P ROPERTY M ANAGEMENT V OLUME 4, ISSUE 1
AND
O PERATIONS
J UNE 2011
S UMMER IS FINALLY HERE — WE HOPE !! After a rather cool spring, summer is finally here— we hope! Here’s our brief “what’s happening” around here— projects, security, gallery rentals, ongoing sustainability initiatives…..
Project Update
HVAC Project
The HVAC project was completed as of March 31st! We were on time and on budget—with even a little funding to spare. Our final reports have been sent to the Government. As with any new equipment, a few minor bugs are being worked on under warranty. The equipment is however ticking along just great!
Vertical Lift — First
The electrical upgrade and emergency generator project was also completed as of March 31st. Over the last couple of months, there were some minor deficiencies being addressed — again covered under warranty. The good news is that
The lift was installed by March 31st and has been inspected and signed off by both the BC Safety Authority and the City Building Inspector. Final touch ups, installation of the graphics, cleaning, took place during the month of April. On April 27th, the lift was “officially” opened. Pauline and Margaret (a long time volunteer) were the first to ride the lift! Minor tweaking is still underway to make sure it is easy to understand and use for our visitor.
The project also included entering artifact information into Mammoth; the reinterpretation and reinstallation of artifacts; the development and implementation of new signage and graphics and security upgrades.
The fire suppression and
there will be NO more intentional power outages to contend with.
you. So, you won’t have to work in the dark for that hour!
On a go forward basis, the emergency generator will be tested monthly from 7 AM—8 AM. You may hear the generators running but there will be no power shut downs that should affect
www.bchydro.com www.crd.bc.ca www.livesmartbc.ca
I IN THIS ISSUE : P ROJECT U PDATES
1
P ROJECTS & PMO U PDATE
2
DID YOU KNOW ?
2
A bronze statue of Dr. Helmcken (created and donated by artist Armando Barbon) was installed. The buildings were reopened on May 19th. The Dr. Helmcken bronze was also publicly unveiled. (Con’t on pg 2)
Helmcken House and St. Ann’s Schoolhouse
Electrical Upgrade
monitoring project (launched last June) was completed in May. The system has been signed off by the various Inspectors and both buildings now have fire protection.
Peoples Gallery
A DDITIONAL L INKS :
The new native plant garden above and beside the generator room is beginning to fill out too and some new signage has been installed.
O UR R ECYCLING P ROGRAM STATS : G LASS / TIN = 2683 CU FT O RGANICS = 2012 CU FT C ARDBOARD = 11232 CU FT SHREDDED PAPER 1980 LBS I T IS E STIMATED THAT NINE - 40 FOOT TRAILER LOADS KEPT OUT OF THE LANDFILL EACH YEAR !!
P ROPERTY M ANAGEMENT
P AGE 2 D R . H ELMCKEN
The Helmcken House project is still underway. Window repairs will be undertaken over the summer/fall and once the house closes in September, Conservation will be finishing off cleaning and condition reports on the artifacts. What else is new and other “Stuff”:
O THER S TUFF !!
Regular ongoing maintenance is continuing in and around the precinct—from mulching to reduce weeds and conserve water, the yellow nosing on the exterior stairs is being repainted, to ongoing painting touch ups in and around the facility. Yes… we sound like a broken record, but the lunch room is for staff and so you are all responsible to help keep it clean so that means wiping up your own snack and lunch crumbs, wiping down the microwave when your food splatters all over and wash your own dishes. Don’t forget date your food and label with your name—the fridges are still being checked and cleaned out weekly so anything that is not labeled will be thrown out! Did you know that we signed up for the Distribution Centre’s “green tote” program. When we order supplies from the government’s distribution centre the supplies arrive in green plastic totes instead of cardboard boxes. The empties (totes that is…) go back via BC Mail Plus with our regular mail pick up.
CONTACT US :
PMO TEAM
P AM , T ANYA , J ON, F RANCOIS, B ILL , J UDITH & C OLLEEN ….
O PERATIONS
( CON ’ T ) Helmcken House Con’t:
VERTICAL LIFT 3RD FLOOR
AND
Check out our website as our 2010 Carbon Neutral Action Report that was filed with the Climate Action Secretariat has
been posted. To meet our 2010 carbon neutral commitment under the BC’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act, our carbon offset payment for 2010 at $25 per tonne was $4,720 excluding applicable taxes. Our actual emissions (tCO2e) were 188.78 tonnes. Yeah… summer has finally arrived, after what seemed like a very long and cool spring. According to BC Hydro, even though they don’t wee electricity consumption levels peak like the dark and cold winter months, they do want to remind all of us that there is always room to conserve energy and still stay cool this summer. BC Hydro says this is how you can do it…..
Turn off unnecessary lights. Take advantage of longer & brighter daylight.
Use blinds and drapes as they can block up to 65% of the heat that would otherwise come through your window.
Install a ceiling fan—they can use one-tenth of the energy of an air conditioner.
Reminder— join Team Power Smart (it’s free to sign up!) as they always have lots of tips and other useful information—it’s only a few clicks on the keyboard! http://www.bchydro.com L IVE S MART BC FREE ACTIONS T IP ……….. T AKE SHORTER SHOWERS : 15% OF A TYPICAL ENERGY BILL IS SPENT HEATING WATER .
C ONSERVATION T IP : M AINTAIN TIRE PRESSURE : PROPER TIRE PRESSURE INFLATION MAXIMIZES FUEL ECONOMY !
Facilities Rentals If you get any queries about our facilities rentals (and we have a special Christmas rate for the Modern History Gallery beginning mid-Nov to mid-Dec ), Judith, (our Queen of Facility Rentals!) is available to answer them — so call 250-387-5745. Wow, we did 28 events from April 1 to June 30! D ON ’ T ’ F ORGET …. JUST F LICK THE S WITCH !
P OWER OUTAGES / E MERGENCIES ? During a power outage or other emergency situation, you may be left without heating, cooling, lighting, or even running water. If you only have a cordless phone, you may be left without phone service. Don’t have a battery powered or crank radio— you may not be able to monitor news broadcasts. So… you may face some challenges. You can lessen the impact by taking some time now to prepare in advance. Find out what to do before, during and after and emergency! Make a family emergency plan; have an emergency kit; prepare your home, etc. For more info, visit: www.GetPrepared.ca , www.pep.bc.ca www.bchydro.com, www.redcross.ca