President------------------- Anna Pellizzari
Vice President--------- Daryl Emilio
Treasurer-------------- Randy Gulliver
Secretary ------------- Keith McKee
Water Steward------- Greg Keane
Members at Large - Paul Mundy, Bob Beccarea
Web Site---------- Randy Gulliver
The AGM was held virtually for the second time, the Group being cautious because of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Anna Pellizzari opened the meeting at 7:05 pm, welcoming the online Members. Initially, 45 Members were in attendance; this rose to 57 as the meeting progressed.
LAKE STEWARD REPORT
Greg Keane commented on the lake water testing done in late August. The lake was warm and quite shallow.
Most of the samples taken were in line with previous results.
The test levels at the west end of the lake were higher but not exceptional. He mentioned that the Ministry is not concerned unless the E.coli results are greater that 100.
The calcium and phosphorus levels had not yet been received.
There's a MAP of the sampling locations on our Lake Health page.
FINANCIAL REPORT
Randy Gulliver presented the treasurer's report, indicating that the opening balance was $ 892 and the closing balance as of September 1, 2022 was $2507. Water testing had cost $597, FOCA was $365, and Zoom setup for the meeting was $200.
There were 81 members who paid regularly.
Randy made a plea to all those who have not paid their dues to please do so.
LAKE LEVELS
Daryl Emilio raised the concern about the exceptional low level of the lake. His view is that it is not caused by the lack of rain. Bill Hodgins mentioned that there could be several factors influencing the level, including removal of the beaver dams, leakage through the limestone, blasting in the area and decreased water flow from Britain Lake.
Several members indicated that they have seen levels this low in the past. Daryl proposed that a committee be formed to look into the cause of the current low level of the lake and propose solutions to the problem.
The following committee was set up to investigate the low levels and potentially propose solutions -
Committee Head, Daryl Emilio
Members: Bill Hodgins, Dave Bast, Tom Vlasic, Pierre Pilon, and Bob Beccarea
Map below from Ministry web site shows water-flow sources and pattern for Miller Lake:
MILLER LAKE WALKING TRAIL
Dianne Thomson gave an update on the status of this proposal. One of the properties required for the original proposed route has been sold to a numbered company, who have refused to discuss the use of their property for the proposed route.
A new route is now proposed which would share a portion of the trail with the South Bruce Peninsula ATV club. Permission had been granted for some parking at the Tammy's Cove end of the trail and Dianne clarified that no ATV's would allowed on the section of trail that runs from TCR to the Bury Rd. The Municipality is working on a safe parking area at Hwy.6.
Questions were raised on how the MLCG would determine whether it was in favour of the trail. Several suggestions were put forward, and Barbara Chester suggested that the residents on Tammy's Cove Road are the most likely to be impacted and should be in favour of the trail before it is put to a vote of the general membership. The matter was left to the Executive to work out a proposed solution, however the Trail committee would prefer an alternate method to register support. This has yet to be decided.
PROPOSED DREDGING APPLICATION - Northeast lake
Christine Gillies gave an update on the above proposal. The original proposal for dredging has been returned. Another proposal has been put forward and is under review. It is being reviewed under the Lakes, Rivers Improvement Act (LRIA) The Gillies family request for information has been filed under the Freedom of Information act and a review is in progress. (The request for documents was ultimately approved under the Freedom of Information Act after this meeting.)
Derek Vanhouwelingen spoke to the group. He has applied for the dredging permits and has asked Scott Wilson to assist him in the application. Mary Ann Parker also explained her interest in the project. Discussion took place on the pros and cons of the proposed dredging. A diagram of the dredging proposal is below.
OTHER TOPICS RAISED
Traffic Speed
A concern was raised re speeding on the roads on the north side of the lake (Barney's Blvd.) and consideration should be given to the erection of "Slow Down" signs to potentially slow the traffic.
Garbage Collection
A question was raised on whether the township was really recycling, as both garbage and recycling were put into the same vehicle. A discussion raised the point that the garbage vehicles have two independent sections but the question would be put to the municipality to clarify exactly what they do.
Secretary Position
Keith McKee is stepping down as secretary and a replacement is required. A request was put forward and Christine Gillies agreed to take the position. We thank Keith for his many years of service to the MLCG!
Other
A brief discussion was held on the issue of lake access, and people leaving on bright lights all night as this is a dark sky area.
CLOSING
Anna Pellizzari closed the meeting at 8:45pm indicating that the number of attendees was up to 57 at various times during the meeting.