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What's Happening at OFSC Head Office?


bbakernbay

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Been away from our Club & District meetings since moving from North Bay to Kitchener and a bit out of loop regarding all the changes at OFSC Barrie Head Office.

 

Last I heard there were a number of departures from key positions, some of whom hardly were there long enough to contribute much before moving on.

 

Something must be seriously wrong with so many departures over the past 3 years.

 

What is going on, why is it happening and is the OFSC management prepared to move forward to face the numerous challenges organized snowmobiling is facing?

 

Is Paul Shaugnessey still actively involved and if so is that a good idea?

 

Andious to hear opinions from those in the know.

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This should be a long thread:-D

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Mike Clewer is gone.  Don't know much more.

 

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Mike C is gone.

Pim S. is gone.

Tim H. is gone/going. Announced at April BoG.

Tanya S. is gone.

Paul S. is no longer Executive Director but is accountable for Risk Management/Insurance/Litigation activities. I believe he retains his position on ExCom as well.

Chris C hired on a contract to be the Provincial Fleet Manager.

 

The BoG has formed a committee to replace Paul. Understand they are currently interviewing potential candidates (7 on the short list). Recommendation to be made at the May BoG.

 

Odd numbered Districts elect new governors in May.

BoG elects 2nd Vice (2 nominations presently)/Sec Treasurer (1 nomination at present) at May BoG meeting

 

 

Collins Barrow (MoTS Implementation Consultant) is working with Phase 1 Districts on setting up new District Corporations and transitioning to MoTS operating environment. Standardized District By-Laws and Operating Policies approved.

 

 

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Good summary Pete. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

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11 minutes ago, Faceman said:

Good summary Pete. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

"And that is just the tip of the iceberg"

 

That certainly sounds ominous and very concerning for the organization.

 

Hopefully others will chime in when further information or opinion is available.

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Interesting that the 'members' know nothing about the goings on @ the head office, but the private sector is always posting promotions, etc in the financial pages.

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...keeping in mind that the "members" are the snowmobile clubs, not the permit buyers....

 

Are the "member clubs" being kept in the dark?

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1 hour ago, Blake G said:

...keeping in mind that the "members" are the snowmobile clubs, not the permit buyers....

 

Do we know that the "member clubs" are being kept in the dark?

 

Most permit buyers just don't seem to care about what goes on in the background to create and maintain the trails. They just want to ride and take it all for granted. We just had our AGM. We sent an invitation to attend, become educated and participate to just under 400 email addresses representing just under 700 trail permits. We had 18 people attend.

 

The clubs have access to information disseminated through the district meetings and OFSC communications. In our AGM we touched on some of the coming changes. If people really cared they would be there but they aren't so they don't.

 

Many people don't even care to understand the challenges that were faced last season when the snow came early, there wasn't any frost in the ground and the swamps / bogs were still very wet. They call up and whine... there's two feet of snow on my deck, why aren't the trails open. Some will listen and understand when provided an explanation. Too many others don't want to understand.

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4 hours ago, 02Sled said:

 

Most permit buyers just don't seem to care about what goes on in the background to create and maintain the trails. They just want to ride and take it all for granted. We just had our AGM. We sent an invitation to attend, become educated and participate to just under 400 email addresses representing just under 700 trail permits. We had 18 people attend.

 

The clubs have access to information disseminated through the district meetings and OFSC communications. In our AGM we touched on some of the coming changes. If people really cared they would be there but they aren't so they don't.

 

Many people don't even care to understand the challenges that were faced last season when the snow came early, there wasn't any frost in the ground and the swamps / bogs were still very wet. They call up and whine... there's two feet of snow on my deck, why aren't the trails open. Some will listen and understand when provided an explanation. Too many others don't want to understand.

Just to touch on the 400 member email.  I know that many people buy multiple permits under one name.  I think that things are changing(obviously)  I know one thing that may need to change is the way meetings are held.  Not everyone can make it to these meetings as most of them are held during the week in the evenings, when most people who buy their permit from the area are cottagers or people who travel by trailer for the weekends.  They will have a hard time being there during the week.  What has been working for the school boards is town hall meetings either online or by phone.  Its an easier way to get more of an audience to understand what is going on in the background.

 

Not sure if this is something that clubs or the ofsc might want to look into as its a way easier way to communicate to a much larger audience.  Just a thought maybe some on here could bring it forward to the OFSC.

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We typically have our meetings on a Saturday morning which was the case for our AGM. For the past few years 3 of our executive have been GTA residents and weekenders in our club area so weekday meetings were not feasible. 

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I'm not sure how or who let things get to where they are but , groomer replacement program is gone, OFSC wants to proceed with taking grooming over and moving some of the "free groomers" from districts. We had some clubs put major coin towards our groomer replacement fund, they received the "free groomer" and now they might lose it. Lose it will be the right term if this happens. A record year for permit sales , yet minimal grooming in some districts means major repayments  to the OFSC  ( for what)  Me thinks the BOG ( or whomever is running the ship) is in trouble and really don't know the right course of action. One more crappy winter will send more riders north and destroy southern Ontario. ( no money for infrastructure) Clubs are getting sick and tired of hearing that the monies were never theirs to start with, permit dollars to be spent on the snow. Clubs that did everything right, self sustained by volunteers , fund raised like crazy and now are questioning "why did we bother". This organization is totally out of touch with its clubs and volunteers.

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So does this mean no more new groomers going forward? I thought it was starting to make a difference and most clubs gave up some secondary trails to reduce costs.   

I agree Crappy winter weather in south is going to affect awhole system, resource wise if weather doesn't improve. Greg seemed to see all this coming. Not good news at all. Be interesting to see how the previous season's resources were spent. I only rode 5 days, 2 more then last year. 

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I rode 7 days.  5 were on the Northern Corridor.

 

BP

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49 minutes ago, bbakernbay said:

Has anybody in the know how much their District is returning in clawed back Permit Revenues.

 

I would expect a huge amount goes back to OFSC coffers this year with so few grooming hours.

Be interesting to see grooming hours across the province. I know district 6 probably has some really high grooming hours this year. Had lots of traffic and a long season compared to most of the province. 

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43 minutes ago, bbakernbay said:

Has anybody in the know how much their District is returning in clawed back Permit Revenues.

 

I would expect a huge amount goes back to OFSC coffers this year with so few grooming hours.

Brian, first point of clarification, there is no provision in the funding model for the OFSC to claw back any of the 30% of permit sales. What can be clawed back is excess Equalization funding that may have been paid out based on fiorecasted trails/grooming hours over the first 3 payments.

 

We have been told that final reconciliation on permit sales and grooming hours will not be completed until end of May at which time we will know what the actual Equalization entitlements for each district are. Cant speak for other districts but our district received the first 3 payments based on a hugely inflated grooming hour forecast so we are expecting to have repay at least part of what we have received YTD. The other issue is that I expect there will be districts where their 30% of permit sales will still far exceed their standard cost allowances (ie a surplus position) but there is no provision in FFC for the OFSC to recapture that surplus. Also keep in mind that the standard cost allowances may or may not be equivalent to a districts "actual" cost which may or may not impact their potential surplus on the season.

 

I have heard rumors that the BoG is looking at reducing the 30% of permit sales a district gets in order to ensure no district can generate a surplus. They are also looking at reducing some of the standard cost allowances. all in an effort to centralize funds for the groomer replacement program. And in the end analysis its the groomer replacement program (in its current form) that is not sustainable in the current model. The BoG has acknowledged that there are no more reserves at the OFSC level that can be used to fund groomer purchases. So if they continue with the plan to purchase the 20 new units the plan calls for thats approx $5.2M that needs to be funded. Here is my specualtion on how they are going to do it.

 

First, with the increased permit revenues I am expecting the EQ fund surplus to be in the area of $3.0M. Add that to the balance carried forward from last year $750K (thats after they took $2.5M for last years groomer buys) you have $3.7M. I expect they will take $3.0M from Equalization Reserve. They have traditionally funded approx $1.0M from current year permit sales and I dont expect that to change.  So that leaves approx $1.2M unfunded. That is going to come from Districts that hold their own reserves. There are lots of mechanisms to make that happen (cash contribution required, withhold EQ funding etc).  The 2017-2018 budget is scheduled to approved at the May BoG meeting so we should know what the plan looks like by the end of the month.

 

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Thank you Big Pete for your detailed response to what is likely happening financially and the reasons why.

 

It is terrific that you take the time to share this valuable information as it is difficult for most Club Directors and others to get their head around the ramifications of the Framework for Change policies.  As you point out, it is quite likely that further amendments are likely to be made, either at the upcoming BOG May Meeting or at the AGM.

 

I am still concerned that the OFSC Head Office has been decimated for various reasons and there is likely to be a leadership and operational void there at a very key time.

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They don't have any job openings posted on their website so it seems if people are leaving they aren't being replaced

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57 minutes ago, bbakernbay said:

I presume they are concentrating on filling Paul Shaugnessey's Executive Director position and then that person will be responsible for rebuilding the new organizational structure and that makes sense.

That makes sense. I wonder what kind of criteria they will seek in order to fill that position. Won't be easy to find a suitable Candate. When I worked in manufacturing the company would change plant mangers ever 2 to 5 years and some key manage,net such as supervisors would be replaced too. 

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From what I heard, there is no clear view about the status of MOTS. Looks like it is "parked"....

Maybe more information comes available after the next governors meeting the end of May...

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MOTS is in full swing don't worry.

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