Annual General Meeting Minutes 2017

July 15, 2017

Annual General Meeting Minutes 2017

1. There were 32 families represented at the AGM. The minutes of 2016 were distributed and a motion was put forward to accept them. The motion was moved Dianne Dunn and seconded by Joel Kwinter.

2. Dick Thomas asked if anyone was interested in becoming executive members. No one accepted the offer. The existing executive was introduced to the members.The executive that was present was introduced. A motion was put forward to accept the existing executive for another year. The motion was accepted by Eva Zeidel and seconded by Dan Miller.

3. The Benthic Monitoring Test results were presented by Michael Clarke. Michael spoke about the benthic testing that he and 5 volunteers conducted in mid-June. They did locate hundreds of invertebrate and, in summary, all 7 areas measured showed positive movement towards the “Muskoka Average”. The results have been posted on the upgraded Loon and Turtle Lakes website The testing has been done 5 times now and consecutively for the last 4 years. After testing 4 times in the same location, this year’s test was conducted in the north end of the lake near the Loon Lake boat ramp. Next year it will be moved to Turtle Lake in the area near the boat ramp. Thank you Michael for all your hard work.

4. Michael also spoke about the website. This will be a work in process and can be changed or updated at any time. The website has been up and running since early August 2016. The website will be more user friendly and inter-active and accessible on mobiles and tablets. It will be updated quarterly according to the season. The MEMBERSHIP tab includesinstructions on how to electronically pay your annual fees and update your information such as an address or e-mail change. We are tracking usage of the website. There is a lot of good information on the website so please use it.

5. Peter Helston reported on the environment. We have done annual (3) tests over the past six years for phosphorus and levels are acceptable. The Muskoka Watershed Council is very committed to good water quality in Muskoka. The water level is very high this year but it should not affect anything. Peter has posted NO GRASS NO GEESE signs on the 2 sign boards. Peter has been in touch with the Muskoka Watershed Council and they advised him there has been a huge increase in the amount of geese this year. Geese will eat, digest and poop within 20 minutes so it would not take long to contaminate our lakes due to the size of them and the small capacity of water compared to a Lake Muskoka. It was suggested we get a committee together next spring to actively look for goose eggs before they are hatched and coat them with mineral oil. This will destroy the eggs and this is legal to do. This notice could go out via e-mail or with the membership notices to start early.

We are using too much fertilizer on lawns still and too many people are planting too much grass. If there is grass the geese will feed. They like short grass so don’t trim your lawns as much and let nature take over. Mother Nature will do the right thing. Grass could be the largest threat to our lakes over the next 20 years. Geese do not like grass over 3” tall. Peter also mentioned we should be working towards 75% of your shoreline being natural. This is a target we need to work towards. We have found certain areas appear to have more water weeds. This could be due to cottagers in that area fertilizing or perhaps a hot tub with chemicals being dumped and seeping into the lake.

Peter commented the deepest part of the lake is only 22 feet deep and the Watershed Council is working on the volume of our lake as

well as the daily usage of water from the 2 lakes. The approximate water being taken out daily is about 20,000 gallons for residential use. This includes washing dishes, showers, clothes and lawn care. There are a few small springs that also empty into our lakes. The water level can fluctuate drastically over a weekend due to the usage so be careful and don’t waste water unnecessarily.

There is a good nursery on highway 169 beside the Home Building Centre which provides natural plants for the area so go and speak with them if you have questions of what to plant.

The executive did an environmental campaign for this year’s newsletter. This will hopefullyassist old and new cottagers with landscaping their properties moving forward.

6. David Caruana spoke about membership. Every new owner in the last 3 years has joined the association. The data base that David and Carol Helston keeps is very up to date with only 13 e-mails bouncing back out of 230 accounts. There was not a final count of the membership was at the AGM as membership usually runs at better than 85%.E-transfer was introduced this year and has been successful. Next year there will be multiple reminders to pay your fees electronically and the final notice will be a mailout for a cheque to be sent.

7. Roads were a topic of discussion. Firstly, the safety on the roads was a concern. Too many people are driving too fast with no concern for people walking, jogging, and biking. The executive must do a better job getting the message out about road safety. This could go out on the website, face book page or e-mail to start letting owners know about this issue.

8. Dick Thomas advised the members that the regatta was in jeopardy of ending unless someone steps forward to take it over. An e-mail and notice in the newsletter was put out asking for some people to take over the regatta. Diane Thomas has come forward to run the regatta in 2017. It will be revisited next year to see if there is interest. There was a discussion that maybe it has run its course and it is time to do something else. It was suggested something like a dock jam or musical get together for people on the lakes. You could either come and play instruments, sing or just listen. The executive did a survey investigating what people wanted for 2017.

The results were Fireworks were number one. Family centered events were important. Regatta and corn roast were 2nd and 3rd. There were some great suggestions for other events around the lakes. We encourage those people to work with the executive to support those events.

9. The Treasurers report was given. We have $24,285 in our bank account

fireworks will be happening, we are getting quotes to extend the boat ramp in the channel ($3000- $4000). The dock on Turtle Lake was repaired by someone but we do not know who did it.

10. Peter Helston spoke about the Approved Contactors List on our web page. Peter and other have been gathering names of good contractors approved by someone on the lakes using them. If you are suggesting someone you should contact them and ask if it is ok to put their names on our list. This will be updated periodically. We ask if you use someone off the list and you are not satisfied let Peter know. We can re-assess contractors continually. The only 2 areas we do not have names are for HVAC and propane services. We will continue to get the list done. This list is only for positive experiences. Negative ones will be dealt with differently.

11. An update was given on the internet proposal. Pantechnicon came to give a small presentation on a proposed solution to our internet issues. Please go to the website and see the brochure. There were a lot of questions about the reliability and cost associated with an installation. There will be more investigating and updates sent via email. There will be an e-mail going out in the fall again to see how many interested cottagers we have that would sign up for internet services from a larger provider. To date only 87 replies came back. This number needs to increase.

12. Michael Clarke spoke about his initiative of selling Tee shirts. Sales for this year have been good. The adult shirts are $15 and youths $12. We will be placing a second order as sales have gone well and more were needed.

We may look at Hoodies for next year.

13. Water safety awareness strategy was put forward at the end of last year. It was decided to work as a committee to improve the water safety on the lakes. An email and a posting on the website went out asking for volunteers. To date at the AGM there was only 2 people interested in helping with the committee. Since the AGM, there are now eight people who have offered to join the committee. The first meeting will be held before the end of July.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:55 am.