Huntsville - Lake of Bays Lakes Council

Published on Huntsville Lake of Bays Lakes Council (http://www.hloblc.org)

HLoBLC Minutes

Date: November 7, 2009

Location: Robinson Independent Grocer Community Room, Huntsville, ON

Present:

Tonia Di Sabatino - Chair - Oxbow Lake Cottager’s Association

Burr Atkinson - Secretary - Walker and Pells Lakes Area Association

Ted Mercer - Director - Otter Lake Association

Shane Baker - Director - Tasso, Toad, Camp and Blue Lakes Association

Ken Sharer – Director- Lake Vernon Association

John Kenny - Director - Lake of Bays Association

Dan Kerr - Director - Mary Lake Association

Peter Van Buskirk – Fairy Lake Association

Ellen Fox – Director- Fox Lake Associatio

Elaine Jackson – Guest Fox Lake

Jill Patterson- Director-Hidden Valley Owners Association

John Forder- Director - Lake Waseosa Ratepayers Association

Dwayne Verhey –Guest & WebMaster- Lake Waseosa Ratepayers Association

Regrets:

Dan McKeon – Vice Chair - Peninsula Lake Association

Morris Eccles – Director - Lake of Bays Association

Michael Young - Director - Lake Waseosa Ratepayers Association

Roger Staig – Director - Clovelly Point Cottagers Association

Mike Greenfield - Director - Mary Lake Association

Wendy Olan - Director - Bittern Lake Association

Brian Markham – Director -Bella-Rebecca Community Association

Rob Zingel - Director - Fairy Lake Association

Jim King – Director – Fairy Lake Association

1. Call to Order: Chair, Tonia D., opened the meeting at 9:35 A.M. welcoming all members and guests.

2. Approval of the Agenda: Motion by Tonia D. and seconded by Burr A. that “the agenda be approved”. Motion carried, however John K. did state that the ‘Business Proposal’ being last on the Agenda was unfortunate if we planned to spend any time on it.

3. Approval of the Minutes: Motion by Burr A. and seconded by Ken S. that “the Minutes of the June 6, 2009 HLC meeting be approved as amended”. Motion carried.

4. Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer’s Report was distributed and presented by John F and he noted that the Clovelly Point Association has left our Association. Motion by John F. and seconded by Ted M. that “the Treasurer’s report be approved”. Motion carried

5. Old Business: Follow up items from last HLC meeting-

A. WebPage Design Status: Tonia D. stated that she was going to let the Communication Committee cover an up-date on the WebPage design.

B. Lake Plan Template Up-date. Tonia informed us that work on it is still in progress and that she plans to put it into Adobe PDF and Word formats for downloading from our WebSite. At this point Elaine J. expressed some concern regarding the fact that this plan has been a fundraiser and felt that it should not be given away. After some discussion about Elaine’s concerns, Tonia felt that we might discuss these concerns more adequately when we consider our fund raising strategies. [Whatever the case, at our last HLoBLC meeting (August 1, 2009) we decided to discuss and, perhaps, prepare a motion at our AGM regarding whether or not we should continue to charge a fee for the Lake Plan Template.]

6. Lake Association Reports/Concerns:

A. Lake Waseosa Ratepayers Association: John F. and Dwayne V. stated that their Association was still dealing with the results of a severance issue on their lake. They felt that the Town’s Council ignored Lake Waseosa’s Lake Plan in making their decision. Moreover, the fact that this issue was referred to the Town’s Committee of Adjustment for appraisal, rather than the Planning and Design Committee (where this Association thought it belonged), and approved by that Committee, enabled it to be approved by the Town Council. A question was raised, regarding whether or not the HLoBLC had any involvement in this issue. The answer was that the Lake Waseosa Association felt that they could handle it and did not request our help. Whatever, a long discussion, regarding the manner by which the Town’s Council handled this matter, ended with our Directors agreeing that representatives from the Lake Waseosa Association get together with individuals from our Planning and Environmental Committees and in the next month put together an HLC position paper. It was the Directors opinion that after HLoBLC approved it, the paper might be appropriate to send to the newspaper and/of the Town’s Council.

B. Otter Lake Association: Ted M. reported that at the present time there are no issues being addressed on Otter Lake (i.e. the Lake is quite)..

C. Mary Lake Association: Dan K. stated that the Town of Huntsville approved their Lake Plan. Dan K. also passed out new pamphlets about Mary Lake’s Lake Plan to the directors. He also mentioned that they were concerned with the control of changes in lake levels and are dealing with the Ministry on this issue. Finally, he said that they are also directing people to “watch their wakes” as part a means of preserving our shorelines.

D. Fairy Lake Association: Peter V. said that they had an issue with ‘bubblers’ and letting everyone know that bubbling (aerating the water in winter time, particularly interfering with normal ice formation) is an offense that is covered in the criminal code of Canada (Section 263). He also said that the problems of the canal between Fairy Lake and Penn Lake still exist and that they had meetings with the Summit Management Office regarding environment and community issues. He stated that they gave them a tour of the canal area to stress the environmental impact and navigational safety issues surrounding the canal. He drew attention to the fact that the Management Office was doing research for the Department of Fisheries & Oceans Waterways Management Development Program and, he thought, would look into an assessment of the long-term viability of the navigational area of this canal and the effect it is/was having on the environment surrounding this canal.

E. Lake of Bays Association: John K. said at their annual general meeting last Saturday they discussed the effect of G8 on getting into various areas and/or homes on some of our lakes.

F. Walker & Pells Lakes Area Association – Burr A. reported that the Christmas Dinner for this Association will be held at the Norsemen restaurant on the first Saturday in December.

G. Oxbow Lake Cottager’s Association: Tonia D. said that everything appears to be quiet on Oxbow Lake.

H. Hidden Valley Owners Association: Jill P. reported that in 2013 Hidden Valley is scheduled to have sewers put in, providing the Town has the money, and that the will be included in the taxes at $1,000.00 per year over a 10 year period. She mentioned that young families are moving into Hidden Valley and joining Hidden Valley Owners Association. Finally, she discussed a bit about the effect G8 is going to have on the traffic entering the Hidden Valley area.

I. Tasso, Toad, Camp and Blue Lakes Association: Shane B. reported that they had their Annual General Meeting on Labor Day and elected Charles Cooper as the new President.

J. Lake Vernon Association: Ken S. said that they also had their AGM on Labor Day and that they elected Ian Hastie as their new President. An issue discussed at their AGM was one regarding the lack of a by-law concerning the necessity for the presence of a screen around excavating sites.

K. Fox Lake Association: Elaine J. introduced Ellen F. as the new Director for HLoBLC from this Association. Elaine J. said that they approved their lake Plan at their July AGM, and that Elaine and others are currently doing the final changes/corrections. She informed us that they plan to submit it to government types over the winter and hope to be distributing it to people on their lake next summer.

7. Committee Updates and Reports:

A. Planning and Land Use Committee: Ken S. reported that there were only three planning applications in Huntsville, and that these applications were all straight forward. Tonia D. stated that in the last month or so none of the planning applications in the Township of Lake of Bays seemed contentious and that she would have Morris E. pass on, if necessary, any further information to Burr A. to include in these Minutes.

B. Environmental Committee: Michael Y. reported that he has was asked to be on Huntsville’s Green Plan selection committee and that their work should start in early December (He felt that they were trying to tie it in with the G8 and, therefore, would like to have it in a final draft by April.).

C. Local Government and Taxation Committee: Shane B. stated that we are just coming into Budget time and that he will be watching to see how things unfold in the Lake of Bays Township; he suggested several different things that the Township Council might be considering to address the up-coming Budget. John K. (who generally covers the Huntsville part of this Committee) stated that he learned in a conversation with the Lake of Bays Tax Collector that she is using a 5% inflation figure for simply working out next years monthly payments and he felt that this is a warning about the Township’s line of thinking. He also reported that he has already attended an Economic Development Committee Budget Exercise in Huntsville and felt that it was almost scary [e.g., ~$200,00.00 was being talked about for fixing their WebSite, coupled with their overspending (6.8% over expenditure on University facilities alone)]. He summarized by saying “Warning Big Taxes Ahead”!

D. Communication Committee:

WebSite Status; Dwayne Verhey was asked by Tonia D. to lead a discussion on redesigning the website. Dwayne described methods by which a Director might enter into the WebSite, and add, correct and/or delete information in the WebSite. He also pointed out that in order for a Director to get into information on the Website that is not available to the public and/or restricted to particular committees of the HLoBLC, he/she must provide name and e-mail address to the HLoBLC Secretary who, in turn, will be responsible for informing me (the WebMaster) of that persons status in the HLoHBL. He also described a number of other features that might be put into the newly proposed WebSite, as well as changes in the images presented on the WebSite. In conclusion, Dwayne reminded us that he is a volunteer who welcomes any suggestions you have on the design of the WebSite, however, he states that he must make the decision on the feasibility of incorporating any of these suggestions into our Website. Whatever the case, he reminded everyone that any Association that does not have a WebSite should consider using ours. Finally, Elaine J. requested that approved Minutes from the HLoBLC be available on our WebSite for the public to see and everyone agreed. Tonia and the Directors thanked Dwayne for his fine presentation and the work that he has put forward on our behalf.

Business Proposal Presentation; Ted M. presented a simple overview of a ‘working document’ entitled ‘Business Proposal Huntsville/Lake of Bays Lakes Council’ to the Directors for their study and consideration. It is understood that we consider this proposal, talk about it and only act on it when we are satisfied with it and prepared to submit it for approval at an AGM. The Directors decided that this ‘working document’ will be distributed to the directors by Tonia.

8. Motion to Adjourn: Motion carried and meeting Adjourned at 12:15 P.M.

Next Meeting –Tentatively set for Saturday December 5th, 2009 at 9:30AM in the Robinson Independent Grocer Community Room, Huntsville, ON

Prepared by: Burr G. Atkinson – (Secretary)