Amston Lake District

Annual Meeting Minutes

May 27, 2007 6:00 p.m.

ALIA Clubhouse

16 Wood Acres Rd. Amston, CT

www.amstonlake.org

A. Role Call of Officers and Directors

Margaret Roohr Rosati, President – Present

Dave O’Brien, Vice President – Present

Dave Arnold, Treasurer – Present

Dave Martin, Clerk – Present

Sherri-Ann Martin, Director – Present

Mark Paul, Director – Present

Bill Witt, Director – Present

Dick Zacardo, Director – Present

Lynn Mika, Director -- Present

Eileen Curtin, Tax Collector -- Present

Reggie Miles, Lake Manager – Present

B. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by President MARGARET ROOHR ROSATI at 7:15 pm. Approximately 70 District residents were in attendance.

C. Approve 5-20-06 Annual Meeting Minutes

Bill Witt moved to approve the minutes of the 5-20-06 Annual District Meeting. Mark Paul seconded the motion. The motion was approved with all in favor, except for one abstention. There were no votes against the motion.

D. Board of Directors Report of Activities for the 2006 – 2007 Year

President MARGARET ROOHR ROSATI noted that the Board had finished the repairs on the main dam, was monitoring the duck pond dam leak, and had made progress with Hebron on the Storm Drain Study.

Dave Arnold then presented a slide show about the main dam repair. Regarding lake health, Dave Arnold said we have made progress in efforts to keep out invasive weeds.

E. Receive and Act on Treasurer’s Report

Dave Arnold then presented the Treasurer’s report which is attached as Exhibit E. Dave answered questions about FY ’06 – ’07: (1) excess funds in weed control for ’06 – ’07 (not all funds will be spent); (2) about the funds put away for potential acquisition of the old firehouse (those funds will not be spent); and (3) about road repairs in Lebanon (there are funds in reserve).

Mark Paul moved to accept the Treasurer’s report as presented. Barbara Lederer seconded the motion. The motion as approved with nearly all in favor except one opposed. There were no abstentions.

F. Motion to transfer $8,000 from the checking account (general fund) to the dam capital expense account.

Dave Arnold explained the need to transfer funds from the checking account to the dam capital expense account so that the installment payment due on the dam loan can be paid on July 1 without extra trips to the bank.

Leo Foxwell moved to transfer $8,000 from the checking account (general fund) to the dam capital expense account. Laurie Littlehale seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. There were no abstentions.

Sherri Ann Martin moved to add Eileen Curtin’s tax collector report to this portion of the meeting. Mark Paul seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. There were no abstentions.

Eileen Curtin then presented the Tax Collector’s Report attached as Exhibit F.

G. Lake Management

Lake Manager Reggie Miles then presented a DVD on algae problems around the Lake. The Lake scientist was called and he confirmed it was blue green algae. Reggie explained that the algae is a result of the nutrients that flow into the Lake from many different sources.

H. Elect Directors for the ALD Board of Directors

There were four director positions whose terms were expiring: Dave Martin, Sherri Martin, Dick Zacardo, and Lynn Mika. President MMR opened the floor for nominations.

Dave Arnold nominated Lynn Mika. Dave O’Brien seconded the motion.

Jeff Brown nominated Sherri-Ann Martin. Carl Wool seconded the motion.

Dick Zaccardo nominated Drew Gibson. Jerry Horan seconded the motion.

Ray DeCormier nominated himself. Ginger Smith seconded the motion.

Dave Arnold nominated Dave Martin. Mark Paul seconded the motion.

Each candidate then spoke briefly about their qualifications and why they want to be on the ALD Board.

President MARGARET ROOHR ROSATI suggested that each voting resident vote for four directors in five rounds of voting on the honor system. No objections were raised. The voting was as follows:

Lynn Mika, 54 votes.

Sherri Martin, 59 votes.

Drew Gibson, 42 votes.

Ray DeCormier, 44 votes.

Dave Martin, 62 votes.

President MARGARET ROOHR ROSATI then declared Lynn Mika and Ray DeCormier directors for two years ending in 2009 and Dave Martin and Sherri Martin directors for three years ending in 2010.

I. Elect Officers for the ALD Board of Directors

President MARGARET ROOHR ROSATI then opened the floor for nominations for officers.

Reggie Miles nominated MARGARET ROOHR ROSATI for President. Shauna Benedict Baier seconded the motion.

Robert Blackmore nominated Dave O’Brien for President. Dick Zaccardo seconded the motion.

The vote was as follows:

MARGARET ROOHR ROSATI, 20 votes.

Dave O’Brien, 44 votes.

Dave O’Brien was declared the President for the upcoming year.

Dave Martin nominated Mark Paul for Vice President. Sherri Martin seconded the motion. There were no further nominations, so Mark Paul was declared the Vice President for the upcoming year.

Dick Zacardo nominated Dave Martin for Clerk. Ray DeCormier seconded the motion. There were no further nominations so Dave Martin was declared the Clerk for the upcoming year.

Dave O’Brien nominated Dave Arnold for Treasurer. Mark Paul seconded the motion. There were no further nominations so Dave Arnold was declared the Treasurer for the upcoming year.

J. Spillway Bridge Presentation by Lynn Mika

Lynn Mika then gave a presentation about an idea for a pedestrian bridge across the main dam spillway. The idea is an alternative to fencing the spillway area and is to make the area safer and more attractive. Lynn presented three different ideas for varying costs. She asked if this was something the District would be in favor of looking into. Roger Krasusky moved to look into the bridge idea for a cost not to exceed $500. Mark Paul seconded.

An observation was made that we should take care of the leak on the south side of the main dam now. Dave Arnold said that this is being monitored by the dam engineer and was not considered a serious problem at his time.

Leo Foxwell spoke against the motion, saying that there are other more important things that need our money.

Laurel Hennebury called the question. The vote to call the question was approved unanimously.

The motion to look into the bridge idea for a cost not to exceed $500 was approved, with 30 for, 26 against, and 2 abstaining.

K. Consider and act upon the proposed budget and establish mill rate for FY 2007 – 2008

Dave Arnold then went over the proposed budget for next year.

Dave O’Brien moved to assemble an ad hoc committee made up of five ex-board members to restructure the position of Lake Manager of Amston Lake District by June 15, 2007. Mark Paul seconded the motion. After some discussion, Dave agreed to withdraw his motion and present it later.

1. Laurie Ray moved to delete $2,750 from the $4,500 proposed for fencing for the Duck Pond and Main dam fences. Roger Krasusky seconded the motion.

2. Laurie Ray moved to remove $10,000 from the Lebanon Road total budget. Eileen Curtin seconded the motion.

3. Roger Krasusky moved to increase Line 7, Security Services, to last year’s $10,540 with the extra $1,740 to go to getting a state trooper for security. John O’Connor seconded the motion.

4. Roberta DeGrey moved to reduce line 30, Lake Manager Services, from $24,707 to $22,000. Dan Savage seconded the motion.

5. Mark Mastriani moved to increase Line 13, Weed Control, from $6,750 to $10,000. Mark Paul seconded the motion. John O’Connor asked Mark to amend to motion to include at least $3,000 for action against weeds. Mark Mastriani declined to amend his motion.

6. John O’Connor moved to allocate $3,000 of the $10,000 in Line 13, Weed Control, for implementation of weed control. Ray DeCormier seconded the motion.

Scott Forgue then expressed a concern about no advertising for the gate manager contract for this year.

Jeff Brown then called the question to end the budget discussion. The vote to call the question was approved unanimously.

President MARGARET ROOHR ROSATI then suggested that each motion be voted upon separately.

1. Delete $2,750 from the $4,500 proposed for fencing for the Duck Pond and Main dam fences.

Vote: Majority in favor, 5 opposed, three abstaining. Motion passed.

2. Remove $10,000 from the Lebanon Road total budget.

Vote (by Lebanon Residents only): 13 in favor, 7 opposed no abstentions. Motion passed.

3. Increase Line 7, Security Services, to last year’s $10,450 with the extra $1,740 to go to getting a state trooper for security.

Vote: 10 in favor, majority opposed, 1 abstention. Motion failed.

4. Reduce line 30, Lake Manager Services, from $24,707 to $22,000.

Vote: 4 in favor, majority opposed, no abstentions. Motion failed.

5. Increase Line 13, Weed Control, from $6,750 to $10,000.

Vote: 26 in favor, 18 opposed 3 abstentions. Motion passed.

6. Allocate $3,000 of the $10,000 in Line 13, Weed Control, for implementation of weed control.

Vote: 24 in favor, 17 opposed, no abstentions. Motion passed.

Dave Arnold then said the total budget for next year was $173,466. This came out to mill rates of 1.426 for Hebron residents and 3.948 for Lebanon residents.

Leo Foxwell moved to approve next year’s budget and mill rate. Jeff Brown seconded the motion.

Vote: Majority in favor, 1 opposed, no abstentions.

L. Establish Date for the 2008 District Annual Meeting

Leo Foxwell moved to make next year’s meeting the Saturday before Memorial Day weekend in 2008. Mark Paul seconded the motion. The motion was approved by a majority, with none opposed and one abstention.

M. Vote on Revision to Lake Use Rules

A copy of the revisions to the Lake Use Rules as presented at the meeting is attached as Exhibit M.

Leo Foxwell moved to approve the changes to the Lake Use rules as printed. Mark Paul seconded the motion.

Dave Arnold discussed the changes. Add “launching” to the 25 foot buffer for swimmers in B2. Add a statement about sailboats tipping if stored sails up in B2. Add a consequence for violations in B2. Change B3 to change “boats” at the Main Beach area to “catamarans”. Differentiate between Main Beach and Lollipop boat storage areas in B3. Increase distance from beach and swimming area at Lollipop to 25 feet in B3. Added the Lake Manager to section F2. Change last revision and approval date to May 27, 2007 in “Purpose” part ii.

Bill Witt called the question. The vote to call the question was unanimous.

The vote to revise the Lake Use Rules as presented and amended was approved with 17 in favor, 4 opposed and 2 abstentions.

N. Consider and Act upon any business that may come before the District

Dave O’Brien then moved to assemble an ad hoc committee made up of five ex-board members to restructure the position of Lake Manager of Amston Lake District by June 15, 2007. Scot Forgue seconded the motion.

Dave then explained his motion saying that there may be too much expected from the Lake Manager. He said the job should be broken down into water quality, maintenance and publications. Dave volunteered to get out emails to former Board members for volunteers.

Janet Atkinson, former Board member, would prefer not to be restricted to a time limit, especially as soon as June 15. She recommended the status quo for next year. She noted the Lake manager position was established because they could not get people to do these tasks in the past.

Dave O’Brien agreed to modify the due date to July 15, 2007.

Jeff Brown, former Board member and President said the he thought we should go with the status quo for next year and to let Reggie train a new person.

Sherri Ann Martin called the question. A majority were in favor of calling the question, one was opposed and there were no abstentions.

The motion to assemble an ad hoc committee made up of five ex-board members to restructure the position of Lake Manager of Amston Lake District by July 15, 2007 was approved, with 15 in favor, 13 opposed and 1 abstention.

President MARGARET ROOHR ROSATI said we would discuss the Roundabout idea at a future public meeting.

O. Adjournment

Bruce DeGrey moved to adjourn. Mark Paul seconded. The motion was approved unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 11:15 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Dave Martin

Clerk, Amston Lake District