AGM Minutes September 17, 2023

September 17, 2023

I. Call to order
Annette Shattenkirk motioned to begin the meeting; it was seconded by Christie
Sacre. Motion accepted unanimously. Norm Gaumont called to order the Annual
General Membership meeting of the Vaseux Lake Stewardship Association at 14:05
on September 17, 2023 at 252 Sundial Rd at Vaseux Lake.

I. Roll Call
Norm Gaumont conducted a roll call of the General Membership at the meeting. The
following persons were present: Norm Gaumont, Grant Temple, Randy Ruf, Colin
Worth, Julie Martineau, Christie Sacre, Sean Hirtle, Mark Martineau, Sheila Hartman,
Sandra Ruf, Ed Thomas, Taryn Winsor, Bruce Hirtle, Bernadette Hirtle, Sheila
Webster, Bruce Hay, Annette Shattenkirk, Orval Shattenkirk, and Monika Jones

Open issues:

  1.  Proceed with the election of the following Board of Director positions 

a. Election of President position – Orval Shattenkirk nominated Grant
Temple, seconded by Norm Gaumont. Grant accepted the nomination. No
other nominations were made. Vote in favour of Grant Temple as President
was unanimous.

b. Election of Vice President position – Grant Temple nominated Christie
Sacre, seconded by Colin Worth. Christie Sacre accepted the nomination.
No other nominations were made. Vote in favour of Christie Sacre as vice
president was unanimous

c. Election of the Financial Officer position – Grant Temple nominated Sean
Hirtle, seconded by Orval Shattenkirk. Sean Hirtle accepted the nomination.
No other nominations were made. Vote in favour of Sean Hirtle as Financial
Officer was unanimous.

d. Election of the Multimedia, Webmaster position – Norm Gaumont
nominated Julie Martineau, seconded by Annette Shattenkirk. Julie
Martineau accepted the nomination. No other nominations were made. Vote
in favour of Julie Martineau as the Multimedia, Webmaster position was
unanimous.

e. Election of the Scribe, and retention of documents position – Grant
Temple nominated Monika Jones, seconded by Christie Sacre. Monika Jones
accepted the nomination. No other nominations were made. Vote in favour
of Monika Jones as the Scribe and Retention of documents position was
unanimous

f. Election of Project Coordinator and Media Liaison position – Grant
Temple nominated Norm Gaumont, seconded by Christie Sacre. Norm
Gaumont accepted the nomination. No other nominations were made. Vote in
Favour of Norm Gaumont as the Project Coordinator and Media Liaison
position was unanimous.

g. Election of two Board of Director positions – Norm Gaumont nominated
Randy Ruf, seconded by Taryn Winsor. Randy Ruf accepted the nomination.
Grant Temple also nominated Colin Worth, seconded by Julie Martineau.
Colin Worth accepted the nomination. Vote in favour of Randy Ruf for one of
the Board of Director positions was unanimous. Vote in favour of Colin Worth
or the final Board of Director position was also unanimous.

Grant Temple mentioned that everyone is welcomed to attend any of the
Board of Director meetings throughout the year. The board feels it is
important to have the perspective of long-term residents, whenever available.
It is important to note, however, that only elected board members are
permitted to vote at board meetings according to the BC Societies Act.

2. Norm Gaumont discussed the work being done on the proposed bike path as it
relates to hiring an environmental expert to review the process and
inconsistencies that led to the decision to have the bike path go through a wildlife
sanctuary. The Association has reached out to an expert to try and firm up a
date when this review could be completed.

3. Norm Gaumont provided an update on the new milfoil harvester which is able to
drive itself into the lake, therefore low water will no longer be an issue. Norm
explained that the Association is still pushing to get the rototiller in the lake which
pulls the weeds from the root in late fall and early spring. The issue with the
rototiller is that the dredging stirs up the lake bed, which in turn potentially
releases heavy metal. The Association has been working with the Okanagan
Basin Water Board to get permission for a pilot project. The Okanagan Nation
Alliance was tasked by the Ministry of Water, Lands and Resource Stewardship
to take the lead in this study. We are still waiting for this to move forward. This
study would analyze the ramifications of stirring up the bottom of the lake and
hopefully determine what extent heavy metals are released. This is a work in
progress.

4. Norm Gaumont provided an update on the siltation study and the next steps
required to decrease the level of siltation at the north end of the lake. The
provincial government is presently dredging Shuttleworth Creek siltation pond
every fall. This does help reduce some of the siltation in the lake but what is
really needed is to break the berm on Okanagan River and allow the river to
meander in the floodplain once again. This would allow the silt during flood years
to be deposited in the floodplain instead of in the lake. A project of this magnitude
needs to be coordinated with the Okanagan Nation Alliance since the cost
associated with this would be in the millions.

5. Norm Gaumont reviewed the financial update for the Vaseux Lake Stewardship
Association, which was prepared by Sean Hirtle. Please see the attached
financial statement for details. Colin Worth motioned to accept the financial
statement and it was seconded by Bruce Hay. The motion passed unanimously.

6. Norm Gaumont and Grant Temple discussed the work performed to help reduce
the number of goslings this past year. There were 27 goslings this year
compared to over 90 last year. Norm and Grant were told of various locations
where goose nests were not accessible to the Okanagan Valley Goose
Management Program (OVGMP), who were addling the eggs last year, and
these areas were cleared of nests prior to the eggs being laid. The association
will continue to work with the OVGMP to help identify nests with the intent of
reducing the number of geese on the lake to a manageable level. Volunteers will
be required to assist with this venture next spring.

7. Norm Gaumont asked if anyone had any new business, no new business was
brought forward.

III. Adjournment
Annette Shattenkirk motioned to end the meeting; it was seconded by Christie Sacre.
Motion accepted unanimously. Norm Gaumont adjourned the meeting at 15:07 hrs.
Minutes submitted by: Norm Gaumont