Updated: Thursday, July 08, 2004 7:52 PM

The 2004 BPA Annual meeting

is scheduled for Saturday, July 24

beginning at 8:45 AM. AT THE

ELLSWORTH HIGH SCHOOL

AUDITORIUM

It will be an important meeting and many decisions will need to be made. I have invited the new City Manager, Steve Gunty to speak for a few minutes and Bob Crosthwaite will present as well.

Come join the fun. Sailboat races are a BPA sponsored activity open to everyone on the lake. Racing rules, or instructions on how to sail, will be provided upon request.

The first race of the season will start July 4th at 2:30. Following the race at five o'clock everyone is invited to Paul and Vi Wight's camp where Pete's succulent hot barbecue chicken wings will be served. If you wish you may bring finger foods.

Paul E. Wight
Commodore
207-667-7874
pvwight@comcast.net

As many of you are aware, this is my third and final year as President of the BPA. I told folks in attendance at last year's annual meeting that I would serve one more year. Thus, effective with the annual meeting scheduled for Saturday, July 24th at the Ellsworth High School Auditorium, I am resigning my position as President of the BPA. I have tried to find a replacement, but have been unsuccessful, although Carl Winslow has graciously agreed to be Vice President. In addition to my position as President, the BPA needs a new treasurer and a new secretary. My wife Susan Terrell will be relinquishing her committee positions as well.

These decisions are difficult ones, but change is inevitable and new leadership must and will step forward. I will have advised the board of this by the time you read this, and hopefully we will find someone to take over the reins right away. THE BPA REALLY CANNOT BE WITHOUT LEADERSHIP IN THESE IMPORTANT TIMES. Thus, I urge all who read this to consider stepping forward. My experience has been quite rewarding and has left Susan and me with many new and gratifying friendships.

I will be recommending that the position be a paid one at $1,000.00 per calendar year. This amount of compensation may bring someone forward. I do believe that things will be quieter once the DOC problem is put to rest and less time will be needed. If any of you are interested in taking over, now is the time to step forward so that a smooth transition may be possible. Call me at 207-667-8098 if you wish to discuss this confidentially.

Sincerely, Van Terrell

You will note reference to Branchview Drive being basically a non-issue from a safety or any other perspective. I hope the Branchview Drive people get together to present a united response to this. (I was pleased to see many property owners from Branchview Drive in attendance at the meeting and vocal as well).

You all know that the city created the Branch Lake Watershed Commission last fall. We have been working hard to fend off these threats. This work has included several meetings with the state, including one with the DOC Commissioner, Patrick McGowan. The city has effectively taken the lead in this ongoing struggle, and we should all be thankful for that. The city's position is consistent with the BPA, i.e. we favor improved public access at the City landing and not an ungated, unstaffed public launch at the state's site.

The city is taking the lead in responding to the environmental assessment and will gather much technical support from various agencies. Part of that response will be a public hearing now scheduled for Monday, May 17th at 7:00 as part of its regularly scheduled monthly meeting.

I urge you all to read the "Environmental Assessment" prepared by George Powell.

Feel free to write to him about your views as to the inadequacies of the assessment. Keep in mind that he already knows the BPA's and the City's view on the launch site issue. The assessment is basically flawed, overly cursory in regard to environmental, and overly biased as well.

The most obvious flaw is that it only presents two alternatives: one is the launch on the state land and the second is "take no action." The assessment does not at all adequately take into consideration the city's desire to upgrade the city landing. The state continues to dismiss the option because of the bridge. The city's position on the bridge is that the bridge is not an issue.

When you take time to write to George Powell, please take the time to analyze the assessment carefully. Again the city is preparing a technical response, part of which will come from the public hearing on Monday.

I will be at that meeting and will probably speak up when the opportunity presents itself.

The Branch Lake Watershed Commission (BLWC) and the Branch Pond Association (BPA) have each received a $1,000 grant to conduct boat inspections at the City landing this summer. It appears that the City Council will allocate roughly $15,000 for upgrading the City landing area to include gating, paid authorized staffing trained to conduct boat inspections for approximately 12 hours per day (with specific hours of operation), two portable toilets anchored in cement, a new special educational sign and educational brochures and finally the construction of a kiosk, or some other structure to protect staff from the elements.

I have committed to raise $5,000.00 to $6,000.00 to be presented to the City as a grant from the BPA. This would be a one-time contribution to the cause and will be an important contribution on our part to the overall project. The City has spent a great deal of time and money on the disagreement with the DOC and it only seems appropriate that we contribute something to the cause. As one example the City has spent $10,000 in environmental legal fees alone.

I'm asking each of you to send in an additional $50.00 or $100.00 or more. This would be in addition to your annual dues as we wish to keep our treasury intact. We have two BPA members on the BLWC and thus we'll have input as to how these monies are spent. Please complete the section on the dues form to show how much you are donating to the project. [Click Here to go to the Membership Form Page]

Thank you very much.
Van Terrell

In recent times we've learned that with an accurate and updated e-mail address database, we can communicate with a lot of people quickly.

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Background;
A new program has been initiated by the Department of Environmental Protection. Called, LakeSmart, the program is directed towards reducing non-point source pollution (NPSP) as a contaminant for Maine Lakes. Although NPSP can take many forms, a major type affecting Maine's fresh water bodies is phosphorus, which is carried into lakes via runoff from rain or melting snow. When phosphorus reaches a lake, it promotes algae growth, which in turn depletes oxygen levels within the lake and eventually ends up as scum.

Causes of NON-Point Source Pollution;
There are many sources of phosphorus around a normal residence. Phosphorus exists in the gravel used on driveways and road beds, in asphalt shingles commonly used as roofing, in asphalt used in paving drives or walkways, in salt and sand put down for winter road maintenance, in most yard and lawn fertilizers, and in many automotive products. Any of these are potential sources of contamination that can be carried into a lake with every rainfall.

Services offered by LAKESMART;
The LakeSmart program offers two services to property owners in its attempt to reduce NPSP.

The first is what is called TECHNICAL SUPPORT, which involves providing professional advice on how to minimize or eliminate pollutants running into the lake from one's property. At no cost to the homeowner, a trained representative from LakeSmart will visit your property, conduct a site inspection, discuss run-off issues with you, and make suggestions about how water flow from rain storms and snow melt might be better directed into vegetated areas removed from the lake. The site visitors are not Code Enforcement Officers, but are instead part of the DEP's Education Center.

The second service offered as part of LakeSmart is an EVALUATION PROGRAM, which attempts to reward homeowners for environmentally sound development of their property.

At the owner's request, representatives from LakeSmart conduct an on-site evaluation of a property in each of the following four areas: (1) Roads, Driveways, and Parking, (2) Structures, Housekeeping and Septic Systems, (3) Lawn, Recreation Area and Footpaths, and (4) Shorefront and Beach Area. Points scored in an area can result in a Certificate of Merit being issued by the DEP for sound environmental practices in each. If a property's overall rating represents 67% or more of the total points available, an Outstanding Achievement Award is issued, which recognizes environmentally sound design, maintenance, and landscaping. Recipients of the overall award receive one interior, and two exterior plaques that can be posted on the shorefront, at the entrance to a residence and within the dwelling. In short, the EVALUATION PROGRAM attempts to reward people for doing things right, rather than fine them for doing things wrong.

LAKESMART: WHAT'S BEEN DONE IN 2003?
A number of families on Branch became involved in the LakeSmart effort in 2003. Two families on the Cove Way and one on the Walls Farm Road have received technical advice on how to handle specific problems involving run-off on their properties. Three families, one on Branchview and two on Phillips Way, have had their properties evaluated, all receiving certificates of merit or the overall award. In the spring or early summer of 2004, one residence on Branchview is scheduled for technical advice and two more on Phillips Way will be evaluated for potential awards.

A loose committee has been formed, composed of the following members:

Don Hayes, Chairperson (Phillips Way)                 John Lyons (Cove Way)
Vince & Gibby Griffin (Branchview Drive)                 Paul & Vi Wight (Branchview Drive)
Kay Wilkins (Phillips Way)                                     Dave & Joyce Hardy (Phillips Way)

The first scheduled activity of the Hancock County Aquatic Invasive Plant Working Group is planned for the week of July 18^th-24^th, 2004. The Working Group, chaired by Hancock County Soil & Water Conservation District (HCSWCD), open to the public and consisting of lake residents, lake association members, and local environmental organizations, is encouraging county-wide volunteer participation in an aquatic invasive plant survey of all public boat launch and hand-carried access points on lakes and ponds in Hancock County. With an estimated 80 such launches in the county, these sites are being targeted in the survey for their high vulnerability to invasive aquatic plant infestation. Pairs of volunteers are encouraged to participate, and will be asked to spend a few hours during the Survey Week surveying a local launch area for these destructive plants.

"Boat launch and hand-carried launch areas are often where these plants are initially found", says HCSWCD Project Manager Liz Petterson, "Though it is believed our county is currently free of invasive aquatic plants, a comprehensive, county-wide survey has never been completed. As early detection of the plants is our best defense against them, we want to be sure these plants are not already here."

With over 30 lakes and ponds already represented within the Working Group, organizers feel this event will be a success. "As July has recently been declared Lake Awareness Month by Governor Baldacci, this event is a great way to continue increasing awareness and engaging the public in the aquatic invasive plant issue", states Petterson. The Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (VLMP), currently under contract by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) to assist the MDEP Invasive Species Task Force, will be offering free volunteer training for invasive plant ID and field survey methods. The Basic Aquatic Invasive Plant ID workshop will be held Tuesday, June 29^th, 4pm - 8:30pm at the Ellsworth City Hall auditorium, and the Field Survey Techniques workshop will kick-off the Survey Week on Sunday morning, July 18^th, 7:30am - 11:30am, at a local lake location yet TEA. Volunteers will be asked for no more than 10 hours of their time for this survey project, including time spent in training. If you are interested in volunteering during Lake Survey Week, please contact the HCSWCD office at (207) 664-7496 to reserve space at the free training workshops.

We all know that paying your dues is important for many reasons, but the most important reason is to show that the Association is united in order to ensure the health of the lake. This strong union is demonstrated by a fully paid membership. It is difficult for one to go before the City Council on your behalf when only 50% of the Lake property owners are paid members of our Association. Also, I'll be recommending to the Board and to the membership at the Annual meeting that we pay someone to do the required work of the Association. This idea will be emotional to some, but I've learned that other effective lake organizations pay an administrator. I'm suggesting that the annual compensation be $1000.00 plus expenses. We also need to continue to put monies away for emergencies. $20.00 seems a fair amount for annual dues. We have included a dues slip so that you can cut off the bottom half of a page and send your dues to our treasurer. Also, if you have not already done so, please pay your 2003 dues of $20.00. The BPA is now an official non-profit organization and as such your dues and contributions to the BPA are tax deductible. Thank you!

As of May 15, 2004, the cash position of the BPA continues to grow over previous years with a total of $10,370 in the savings and checking accounts. We did experience an increase in membership over last year's total of 140 to 158 for 2003. Income increased from $2,660 to $4,183 as a result of the increased memberships.

As we start the Mew Year 2004, membership dues are slowly trickling in at $195 and $308 of expenses through May 15, 2004. This represents only a few paid memberships for the current year; however, the summer season is upon us and will spur most of the dues activity. We are faced with many challenging issues in the year ahead and it is more important than ever that we stand as a united front. Please go to our website page by clicking [Here] and print off your dues form and pay them today!