Association Officers

 


Letter from the CLA President

 

Greetings CLA Members,
Yet another wonderful summer season at the lake, despite the frequent rainy weekends. Thank you to all the volunteers who support the many activities we enjoy each year. Since we released the board meeting highlights last month, I will not repeat, as usual, the Board Meeting discussions in this letter. Instead, I will focus on a few pertinent topics:

Lake Business

Water Levels on the Lake - Some of you have commented about the low water levels after Columbus Day this year. This was due entirely to an unusually low amount of rain (1/3 of the usual total for this time of year). Tim Perry, our dam keeper, is required by the state to lower the water level in the fall. He has been taking the boards out for the past 20 years at or around Columbus Day. This year was no different. In the future, we will be sending out a reminder to all CLA Members before the boards come out.

Fiscal Year Change - Just a reminder that we have changed from the old fiscal year accounting period (Jun-May) to calendar year (Jan-Dec). You will likely notice that the request for 2024 dues will come out shortly after the new year. This does not impact the frequency of dues, which is still on an annual basis.

Key Aspects of the formation of the Water Quality Group and the CLEAR Trust

CLA Mission Statement

The Crescent Lake Association is a volunteer based 501(c)4 organization that promotes and preserves a high quality of lake-life for current and future residents and visitors. Through leadership, education and collaboration The Association strives to:

· Maintain healthy water quality for humans and wildlife

· Protect the Lake from invasive species

· Promote boater and water activity safety

· Encourage mutual respect and fellowship through community interaction

Water Quality Group - as part of our ongoing commitment to the goals established in our mission statement (above), we are placing an increased focus on water quality and maintaining the health of our lake environment. As a result, CLA members overwhelmingly approved the formation of the Water Quality Group (WQG) at this year's Annual Meeting. This group is sponsored by the CLA and will work closely with the CLA Board to achieve our collective goals. Recent comments/questions by CLA members regarding the WQG's approach to potential land use/permit violations requires some clarification:

Education First - the primary focus of the WQC will be education, providing information and identifying helpful resources regarding water quality and shoreland protection, while engaging the lake community in our shared goals.
Advice and Counsel - if a potential issue arises, the WQG will be the go to organization for lake residents to answer questions and provide direction on next steps (if any). The WQG is not positioning itself as an enforcement organization, nor as a place to receive and/or escalate complaints.
Egregious Violations - should a member of our lake community commit a serious breach of shoreland regulations (which we hope will never happen), the WQG and CLA Board will work together to develop the appropriate next steps.
It is clearly expected that through education, information sharing and our shared desire to protect Crescent Lake, that everyone in our lake community will be incented to abide by local and state regulations.

The WQG, which has already been hard at work on several initiatives, intends to share information/updates to our lake community on a regular basis. Stay tuned. Attached is an intro to the WQG, further describing their approach, as well as some other helpful information.

CLEAR Trust 501(c)(3) - As you may recall from the CLA Annual Meeting in July, steps have been taken to form a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that will establish a meaningful response fund that can address/prevent invasive species outbreaks in Crescent Lake. The CLEAR Trust (Crescent Lake Environmental Action Response Trust) is now sanctioned by the Internal Revenue Service and can receive tax deductible donations to protect Crescent Lake. You will be hearing more about this effort in the coming months. Contact Tom Farmen at twfarmen@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Collaboration - The CLA Board, Water Quality Group and CLEAR Trust are all committed to a strong collaboration and partnership as we work together toward our shared goals.

As always, Please feel free to reach out to me or any member of the Board: Shelly Bonomo - Secretary, Taysa Lynch - Treasurer, Directors - Tom Farmen, Mike Mulhern, Zig Lisischeff, Greg Paulis, Mark Richards, Chris Gladding Email: secycla1@gmail.com

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Rich Maynes

President, Crescent Lake Association

CRESCENT LAKE -WHAT YOU CAN DO.3.pdf

CRESCENT LAKE WQG LETTER.pdf

DES SEPTIC FACT SHEET.pdf

Permits at Crescent Lake.pdf