Name Change
How complicated could it be to remove the name “Battersea” from our corporate name of Battersea Loughborough Lake Association? It turns out that for the simple change intended, it was not a quick process. Your lake association got caught up with all the hoopla and rigmarole of the corporate – government interface.
How complicated could it be to remove the name “Battersea” from our corporate name of Battersea Loughborough Lake Association? It turns out that for the simple change intended, it was not a quick process. Your Lake Association got caught up with all the hoopla and rigmarole of the corporate – government interface.
The Lake Association has been known by various names over time. It started as “Battersea Loughborough Association” in 1963. It was changed to the current name “Battersea Loughborough Lake Association” in 1983. During the year 1994/95, the Board did a survey of the membership regarding deleting Battersea from the Lake Association name. A result in support of changing the name was obtained but it not acted upon – for unrecorded reasons.
There continued to be more discussion over the years. The latest, back in October 2019, was in response to another Membership survey. The directors were assigned the task of establishing what had to be done. At first, we felt that we should proceed with the help of lawyers to assist us with getting this change made. The information provided by them was that all Lake Association members had to be contacted with the details and that they would sign, supporting the idea (or not) and return their vote to the Lake Association.
This wasn’t going to be easily done. The members of the Lake Association are a wide spread group, some of them living at the lake but also a large percentage living away from the lake and some not even in the same province or country. Some could be contacted through meetings of neighbours by board members but many would have to be done by post. The potential difficulties – including those for the return of the signatures and the collection of the vote - were going to be complicated. We needed another way to collect a vote more in keeping with the diversity of our membership. For lack of understanding how this was going to be done, the 2020 AGM passed by without being able to advance the name change process.
Meanwhile another problem had cropped up. The Lake Association is required to inform the province of the make-up of the board of directors and the executive of the corporation. The association had been sending off forms annually of the current board to meet this requirement. The expectation was that the government would discard the prior year board information and use the new list. Well, it doesn’t work this way. Although it is not clearly stated, the government is more interested in the changes to the board – Joe has left and Jane has signed up. A side effect of this recording method is that Joe might have been on the board for three years. Different people would have filled out this annual form and they could have used the name Joseph in place of Joe. The Ontario government took this information and processed it to show that we now had two “Joes” on the board, differing only by the formality of the first name. The same happened if Jane moved to a different address – again there were two board members created when the new address was submitted. Of course, not appreciating how this was done, an announcement of a retirement of a board member would only remove one member from the list of directors – the other would live on in the records of the Ontario government. The records still took a couple of attempts to clear up, even after our improved understanding of the process.
Since the original proposal to get the votes of all Lake Association members was not going to be feasible, it was decided, somewhat desperately, to review the Ontario government Corporations Act to see if a vote could be collected differently. After some looking, we found that the Lake Association could make a “special resolution” to have the name changed at a meeting “duly called for that purpose”. Our annual general meeting could be used to do that, getting away from the need to get and gather every member’s signature. Notices were sent out to every member for whom we had valid addresses. The members who attended the 2021 AGM voted on the name change proposal during the meeting. After some discussion, the resolution passed unanimously.
The last hurdle was that the government was going to an on-line system for corporations to interact with the government. Our paper based name change submission was summarily returned to us saying that we could resubmit on-line after setting up an on-line identity. There was a silver lining to this process; because this was a new system there was extra help available to see how the public would interact with the process. We were able to talk to a person (!) about what we needed to do; this helped to remove potential missteps. Our proposal was submitted on-line in late November 2021 and after talking to another person again (!) in January 2022 to see if there was some hold-up, we learned that the name change had been accepted.
Welcome to the new/old Loughborough Lake Association!
2021 Year End Financial Report
2021 was a more normal year than its predecessor but still a year restricted by COVID issues. Fully vaccinated Americans were belatedly permitted to cross the border in August. It was decided to have a get-together, fully distanced and masked, of course, outdoors AGM but then the weather had other plans and for the second year, the meeting was virtual.
2021 was a more normal year than its predecessor but still a year restricted by COVID issues. Fully vaccinated Americans were belatedly permitted to cross the border in August. The executive decided to have a fully distanced and masked, outdoors AGM but the weather had other plans and for the second year, the meeting was virtual. We did get back to soliciting advertising albeit with some changes to advertising costs that did not include Lake Association memberships. Our association newsletter was set up to be on the web rather than in a paper newsletter. The major projects during the year continued to be Johnston Point and securing a name change to the Battersea Loughborough Lake Association name.
2021 expenses were less than 2021 revenues; we added $367 to assets by year end. However deferred revenues were $600 lower at year end, so the ending cash, bank and GIC position was $233 lower ($367 - $600). Asset balances now stand at $9,152.
This still puts the Lake Association on a solid financial footing. There should be a large increase in deferred membership revenue this year – we are expecting that we will get 65 or more renewals now that the popular 3-year memberships that were introduced in 2019 will come up for renewal.
Clean - Drain - Dry
The following article is condensed from a booklet published by FOCA titled “A Shoreline Owner’s Guide to Invasive Species” and the Ontario Government Boaters’ Action Plan.
The following article is condensed from a booklet published by FOCA titled “A Shoreline Owner’s Guide to Invasive Species” and the Ontario Government Boaters’ Action Plan
The Ontario Government on January 1, 2022 has regulated watercraft which includes boats, canoes, kayaks and stand up paddleboards (SUP) as a possible carrier of invasive species under the Invasive Species Act.
All boaters are now required to take the following steps BEFORE TRANSPORTING OVERLAND any watercraft or boat equipment like a trailer, fishing tackle...
1. Remove or open drain plugs to allow water to drain from the boat or boat equipment.
2. Take REASONABLE PRECAUTIONS to remove all aquatic plants i.e. WEEDS, ANIMALS and ALGAE from any boat, boat equipment, vehicle and trailer.
At this point it must be pointed out that this regulation has no teeth, so if you do not comply there are no fines. The Government is relying on boaters' willingness to "do the right thing" to protect our lakes and waterways from aquatic invasive species. In Loughborough Lake we already have Zebra Mussels and Eurasian watermilfoil and possibly others and once they are in a lake they are impossible to remove and difficult to control. Preventing further invasives from entering our lake is paramount.
It is now ILLEGAL to place a boat into any Ontario body of water if there are any aquatic plants, animals or algae attached to it. This regulation recognizes that it may not be possible to fully remove all plants, animals or algae BUT there are some relatively easy ways to clean your boat and equipment. Note that if you only boat on Loughborough Lake and do not take your boat to any other waterbody you do not have to undertake the cleaning procedures.
FOCA July 2022 Newsletter
This pandemic has surely turned our lives upside down. For any of you or your families who have suffered directly from the virus, we offer our heartfelt thoughts. All of us are anxious to get beyond this health crisis and economic turmoil as soon as possible. Summer 2022 is showing some glimmers of hope, so let’s all commit to doing our best to keep our families and our communities safe and healthy!
This pandemic has surely turned our lives upside down. For any of you or your families who have suffered directly from the virus, we offer our heartfelt thoughts. All of us are anxious to get beyond this health crisis and economic turmoil as soon as possible. Summer 2022 is showing some glimmers of hope, so let’s all commit to doing our best to keep our families and our communities safe and healthy!
FOCA’s Spring 2022 Newsletter
It's a long weekend, and it's a long Elert. Hang in until the end! You'll know you're there when you see this banner image again. FOCA’s Newsletter is available here:
It's a long weekend, and it's a long Elert. Hang in until the end! You'll know you're there when you see this banner image again. FOCA’s Newsletter is available here:
FOCA's Year in Review
As we reflect on 2021, we are pleased to report that FOCA and our members remain strong, and a vital part of rural waterfront Ontario. Despite all the challenges of the past two years, people continue to support their local associations, and these associations are well engaged with FOCA. Though it has been a very unusual time, our community has adapted and found new ways to thrive. Together, we’ll keep the focus on the important issues facing waterfront Ontario.
As we reflect on 2021, we are pleased to report that FOCA and our members remain strong, and a vital part of rural waterfront Ontario. Despite all the challenges of the past two years, people continue to support their local associations, and these associations are well engaged with FOCA. Though it has been a very unusual time, our community has adapted and found new ways to thrive. Together, we’ll keep the focus on the important issues facing waterfront Ontario.
Septic Pump Out for Water Access only (Island) Cottagers
Island Marine Construction (IMC) has recently announced that they will be providing septic pump out service to water access properties in and around the Frontenac area. Service will be available this summer. IMC can be contacted directly through Greg Fleming at gregkfleming01@gmail.com or by phone at (613) 349-9655.
Island Marine Construction (IMC) has recently announced that they will be providing septic pump out service to water access properties in and around the Frontenac area. Service will be available this summer. IMC can be contacted directly through Greg Fleming at gregkfleming01@gmail.com or by phone at (613) 349-9655.
Please note that IMC’s preferred approach is to have your Lake Association act as an organizing group for pump outs on their lake. If you have an island property needing a pump out please consider volunteering to organize a date for Loughborough Lake. Your Lake Association can assist.