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Meeting Minutes April 11, 2023

Lake Zoar Authority

 P.O. Box 931

Southbury, CT 06488

Email: [email protected]

Member Towns

Monroe-Newtown-Oxford-Southbury


A special meeting of the Lake Zoar Authority was held on Tuesday, April 11, 2023 at 7:00 pm at the Monroe Town Hall.


Commissioners Present:                                   

Frank Cavallo     

Tim Glover  

Dennis Lawler                              

Barbara McWilliams, Chairperson

Lesley Pires

Mark Saksa

Dick Speer


Absent:
John Downs

Jerry Kosera

Bill May, Treasurer    


Call to Order

Chairperson Barbara McWilliams called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm.


Roll Call/Sign-In

Seven of ten active members were in attendance.


Introduction of Guests

John Morin and James Galarneau from Southbury attended with plans to fill Southbury vacancies.


New Business

a.         Water Quality Monitoring Committee By Lesley Pires, John Morin, & Tim Glover

Water quality subcommittee members Lesley Pires, John Morin, and Tim Glover presented a 33 slide presentation via projection. The presentation was a proposal to secure additional funding for a full season of thorough cyanobacteria water monitoring on Lake Zoar, via Dr. Edwin Wong’s biology laboratory at WCSU. The committee proposed six sampling sites of maximum recreational use and nutrient loading. The proposed sites included the area nearest the Shepaug Dam, the Pootatuck River inlet to Lake Zoar, the Pomperaug River near the Audubon Society, the Sandbar, Lakeside Marina, and Frenches Cove. There will be fourteen testing weeks over four months, from June through September. The LZA will continue to monitor results from the existing sites that are funded by local  public health departments; Kettletown Beach, Jackson Cove, and Eicheler’s Cove. The committee also presented a history of Lake Zoar microcystin levels from 2016 – 2022, recent media regarding harmful blooms in CT, public complaints submitted to the LZA since 2018, scientific information, and recommendations from the CT DEEP. Questions from commissioners were raised about the availability of correlating water flow data from FirstLight, the availability of local ALS incidence from the public health departments, a potential contact at the CT DEEP, future grant opportunities, and how the blooms relate to weed treatment. The water quality subcommittee members will continue to gather that information and report back to the committee. Lesley proposed payment to WCSU in two installments, half at the before testing, and the second half after testing. Chairperson Barbara McWilliams invited the committee to collaborate with her on a water quality grant, to balance future weed treatment and cyanobacteria monitoring program expenditures. Barbara will report back to the member towns regarding the reallocation of funds from budget line “environmental consulting” to cyanobacteria monitoring.


b.         Vote on Water Quality Testing for 2023 season

A motion to approve the remaining $3,232.36 to fund the full proposal for the cyanobacteria monitoring program was made by Dick Speer and seconded by Tim Glover. The motion was passed unanimously.


c.          Change of Venue May 9, 2023 meeting

Water quality subcommittee members proposed changing the May 9 Southbury venue to Newtown, so that members and the public could also attend a presentation by Dr. Wong at the C. H. Booth Library at 6pm, entitled “What Are Cyanobacteria? Why Should We Care?” All members agreed to reschedule the regular May meeting date to Newtown.


d.         Buoy Vendor

Chairperson Barbara McWilliams and Dick Speer reported that New England Aquatic Services has raised the buoy service price for this season by several hundred dollars, for each installation and removal. Dick reported many buoys went missing last year, but the vendor has assured him that corrective measures have been taken. Dick will plan to be present when the buoys are installed on April 20th. NEAS has provided the service to Lake Zoar for the past 9 years. Members discussed options for inspecting the buoys and ties immediately before installation, and again if they get lose, to a ensure a successful operation.


e.          Vote on Buoy Vendor for 2023 Season

A motion to approve NEAS services for the 2023 season was made by Dick Speer and seconded by Dennis Lawler. The motion was passed unanimously.


Adjournment

A motion to adjourn was made by Dennis Lawler and seconded by Tim Glover. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:59pm.


Respectfully Submitted,

Lesley Pires

Secretary


The minutes are not considered official until approved at the next regular meeting of the Lake Zoar Authority, to be held on May 9 at 7:30pm in the Alexandria Room of the Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main St, Newtown.

Click here to download these minutes

Click here to read the May 9 2023 agenda