President’s Report::
Tree cutting on town open space property on Mamanasco Road was reported. Barb sent an email asking for the replanting of the trees. The town wants the homeowner to replace five trees at $15,000 each.
MLIF sent representatives to the February 2 Board of Selectman meeting to advocate for the continued inclusion in the Town Budget of a Community Grant to MLIF.
Committee Reports:
Fundraising: It was suggested that we drop PayPal as its balance is too low to transfer to the bank.
Stormwater Drainage Project (SDP): The town received two bids for the Third Lane Stream restoration project. The $139,000 bid was awarded to True Blue Environmental for what we understood to be the full project. The project began the week of August 31 and was completed in mid-October. As we eventually found out, the bid was awarded for only half the project and now the upper half still needs to be done this spring. We met with Maureen Kozlark, Rudy Marconi and Charlie Fisher on December 16 to work on the plan for the project completion. The original estimate for this project was $90,000 and it is now estimated that the full project will cost $230,000.
Egg Addling: The 2016 goose egg addling permit has been received.
Lake Management: The 2016 lake management contract with Pond and Lake Connection was signed in mid-December. The lake treatment permit applications were mailed to the state on 1/5/16. We will create a new flier regarding the non-use of fertilizers.
Drawdown: The drawdown began in mid-October and worked well. The lake was drawn down two feet. Water levels were back to normal by mid-January.
Social Media: MLIF is now on Facebook. A notice of the Annual Meeting will be posted on the page. We should ask our Facebook friends to “Like” the MLIF page.
New Business:
Annual Meeting: The annual meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 3, 8 p.m. at the CVS Community Room. The Nominating Committee presented the slate of officers and directors. New to the board for a full term are Jason Geane and Dean Williams. Jeff McAllister will now be a consultant to the board. Richardson Grant: A motion was passed that we would submit an application to the Richardson Fund for tree removal.
