The best part of my role in the Skaneateles Lake Association as the Membership Chairperson is that I have the opportunity to have conversations with many people from our lake community about the lake, their love of the lake and their hope for it to remain the beautiful lake and lake community that it is.   When we get a membership from someone who has not previously joined the SLA it is always interesting to find out why.

Last year we received a membership from a couple who were not lakefront property owners and did not have property with lake rights.  They were not people on my huge list of potential members who had received a letter asking them to join and it appeared that they were not friends of any of our board members who might have encouraged them to join.  I sent them an email and thank them for joining and asked them how it was they came to join.  Their answer was:

“Your flyer was in our welcome to Skaneateles package we received from the Chamber of Commerce.  I honestly have been in love with this town since visiting it in college. Am proud to say it has been my work home for most of the last 8 years, and am now ecstatic to call Skaneateles my home home too. And to be living in such a lovely town, it only made sense to support the effort in trying to keep our lake looking its best!” (Note: a letter to new residents from the SLA, a current SLA Newsletter and an SLA Membership Registration Form is included in the new resident packets sent out by the Chamber of Commerce).

Recently I spoke with another person who joined for the first time this year.  He is, as I have termed it, “a child of the lake”.  He grew up spending a lot of his youth in and on the lake.  He now works in Washington, D C, but still gets back to the lake every time that he can.   Getting out of Washington, D C for a week end is an exercise in patience with a lot of time spent just sitting in traffic.  But he noted that he spends that sitting time visualizing the lake and the beautiful water of Skaneateles Lake.  He joined because he wants to be a part of keeping it that way.  His job involves developing political strategies and his quote to me about why he is a member is a quote to remember….”the strength of the wolf pack is in the leader and the strength of the leader is in the pack.”  Bob knows the SLA Board needs a committed pack for its strength and he became of member of the pack.

You can join the Skaneateles Lake Association by going to SkaneatelesLake.org to complete your registration and pay your annual dues.  If you do not have access to the Internet and would like a registration form mailed to you please call 315-685-9106 and leave a message with your name and mailing address.

Other important news…..Our 2015 Annual Meeting is Scheduled

The Skaneateles Lake Association 2015 Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, July 12^th from 5 – 7 pm at Brooklawn on Fire Lane 43 in Mandana.  We look forward to seeing all of our members at the meeting.  Membership registrations for 2015 will be accepted at the door.  Please hold the date and go to our website, SkaneatelesLake.org, (Events) for complete information on the event and information on how to RSVP.

Skaneateles Lake Association Receives Grant from Onondaga County Legislature

In April of this year, the SLA made a request to the Onondaga County Legislature for funding to purchase a replacement motor for the pontoon boat that carries the benthic matting out to the lake for placement and picks it up after about 6 weeks.  The matting is heavy when dry as it has metal rods sewn into every 6 feet or so to keep it in position on the lake bottom.  It is even heavier when wet when it is picked up late in the summer.  The motor we had on the boat was not really powerful enough to move the load efficiently and it was frequently breaking down.  Our request to our local legislator, Michael Plochocki, with a copy to the Chairperson of the County Legislature, J. Ryan McMahon III, was posted on our website and sent out to our members by email with a request for calls, emails or letters in support of our request.

The SLA Board is pleased to be able to report that our members came through with many supporting communications to Mr. Plochocki and Mr. McMahon.  This week we received calls from them to advise us that the grant we requested had been approved.  The SLA Board extends our thanks to our members for their communications supporting our request and to Mr. Plochocki and Mr. McMahon for the approval.  In many of our requests for membership we have spoken to the fact that the volume of our voice (number of members) is important when we deal with government entities for support of our efforts. This funding approval is a reflection of just how important the voice of membership is.

The SLA thanks the following individuals and organizations for their additional donations in support of the Milfoil Boat and the Lake Stewards:

Milfoil Boat Sponsors:  6/19/15 Marjorie & Kenneth Blanchard; 6/22/15 Lynne & David Curtin, Gwen & William Birchenough, Louise & Robert Ganley, Anna Marie & Carl Gerst; 6/23/15 Barbara & Jed Delmonico, Cookie & Jack Helmer; 6/24/15 Ann Hinchcliff, Deborah & Gary Hind, Hobbitt Hollow Farm, Donna & Raymond Kurlak; 6/25/15 Lynn Lenihan; 6/26/15 Libby & Arnold Rubenstein

Invasive Species Monitoring Stewards: 6/12/15 Allison & Andrew Hider; 6/13/15 Lake Farms LLC; 6/14/15 Mary 7 Patrick Dooley; 6/15/15 Jill & Todd Marshall

Source:  Skaneateles Press

In April of this year, the SLA made a request to the Onondaga County Legislature for funding to purchase a replacement motor for the pontoon boat that carries the benthic matting out to the lake for placement and picks it up after about 6 weeks.  The matting is heavy when dry as it has metal rods sewn into it every 6 feet or so to keep it in position on the lake bottom.  It is even heavier when wet when it is picked up late in the summer.  The motor we had on the boat was not really powerful enough to move the load efficiently and it was frequently breaking down.  Our request to our local legislator, Michael Plochocki, with a copy to the Chairperson of the County Legislature, J. Ryan McMahon III, was posted on our website and sent out to our members by email with a request for calls, emails or letters in support of our request.

The SLA Board is pleased to be able to report that our members came through with many supporting communications to Mr. Plochocki and Mr. McMahon.  This week we received calls from them to advise us that the grant we requested had been approved.  The SLA Board extends our thanks to our members for their communications supporting our request and to Mr. Plochocki and Mr. McMahon for the approval.  In many of our requests for membership we have spoken to the fact that the volume of our voice (number of members) is important when we deal with government entities for support of our efforts. This funding approval is a reflection of just how important the voice of membership is.

The Skaneateles Lake Association’s 5^th year started with the training of this year’s crew of Invasive Species Monitoring Stewards who have been in place since May 25^th, daily at the NYS DEC Launch site and Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Town of Skaneateles Launch site in Mandana and the Town of Scott Launch site.  The Milfoil Crew is back at work after some delay caused by a lot of rain and storm effect that made for poor visibility underwater.  They have 5 acres of Benthic matting to place over large areas of milfoil identified in the lake survey done by Bob Werner last fall.  They also have some specified areas to do harvesting by hand in areas where it is not possible to put down matting.

Our board has finalized the plans for our Annual Meeting which will be held on Sunday, July 12^th from 5 – 7 pm at Brooklawn on Fire Lane 43, the Mandana home of Ted and Nancy Norman.  Those who attended last year can tell you it was both an informative and fun event and we hope all of our members will save the date and come this year.  Please go to SkaneatelesLake.org for complete information about the annual meeting and how to RSVP.

Our editors and writing staff are finishing up the summer issue of our newsletter.  We know that you will find each of the articles informative.  We will be mailing it to everyone in the 13152 zip code by Every Door Direct Delivery and also by bulk mail to any one on our member or potential member list who has a different mailing address.  It will also be available on our website.  Look for it, read it, share it and use the Member Registration section on the last page to join if you have not already done so for 2015.  You can also join on line at SkaneatelesLake.org – just click on the “Membership/Support Tab” and then the “Become a Member” or “Renew Membership” tab.

All of what we do as the SLA is only possible with membership fees and additional, generous donations made by many of our members.  Please note and thank the following members for their additional donations that are supporting the Milfoil Boat and our Invasive Species Monitoring Stewards.

Milfoil Boat Sponsors:  6/12/15 Margaret Tourville, Eleanor & Ben Ware, Maureen & Joseph Wilson, Members of the Westside Lake Association; 6/15/15 Mary & Paul Torrisi, Ann & David Ann Lee, Marie & Joe Grasso, Barbara & Bill Dean; 6/16/15 Marjorie & Kenneth Blanchard; 6/17/15 Elsa & Peter Soderberg; 6/18/15 Paula White, Dawn & Michael Teixeira, Ann & John Sveen, The Sherwood Inn.

Invasive Species Monitoring Stewards: 5/25/15 Kristopher Scholl, 5/26/15 Mary & Paul Torrisi, 5/27/15 Barbara & John Spain, 5/28/15 Carolyn & John Tierney, 5/29/15 J=Kate & Mont Pooley; 5/30/15 Beverly & David Jones; 5/31/15 Janice Hardy; 6/1/15 – 6/5/15 Gretchen & Buzz Roberts; 6/6/15 – 6/10/15 Deborah & Ed  Brennan; 6/11/15 Contributions to the David Lee Hardy Fund made by Janice Hardy, Barbara & Robert Amsler & Sara Holben.

Source:  Skaneateles Press

Lee Hardy loved Skaneateles Lake.  He loved it in every season of the year and found fun, quiet enjoyment and peace in the lake.  His family wanted to do something special in memory of Lee when he died at far too early an age.  Doing something that would be good for the lake he loved made sense to them.  In 2012 they initially funded the David Lee Hardy Memorial Fund to support our Invasive Species Lake Steward Monitoring Program.  The Hardy Family’s initial donation to the fund was significant in supporting our early efforts to initiate the program.  Since the initiation of the Fund, there have been a few people each year who make donations to the Fund in addition to their annual membership fee.  Interestingly, this year the number and amount of those donations has increased.  So far this year a total of 13 days of Steward coverage have been supported by contributions to the David Lee Hardy fund.

The Board of Directors of the Skaneateles Lake Association is grateful to Lee’s family for establishing the Fund and also grateful to those who continue to support it.  We do not know if they make the contributions because they knew Lee or know his family or if they do it because they just support the Steward program.  We do know the Fund provides a vehicle for our members to make additional donations to an important part of the overall plan of the SLA to keep the waters of Skaneateles Lake clear and pure.  We are pleased that support of the Steward Program can continue to be a memorial to Lee.

You can join the Skaneateles Lake Association by going to SkaneatelesLake.org to complete your registration and pay your annual dues.  If you do not have access to the Internet and would like a registration form mailed to you please call 315-685-9106 and leave a message with your name and mailing address.

All of what we do as the SLA is only possible with membership fees and additional, generous donations made by many of our members.  Please note and thank the following members for their additional donations that are supporting the Milfoil Boat and our Invasive Species Monitoring Stewards.

Milfoil Boat Sponsors:  6/12/15 Margaret Tourville, Eleanor & Ben Ware, Maureen & Joseph Wilson, Members of the Westside Lake Association; 6/15/15 Mary & Paul Torrisi, Ann & David Ann Lee, Marie & Joe Grasso, Barbara & Bill Dean; 6/16/15 Marjorie & Kenneth Blanchard; 6/17/15 Elsa & Peter Soderberg; 6/18/15 Paula White, Dawn & Michael Teixeira, Ann & John Sveen, The Sherwood Inn.

Invasive Species Monitoring Stewards: 5/25/15 Kristopher Scholl, 5/26/15 Mary & Paul Torrisi, 5/27/15 Barbara & John Spain, 5/28/15 Carolyn & John Tierney, 5/29/15 Kate & Mont Pooley; 5/30/15 Beverly & David Jones; 5/31/15 Janice Hardy; 6/1/15 – 6/5/15 Gretchen & Buzz Roberts; 6/6/15 – 6/10/15 Deborah & Ed  Brennan; 6/11/15 Contributions to the David Lee Hardy Fund made by Janice Hardy, Barbara & Robert Amsler & Sara Holben.

Source:  Skaneateles Journal

As we begin our 5^th year under the name of the Skaneateles Lake Association, we continue with our specific efforts to our goal of protecting the water quality of Skaneateles Lake.  Over these 5 years, our board has expanded our actions and upgraded our technologies in order to achieve this goal.  We have acquired a system that enables us to more accurately “map” the areas of the lake that need attention in regard to milfoil removal and control.  We have initiated the use of expansive matting as an efficient milfoil control mechanism,  We have introduced and expanded the use of Invasive Species Monitoring Stewards at busy launch sites to both educate the public who bring watercraft to the lake and actively assist in ensuring that watercraft are clean, drained and dried before entering the lake.

The work we are able to do is organized and supported by the efforts of our volunteer Board of Directors and carried out this year by two great teams.  Our long term milfoil team is made up of Keith Marsden, Jason Hole and Liam Wilson who have each been doing this work for 6 years under the direction of John Menapace.  The Invasive Steward Monitoring Stewards this summer include returning Stewards Tom Halstead who just graduated from Allegheny College; Will Thomas, a student at Cayuga Community College; Ginny Hamlin, a student at the University of Vermont; Mia Mason, a senior at Skaneateles High who will go to RIT in the fall; Robert Frank who just graduated from Paul Smith. Our new stewards are Kim Case, a student at ESF; Sophie Hearn, a student at Cornell; and Elyse Dubois who will be a senior at Skaneateles High School.

Every bit of the work we do is only possible because of our members.  The additional generous donations of many of our members, in effect, cover for many lakefront and lakerights owners who do not join annually or who have never joined.  Our efforts can only continue with the support of all lakefront and lakerights owners, all businesses that thrive because of our beautiful lake and all those who use the lake for recreation or just love the lake. Our 548 current annual members (as of June 5, 2015), including 244 who joined in 2015 and 304 who joined between June and December 2014, are listed on our website at SkaneatelesLake.org (membership/support tab -> current members)  You can also find this article and the list of current members at skaneatelespress.com.

 Just like many of us after a good night’s sleep or a long winter’s nap….the lake is awake.  It has stretched its arms, yawned some BIG yawns and turned over a few times.  While we have had some reports of shoreline structure damage, hopefully with the lake level down a bit before the big thaw there was not a great amount of shoreline structure damage or shoreline erosion.

It would be helpful to get reports of any major shoreline structure damage and we encourage you to report the damage, the approximate location and an estimated cost to the SLA via our website, SkaneatelesLake.org.  Just click on the “contact us” tab to send us the information.  We will compile the reports for use in putting together a picture of the type, extent and cost of damage that occurs with the spring storms and ice melts.

The SLA has had several reports of items close to the shoreline that have taken a ride up or down the lake.  Our website also has a “lost and found” report format under the “contact us” tab and you can use this tab to report items lost or found and you might be lucky and find out that we have a “match”.  That way you can get back your lost item or get those items that landed on your shoreline back to their home.

Last Thursday’s “Neighbors West” section of the Post Standard had a story about a special fund generated by hotel room taxes that the Onondaga County Legislature has for funding projects and programs that are supportive of increasing tourism and economic development related to tourism.  The Skaneateles Lake Association has applied for a grant from this fund to purchase a motor for our pontoon boat that is used to transport the Benthic matting that our divers place on the bottom of the lake over large areas of milfoil growth.  We have sent an email to current members who have an email address and reside anywhere in Onondaga County.  The email included the information about the fund and a copy of the SLA’s letter requesting funds for the motor.  Members were also provided with contact information for the County Legislators and asked to call, email or write to them in support of the SLA’s funding request.  The letter can be accessed on our website.  If anyone did not receive the email, you can help the SLA by making a supportive call or writing a letter or sending an email in support of this request.  All the information you need to do so is on our website under “News/Events” via the “News” tab.

JOIN the SLA for 2015 today.  You can join easily at SkaneatelesLake.org. You can enhance your annual membership fee by paying it by check thus saving us the fee we would have to pay to PayPal for a credit card or PayPal account payment.  If you do not have access to the internet call 315-685-9106 and I will send you a 2015 Registration Form and return envelope

Source:  Skaneateles Press