Joe's Pond Association Meeting
August 30, 2025
President Joe Hebert opened the meeting at 10:00 am. There were approximately 105 members attending. He asked if there were any new members in attendance and Richard and Carol Lyon introduced themselves.
Board Actions - As warned in the July 3 meeting there were proposed by-law changes: Article V, Sec 1, “The membership fee shall be set by the Board of Directors and ratified by a majority vote of the members”. A motion was made and seconded and passed by voice vote. In Article VII, Section 4 to be changed to: “It is the duty of the Treasurer and President to decide on the associations bank and brokerage accounts. Association Funds shall be invested only in accounts insured by the FDIC or in securities issued or guaranteed by the US Government. A motion was made and seconded and it passed by a voice vote.
A question was asked by a member if a quorum was present. ArticleIX states that a quorum is reached when 20 voting members are present.
Joe Hebert said that now the by-laws have been voted on and since the dues have been $40 since 2018, the Board now recommends raising the dues from $40 to $75 per camp. Discussion centered around the costs of the milfoil to date. Members were concerned that there was too large an increase might result in a decrease in membership. A motion was made to raise the dues to $75 per camp beginning in 2026. The motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.
Fireworks - In July the Board considered suspending fireworks for 2026 due to the unknowns of the costs of the milfoil project for 2025 we have spent about $57,000 on eradicating milfoil. With the grants and donations received we will have out-of-pocket expenses of about $37,000. The cost for fireworks in 2026 is unknown at this time due to the sale of NorthStar. Members' discussion occurred. A motion was made for the JPA to support the fireworks but paid for by others. This was not accepted. Some members said it was impudent to spend money on fireworks without knowing what the costs for 2026 milfoil will be. Another question was that since the Ice-Out sales pay for the fireworks, how can they be stopped. This question came up 2 years ago and was not accurate then and it is not accurate now. Per Jack LaGue, a 2026 donation of $2K has been given and if the vote is negative, the donation goes back to the donor. Another suggestion was to raise the price of the Ice-Out tickets. This was discussed 2 years ago, and the conclusion was to keep the $1 ticket and no further discussion on this suggestion was made. A motion was made to continue Fireworks for 2026. It was seconded and further discussion occurred. Jack LaGue stood up and said he was in favor of fireworks for 2026. He wants to see the members step up and exceed the donations of several years ago. Let’s see how the membership responds. Fireworks at Joe’s Pond are a tradition. Jack would like to have one more year to see the response of members to contribute to the fireworks. Steve Larrabee asked if the JPA allocates ‘X’ amount of dollars and then contributions will make up the rest. It was decided 2 years ago that the costs of the fireworks are a total cost and any donations received are to offset the costs and not supplement the costs.
Dorothea Penar suggested that since 2026 is the 250th anniversary of the USA, let’s get creative and use the funds to celebrate this anniversary and not just have fireworks. Dave Kidney suggested asking Danville and Cabot to contribute but since we are already appealing to them for milfoil funds a second request did not seem appropriate. Mike Morley amended the motion to have the fireworks cost not to exceed $15,000. Jim Farnsworth asked how much more money the $75 dues will raise. Joe said around $7,000.
Jack LaGue talked about how to make tax-deductible donations towards our Milfoil costs. Donations to the JPA are not tax-deductible because the JPA is not a charitable organization. There is a work around for members and others who desire to make tax-deductible contributions to milfoil where they would make donations to the Town of Danville and designate that the donation is for "Joe's Pond milfoil". The train station in Danville raised money this way. However, this work around does not work for qualified charitable distributions from IRA or 401(k) accounts. Marianne Boivin talked about the danger to birds and the environment in having fireworks.
The question was called and the members voted to end the discussion. First, we had to vote for the motion as amended; To have fireworks for 2026 with a cost to not exceed $15,000. A motion was made and seconded and passed by voice vote.
The vote for fireworks was to be a paper ballot. Jamie Stewart informed the members on how the process was to occur. One vote per camp with paid dues. If you have 2 camps with paid dues for both of them, you get 2 votes. 3 stations were set up for the members to get their ballot. A ‘yes’ vote was to have fireworks for 2026, a ‘no’ vote was to not have fireworks for 2026. The voting process took about 20 minutes. The outcome was 48 camps voted for fireworks and 36 camps voted no for fireworks. The motion passed. 86 camps voted which is about ¼ of the members.
The Secretary’s condensed meeting minutes of 7/3 were read and accepted.
The Treasurer’s report was discussed and accepted. Jack said he would have details posted on the website regarding getting a donation to the town of Danville for a tax deduction for the milfoil project. Jack predicted that the Association balance at the end of the year will be from $35k to $42K.
Cyanobacteria - Report was given by Dorothea Penar. We had one minor bloom in July. Having no rain helps since run-off is the culprit for blue-green algae blooms.
Joe Hebert mentioned that the water level is very low and GMP has to keep letting water out for the downstream habitat. Pray for rain.
Water Quality - Barry Cahoon gave a PowerPoint presentation and results of the ProcellaCOR treatment of August 13. He informed the members that the dive team was in the water yesterday and the day before he and Lou Monaghan used his underwater drone to show the effects of the herbicide treatment. Videos taken by the drone and the Go-Pro camera of Jim Bernotas were shown. The effect of the treatment is clear. The herbicide to treat the Eurasian Water Milfoil in both treatment zones was effective and deadly to the plants without harming the good vegetation. There are some sickly plants still standing and more time is needed for them to drop. Barry reiterated that we cannot let up on our vigilance. The milfoil plant is still out there, outside of the treatment zone and needs to be continually surveyed, monitored and removed. He asked that everyone stay involved.
Barry talked about the dedication of everyone on the lake and thanked everyone for their help. He talked about the dedication of the dive team, the snorkeling team, the kayakers, the boat drivers. It is remarkable. Barry’s discussion with other lake associations told him that the JPA involvement was unbelievable and wished they had that dedication. The PowerPoint presentation will be on the website in due course. He reminded us, again, that the work is not done. We need to keep active and involved.
The last slides of the presentation showed boat washing stations used in Shadow Lake, Glover, and Caspian Lake. They were trailers with a generator, hot water tank, and a pressure washer. This led him to introduce Kate Chatot to talk about her efforts in figuring out how to get a boat wash station at the fishing access. Barry reminded everyone it is our moral and ethical responsibility to be sure to not to spread milfoil to other lakes and the boater greeter program is not sufficient for this.
Kate Chatot told the members that we are in between a rock and a hard place. Our Fish & Game boating access is limited in space and next to a class 2 wetlands. The State wants to help but keep throwing roadblocks in the way. She is working hard to figure out how to make this work. She asked the members for ideas and help on figuring out a way to get this boat wash at the fishing access.
In conclusion, Barry thanked everyone for their help and please fill out the form for hours spent on surveying, harvesting, educating, snorkeling milfoil. He also thanked Jamie Dimick for the 3 videos he produced to help educate and inform the public on the efforts of the JPA to control the milfoil. A question was asked if the form could be filled out on-line and left there. That will be checked on.
Barry requested that people stay out of the treatment area until the signs are removed. We will be doing a mandated survey in September.
JPA Events - Jeremy Grenier thanked everyone for their attendance at the dinner events and gave thanks to all the coordinators
Memberships - Peter Crosby mentioned that given the number of camps for sale there will be several new members in 2026.
Maintenance - Larry Rossi mentioned that it was Joe Hebert who put together the new milfoil shed.
Member Questions:
Tom Segale mentioned that his brother Mike and Norma Segale will have live music on the water from 1:30 to 4:30 in two weeks.
Mahjong donated their money to the milfoil fund.
Jamie Dimick is selling a series of 3 decals in support of the milfoil. The decals cost $30, and you can get 3 for $100. ????
A motion was made and seconded to adjourn. It was passed by voice vote at 11:42 pm.
Respectively submitted,
Jamie Stewart
Board Actions - As warned in the July 3 meeting there were proposed by-law changes: Article V, Sec 1, “The membership fee shall be set by the Board of Directors and ratified by a majority vote of the members”. A motion was made and seconded and passed by voice vote. In Article VII, Section 4 to be changed to: “It is the duty of the Treasurer and President to decide on the associations bank and brokerage accounts. Association Funds shall be invested only in accounts insured by the FDIC or in securities issued or guaranteed by the US Government. A motion was made and seconded and it passed by a voice vote.
A question was asked by a member if a quorum was present. ArticleIX states that a quorum is reached when 20 voting members are present.
Joe Hebert said that now the by-laws have been voted on and since the dues have been $40 since 2018, the Board now recommends raising the dues from $40 to $75 per camp. Discussion centered around the costs of the milfoil to date. Members were concerned that there was too large an increase might result in a decrease in membership. A motion was made to raise the dues to $75 per camp beginning in 2026. The motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.
Fireworks - In July the Board considered suspending fireworks for 2026 due to the unknowns of the costs of the milfoil project for 2025 we have spent about $57,000 on eradicating milfoil. With the grants and donations received we will have out-of-pocket expenses of about $37,000. The cost for fireworks in 2026 is unknown at this time due to the sale of NorthStar. Members' discussion occurred. A motion was made for the JPA to support the fireworks but paid for by others. This was not accepted. Some members said it was impudent to spend money on fireworks without knowing what the costs for 2026 milfoil will be. Another question was that since the Ice-Out sales pay for the fireworks, how can they be stopped. This question came up 2 years ago and was not accurate then and it is not accurate now. Per Jack LaGue, a 2026 donation of $2K has been given and if the vote is negative, the donation goes back to the donor. Another suggestion was to raise the price of the Ice-Out tickets. This was discussed 2 years ago, and the conclusion was to keep the $1 ticket and no further discussion on this suggestion was made. A motion was made to continue Fireworks for 2026. It was seconded and further discussion occurred. Jack LaGue stood up and said he was in favor of fireworks for 2026. He wants to see the members step up and exceed the donations of several years ago. Let’s see how the membership responds. Fireworks at Joe’s Pond are a tradition. Jack would like to have one more year to see the response of members to contribute to the fireworks. Steve Larrabee asked if the JPA allocates ‘X’ amount of dollars and then contributions will make up the rest. It was decided 2 years ago that the costs of the fireworks are a total cost and any donations received are to offset the costs and not supplement the costs.
Dorothea Penar suggested that since 2026 is the 250th anniversary of the USA, let’s get creative and use the funds to celebrate this anniversary and not just have fireworks. Dave Kidney suggested asking Danville and Cabot to contribute but since we are already appealing to them for milfoil funds a second request did not seem appropriate. Mike Morley amended the motion to have the fireworks cost not to exceed $15,000. Jim Farnsworth asked how much more money the $75 dues will raise. Joe said around $7,000.
Jack LaGue talked about how to make tax-deductible donations towards our Milfoil costs. Donations to the JPA are not tax-deductible because the JPA is not a charitable organization. There is a work around for members and others who desire to make tax-deductible contributions to milfoil where they would make donations to the Town of Danville and designate that the donation is for "Joe's Pond milfoil". The train station in Danville raised money this way. However, this work around does not work for qualified charitable distributions from IRA or 401(k) accounts. Marianne Boivin talked about the danger to birds and the environment in having fireworks.
The question was called and the members voted to end the discussion. First, we had to vote for the motion as amended; To have fireworks for 2026 with a cost to not exceed $15,000. A motion was made and seconded and passed by voice vote.
The vote for fireworks was to be a paper ballot. Jamie Stewart informed the members on how the process was to occur. One vote per camp with paid dues. If you have 2 camps with paid dues for both of them, you get 2 votes. 3 stations were set up for the members to get their ballot. A ‘yes’ vote was to have fireworks for 2026, a ‘no’ vote was to not have fireworks for 2026. The voting process took about 20 minutes. The outcome was 48 camps voted for fireworks and 36 camps voted no for fireworks. The motion passed. 86 camps voted which is about ¼ of the members.
The Secretary’s condensed meeting minutes of 7/3 were read and accepted.
The Treasurer’s report was discussed and accepted. Jack said he would have details posted on the website regarding getting a donation to the town of Danville for a tax deduction for the milfoil project. Jack predicted that the Association balance at the end of the year will be from $35k to $42K.
Cyanobacteria - Report was given by Dorothea Penar. We had one minor bloom in July. Having no rain helps since run-off is the culprit for blue-green algae blooms.
Joe Hebert mentioned that the water level is very low and GMP has to keep letting water out for the downstream habitat. Pray for rain.
Water Quality - Barry Cahoon gave a PowerPoint presentation and results of the ProcellaCOR treatment of August 13. He informed the members that the dive team was in the water yesterday and the day before he and Lou Monaghan used his underwater drone to show the effects of the herbicide treatment. Videos taken by the drone and the Go-Pro camera of Jim Bernotas were shown. The effect of the treatment is clear. The herbicide to treat the Eurasian Water Milfoil in both treatment zones was effective and deadly to the plants without harming the good vegetation. There are some sickly plants still standing and more time is needed for them to drop. Barry reiterated that we cannot let up on our vigilance. The milfoil plant is still out there, outside of the treatment zone and needs to be continually surveyed, monitored and removed. He asked that everyone stay involved.
Barry talked about the dedication of everyone on the lake and thanked everyone for their help. He talked about the dedication of the dive team, the snorkeling team, the kayakers, the boat drivers. It is remarkable. Barry’s discussion with other lake associations told him that the JPA involvement was unbelievable and wished they had that dedication. The PowerPoint presentation will be on the website in due course. He reminded us, again, that the work is not done. We need to keep active and involved.
The last slides of the presentation showed boat washing stations used in Shadow Lake, Glover, and Caspian Lake. They were trailers with a generator, hot water tank, and a pressure washer. This led him to introduce Kate Chatot to talk about her efforts in figuring out how to get a boat wash station at the fishing access. Barry reminded everyone it is our moral and ethical responsibility to be sure to not to spread milfoil to other lakes and the boater greeter program is not sufficient for this.
Kate Chatot told the members that we are in between a rock and a hard place. Our Fish & Game boating access is limited in space and next to a class 2 wetlands. The State wants to help but keep throwing roadblocks in the way. She is working hard to figure out how to make this work. She asked the members for ideas and help on figuring out a way to get this boat wash at the fishing access.
In conclusion, Barry thanked everyone for their help and please fill out the form for hours spent on surveying, harvesting, educating, snorkeling milfoil. He also thanked Jamie Dimick for the 3 videos he produced to help educate and inform the public on the efforts of the JPA to control the milfoil. A question was asked if the form could be filled out on-line and left there. That will be checked on.
Barry requested that people stay out of the treatment area until the signs are removed. We will be doing a mandated survey in September.
JPA Events - Jeremy Grenier thanked everyone for their attendance at the dinner events and gave thanks to all the coordinators
Memberships - Peter Crosby mentioned that given the number of camps for sale there will be several new members in 2026.
Maintenance - Larry Rossi mentioned that it was Joe Hebert who put together the new milfoil shed.
Member Questions:
Tom Segale mentioned that his brother Mike and Norma Segale will have live music on the water from 1:30 to 4:30 in two weeks.
Mahjong donated their money to the milfoil fund.
Jamie Dimick is selling a series of 3 decals in support of the milfoil. The decals cost $30, and you can get 3 for $100. ????
A motion was made and seconded to adjourn. It was passed by voice vote at 11:42 pm.
Respectively submitted,
Jamie Stewart
Past Meeting Minutes: