spent on: gas, insurance, hydro bills etc. see attached sheet (regular bills) Pat explained that the membership price, of $25 for a whole family or $15 per person, is put towards these regular bills.

Motion to approve Treasurer’s report: no motion

New Business:

●Abc food safe postponed to March.

●Voting issue: it was pointed out that the rule about voting eligibility at the General Meeting doesn’t meet the criteria written in Hixon Community By-Laws. Directors made a mistake using the wrong motion to approve this rule. Instead it should have been an extraordinary resolution. Therefore the rule is withdrawn. Directors need to always act in accordance within the bounds of the Constitution, ByLaws and other legislation.Old Business:

●Street lights on the school bus route update: letter from Mike Farnworth will be read at the next meeting.

●Speed sign on hwy fundraiser (Over-the-line tournament & Chili cook-off ):still waiting for the response from the Ministry about speed signage. Sheldon Clare will look into it to speed up the reply.

●Answer from Ministry of Transportation regarding Pedestrian Safety was read during the meeting by Sheldon Clare, see attached document.

●Water:

After the introduction and talking about the rules for the meeting, a 15 minute break was given, so the members and citizens could familiarize themselves with the information posters regarding, bylaws, some legislation and other information related to the water at the Hixon Community Hall. Many attendees took photographs of the Posters. Posters are attached to these minutes.

One of the Hixon residents invited Sheldon Clare MLA to the meeting. Members of the Legislative Assembly introduce themselves: Sheldon Clare and Adam Schaan. They were ready to answer questions.

Question Brian Wells : Said that he’s been here 14 years and hauling water (from the Hall) for all those years.The water’s always good. His family drinks it without being sick. What he noticed now is that, people taking care of the community hall started resenting the big trucks with the big totes. He started feeling like the enemy. There was always water for the community at the Hall, and previous directors assured the community many years ago that there will always be water at the Hall for the community. He thinks that the Hixon Community Association turned into a social club and is not doing anything for the community. He raised concern that many people rely on the Hall water nowadays, the community needs water, the water is priceless, brushing teeth uses 1 gallon, one load of laundry, 40 gallons, you get your dishwashers, 20 gallons. He hopes that there will be a decision to still have water from the community Hall in big amount

Answer: Kim Grimwade: The Hixon Community Association By-laws, and our constitution says that Hixon Community association object are to maintain the building, and promote and develop varied educational, athletic, dramatic, social and neighborhood programs, the community hall was never permitted to be a water supplier according to the Constitution. Additionally, the Hall water licence (example document dated 2018) says that community hall water is for the community hall purpose only (social events, rentings) and we are allowed to draw 1 (one) cubic meter (220 gallons) of water per day. Directors have been and are obligated to work according to bylaws and the constitution. If we won’t do that there will be repercussions under legislation such as the Societies Act. Water that was given to the community before was given outside of the powers of any directors, against the constitution, bylaws and water licence. But hold on, We will show you other ways to resolve the water problem later in the meeting..

Question Veronica Potts: Kim answered her question above.

Question Sharel Coelen: How much is 1 cubic meter per day? How can people share that?

Answer: Kim Grimwade: It’s 220 gallons, but still the licence is to the Hall and to the concession, not for public access. We understand that water was taken for many years, but it was given out under a moral imperative, and not in conformity with the Constitution, Bylaw and other guiding legislation. Directors allowed that because they would like to help people in need. At the previous meetings, some concerns were raised about water usage. Directors were willing to meet halfway so people that are in need of drinking water for personal use weren’t left without water at all. Still, it was against the law.

Question Chelsea Diemert : Can the community do a fundraiser towards upgrading the licence

Answer: Kim Grimwade: We can increase the amount of water but we are still not a water provider, water will be still for the Hall usage only, not for the community. We do not meet the requirements to be a water supplier for the community. While everyone is entitled to their opinions and moral codes, Directors need to follow the law regardless of their personal feelings and opinions.

Chelsea Diemert: People need to find alternative ways to have water then.

Question Ricky: How many people have wells? Raise your hands. (Many did), How many have taken water (many have).

Question Larry Thompson: Directors didn’t want to shut the water off totally. 30 gallons per week is plenty for one person, but people are used to overusing water. They water lawns, flush toilets. Water from the hall is not a grey water. That behaviour should not take place. Residents need to limit their water usage, so seniors and people in need could be able to take water from the Hall in small quantities.

Answer: Kim Grimwade: Not wanting to speculate about how people use the water, right now it is not relevant anyway, because the water licence is for the Hall usage only.

Candace Burt: I am a water person (I don’t have a well) with low income. I will adapt. I’m between rock and a hard place. If anybody from the community would like to start a fundraiser, I will support that. There are other ways to have water: you can contact natural resources to see other water sources. Naver Creek is one of the ways to take water from. There are always options. 15 minutes from the creek by pomp vs 45 minutes from the hall is a good option.

Dan Davis: We have 1000 liters to use per day and 25 HCA members so it’s a lot of water for members.

Answer: Kim Grimwade: there are two answers to that: a moral answer and the legal answer . Directors are obligated to inform that the Hall cannot supply water to anybody and the water licence says it is for the Hall use (and the concession).

Curt LaPlante: Noticed that he has never seen that engagement from Hixon residents. No one ever shows up for meetings. The Directors can only respond to those voices that they hear. Nobody shows up here, nobody comes here. They’ cannot respond to the voices they can’t hear.

Sheldon Clare Said: Water is essential to life, in BC everything is regulated, there are special Acts. Generally pumping water from lakes, creeks, rivers in British Columbia is heavily regulated. Unfortunately, you cannot just pump water from a creek, it cannot be done without the licence, because the water table will be lower and it will affect the environment and other people. Water use is very heavily regulated in BC. So, what do you need to do? Like, this is a serious problem. It is not something that’s easy to resolve. You’ve got water, but that water is limited by the license. Directors realize that what’s going on is a serious violation, and could lead to a big problem. A lot of people in smaller, rural communities, don’t want to be involved with problems with. the government coming in and interfering with their lives and how they do their business. And that’s fine. When you have a problem like this, a government will get involved, and it can get accelerated pretty fast. There are a number of possibilities for the community going forward, and I think I have got to compliment the Directors for their diligence in looking through this so well. You’ve got some really good people here who, I think, demonstrated great care for their community. There are examples of other communities which have run into a similar problem, and they have had to find a source for water that is available for the community. So what are your options? Well, either you have a nonprofit society that gets a water license, and operates awell for that specific purpose, so that people can come and collect water from the community water source. That involves accepting the liability, having insurance, and all the rest of it for that particular process. The other thing is to have a company, which operates such a facility, and provides that as a service.

Adam Schaan added: He personally takes water from Quesnel or Prince George sometimes. This is a third option for people in Hixon to go to those places for water. Unfortunately, he doesn’t remember what the cost is. This is an opportunity for someone to put a water station in Hixon. It will require a lot of work, but can be done. The license for this hall doesn’t allow for giving water to the community. It has been done, and it’s a liability situation for the community association that could cause a really serious problem and a problem for the directors.

Question Chelsea: Is there any way to have water?

Answer SheldonClare: It has to be either a “for profit” or a “non profit” entity that would be willing to build the water system in Hixon, maintain it, pay insurance, take all responsibility.

Kim Grimwade: Directors, in their role as Directors, are not prepared to change the constitution and run the water facility for the community. It’s a huge responsibility. If any of the current Directors were to take that on, it would be in their capacity as a citizen.

Question Chelsea: Wanted a clarification that it’s a government/regulation issue.

Ian Billinger said: Giving water to the community although with good intentions was legally wrong. Hixon Community Association and directors are not city counsel. Their responsibility is not taking care of the town. Their responsibility is to keep the Hall open for social meetings, and in case of emergency. The hall is needed to provide shelter in case of natural disasters. He proposed a few solutions: put the hall into taxes and Regional district would take care of the water which would be costly; make the Regional District (who wanted to purchase the half of the ball diamond that belongs to the Hall) and in the sale, get them to put up a water source; he also suggested the soup group could give some water to the seniors with soup.

Question Kristin Goes: If this was always the law, why is it being implemented now?

Answer: Kim Grimwade: The shortest version is, before the Directors didn’t do the right thing according to their governing documents (the constitution and bylaws…) . They did the (morally) right thing according to the people. And the reason that it’s a problem now is that regulations changed, new rules were added and now they are inspected. It’s the liability issue, and it’s going back to the Walkerton outbreak, where the water was basically contaminated, people were sick/died. In Hixon there have been many times when people have come to use water, and it has been spilled all over the place, dog poops, other contaminants could easily go to the well. And that’s the liability part, because it’s right where people have been extracting water, it is right where the well is.

Gerald Thompson : The fire department has been subject to the same water rules now as the community hall, and he had about six members that were hauling water for their personal use. He had to cut them off. They’re his friends, they are longtime firefighters, who volunteer 200 plus hours a year to this community. He had to tell them that they cannot take water because we do not have a license. He just wanted to say that, because he knows there’s people in this room that spread stories that the volunteer fire fighters just run around hauling water. We do a lot more than that for this community, and without that fire hall, there’s a high risk of higher insurance and wildfires.

Judy Doyle : Proposed: More families could take one water truck and split the costs

Curt said that it’s $ 400 dollars for 3000 litre truck

Chelsey added that people have no money for that.People are trying to save water so much, they use the same water to do different chores, sometimes 3 or more times. What can we do now to have access to water?Answer Candace Burt: Get together. This hall is open for everyone to have meetings for everyone. Do some investigation, talk to the people who want to be in charge. Find out what the first steps are going to be. If you would like to start a group, to move forward into getting some kind of public water setup there will be a list where you can sign in to stay in touch and form the organization responsible for water. ( a list with a pen was put out for people to sign with Sheldon Clare’s card attached).

Sheldon Clair: Assured that he is happy to give support and guidance on how to do it. He asked to be in touch and gave his phone number 2509910296

Art Kaehl added that the water system will raise taxes for everyone in Hixon, so everyone needs to be aware of that

Question from audience with no name given: What about Use at your own risk, wouldn’t that take the liability from the Community Hall

Answer Sheldon Clare : Use on your risk notice won’t change anything because there could be problems if you shared the water with someone

Question Kim Grimwade to Sheldon: What can we do right now? Can the Hall support the community before the new water provider will be established? In the transition process?

Answer Sheldon Clare: People need to find another source of water. Hall cannot do that. Licence has limitations. If directors will still allow water from the hall they will be acting against the law.

Question Curt: Who has a well to share with people?

Robert Carson, generously, offers water from his place. He asked people to find him on facebook.

Meeting Adjourned: 7:05pm

Next Meeting: March 3rd, 5:30pm