Submission to Council 2008

October 8, 2008

To Members of the Council:

We would like to thank the council for their hard work in 2008.

Special thanks are offered for the progress on the environmental study of the water in the lakes and streams, and for the return of the area in the village to its natural state.

We would also like to express our appreciation for the redesign of the parking lot, complete with landscaping and retainer wall, which will control runoff from the parking lot into the lake.

These excellent projects have relied on the efforts of many volunteers under the hands-on direction of councilor’s Lucie Barbeau and George Calder. We are a very small community and volunteers are of particular importance. Members of Amis du Lac/Friends of the Lake are pleased to have assisted in these worthwhile volunteer projects as they directly support our mission, to protect our environment.

After consultation with our members, the Association of Amis du Lac/Friends of the Lake wishes to present the areas of concern to us and to our members. We currently have 111 paid memberships which represent 202 members from the Village, the Lake, and Sixteen Island Lake South.

Respectfully submitted,

Chris Campbell – President
Claude Lorange – Vice President
Pieter Folmer – Treasurer
Mary Tessier Campbell – Secretary
Jacques and Suzanne Causse
Geoff Cresswell
David Logan
Penny Love
Meghan Masterson
Philippe Ventura
Ted Fairhurst

• Reestablish Vote by Mail. Our top priority.
• Respect the recommendations of the Folmer/Lemire Ad Hoc Committee.
• Obtain an exception for Lac des Seize Iles to the MRC requirement that a road is required in order to build a dwelling.
• Lower the water level in the lake, low enough to keep the main wharf structure out of the water.
• Continue the excellent work on the parking lot to achieve a final goal of zero run off.
• Repair the main loading dock and road which has been damaged by continual high water.
• Eliminate the season pass for boats.
• Continue the good work on the website. Post the budget, requests for derogation and revisions to bylaws.
• Designate the area at the entrance to the main wharf as a loading zone only. No parking. No loitering.

• Continue the excellent study of the Lake water under the direction of Lucie Barbeau
• Work with Amis du Lac/Friends of the Lake to identify and designate environmentally sensitive areas on the lakes and in the watershed.
• Permit Amis du Lac/Friends of the Lake, in cooperation with the Municipal Environment Committee, to install an environmental map board of the lake showing the environmentally sensitive and restricted areas.
• Assure that all septic systems have been pumped as required. Complete and publish the septic systems study.

• Increase minimum lot size as requested by Friends/Amis in their presentation to the council in July 2008.
• Revise the commercial zone in the municipality.
• Continue to make the granting of “derogation” a very rare exception.
• Post notice of requests for “derogation” on the web site.
• Establish a maximum of one wharf per property and the maximum number of boats per wharf. Assure that boats at the private wharves are registered to the residents.
• Prohibit private roads and launching ramps into the lake.

Submission to Council 2007

September 14, 2007

 

Dear members of the Council:

As a result of membership meetings, committee meetings and input from our members at large, the Association of the Friends/Amis du Lac presents our areas of greatest concern for Sixteen Island Lake for 2008 and the succeeding years. We now represent 102 paid memberships which includes 188 people.

Municipal

• Vote by mail*
• Taxes
• Budget procedures
• Municipal web site

Environment

Protect 16 Island lake water quality.*

Ensure the restoration and protection of the littoral zone*.

Develop an environmental watershed plan.*

Develop a plan to stop the destruction of the eco-system.*

Infrastructure/Boating

Enforcement of boat launching regulations.

Revise bylaws on permissible boat size and number of boats.*

Stop the annual permit for boat access to the lake.

No commercial tour boats

Infrastructure/
Roads and Lakes

Continue improvements to parking lot area.*

Do not acquire private roads

Numbering of residences

Land
Use

Long term planning and increase lot size.*

Regulations concerning wharfs on commercial property.

Prohibit private roads closer than 15 meters to the lake.

Post notice of requests for “derogation” on municipal billboards and on
web site.

Make the granting of a “derogation” a very rare exception.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Chris Campbell             President                     Jacques and Suzanne Causse

Claude Lorange                  Vice President             Geoff Cresswell

Pieter Folmer                    Treasurer                     Doug and Penny Love

Mary Tessier Campbell       Secretary                     Meghan
Masterson

Ted
Fairhurst

Philippe
Ventura

David
Logan

* Participation and assistance by volunteers

MUNICIPAL TAXES and BUDGETS

The population of the municipality of 16 Island Lake in 2006 was 160
people. 76.4% (269) of the dwellings are seasonal and 23.6% (83) are year
round. The population has decreased and yet the municipal budget continues to
increase. The needs of the citizens for services are not extensive.
Friends/Amis has been informed repeatedly that taxes are a major concern and
recommend the following. ***

 

Vote
by Mail

Our top priority: Reestablish
Vote by Mail

Taxes

Make obtaining government project grants a priority.*

Fund major expenditures through assessments rather than taxes.

Do not use taxes to fund expenditures benefiting individuals or small
segments of the municipality such as: acquiring private roads, communal septic
systems.

 

 

Budget
Procedure

Review major expenditures with a written cost/benefit analysis:
Cost?  Benefits to taxpayers?  Is it necessary? Is there a less expensive
way to do it?

Avoid paying for services based on evaluations. There is not a
cost/benefit relationship.

In problem areas (such as garbage) ask for help from citizens who may
be knowledgeable.

Communicate with
citizens. *

Get tough on
garbage costs.

Have all budgets and monthly statements available to all taxpayers
online.

Work within a culture of frugality. Do not be rushed. How can we
achieve the same thing for less or no money?

 

 

Municipal
Web Site

A municipal web site is very important to all residents. It should be a
top priority.

Notify citizens of important information in the community (water
quality)

Notices on bylaw changes in French and
English

Dates and agendas of meetings

Minutes of meetings

Budgets and annual reports

Notice of request for derogations

Publish three year plans

Garbage instructions and schedules

Notice of social events

 

*Work with the Lake association volunteers

***Canada Census, 2006 (attached)

Friends/Amis
Environment Initiatives 2007/2008

 

 

PROTECT
16 ISLAND LAKE WATER QUALITY

Ban all fertilizers and detergents containing phosphates.

Educate
residents. *

Complete the inspection of septic systems and publish report.

Deal with violators
immediately.

Lock residences
that do not comply.

Implement a system to record and enforce the pumping of septic systems. Arrange for the pumping of
violators’ tanks and charge a penalty fee.

Continue the excellent environmental baseline study of the water
quality of the lake with annual monitoring of phosphorous and water clarity. Publish
the data.

 

 

ENSURE
THE RESTORATON AND PROTECTION OF THE LITTORAL ZONE

Insist on proper plantings in the first ten meters of the shoreline.

Require plantings in/on stone and concrete walls and shore lines.

Stop cutting grass, especially municipal grass.

Plant shade trees
where possible.

Continue to educate property owners on good landscaping practices
through seminars, distribution of proper documentation and native plants. *

Ensure that local contractors adhere to proper landscaping
principles.

 

 

DEVELOP
AN ENVIRONMENTAL WATERSHED PLAN

Develop a zero run off plan.

No uninterrupted
runoff from roads and parking areas.

Discourage the paving of parking lots.

Shade rock or concrete walls with plants.

Plant shade
trees.

Reduce the number and size of boats allowed on the lake.

Designate the municipality as an eco-zone with regulations.

 

 

DEVELOP
A PLAN TO STOP THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ECOSYSTEM

Develop a fast response to environmental problems or potential
problems.

Stop destruction of the lakeshore, the lake bottom, stream beds and the
forests.

Educate the public on the preservation of the ecosystem. *

Create wildlife sanctuaries on the lakes where boats are prohibited.

 

 

 

 

*Work with the Lake association volunteers

 

 

 

INFRASTRUCTURE

Boating

 

Enforcement is critical to the success of the boat program.

Make regulations
(bylaws), notify, prosecute offenders.

Staff the water front 14
hours per day during the high weeks of the summer. Shut down the launching of
boats from private property.

Keep records.

Limit the number of off-lake boats to two or three a day.

Require that all boats entering the lake are washed by the
municipality.

Pay high fees
($300) for washing.

Improve the
washing program.

Eliminate the season pass for boats.

Stop multi-boat (and
airplanes) parking along the shore. These boats and planes do not belong to
residents. **

Reduce the size, number, and power of boats using the lake.* (Refer to
environmental)

Do not permit commercial tour boats on the lake.

 

Roads
and Lake

 

Continue improvements to the parking lot layout.

Install one
row of timbers with water run off collectors (zero run off).

Plant indigenous
trees and plants in the row. *

Do not acquire any private roads. They are costly to maintain and it
sets a dangerous precedent.

Arrange for citizens to purchase standard house and cottage
numbers from the municipality and supply instructions on where to install them.

For those who do not or
cannot comply, the municipality will arrange for the summer student to install
the numbers and the home owner will be billed.

Bid the installation of the
street sign posts.

 

 

 

*Work with the Lake
association volunteers.

** Photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LAND USE

 

 

 

 

Conduct a zoning and subdivision review
with the CCU and volunteers from the land use committee of Friends/Amis. *

 

Plan the growth of the municipality. The
lake is stressed and continued unregulated growth in the village and on the
lake may irreparably damage the lake.

 

Substantially increase minimum lot sizes on
the lake, in the village, and in Laurel, especially the waterfront.
Recommendations to follow.*

 

Ensure that the regulations governing
wharfs are the same on commercial property as on residential property.

 

Prohibit private roads closer than 15
meters to the lake as compared to the current 5 meters.

 

Post notice of requests for “derogation” on
the municipal web site and post the recommendations of the CCU as soon as they
become available.

 

Make the granting of a “derogation” a very
rare exception.

 

 

Land Use Planning Committee

September, 2007

 

 

 

*Work with the Lake association volunteers

 

 

Submission to Council 2006

October 1, 2006

Dear council members,

As a result of membership meetings, committee meetings and input from our members at large, the Association of the Friends/Amis du Lac presents our areas of greatest concern for Sixteen Island Lake for 2007 and the succeeding years.

• Reduce the tax burden to the rate of inflation
• Reduce the inequity of the tax burden between lake residents and non lake residents
• Access to municipal information through an active municipal web site

• Determine the present environmental condition of the lakes through a detailed baseline study of the water quality. Develop a short and long term environmental plan for the lakes. Begin implementation in 2007.
• Implement an inspection of septic systems and immediately deal with violators.
• Promote proper landscaping for the first five meters of the shoreline.
• Ensure that the Municipality becomes an “environmentally responsible citizen”.

• Prohibit the launching of boats anywhere except at the main municipal ramp and initiate an effective program to wash all craft entering the lake. Keep records.
• Initiate a study on the boating situation on Lac Laurel.
• Charge non residents $200 per boat per launch for a day permit.

• Modify the parking lot layout for better security, better environmental design and for additional parking.
• Develop a program to better control the water levels of the lake.
• Provide signage on the lake and at both ends of the lake.

• Develop the Comité Consultatif d’Urbanisme into an experienced and skilled long term planning and advisory resource. Make the granting of a derogation a very rare exception.
• Prohibit private roads closer than 15 meters to the lake.
• Establish a maximum number of wharfs per property and a maximum number of boats per wharf.
• Continue adapting the 30% slope rule to the unique requirements of our lake.