2021 Annual Meeting Minutes

The 2021 Annual Meeting was held virtually (via Zoom), with 41 participants  representing 30 households. 

President’s Report (Dana Little): The meeting opened at 7 pm with a 15 minute social  chat. The meeting was called to order at 7:15. Dana introduced himself and the board  and welcomed participants and noted that despite the challenge of a virtual meeting,  attendance was good. In addition to the president and board members present (Ed  Gray (treasurer), Luci Merin (secretary), Kristi Norcross, Woody Trask, Barbara Mitchell,  Donna Morin, Larry Faiman), 33 members joined the online meeting, Dana noted that  the Association meets to fulfill requirements of our nonprofit charter and remains  dedicated to protecting the quality of water and life on Taylor Pond. We had hoped to  have an in person meeting but because it would have to be indoors, this was better 

Review of TPA Activities (Dana Little)  

•TPA volunteers work throughout the year to monitor water quality, reporting data to  Lake Stewards of Maine. Archival information about water quality and is available on  the TPA website at taylorpond.org.  

•Volunteers also casually look for milfoil and other invasive plants throughout the  summer and haven’t found any.  

•The Association takes an interest in the water level of the pond, especially where  flooding is a concern. TPA’s advocacy was part of the process resulting in the new  bridge being built on Hotel Road over Taylor Brook, which will lower the flood level by an  inch. To further lower the flood level of the pond, work would need to be done where  Taylor Brook crosses the Stevens Mill extension (Kendall property). This could lower  the water level by another 12 inches requiring construction of a passive or earthen dam,  a $75,000-$100,000 project. Such a project would possibly quality for a federal grant.  The association may want to press the City of Auburn to make repairs to the Stevens  mill extension crossing. 

•TPA participates in the LakeSmart Program to encourage stewardship among property  owners on the pond. Two grants ($500 each) were made last year. Two property  evaluations has been done this year and 3 more are waiting to be done. •TPA publishes an annual newsletter and responds to inquiries from various sources. 

Secretary’s Report (Luci Merin): Minutes of the 2020 meeting were posted on the TPA  website earlier at www.taylorpond.org A motion to accept the 2020 minutes as written  was made by Dana Little, seconded by Woody Trask and was accepted unanimously. 

Treasurer’s Report(Ed Gray): 

•$35,802.21 is the current account balance. TPA has received 141 membership  renewals out of 210 invoices sent out this year. This renewal rate is excellent compared  to other associations around the state.  

•It is very helpful to the treasurer to have email addresses for dues renewals, so please  keep your up-to-date with Ed Gray [email protected] 

•Dana noted that the account balance may seem high, but could be depleted quickly if  we need to address any invasive plant issues, contribute to work related to the water  levels, such as the engineering study we commissioned several years ago at at cost of  $10,000. Even more costly—Sebago Lake spent $100,000 to address invasive plants.  

Water Quality Report (Woody Trask): 

•2020 was an average year with clarity and phosphorous readings as expected •Water clarity is excellent and had highest reading ever recorded 7 meters (23 feet) •Surface temp of water is 79 degrees, which warmer than recent averages and  hopefully won’t result in algae 

•2021 started unusually, with it being January 11 before ice fully covered pond. With Ice  Out occurring April 4, there was a very short ice cover period. According to specialists,  longer ice coverage is better for pond water quality, especially phosphorous levels.  Readings are at 12 parts per billion (PPB), which is okay, but approaching the limit of 15  PPB where algae blooms become prevalent. Residents may see some algae,  particularly in a cove where wind blows in, but there are no significant blooms to report.  (Lake Auburn has had 2 algae blooms and fish kills.) Property owners can help keep  phosphorous out of the pond by planting buffers along the shore and not using  fertilizers. 

•Questions about dark red or brown streams appearing in shallow areas 2-3 times a  year were raised. Without seeing them, it was supposed that they were the result of  disturbed sediment from storms or animals.  

Election of Board Members: By a unanimous show of hands, the following board  members were reelected to 2 year terms expiring 2023: Luci Merin, Barbara Mitchell,  Woody Trask. New Board Member Brian Cullen was nominated by Barbara Mitchell,  seconded by Woody Trask and elected unanimously to a two year term ending in 2023.  Board members Dana Little, Ed Gray, Larry Faiman, Donna Morin, Kristi Norcross, and  Bill Turner continue as board members with terms expiring 2022. Board Member Marc  Tardif retired from the Board and was thanked for his service.  

Other Business: 

•It was asked if there was interest in a Labor Day Boat Parade, since the July 4th Boat  Parade was (mostly) rained out. Members noted that Labor Day is busy with back to  school and that a lot of people take their boats out that weekend. No plans for a boat  parade. 

•A resident asked about weeds—reed type weeds spreading and sticking out of the  water—are they beneficial? Is it okay to pull they out? No, you should not pull out 

the weeds, as this disturbs the soil and increases phosphorous in the pond. Yes,  the plants are beneficial as they produce oxygen and hold onto phosphorous.  Called “Juncus,” these are a genus of flowering plant/grass commonly know as rushes  that grow in some areas of the pond and not others. It is really abundant on the north  end of pond where the stream (Hodgkins Brook) comes in, which brings sediment into  the pond. Beaver dams in this area are good for the pond to slow the water and  sediment coming in. There are lots of weeds on the west side of the pond, but not the  east. The beach has had a lot of sand dumped in it so there is no grass there. Taylor  Pond is called a pond because plants can grow on the bottom. Bodies of water that are  too deep for plants to grow are lakes. The deepest part of pond is only 45 feet. 

•Question was asked about invasive plants and policies about removing plants before  entering water. Maine state policy is that boaters can’t transfer plants from one body of  water to another, but it is a little scary that there are so many places people can enter  water around Taylor Pond. It is up to everyone using the pond to inspect their own boat  or the boats of guests to keep invasive out. This also brought up the example of  invasive fish that were introduced by fishermen and have wiped out other species. 

•Another question was asked about banning jet skis? TPA has not gotten into that but  we can discuss if membership is concerned. At this point there don’t seem to be too  many; if the pond were ever to get a public boat launch it would likely attract more  creating a possible nuisance. Getting into it would likely be a divisive issue. Issues  typically addressed by TPA have an impact on the quality of the water and/or quality of  life on Taylor Pond.  

•That discussion raised a final question about voting. Does each household/ membership get one vote or does each person in a household get a vote? By-laws will  be checked. 

Meeting adjourned: 8 pm. Motion by Woody Trask, Seconded by Barbara Mitchell,  Passed Unanimously. 

Annual Meeting will occur 8/29/2021

Taylor Pond Association 

August 23, 2020 

Our originally planned meeting at Taylor Pond Yacht Club has been changed to a virtual Zoom meeting due to COVID-19 concerns. The meeting will commence on Sunday, August 29, 2021 at 7pm.

You should have received the link by email, it is not being included here for security reasons. If you need the link you can obtain it from any board member.

7 pm-Zoom Link Open for Chat 
7:15 pm-Official Meeting Begins

Annual Meeting Agenda
   a. Welcome
   b. Approval of 2020 Annual Meeting Minutes
        (View online on the TPA Website after 8/25/21)
   c. Review of the year
   d. Grant Program results
   e. Water Quality results
   f. Treasurer’s report 
   g. Open for questions
   h. Nominations and then election of board members

The minutes from our 2020 meeting are posted below and will need to be approved at our 2021 meeting.

The 2020 Annual Meeting was held virtually (via Zoom), with 32 participants. 

President’s Report (Dana Little): The meeting was called to order at 7:05. Dana  welcomed participants and noted that despite the challenge of a virtual meeting,  attendance was good. In addition to the president and board members present (Ed  Gray (treasurer), Luci Merin (secretary), Kristi Norcross, Woody Trask, Barbara Mitchell,  Donna Morin, Larry Faiman), 24 members joined the online meeting, Dana noted that  the Association meets to fulfill requirements of our nonprofit charter and remains  dedicated to protecting the quality of water and life on Taylor Pond.  

Secretary’s Report (Luci Merin): Minutes of the 2019 meeting were posted on the TPA  website earlier in the day at www.taylorpond.org and on screen at the meeting for  review. A motion made at the conclusion of the meeting to accept the 2019 minutes as  written was accepted unanimously. 

Treasurer’s Report(Ed Gray): $4,825 has been collected so far from 102 renewing  and new members out of 189 invoices sent out. This is a little lower return than 2019,  but this year’s membership fee was considered optional if members were struggling due  to the pandemic. With participation at over 50%, especially since we did not send  reminder invoices with the newsletter this year, our association maintains good support  from the Taylor Pond community. Current balance in the bank is $32,741.05. The  Association’s biggest expense remains the design, printing and mailing of the annual  newsletter. Additional expenses included state and federal fees, dues to Maine Lakes  Society and Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program, and water testing lab fees.  (Detail printed in TPA Newsletter.) 

Water Quality Report (Woody Trask): The water quality report revealed a generally  good, average year, with the possible concern of a warming water temperature. Ice out  was early in 2020 (April 2), 20 days earlier than 2019, but it did not yet create a high  water temperature. Average for 2020 so far is 77 degrees, while the 2019 average was  78.5 degrees. More weeks of open water are generally considered by lake scientists to  be undesirable since it results in a longer period of sunlight exposure and warming,  conditions conducive to algae growth.  

Water clarity has been good—a 7 meter reading at the end of May was a new high over  the previous high of 6.5 meters. July clarity was 4.7 meters and August just over 5  meters. Clarity readings are taken at the deepest part of the pond (40+ feet) and  therefore not affected by wildlife and watercraft stirring up the pond bottom along the  shore. Phosphorous readings are all in line with historical averages and quality  standards.

Election of Board Members: By a unanimous show of hands, the following board  members were reelected to 2 year terms expiring 2022: Dana Little, Ed Gray, Larry  Faiman, Donna Morin, Kristi Norcross, and Bill Turner. Board Member Jan Phillips  retired from the Board and was thanked her for her service.  

Other Business: 

BettyAnn Sheats provided an update on the Taylor Brook Bridge flood mitigation.  It looks promising that the bridge project will be on the State DOT work plan and  schedule for 2021. She reiterated that the plan is still an upgrade to a bridge from  earlier discussion of a culvert, which should provide greater protection.  

Barbara Mitchell noted a high number of small, biting flies (smaller than a house  fly) on the pond surface this season, wondering what they were. No answers!  In response to a recent email sent to TPA members about swimmer safety, it was  noted that motorized watercraft are responsible for operating safely, including  maintaining NO WAKE speed until 200 feet from shore. In addition to swimmer safety,  low speed along the shoreline helps minimize disruption of the pond floor and maintain  good water quality. 

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:35. 

Respectfully Submitted, 

Luci Merin, Secretary