Meetings

Saturday, June 3, 2006
Killaloe Public School

Opening Remarks

President Dave Lemkay called the Annual Meeting of the Golden Lake Property Owners Association to order.  He opened the meeting with a warm welcome to all present and briefly discussed the tremendous amount of progress that has been achieved by the Association in the year since the first general meeting. 

Chief Kirby Whiteduck of the Algonquins of Golden Lake was introduced and invited to bring greetings from Piwakanagan.  He expressed his community’s support for the Golden Lake Property Owners Association and willingness to work together in the interests of good stewardship for the important resources we share. He gave an informative talk outlining the ongoing role Band members have played in certain stocking procedures and the aboriginal rights of the Algonquin with respect to traditional methods of fishing on Golden Lake.

Secretary Tom Green read minutes of the June 4, 2005 meeting. 

Moved by: Tom Green

Seconded by: Norm Edwards

That the minutes of the June 4, 2005 general meeting be adopted as read.

Carried

Dave Lemkay spoke about achievements of the past year, including GLPOA joining the Federation of Ontario Cottagers Associations (FOCA); the finalization of the draft constitution; the obtaining of letters patent for the GLPOA as a not-for-profit corporation in Ontario; the securing of general liability and directors and officers liability insurance.  He outlined the steps taken by GPLOA to voice concerns on behalf of the membership to Queen’s Park regarding property assessment and the value of the web site to facilitate open and effective communication with members and the public.

President Lemkay asked the Association Directors to rise to identify themselves and their respective zone representatives to the members present.  In ascending order of the zones they were:

• Howard Bernard (Pikwakanagan) who is looking for assistance from Golden Lake village;

• Bill Clark (Island View Drive) with rep Leslie Moore;

• Norma Bailey (Hwy 60 – Mundt’s Bay) with rep Doug Yourth;

• George Wilcox (McMillan Rd – Goldfinch Dr) with rep John Finn;

• Bill Cooke (absent, Deacon, McNee, Browns) with rep Gary Yeldon;

• Gail McPhee (L’Escale area) with rep Ken Kruger;

• Norm Edwards (Hawkins Dr to Bonnechere Rd area) with rep Terry Ryan;

• Adrian Daley (Billena Way to Golden Mile area) with reps Roy McGrath & John Visser;

• Cairine Cybulski (absent, Rocky Point, Tranquility Bay area) rep Dave Lemkay;

• Bill Gardner (Tramore, Bonnechere River area) with reps Malcolm Warnholtz, Glen Henneberry;

• Kevin O’Connor (acting White Church & west of Bonnechere River area) looking for representatives.

Adrian Daley presented a slate of Officers for ratification.  It was proposed that Officers would continue to serve in their respective roles for a second year to allow continued progress of start-up business and establishment of a robust committee structure.  Officers presented were:  President, Dave Lemkay; Vice-President, Kevin O’Connor; Treasurer, Weldon McEachen and Secretary Bill Clark, to respond to the resignation of Tom Green.  A call for nominations from the floor resulted in no activity resulting in the slate of Officers being accepted.  A slate of Directors was also presented which included those who had served the previous year.  With the resignation of Sherry McCarthy, Bill Gardiner, a resident of Zone 10 had been recruited to fill that vacancy.  Ms. Carolyn Letters expressed her interest in volunteering to become a director in the event of a vacancy in future.  There was discussion of the need for notice of meeting and the opportunity for nominations from members at large.

Moved by:  John Visser

Seconded by:  Mervyn Buckwalt

That the election of Officers and Directors by postponed until the Annual Meeting August 26^th and that the Board continue to operate status quo until that time.

Carried

Membership Report

Membership Director Norm Edwards reported on the strong growth of the Association in its first year totaling 370 properties.  He made an impassioned plea for renewal of memberships for the coming year and the need to continue to grow the organization to achieve the strongest possible voice for common issues.  He reminded members present that there was tremendous value for the annual fee of $20.

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer Weldon McEachen presented a summary of revenues and expenditures for the year 2005/06.

Moved by: Weldon McEachen

Seconded by: George Wilcox

That the Treasurers Report be accepted as presented

Carried

Association Web Site

Dave Lemkay introduced John Gulland who has been engaged over much of the past year developing the GLPOA web site.  A commitment was made at the June 2005 meeting to establish an interactive web site.  Dave thanked Julie Molina for her early work in this process.  John Gulland demonstrated with an on-screen navigation of functions and links, explaining the value of this as a tool for all storage of and access to association data.  The site allows members and the public to communicate directly with the Executive and provides an electronic notice board for Association news. 

Waterway Marking Project

Weldon McEachen gave a report on the Waterway Marking Project.  To date, thirty-five regulation buoys have been purchased and labeled as GLPOA.  With his committee members, Bryan Fraser and Gerry Summers, concrete anchors have been formed over winter and buoys will be installed at shoal locations as needed in the coming days.  Weldon discussed the procurement of colour maps of Golden Lake and the Bonnechere River, which will be made available to members.  To complement the buoys and maps, a series of signs will be erected at strategic boat launch locations, including Tramore Bridge, Deacon Bridge, Island View Drive and Bonnechere Lodge.  The signs carry nine spaces for display advertising, which will offset the cost of the signs in the third year.

Bonnechere River Watershed Project

Kevin O’Connor reported on his participation on the Bonnechere Valley Watershed Project.  He outlined the collaborative nature of the project and the value of the mandate of monitoring and managing stewardship of the waterway and related ecosystems to the property owners.

Cellular Telephone Service

Kevin O’Connor then spoke about ongoing discussions between GLPOA and Bell Mobility and Telus. Due to lack of cellular coverage in the Golden Lake region and certain landline irregularities, members expressed their concerns for safety and security.  Progress is being made to erect two communications towers in the region – one at Dacre and the other on the outskirts of Eganville.  The onus will be on residents to rally to demonstrate to the service providers a critical mass to prompt the investment and approval by CRTC to establish coverage.  GLPOA has the opportunity to be instrumental and will engage with the Interlake Committee for starters.  Kirk Mandy and Peter Benner of CHCR Radio discussed a project to secure support for new hi-tech product that would service the region.  They asked members to complete a survey on the subject.

Director Howard Bernard reported on water quality testing stating that tests show some levels of ecoli. He gave an explanation of the effect naturally occurring pollution from warm-blooded mammals.  He briefly discussed the scheduled lifting of the Walleye moratorium by January 2007.

Social Committee

Committee Chair Kate O’Hara offered some ideas for social activities during the summer season and was seeking assistance for this committee. In response, Pat Shea gave a brief account of past canoe racing on Golden Lake and advised of his interest in reviving such an event.  Dave Lemkay explained that the GLPOA liability insurance policy was underwritten to cover such events.

Draft Constitution

A lengthy debate took place on elements of the proposed constitution.  In particular, there were various views on how to establish voting rights tied to membership.  The $20.00 annual membership is tied to the property and the property may have one or two or multi-deeded owners.  There was discussion on the merits of allowing two votes per property.  There were concerns that two votes might be seen to be inadvertently discriminatory.

Moved by:  Norm Edwards

Seconded by: Brenda Maunder

That the Board work to have clarification on its approach to membership voting and to present options for the membership to consider at the August 26^th meeting.

Carried

Representatives from the three area municipalities were on hand.  Greetings and expressions of support for continued good work by GLPOA were offered by:  Zig Mintha, Mayor of Bonnechere Valley Twp; Janice Bush, Reeve of Killaloe, Haggarty and Richards and Harold Weckworth, Mayor of North Agona – Wilberforce.

Motion to adjourn: Tom Green