Agenda
Annual General Meeting - Rupert Community Hall, August 24, 2019, 10:00 am
Mandate of the association: “to promote, protect and preserve the quality of Lac Notre Dame and Usher Lake and the watershed environment of the Lakes to ensure their continued use and enjoyment by all”.
Constitution of the meeting - quorum based on registered members
Lisa Fast, president, opened the meeting.
Quorum requires at least 25% of members be present - there were 18 members present at the meeting - quorum was reached. All members present paid the $10 per family membership fee - another 4 members paid prior to the meeting but were not able to attend.
Move to open the meeting by: Lisa Fast
Seconded by: Dave Hayward
Approval of previous year’s minutes
Minutes of the previous year’s meeting were approved.
Moved by: Robert Boucher
Seconded by: Erin Jamison
Approve agenda for 2019 meeting
- Financial Report
- Water Testing Report
- Board Report
- Current board and election of new board members
- Members Open Issues:
- Proposed program for 2019 -2020:
Moved by Erin Jamison
Seconded by Marie Maisonneuve
Financial Report
- Presented by Dave Hayward, treasurer for the fiscal year 2018-2019 Summmary:
- At the end of our financial year on June 31, 2019 - there was $5716.27 in the Association’s bank accounts at Desjardins
- $2612.06 in Chequing, $3104.11 in Savings
- Income for fiscal year was $460.47
- $360 from memberships, $30.47 interest and $70.00 in donations
- Expenses were $1136.03
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$237.30 for printing/laminating water preservation tip cards, $75 for Rupert Hall rental, $148.36 for web hosting, $109.82 for Entreprises Quebec registration, $539 for water testing and $35.40 for bank fees.
- Payment of the $539 water testing bill is still outstanding.
Move to accept Treasurer’s report by Lisa Fast
Seconded by Danielle Doré
Your membership fees support the following:
- Water testing approximately $500 per year
- Buoys and signs (not every year)
- Awareness - tip cards (not every year)
- Reserve funds to prepare for potential invasive species or milfoil surge; consultation with experts like ABV-7 report
- Quebec non-profit corporation fees ($35/year)
- Domain name and hosting fees for the web site every two years ($40.00)
Water testing report
Water testing report presented by Lisa Fast
- Thank you to Carole Doré for her continued volunteer work on water testing.
- Water testing results summaries are now published on the web site when they are received, and all of the years of data are available for comparison and viewing. We discussed this year’s overall higher E-Coli results, particularly at locations 1 and 9B, and higher phosphorus/phosphates result at location 6. It’s possible that firepit ash could be contributing, since phosphate-detergents were removed from the market several years ago. The E-Coli may be the geese or beavers, as beavers are active in the area around location 1.
- Milfoil is generally lower this year, and native weeds have taken its place in some locations, particularly off the Bishop’s Manor point. Buoys were not placed out this year as the milfoil levels were so low. The eastern end of the lake has more milfoil than the western end although in most places it has not reached the surface. We discussed cutting and the importance of removal of the cuttings. There are cutter recommendations on the web site, and Danielle offered that people could borrow her cutter if they wished. Lisa will add that to the website.
- Biologist Paul Hamilton reviews the reports and implications. This year, he warns us to watch for Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria), which may take the ecological niche the milfoil was holding. He suggested that high water in the spring and through July contributed to the decreased milfoil.
Board report of program for 2018-2019
- Develop a position and understand full costs, responsibilities and benefits of joining Quebec’s- Réseau de surveillance volontaire des lacs (RSVL) - Voluntary Lake Monitoring Network
- Position: do not join
- Costs $476 per year, only tests 1 location – we test 15 for more chemicals
- Requires clarity testing every 2 weeks from May to October (!! Who would volunteer to do this??) – we test once/twice per year and find very little variability
- RSVL does not test for e-coli – only for phosphorus (we test for this), chlorophyll and Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) – neither of which we currently test for.
- Action Lisa: find out how much it would cost to add a Chlorophyll and DOC test for one sample. Estimate is $40 for Dissolved Organic Carbon
- Decide whether to maintain Facebook page now that new web site is up
- NO – 2017 was last notification. Suggest taking it down – or could the web site be linked. Robert should make a post with a link to the website.
- Decide whether to buy a Lake Association cutter and rake that people could borrow for their property or to publish a list of who has cutters they are willing to share
- We have no insurance. Instead we recommend that neighbours gather together to purchase a cutter, like the group on the peninsula did many years ago.
- Produce Goose Action Plan and distribute. Search for nests in early spring.
- Goose Action Plan distribution to properties with lawns & no goose control is planned for late August and September. Copies were available at the meeting. Discussed talking to the woman feeding the geese at Demi Lune Lake.
- Usher Lake has been naturalized – no geese this year.
- Members of the Lake Association were interested in working with the Bishop’s Manor Association on a boat launch solution outside of the Lake Association.
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We used our new email list to ask our members to join together to work with the Bishop’s Manor Association on a boat launch solution - the meeting was held earlier this summer.
Move to accept the board and water testing report: André-Francois Girard
Seconded: Robert Boucher
Current board and election of new members
We request new members for the board. We meet 2-3 times per year plus the AGM.
Jim Bickford resigned from the Board in June 2019 - is no longer a lake property owner.
- Lisa Fast, President (elected July 2018)
- Robert Boucher, Vice-president
- Dave Hayward, Treasurer
- Erin Jamison (Usher Lake representative)
- Marie Maisonneuve
- André François Giroux
Election of Danielle Doré - 18 in favour. Thank you Danielle!
Members open issues
Boat launch issue was raised and addressed by Marc Desrochers, President of the Bishop’s Manor Association. Several members of the lake association met with Mr. Desrochers in June to discuss options. He has met with the Mayor of La Peche to discuss the possibility of a locked gate and fence at the causeway, where people - not lake owners - are circumventing the concrete blocks and launching small boats.
Proposed Association program for 2019-2020
- Develop a Blue Green Algae prevention and action plan to understand, prevent and prepare if it appears (for example, add Dissolved Organic Compound test to water testing suite)
- Jane Hayward suggesting investigating and prepare a hand-out/tip sheet about fire pits, and handling of ashes.
- Develop a better understanding of the changing water levels and the potential impact of the new larger culverts at the outlet next spring - water levels may be lower as a result, thus bringing a surge in milfoil growth.
Moved by Lisa Fast
Seconded by Erin Jamison
Move to adjourn
Moved by Marie Maisonneuve
Seconded by André-Francois Girard