2023-07-10

2023-07-10

Lake Zoar Authority

 P.O. Box 931

Southbury, CT 06488

Email: [email protected]

Member Towns

Monroe-Newtown-Oxford-Southbury

The regular meeting of the Lake Zoar Authority was held on Monday, July 10, 2023 at 7:00 pm at the Newtown Community Center.

Commissioners Present:                                                                           

Barbara McWilliams, Chairwoman                                                                     

James Galarneau                                                   

Tim Glover                                                

Jerry Kozera                                                                                                      

Dennis Lawler                                                                                          

Bill May, Treasurer                                               

Lesley Pires

Dick Speer   


Absent:  
John Downs

Mark Saksa

John Morin

Call to Order                                                                   

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

Secretary’s Report:

A motion to accept the minutes from the June 6, 2023 meetings was made by Tim  Glover, seconded by Dennis Lawler; the motion was passed unanimously.

Public Comments:

A resident from Southbury attended and noted the current water quality on the lake was well. He also reported that on Saturday, July 1 at 9pm he was prevented from taking photographs at the Southbury boat launch by a CT DEEP enforcement officer, and was told to leave the premises since he was not launching a boat. Chairperson Barbara McWilliams apologized for the incident and will follow up with CT DEEP.

Treasurer’s Report:

Treasurer Bill May presented account balances, with cash on hand equaling $31,231.88. $28,327 has been received from the town of Southbury, the three member towns will follow. The insurance was renewed with CIRMA for a $3,486 premium and $1,384 for workman’s comp. Payment has not been made for any weed treatment services except for permit fees of $900.

A motion to pass the treasurer’s report was made by Lesley Pires seconded by Tim Glover the motion was passed unanimously.

Marine Patrol Report:

Marine Patrol Coordinator Dan Semosky reported that the month of June had several cancellations of patrols due to poor weather. There were 12 patrols in total, with 2 full patrols cancelled. There was one infraction issued and 36 warnings. There were 3 tows. There was a complaint received of loud music played at the sandbar and the motorist complied with reducing the noise. Debris was dragged to the side and tagged at the side of the sandbar for removal by FirstLight. One of the buoys broke free at the mouth of the Pomperaug river. The buoy was retrieved and reattached. The abutments by the silver bridge need buoys. One of them was hit and damaged. The Oxford concerts on the lake will be patrolled. There will be a safety spot check at the Southbury Boat Launch on Saturday July 16.

Monroe Officer Jay Toreso was honored by the LZA with an award for outstanding performance. Jay’s commitment has set a precedent for water and boating safety expectations on Lake Zoar, and enforcement participation from member towns.

An award was presented to Frank Cavallo for years of dedicated service as a Soutbury LZA commissioner.

Publicity/ Public Awareness:

Dennis Lawler reported that the website committee met and came up with ideas for improving the website. A quote for website redesign was received from GoDaddy for approximately $1,800 and a from local vendor Luke McMullin for approximately $600.

A motion to approve hiring Luke McMullin to update the website was made by Tim Glover, seconded by Dick Speer, the motion was passed unanimously.

Chairwoman Barbara McWilliams reported there was an article published in the Newtown Bee

Lesley Pires reported the checks were sent to the two student winners of the Oxford Middle School T-shirt Contest. The winners are yet to contact Marine Patrol for their summer rides on the new patrol boat.

Water Quality

Water Quality Monitoring Committee:

Lesley Pires reported that WCSU water quality monitoring program has completed four weeks of cyanobacteria and nutrient testing on Lake Zoar. All nine sites are under the microcystin threshold of 8.0 parts per billion (ppb; μg/L)

for recreational waters. All results are publicly available on the LZA website and Facebook page.

Weed Treatment Committee:

Chairwoman Barbara McWilliams reported that the permit for the first weed treatment has still yet to be approved by the CT DEEP. The DEEP now requires additional permit requirements and multiple lakes have not yet received approval. Pond and Lake has proposed that Lake Zoar be treated on a case by case basis after the permits are approved. Barbara will make a public announcement to the community when plans are available.

Barbara reported FirstLight has rescheduled for a second debris removal operation for July 11, 2023.

Boats and Motors Report:

Dick Speer reported that trim tabs will be purchased and installed on Boat 2 to bring the boat to plane quickly. The state police radio connection needs to be repaired on Boat 1. Both boats have new dock lines spliced into the cleats.

Grants:

None.

Bylaws:

None.

Unfinished Business:

Chairwoman Barbara McWilliams reported the Algonquin project will be starting on July 24, 2023. A schedule will be available this week and made public.

New Business

None.

Adjournment

A motion to adjourn was made by Dick Speer and seconded by Jerry Kozera. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:06pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Barbara McWilliams

Chairwoman

The minutes are not considered official until approved at the next regular meeting of the Lake Zoar Authority to be held on Monday, August 7, 2023 at 7:00 pm at the Oxford Town Hall.