A Message from the President
By John Forder, President
As the new president I would like to thank Bruce Howlett for all his committed hard work and for leaving the LWRA in such great shape. I'd also like to extend a thank you to past & present board members for all their dedicated efforts throughout the year. As we are a volunteer organization we are only as successful as the people who participate and we have a great group of people who are dedicated to the LWRA.
Our Family Fun Day was a great success and the Hamiltons must be thanked for their hospitality and for making sure the weather was so great. If members have any suggestion as to what we may change or what we can add to the fun day, please let us know as we want to make it entertaining for everyone.
The Corn Roast was once again held at the home of the West Family who truly went out of their way to make sure we had the perfect setting for this event. I would like to extent a heart full big thank you from the LWRA directors to the West Family and to everyone who helped make this such a great successful family event. From the chefs who grilled up the best tasting food, to the fabulous desserts donated by many families to the corn huskers and everyone else who went out of their way to make this a perfect day. We made a few changes this year by adding a choice of chicken breast, different types of sausage and the addition of a dessert table, which was a big hit. (Thank you Sue Christie for the suggestion). If you can think of anything else that would add to enjoyment of all please let us know.
I'd like to wish you all a healthy, happy and warm Thanksgiving weekend. Enjoy this wonderful time of year and we'll talk to you soon.
Report From Palette Lake
By Bill Somers
Earlier this past summer, we learned that a resident went to the municipal office in Huntsville for a demolition permit and was told that the Huntsville Fire Department might be interested in using his old cottage as a training facility for the volunteer firefighters.
He discussed this option with the HFD Training Officer. This was promoted as a win/win situation; actual practice for the fire fighters and a monetary savings for the owner. An anticipated date of September 19, 2009 was set for the actual burn. In the meantime the Training Officer was to prepare a report for the Fire Chief but the report was delayed due to illness.
Following a site visit by members of the Board and a few Palette Lake residents with environmental concerns, the LWRA decided to pro-actively send a letter to the Fire Chief asking for more information (available at www.lwra.net/76_Hunts_Rd_inquiry after logging on).
This letter was delivered, with copies to our Town and District councillors on or about September 9, 2009. Chief Hernen was reportedly displeased with the contents of the LWRA letter but stated he would respond to it identifying certain discrepancies. He further stated that he had not yet received a report from his Training Officer, had not visited the site and had not made a decision to utilize it. As of this writing, Chief Hernen has still not responded to our letter.
On September 28, 2009, a construction company from Emsdale demolished the cottage and the debris transported to Muskoka Containerized Services in Bracebridge for recycling.
Report From Ripple Lake
By John Forder
Well, things on Ripple Lake, where Liz my wife, Kelly our dog and Libby our cat reside, are very quiet and with all the rain lately the lake is up but unfortunately not warm enough to swim in - I guess we'll leave that for next year. I hope you've taken the time to enjoy this year's fabulous show of colour on the trees that surround our homes. What a show they have put on, just for us.
The Pieper Sub-Division, The Sequel
Tony Doob
As everyone in our association knows, about seven years ago an application process was initiated by a land owner on Lake Waseosa, Sybille Pieper, to sever her parcel of land into four lots (one containing the original house and three new lots). The association opposed this application with the Town of Huntsville. In 2005, the Council of the Town of Huntsville turned down this application. The applicant took it to the Ontario Municipal Board. We retained John Sewell to act for us at the OMB and won. The applicant requested the OMB to re-open their decision. We opposed that move at Divisional Court (having retained Chris Paliare of the law firm Paliare-Roland). We won the right to a full hearing on the matter.
Before the hearing could take place, Ms. Pieper withdrew her appeal of the OMB decision and immediately filed a brand new application with the Town. We opposed this application in meetings before the Town. Many of the observers of the public proceedings before the Town of Huntsville were not convinced that the Town considered our arguments at all. Our District councillor, who also sits on Town Council, Brian Thompson, absented himself from the meeting on the basis of a ‘conflict of interest.' He appeared to one member of the board of the LWRA not to be willing to explain the nature of his conflict. Our local councillor, John Davis, was more direct. He voted to allow the development.
Because the application that the Town approved was, we believe, seriously flawed (e.g., there are at least three different maps or sketches describing different locations of the proposed houses), the LWRA has filed an application with the OMB to have the decision overturned. However, in hopes that this apparently never-ending process might sometime end, the LWRA has agreed to explore with the developer details of the plans for the development of these three lots. Though not ideal, we hope that we might help protect our already over-developed lake by requiring the developers of these lots to follow some important restrictions suggested, among other things, by the applicant's own expert. John Sewell has, once again, agreed to represent us in these discussions and, if necessary, at the OMB.
Blueberry Island Restoration
Bruce Howlett, Waseosa Lake Steward
At the 2009 AGM the membership formed a committee to restore Blueberry Island. (There is some debate as to whether the small island adjacent to the large island, in the north end of Waseosa or the island in the south portion of Waseosa was originally named Blueberry. Be that as it may henceforth I will address the north island as Blueberry.)
Dwayne Verhey and Bruce Howlett met with the MNR in Bracebridge in August, to obtain approval for the initiatives being proposed by the committee, i.e. signage, plantings and erosion control of the shoreline. The MNR was receptive and has approved the on-shore portion of the plan. The shoreline portion is awaiting approval from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Having compiled photos and recollections of Blueberry's historical ecosystem, committee members planted donated spruce and pine saplings according to the resulting plan. The committee watered the trees on a regular basis to insure their survival. Prior to Thanksgiving, Scott Gower of Camp Huronda identified additional native species on the Huronda property that were readied for the week-end planting crews by LWRA volunteers.
Future plans include erosion restoration with river rocks and deciduous tree planting. A budget for expected expenses was approved by the directors, but more volunteer work parties will be required!
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Huntsville, Ontario
P1H 2J4