AGM Minutes 2017

OLA AGM Minutes

Minutes of the 54th Annual General Meeting

Oxtongue Lake Association

August 11, 2017, 9:30 AM

Oxtongue Lake Community Centre

  1. Call to Order and Opening Remarks.Andrea Armstrong called the meeting to order and asked everyone to join her in observing a minute of silence in memory of Marie Service who sadly had passed away the previous day. Andrea then introduced members of the Executive: herself as President, Scott Hayden as Vice President, Brian Lambert as Treasurer, Brandi Bailey, Rick Linklater, Tom Smith and John Lawrence. Andrea noted that David Armstrong and Jana Zavitz had stepped down from the Executive during the year and thanked them for their service.

 

  1. Approval of the Agenda.. Motion to approve the Agenda for the present meeting:  proposed by Paul Bailey; seconded by Frank Tizel.

 

  1. Approval of Minutes. Motion to approve the Minutes from the 2016 meeting: proposed by Frank Tizel; seconded by Paul Bailey.

 

  1. Township Council Report.Councillor Marlene Kyle reported that the Township is financially stable and noted that adequate funding was available to support fire protection. A new, well-equipped fire rescue vehicle has been purchased and changes made to the dispatch system to allow firefighters to use cellular telephones from a centre in Smith Falls rather than the older system of pagers. Marlene thanked the volunteer firefighters for their service but indicated that additional volunteers are always needed. The Township has appointed a private company to conduct inspections of all septic systems and that the company would be contacting all property owners shortly to arrange for inspections. A “Septic Social” is being arranged for late August. A consulting Company has been hired to review the Township’s Official Plan and an open public meeting is scheduled for August 12, 2017. All Township roads have recently been surface treated. The Harris Road pit issue is proceeding as outlined in the July flier issued by the Township. All the asphalt material has been delivered to the pit, it will be blended with new material within the next few weeks. It will be removed then from the site at random intervals as it is needed by the MTO. The Township has not finalized road closures during the Fall Colour season but the results of the survey indicated that most people were supportive of the proposed closures with the possible exception of Elliot Road as it would limit access to the Beetle Lake Trail. Several minor suggestions were made from the floor for Marlene to take back to Council. Incidents of trespassing should be reported to OPP.

 

  1. President’s Report.Andrea Armstrong thanked the many Oxtongue Lake volunteers who contribute so much to the well being and spirit of our community; they are our true “unsung heroes”. The various electronic communication tools that have been introduced in the last few years continue to be very effective in keeping residents and cottagers informed of activities and concerns in the community. The Association reached out to the community to discuss the issues of Fall road closures and the increased traffic to, and from, the Harris Road pit. Andrea noted that the plan to increase the number of “paid up” members in the Association has not materialized yet but it is hoped to arrange door- to-door visits before the end of the season. Unfortunately, movie nights at the Community Centre have been discontinued and the planned bonfire night had to be postponed due to inclement weather. This will be rescheduled shortly and Andrea encouraged everyone to attend along with their musical instruments and singing voices.

 

  1. Report delivered by Andrea Armstrong. Commodore Chris Daltonand crew ran a very smooth event and despite a 20 minute weather delay everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day. Overall winners were 11 year old Hannah Ferguson and Mike Zavitz – congratulations to both!  Chris and his team were very appreciative of the strong support given by members of the Oxtongue Lake business community including Oxtongue Lake Outfitters, Blue Spruce Resort, Oxtongue Lake Cottages, Lobos, Dwight Market, Hortico Nursery and a host of individuals too numerous to list. Without their enthusiastic and generous support this annual tradition would not be possible. All prizes were donated by the Commodore which was extremely generous of him and very much appreciated. Chris and ‘crew’ were proud to have been part of this year’s regatta especially during Canada 150 year! The event raised approximately $700.

 

  1. Treasurer’s Report. Brian Lambert presented the Treasurer’s Report. Motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report: proposed by Chris Wood; seconded by Jim Elliott. Carried.

 

  1. Algonquin Highlands New Horizons for Seniors Project.Adele Espina gave an informative PowerPoint presentation on this interesting project. Adele has a part-time contract with the Township until the March 2018 to launch the project and provide necessary training. The goal is for three committees, each located in separate geographical settlement areas of the Township (Stanhope, Dorset and Oxtongue Lake), to engage seniors in their area in capturing, preserving and promoting the heritage and culture of the Township of Algonquin Highlands. Volunteers will create content for two websites, Algonquin Highlands Family Tree Website and Algonquin Highlands Heritage Map Website. The main objective – social inclusion and participation – will be fulfilled by giving seniors an opportunity to share their time, knowledge and memories as well as their own historic assets such as photographs and artifacts. The activities of the project will rely on collaboration among the committees with the intent to reach beyond membership to other seniors who will benefit from, and contribute to, the quality of life in their communities by participating in the project. Following the meeting there was an opportunity for seniors to volunteer to join the project.
  2. Cottage Watch and Other Safety Matters. Paul Bailey reported that traffic enforcement had increased this year and that the OPP was being very supportive. Some snowmobile signs in the area had been defaced over the winter and obstacles placed on the trails. As no propertyincidents have been reported in the last year, there has not been a meeting of the Cottage Watch committee but one is planned for the Fall. Paul thanked Marlene for her continuing support and encouragement.

 

  1. Scott Hayden informed participants that he has had discussions with others from lakes in the Park (Canoe, Smoke and Cache) and that on their annual membership form there is a voluntary tick-box to give a donation to the Huntsville Hospital. A lady from the floor elaborated on this suggestion and explained the ‘Our Cottage Cares’ program currently underway through the Huntsville Hospital Foundation and provided fliers containing more details about it. The intent of the program is that as demands on local healthcare increase with the arrival of our summer cottage population there is a need for additional resources. By a show of hands there was unanimous approval to look into providing an opportunity for members to donate on the OLA website.

 

  1. Events Report. Brandi Bailey reported that the bonfire night had been postponed because of weather and that it was rescheduled for August 17 (editorial note, August 17 was also rained out and it will now be rescheduled in 2018).

 

  1. Lake Steward Report. Tom Smith indicated that all was well on the Lake and that no formal report would be presented.

 

  1. Oxtongue Lake for Arts and Culture. Chris Woods described the Oxtongue Lake Artists’ Day Festival which will be held September 23, 2017 at the Community Centre. The Festival will be celebrating art at Oxtongue Lake where Tom Thomson and members of the Group of Seven painted and paddled. It will also be commemorating the 100thanniversary of Tom Thomson’s untimely death. The Festival will include 20 artisans and artists, artisanal food, multi-media presentations, an auction for a limited edition print by A.J.Casson and music by The Deelies. The Algonquin Outfitters, a strong supporter of the festival will be organizing a paddle painting competition with proceeds from the sale of the paddles going to OLAC. As a large crowd is expected, off-site parking will be provided with a free shuttle service to the Community Centre. A motion for OLA to provide liability insurance coverage for the two off-site parking locations: proposed by Paul Bailey; seconded by Scott Hayden. Carried.

 

  1. Other Business, & Questions for All Organizations(floor). Frank Tizel mentioned low-level flights over the lake recently and Marlene responded that these are military training flights originating from Trenton.

 

  1. Re-election and Election of Board Members. Andrea Armstrong announced that all current members of the executive were willing to serve another year and that Laura Embree had volunteered to join the Board as secretary. This would create an Executive comprising of Andrea Armstrong, Scott Hayden, Brian Lambert, Laura Embree, Rick Linklater, Tom Smith, Brandi Bailey and John Lawrence. Motion to elect/re-elect the slate: proposed by Paul Bailey; seconded by Jan Woods. Carried. Scott commented that it might be better to have an odd number of members to eliminate the risk of a tied vote. This would require a change to the by-laws which requires a 30 day notification. The decision was deferred and will be considered during the coming year.

 

  1. Adjournment. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:00 am. Motion to adjourn; proposed by Scott Hayden; seconded by Brian Lambert. Carried.