Upei.ca

The Association of Retired UPEI Employees
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting, November 30, 2012
Don and Marian MacDougall Hall Room #329
Members Present
John Burka, Betty Campbell, Roy Campbell, Father Charlie Cheverie, Bob Curtis, Satadal
Dasgupta, Shirley Dillon, Susan Dohoo, Lawson Drake, Eugene Gallant, Lila Garrett, Edward
Hanus, Susan Heaney, Ron Irving, Baird Judson, Robert Mahen, Suzanne Manovill, David
Morrison, Barb Mullaly, Georgina Mulligan, Glenn Palmer, Jan Palmer, Merrill Pineau, Terry
Pratt, Joe Revell, Gavin Richardson, Andy Robb, Cirll Schmitt, Verner Smitheram, and Bert
Tersteeg.
Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 2:15 by President Satadal Dasgupta. He thanked everyone forattending and noted that an attendance sheet was circulating for members to sign and update theiraddress or email.
Minutes
The minutes of the 2011 AGM were posted on the Retirees web site, were circulated by mail to
members without email and a few copies were available at the back of the room. The question
was asked, ‘were there any amendments required to the 2011 AGM minutes.’ No amendments
were offered.
M/S
that the minutes as circulated are approved. Business Arising
Secretary Barb Mullaly noted that there were three items that arose from the 2011 minutes. There
was a vacancy on the board slate which had been filled by Merrill Pineau who remained on the
board. The replacement for Joe Revell on the Board’s Pension Advisory Committee is Andy
Robb and the retiree’s observer on the Health Trust was Barb Mullaly.
President’s Report
President Satadal delivered his President’s report. He expressed thanks to the Board who hadworked so diligently over the past year. Satadal offered a special thank you to Susan Heaney andBert Tersteeg for their wonderful efforts on behalf of the UPEI Retirees. Both individuals areleaving the board after a number of years service. He also thanked Andy, Barb, Betty, Bob,Georgina, Glenn and Merrill who have agreed to remain with the board for next year.
The activities of the association were well attended this past year. In March, more than 40retirees attended a luncheon and tour of the new Health Sciences Building. President Aziz spokeat the luncheon about his vision for UPEI. Later in the spring, a challenge arose when the association received word from Murray Stevensonthat because of some health challenges he and Ferne would not be able to host the annual BBQand Golf Event in June. Murray and Ferne had hosted this event for retirees since Murray hadretired, but in fact, they had hosted a university group each year for more than 40 years. Satadalexpressed a special thank you to them for their years of wonderful hospitality to the university.
The Board quickly moved to meet this challenge. They gathered information and prices from anumber of potential sites and after careful consideration decided to have the event at FoxMeadow Golf Club in Stratford. About 60 people attended this event which proved to be verysuccessful. The facility was wonderful and the BBQ food selection was well received.
The Association did not have a representative at either CURAC or the Maritime Retiree groupthis year. CURAC was held in BC which was costly. We did receive notification in early summerabout the Maritime meeting to be held in Moncton. There was the promise that the agendawould be circulated at a later date. We did not receive further correspondence and when we didrequest the information we found out that the meeting had occurred. In addition to the social events the board is working on a Value-Pak concept for UPEI Retirees.
The program would provide a list of all of the on-campus services or perks available to UPEIRetirees and the cost(if any) for those items. The board is working with UPEI to determine a listof all of the present and potential items.
President Satadal reminded retirees that they could keep contact with the association through [email protected] or on the UPEI website a TheUPEI website also offers good information about what is happening on campus from senatemeetings and minutes to upcoming social events. Finally the best news is that the membershipfee will remain at $30.00 for the upcoming year.
President Satadal again thanked all those who attended and asked that his report be accepted.
that the President’s report be accepted Finance Report
Treasurer Susan Heaney presented the Financial Report. The report detailed that the opening
balance Nov 2010 was $646.29. The total revenue for the year 2012 was $2722.87 with total
expenses of $2559.66 leaving a balance of $772.50 as of October 31, 2012.
M/S
Nomination Committee
Andy Robb presented the nomination report.
- Merrill Pineau- Georgina Mulligan- Glenn Palmer Andy asked if there were any nominations from the floor; once, twice , three times.
Minute of Silence
President Satadal spoke about each of our colleagues who have passed away since our last AGM.
He called for a minute of silence to remember Eddie Edmonds, Father Alan MacDonald, ChaiLai, Roger Black and William Stokoe.
New Business
Bert Tersteeg raised the question of parking in relation to the building in which we were having
our meeting. On a day like today it is difficult for people to get from the designated parking lot
to the building with the meeting. He asked that we talk with Security or Facility Service about the
possibility of being closer for the two hours of this once a year meeting.
Father Charlie Cheverie wanted to note that one of our members Barb Mullaly had been
honoured with the Royalty Rotary Mentor Award.
Campus Updates
Academic
Tracey Comeau, Director of Advancement, spoke on behalf of the President who had to be at theSenate meeting at this time. Tracey reported on a number of initiatives that are taking place: UPEI is taking part on the PEI Task Force on Education being conducted. They are determining afuture direction for island education. On the national level, the University Presidents, throughAUCC, are meeting with Minister of Education from across the nation, to lobby for strongerfunding for university operations and research. UPEI ranked 5th in primarily undergraduateinstitutions which was similar to last years where they tied for 4th.
The Calgary Event is in its fourteenth (14) year and has raised more than a million dollars inscholarship money. The money is directed to Alberta students to attend UPEI. Recruiting students from other places in Canada and countries world wide are Important to UPEI’scontinued growth. This year was the first year that UPEI experienced a decrease in undergraduate enrolment. Thepositive news in enrolment is that graduate and international enrolment has increased This past fall there were a number of recognition ceremonies. Founders Day was held inSeptember and recognized three individuals who contributed a great deal to UPEI. HeatherLove was a long-standing general manager of the Student Union. Larry Heider was a Dean ofAVC and Acting President of UPEI and Don McCormac , School of Business Faculty member. The Dean’s Award Nights were held in early October and more recently the MacLauchlanPrizes for Writing were presented. These prizes were made possible through the kindness of theMacLauchlan family. A retirement party was held two days ago for David Cairns, of ComputerServices (Information Technology Systems and Services). David was with the university for 33years.
Since arriving at UPEI, President Aziz initiated the “Dare to Dream” campaign whichencouraged submissions on how to make UPEI better. One hundred and thirty (130) submissionswere received. Those submissions are now being classified and combined for review and futureaction. The President also has identified a school of engineering(a niche focus) and studentmobility( international experience) as two priorities he would like to see advanced. To facilitatethe student exchange, a number of MOUs have been signed with universities across the world.
Tracey concluded her presentation with the desire of her department to work with UPEI Retireesto integrate retirees into the Annual Reunion weekend.
Health Plan/Benefits
Virginia Wickstrom presented an update on benefits. UPEI is part of ISI for buying healthbenefits with other Atlantic Universities and that we have two health plans (1) a faculty plan and(2) a staff plan. There also is a pooling fund for drug costs more than $15,000.
ISI investigated and established a preferred pharmacy program. On PEI, Murphy’s Pharmacieswas chosen and all retirees should have received a card. This card allows members to takeadvantage of savings in the front of the pharmacy, whether they do or do not use Murphy’s fortheir prescriptions.
She explained that UPEI has an APO Plan which means that what each of us claims impacts thecost for everyone. Renewals begin May 1 each year, and the rates for participants are based on aforecast of usage for the next year. The actual rate is determined by• the type of drugs are used, the amount and cost of all of those drugs? whether a generic brand is available, and used versus brand name drugs forecasted increase cost of services, such as dental The health trust is meeting next week for a presentation by Blue Cross on past usage trends Morneau Sheppel also will present information on potential future trends and the cost of thosetrends. The members of the trust will then recommend the rate that will take affect starting May1.
Virginia also explained that the travel coverage has been with AXA since Jan 2011. Thiscompany has merged with SSQ but the information on our AXA card is still valid and should beused when traveling. She reminded everyone that it is the AXA card that must be used fortravel(not Blue Cross) and that there are regions of the world that are considered high risk areas. On the UPEI website there is a chart identifying the levels of risk. The chart is updated monthly.
Depending on the region of travel an extra premium maybe required. Anyone traveling abroadshould consult this chart and speak with HR if they are traveling to one of these regions.
AXA suggests if when traveling something occurs and that the cost is less than $500, the memberpay out of pocket and apply for reimbursement on their return. For charges over $500, AXAshould be contacted immediately. When traveling out of province, members should always havetheir AXA card with them and should leave a copy of the card at home as well.
Virginia was asked a question about pre-existing conditions and she recommended AXA be contacted directly to determine their policy. There also was a question raised about the number ofcontinuous or total number of days one could be out of the province and still be covered by theprovincial plan. Virginia and Ryan advised people to speak directly with provincial medicare inMontague to clarify if this question.
Virginia provided a summary of the top ten drugs used by all participants in the plan:1.
Dental Plan
The Canadian Dental Association recommendation is 1 visit to the dentist peryear, but most people do every 6 months out of habit. Eighty three (83%) percentof the cost of the dental plan is basic service - visits, cleaning, and fillings.
Fourteen (14%) percent is for major dental work and only three (3%) is forOrthodontics costs.
Because the costs of one member impacts the costs of the plan for everyone, it is important formembers to be aware of potential savings throughout the plan.
at 65 you become provincial senior drug cost assistance plan dispensing fees vary from pharmacy to pharmacy, shop aroundou the cost ofthe drug with dispensing fee at various pharmacy. It should be notedthat there may be price may vary for different dosages(2 -25 mg tablets may beless expensive than a 50mg tablet) know your medications and ask if generic brands are available. Pharmacies should be dispensing a generic brand unless the Doctor specifies no substitutions.
Murphy’s Pharmacy has been designated a preferred pharmacy by the serviceprovider. All retirees should have received a Murphy’s Card in the mail. Thatcard will give retirees with 10% off all products in the front of the store, even ifthey don’t get their prescriptions filled at Murphy’s.
what are the recommended standards for dental care? Pension Plan
Ryan Johnston shared an overview of the plan. The UPEI is a defined benefit plan and thecontributions to the pension plan are greater than what is being paid out. At the present the UPEIplan is, like almost every pension plan around, underfunded. The plan is monitored closely by theadvisory committee.
There have been some recent changes made to the plan due to CRA amendments the present employees contribution increased to 9% as of November 1.
there have been changes to termination benefits because of the CRA rule The Pension Act of PEI was passed years ago but was never enacted. The acts was reintroducedat the spring sitting of the legislature but does not appear to be on the fall sitting agenda. If passedthe legislation would include: • The assumptions determine the approach. Is the pension one that is considered ‘on goingpension’ or if it needs a ‘solvency approach.’ The good news is that the third quarter performance of the pension in 2012 is up about 11%.
Facilities
Kent Barrett from Facilities Management provided an up date on facilities. The new Health Science building, housing the School of Nursing and Department of AppliedHuman Science opened in January 2012. Following the opening the work around the building hasbeen completed to the fourth quadrangle on campus. Paving stone pathways and a set in PantherHead with LED lights have been installed.
There has been Energy Management changes done in the Duffy Building. The changes were madeto the exhaust system to make the building more energy efficient and the monitors installed willresult in energy savings.
There has been deferred maintenance and improvements carried out on the Chapel, part of SteelBuilding, and on Blanchard Hall, while roof work also has been completed on Steele. There will be more renovations coming to the other two floors in Steele.
The Engineering Department has moved to Dalton Hall. This move has allowed the department toconsolidate labs for a better student learning experience. There also have been card swipesinstalled in Bernardine Hall.
A renovation was done at AVC to combine 2 of the 4 lecture theatres into one new theatre.
Everyone was very pleased with the results and are looking at the possibility of doing the same inthe other two theatres. A CT scanner has been installed in the Barn over the last couple of weeksand all elevators have been replaced in the building. The elevators were 25+ plus years. Inaddition the cranes were raised in the large animal recovery area.
The future projects that are on the drawing board are:• redoing the reception area in the teaching hospital to make the traffic flow more efficientdeal with pharmacy accreditation concerns. A donor has provided the money for theproject.
KCI Lab upgrades, exhaust, air handling, are needed Sports Centre - FIBA (the international governing body) has changed the courtdimensions, therefore the lines need to be changed. The floor will be redone, lines redoneand winches and divider net upgraded signage at the two university entrances (with campus map - you are here) will be installed Artificial Turf has a life of 10 years and UPEI`s is at 9 years. It will need replacing in thenext couple of years Andrews Hall has some accessibility issues that have to be addressed Perimeter Road upgrading is partially completed, and the final portions have to be done The deferred maintenance software program the university purchased a couple of years ago. Theprogram makes recommendation for deferred maintenance going forward, while the work will bedone as funds become available.
• Bernardine , Dalton and Memorial - roofing Andrews Hall - heating problems because of the open loop system Canada Games Track Grass Field - drainage field problems President Satadal thanked the presenters and invited everyone to a social in the Schurman MarketPlace Having completed the work of the agenda, the meeting adjourned at 4:15.
Check out our web site a for minutes and up to date notices.
Addendum 1
THE ASSOCIATION OF RETIREED U.P.E.I. EMPLOYEES
Statement of Income & Expenses
For the Period November 1 2011 to Oct 31 2012
Balance in Bank Savings Account(Oct 31/2011) Balance In Bank Account October 31 2012
Addendum 11
Results of the Interest Survey
Potential Topics
what do these do for me? Massage, physiotherapy work with retired professors improving skill,

Source: http://www.upei.ca/staff_faculty/files/staff_faculty/AGM2012.pdf