ASSOCIATION OF OWNERS OF LAC SIMON
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
HELD ON July 5, 2009
Recreation Centre, 73 rue Hotel de Ville, 2nd Floor, Chénéville
Attendance: About sixty members were present.
1. Opening of the meeting
Sincerely, Lise Villeneuve, opens the meeting at 9: 45 pm and welcomed participants. She noted the presence of a councilor of the Municipality of Duhamel, David Pharand, and representatives of the Association of Owners of lakes and Simonet Grosleau and Owners Association of Lac Gagnon. It proposes to the meeting that the Vice-President of Communications for the SPLA, Lyse Leduc, chaired the meeting which was accepted unanimously.
The Chair of the Assembly, Lyse Leduc, read the agenda and suggested that items be added to Miscellany later after the presentation that must be followed, which was accepted unanimously.
2. Approval of Minutes of the meeting of 29 June 2008
On the proposal of Jacqueline Mazet, seconded by Raymonde Gauthier, the minutes of the meeting of June 29, 2008, was adopted unanimously.
3. Conference on the Protection of lakes
The Chair of the meeting introduced Mr. Louis-Marie Poissant, scientific advisor on the environment, Environmental Health Directorate of Public Health of Ottawa. Poissant a presentation of approximately 45 minutes on the protection of our lakes. After a brief period of questioning, the Chair of the Assembly thanked the speaker for his volunteer contribution and highly appreciated.
4. Report of the President of the Association (Lise Villeneuve)
The Chair reported on the activities of the association and the executive committee during the past year. The main points:
4.1 Mission of the Association: The Executive Committee has reflected on the mission of the Association in order to identify cases for which it should get involved:
- Protection of lake environmental document
- Right to information for all citizens
He is convinced of the importance of its influence and its workforce. That's why he made efforts to give more information through press releases and media interviews.
4.2 Attendance at town council meetings: Members of the Executive and attended council meetings for Lac-Simon and a few council meetings and Duhamel have made representations on various issues mentioned below. We have also been present at various meetings of public consultations
4.3 Participation in outdoor activities: Members of the Executive have attended various conferences and symposiums on the environment in the region.
4.4 Other Outreach: The Executive Committee has prepared a new brochure, set out new ways to keep lists of members and owners and has published two issues of its newsletter, The White Duck.
4.5: At the General Assembly of 2008, members requested that the SPLA inquired about the legal possibilities of the activity of boats in the Bay Groulx. The Executive has made representations to an environmental lawyer, Jean-François Girard, who was busy in the issue of Lake Memphremagog. Conclusion: Given the division of powers within the existing Canadian Constitution, it is difficult to do anything. The only way forward now is to put pressure on municipalities to ensure that, in turn, they exert pressure on the highest level. There is therefore no point for us to undertake costly legal proceedings.
4.6 Inspection of septic systems and revitalization of the waterfront: The SPLA welcomed the fact that municipalities have continued their efforts in this direction.
4.7 Épursol File: The Association has successfully intervened with the authorities after learning of citizens that the company had begun processing of putrescible waste from the dump outside of Lac-Simon, who had an impact on our environment.
4.8 Poker Run: Association has made representations again without success with the municipality of Lac Simon, not to oppose the holding of this event, but it is restricted to residents of riverside municipalities only and so there is no derogation from Regulation.
4.9 Regulations and Subdivision Regulations of Loan
The Association has made representations to the municipality of Lac-Simon to assert the right to information for citizens and requested that such consultations take place at a time when residents from outside can be present (that is to say, this weekend rather than weekly). With regard to the subdivision regulations, the Executive sought an amendment to a risk area for the construction of several housing units. The rezoning was made by the municipality. Regarding borrowing rules, the Association did not necessarily opposed to the construction of a new city hall, but she wants the authorities give more information about the project's relevance given the high costs and reviews the proposed solutions
5. Financial Report (Richard Sabourin, Treasurer)
Treasurer presents the financial report of the Association, which was sent to all members with the agenda of the assembly. It explains the apparent discrepancies in the figures by the fact that the contributions of members of Barriere Lake have been recorded before March 31, 2008. He said that staff has not increased and there would be for current members to try to recruit. The financial report was adopted unanimously.
6. Current files
6.1 Committee of the watershed (Claude Ricard)
Claude Ricard describes what are the catchment and regional activities in this regard. He explained that there was no committee of watershed for the Petite-Nation despite the interventions of the Regional County Municipality (RCM) of Papineau and the Ministry of Environment of Quebec (MEQ) for this purpose. The MEQ has undertaken recently, however, to designate new areas for watershed and the Petite-Nation will be part of the watershed committee of the Red. An interim committee is in place and the official committee will be created in mid-September with a mandate to develop a master plan. It is little far, but it's better than nothing!
6.2 Monitoring of lakes (Richard Sabourin)
Richard Sabourin says harvesting activities that have been made in Lac Simon. The water quality is relatively good. There will draw in Barriere Lake this year. Simply levies every 4-5 years. The results are posted on the website of the SPLA.
6.3 Exchange Julien Couture (Lyse Leduc)
The $ 500 scholarship was awarded for the first time this year at the School Board Heart-of-Valleys for a proposed planting vegetation on riparian land by students of Grade 5 School Adrian William Chénéville. It was a joint project with the municipality of Lac-Simon Foundation and Earth Day. We hope to repeat the experiment on a larger scale next year. Members are requested to contact the SPLA if they wish to plant trees on their land.
6.4 Revitalization of the lake shoreline Barrier (Françoise Breault)
A small committee has been formed in Barriere Lake, and members are invited to join. The committee will hold a planting of shrubs and other plants next spring. An information sheet will be distributed in due course.Members wishing to participate are invited to contact Françoise Breault.
7. Period exchanges and variable
At the beginning of the trading period, representatives of other associations leave the SPLA and thank for the invitation to attend the AGM.
The representative of the Municipality of Duhamel, David Pharand, made a statement and described several projects undertaken by the municipality (participation on watershed management, septic systems, supervision of banks (buying a vessel) and project integration architecture (PIA)).
Poker Run: A member deplores the timidity of the SPLA in its interventions. The Chairman explained that the Association has adopted a compromise position, that is to say, there may be a Poker Run for residents only. The meeting requested that the Executive Committee reconsider its position. One member also claims that the exemption granted by the municipality is illegal. He asked that the SPLA is for the Minister (of Municipal Affairs) to determine if the municipality can do so.
Water withdrawals: One member asked that the samples continue in shallow bays (less than 6 meters) saw the bustle of the waters caused by motor boats. Richard replied that the Association will consult the municipality (Corinne Dubois) to determine what can be done.
Speed on the Road Tour-du-Lac: A member regretted the speed of traffic. The President replied that he should contact the municipality to which it is to make representations to relevant authorities.
Municipal activities: Members intervene to enforce how important it is for citizens interested in municipal activities, for example by attending meetings of the council. It is necessary that the SPLA interference not only with regard to the environment, but also for other issues such as construction projects and borrowing rules. Citizens must also do their part in this. There will be elections in November 2009 and is an opportunity for the SPLA to develop a platform and ask the candidates how they support this program. Because members do not generally know the candidates, they ask that the Association shall indicate for which candidate they should vote. The Chairman stressed that the SPLM will work with the team elected quelqu'elle either.
A likely candidate in the elections (Robert Johnston) intervened to explain the necessity of forming a new team.
Docks: A member asked whether there was a settlement on the docks and marinas. The President replied that he would inquire of municipalities. Another member, there are certain regulations which are totally inapplicable (eg, about water skiing).
Construction of a new City Hall: Some members explained that the project of the municipality of Lac-Simon did not make sense given its size (a building of 9,000 square feet). Should seek advice from a building contractor to determine what might be suitable at a reasonable price.
Creating a Municipal Supervisory Committee: One member, Paul Gagne, proposes the creation of an oversight committee municipal he agrees to join on condition that it be overseen by the executive. The motion carried unanimously. This should include ensuring that the council does not take important decisions (eg building a new City Hall) before the elections.
Camping Paradise camper One member noted that vehicles are allowed to park more down to the lake. Des représentations ont été faites auprès du ministère de l'Environnement. Representations were made to the Ministry of Environment. We should return to the load.
Dump: A member asked if the landfill could not be reopened for the waste plant. It seems that this is not a question, but these wastes can be made at the farm or in HLF Épursol (in paper bags for that purpose)
Tests of Drinking Water: A member suggested that citizens who are conducting tests of drinking water send the results to the SPLA. The Executive will assess the feasibility of managing such a case
Road Conditions: Some members regretted the poor state of roads in the area, including Route 315 between Montpelier and Chénéville. The SPLA could only make representations to municipalities, but also belongs to citizens to do so.
8. Formation of Executive Committee
Two people offer their services within the executive committee: Lucie Belanger (representative for the Barriere Lake) and Pierre Paquin (representative for the Lake Simon). Another person of Barriere Lake, Marie-Anne Bilodeau, will share the task with Françoise Breault (already a member of the board).
9. Miscellany (see paragraph 7 above)
10. Closure of the meeting
The meeting ended at 12 h 30.
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