Newsletters

Spring 2010 Newsletter

April 2010

President’s Message

How many six year olds do you know that have become fixtures in their communities, have accomplished important things and always get along well with others? The Golden Lake Property Owners Association has certainly done a lot in its short life. I don’t wish to brag, especially since so many other people are responsible, but the list of accomplishments is already long.

In each of its six years of life, successive GLPOA boards of directors and groups of volunteers have taken on major projects, including a complete system of shoal and channel marker buoys, four billboard maps at boat launch sites, the Deacon boat launch public toilets, boat operator’s training courses where hundreds of cottagers have received certificates, CPR courses, and the promotion of cell phone service.

Last year marked the first GLPOA FunFest, an enjoyable day of games and entertainment at The Sands on Golden Lake. A seminar on septic system features and maintenance was held at the Killaloe Public School, and, while talking sewage may not sound like much fun, the event was attended and appreciated by a very large crowd. The Association also organized and hosted meetings of key agencies regarding spring flooding on the Bonnechere system aimed at improving communications when high water levels threaten shoreline properties. Luckily, this spring’s freshet was a fairly calm affair and we have no reports of damage. You can read more about this and other projects in this newsletter.

Dozens of volunteers have contributed to all these successes. One of the great features of the emerging GLPOA culture is that members feel they can sign on to help with a particular project, get it done and then move on to other aspects of their busy lives. There always seem to be new faces and willing hands to pitch in, so no one feels overworked and under-appreciated. But maybe most importantly, behind the scenes of every GLPOA project are people making new friends, working together and having fun doing something worthwhile. You too can get involved by calling any of the volunteer contacts on the back page of this newsletter.

I look forward to seeing old friends and new members at our events during the summer.

Kevin O’Connor

Notices of Upcoming Events

Saturday, June 5: GLPOA Annual General Meeting, Killaloe Public School

Meet and greet your neighbours and hear the latest news at the AGM. The meeting will start at 9:00 a.m., although you might want to arrive at 8:30 to get a coffee or tea and some light snacks. An added feature of this year’s AGM is a short presentation on “Fire Smart and 911 Emergency” by Fire Chief Jim Whalen. The meeting will be adjourned at 11:45 am. See you there.

Communal raft at Tranquility Bay. Photo: Diane Schroer

Pleasure Craft Operator’s Course: Saturday, July 3, 2010 (permit mandatory since last September)

Over three years we have successfully graduated more than 300 students ranging in age from eight to eighty. This four-hour course, beginning at 8:00 am, will be held at the Killaloe Public School at a cost of $40.00 per person (pay at the door). Temporary permit issued on the spot with two permanent cards mailed. Pre-register by email to info@goldenlake.info or by mail to GLPOA, P.O. Box 99 Golden Lake, ON K0J 1X0.

CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) Course (Level C): Saturday, June 26, 2010

Once again the GLPOA will host a CPR course at the Sands on Golden Lake between 8:30-11:30AM. The cost for this course is $35.00. Registration will take place at the Annual General Meeting on Saturday June 5, 2010. For further details please phone Kevin O’Connor at 625.9937.

Fun Fest: Saturday, July 17, 2010

The second annual social event of great games and music will be held at The Sands on Golden Lake. Last year adults and children alike enjoyed a day filled with fun activities topped off with a great BBQ offering hamburgers and hotdogs!

GLPOA Second Annual Boater’s Poker Run: Saturday, July 31, 2010

Our second annual Poker Run will take place on the Civic Holiday weekend, and promises to be another outstanding event. Registration begins at The Sands on Golden Lake at 8:00 am. Look for more details to follow.

Septic System Seminar: Saturday, August 28, 2010

A septic system seminar will be held at the Killaloe Public school from 9:30 am to 12 noon. This seminar will provide a great opportunity for you to learn more about effective septic system care. Last year’s septic seminar was a great success. There is no fee for this seminar and everyone is welcome.

GLPOA Financial Statement

* The Board of Directors decided to change the Association’s fiscal year end from June 30 to March 31 during the course of this year so this statement is not for a full year.

Nominating Committee

Bill Clark and the nominating committee have been actively recruiting new board members, and have been successful. A full slate of excellent candidates will be presented for consideration by the membership at the AGM on June 5. Once again, members have shown their willingness to step up and get involved with the GLPOA.

Waterway Hazard Marking

Rick O’Brien of Golden Lake has agreed to take on the coordinating role for the waterway marking program. Although a number of volunteer teams remove, store and replace the buoys each year, the role of coordinator is an important function. The coordinator recruits new volunteers, purchases new equipment, and manages the overall process.

Cell Phone Up-date

Bell Canada reports that two new cell phone towers along highway 60 will be installed this summer and expect service to be available as early as September 2010. The towers will provide service along the highway 60 corridor from the Village of Golden Lake to the Village of Wilno, giving contiguous coverage to Barry’s Bay and beyond. GLPOA has been the lead proponent of improved cell service since late 2005. Members of the GLPOA executive identified the lack of cell phone service along Highway 60 from Eganville to Wilno as one of our main issues, and have maintained a dialogue with the various service providers ever since.

Boat Launch Billboard Sponsors

The four public boat launch billboards are attractive and highly visible to visitors to Golden Lake and the Bonnechere River. The billboards are located at Deacon Bridge, Tramore Bridge, Bonnechere Lodge and Island View Drive. Surrounding the large maps (which display waterway hazards) are ads for the twenty-two program sponsors. The participation of our billboard sponsors provides the resources for these important programs. We are pleased to present their names and contact numbers here in appreciate of their contribution.

Ruby Road Waste Site News

The Township of the Bonnechere Valley is examining the feasibility of building a land fill (garbage dump) for the whole township on the site of the Ruby Road waste transfer station, which is located about 1 1/2 kilometres from Golden Lake. As requested by GLPOA and other groups, the township has promised to present the costs of building and operating the Ruby site compared to the alternative option of trucking waste to the Ottawa Valley Waste Recovery Centre near Pembroke. Last spring’s GLPOA newsletter reported that these comparative figures were expected soon, but the results of the analysis have not yet been released. We will notify the membership when the figures are available.

Water Quality Committee Report 

Annual Lake Water Test Results

The water quality committee has organized the annual testing of nutrient levels (as indicated by the concentration of phosphorous) through the Lake Partnership Program sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Environment. The testing is free, and with so many other lake organizations, the results allow comparisons with hundreds of other lakes. Phosphorus gets into the water mainly from agricultural runoff and from household use of detergents (phosphates) that find their way into the water through septic system leaking and water treatment plant outflow. The table below presents the two samples each year from the middle of Golden Lake and are expressed as total phosphorus (TP) in micrograms per litre.

A level of less than 10µg/L is considered a low nutrient count. You can see the results for many Ontario lakes at the Lake Partnership web site and will notice that Golden Lake’s results are at the low end of the average phosphorus concentrations.

Special Brennans Creek Test Program

Although water quality in the Lake is fine, there have been questions since GLPOA was formed about the algae blooms at the mouth of Brennans Creek at the west end of Golden Lake. Also mentioned are sludge deposits along the sandy shore at Harrington Road, which is close to the mouth of Brennans. Attention has focused on the Killaloe sewage treatment plant, which discharges into Brennans about one kilometre upstream of the mouth and which, according to the plant’s own reports, releases an average of 0.06 kilograms (about two ounces) of phosphorous each day into the Creek.

To investigate those concerns the water quality committee plans an intensive series of tests in Brennans Creek this summer. Two water samples will be taken, one upstream and one downstream of the treatment plant, to determine two things: first, the phosphorous concentration in the Creek compared to the Lake, and second, to see how much the plant discharge affects total phosphorous concentration. Two water samples will be taken and tested in each of the four months of the summer. The results should give us a good profile of phosphorous concentrations in Brennans Creek under various dilution conditions, and hopefully provide insights into the impact on water quality of the Killaloe sewage treatment plant.

You will find the results of this test program as they become available at the Water Quality and Levels section of the GLPOA web site at: www.goldenlake.info

Bonnechere System Flooding Emergency Communications Plan

The water levels committee was very active in late 2009 and early 2010, working on improving communications among the various groups that have responsibilities for responding to spring flooding at Round Lake, Golden Lake and the Bonnechere River between the two. It was GLPOA President Kevin O’Connor who prompted this initiative when he noticed the lack of coordination during the flooding event in the spring of 2008.

GLPOA hosted two meetings of the eight stakeholder groups, one on November 19 and one on January 7. The seven other stakeholders are the townships of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards, North Algona-Wilberforce, and Bonnechere Valley; the Pikwàkanagàn First Nation, Round Lake Property Owners Association, Renfrew Power Generation and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Between the meetings, GLPOA developed and distributed a questionnaire for the stakeholders. The responses were used to create a reliable list of contacts and a summary of what each agency can do to alert property owners of an imminent high water event, and whether they can provide supplies like sandbags and sand, and assistance for the protection of properties when water levels rise above the normal range.

This has been a highly successful initiative. The other stakeholders have made generous statements of appreciation for GLPOA’s leadership and vision in bringing the stakeholders together. Janice Visneskie, Mayor of Killaloe, Hagarty & Richards township said, “This is a very important initiative and it has proven to be a valuable communications link”.

Peter Boldt of RPG had this to say: “The GLPOA executive spear-headed the organization of the initial meetings which brought everyone to the table and established a positive atmosphere.”

The plan of action developed at the January meeting is unfolding as intended. Renfrew Power Generation, which does the actual control of levels by adjusting the height of dams at Tramore and Golden Lake, drew down the level of Round Lake aggressively in late winter in preparation for the spring freshet. RPG hosted a briefing meeting in mid-March just as the freshet began to report on their evaluation of snow pack conditions. As anticipated, the freshet happened gradually this year with no flooding.

A final meeting of the stakeholders is scheduled for May 27 to evaluate the response to the spring water flows. The meeting will be hosted by Renfrew Power Generation.

The GLPOA water level committee members are Kevin O’Connor, Gail McPhee, Mike Cayer, Lucy King, Gord McMillan and John Gulland.

2009 - 10 Board of Directors

Committee Chairs for 2010 

Membership

Michael Johnson 757-2701

Monique Pye 757-0851

Water Quality

John Gulland 757-2290

Corporate Advertising

Kevin O'Connor 625-9937

Shoal Marking (Buoy) Program

Rick O’Brien 625-2707

Water Levels

John Gulland 757-2290

Kevin O'Connor 625-9937

Pleasure Craft Operators Course

Dave Lemkay  649-2616

2009 Regatta/Funfest

Bill Clark 625-2004

CPR Course

Kevin O'Connor 625-9937

PokerRun

Weldon McEachen 625-2929

Nominating Committee

Bill Clark 625-2004

Communications

Dave Lemkay 649-2616

John Gulland 757-2290

Web Site

John Gulland 757-2290

Zone Representatives

If you are interested in becoming a Zone Rep, please contact Michael Johnson at 757-2701

2010 Membership Dues - $20.00