CALL TO ORDER President Bickle brought to the meeting to order at 9:15am. Larry Peck was appointed "Roving Photographer." Nancy Brown read the minutes from the 1995 Annual Meeting. The minutes were memorialized as presented. President Bickle reviewed the agenda.

TREASURER'S REPORT The financial report was presented by Judy Doubleday. The increase in interest was attributed to putting our money in a CD instead of a Passbook savings account at the advice of Larry Peck. President Bickle was thanked for the significant decrease in insurance costs. Judy introduced the concept of the new "board restricted" fund. A chunk of money was put aside for the long-term security of the organization. A two-thirds board vote is necessary to spend any of the fund. It will be funded by the interest it earns.
Dick Cordovano was thanked for doing the audit, which was said to be available after the meeting if anyone was interested.
The '96-'97 budget was presented. Judy explained that we are staring to reserve money to cover future water quality testing costs, (our free testing is now over), as well as future guidebook expenses, so that they are not such major expenditures in a single year. The interest for the "board restricted" fund was estimated. The budget was approved by voice vote.

TASK FORCE REPORTS

Activities Bob Allen, General Activities Chairperson, reported that the Christmas Caroling event was great. Bill Nitsche and Alby Peck were thanked for their Winterfest work. The Spring Clean-Up effort went well. Attendance was low at this year's Garage Sale. 50 golfers played in this year's Bernie Sleeper Memorial Golf Tournament which was held at Nick Stoner. New golf prize categories were introduced. 74 people attended this year's Annual Dinner which was held at the Concordia Club. The idea of having a summer picnic was postponed this year. Bob asked anyone with suggestions for lake resident activities to get in touch with him. Volunteers are sought for future events.

Communications President Bickle read a status report from Barbara Remington, Communications Chairperson, who was unable to attend. Larry Peck was thanked for his work as the PLPA Newsletter Editor. Bob Fleming was thanked for his work on the PLPA Directory. Last year's "Meet the Candidates" was successful, despite the bad weather. District Attorney Polly Hoye and Mike Smrtis had been invited to speak for this September's "Meet the Candidates", but had a previous commitment. Voters were reminded that they could speak with them via a call-in program on WENT 1340, on September 7 between 9 and 10am.

Water Quality Stuart Smith presented a report from Lake Activities Chairperson, Dave Pratt. Water testing was performed every two weeks throughout the summer. We are currently in the last year of a program through the Federation of Lakes, where we receive state money for free water testing. The health of the lake is good, The testers watch for milfoil, and test for pH and mineral content. The lake has been stable for five years. The nutrient level is low. Stuart Smith recommended that we stay affiliated with the program, but stop paying for testing unless clarity tests, (which can be performed for free), signal a change in the lake's health.
Residents were reminded to watch their use of fertilizers. No new Canadian Geese nests were reported. Charlie Bennett reported that a fence was helpful in discouraging Canadian Geese at his home. He also suggested that good time to test septic systems is in the spring. He will have testing dye available.
President Bickle invited Stuart Smith to the next Board meeting to further discuss water quality testing.

Bob Lang was thanked for marking shoals with 24 red buoys. He will be adding something fluorescent to them.

Fish Stocking This year's effort was comprised of 1/3 of largemouth bass, 1/3 smallmouth bass and 1/3 perch.

Peck Family Report Wellington Peck spoke on behalf of the Peck Family. He reported that our wealth of water this summer was due to both spring rains and a stuck gate valve in the dam. John Pickard, the person at Niagara-Mohawk who had been responsible for controlling the water level for many years, retired this year. Wellington will work on educating the new man on the job. Minimal vandalism and complaints made for a nice summer. Windsurfers and canoeists were reminded to wear life jackets.
President Bickle asked about the progress of the pavilion. Wellington reported that it was still in the thinking stage. Wellington reported that if events like the water ski show and the fireworks on the 4th of July are enjoyed, the Peck Family would be looking for some financial support from the PLPA to help defray costs.

Niagara-Mohawk The January 20th Power Information meeting was recalled as being a successful event. President Bickle pointed out a positive change in the number of power outages we had experienced this year. President Bickle also read a letter from Tony Andre from NiMo outlining their improvements that they had made that should benefit our residents:

1. Tree trimming of potentially hazardous branches has already been completed
2. The installation of four automatic reclosures should make brown-outs obsolete.
3. Before October 31, a switch allowing NiMo to tie us into other power sources should be installed. Because it puts different sources of power at NiMo's disposal, this should dramatically cut down on the length of out power outages.

Taxes Larry Doubleday also spoke on the subject of tax abatement. He reported that New York State may be changing the process for determining equalization rates. He feels that the promotion of single assessing units in Fulton County could be harmful to Bleecker residents and that the impact on the Town of Johnstown residents is unclear. Larry offered to stay after the meeting to discuss these issues with interested parties.

Historical Society Alice Peck spoke on behalf of the Peck's Park Historical Society. John Mars is coordinating the work on the schoolhouse. The $4000 raised in this summer's auction has already been spent. The bathroom is working and the carpentry is done. Volunteers are needed to scrape and paint. Kingsboro Lumber donated interior paint and Moore's Lumber donated exterior paint.

NEW BUSINESS

Elections The nominating committee composed of Larry Doubleday and John Mars presented nominations for officers and directors for the next year which were approved by voice vote:

President Bickle predicted that he would call a summit meeting on water pollution in October.

Anyone interested in a Bleecker map to benefit the Bleecker Historical Society was asked to contact Pat Prindle or Dot Holly. The cost of the map is $5.

Stewart Seely introduced himself as the new owner of the Brounstein house on Maplewood Drive. He lives there with his wife Laura, and his dog Buster.

A motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Charlie Bennett. Esther Neal seconded the motion, and it was approved by voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 10:50am.

Respectfully Submitted,
Nancy Brown, Secretary

FEEDBACK WANTED! Suggestions or comments about our web site can be e-Mailed to Paul Nestork, the Web Site's Manager. We would like to know what you think of our site and how we can improve it.

Copyright © 2004 Peck Lake Protective Assoc.   Last Update 03-08-04