I spoke with the Stewardship Coordinator of the Christina Lake Stewardship Society and she suggested we should change the name of our group from Vaseux Lake Home Owners Association to Vaseux Lake Stewardship Association.
This better reflects the fact the group is meant to be the steward of the lake and would be more inclusive of all groups such as bird watchers, fisherman and the general public who enjoy the lake.
With only about 150 full-time residents around the lake, it makes sense to broaden the scope of the society and would give us a stronger voice with government and other organizations.
To start the society it was suggested we should have a nominal $5.00 charge per person and $10.00 for a family. This money would be used to pay for the cost of running the Society and any left over money would be used for projects to improve the lake. As a society, we can now apply for grants from various government agencies. I will be requesting a grant from the RDOS to pay for the initial start up cost of the Society. It is also hoped that down the road we can apply for charitable society status so we can give receipts. We have already purchased the domain name vaseuxlake.com for 5 years.
To get the society up and running, the initial executives of the Society would be made up of two individuals from the north east side of the lake, two from the south side, and one person who owns a business overlooking the lake. The following are the suggested representatives to start:
- Norm Gaumont, Stewardship Coordinator (South end of lake)
- Jim D’Andrea, Legal Representative (Business overlooking lake)
- Rosalind Gardner, Communications (South end of lake)
- Barry Underwood, TBD (Northeast side of lake)
- Myles Radchenko, TBD (Northeast side of lake)
The following is the suggested mandate of the Society, which is similar to what Christina Lake has:
To promote sound stewardship practices through:
- (a) Educational Programs;
- (b) Promoting community participation
- (c) Liaising with other organizations, various government agencies, and companies
- (d) Disseminate information on stewardship initiatives.
- (e) Monitor and assess environmental sensitive activities that negatively affect the lake by causing siltation, milfoil growth, and pollution;
- (f) Help to protect water quality, biodiversity, habitat, ecosystems, and watershed-based landscapes.
- (g) Preserve Vaseux Lake for the enjoyment of everyone.
It is really important that you all let me know what you think of the name of our Society, the costs associated with joining, the suggested mandate, and the representatives. Once the Society is up and running we will be putting forward a process to add new representatives on the board and have elections for existing board members.
Thanks,
Norm
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