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ROGERS LAKE AUTHORITY
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF February 13, 2019
A meeting of the Rogers Lake Authority (RLA) was convened at the Rogers Lake Clubhouse at 7:30 PM on February 13th. The following members were present: Dennis Overfield, Dick Smith, Robert Recor, Janell Janes, and Toni Phillips. Five local attendees were also present. The minutes were typed by Nicole Krol.
The meeting of the Rogers Lake Authority was called to order at 7:33pm by Dennis Overfield.
The minutes from November were read aloud, Dick made a motion to accept the minutes, Bob second, the motion passed unanimously.
Lake Patrol
None
Weeds
None
Budget
None
Old Business
The board reviewed the budget for 2019/2020. The budget has been submitted to the town of Old Lyme.
New Business
Tom Baehr has resigned as a board member of RLA, Janell Janes has been appointed as a replacement, she was sworn in earlier this week.
The presentation by David Post from Yale University on the alewives’ study presented January 9th had a nice turnout, about 57 people attend. Town hall said they would give Dennis DVD’s of the presentation, he has yet to receive them.
The preliminary vegetation survey summary by SWCA Environmental Consultants – “Overall species diversity increased over the four years during treatment and overall invasive plant coverage decreased.” The lake health is good overall.
The 2018 water quality report from Aquatic Ecosystem Research, and treatment recommendations from SWCA Environmental Consultants are due in February.
Dennis and Bob met with Fred Behringer of Survalliant on water quality testing capabilities. He may be a future resource for RLA in water analysis, he was interested in possibly expanding to water quality testing.
CT DEEP Volunteer Water Monitoring Program is being held April 5th at Three Rivers Community College, in Norwich.
On January 23, Mark and Dennis met with Mike, from DEEP, the main topic of conversation was safety on the lake. An overview of the meeting is attached see (Appendix I). The board voted on the following:
- Dick made a motion to proceed with putting an ordnance sign in the north cove, Toni second, motion passed unanimously. Dennis will get written permission for the sign placement.
- Dick made a motion to put up a sign in the one-way area near Picnic Island, Janell second, the motion passed unanimously. Signage will be recommended by DEEP. Dennis will get permission from the owners to place the sign on Picnic Island.
The board discussed hiring someone to harass the geese, it is not illegal, and it may help to rid them of the lake. Mark indicated he would be willing to look at and possibly rewrite the lake ordinances, DEEP said they were quite confusing and outdated. The meeting with DEEP was productive.
Toni asked if the lake treatment application has been submitted. The town is waiting for SWCA to provide their recommendation which is due this month. Old Lyme town hall will begin the permit process once the report is received.
Dick has begun the process to finding staff for the RLA boat for the upcoming season.
A motion to adjourn was made by Dick, Toni second, motion passed by unanimous vote. The meeting ended at 8:41 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
The next meeting of the Rogers Lake Association will be on March 13th, at 7:30PM at the Rogers Lake West Shores Clubhouse.
Appendix I
To: Rogers Lake Authority
From: Mark Hastings
Dennis Overfield
Date: February 1, 2019
Re: Notes from Meeting at DEEP
___________________________________________________________________________________
On January 23, 2019, Dennis arranged for us to meet with Mike Payton – Supervisor Navigation & Boating Infrastructure Unit, Boating Division of DEEP. We covered a range of topics:
- Placing buoys to warn of sand bar and rocks near exit/entrance to boat ramp
- Our concern is the sand bar and rocks need the site
- To place a warning buoy at this site would require a permit
- We need determine the specific area that is a hazard
- If the hazard is within 100 feet of land the hazard falls under the rules of Slow-No-Wake zone
- To proceed we need to measure depth of the hazard point and provide GPS coordinates of the spot
- We could file for a permit for buoy. DEEP would perform a site inspection as part of the permit approval
- Buoys need to meet very DEEP specifications. If the buoy is not in compliance we are in violation of our permit. Additionally, not meeting specifications could put us legal risk in the case of an accident
- RLA must maintain the sign
- Placing buoy at North end of lake “No motor-powered vessels” or “Powered Craft Prohibited”
- 4 x 4 sign would be more effective
- Need permission from land owners
- Sign needs to be permitted and meet DEEP specifications
- One post of sign could be in the water
- RLA must maintain the sign
- One Way sign on Picnic Island
- As above sign must be permitted and meet DEEP specifications
- Need permission from land owner
- As a side note, RLA rules require all boat traffic proceed in a southerly direction only on west side of Picnic Island. As written, this would include kayaks and other unpowered craft
- Does DEEP need to permit docks or floats with 50’ of shore
- If the State does not own the bottom of the lake, docks and floats are local issues
- Buoys are safety and navigation markers and thus permitted and regulated by the state
- Mooring buoys are not navigation aids and are not regulated by DEEP
- Swim area buoys require permits. The area delaminated by buoys is determined by extension of the property lines. Permit requires a survey. There is established case law as to how buoys can be placed relative to adjoining property owners’ rights.
- Training for launch ramp monitors
- We can send monitors for training
- Gwendolynn (Wendy) Flynn – Boating Education & Outreach Supervisor, Boating Division can be contacted for training on Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS
- Class for patrol boat people on Boating regulations
- DEEP has a class to update law enforcement on boating regulations in May
- We can contact Tim Delgado to send our patrol people
- Mike noted that our patrol people do not have authority to enforce regulations
- Anyone can report illegal activity and call 860-424-3333 to report it. (see attached)
- Violations can result in fines to vessel owner/operator
- Contact DEEP Wildlife Division Biologist Ann Kilpatrick at: deep.WildlifeHabitat@ct.gov; 860-424-4144; DEEP Eastern District Headquarters, 209 Hebron Road, Marlborough, CT 06447;
As a side note Mike suggested consider simplifying the rules and regulations for Rogers Lake. The current rules are confusing and somewhat contradictory. Besides the wrong way kayak example mentioned above, consider that we limit engine horsepower to 135. This does not limit the speed of a small boat with a 135 hp engine. What is the goal of the limitation? Also, the limit is per engine, you could have two 100 hp.
Simple, clear rules set to improve safety would be more easily followed and enforced.
Below is the contact information for people we met with:
·~~~~~ Mark Chanski – Boating Resource Technician, Boating Division (can provide copies of Boater’s Guide);~mark.chanski@ct.gov;~ Office:~ 860-447-4371;~ 333 Ferry Road, P.O. Box 280, Old Lyme, CT~ 06371
·~~~~~ Timothy (Tim) Delgado – Environmental Analyst / Regulatory Unit, Boating Division (would need to approve any changes to RLA ordinance changes); ~timothy.delgado@ct.gov;~ Office:~ 860-447-4354;~ Fax:~ 860-434-3501;~ 333 Ferry Road, P.O. Box 280, Old Lyme, CT~ 06371
·~~~~~ Jerry Desmond – Environmental Protection Safety Representative, Boating Division (provides safe boating rules training); jerry.desmond@ct.gov; Office: 860-447-4350; Fax: 860-434-3501; 333 Ferry Road, P.O. Box 280, Old Lyme, CT 06371
·~~~~~ Gwendolynn (Wendy) Flynn – Boating Education & Outreach Supervisor, Boating Division (provides Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) training for boat launch monitors); gwendolynn.flynn@ct.gov; Office: 860-447-4339; Fax: 860-434-3501; Cell: 860-463-6177; 333 Ferry Road, P.O. Box 280, Old Lyme, CT 06371
·~~~~~ Michael (Mike) Payton - Supervisor Navigation & Boating Infrastructure Unit, Boating Division (issues buoy permits, signage on lake) mike.payton@ct.gov; Office: 860-447-4347; Fax: 860-434-3501; Cell: 860-919-2442; 333 Ferry Road, P.O. Box 280, Old Lyme, CT 06371
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