ESSLA- Executive Board Meeting- December 8, 2011

Present: Bill McGhie, Jane Smith, Vince Blando, Bob Colegrove, Joanne McGhie, Anne Pieper, Rich Nawrot, Fred Eshelman, Mike Purdy, and Sally Paland.

Absent: Chrys Matterson, Kim Frazier, Gretchen Marcell, and Steve Fahey.

The meeting was called to order at 9:32 by Bill. Bob made a motion to accept the October minutes as written, Rich seconded it and the motion carried. Bob gave kudos to Joanne for her bookkeeping skills and to Anne for her fundraising efforts. Bob gave a detailed accounting of our finances. (see attached) At present, we have $16,936.80 in our checking account. Sally made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report, Fred seconded it and the motion carried.

Committee Reports

Membership: Jane asked for approval of money to do a membership mailing in early January. The mailing would go to 722 prospective homes as well as some Essex County residents. Joanne made a motion to authorize Jane to spend up to $1,000 for a membership mailing. Fred seconded the motion and the motion carried. Mike offered to work with Jane on getting new members from the Lodges.

Publicity: No report.

Lake Steward: Jane reported we hope to have two lake stewards on duty Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays this summer. Rich is working with Robert Fiorentino from the DEC about fishing tournaments. Volunteers may staff the boat launch during tournaments if they are held during the week. Rich will contact Rob about posting a sign at the Horicon Boat Launch explaining the new Warren County law regarding the transport of aquatic invasive species.

Fundraising: Anne reported that the note cards made an $804 profit. The committee brought in a total of $3,100 this year. Anne presented the 2013 pocket calendars to sell this coming season. Mike made a motion to allocate $250 to purchase 150 calendars. Bob seconded it and the motion carried. Anne gave an update on the tee shirts, showing the neat design Gretchen has crafted. Jane made a motion to spend up to $2,000 for 250 shirts, Bob seconded it and the motion carried. There will be tee shirts and collared shirts, coming in different sizes and colors. Anne already has a commitment of 15 baskets to be raffled off at the Pasta Dinner.

Scouts: Vince hopes to have a kick-off breakfast for scouts again this year. Vince will be sending the Lycott report to the scouts via email.

CSLAP: There was a discussion as to whether to continue with CSLAP. It costs us about $900 a year. Consensus was that the water testing is very important for the lake.

Old Business

ESSLA has paid $1,250 as our share of the Lycott Survey. Bill reviewed the Lycott Project saying he expected the lake clean-up to cost approximately $250,000 over a 3-year period. He expects to hear about our grant request from the state any day. Horicon has committed $25,000 a year for 3 years, Chester has committed funds for each of 3 years, and Schroon Lake and Schroon Lake Association have yet to commit. Joanne moved that ESSLA set aside up to $10,000 a year for 3 years, starting in 2012, for the harvesting of milfoil in Schroon Lake. Jane seconded it and the motion carried. The next Schroon Lake Watershed Management Plan Steering Committee meeting is Tuesday, December 13th at 1:30 in the Schroon Lake Town Hall. All are encouraged to attend to hear a power point presentation by Lycott.

Bill and Jane spoke to Ralph Bentley about “Welcome to Adirondack” signs. It is hoped that one will be placed near Valentine Pond Road and the one near Schroon River Road will be spruced up.

Sally showed the board the mock-up of the ESSLA rack card with Schroon Lake in blue and some of the printing in red. Sally did a comparison and the best price was found at Kingsbury Printing Co. in Hudson Falls. Mike made a motion to approve the spending, as per Kingbury’s estimate, for the printing of 1,000 ESSLA rack cards. Jane seconded it and the motion passed. These will be placed at various locations near the lake and used at homeowner association meetings to encourage membership.

New Business

Bill asked if we want to continue membership in NYSFOLA. The membership is $150 a year and there is a cost for sending representatives to the conference in May. Bill stated that he would like someone new to attend the conference with either Vince or himself this year. Everyone felt that the networking was valuable and that we should continue our membership in NYSFOLA. Jane stated that she would like to attend a government meeting in Lake Placid this coming season.

Jane said she would like to have children attend the Floating Classroom in Lake George again this summer. Some adults have expressed interest in this as well. Jane suggested looking into more grant money to help us with some of these projects. Bob said he will work on a budget for 2012 as we have many expenses this coming year.

As there was no further business, Bob made a motion to adjourn and Fred seconded it. The motion carried and the meeting adjourned at 10:45. The next meeting will be Thursday, January 26th, 9:30 at Sally’s.

Respectfully submitted,

Sally Paland, Secretary