ROGERS LAKE AUTHORITY
~MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MARCH 12, 2014
A meeting of the Rogers Lake Authority (RLA) was convened at the Rogers Lake Clubhouse at 7:30 pm on March 12.~ The following members were present: Richard Smith, Tom Baehr, Dennis Overfield, Tom Mondelci, Mike Secord and Robert Recor. Attendees were also present.
The meeting was called to order at approx 7:31 pm. The minutes from the January 8 meeting were amended to state that Tom was present and made comments about the oxygenation. There was no meeting held in the month of February. A motion was made by Robert Recor to approve the amendment from the January meeting. It was seconded by Dennis Overfield and approved by unanimous vote.
Police Patrol Boat:
Board of finance asked to find a used boat. Cost of used boat at Reynold's garage is $13,650. Assessed value is 0 because repairs outweigh value. Boat is a 2009 Triumph 17ft with 60 horse power mercury and a biminey top. At next finance meeting, proposal will be made for purchase of Reynold's Boat. Funds from the sale of the old boat will go to this purchase which is split between Towns of Lyme and Old Lyme.
Budget:
In the proposed budget we were asked to revise weed control allotment. Other aspects of budget will remain the same.
Weed Control:
Old Lyme is disregarding previous studies and performing a new research project. This study will be very comprehensive-Water quality, status of lake etc. Looking into engineering companies to perform study and present findings to town population over several meetings to discuss potential actions. New England Environmental is based out of Massachusetts but has office in Middlefield. There was discussion regarding bringing in catfish/Asian carp to eat through weeds. The State requires lockdown of lake where additional species are introduced for weed control. Gate would be needed at dam in order to keep Asian Carp in the lake. This would require regular cleaning and maintenance.
Dam Repairs:
The new Fish Ladder opens around May/June and will be monitored by a "fish counter." Information will not be available until ladder is open. In addition, there will be a railing installed on both sides of dam.
Wells:
There have been complaints of limited water from full time residents during summer. Deep wells are needed to hold additional water, but sulfur, iron, and magnesium more prevalent in deeper ground especially along Blood Street. Bonnie to go through records and see the well demographics for the town and cross reference that with the existing complaints.
De-icers
There was discussion of the use of De-icers on the lake. A De-icer unit costs about $850 and is placed underneath a dock. The unit is legal but may attract complaints. If it extends too far into the lake. It was mentioned that in the winter, cones can be placed around to prevent accidents. Benefits are that it is easy to fish from, aerates the water, and birds enjoy the open space. The cost to run the unit is less than $100 per month and can be regulated by temperature. Aeration can be used to kill bacteria that causes "swimmer's ear" and helps to control weeds in the winter months. The unit uses little energy hour by hour, energy use is most significant when turning the de-icer on.
Mats
Mats were purchased from Lake Bottom Blanket. A trial will be performed between the mesh mats and the more opaque mats to see the advantages of each. Paul from LBB expressed concerns about leaving mats in all winter. Determination on mat material will be made after further experimentation. Mats are available in 11ft by 40 ft including shipping is $305. Getting rebar from construction store vs. Lows would lower cost. It was suggested that we provide 1st mat half price to Rodger's Lake residents to encourage further use. Fundraisers for this project could organized to fund the mat subsidy program. It was suggested that at the next town meeting, someone should give a demonstration of mats with video presentation
Meeting adjourned at approximately 9:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
 ~Elizabeth Sunshine
Secretary for RLA
The next meeting of the Rogers Lake Association will be on April 9th at 7:30pm at the Rogers Lake West Shores Clubhouse:
Agenda for next Meeting:
- Budget
- Police Patrol
- Weeds
- Benthic Mats
- Boat Launch
- Dam Repair
- New Business
- Old Business
- Presentation of Mats
| 
