Hästi tehtud, Kristiina Valter! Uut verd on vaja juhatuses!

Imestan, et keegi teine koosolekul ei saanud aru kuidas meile toodi nii valesti ette Kia Puhmi poolt. kui ma küsitlesin mikrofonil aksiate tänapäevast väärtust. Mulle vastati, ja see peaks olema lindistatud, et need rahad mis korjati "60's aastates olid annetused (DONATIONS) Eesti Maja ostmiseks ja ei ole väärtusega tänapäeval. But if The Board has gone a long way to over-ride wishes of those so-called "annetajad" - what were we as "REGISTERED SHAREHOLDERS" doing there listening to repetitions of acronyms, which any other smart speaker will know is a large "no-no|" when speaking to a general public audience. As for going forward with this "un-locking the value and moving forward" spiel, The Board must realize that it cannot be done without those SHAREHOLDERS whom don't exist in Miss Kia Puhm's answer to questions . A few in the audience were asking around, wondering what was being spoken about half-way through, such a waste, not to see whom your audience is and speaking from your heart to their needs and concerns.

Kia Puhm presented the “Future of the Estonian House Committee” report. She explained to the shareholders what has been done to date by that committee. One of her first slides defined the acronyms she was going to use. When she finished, the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Estonian Credit Union went to the microphone to express his thanks for her report.
Anu Randmaa's question about the shares should have been asked after the Treasurer's report or during the “Issues raised at the meeting”, at which time the lawyer on the Board of Director's could have explained the legalities. As it was, the Chair of the Estonian House addressed Anu Randmaa's question and not Kia Puhm. I believe that the simple answer is that nobdy knows the value of the Toronto Estonian House shares until the house is sold.

I am going to throw my opinion into the ring on this issue. I wonder whether the sale of Estonian House is designed to serve the financial interests of those who were there to see the building go up. They are now at the age where decisions have to be made quickly and the market is at its prime to cash in on a good profit for those who are pushing for the sale of the house. As it is I cannot see the new Estonian immigrants needing the old house and so I am completely in favor of the sale of Estonian House and wish all the benefactors of the sale a great windfall. Best wishes to all my friends back in Toronto.

It is my understanding that the present plan is not to sell the Toronto Estonian House, but rather to work in conjunction with a builder who will build condominiums, offices and an Estonian Community Center on the present property, thus following the example of Tartu College, whereby the rental income will pay for the cost of the maintenance of the building. The present building cannot generate enough income to cover taxes, insurance, heating, etc. expenses.
The idea of just renovating the building in stages is very appealing because it is a lower risk venture. However, hearsay has it that if termites, moulds or asbestos should be found during renovation the building could be shut down because one cannot run children's nursery schools or language schools under such conditions. Further, where would the funds come from to tackle a renovation which will cost several million dollars? The community would look to those people (one presumes they are all shareholders) who have signed the petition in support of the renovation of the existing building, to donate monies or will their estates for this cause. If the existing building were renovated, there still wouldn't be enough rental space in the quirky house to be self-sufficient. Experience indicates that after all that effort, one would still have an inefficient, old building in the end.
The path that the Future of the Estonian House Committee is pursuing is scary because of the high risk one is taking, but at the moment, it seems to be the best way to keep the existing location, upgrade the facilities and ensure that the house can pay its own way for possibly the next 50 years.
What is very encouraging is that the Boards of the Toronto Estonian House, Estonian (Toronto) Credit Union Ltd., Estonian Foundation of Canada and Tartu College are supporting this path.
Julge pealehakkamine on pool võitu!