COMMITTEE REPORTS

Planning & Development:  Larry Jolly

Met on November 21^st:  It was reported that the committee is working on putting together a separate “Friends of the LGA” organization which will be a 501(c)(3) classified organization.  The Friends of the LGA would be eligible to submit for grant monies and accept charitable contributions that can only be given to 501(c)(3) organizations.  Jack Saunders is spearheading this effort and is doing a fantastic job.  The meeting minutes can be found at http://www.lakegastonassoc.com/Planning/Plan_Min.htm

Nominating:  Laura Kolb

There was a general plea for nominations/volunteers for open director positions.

Lake Environment & Aquatic Weed:  Vernon Wilson

Met on November 19^th and the meeting minutes can be found at http://www.lakegastonassoc.com/Environment/Envir_Min.htm.

Some of the highlights include:

Sedimentation and Erosion:

It was stated that George Kimble reported that there is an injunction against Lake Gaston Motocross over their erosion issues.

Weeds:

The Lake Gaston Weed Control Council held their meeting and accepted the Request For Proposal for the 2009 contracts.  At this same meeting SeaPro made a presentation on SeaPro being a turnkey solution for weed management.  There will be an RFP for turnkey solutions and both Seapro and PLM are expected to respond.

There was a thanks extended to all of the weed survey volunteers who managed to cover over 80% of the lake this year.  A special thanks was extended to Bruce for his tireless efforts in this endeavor.

There was then much discussion and comment on weeds, and weed control.

Safety:  Linda Hedgepeth

Met on November 14^th.  Ms. Hedgepeth noted the need for revitalization of the Neighborhood Watch in the subdivisions around the lake.  Please see the Safety Committee minutes at http://www.lakegastonassoc.com/Safety/Safe_Min.htm for more tips and the CrimeStopper phone numbers. 

It was noted that mandatory boater education initiative in North Carolina was continuing to move along. 

Bruce Johnson raised a concern about liability around the lake on the property below 205 feet above sea level as that area is technically owned by the Dominion Power Company.  There was some discussion, no conclusions and the question was referred to the safety committee for further investigation.

Membership:  David Duxbury

Met on November 14^th. Mr. Duxbury explained that the campaign to send membership forms to all taxpayers around the lake has been quite fruitful.  He also gave a brief summary of his committee's meeting, the minutes of which can be found at http://www.lakegastonassoc.com/Membership/Mem_Minutes.htm.  As always there is a general need for more members and as we find members a need to grow some of them into directors.   Sherman Merchant explained the new member comment gathering procedure and then passed around a clipboard to solicit said comments.

Government Relations:  Larry Jolly

Met on November 17^th.  Mr. Jolly gave a summary of his committee's meeting, the minutes of which can be found at http://www.lakegastonassoc.com/GovRel/GovRelations.htm.  Mr. Jolly further explained that the committee is trying to fill the current speaker vacancies for the April and May monthly meetings.  It has also been determined that it would be inappropriate for the Lake Gaston Association to send funds to other organizations and that we will politely decline such requests.

Marketing:  Bill La Monte

Met on November 20^th.  The Marketing Committee is developing two new brochures;  one will be targeted at businesses and the other will be targeted at families.  They are also looking at possibly getting a billboard, and have started planning possible promotions for the LGA's 20^th Anniversary.

Executive Director:  Moira Underwood

Mrs. Underwood gave us a brief summary of her monthly activities which included sending all of the new member letters and producing the December/January Bulletin.  The full details of her activities can be found at http://www.lakegastonassoc.com/ExecDir/ED%20Activities.htm.

President Comments:  None.

OLD BUSINESS:  

• The boat parade and chili cook off were very cold and quite successful while showcasing the LGA working with the Chamber of Commerce to have a positive impact on the lake community.

• The John 3:16 toy drive is underway and toys can be dropped off at Doug's office, the Chamber of Commerce, BB&T, Andy's or the Food Lion.

• On December 11^th at 7:00 pm the LGA will present a recognition plaque to the Longbridge Fire Department of Warren County and all are encouraged to attend.

• There was then some discussion of the property in Brunswick county that is in violation of the short term rental ban.  It looks like the property owner will be taking the county to court over the issue.

NEW BUSINESS:

• The LGA has been borrowing a projector from the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the time has come for us to purchase our own.  A motion was made to allocate $600 towards the  purchase of a projector.  This motion was seconded and there was some discussion about what type of projector and where to get it.  It was decided that Moira would handle the details, and the motion was unanimously accepted.

• Larry Jolly gave some explanation about how the Mandatory Boater education bill was progressing in North Carolina and that Pete Deschenes had been appointed to a committee on the matter.  Mr. Jolly further explained that for the bill to progress properly it would be necessary to hire a lobbyist.  The lobbyist would cost about $3000 and the LGA had already pledged $1000 from the Safety budget, the Water Safety Council had also pledged $1000, with several other local organizations making up the difference.  Due to the uncertainty of the last $1000, Mr. Jolly brought a motion to the floor to allocate up to an additional $1000 for the retention of a lobbyist.  There was some opposition from the crowd as to whether the LGA should be involved in politics in this manner, but a call to question brought the debate to a close.  The call to question was unanimously accepted, and then the original motion was also unanimously accepted.

The meeting was properly adjourned at noon.

Respectfully Submitted

Patrick Dempsey

Acting December Secretary