For the preservation, protection, and maintenance of Lake St. Catherine
On Saturday, June 24th, the Lake St. Catherine Association held their second meeting of the 2023 season.
Attendance: Jim Canders, Jerremy Jones, Mary Jo Teetor (Online), Kemi McShane (Online), Frank Callahan, Ed Laird, Mike Gay (Online), Sue Williams (Online), Lisa Micich, John Belnavis. Absent: Bob Williams, Rob Nesbit, Jeff Crandall, Mark Shea, Nancy Liberatore
Guests: None
Call to Order: President Jim Canders called the meeting to order at 8:35.
Public Comment: None.
Approval of Meeting Minutes: Minutes of May 27, 2023 posted. Motion to accept the minutes as presented, made by Frank, seconded by Lisa. All in favor, so moved.
Treasurer’s Report: Mary Jo Teetor, MJ outlined 2023 income and expenditures, Lake Wise payment to PMNRCD, DASH contract, Arrowwood and limnologist contracts, and discussed completed land sale. Jerremy will draft an announcement. Motion to accept the Treasurer's Report as presented made by Frank, and seconded by John. All in favor, so moved.
Annual Meeting: John Belnavis, John outlined the plan for the CC and the Annual Meeting. Dinner choices will be chicken piccata, baked haddock, prime rib. CC can support up to 80 dinners, need to have count by the Friday before meeting. John suggested $375 for facility fee to the CC. Motion made by John, seconded by Lisa, All in favor, so moved. Guest speakers mentioned were Pat Suozzi from FOVLAP, our Game Warden Justin Turner. Also discussed reaching out to town boards and legislators. Jerremy will reach out, start on presentation. There was also a brif discussion about the LSCA's upcoming presentation at East Poultney Day.
Milfoil Management: DASH team report was read, They began hand-pulling near the State Park, will be ready to start full DASH operations on July 1. They will start on areas identified in the May survey as moderate density - North Bay and the Channel.
Boat Launch Greeter Program: John Belnavis, John reported that he had some initial issues with staffing, but now has a good crew in place. Lots of floating milfoil in the channel. Discussed Arrowwood taking over the plant survey, and will use SOLitude's existing GPS points.
Water Quality: May Jo Teetor, lay monitoring bi-weekly. Also discussed limnologist Emily Porter-Goff’s presentation and recommendations for water testing. Discussed gradual increase in water clarity since 1998 from DEC charts.
Publicity: Jerremy Jones, Jerremy reported about recent appearances at the Town 2 Trails open house at Poultney High School, and the Milfoil Control meeting at the Wells Lakeside Park. Keeping the website and Facebook pages up-to-date with all the latest news.
Lake Safety: Frank Callahan & Mike Gay, new buoys are being placed, with a few left to put out. Frank spoke about the first boating license class, the second one is happening next week.
Nominating Committee: The 5 trustees whose terms end in 2023 all indicated that they would serve another term: Jim, Jeff, Jerremy, Sue, Bob.
Membership: Jerremy Jones, 350 members, getting closer to our goal of 400. Nudge postcards will be sent to those who have been members in the past but not yet renewed for 2023.
Grants / Government Relations: Discussed continued work on grants. Quarterly reports will be due in early July.
New & Old Business: Discussed East Poultney Day & and our presentation, boat parade signups are low, upcoming Lake Wise training at LSC - DEC to drop off award plaques for 2022 winners, Libraries Love Lakes grant earned in partnership with Wells Village Library, upcoming permit renewal, our Game Warden's new weekly updates to the lake community, the upcoming DEC wake boat meetings on the draft rule,
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 10:20, seconded and all in favor, so moved.
Next meeting: July 22, 2023 at 8:00 AM LSC CC, followed by the Annual Meeting & Dinner later that evening at 6 PM.
Meeting minutes compiled by Kemi McShane & Jerremy Jones.
The results are in, and after 177 votes, here are your winners of the LSCA's 11th Annual Boat Parade:
Most Original: Boat #1 - Unidentified Floating Object - The Goldman Family
Most Patriotic: Boat #3 - 4th of July / Fireworks - Joseph Cheslawski
Funniest: Boat #11 - Sunnyside 5th Generation - Megan Caswell
Best Overall: Boat #6 - Groovin On The Lake 2.0 - Christine & Mike Gay
THANK YOU to all our participants - fantastic creativity all around, and to Karen Velsor for the photos!
If you enjoyed the boat parade, please consider becoming a member of the Lake St. Catherine Association to support our work for the benefit of LSC. We have multiple membership levels for you. You can learn more about becoming a member here: https://lakestcatherine.org/become-a-member
Thank you, and have a safe and fun 4th of July weekend!
Hello LSC - we hope you enjoyed the 11th Annual Boat Parade!
Cast your vote: https://forms.gle/F6jiLGU491d2CHXe6
THANK YOU to all the participants! Your enthusiasm and creativity was fantastic!
...and thank you to Karen Velsor for all these fantastic photos!
The poll will be open until 9 PM.
Hello LSC, we have some very exciting news to share with you today. Back in August of 2021, we received a letter from someone who wanted to make a land donation to the LSCA to help support our mission for Lake St. Catherine. They said: "I am aware of the work the LSCA does in preserving Lake St. Catherine and hope this donation furthers your ability to continue that work." After all associated costs from the sale of the property have been accounted for, the proceeds from this donation will total just over $42,000 dollars. Two of our trustees donated their professional time to minimize the expenses of LSCA related to this real estate transaction. This donation will help to fund important water quality improvements like the creation of the Lake St. Catherine Watershed Action Plan, and the projects that will result from it. In addition, this large supplement to our cash reserve will help LSCA bridge the timing gap that often exists between the expenses incurred to preserve the lake and various municipal grants awarded for this purpose. Sometimes the timing gap is as long as one year. Please join us in thanking the donor (who wishes to remain anonymous) for this extremely generous donation which will greatly benefit Lake St. Catherine. THANK YOU!
> Photo by Andrew Gioulis
Good afternoon LSC.
Our Game Warden Justin Turner sent us this update about his work at the lake this past week, June 17th - 24th to pass along to the lake community. He will be providing updates throughout the season, and this is his second update.
We thank Justin for his work, and providing these updates to the lake community!
Justin's Report:
"Last week Vermont Game Wardens conducted boating patrols throughout the week, to include more safety inspections, fishing compliance checks and general patrol for boating safety. Wardens addressed personal floatation device (pfd) violations, wake violations, and failure to have an observer while water skiing.
Wardens have noticed while doing safety inspections that life jackets and fire extinguishers are not always easily accessible or found in a known location. For example, safety equipment found in a compartment under an anchor line or other miscellaneous items. It may be worth checking your safety equipment to ensure you know where it is and that it is easily and quickly accessible.
As a reminder, its is a violation to operate a boat within 200 feet of the shoreline; an individual in the water; a canoe, rowboat, or other vessel; an anchored or moored vessel containing any individual; or anchorages or docks, except at a speed of less than five miles per hour that does not create a wake.
In addition, and worth noting, an individual shall not operate a vessel, except at speeds of less than five miles per hour, within 200 feet of a designated swimming area. This applies to the designated swimming area buoys found off the beach at the State Park.
Here is a link to distance requirement statute: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/029/03311
As mentioned before, Wardens will be conducting safety inspections throughout the summer. A safety inspection is an equipment check including but not limited to the following items when applicable, working lights, pfd’s, fire extinguisher(s), registration numbers, current validation sticker, muffling device, a working bilge blower, and a boating safety card. If you see Wardens out and about, please feel free to flag us down on the water or from your dock and we are happy to complete an inspection for you or answer any questions/concerns you may have.”
Thank you to Justin for working to keep us all safe on the lake, and for providing these updates.
You can read more about boating rules, and how to contact Justin on our Lake Safety page here: https://lakestcatherine.org/lake-safety
Finally, Justin will be one our guest speakers at the LSCA's Annual Meeting & Dinner on July 22nd at 6 PM at the LSC Country Club. You can click here to RSVP, and reserve a dinner: https://lakestcatherine.org/event-5329309 - please join us!
Hello LSC.
We'd like to invite you to the 2023 Lake St. Catherine Association's Annual Meeting & Dinner at the Lake St. Catherine Country Club on Saturday, July 22nd, beginning at 6 PM.
The LSCA Trustees will update you on lake issues, give you reports from their committees, and discuss current and future initiatives for the lake. The meeting will conclude with an open question and answer session, then we'll have a nice dinner together with our lake neighbors.
Guest speakers will be announced soon.
We are looking forward to seeing you!
At approximately 7:30, dinner will be served. If you'd like to stay for dinner, the LSC CC has provided the menu below.
Dinner options:
- Includes dinner rolls, cake and coffee.
Please RSVP for the meeting by clicking here to register. You will be able to indicate the selection of dinner(s) you'd like to reserve. If you'd like to attend the meeting, but not stay for dinner, leave the dinner selection fields blank. You can pay online with a credit card or with cash at the door.
You must RSVP for a dinner by July 14th so the Country Club can properly prepare. We'll not be able to take walk-ins for dinner.
80 dinners available. Dinners sold out last year, so please RSVP as soon as possible.
Thank you!
Good afternoon LSC - we'd like to give you an update from our Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting (DASH) team.
Owen and Beck have started hand-pulling in Area F by the State Park (see the attached map) by swimming the area and using mesh bags for collection.
Full DASH operations will begin on July 1st. At this time, the team can use the DASH boat and suction tube. After hand-pulling the milfoil from the lakebed, they place the pulled weed into the suction tube and it's transported to the collection table on the boat. Milfoil is then placed in buckets and removed from the lake.
Once full DASH operations can begin, the team will prioritize Area M in the Channel and Area C in North Bay. These are 2 of the 3 'moderate' density areas.
Also, you may have seen milfoil fragments (see attached photo) making their way around the lake. You can help to make a difference by scooping these fragments out of the lake, and out from around your dock & shoreline. As a general rule, get as much milfoil out of the lake as you can - let it dry out on land and dispose of it as you would yard waste. See the attached flyer for other tips - and try to avoid driving through milfoil patches with your boat.
Keep an eye out for the guys, and give them plenty of room to work. We'll keep you up-to-date on their progress throughout the season.
Thanks for your great efforts Owen & Beck!
Good afternoon LSC. Our Game Warden Justin Turner sent us this update about his work at the lake this past weekend to pass along to the lake community. He will be providing updates throughout the season, which we will share with you. We thank Justin for his work, and providing these updates to the lake community! From Justin: “Vermont Game Wardens conducted boating patrol on Lake St. Catherine over the weekend, to include safety inspections, fishing compliance checks and general patrol for boating safety. Wardens addressed personal floatation device (pfd) violations, fishing without a license, and failure to have an observer while water skiing. As a reminder, USCG approved wearable pfd’s are required for each occupant on board a vessel, to include those in kayaks. Children under the age of 12 are required to wear a pfd at all times when under power and on an open deck, and if you’re towing somebody in a tube, wakeboard, kneeboard, water skis etc., an observer over the age of 12 is required in a position to observe the progress of the individual or individuals being towed. Here are some links with information about lights and equipment along with the water ski regulations: • https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/029/03306 • https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/029/03315 Wardens will be conducting safety inspections throughout the summer. A safety inspection is an equipment check including but not limited to the following items when applicable, working lights, pfd’s, fire extinguisher(s), registration numbers, current validation sticker, muffling device, a working bilge blower, and a boating safety card." Justin said that he will be able to be on the lake more this season, so be sure to say hi when you see him. You can read more about boating rules, and how to contact Justin on our Lake Safety page here: https://lakestcatherine.org/lake-safety
We'd like to let you know that we have some openings available in our Greeter Program.
The LSCA has managed and funded the Lake St. Catherine Greeter Program since 2004 through membership contributions & donations, and grants.
Our Greeters are hard working folks who have been trained to identify aquatic invasive species (AIS) to stop them from entering LSC at the boat launch. They also educate boaters about the importance of looking for these invasives on their boat or trailer so they are not spread to LSC or another lake.
Their duties include:
Greeters do not just check boats and trailers for milfoil - they are checking for many invasive species that are just a lake or two away from us. These invasives include zebra mussels, spiny waterflea, asian clams, water chestnuts and starry stonewort.
Our Greeters are on duty from Memorial Day through Labor Day - working on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They also cover holidays and fishing tournaments. You can learn more about the LSCA's Greeter Program by clicking here.
Greeters will be fully trained, and will earn $15 per hour.
If you are interested in becoming a Lake St. Catherine Greeter, please contact us at info@lakestcatherine.org.
On Saturday, May 27th, the Lake St. Catherine Association held their first meeting of the 2023 season.
Attendance: Jim Canders, Jerremy Jones, Mary Jo Teetor, Frank Callahan, Ed Laird, Nancy Liberatore, Mike Gay, Jeff Crandall, Mark Shea, Sue Williams (Online), Bob Williams, Absent: Lisa Micich, Kemi McShane, Rob Nesbit, John Belnavis
Call to Order: President Jim Canders called the meeting to order at 8:30.
Approval of Meeting Minutes: Minutes of August 27, 2022 posted. Motion to accept the minutes as presented, made by Frank, seconded by Nancy. All in favor, so moved.
Treasurer’s Report: Mary Jo Teetor, outlined 2022 income and expenditures, and projections and budgeting for 2023 with printed reports. Motion to accept the Treasurer's Report as presented made by Jeff, and seconded by Mark. All in favor, so moved.
Annual Meeting / Use of LSC CC: As reported by Jim Canders, John Belnavis has reserved the LSC Country Club for our Annual Meeting: July 22nd, 2023 at 6 PM. John is working with the LSC CC on arrangements and dinner for the meeting. Details will be presented at the June Meeting.
Milfoil Management: Jeff Crandall, Jeff discussed the favorable results of the early May survey, and explained that after discussions with the DASH team, they decided that they can cover the sparse milfoil growth and a spot treatment would not be needed. Also discussed, contracts with Arrowwood Environmental to take over our fall plant survey from SOLitude and our contract with limnologist Emily Porter-Goff for the LWAP. Motion by Mary Jo to approve Arrowwood contract, and seconded by Mark. All in favor, so moved. Motion by Mary Jo to approve limnologist contract, and seconded by Frank. All in favor, so moved.
Boat Launch Greeter Program: As reported by Jim Canders, John Belnavis has the Greeter Program underway as of Memorial Day Weekend. John and Greeters recently attended in-person training in Manchester.
Water Quality: May Jo Teetor, lay monitoring to start, new water testing equipment purchased for lay monitoring water testing. Underwater viewers purchased to launch the Vermont Invasive Patrollers Program (VIP).
Publicity: Jerremy Jones, Spring newsletter available, emailed to members, posted on website, printed copies available at Wellsmere Farm. Frequent postings on our website, Facebook, email blasts to keep the lake community informed.
Lake Safety: Frank Callahan & Mike Gay, new marker buoys built, will be installed over the weekend. Boating license classes scheduled for June 21 & 22 in Poultney, June 26 & 27 in Wells.
Nominating Committee: Bob Williams, LSCA has a full complement of Trustees, but always looking for folks that would be interested.
Membership: Jerremy Jones, in good shape, 335 members to date, 16 of which are Business Sponsors. Goal is 400, ended 2022 with 388. Patches have been popular.
Grants / Government Relations: Discussed our State & LCBP grants and the need for help from other Trustees with reporting. Mark indicated his interest in assisting.
New Business: VT Ecostudies will be installing lead tackle and old monofilament collection tubes at the boat launch. Will have Greeters point them out, and keep an eye on them. Eric Hanson from VT Ecostudies will be at the lake later today to inspect the area where loons are exhibiting nest building activities. We have been invited to present a history of LSC at East Poultney Day - discussed what could be presented and who would present (maybe Frank?). Boat Parade will be Saturday, July 1st at 1 PM. Will start promoting and signing up boats.
Old Business: Ed and Nancy discussed the land sale, we have an offer. After discussion, it was decided to counter. Nancy will present the counter to the potential buyer and will report back.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 10:30, seconded and all in favor, so moved.
Next meeting: June 24, 2023 at 8:30 AM LSC CC.
Meeting minutes compiled by Jerremy Jones.
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