Reimer Family Council

July 2015

Council Members: Grant, Laura, Clare, Matt

Goals: To ensure clarity, cooperation, respect, and the continued
evolution of our shared space as our family grows and changes.
Communication: While the four of us do meet as a group to discuss
cabin-related topics, its simply a conduit for efficiency. Any ideas/
suggestions/questions/issues you might have regarding the cabin can be
discussed with any council member and brought up at the next meeting.
Its also worth noting that if you have something youd like
discussed, its your responsibility to address it with a council
member.
Underpinnings: Within the highly-organized nature of the council,
there is always a foundation of family, love, and respect. This is
most important! Family is never a business! Patience and understanding
are paramount to everyone enjoying our shared space, especially when
there are so many of the fourth generation.
Organizing goals/issues: It seemed most efficient for us to collate
the conversations we had with family members into three categories:
Q - quick - these are things that can be/should be dealt with
quickly.
NF - near future - these are things that require a bit more
participation from the family or more careful thinking. Many of the
ideas that end up in this category are dealt with using committees.
DF - distant future - these are long-term goals for the cabin. They
are essentially things to think about (and maybe things to start
saving for!)

Below is a list of the issues addressed. Some require further

planning, and this will happen within committees. Weve identified
some family members who we think might be assets to certain
committees. These individuals have either shown interest or have
certain skill sets. That being said, anyone is welcome to work on any
committee. Please play an active role in our cabins future! Each
committee should name a chair who will be responsible for relaying
information to council. Please try and make some gains in your
respective committees in a timely manner.
Note: the following items are not set in stone. If you have
suggestions or are worried about the format of certain items, please
let a representative know. Several of the items have a bolded sentence
at the end requesting you to bring concerns (if you have them) to
council. If we hear nothing about these specific things, then well go
ahead and get started on them.
Quick Items (Q)
Booking Time to Bring Friends: theres been some interest shown in
bringing friends out to Brereton, and having the cabin booked for
these times. This means that, for that weekend, other family members
could do something interesting elsewhere. There are some parameters to
this, however:
- these bookings would only last a couple of days.
- these bookings cannot take place during the summer months (July
and August).
- these bookings exclude any holidays or long weekends.
- Please send an email to the family explaining potential plans,
making sure to do so with lots of time to spare.
Using Other Family Members Bedrooms: when friends visit, or perhaps
when an unruly child needs to sleep alone, another family members
room makes life easier. If youd like to use another room:
- make sure to ask before you use the room.
- supply your own bedding, or discuss the use and cleaning of the
existing bedding with its owners.
- the hide-a-beds are also available for use.
Cleanliness of the Cabin: keeping our enormous and luxurious cabin
clean is a daunting task. Its important that this be both collective
and thorough. Consider the following when leaving the cabin:
- the cabin should have a cleanliness level similar to a hotel
room when you leave. This makes the arrival of other members
both awesome and relaxing.
- refer to the checklist on the fridge when leaving. All items
should be completed.
- if its been a busy all-family weekend, make sure you

take care of some of the cleaning before you leave. This makes
life much easier for the last person there!
- if you feel theres something that needs to be added to the
cleaning checklist, bring it up with a representative.

Food at the Cabin: fridge space at Brereton is akin to the Vancouver

real estate market - highly sought after and difficult to find.
Keeping the fridge organized is therefore very important. Make sure
you:
- bring home any food thats yours at the end of your time there.
- keep your food organized.
- keep in mind that once a year, date TBD, there will be a fridge
clean-up. Dont make other people throw out your rotten
spinach!
Changes to the Cabin: the cabin is a shared space, thus any changes to
its design/furnishings/artwork should be a shared decision. If you
have an idea, please bring it up with a representative/the rest of the
family. Bringing new items to the cabin, especially when they are
large, should also be discussed with the whole group.
Kid-Proofing: please do your best to keep dangerous items (alcohol,
glass, sharp objects, fragile objects, handguns) out of the reach of
the kids. There are a lot of tiny humans at present.
Gas for the Boat: For all boat owners, its important that you leave
the gas tank on the boat full at the end of your time at the cabin. If
this means buying a tanks worth of gas, then please do so.
General Maintenance and Supplies: there are certain things around the
cabin that require continued work, such as mowing the lawn, topping up
the salt in the water system, and making sure the water in the
crawlspace is managed. If you buy supplies for any of these things,
leave your receipt on the fridge for reimbursement (in the form of a
reduction in your cabin fees). Important: these tasks are all of our
responsibility - check them, and if any of them need doing find time
to complete them. Also important: if you can, please bring out a bag
of salt with you when you head out to the lake. Many hands makes light
work!
Lake Funds and Fees: if any family members are owing in their fees,
the council will let you know privately.
Exterior Hardie Board: between the concrete of the foundation and the
brown siding on the outside of the cabin is a material known as hardie

board. Unfortunately, it was mistakenly put on backwards during

construction, and so the intended colour (which is grey!) has been
hiding all this time. Mandy would like to return the cabin to its
intended design with a little spray paint and elbow grease. This will
be done at little cost, as Bryan can get his hands on a compressor.
If you have issues with this, bring it up with council.
Swing Set for the Kids: Warren and Linda have found a swing set theyd
like to refurbish and keep at the cabin. The kids love it!

Stairs to the Basement (Committee): Brenda has priced out a rubberized

surface material that she thinks is the perfect fit for the basement
stairs. It seems like a really good choice, as its waterproof, easy
to clean, and gentle on little feet. She is so committed to the
project so much that shed like to pay for half. This sounds like an
excellent deal. If you have issues with this, bring it up with
council.
Suggested committee members: Brenda, Warren, Mandy
Top of Crawlspace Door: There is some left-over carpet from Marks
bedroom that fits this space well. By covering it with something soft,
it could even double as a play space for the kids. If you have issues
with this, bring it up with council.
Environmental Art Installations: Uncle Grant cannot stop the creative
juices from flowing, even whilst on vacation. He loves completing an
art installation each summer. So far, hes finished a sculpture made
from items salvaged from the fire, and a giant birds nest. He would
love this trend to continue. This year, he plans to put a willow arch
just inside the woods to the south of the boat house.
Beer/Alcohol: Reimers love their beer, this is a known and ancient
fact. Please bring your own beer/alcohol, and dont consume the beer/
alcohol of others. If you feel the need to, theres a felt pen in the
junk drawer you can use to label your beverages.
Patio Furniture for the Lower Deck: Warren and Linda are getting rid
of an outdoor patio table with chairs that could be put in this often
underused space. If you have issues with this, bring it up with
council.

Near Future Items (NF)

Note: many of these items require committees for completion. Below you
will also find the formal call-outs for committee members.
Pump in the Crawl Space: A long-term solution needs to be figured out
for this issue. Ray has offered to come up with a more efficient
process. Hopefully something that is automatic and easy to maintain.

Trim and Moulding (Committee): this winter, Glenn has offered to put
up the trim and moulding. He plans on doing the measuring and
providing a quote we will share with the rest of the family. He will
probably need help with this project, and will come up with some
potential winter weekends when this committee could head out to the
lake and get the job done. This committee would also be tasked with
installing a light fixture above the dining room table.
Suggested committee members: Glenn, Warren, Joe, Mark
Cooling the cabin down (Committee): first, let us begin with an
anecdote, care of Grant, dated July 27:
It got pretty well as hot as it ever will here. I made sure the
curtains were drawn and the fans were on upstairs all day. It was
still too hot to cook dinner until about 9:30 (which would be too late
for most of us -especially if you have kids). I then read in the TV
room downstairs, which was comfortable, until about 11:30. By then my
room upstairs had cooled off enough to go to bed.
So I concur that we will need AC upstairs if we are to make use of the
upstairs on really hot days (especially for cooking early dinners).
Dan has offered to bring a unit that he and Lana no longer need out
this weekend. We could see how one unit works. Maybe one unit will be
enough with proper blinds (my school computer rooms needed one good
one - with 20 computers running and blinds drawn - our big space seems
to me about the same size). But if we want to use the sun room I think
we will need another in there.
Its clear that something needs to be done to make the cabin bearable
during the hot summer months. The shared space upstairs, on days like
the one Grant described, is basically unusable from 3:00 on. Several
suggestions have been made:
1. Designing and making newer window treatments that cover the length
of the windows and do a better job of blocking out the sunlight.
Potential members for this job: Linda, Joanne, Jocelyn, Laura
2. Coming up with long-term solutions that could involve investing in
costlier (though still affordable) blind systems. Potential members
for this job: Dan, Linda, Lionel, Mandy

3. Dan has offered to bring out his window AC unit and put it in. There
is also (I believe) a stand-up unit hiding somewhere in the depths
of the cabin. These could be utilized for the time being, though
their efficiency would improve greatly once the window treatments
are finished.
4. The possibility of exhaust fans in the ceiling of the cabin to draw
out the hot air is a good idea as well. The members named in 2 above
could also look into this.
Outdoor Play Area (Committee): with the sheer number of little ones at
the cabin, an outdoor play space would be wonderful. Weve already got
our hands on a swing set, and Grant has volunteered to create a
driftwood playhouse next summer. Putting together a committee for this
space would allow us to have a clear vision of what (and where) this
space might look like (and be).
Suggested committee members: Linda, Jocelyn, Joe, Glenn
Deck Spaces: we have three gorgeous deck spaces at the cabin, and a
committee for these areas might help in making them more effective.
Several things have come up:
- the railings on the back deck are loose and need to be
reinforced
- furniture for the bottom deck should be considered (Warren and
Lindas patio set is perfect!)
- a long-term plan of screening in one of these spaces would be
awesome!
Suggested committee members: Lionel, Grant, Warren, Joanne
Distant Future Items (DF)
Boathouse and Bunkhouse Renovations: keep these two things in mind.
There will be potential investments to be made in these areas. Future
talks will need to take place as these are significant items.
Thats it! Please bring any questions/suggestions/concerns to the
council. Thanks for reading! GO REIMERS!