Webster Lake Association Meeting
October 14th, 2003

"Webster Lake Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing, preserving and protecting the quality of the lake and its watershed through the promotion of responsible, effective environmental & educational policies. We shall strive to strengthen and unite the Webster Lake Community through recreational, social and civic activities. Our mission is to preserve this regionally unique resource as a pristine legacy for future generations."

©2002
All rights reserved.
Webster Lake Association, Inc.

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WLA
P.O. Box 156
Webster, MA 01570-0156

 
 

 
President's Report
  • Docks
    • Dick Cazeault spoke a bit about the history of the dock regulations. Earlier in time these pertained to great ponds and did not affect us. Now we have dock regulations for everyone. He reviewed a document he received from the state that was clearly written for people living along the ocean. It included things like a 25 ft setbacks and 5 foot high docks to allow plant life to grow (!) and for people to walk under. These ludicrous regulations will be published on the website (for a chuckle) as soon as we can get a digital copy.
    • And we still need to register with either the state or the town. We’re going to meet with Bob Craver to come up with simplified process. We are looking for volunteers to reorganize a dock committee – contact Dick Cazeault at zcazeault@charter.net if you are interested.
    • We need to present a position statement on these dock fees to our members. This will focus on the disbursement of money into specific accounts. Safety, fire and police need equipment and manpower and we want to work with them. But how much should we contribute to this? How do we want this to work? Its up to you – please get involved. (Lake Quinsigamond has 16 hours of police protection per day – we have 16 hours per week. All their dock fees go into weed prevention.)
    • Cranston Print Works - Dick met with some of their management team. They chart the lake level everyday as they depend on the lake water for processing their cloth. The water is then treated goes into the city sewers. There was a concern that the ice level was too high last year and it did some damage. This year they will work with Dick to monitor and measure the levels. They are going to joint the WLA and have a lot of good historical info about the lake.
    • Secretary of Admin & Finance - Eric Kriss – We met with him in August, presented info about the lake and took him on a tour. He wants to know what we have planned to prevent the sediment from continuing. We need to coordinate with the Planning Board and Conservation Commission.
    • Planning Board – Dick attended their meeting the other night regarding the car wash/gas station. Although it is relatively early in the process to analyze the effects on the lake, we need to ask the hard questions as these development projects come up.
    • Gloria Ricker pointed out that the Planning Board and Conservation Commission do not publish their agendas in a timely manner. Dick will write a letter requesting that they publish their agendas every week and with plenty of advanced notice.
Secretary's Report
  • August Meeting Minutes are posted on the web.
  • Flags are still available – email jmhill@charter.net
  • History of the Lake Presentation was moved to mid- January as the presenter is not available. We will have it early on a Saturday night followed by a cocktail hour.
  • Membership
    • North Pond – 76 People
    • Middle Pond – 197 People
    • South Pond – 128 People
    • Off Lake – 30 People
    • Total – 431 People
    • Membership applications are available at local businesses
    • Remember that membership is $20 per person
  • Newsletter
    • Paul Turner sponsoring
    • All articles welcome
  • Jane Hill’s Email Address – please use jmhill@charter.net and lose any address related to 3com.com
Treasurer's Report
  • Robin Wade presented the Monthly and Annual Financial Reports
Environmental Committee Report
  • The GeoSyntec Report is in and will be posted on the web and in the newsletter in the next few weeks.
  • The good news is that our water quality is better than average compared to neighboring lakes.
  • The bad news is that we have invasive weeds and need to come up with a plan to deal with the situation.
FUN-draisers Committee Report
  • Junque Trunque
    • We raised $3500 last year and had a ball!
    • This year’s will be held on November 8th – 7:00 PM
    • The talented and hilarious Mike O’Brien will be the auctioneer
    • There will be a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres
    • You can drop off items after 4:00 on the 8th
  • 2004 Calendar & Photo Contest
    • The calendars are going to be beautiful and should raise a good amount of money for the WLA..
    • We are ordering 1000 calendars and we need help selling them.
    • You can Purchase them at the Junque Trunque for yourselves and to sell them on our behalf.
    • They will be available at stores around the town.
    • Businesses can take them, stamp them and give them to customers.
    • The photos that were not selected will be available for pick up at the WLA meetings. If anyone would like to donate their photos to be auctioned at the Junque Trunk as a fund raiser it would be appreciated. (Email Jeanne Rossetti at jarossetti@charter.net)
  • Next year’s ideas include raffles, photo contest, boat parade, lots of fun stuff.
Old Business
  • The Town Meeting is on Monday – October 20th
    • There is an article at the town meeting for a new engine for a police boat and there’s no money in the police budget. We urge you to support the request $5,400.
    • Article 28 is the Home Hazard Waste Collection Account. Due to budget cuts, this funding has been lost. WLA Member Yale Hirshberg is the Chairman of Webster Recycling Commission and he has an article in to recoup the $12,000 that has been cut to $200 dollars. He’s asking for $10,000 to keep this very important program running. Again, we urge you to support these efforts.
    • There is also an article to change the zoning on Rt. 16 for either a car wash or storage facility. If we say yes to the change in the zoning bylaw, then it goes to conservation where we need to ensure that there is no impact to the lake. Where would the water go?
New Business – Q & A
  • Can we control the number of boats and docks on the lake? We have no answers but could put the dock committee back together to work on these issues. What will happen at Indian Ranch? These are not simple questions. Dick will write a position paper on this issue.
  • Who are we going to discuss the dock fees with? Town clerk Bob Craver. We need to get an article passed. We need a line item on the budget and an advisory group. We need to work with the Finance Committee to do this. And we need more members. Dick applied for a state permit in May of 2002 – he hasn’t heard back yet and the Rossetti’s stated that they applied in 1998 with no response. Can we get the lake level dropped to scrape weeds ourselves and work on our property? People would like it lowered a couple of feet. Cranston cannot guarantee a refill. They have a minimum level that they lower the water to. Dick will follow up with them to see if they will lower it to the 1993 levels and when. Everyone has to be notified via the newspaper, local access and website.
Announcements
  • Next Meeting - December 9th
  • 50/50 raffle won by Arlene Benoit
  • $25 Point Breeze Gift Certificate won by Paul Virostek