BATTERSEA LOUGHBOROUGH LAKE ASSOCIATON
MINUTES OF THE
2011 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
7.00 p.m. August 4th, 2011
At Sunbury Fire Hall
1. Welcome and Introduction
President Nona Mariotti welcomed the 47th Annual General Meeting and called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. There were 37 members present including 9 directors and 1 guest. The President introduced the 2010/2011 Board of Directors.
Officers:
Nona Mariotti President
Brian Ward Vice President
Bob Fugler Treasurer
Judy Ward Secretary
Directors: Susan and Richard Tindal, Karl Montgomery, Al Mariotti, Sally Blasko, Diane Marantz, and Mike Hulley.
Absent: Diane Marantz and Mike Hulley.
2. Approval of: (copies of the Minutes and Treasurer’s report were distributed as members arrived).
a. Minutes of the 2010 AGM.
The President asked everyone to take a few minutes to review the minutes from last year’s meeting. There were no corrections or comments. The approval of the Minutes was moved by Susan Tindal and seconded by Bob Fugler. Motion carried.
b. Treasurer’s Report
Bob Fugler read through the Treasurer’s Report indicating that this report was from AGM to AGM. A profit of $678.88 was achieved. The approval of the Minutes was moved by Dick Tindal and seconded by Ed Giffin. Motion carried.
c. Membership Report.
Bob Fugler reported that there were now 165 members down from 181 of last year. He asked members to ask their neighbours to renew. Many people have moved away from the lake and the new owners are unknown to the Association. Nona reported the 3 levels of Membership available and reported that dues had remained low because there was no financial need to increase them.
d. Fisheries and Conservation.
Karl Montgomery gave an update on Fisheries and reported that the Association has a good relationship with the Ministry of Natural Resources. No lake trout was stocked in our lake this year due to an accident with the eggs. Some members were concerned that the smelt run had declined but this year the smelt seem to be back and this is important because smelt is the fish for lake trout. The Ministry of Natural Resources will be doing netting surveys over the next year tracking fish. Some members indicated a desire for whitefish to be restocked in the Lake and the Ministry is looking at an environmental assessment to determine the acceptability of this so nothing to report on this until next year.
e. Future Plans for Possible Shoreline Studies.
Nona Mariotti reported that some members of the Board had met with The Cataraqui Conservation Authority. She read out an email from them congratulating the Association for the many things it already does such as:
1. Taking water samples at 5 locations on the Lake and testing the water from spring to fall.
2. Karl Montgomery and Ron Turney took a video of the entire shoreline of the Lake updating MNR’s information.
3. Signage was put up for boaters, re invasive species
4. Privies were constructed on crown islands
5. A professional website is in operation and maintained regularly
6. Letters are sent to new occupants on the Lake inviting them to join the association
7. Board members attend workshops and report information in the Newsletters.
8. Two newsletters per year are sent to members – one by post and one by email and the newsletters are on the website as well.
9. Loon watches – we have 4 people looking at loons which indicate the health of the Lake. For anyone interested in doing Loon watch in the west basin, the association would cover the $35.00 cost for that member. Loon watch is done at least once per month and reported.
The Association is considering a shoreline study to see how healthy are our shorelines and are we doing the right things on our shorelines. It is not to upset people, but to help them identify invasive species, and better ways of doing things in the future to protect our shorelines and our Lake. Some Board Members will meet with the Centre for Sustainable Watershed group for more information. No decision has been made to pursue this matter – volunteers would be needed to help with this project, as well as volunteers to have their shoreline assessed.
f. Working with Other Lake Associations in Our Area and the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority.
Members of the Board have attended meetings of the Sydenham Lake association, Dog Lake Association and Inverary Lake Association. Their members have also been invited to our meetings and have attended. The reason we might work together is to obtain funding and work together on larger projects that affect all of our lakes.
g. Shoreline Clean Up Date
We are looking at arranging a Shoreline Clean Up Date (possibly the long weekend in May) but this has not been finalized yet. Of course we would ask everyone to clean up their own shorelines, but also need volunteers to clean up the crown islands.
h. Changes to the Bylaw, Article 2, Section 2 – Definition (a) Active members shall be persons over the age of 18 who apply on a prescribed form, pay the prescribed fees and are duly approved by the Board of Directors and who are full or part time residents of the Loughborough Lake area and/or support the objectives of the Corporation.
The only change is the “and” to “and/or” support” the objectives of the Corporation. This addition of “/or” is needed as some of the advertisers do not live on the lake and would not be considered as members of the association under the original wording.
3. a. Reappointment of Directors for 2011-2012.
Brian Ward announced that the officers would remain the same – Nona Mariotti, Brian Ward, Bob Fugler, Judy Ward, Al Mariotti, Karl Montgomery, Susan Tindal and Dick Tindal for the next year.
Directors resigning are Diane Marantz, Mike Hulley and Sally Blasko. The President extended her thanks to these directors for all their help and support over the years.
The motion to accept the current Directors as above was made by Sally Blasko and seconded by Ed Giffin. Motion Carried.
4. Nomination of New Directors.
Two new directors were nominated, Philippa Fugler, and Chris Nicholson.
Nominations from the Floor.
Brian Ward asked for any further nominations from the floor and Greg Shannon was nominated. That these nominations be approved was moved by Judy Ward and seconded by Al Mariotti.
5. Round Table – The President Nona Mariotti explained that the Round Table allows all members to ask their questions.
Joe Warmington asked if anything could be done about excessive Ice fishing and debris left behind by ice fishermen. He felt that excessive ice fishing might be depleting the stocks. Karl Montgomery addressed this question saying that MNR had removed the restrictions on fishing times on our lake to protect other lakes with natural stocks. This has been the source of the problem. MNR does not have the staff or resources to enforce the rules. Joe asked if we could perhaps put up signs regarding excessive fishing and garbage removal and this will be added to the September agenda. Dick Tindal suggested we send a letter to MNR regarding monitoring ice fishing and this will also be added to the September agenda.
6. Introduction of Guest Speaker – Dr. Bruce Tufts
Nona Mariotti introduced Dr. Bruce Tufts our guest speaker for the evening. Dr. Tufts provided valuable insights into aquatic environments and why they are so important as they indicate the health of the lake. He discussed the declining fish in the oceans and whether that might be the same in our lakes. He talked about stocks of fish being affected by climate change, over harvesting and changing natural habitat by removing weeds along our own shorelines, and introducing invasive species. He indicated the importance of scientific research to get unbiased answers and perhaps working in conjunction with the Queen’s Biological Station and providing projects for students. It was a very informative talk.
7. Meeting was adjourned at 9:20 after drawing for door prizes.
