Lac Notre-Dame and Usher Lake Association

Annual General Meeting - August 24, 2024, 16:00 at Camp Kalalla

Opened at 4:00 pm

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.
By the time of the meeting, 48 members had paid their membership fees. 32 people attended the meeting representing 21 household memberships. Quorum requires at least 25% of members to be present to reach quorum. Bylaws state that people who’ve paid the $10 membership fee are members and can vote.

Approval of 2023 AGM minutes

Approval of the minutes of the 2023 Annual General Meeting

Moved by: Lisa Fast
Seconded by: Graeme Simpson

Approve agenda for 2024 meeting

1.0 Opening of Meeting (count heads to confirm Quorum)
2.0 Approval of 2023 AGM Minutes
3.0 Approval of Agenda
4.0 Financial report
5.0 Water Testing and Blue-Green Algae report
6.0 Weed team report and plans
7.0 Develop and vote on proposed program including milfoil management fund
8.0 Member’s Open Issues and questions
9.0 Current board and election of new board members
10.0 Adjourn Meeting

Moved by: Lisa Fast
Seconded by: William Hebert

Financial Report, presented by Lisa Fast

(Brian Cook, Treasurer was unable to attend)

Summary:

Motion to accept Treasurer’s report

Moved by: Lisa Fast

Seconded by: Dave Hayward

Water quality report presented by Lisa Fast

Water quality report (/water/quality reports/) online

Extra E-coli testing in July on Generations:

Lac Notre Dame August 8, 2024 water testing report summary:

Usher Lake August 15, 2024 summary

Phosphorus levels at location 11 have been higher than the target level of 0.01 mg/l of an uncontaminated lake for the last 5 years. The higher nitrogen and phosphorus levels are somewhat expected given the small size of Usher, but do increase the risk of toxic Blue-Green Algae.

All results posted in spreadsheet of water data to 2004

Weed team report - presented by Jane Hayward

Two mornings of work by team volunteers in July yielded a significant collection, now decomposing on Jane’s property. Special thanks to Ken and his tractor for moving them from the boat launch.

While we enjoyed the community effort, it’s clear that managing the weeds ourselves will be a massive undertaking. To continue with volunteers and manual cutting, we would need to invest in tools and methods:

  1. Improved booms: $15 noodle-based boom showed promise, but we need a much larger setup.
  2. Two-canoe apparatus: Robert shared ideas from the camp, using a setup between two canoes
  3. Flat-fronted boat (like a Jon boat) with an electric motor for more effective removal.
  4. More equipment: Large rakes and collection mats are essential but costly.
  5. We must shift the lake’s culture to prevent milfoil spread through a public awareness campaign.
  6. Explore and pilot-test alternatives, including getting ministry permission for non-manual methods
    • William Hebert will contact Quebec government re permissions.
    • Question on whether or not to pull up weeds. Yes, manually pulling up the weeds by the roots is more effective than cutting for small areas. Easiest in shallow water, equipment available at CanadianPond. Should be done only in early spring or after mid-July after spawning season. Try not to disturb the bottom too much to reduce dispersion of sediment.

7.0 Proposed Association program for 2024-2025 with motions

Weed Management

Motion: Based on the pilot, move to create a separate Management fund of up to $10,000 for managing shared areas/channels after July 15 end of fish spawning season. Any funds tagged for this fund would be pre-approved to spend on managing the shared areas of the lake shown in the image below. Do a Fundraising drive.

weed team at work on the lake

Update membership fees

Historically the fee was $20, reduced to $10 during the weed-free years.
Motion to increase the annual membership fees to $25 per year to reflect the increased costs of the association for basic expenses of buoys, web site, Entreprise Quebec and water testing. Donations to the milfoil management fund may reduce overall donations, which have been covering the gap between fees and expenses.

Change the timing of the AGM

The Board recommends moving the timing of the AGM to avoid peak summer season. The timing of the AGM has been timed to correspond to the water testing results. Given the emergent millfoil issue, the moving of the AGM earlier on would allow the Association to respond quicker and better to this issue. Generally we will aim for the first Saturday after the July long weekend.

Move to schedule the 2025 AGM on July 5, 2025

Current board and election of new members

The Board meets 4-5 x times, usually online, per year plus the AGM. Current bylaws require board members to serve for a maximum of 6 years.

Lisa Fast has served in the President role since 2016. She will be stepping down after the 2025 AGM. Afterward, she will remain on the board in the Past-President role to assist with the transition.

Current Board Members

Motion to ratify William Hebert as Board Member responsible for liaison of Bishop’s Manor Property Association and Usher Lake, to replace Bryan Watkinson

Motion to elect Jim Thompson as a Board member to focus on water quality and nutrients. He has begun a communication and action plan.

Elect new president or move to extend Lisa Fast’s term for one additional year

Marie Maisonneuve stepped down. Thank you to Marie for her long service to the Association.

2025 program includes amending and updating Association bylaws, which have not been updated in the last 10 years.

9.0 Members open issues

Awareness campaign: Members need to help the board by contacting their neighbours to join the association and share the learning. We could print up some flyers prior to the July AGM,, and get a list of members/non-members ready so members can consult the list and sign-up for non-member properties that they could approach to join.
Marcel will assist in handing out flyers.

Water levels: In response to a question about getting water levels lower since the huge rains this month, Imre shared that he and the dam team have been removing portions of the dam since the beavers returned in early August. His comments:

10.0 Move to adjourn AGM meeting

Moved by Lisa Fast

Seconded by Jim Thompson

Meeting closed at 5:04 pm