Meeting called to order at 10:03 AM by President Mary Augustus at the Kasoag Lake Tavern and Grill.
Summary of August meeting minutes was presented by Secretary Lynne Belokopitsky. Hard copies of full minutes were available for review. Motion to accept minutes made by Harry Tuttle, seconded by Ed Googin.
Treasurer’s report presented by Treasurer Linda Barzee. Current balance is $13,088.31. Expenditures were $273.31 and deposits were $654.54. Motion to accept by Mike King, seconded by Kelly Merrill.
This is the last meeting of the year. The Duck Race will be held today at Shinglemill Creek after the meeting. There will be hot dogs, chili and beverages. Ducks are $5 and Duck Cookies are $1.
The Fishing Derby was held in a monsoon. Thanks to Denise, Carol, Brenda and everyone who helped. The announcement for the Derby was posted to public FB sites in error. We had a family of 6 (including 4 little kids) show up. Inviting them might have been a mistake, but the generosity of the members to this family was wonderful. Our members made sure that each of those kids got a prize, including hats made and donated by Denise Hartmann. That said, it will go back to the way it was. Kelly Merrill asked why it wasn’t open to the public. Answer- because this is not a fundraiser. The cost of the food and comes out of Association money, and the entrance fees are used for cash prizes.
SLELO – We received a message asking if we “still had fanwort” and indicating that SLELO wants to do an EDNA study of Kasoag. They’ll take water samples and be able to determine what plants and animals/fish live in our Lake. There is no cost to us, and the results should be very interesting. Mark will accompany the SLELO sampler on September 19.
Ed Michalski expressed concern about the algae blooms and the regrowth of Fanwort in the Lake. Answer – We don’t really know why some years there is more or less algae. It could be the temperature of the lake, a change in the amount or type of decomposing material, or all/none of the above. Ours is a “healthy” algae that will not harm people or pets. The lake water is tested every other Sunday. The tests are extensive. Based on info posted on the DEC FaceBook page, many NYS lakes are experiencing more algae blooms than normal this year. As far as the Fanwort regrowth goes, that’s expected. We can’t eradicate Fanwort, just manage it. The lake looks great this year, but there are probably areas with more regrowth than others. We will post a link to the water test results and EDNA test results when they are available.
Golf Tournament – We need more teams and really need raffle items. The golf tournament in general is our big fundraiser, and the raffles are an important part of that. Contact Andy to sign up by September 18 for the tournament or to sponsor a hole. If you sponsor a hole, a sign will be posted at a hole on the course for all to see. Sign in begins at 7 AM September 24. There’s a chicken BBQ for players at the Kasoag Lake Tavern after the tournament.
Tuttles Ten Minutes – Harry has suggested that we talk about something other than fundraising and the lake treatment. He suggested that we get some people together to explore other things. This is a great idea, and Harry will be leading this effort to share ideas and celebrate successes. Topics could include stump/tree removal, shoreline stabilization, muck solutions, electric vs gas motors.
Lake District – We spoke to Don Fisher from Little York Lake who just went through a similar exercise to create a lake district. It was very helpful, and we have a better understanding of the timing and process. Our proposal is to include only lakefront properties in the district because those property values are most affected by the health of the lake, and to base the amount each owner pays based on assessed value. The district will be called the Kasoag Lake Aquatic Growth Control District. KLCA dues will be reduced to offset the amount collected by the town.
If you’re opposed to the plan, we need to hear it, but we also need to hear an alternative that will reliably raise the money needed for the treatment. Not everyone joins the association. Year after year the same people donate generously and work tirelessly to ensure we have enough money to pay for the treatment. The costs total about $20,000 and include regulatory mailings, permit fees and required insurance in addition to the cost of the treatment.
Under the proposed plan, the Association will determine the amount to be collected. That amount will be approved by the membership. The town will collect it. The association will submit a voucher to the town for actual expenses. Any leftover money will be rolled over to the following year for the sole purpose of treating the lake.
This will not trigger a reassessment of our lake properties. Any potential reassessment would be town-wide and unrelated to this effort.
The next steps are to gather signatures on a petition. Only one signature is needed per property. If you are a lake-front property owner, you are entitled to sign the petition. If we collect signatures representing 51% of the total assessed value, we can present the petition to the Town Board. There will be a public hearing, and a vote for those registered to vote at their lake district address. This whole thing needs to be done by March 1.
Lake Treatment 2023 – Mark asked for a vote to approve the lake treatment for next year. This is typically done by email, but that process doesn’t work well, so we are doing it now. The Motion to accept the proposal was made by Harry Tuttles and seconded by Pam King. This motion was approved.
Brenda and Gary Hyatt are donating a beautiful handmade quilt (78” by 96”) to be raffled off. Raffle tickets will be provided to members in the annual newsletter.
Theresa Stevens is organizing a winter fun, sled race in January. It’ll be nice to have a winter event. Thank you, Theresa for managing this. More info to follow.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:15.
Motion to accept these minutes was made by Kelly Merrill and seconded by Pam King on May 13, 2023.