 |
Meetings |
|
Meetings |
Minutes of the Directors MeetingApril 25, 2008
Present:
Dave Lemkay, Kevin O’Connor, Bill Clark, Gail McPhee, Kathy Lampi, John
Gulland, Doug Yourth, Cairine Cybulski and Mike Cayer. Presidents
opening remarks Update
of previous Directors Meetings and Annual General Meetings Business
from minutes
In
opening the meeting Dave Lemkay stated that since minutes of the last
directors meeting (Aug 7) had been posted on the website, the executive
was familiar with them. As
such he suggested the reading be waived and the group move immediately
into discussion of outstanding business. He also pointed out there had
been several meetings of individual committees since Aug 5 and any
business rising out of these meetings would be captured in the agenda. The
group agreed with this procedure. Water
Levels - Kevin O’Connor reported that on Tues. Apr 22, Renfrew County
Warden and Mayor of Killaloe, Hagarty & Richards (KHR),
Janice Visneskie chaired an emergency
meeting. The purpose was to discuss the serious flooding and prospect of
erosion problems occurring on Round Lake because of exceptionally high
water levels. The impact of increased flooding on Golden Lake, as a result
of releasing more water through the Tramore dam, was also discussed with
representatives of KHR, North Algona-Wilberforce, and Bonnechere Valley
Townships. The Round Lake and Golden Lake Property Owners Associations and
Renfrew Power Generation (RPG) were in attendance.
A “state of emergency” was declared and a decision made to
request that RPG remove one of two remaining logs at Tramore at 6.00 p.m.
Wed., Apr 23. On Wednesday, KHR Council rescinded this request and left
the decision to RPG, which, in their estimation, decided not to act at the
present time. The situation would be monitored closely and the log removed
at a later date if necessary, as such action would significantly raise the
already high-water levels in Golden Lake and increase the risk of flood
damage. The consensus is that
the most obvious solution to the water level problems through the
Bonnechere River system each spring suggests that a change in Ministry of
Natural Resources policy. The
theory is that more aggressive draw down of water in both lakes in the
fall would create added capacity for spring freshet, especially in a year
with high winter snowfall. At present the Ministry management plan
specifies certain levels during the fall to protect a lake trout spawning
shelf. To try to address this, there has been a proposal submitted to MNR
by RLPOA, GLPOA and RPG to consider adjusting this policy Water
Quality - Kathy Lampi, Chair of the Water Quality Committee reported that
the group has been active through the winter. After investigation, the
committee’s early plans to undertake testing of the lake for Phosphate,
Nitrate and e-Coli Levels were found to be unwarranted. She reported that
Golden Lake was tested as late as 2004 by the Ministry of Environment with
results that showing overall water quality to be very good. In
consideration of this, it was decided the most meaningful immediate action
would be a program testing only current phosphate levels.
The committee recommended that GLPOA invest in an educational
program to promote stakeholder buy-in to good lake stewardship. This would
be carried out through use of the website, newsletter and possibly the
sponsorship of public forums. Plans for both testing and education program
will be outlined at the AGM for ratification. A motion to proceed with
both recommendations was made by Kathy Lampi and seconded by Gail McPhee
was passed unanimously. Waterway
Hazard Marking - Kevin O’Connor reported that member and lake resident,
Jay Foran and his son Dylan, have volunteered to handle the placing and
removal of shoal markers with a comprehensive numbering and GPS
identification. Recommendations
offered include using only one marker for hazardous spot regardless of the
size of the shoal. An alert would be placed on the GLPOA launch site signs
and on the web site warning all boaters to stay well clear of posted
areas. A motion by Cairine Cybulski, seconded by Kathy Lampi to accept the
offer of Jay Foran to manage this program was passed unanimously. It was
stressed that ideally, markers would be in place by
the May long weekend. In keeping with GLPOA’s policy of due
diligence, Dave Lemkay will raise this activity for discussion with our
insurance company to ensure adequate coverage for any risk exposure. Treasures
Report - Kevin O’Connor reported that the Association is in a healthy
financial position to start the current season. Present bank balance is
$3496.00. In addition to membership renewals, there is also a potential
for increased advertising revenues coming from launch site signage. The
signs were originally designed to accept modifications which
would create eight more ad spots. Cost to advertiser of each spot
is $160.00 annually. As
present advertisers report good results, it is expected the additional
spots would be highly saleable. It was suggested the townships covering
the GLPOA be invited to have a presence on these signs to post a welcoming
message to ratepayers and visitors to the area. Cairine Cybulski is to
present this offer to Bonnechere Valley Council and Dave Lemkay will
contact North Algona - Wilberforce and Killaloe, Hagarty & Richards
Townships. It was discussed that an added advantage of web site presence
should offered to existing and future advertisers. This idea and other web
site upgrades will be discussed with John Gulland. A motion to accept the
treasurer’s report by Cairine Cybulski, seconded by Bill Clark was
passed unanimously. Membership
Report - Dave Lemkay acknowledged Gail McPhee’s success over the past
year in establishing and implementing a procedure to more effectively
measure and record membership. During
winter, tax roll data were collected by Andrea Lemkay and added to the
database by Monique Pye. Gail distributed spreadsheets listing all 740
registered property owners on the waterway within the GLPOA mandate.
Coding on the list clearly features membership status, which will benefit
zone representatives as they canvass for membership this year. Gail
reported that 2007/8 membership totalled 400 and that the challenge is to
grow that number this year. A Membership Committee meeting is scheduled
for Thursday May 8th to review each zone and ensure that the team of Zone
Representatives and helpers is in place. Ruby
Road Dump Expansion – Dave Lemkay asked Cairine Cylbuski to provide an
overview on behalf of the Township of its Waste Management activities and
the proposal to expand the operation at the Ruby Road Transfer Station
site. She stated that all options have been investigated, and that
Township consultants propose that a practical solution in future would see
all waste being diverted to an expanded operation at Ruby Road. She
acknowledged there is an emotional bias to an extension by neighbouring
residents. She emphasized studies to date show the threat of any
contamination to ground water is not real. The examination of the proposed
expansion would have to be closely studied within the standards
established by the Ontario Government and
the results are very
positive. Dave Lemkay acting as a resident of South Algona Ward, is one
member of the Public Liaison Committee which will hold forums through the
process to receive input from residents and to assist with effective
communication to the public. It is the intent of the GLPOA to continue to closely follow
this issue. It was also
stated that at this time, GLPOA will be neutral on the matter so as to be
able to garner the best information for its constituents.
The issue will be introduced at the GPLOA AGM but
the AGM will not the
forum for debate as much as members will be apprised of the role of the
Public Liaison Committee in the ongoing process. Dave
Lemkay introduced the subject of cell phone service and that certain
construction activity was clearly underway at three of the sites
established over the past year. Kevin
O’Connor gave an update on talks that he has had with the contractor for
Bell Mobility and confirmed that the additional two tower projects added
late last year are also moving ahead.
The pattern that we are seeing in the area follows the plan to have
a package of five towers that, once completed and operative, will most
likely carry a contiguous cell phone signal from the Pembroke – Renfrew
area through Eganville, Golden Lake and Killaloe to the easterly signal
already at Barry’s Bay. Dave
reminded the board of the early responses that we had gotten early in 2006
when GLPOA first wrote to Bell and Telus that offered no hope for early
resolution to our problems. He
then outlined introductory steps that were taken by Kevin O’Connor to
open some doors and the presentation of the business case by Cairine
Cybulski and Dave in Montreal in December of 2006, the “interlake”
survey of the region with help from the three townships early in 2007 and
on the ground help with the siting process throughout the area by all
three directors. He concluded
with the success in December 2007 to obtain building permits on behalf of
Bell Mobility with the respective township councils and now, within two
years, we are able to have some confidence that service is a distinct
possibility in 2008. Pleasure
Craft Operators Course - Another accredited instruction session will be
held at Killaloe Public School starting at 8:00 am, July 5th. As in 2007,
the course will be offered through the Round Lake and Golden Lake
associations to members and non-members at a cost of
$35.00. Further information will be posted on the web site and
available at the AGM and publicized in the local media.
This is seen to be a good service to members and supports the
objective of safety and security on the waterway. Web
Site and Newsletter - Dave Lemkay congratulated John Gulland on the
quality of both the Association’s website
and news letters. In his comments John indicated he would like to
reorganize the web to present news more effectively. The intent would be
make viewing easier for visitors by presenting messages in order of
importance. A meeting is to be held offline for discussion to firm up
details. Annual
General Meeting - The A.G. M. will be held at the Killaloe Public School
--9.00 a.m. Sat.
June 7. An executive meeting has been scheduled for Fri. May 30, to
finalize the agenda with executive and committee reports.
Official notice will be placed in the Eganville and Pembroke
newspapers as well as community calendars to comply with the constitution
for Election of Officers etc. Nominations
Procedure - Dave Lemkay outlined that nominations for the coming year
would have to take two factors into consideration. The first consideration
was that at the 2007 meeting Bill Clark, Kevin O’Connor and Gail McPhee
were elected to the positions of secretary, treasurer and Membership Chair
respectively for a two-year term, therefore nominations will not be
required for these positions. The positions or president and vice
president, held by Dave Lemkay and Kevin O’Connor respectively were
elected for a one year term and that nominations are necessary. The
staggering of these terms was based upon the service already given by the
incumbent and meant to establish an ebb and flow to the board of
directors, bringing in new people and retaining certain corporate memory. The
Nominating Committee, headed up by Bill Clark will prepare a slate of
candidates that reflects this intent and that updates the board where
directors may have resigned in the past term. Bill will be assisted by
Doug Yourth and with the cooperation of the rest of the executive. It
should be noted that all association members will be advised of the
election and nominations will be accepted from the floor at the meeting.
John Visser who facilitated the election process at the 2007 AGM has
agreed to fit this task for the 2008 AGM into his busy schedule. Motion
by Bill Clark that the meeting be adjourned at 12.10 p.m. was passed
unanimously. Submitted: |
