Annual Meeting 2006
posted by Dana Little on 09/05/06
TPA President
Dana Little called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm at the Taylor Pond Yacht Club. Approximately 30 members attended. The minutes from last summer’s meeting were accepted as presented.
Treasurer
Michael Dixon presented an update of the Treasurer’s Report he had submitted to the newsletter a few weeks earlier. Briefly, we hold $9,403.72, including $2,535 income and $1,004.23 expenses. Our expenses are way down from previous years because we are now doing our own water quality monitoring. Our cash flow is much improved over a few years ago because of increased active membership in the Association. The Treasurer’s Report was approved as presented.
Presention:
Maggie Shannon, Executive Director of COLA
Ms. Shannon began by congratulating the Taylor Pond Association on its recent Outstanding Stewardship Award. The Association received the award because of its attention to “core issues,” including water quality monitoring, the 501C3 status, and interaction with local governing boards.
She then related some of her own history with Maine lakes, specifically her life-long association with Great Pond, part of the Belgrade Lakes chain. Because of the challenging issues facing this group of lakes, she became knowledgeable and then active in working to preserve what she called the “most ephemeral” resource we have. She detailed some of the science behind the lifespan of natural lakes, and also provided some figures which highlighted the economic importance of freshwater lakes in Maine. Currently, 412 lakes in Maine are “at risk.” Taylor Pond is one of them.
Maggie went on to describe the role of COLA (Congress of Lake Associations) in helping to preserve this precious resource. Among other things, COLA Provides information (newsletter, at the Annual Meeting) for members and constituents Tracks legislation that will affect water quality
Acts as an early warning system for Maine lake associations and interested individuals.
She particularly mentioned one piece of legislation on which COLA is working, which would limit the types of phosphorous that may be used in commercial fertilizers. She also emphasized the extreme importance of regularly monitoring the lake for evidence of invasive species.
After answering a few questions, Maggie formally presented the Outstanding Stewardship Award to the Taylor Pond Association.
General Discussion:
Dana opened the meeting for discussion of any issues members wanted to discuss. Among them were:
Watershed Survey:
Dana distributed copies of the just-completed Watershed Survey report for members to view. Since only 50 copies were printed, he requested that most be returned afterward. A two-page summary was also distributed. A discussion ensued about where we go from here:
Water Quality Report:
Dana referred members to the full report, printed in the recent newsletter. Basically, our water quality remains fairly stable compared to other years, although conditions remain that make the lake vulnerable to potential algae blooms. A full water quality report is available on request to Dana.
Slate of Officers and Board members for ’06-‘07
The following slate was proposed:
Dana Little, president
Michael Dixon, treasurer
Susan Trask, secretary
Anne Goorhuis, Jim Melloh, Mike Keaney, Marc Tardif, Tim Priestly, Mike TL Mikesell, members at large
BettyAnn Sheats made a motion to accept the slate as presented; Pat Zinke seconded. The motion passed unanimously. An appeal was made for interested members to attend board meetings, or to volunteer to serve on the board.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Trask, Secretary
Taylor Pond Annual Meeting
July 16, 2006TPA President
Dana Little called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm at the Taylor Pond Yacht Club. Approximately 30 members attended. The minutes from last summer’s meeting were accepted as presented.
Treasurer
Michael Dixon presented an update of the Treasurer’s Report he had submitted to the newsletter a few weeks earlier. Briefly, we hold $9,403.72, including $2,535 income and $1,004.23 expenses. Our expenses are way down from previous years because we are now doing our own water quality monitoring. Our cash flow is much improved over a few years ago because of increased active membership in the Association. The Treasurer’s Report was approved as presented.
Presention:
Maggie Shannon, Executive Director of COLA
Ms. Shannon began by congratulating the Taylor Pond Association on its recent Outstanding Stewardship Award. The Association received the award because of its attention to “core issues,” including water quality monitoring, the 501C3 status, and interaction with local governing boards.
She then related some of her own history with Maine lakes, specifically her life-long association with Great Pond, part of the Belgrade Lakes chain. Because of the challenging issues facing this group of lakes, she became knowledgeable and then active in working to preserve what she called the “most ephemeral” resource we have. She detailed some of the science behind the lifespan of natural lakes, and also provided some figures which highlighted the economic importance of freshwater lakes in Maine. Currently, 412 lakes in Maine are “at risk.” Taylor Pond is one of them.
Maggie went on to describe the role of COLA (Congress of Lake Associations) in helping to preserve this precious resource. Among other things, COLA Provides information (newsletter, at the Annual Meeting) for members and constituents Tracks legislation that will affect water quality
Acts as an early warning system for Maine lake associations and interested individuals.
She particularly mentioned one piece of legislation on which COLA is working, which would limit the types of phosphorous that may be used in commercial fertilizers. She also emphasized the extreme importance of regularly monitoring the lake for evidence of invasive species.
After answering a few questions, Maggie formally presented the Outstanding Stewardship Award to the Taylor Pond Association.
General Discussion:
Dana opened the meeting for discussion of any issues members wanted to discuss. Among them were:
- How do we make individuals aware of the impact of using fertilizers on a lakeside lawn? Recently the newsletter highlighted a local landscaper, Mark Fuller, who provides phosphorous-free fertilizer. Others mentioned that it can be purchased at J.L Hayes and Paris Farmers’ Union. Neighbor-to-neighbor communication probably works best. Promoting the LakeSmart program will also raise awareness of this and other best practices.
- Is there more silt than usual in the water this year? Actually, the Secchi Disk readings that Ralph Gould does indicate that the water is quite clear this year, at least as good as recent years.
- Fish being caught in the Lake. There appears to be an abundance of bass right now. However, Pike are now present. Recently someone brought Dana a 44” Pike. Pike will most likely wipe out most other fish populations.
- Why does the water level go down so quickly? Although there is a prevailing belief that someone has a dam with which they regulate the water level, this is not true. The Kendall property is too far removed to regulate the water level, and no other working dam exists in the outlet. The water level has probably gone down quickly because of weather conditions.
Watershed Survey:
Dana distributed copies of the just-completed Watershed Survey report for members to view. Since only 50 copies were printed, he requested that most be returned afterward. A two-page summary was also distributed. A discussion ensued about where we go from here:
- The Board hopes to apply for a $40,000 grant next year from the federal government in order to improve some of the more problematic nonpoint source pollution sites. We received the final report too late to work on a grant this year.
- Presentations of the Water Quality Report will be made to the Auburn City Council and to the Minot Board of Selectmen in the near future.
- It was suggested that the City might be convinced to support the improvement of the worst problems, considering the skyrocketing costs of lakeside property.
- Some grant money went to sending an engineer to 3 of the worst sites in order to do a preliminary assessment. We are still waiting for the results of those visits.
- We should encourage lakeside property owners to visit LakeSmart properties in order to see the different measures that we can take to create simple yet effective buffer strips at the edges of our properties.
Water Quality Report:
Dana referred members to the full report, printed in the recent newsletter. Basically, our water quality remains fairly stable compared to other years, although conditions remain that make the lake vulnerable to potential algae blooms. A full water quality report is available on request to Dana.
Slate of Officers and Board members for ’06-‘07
The following slate was proposed:
Dana Little, president
Michael Dixon, treasurer
Susan Trask, secretary
Anne Goorhuis, Jim Melloh, Mike Keaney, Marc Tardif, Tim Priestly, Mike TL Mikesell, members at large
BettyAnn Sheats made a motion to accept the slate as presented; Pat Zinke seconded. The motion passed unanimously. An appeal was made for interested members to attend board meetings, or to volunteer to serve on the board.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Trask, Secretary