December 2009
Lac Sinclair Association
2009 Executive Committee
Claude Tremblay - President 819-456-2373
Brian Le Conte - Past president 819-456-4067
Maurice Lamontagne - VP environment
Carole Blondin - Secretary
Nathalie Comtois - Treasurer
Leo Maiorino - Director membership
Guy Chiasson -Director web site
Ginette Ouellette -Director Bulletin
Danielle Simoneau - Director
Ann Good -Director
Chuck Rifici – Director
President’s Message
The 2009 season is now over, and I want to thank everyone who supported the Association in 2009, be it by registering as a member of the Association, participating in the fishing tournament, the logo contest or simply by watching the fireworks at Bernier’s store.
The Association and the community depend on your support in 2010 and in the years to come. I hope you will encourage friends, family and neighbours to support the Association through our membershipfees at a low cost of $20 a year. There are approximately 375 cottages around the lake and only 125 have responded. Your membership fees help us support our objectives:
- preserve the fauna, flora and common aquatic resources;
- implement working committees to control water quality and resolve problems related to the silt in certain bays on the lake;
- take part in the Voluntary Lake Surveillance Network ;
- create activities fostering a sense of belonging.
The committee would like to thank the Ste-Sophied’ Aldfield Community Centre for the use of its premises for meetings of the executive committee, the AGM in June and the General Information Assembly in August. We sincerely thank all the people involved in these meetings.
To connect more closely with its members, the Association has attempted to enhance communication by:
- creating an email address ;
- publishing a newsletter twice a year;
- using the outdoor bulletin board near Bernier’s store;
- initiating two new activities: the fishing tournament and the logo contest;
- centralising phone calls to one number, 819-456-2373 (President)
As it did last year, the Association has continued to help vacationers through its volunteer system of marker buoys installed in May; by advising residents of the water quality through regular testing in all areas of the lake and by following up on critical areas. The Association has also shared with members important information from different governments concerning the shoreline and residents’ private property. However, within the voluntary lake surveillance program, test results on the water quality will only be known in a few months and published in the Spring edition of the Newsletter.
Finally, the Association continued to collaborate with La Pêche and Low municipal authorities by inviting them to attend our General Information Assembly; supporting their ecological management of natural resources; and respecting their federal, provincial and regional regulatory requirements.
On behalf of the LakeSinclair Association Executive Committee, I thank you for your trust, your support and your collaboration throughout the 2009 season. I urge you to complete and send in your membership as soon as possible for the year 2010 (Registration Form attached).
The Association is looking forward to seeing many of you at its next Annual General Meeting which will be held on June 12, 2010 at 10 a.m. at the Ste-Sophie d’Aldfield Community Centre.
Claude Tremblay
Président
Did you know that since September 15 2009 every person that drives a motor boat must have a competence permit delivered by the federal government?
LakeSinclair Association – Annual General Meeting Saturday June 20, 2009
Summary – it was decided by the members attending the AGM in August 2008 that the AGM should be held earlier so that current issues could be monitored over the summer season. It was also agreed that the executive would hold a general information meeting at the end of the summer if there was an interest. The following is a report on the June 20 AGM. There will be a separate report on the August 15th information meeting.
Report - 21 people, including the executive members gathered at the Ste Sophie D’Aldfield Community Centre. The relatively small attendance could presumably be explained by the fact that the questions of uranium exploration and maintenance of private roads were less prominent at this time. Despite the small attendance, there was lively interest in several questions related to water quality. As in previous years, the Association had conducted water quality tests throughout the lake in spring and then re-tested a few weeks later the few sites where e-coli counts were higher than usual. While not as high as last summer’s findings in Baie Simon, the higher than average test results at some spots at the north end of the lake were reported to the municipality for follow-up. The VP environment tabled a detailed report, including news of the Association’s membership in the provincial “Réseau de surveillance volontaire des lacs” which will provide an additional tool for the executive to monitor the health of the lake. The Association also will continue to work with the municipality to learn more about septic testing and new provincial waterfront regulations. Finally, the executive reported that it had researched the question of the higher water levels caused by the beaver dam in the stream and had decided to request a permit for the dam’s removal in July. In order to facilitate communication on environmental issues and any other news affecting the lake community, the Association encouraged members to make use of its new email box at , which had proven useful over the winter in alerting property owners to reports of prowlers. The meeting concluded with the financial report prepared by the treasurer and election of new members of the executive. Claude Tremblay was elected president. The new executive thanked the outgoing past president, Roger Smith, for his many years of dedication and service to the Association and the lake community.
Prepared by Brian Le Conte, past president
Did you know that more than 60 members submitted their name to participate in the ‘’neighborhood’’ watch program?
Assembly of Lake Associations/Regroupement des Associations de Lacs
The Assembly continues to meet twice a year (usually in Wakefield) and brings together representatives of the executive committees of a number of lake associations in the region. The president of the Association Lac Sinclair and/or his designate usually are able to attend. Typically, 15-20 representatives attend the meetings, which are informal and are intended to allow associations to advise what is happening on their lakes and learn about the experiences of other lakes. The focus is on environmental matters and how the various municipalities are dealing with them, e.g. water quality; protection of the shoreline; garbage and sewage disposal, as well as how the associations can work constructively with elected officials. The Assembly does not have a constitution or have any particular mandate other than information sharing. It does not collect fees or have a budget or a website; volunteers organize the meetings, prepare minutes and distribute them to the executive representatives of the participating lake associations. At the September 16, 2009 meeting, representatives of various lakes reported on their water testing procedures and results. Your LakeSinclair representatives were pleased to report on the generally high quality of our water and on our ongoing vigilance, which has permitted us to detect and identify to the municipality unusual concentrations of e-coli. The chair of the Assembly shared with the executives in attendance some helpful information provided by the municipality. These included a letter from Mr. Vlasiu, the environmental technician for La Pêche, explaining how to check septic systems and a summary of a workshop offered by a biologist from the Société sylvicole de la haute Gatineau in Messines and which some representatives of another lake association had attended. The workshop had provided information on different types of shoreline vegetation that could be useful in complying with new provincial regulations for protection of the waterfront. The Society has an informative internet site at which others may wish to consult. The Assembly will follow-up with the municipality to see if it could arrange for Mr. Vlasiu’s information to be shared at public meetings with interested lake associations. Further discussions on these and other matters will take place at the next Assembly meeting, tentatively scheduled for June 2010.
Prepared by Brian Le Conte, past president Lake Sinclair Association
Did you know that you can communicate with your Association by email at ‘’ ’’ or by telephone at 819-456-2373?
2009 Lac Sinclair Lake Association Fishing Tournament
On September 6th, 2009, your lake association held their first, association members only and members paying guests, fishing tournament held since 1956. We had a beautiful sunny day to greet us, as all participating boats met at SeagullIsland for the official 8 a.m. start. 54 people including 10 paid guests, participated in the tournament and covered our wonderful lake in search of Bass, Pike and Rock Bass.
The tournament pontoon boat was stationed at SeagullIsland with the digital scale and all prizes, ready to tabulate the outcomes of the tournament.
In all, there were a grand total of 40 fish brought to the pontoon boat for weigh-in. The combined weight of all fish caught during the tournament was an impressive 57.16 pounds. That’s an average of 1.43 pounds per fish. Keep in mind that quite a few fish were Rock Bass which are included in these numbers. Still a pretty impressive average size!!
Some great prizes were handed out at the end of the tournament to our category winners. All of the winning fish were based on those with the largest weight.
The winners were as follows:
1) Largest Bass (Adult) – Tina Levasseur – 3.2 pounds
2) Second Place - Richard Percival – 2.8 pounds
3) Third Place - Franco Torlone – 2.6 pounds
1) Largest Bass (Kids) - Kayla Dobson/Jacob Percival – 2.9 pounds
2) Second Place - Connor Dobson – 2.2 pounds
3) Third Place - Jacob Lafleur – 2.0 pounds
1) Largest Pike (Adult) – only 1 caught – Tina Levasseur – 5.1 pounds
1) Largest Rock Bass ( Kids) – Jean-Christophe Cote - .11 pounds
2) Second Place - Alexander Lemieux - .6 pounds
3) Third Place - Chloe - .5 pounds
Top total fish combined Weight – Jean-Claude Cote – 5 bass with a total weight of 8.35 pounds.
Congratulations to all our first year winners. Sharpen up your skills for next year’s tournament which will be even better, as we certainly learned a few things from this year.
Thank you to all of you for participating and making it a great day. Special thanks to Carole Blondin for her assistance in planning the event and working with me during the tournament.
Leo Maiorino
Fishing Lover
Did you know that in the month of August a 22 pound pike and another of 18.5 pounds were caught, photographed and released?
Logo Contest
The winner of the logo contest is Christina Sullivan who resides on chemin de la Péninsule. You will be able to see Christina’s art work next season on hats. Unfortunately we are unable to tell you the cost of the hats at this timeas wehave not received our provider’s price list yet. If the budget permitswe will also have t-shirts. See our next bulletin for more information on the subject (May 2010)
Claude Tremblay
2009Association Membership Update
Our current membership stands at 130 paid members for 2009. It is our paid members that provide the funding and more importantly, the feedback your lake association needs to fulfill its mandate in an effective manner.
On behalf of the entire association executive, I would like to thank all of our paid members for your continued support. Without you, the association would not exist.
We do, however, have an additional 59 cottages/residents who were paid members in either 2007, 2008 or both. For some reason, we did not get these renewals in 2009. Had we achieved this additional support, we would have had a record 189 paid members.
The additional funding would allow the association to take on even more initiatives for the good of all of us as cottagers/residents. I hope that all of you will continue to support your lake association in 2010.
As always, your feedback as members continues to be very important to us. Please share your comments, idea’s and or concerns with us. You can email us at . We look forward to hearing from you.
Leo Maiorino
Director, Membership
News regarding silt in bays
The project to remove the mud has taken its wings again. At this moment, research is being undertaken by checking with the provincial and federal government laws. In addition, procedures are being identified and studied. Amongst other things we are looking at the costs, feasibility and the possibility of entitlement to subsidies. We will share our gathered data at a meeting where you will be convened. We would like to hold this meeting in the spring of 2010.
We have found a company in the United Statesthat sells Sludge and Muck Digester Pellets that work at the bottom of your lake or pond. It is presently too late in the year to try these out not to mention that we must make sure that the use of these pellets fall within the environmental guidelines. Once we have more information, we will be able to assess this product’sefficiency.
All new value-added bacteria pellets were designed for lagoons, lakes and ponds as a low-maintenance solution for sludge bed and suspended solids removal, water clarity and beach clean-up.
It will be a pleasure meeting you and having your collaboration.
Thank you for your understanding and patience with this matter.
Your silt committee
General Information Assembly
August 15, 2009
On August 15, all membersof the lac Sinclair Association in good standing were invited to a general information assembly at the East Aldfield Community Centre. Mr. Robert Bussière, Mayor of La Pêche; Mrs. Jocelyne Ménard, Counsellor; and Mr. Marcel Marchildon, Urban Planner for La Pêche, were invited to provide members with further information. Twenty members attended. Each guest was invited to speak.
First, the mayor spoke on the following subjects:
a)November 20 election: For the first time, non-permanent residents can vote by correspondence under a certain protocol. For more information, please contact the Municipality.
b)Composting: A composting Program exists. The Municipality gives a $50 credit to buy a composting bin. Following its ad campaign, the Municipality was hoping for 300 requests. Only 200 families registered for the program. Deception. Interested families may contact the Municipality.
c)Sludge: Presently, sludge is sent to Gatineau on a temporary basis. The MRC des Collines municipalities has been invited to find a site for the sludge. The agreement with the town of Gatineau will soon be over. The La Pêche Municipality has two options: the first would be a site near the GatineauRiver along highway 105. The second would be the construction of a plasma processing plant.
d)Private roads: For the upkeep of private roads, there is a procedure for taking charge of private roads under clause 70 of the Loi sur les compétences municipales. For more information please contact the Municipality. A form is available on the Municipality’s site.
e)High-speed access to Internet: Now in Duclos. People are in the field right now looking for the best sites to install communication towers. We hope that within two years, everyone will have high-speed access to Internet.
Mrs. Ménard advised us that there will not be much paving and repair work around LakeSinclair this year. A major part of her budget was allocated to Parent Road which was in great need of repair. The stripper will clear the shoulder of Duclos roads up to highway 105.
Then Mr. Marchildon advised us that the awareness campaign concerning the Five Meter Regulations has been postponed, but the Regulations are still effective. Strict application of these Regulations will take place in the spring of 2010. As for the inspection of septic systems, LakeBernard and Lac des Loups have priority this year. Once completed, Lakes Notre-Dame and Sinclair will follow. He ended his presentation by counselling us to always check with the Municipality before undertaking work on our land and/or house. Certain rules and regulations may not be respected and cause conflicts with the Municipality.
Presently, the Association has 117 members out of a possibility of more than 350. Many owners are not interested in joining the Association and many « forget » to send in their registration.
The E. Coli level is now acceptable. A few minor problems occurred because of the high water level caused by the beaver dyke. The maximum E. Coli level accepted in Quebec is 200 whereas the accepted level in Ontario is 100. We are part of the « Réseau de surveillance des lacs » (LakeSurveillance Network) and each month we check the quality of the water. More than $2,000 was allocated to monitor the quality of the water. The Association bought a staff gage to study the variations of the water level.
The Association has created a committee to study the silt problem in the bays and will try to find a solution.
Official launching of two new activities:
a)Logo Contest: The Association is looking for a logo to define LakeSinclair, which will be used for promotional goods such as hats, t-shirts, etc. The Association must receive all drawings before October 1st.
b)Fishing Tournament: The first fishing tournament on LakeSinclair in over 50 years will be held on Sunday, September 6, 2009. Since the Association buys the gifts for the winners, this tournament is limited to members only. The rules are available at Mr. Bernier’s store as well as in the Association’s showcase.
Requesting the Low Municipality to pave Fieldville, Simon, and ST-Amour Roads : Given that in 2010 and 2013 there will be two large Jamborees at the scout camp ( over 4 000 and over 8 000 participants) and that this will create much traffic on these roads as well as a high risk of damaging these three roads, a petition for paving is being circulated. It will be presented to the LowMunicipality at the next Council Meeting.