Meeting called to order by President Mary Augustus at 10:15 AM at the Kasoag Lake Tavern
Minutes from meeting on September 11, 2021 summarized by Secretary Lynne Belokopitsky. Accepted by Denise Hartman. Seconded by Harry Tuttle.
Treasurer’s report read by Treasurer Linda Barzee. Funds balance at last meeting $14,733.40. Deposits since last meeting total $9,529.04. Disbursements total $4,225.61. Current balance is $20,036.84. We have 48 members and 9 people made additional donations. We received $12.41 from Amazon Smile and $150.00 from a Face Book donation. Treasurers report accepted by Ed Googin and seconded by Gary Hyatt.
2022 Lake treatment permit has been approved. This years notification letter was a challenge, primarily due to the change from granular to liquid treatment. A-tip requested this change to liquid because the granules clogged up the equipment. 828 letters were mailed jointly with Green Pond. Green Pond paid half the cost of the mailings which saved both of our organizations money. Mark Augustus and Nick Belokopitsky hand delivered 70 letters in Sylvan Bay to mostly seasonal properties. Thank you to Linda Sue Thompson and Linda Barzee for their help preparing all of the letters for mailing/delivery.
We received a large refund from Plumley Engineering for unused funds/overpayment. This was much appreciated.
Nick Belokopitsky requested a grant from Walmart and received $1,000 for the Association. He also did a birthday fundraiser on FB and the Association received $150.
For the Walmart Grant, Nick visited the manager at Walmart in Central Square prior to submitting the application to explain what our Association is all about. This personal visit helped with the application and approval of our grant. Please create a post to thank them and include the tags @walmartgiving, #walmartgiving and @kasoaglakeconservationassociation on posts to thank Walmart for supporting KLCA and to help us secure an additional grant next year.
Membership numbers are looking very good this year. Thank you for becoming members and supporting the lake.
Apparel – We have a new vendor. There is no minimum for orders and a quick turn-around. All sizes are available, but some colors may be harder to get. The Christmas sale generated $500 and we could have made more if supplies weren’t so limited. We’ll be offering apparel on FB and possibly the website soon.
We’re offering a “Friends of the Lake” membership for an annual $20 donation. Friends get a window cling and a give-away item. They’ll receive emails with lake news and event information.
Bulletin Boards – This year we’ll post ALL of the meeting and event information at the beginning of the season. New this year is a corn-hole tournament on July 16 at the Tavern. Sign-up for the Golf Tournament will start in June. They’ll be a dinner at the Tavern with raffles after the tournament.
- Picnic/Auction – July 9
- Cornhole Tournament at the Tavern – July 16
- Duck Race – August 13
- Fishing Derby – August 21
- Golf Tournament – September 24
- Fall Fest – October 1
The can/bottle drive at Bobbi’s is on-going. Bobbi will give us 6 cents a can the first week in June.
A question was asked about restrictions after the Lake Treatment – No swimming during the application. Don’t water your plants for 5 days.
Gordon Hyatt presented information on a proposed Lake District to sustainably fund maintenance of the lake. This lake is special and we need to control the invasive species to keep it so. The effort and approximately $20,000 cost to do that is significant. Mark and Mary do the bulk of it. There is no grant money this year and it’s unlikely for next year. We need to be self sustaining. There are approximately 180 properties around the lake, and about 140 with direct waterfront. With 70 members, there are a substantial number of property owners who are not contributing. A Lake District would ensure that everyone who benefits from the Associations efforts pays their fair share for them. The Lake District would ensure that the Association has a sustainable source of funding for lake treatments.
Mary and Gordon met with Williamstown Town Officials and presented our proposal to the Town Board for review. The Town Attorney reviewed the proposal. The conclusion of the Town Board and Attorney was that it was feasible but that the Association would have to do the work.
The amount collected per property would be based on assessed value. We control the amount collected each year. The town retains the money until we submit invoices for qualified expenses. If we don’t use the money, it rolls over to the next year.
This is a process. First step is to circulate a petition to all Lake District property owners. We need 50% of the assessed values to sign the petition in favor of the Lake District. The second step would be a vote of people registered to vote in the Town of Williamstown who are in the Lake District, with a majority of yes votes vs no votes.
It is the recommendation of the board to proceed. Six members volunteered for a committee to explore this further and vet the concept.
The floor was opened to question/comments:
- Can I opt-out?
- Can we do a flat tax in lieu of a tax on assessed value?
- Taxes are already too high.
- Can the tax be capped?
- Can the town kick in some money
- Will this cause my property to be reassessed?
Members were asked to submit questions for the committee to research and answer.
Meeting was adjourned at 11:40
(Minutes approved on June 11, 2022. Motion to accept by George Stowers, seconded by Mike Kunkel)