The below is the address provided by Dwayne Primeau, GMLLOA President at our Annual General Meeting held on July 29, 2024.

 

Welcome and thank-you all for attending the 2024 Annual General Meeting of the Greater Molega Lake Lot Owners Association.  Please join me in welcoming our new members.  

 

Today you’ll hear an update on our roads, a financial report from our Treasurer Bruce MacInnis, and we’ll be voting on your slate of directors for the coming year.

 

We’re very happy to welcome Cody Joudry, the Chief Administrative Officer of the Region of Queens to provide a direct update on the potential of the collection of our fees as part of a road levy bylaw. 

 

I will keep my update on the board’s operation focused on a few topics we’ve been focused on as a board;  Fire Safety, HWA, Invoicing, our recent Survey on Stewardship, and board changes.
 

Fire Safety

 

We recognize the importance of fire safety.  Today you’ll hear an update on the status of Fire Hydrant installation in the area, and I’m happy to report the Fire Safety and evacuation plan specific to the North Shore is now posted on our website - the resources posted are useful for all members North and South. Thank-you to our Vice President Laura for leading this initiative! As we saw earlier this year, it is critically important that we all respect the burn restrictions placed by the province.  The status can be found in a link on our homepage or by calling 1-855-564-2876.  If you see someone burning when they are not supposed to be or see a wildfire please report it to either 1-800-565-2224 or 911.

 

HWA - Hemlock Wooly Adelgid

 

HWA is in Molega Lake Area.  Once infected, trees are not expected to last more than 3-5 years.  Molega lake without the beautiful stands of Hemlocks is unimaginable.  We’re working on gathering recommendations from experts on how to manage this threat in the association owned greenspaces.  We would encourage lot owners to research the topic through the Mersey Tobeatic Research institute, or the Medway Forest Cooperative.  Scott Robinson at www.nstreepreservationco.com is certified and very capable at treating trees with a safe IMA-jet injection that lasts 5 years.  Many members have used his service.  It is at a cost, but less than the cost of removing a number of large trees, let alone the loss of these beautiful trees.

 

Invoicing

 

Keeping up to date on all of the property changes in the area is a constant struggle.  Please make sure to send notice to accounts@gmlloa.ca if you sell a property, and with any questions on your account.  Your invoice identifies your PID in the “Ship to” field.  This PID should be referenced when your making inquiries on your invoices. If you have not provided an email address for us to send communications to such as invoicing and notices, please do so as using traditional mail is both time consuming for volunteers and expensive, requiring money better spent on the roads.

 

Recent Survey on Stewardship of the Lakes

 

Thank-you to our Treasurer Bruce for leading the initiative of the recent Survey on Stewardship of our lakes in collaboration with the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute.  We were pleased by the response from our members.  In addition to the digital survey we sent out,  summer students will be in the area this summer conducting the survey in person.  Stay tuned for more details on the outcomes - we’re happy to work on increasing awareness of the role we all play in protecting the environment around us.

 

Board Changes

 

Please join me in thanking outgoing board member Gordon Butler.  Gordon has been serving on the board since 2019 representing the north shore - thank-you all your contributions!  

 

I have been serving as the President of the association since July 2017, and will be stepping down from the role at the end of the term of this current board. Per our bylaws, my replacement will be voted upon by the board, from the elected board members during the first meeting of the new board in September. I will be staying on the board to continue to support our new President and board for the next year.

 

I am proud of what we’ve accomplished over the last 7 years, from our website and increased communication with members, to modernizing our accounting system and fee collection methods with Visa, and adopting an accrual based method of accounting (thank-you Bruce for leading this!),  increasing services to all members with universal winter clearing, simplifying our rate structures, and the progress we’ve made with the Region of Queens towards engaging their support in collection of our dues through annual tax bills.  

 

I want to thank the board members current and past for their support and hard work!  

 

Today we’re excited to be welcoming a number of new board members. Even with the slate of directors we have today we still have room for volunteers.  Specifically we are seeking volunteers for the roles of Secretary, and Treasurer as Bruce looks to step back after six years in that role as well. Please feel free to put your hand up at the later vote on directors, volunteer your friends, or contact myself or our VP Laura following the meeting to express your interest.  

 

Please join me in thanking all board members for all they do.

 

Thank-you for your participation today.  Be safe and enjoy the summer!

 

Dwayne Primeau

GMLLOA President