LGA 2022 Agenda - May 2022
Unofficial Meeting Summary
Solitude recommends this year be the last to spray
- To reduce the environmental impact of the lily pad removal and maintain a good healthy lake, it is recommended that this year (the 3rd year in a row) we discontinue the broad application of herbicide. Each year there will be an evaluation performed to determine the best way to go forward on treating the lily pads.
- If you live in an area where there are still dense lily pads, please let us know and we will direct this year’s treatment to those areas.
- We are investigating alternative methods of lily pad treatments and will keep everyone posted on what we find.
Cleanup Wood around Pavilion –
- We are in the process of cleaning up the trees that were cut down last fall around the Charles Kelley Road Pavilion.
Take down out-buildings behind pavilion –
- Behind the Charles Kelley Rd. Pavilion there are several old out-houses that will be removed by Chris M. this year. This will help the aesthetics of the area and reduce risks of anyone getting injured in them.
Review and Plan play area at pavilion
- We have heard from many families with kids and grand kids that it would be great to have a small play ground located at the Charles Kelley Rd. Pavilion area to give children a place to play during events or during their stay at the lake. We will be investigating our options and will put some plans forward once we have them. If anyone would like to donate to this fund, please let us know. Every little bit helps.
Redo Beach Area –
- Chris M. began re-grading the beach area on Charles Kelley Rd. This year the plan will be to see where all the sand settles and add some the following year or determine if we need to redo the whole area again. There have been several members who have helped with this project over the years and we are grateful for their help making the beach a cherished spot for many.
Plan out fundraising
- As you all know, everything is getting more expensive. We are always looking for good and efficient ways to raise money for the multitude of projects in and around the lake. Muck Removal, Lily Pad treatments and repairing the pavilions are quite expensive projects and we will need to find additional ways to raise funds to keep these projects going.
- Currently there is a Grill raffle that will end in a couple weeks. This raffle has not been very popular so far, so if you want a real good chance at winning a grill/smoker, buy tickets on the website or from a LGA board member ASAP.
- There will also be a shotgun riffle through Mayhoods. This raffle will run from June to November. See the website for details.
- We would like to have someone organize a food truck fundraiser in Oxford or Norwich this year. We would like to see Doug’s Fish Fry, Phil’s Chicken House, and/or Brooks BBQ (or any others that we can think of).
Plan out activities –
- There has been some interest in social activities around the lake. We are always looking for ideas.
Review and plan out Lake Days
- The 2021 Lake Days celebration was anything but successful. We barely broke even and need to re-evaluate the activities and funding for the Lake Days. Ideas that were floated: Discontinue Lake Days as we know it. Offer several events throughout the month instead of one weekend to encourage more people to attend at least one event. Establish a committee or person to lead the Lake Days efforts and include sign-ups for events.
Audit – Done at board meeting
- An audit was performed this winter during a LGA Board member meeting at the Oxford Library.
Water Testing –
- Water testing for the lake will be performed by Solitude again this year. We will hope to have results posted on the website.
- We are investigating participating in the NYSFOLA – CSLAP testing. This is a lengthy process but helps us identify trouble areas and let us address them before they become an expensive problem to fix.
Fish Stocking –
- We will be adding: 100 Large Mouth Bass, 600 Catfish, 5000 Fat Head Minnows and 40 Grass Carp to the lake this spring.
- The large mouth bass will help supplement a quite healthy bass population and add some genetic diversity to the lake.
- Catfish will be added in an effort to help maintain a healthy lake as they will eat much of the algae under the water. They are fun to catch and also taste really good. For the catfish population to be self-sustaining they need a place to spawn. Catfish spawn in hollow logs and abandoned muskrat holes around the shore. Lake Gerry does not have many of these, so we will be adding artificial spawning boxes over the next year or two in hopes that we will create a population that will thrive in the lake.
- Fathead Minnows will provide an additional food source for primarily the Large Mouth Bass. Fathead minnows spawn under objects such as trees, docks, lily pads and floating debris. Our hopes is by adding decent amounts several times a year that we can grow a sustaining population to help us grow some large bass!
- Grass Carp – will continue to be added to the lake in efforts to help keep our lake weeds in-check. Fundraising for the grass carp occurred throughout the year and we will be adding 40 new ones this year.
Fire Inspection –
- Our yearly fire inspections confirmed the need to renovate the pavilions to maintain safety and compliance.
Put up second sets of posts by entry signs
- Finish the design to specifications for the Lake Gerry entrance signs on either side of Charles Kelley Rd.
Schedule Port-a-Potty Cleaning
Clean up flower beds at entry ways
- We need some volunteers to help maintain the flower beds and both entries to Lake Gerry by the signs. David Moy has volunteered.
Review Solitude Proposals –
- We will be reviewing this year’s and future proposals for muck treatments and lily pad removal as part of the Lake Gerry restoration and Preservation fund. As with everything, the prices will be increasing and we will be monitoring and deciding on best courses of action.
Review Pavilion proposals and set a plan of action –
- Due to impending fire inspections for both pavilions and our lack of progress on many repairs, we have started renovations of the Pine Road Pavilion this spring. Chris M. has been working on the repairs. If you are interested in seeing the designs for the pavilion please see the sketches on the website.
- We will still need to make a plan and do some fundraising for repairs of the Charles Kelley Road pavilion. Much of our budget was used up last year to repair the electrical connection after it was struck by several large limbs during a storm.
Lake access signs to be added off Charles Kelley --
- Additional right-of-ways will be labeled for Lake Gerry Association members to access the lake.
Paul Drop, Olga Hover, John Beebe passing -- John’s Celebration of life June 19th – 1-3pm
Walter Talgo to fill vice president til end of season
Secretary position is open -- filled by Julie T.
September Officer voting
- Officer voting will occur in the fall. We will be looking for new, enthusiastic, energetic and dedicated board members to carry on the good work of the LGA and protect the future of our properties.
By-laws update – Taxes and legal bills
- The language in the By-laws was out-dated and needs to be updated. Our attorneys are working on these changes and will be available soon.
- Our tax filing, or lack-thereof has made us out of compliance for non-profit status in both NY and federally. Our attorneys are sorting out the details and will advise us on the best course of action moving forward.
Give update about codes and abandoned houses
- The codes officers have been made aware of several abandoned and blighted properties around Lake Gerry. They are working on contacting the owners of these properties and will work toward condemning them, removing them or repairing them.
Give updates about all new property ideas from Oxford
Camper Proposals