Meeting called to order by President Joe Hebert at 10:00 am. There were approximately 50 members attending. New Members were asked to stand and introduce themselves. None were in attendance.
Board Actions: 1. The State of Vermont will begin repair of the boat launch on 10/3/2022. They anticipate that it will take 2 weeks. Joe mentioned he will get an email out to members to give them fair warning to get their boats out by that date. Pam Hebert has resigned from her post as a Board Member concentrating on water quality after 16 years. Nicole Begin was appointed by the Board as an interim appointee until the 2023 election. Pam will work with Nicole on the intricacies of this position. A round of applause was given to Pam for her service. Pam took over the Boat greeters and Milfoil inspection from Dave Kidney in 2006 and became Director of Water Quality in 2011. 2. The members request for a letter from the jPA to the Danville Board of Selectman advocating for a reduced speed limit (50 to 35 MPH) from West Shore Rd was written and delivered shortly after the July meeting. The Selectboard will be requesting a safety study from the state. 3. There are tentative plans for the state to place a receptacle for lead sinkers and monofilament fishing line at the boat launch next year as these will be banned for use in fishing.
Secretary’s Report: Jamie Stewart gave a condensed version of the July meeting. For full details go to the JoesPondVermont website. A motion was made and seconded to accept the minutes as is.
Treasurer’s Report: Jack LaGue reported we are in good shape financially. The dues received are lower than last year, but the on-line payments had not been received yet. We should end up at the end of the year with a balance of $38,000 to $42,000. A motion was made and seconded to accept the financial report as is.
Water Quality: The Invasive Species Survey conducted by the State will occur in September. A new invasive animal has been discovered in the waters. It is a Chinese Mystery snail, which is quite large and of concern. Members were requested to look them up online and if found at your waterfront to take them out and humanely destroy them by putting them in the freezer. Members asked if they were edible. No one was sure. Purple Loosestrife is an invasive plant species and found in waterways. The Farnsworth’s and the Stewart’s undertook a project to pull them out of the water at the location near the rail trail beyond Island Drive. Andy Rudin and Joe Hebert pulled the plants along the rail trail by the First Pond. If found on your waterfront - please pull them. They will take over all plant species.
JPA Events: Sue Bouchard reported on the great summer of events and thanked the coordinators who did much of the work. For next summer it appears we will keep the new schedule we experimented with in 2022. The events will occur from June 17 through the end of August. While all of the event coordinators are set, they welcome any and all volunteers to help. There is an increased demand for the Board to support bands playing on private property for boaters to come and enjoy. If any camp owners are interested in having such a band, let Sue know and together they will figure out the dates. There will be one more pitch game sponsored by the JPA on 9/13. Come and play. Mahjong is still being played every Wednesday. Come and learn how to play. The last Sunfish Sailboat race was August 21st and the season winners were: Doubles - Lee Erdman/Charlie Roberts, Singles- Jack LaGue. Sue also commented that Kim Silloway and Gerry Webber sold their sunfish and donated the money to the JPA for the benefit of sailing. Thank you to the Silloway/Webers. The pickleball tournament raised over $1500 for the tennis courts. Lastly - Ice Out tickets are available on the table in front.
Membership: Peter Crosby reported that we have welcomed 8 to 10 new members. The last name plaque is painted and will be installed very soon. The roads sign will be taken down by Columbus Day and Peter gave his thanks to the road captains in taking care of this.
Maintenance: Larry Rossi reported no news. The curtains have been praised and look great. See Larry if you have any suggestions for work to be done. The pavilion microphone has been problematic, and Jamie Dimick will look at the system and give recommendations. A comment from the members requested that these new curtains be stored properly. Maybe rolled up instead of folded. Larry said he will contact Dana Turner for recommendations. Joe mentioned that there are new cracks in the tennis courts and the vendor who did the work will supply the patching compounds. This work will be done prior to winter.
Fireworks: Richard Gagne announced the Board recommends we continue with the Fireworks. Donations received this year more than made up for the cost increase. To date, we cannot get a price for the 2023 costs. Question was asked about competitive bidding and Richard said he will contact the other vendors. If the costs come in as too high, the Board will contact the members via email. Hopefully pricing will be known by year-end. Richard brought up the fact that the State now controls the Rail Trail and in 2023 the entire trail will be open and there is concern the State will not allow JPA to shut down the trail for the fireworks to be set up. A comment was to reroute travelers up Island Drive and onto Route 15 and back down Channel Drive. Jack LaGue commented that he researched a drone lightshow for a replacement of Fireworks, but it is very expensive and done out West to prevent forest fires. A suggestion was made for everyone to sell more Ice-Out tickets!!! Joe also mentioned that the January email informing members about the 2022 fireworks had a response of 66% of members in favor of continuing the fireworks.
Member Questions: A great suggestion from MaryAnne Cassani and Sue Yesalonia prior to this meeting was for campers to donate non-perishable food (not yet outdated) to the Open Door in Danville. Many members brought food to donate. As we close camps, this can be a way to support our community. A table will be left in the Pavilion for members to drop off the food. The Milne point barrel will be put back shortly. Another plea for members to take Ice-Out tickets to sell. One third of all tickets sold in 2022 were sold on-line. Another member raised concern on how to keep boaters away from the Sunfish Race. On race day - the boat launch greeters talked to all boat owners launching their boats and Point Comfort rentals were so informed also. The sailors did not see any issues, but shore observers thought differently.