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Friends of Clam Lake
Board Meeting
Conference Call, Saturday, March 8, 20008, 10:00 AM
President Paul Sak called the meeting
to order.
Roll
Call: Tom Frey, Cottie Volle, Jack
Gartner, Bill Frost, Jim Marling, Paul Sak, Art and Carol Hoadley were present.
Paul thanked Tom Frey for his work
on the board and as president and welcomed Carol Hoadley as recording secretary. No
additions were made to the Agenda.
Jack
Gartner moved the electronic meeting minutes discussion of de-icers be approved, Cottie Volle seconded. Motion carried.
Art Hoadley presented the treasurer’s
report. FoCL has a debit card for paying bills.
Cottie moved the report be approved, Jack Gartner seconded. Motion carried.
Cottie reported the group has 175
members who paid dues for 2007-2008 plus there’s an additional number who have requested that their earlier donations
be honored as dues for 2007-2008. Tom Frey will determine the exact total number
of members in both groups.
Bill Frost reported the By-Laws Committee
is on hold until he returns. Jim Marling, and two other people have agreed to work with him.
If anyone has suggestions on by-law changes, please contact Bill. They will bring their recommendations to the board
for approval before presenting any to the annual meeting.
Old Business
General Business Operations:
Paul acquired a free fax service
which will send him e-mail responses. It is 515-474-3120 ( fax number for FoCL.) He also reported
filing with the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth Jan.
2, 2008, and changed FoCL from a Directorship to a “Membership” organization.
Art Hoadley will get FoCL a post
office box and e-mail information to board.
Website:
Tom will maintain the website. He will post articles about the Bay Harbor Injection Wells at Alba. Art will get permission from Jack Norris to use his letter to the editor.
Paul will also provide information on the de-icer situation. Paul will
reposition the camera to show more of the lake.
De-Icer Situation:
“Educate rather than Legislate”. Paul will attend the Thursday morning meeting of the County
Commissioners . Several board members
will attend the Helena Twp. Board meeting Thurs night. Discussion: Respond positively, Property protection rights, (some people have lost docks to ice), Properly installed
and working units do not pose danger to lake.
New Business
Board can appoint a member to serve
as VP until annual meeting is held. Perhaps Steve Kline or someone from North
shore of Clam Lake. Paul will investigate. Jack moved we table the
appointment of a VP and Cottie seconded. Tom amended we handle this electronically. Jack and Cottie agreed. Motion carried
as amended.
Membership:
Should dues be collected in January
for the year? Discussion: By-Laws
state July 1 starts membership year. People too busy in January, not thinking
of water issues. Easier to reach people in summer. Suggest sending e-mail reminders for dues and mail only to those not responding. Will evaluate at end of summer.
Elk River
Chain of Lakes Conservation Network
Discussion: Tom has attended meetings, Communication is important, Need to keep informed. Cottie moved we
be involved in this Network, Tom seconded. Motion carried.
Chain of Lakes Naturopoly:
Discussion: Fulfills educational commitment of our IRS status, would be a loan, shows cooperation . Art moved we loan
$500 to produce the game, Cottie seconded. Motion carried, one nay vote.
Will promote game on website.
New Initiatives for 2008:
Water-craft study
- Data needed. Paul will investigate and report for next meeting, possibly in
May.
Boating impact on Grass
River- Art will photo Grass
River before and after Holidays to see impact .
Adjourn: Tom moved we adjourn, Jack seconded. Meeting adjourned at
approximately 11:34 am (EST).
Carol Hoadley, Recording Secretary
_______________________________
Minutes for FoCL Board “Electronic” Discussion on De-Icers
Start Date: 2/8/08
End Date: 2/12/08
On 2/8/08, Paul Sak sent an email to Board concerning the De-Icer Ordinance
situation that surfaced at the 1/10/08 Helena Township
Board meeting. Paul sought approval from the FoCL Board to present an “Educate
Rather than Legislate” approach where FoCL would sponsor education on the issue in the Summer/Fall timeframe.
The following
board members gave their approval to proceed at the next Helena Township Board meeting on 2/14/08. Some Board members also added some additional
comments, questions, and suggestions:
Art & Carol
Hoadley – email on 2/8/08
Cottie Volle
– email on 2/9/08
Tom Frey –
Verbal discussion on 2/9/08
Jim Marling –
email on 2/10/08
Bill Frost –
email on 2/12/08
Paul Sak –
email on 2/8/08
Proposed approach
passed 7 – 0 with one board member not voting.
Due to surgery
and recovery, Jack Gartner was not able to respond immediately but did comment on 2/21/08.
On 2/15/08, Paul Sak sent an update on what happened at the Helena Township
Board meeting on 2/14/08.
Future action
to be discussed at next FoCL Board meeting.
Respectfully
submitted,
Paul L. Sak
__________________________________
Friends of Clam
Lake
(FoCL) Annual Meeting Minutes
Date: Saturday, August 11, 2007
Time: 9:30 am
Location: Alden
Methodist Church in Alden, Michigan
Meeting opened by Frey at 9:35 a.m.
Recognized outgoing
board. Pam Hawley, Marilyn Bagdonas and Megan Raphael.
Treasurer’s report - Paul Sak
Report at meeting only,not on website.
Membership committee report - Cottie
Volle
Report at meeting only,not on website.
Old Business -
·
Discussion on articles of incorporation, changing to a membership
organization. It was pointed out that the board of directors recently made the
change from a directorship to a membership-based organization.
·
One of our officers did attend Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council
- Annual Meeting in Petoskey
·
Continuing the website discussion. It was agreed to continue.
·
Some discussion on working with a Three Lakes. It was indicated that Norton Bretz Executive Director of Three Lakes had been contacted, and it is the
intention of the board officers of each organization to sit down and discuss some common grounds.
Nominating Committee presented there slate of officers.
There were no nominations from the floor.
Election of officers was unanimous
for 2007 -- 2008 as follows.
Thomas Frey - President.
Paul Sak - Vice President
Art Hoadley - Treasurer
Jim Marling - Secretary
Directors Appointments
Bill Frost
Cottie Volle
Jack Gartner
A motion was made and seconded, and after much discussion that -The organization applies for
the tax deduction certificate to be added to the nonprofit status currently held by Friends of Clam Lake. But only after researching requirements to be sure it doesn't conflict with our Goal and Mission
statements. Passed unanimously.
New Business and Membership Comment
from the floor.
·
The Road End legislation passed by Michigan Representatives,
and currently in committee for consideration by the Senate. Was a concern of most?
·
By the end of the day, the membership rolls had exceeded 122
dues paying members.
·
One member inquired if DEQ could be notified to add Friends
of Clam Lake to their notification system on any future permitted expansions on Clam River.
·
Frey reminded everybody that all e-mails will be kept confidential,
as well as Membership names.
·
A discussion on procedure for voting on issues that may come
up in the future. It was decided that the membership would be polled. This may be accomplished by having a web page for members only requiring password.
·
An insurance policy was discussed for errors and omissions. It was agreed that board members and volunteers would be covered. One of our business members would be contacted and a policy
procured.
Adjournment: President Frey called for a motion for adjournment at 11:10 a.m. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Jim
Marling - Secretary
_________________________________
Friends of Clam Lake (FoCL)
Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Held at Methodist Church, Alden, Michigan
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm by Tom Frey Sr., Board Member and President.
Tom Frey reviewed a summary report of income, expenses and reimbursements made by FoCL from December
1, 2006 to June 20, 2007. Most expenses were self-explanatory. Expenses incurred by board members and reimbursed
to them covered a variety of items including but not limited to incorporation fees, mass mailings, professional aerial photos,
website charges, etc. Details are available from individuals, if needed. No board members were compensated for
any of their time and effort during these initial months.
Following this, a discussion was led by Paul Sak on the mission and goals of FoCL. A hand
vote was taken that reaffirmed the continuance of FoCL and its mission and goal as initially
defined when it incorporated in January of this year:
Mission:
To be a responsible
advocate of reality, truth and vigilance, with a focus on the continued excellent quality of Clam Lake and the safe public and private use of this wonderful treasure in the Chain-of-Lakes.
Goal:
Protection
of the water quality, safety, environment, wildlife and quality of life of all who live and play on Clam Lake through the
dissemination of information and taking action on issues which impact Clam Lake.
The
following points were discussed and made:
- Structure of the organization is currently a "directorship". It is the intent of the directors to change this
to a "membership" type of organization once the new board gets established.
- Membership
is open to ALL individuals who live, play or work on Clam Lake.
- Friends
of Clam Lake are committed to communicate and work with other lake, nature and environmental organizations;
state, county and local township officials; and local businesses.
-
Communications will be key with the emphasis on the use of email, the group website and regular mail to those members
without computer access.
- All officers
and board members serve on a non-paid, voluntary basis with organization expenses reimbursed.
- The
new Board of Directors are Tom Frey Sr., Paul Sak, Cottie Volle, Jack Gartner and Bill Frost. (Please note that Cottie
Volle was asked and agreed to join the board after the meeting.)
- Membership dues were set at $35 per year per household with the new membership
year starting on July 1, 2007.
Short term objectives will be:
1. Approval and adoption of organizational by-laws
2. Expansion of Board of Directors as defined in by-laws
3. Continued membership expansion
4. Support and assistance with the cladophora survey introduced by Jack Norris
during the meeting
The next Annual Meeting of the the Friends of Clam Lake will be held in August, date,
time and location to be determined
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