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Weds., December 19, 2012 www.revelstoketimesreview.com Vol. 114, No. 51
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TIMESReview
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Friends face dissolution under mountain of debt
The Friends of Mt. Revelstoke and Parks Canada staff pose for a photo during happier times for the Friends at Parks Day in 2009. File photo
Alex Cooper
reporter@revelstoketimesreview.com
After 25 years of promoting Revelstoke’s two national parks, the Friends of Mt. Revelstoke and Glacier is close to ceasing operations, faced with a mountain of debts, many unpaid bills, and an audit by the Canada Revenue Agency. “We’re insolvent and as soon as you’re insolvent you’re bankrupt,” lawyer Constance M. Brothers told the Friends at a special membersonly meeting at the Powder Springs on Wednesday evening where the board of the Friends revealed the organization’s dire situation. The meeting was reportedly emotional, though only 19 of the Friends’ 168 members attended. The Times Review attempted to attend the meeting but left after
being told it was members-only. Following the meeting, the Friends issued a news release written by board member David Rooney, the publisher of the Revelstoke Current. According to a news release, the Friends has more than $214,000 in debts and owes money to the Government of Canada for unpaid payrolls taxes; contractors who renovated the Balsam Lake store, suppliers, the City of Revelstoke, the Revelstoke Credit Union and other individuals, companies and organizations. It is being audited by the Canada Revenue Agency due to its nonpayment of payroll taxes. “The vast majority of these 68 individual debts were concealed from the Board of Directors,” said president Travis Hunt. “They came
to light only after Treasurer MarieHelene Ostiguy and Interim Executive Director Josée Timperio went back through the Friends’ records and discovered the true extent of the group’s financial situation. Their findings were presented during an emergency board meeting held on November 23.” Reports of the Friends’ difficulties have been circulating for months. The Times Review tried to contact Hunt several times over the past month to find out about the status of the organization, before he sent an e-mail on November 29, saying he would not conduct an interview. He still has not returned calls for an interview. Instead the Friends have referred inquiries to lawyer Constance Brothers. At the meeting, the board recommended to its members that the
Friends be dissolved. “It’s impossible to make financial decisions when you’re not given the proper information,” Hunt said. *** 2012 marked the 25th anniversary of the Friends of Mt. Revelstoke and Glacier. It was launched in 1987 as a volunteer organization working in conjunction with Parks Canada in Revelstoke. It was set up as a way to create volunteer opportunities in the Park. Over the years, it has undertaken projects like the re-construction of the Glacier Circle Cabin and the opening of the Balsam Lake store. The Friends has published books, maps and posters. It has provided nature walks and children’s programs, conducted wildlife studies and more. “The organization itself has become very strong,” former executive director Neills Kristensen told the Times Review in January. “We’re growing and the community is starting to figure out who the Friends are.” Kristensen, who resigned this fall and has since moved to Vancouver, did not return a request for comment. While the Friends may have been growing in membership, its financial situation was declining perilously. The Friends’ financial statements that are made available to the public by the Canada Revenue Agency illustrate. Over the past five years, it went from a position of financial stability to one of heavy annual losses, with many outstanding debts, and fewer assets than liabilities. At the end of the 2007–08 fiscal year, the Friends reported it had $86,239 in the bank but by March 31, 2012 it owed more than $6,000. Total assets declined to $98,030 from $230,562 in that time period. Meanwhile, the Friends started to rack up debts, going from almost no liabilities in 2008 to having $136,917 in accounts payable and $23,466 owing to “non-arm’s length parties” as of March 31,
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2012. The Friends revenue has increased from about $242,000 to $280,000, but expenses have gone up even more, to $332,000 from $217,000 – meaning the Friends lost more than $50,000 last year. Prior to 2008, the records show a fluctuation between small losses and profits, but also a substantial cash reserve of more than $100,000 that could cover any shortfalls. So, what went wrong? There were some problems that were outside the Friends’ control, such as the closure of the Rogers Pass Centre for renovations from September 2009 to May 2011. That cost the Friends significant revenue due to the closure of their gift shop there. The organization had to use cash assets to stay afloat, said Glen O’Reilly, the president of the Friends at the time. Then there was the devastating flood of the Parks Canada building in 2010 that saw much of their inventory destroyed. O’Reilly said that when he left the board in 2011 he felt they had weathered the storm of the previous two years. However, the Friends financial situation started to deteriorate before those events and the organization still lost more than $50,000 last year, after the Rogers Pass Centre re-opened and with the Balsam Lake store open. *** One of the people who is owed money is Janice Jarvis, a lifetime member of the Friends. She and two other people were contracted through the Friends to conduct a bird banding survey near Revelstoke. The $50,000 survey was contracted out by BC Hydro through the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS). According to Jarvis, in the past she was contracted directly by CWS. This year, the money was also sent through the Friends. “It was decided it would be bet-
Friends, page 10
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