Bergen Springs E-states Fall 2017 Page 1

Change is Coming!

he times they are a-changin’. Well, the weather sure is. Aspen leaves are

turning gold, a sign that their green chlorophyll production is slowing

down, making way for their carotenoid-driven yellow pigment to hit the

runway before the white stuff flies. And cranky old hornets have finished selflessly

serving their queen and colony all summer, so now they’re looking out for

number one, hoping to grab a few carbs for themselves before it’s adiós time.

Kinda like death-row last meals for these venomous vespids.

Changes have been underway at Bergen Springs as well. We’ve had our first

season with Evolve Water Solutions as our certified water operator, keeping our

wells and distribution system flowing along to government specifications. Your

Board of Directors has been busy dealing with everything from bylaw

enforcement to adding a bit more structure to its executive meetings. And the

new Social Committee has been very active, putting several fun-filled events on

the menu all summer long and planning more to come.

Speaking of menus, did you hear the joke about the Dalai Lama at the pizza shop?

He walks up to the counter, hands the pizza guy a twenty-dollar bill, and says:

“Make me one with everything.”

But wait, the joke continues! When the pizza guy gives him his pizza, the Dalai

Lama asks: “Where’s the change?” The pizza guy smiles and says:

“The change is within.”

—John Ostrander, Editor

T In This Issue…

Bylaw Enforcement 2

Before You Build 2

Guest RVs? 2

Attending Board Meetings 2

Burning Questions 3

From the Cutting Board 4

Your Community Newsletter Fall 2017

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Bylaw Enforcement

The process we’ve adopted at Bergen Springs for

enforcing the bylaws is complaint-driven. If you see—or

hear, in the case of noise—

anything you feel is a bylaw

infraction, simply inform the

Board and we will take

appropriate action.

To forward your complaint to the Board, you may either

send an email (info.bergensprings@gmail.com) or drop

off a letter in a sealed envelope at the hall.

Here are a few examples of the bylaw infractions we’ve

dealt with:

• 61,d (“Quiet hours are deemed to be between

23:00 to 08:00 each day”)

• 61,h,ii (“...ensure that all vehicles on the Parcel are

licensed and in operating condition”)

• Schedule “A”,1 (“The maximum number of units

allowed per lot at any time is two”)

We take all complaints seriously. According to the

bylaws (4,q), the Board may “levy penalties by way of

monetary sanctions . . . for the contravention of any

Bylaw.”

Before You Build

The process for obtaining approvals for any

construction project on your lot is simple:

1. Tell the Board what you’re planning to do. Remember to include a diagram showing the location and setback distances.

2. Once you have Board approval, contact Mountain View County for the appropriate permits. Call: 403-335-3311 (toll free: 1-877-264-9754).

Guest RVs?

Although the bylaws clearly state that only two units—

one permanent and one temporary—are allowed on

your lot at any time, some owners have asked about the

possibility of allowing a guest to bring an RV for a short

visit.

To allow a guest RV to park on a lot that already has two

units, we would have to change the bylaw in question

(Schedule “A”,1), a process that would require a Special

Resolution whereby at least 75% of title owners must

approve of the change.

But before we even consider such a scenario, we’d like

to get a feel for what everyone thinks about this.

Do you think guest RVs should be allowed to visit?

Please tell us your thoughts. Send us an email or letter

and we’ll summarize the responses in a future issue of

the newsletter.

Attending Board Meetings

Unlike Annual General Meetings (AGMs), which all

owners are encouraged to attend, the Board’s executive

meetings are meant for directors to convene in order to

focus on conducting the business of the corporation.

Executive meetings are agenda-driven and run under

time constraints.

If you wish to attend a meeting to address the Board

about a particular issue, please give us 14 days’ notice.

We’ll put your issue on the agenda and let you know at

what time you should attend to speak to your issue.

Please respect this policy and understand that this is

standard practice among condominium corporations.

A Google search for the phrase “can owners attend

condo board meetings” will yield literally thousands of

hits. And the consensus in Alberta and throughout the

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country seems to be that owners may attend by

invitation only. As one lawyer put it, “unit owners do

not ordinarily attend board meetings, nor should it be

considered a right or entitlement to do so. They are not

entitled to attend simply as ‘observers’.”

Burning Questions

In ancient India, Agni (Sanskrit अग्नि, pronounced ugh-

knee), the god of fire, was one of the most important

gods around. He played a crucial role in ancient

sacrificial rituals as the messenger who carried the holy

offerings from people on earth up to the gods in

heaven. Agni could be seen in so many forms: as the

sun, lightening, comets, sacrificial fire, the fire of funeral

pyres, the hearth, and even our internal “fire” that

digests the food we eat. The ancient scriptures contain

more hymns to Agni than to any other deity. For

example (from gveda, Book 1, XCIV):

We will bring fuel and prepare burnt offerings,

Reminding thee at each successive festival.

Fulfil our thought so we may prolong our lives.

Let us not in thy friendship, Agni, suffer harm.

Strip away the mythological context of early Hinduism

and we can see ourselves doing very much the same

thing as those Agni worshippers of old. Don’t we

thoughtfully prepare and tend to our firepits? Don’t we

carefully set up the kindling and fuel, ignite the tinder,

pour our favorite libation, then sit back and enjoy the

warmth, smells, sights, and sounds of the fire? It’s not

too hard to imagine that our thoughts and dreams are

somehow being carried up with the smoke towards the

heavens. :-) No doubt many folks at Bergin Springs

partake in this nightly fire ritual.

Do you use a particular method when you set up the

fuel for your fire? Let’s briefly look at three popular

stacking strategies.

The teepee

After building a small pile of tinder and kindling, you

then place larger sticks—and eventually logs—in a

teepee-like shape around the kindling

pile. As the fire catches, it burns the inner

standing pieces first, then eventually the

outer ones. You’ll get high flames with the

teepee method, but note that the logs can easily fall

over and away from the center. Tongs are a good idea.

The log cabin

Here you start with two larger logs (or halves) placed on

opposite sides of each other in the ring. Now put your

tinder and kindling in a small pile

between the two end logs. Then

you stack sticks on top of the

logs, then more larger sticks

running perpendicular on top of those sticks, and so on.

As the sticks burn, they should fall into the center,

which is fine. Since the larger end pieces last quite a

while, you can keep crisscrossing smaller logs on top of

them to keep the fire going.

The lean-to

Start with one large log placed on one end of the ring.

Then pile your tinder and kindling beside the log. Now

stack larger sticks running at

an angle from the ground to

the top of the log. The lean-

to method allows for good

air flow to help the fire get going.

Love my tinder

While dry kindling is one of the most important

ingredients for a good fire, you can’t overstate the

importance of tinder. The finest ends of spruce twigs,

often with dry needles still attached, work well. So does

birch bark. Or wood shavings. Or dry, dead grass. Or

dryer lint. The idea is to start with something that

ignites easily for your tinder, then place your kindling—

larger twigs and sticks—on top. Finally, your larger

pieces of fuel complete the picture.

WARNING: Never burn pressure-treated wood! Burning it will release toxic chemicals that are dangerous to your health and bad for the environment.

NOTE: When MVC issues a “partial” fire ban, we err on the side of caution and issue a full ban. We live in a heavily forested area and have too much to lose! And when MVC lifts a ban, we automatically lift ours as well. Check the Alberta Government website:

https://albertafirebans.ca/

Or call MVC: 403-335-3311 (toll free: 1-877-264-9754)

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From the Cutting Board

Stuffed pork tenderloin tastes as great as it looks!

Ingredients

• 4 pork tenderloin pieces

• plastic wrap

• meat tenderizer mallet (or similar item)

• butcher’s twine

• ¼ cup olive oil

• nonstick aluminum foil

• 2 cups spinach

• 2 cups breadcrumbs (or stove-top stuffing)

• ½ onion

Steps

1. Butterfly-cut one of the tenderloin pieces, being

careful not to cut all the way through.

2. Place plastic wrap

over the meat, then use

the mallet to pound it

until it’s about ½ inch

thick or less. If you

don’t have a tenderizer

mallet, use a rolling pin, the bottom of a heavy skillet, or

whatever else you think might work. (Our friend Buck

Stihlman likes to use the blunt end of a hatchet.)

3. Repeat for the rest of the tenderloin pieces.

4. Dice the onion, then

sauté in olive oil in a

frying pan for about 10

minutes.

5. Dice the spinach,

then add it to the pan with the onion.

6. Add the breadcrumbs to the pan and blend. Or,

prepare stove-top stuffing, then add the finished

stuffing to the pan.

7. Spread the stuffing on the meat, keeping it along the

fold and in from the sides.

8. Roll the meat

lengthwise.

9. Measure a piece of

twine at least twice as

long as the rolled meat.

Wrap one end of the twine once around one of the ends

of the meat, then tie it. Now wrap the twine diagonally

along the length, starting at the tied end and ending

where you began, then tie it.

10. Brush each of the

tied pieces with olive oil

on all sides, then place

on a tray covered with

nonstick foil.

11. Bake at 350°F for about 60 to 75 minutes, until the

internal temperature of the meat is about 165°F.

12. Remove from the oven, cut off the twine, then cut

each piece into 1-inch thick slices. Yum!

Halloween at the Hall!

Saturday, October 28

Kids Party: 2:00 4:00

Adults Party: 7:00 (BYOB)

Water Shutoff

October 10

(weather permitting)

If there’s a significant cold spell before October 10, we

may need to turn the water off sooner. Stay tuned for

email announcements and signs at the park.