Steering Committee planning meeting 2007-09-29

Eight of the nine members of the Steering Committee met at the Port Albert Inn, 09:00-11:00, to review ACLA's mission and accomplishments, discuss items of general concern, and establish priorities and plans for action.

present: Jim Baird, Nigel Bellchamber, Judy Crawford, Mike McElhone, Joel Rochon, Beth Ross, Robert Stephenson, Roger Watt

absent: Eric Holmes

Mission statement re-affirmed

ACLA's mission is to co-ordinate advocacy on common concerns of the lakeshore community.

This wording resulted from much discussion at the 2003-09 Communications Coordinators meeting. It reflects the volunteer-driven manner in which ACLA operates. We do have an administrative structure that incurs expenses, and we rely on the enthusiasm and expertise of those who care enough to lead the way.

ACLA's top two priorities for the immediate future

A healthy beach environment for our children

We now have five years of results from the stream-testing program. We believe these results show that untreated agricultural run-off continues to be the dominant cause of the high levels of E.coli and other pollutants in the areas of the Lake Huron shoreline where children want to play ... in the sand at the water's edge, and in the near-shore water. We believe that Ontario's Nutrient Management Act, the weakest in Canada, has had zero impact on lessening the problem.

• We will seek the increased funding that is necessary to continue the stream-testing program, and to undertake a pilot beach-sand testing program.
• We believe that attaining a safe environment for the children of residents and vacationers will require collaboration with township, county, and provincial governments to seek funding assistance to farm owners to eliminate untreated run-off.

Outreach

ACLA communicates with the lakeshore community through the e-mail lists that the Communications Coordinators maintain for the lakeshore associations that ACLA represents. Funding for ACLA programs is almost totally dependent on the lakeshore community, through the annual contribution of each association (currently $10 for each property that the association represents, although several associations have voluntarily increased that to $20 recently).

• We need to keep all lakeshore property owners informed of ACLA and related activities, and provide an effective mechanism for seeking and obtaining their input. We need to ensure that every lakeshore area is represented by a proactive Communications Coordinator with a well-maintained mailing list.
• We need to make our concerns and activities more visible in the broader ACW community, and to improve opportunities for collaboration with the Township's year-round residents. We will undertake a recurring "letters from the lakeshore" contribution to the Lucknow Sentinel and the Goderich Signal-Star weekly newspapers.

TO-DO list

Programs and budget for 2008

The "$10 per property" contribution that the lakeshore associations have been making to ACLA is no longer sufficient to support ACLA's stream-testing activities (due to increased cost of lab analyses), nor to enable any new undertakings.

• Prepare a statement of intended-program costs versus expected income, discuss at the 2008 Communications Coordinators Spring meeting to determine the per-property contribution needed for 2008.
  -- Jim Baird et.al.

Funding assistance for water-quality testing

There are entities in Huron County that fund selected projects whose objective is to improve water quality.

• Identify possible funding sources and submit proposals.
  -- Mike McElhone, Nigel Bellchamber, Roger Watt

Funding assistance for road maintenance

Bluewater Township provides funding assistance to some of its lakeshore associations to help maintain unassumed roads.

• Prepare a proposal to ACW Council, for funding assistance for maintenance of unassumed roads and for upgrading unassumed roads to maintained roads.
  -- Nigel Bellchamber, Robert Stephenson

Outreach

• Seek Communications Coordinators for unrepresented lakeshore areas.
  -- Roger Watt
• Survey cottagers' desires for ACLA activities.
  -- Beth Ross, Roger Watt
• Produce a one-page summary of ACLA mission, accomplishments, and contacts, for inclusion in the information package distributed each spring by the Goderich Chamber of Commerce.
  -- Roger Watt, Judy Crawford
• Pursue articles for local-newspaper contributions.
  -- Judy Crawford, Joel Rochon

ATVs on the beaches

The Township of Huron-Kinloss now has a by-law that prohibits the operation of ATVs in an area including the Lake Huron beach and lakeshore roads.

• Include in survey of lakeshore communities to determine their concerns.
  -- Beth Ross

DONE list

ACW garbage pickup after holiday weekends

The ACW garbage/recycling pickup on the Saturday instead of the Monday of holiday weekends is ineffective for the cottage community, since weekenders don't have much garbage that early in the three-day weekend.

• Request that ACW change the holiday-weekend pickup day.
  -- Roger Watt

2008-03 UPDATE -- Requested at ACW Council meeting of 2007-10-02. In the 2008 schedule, holiday-weekend pickups will be on Mondays as normal.

Items requiring further discussion

Sewage

Huron County facility for treating septic-system/holding-tank pump-outs

-- Robert Stephenson

Storm-water retention/pre-treatment facilities for farm runoff

-- Nigel Bellchamber

Compiled by Roger Watt. Last updated .