Annual Meeting - 2022

Thorndike Pond Conservation Association, Inc

Box 595, Jaffrey, NH 03452

 

Minutes of the 2022 Annual Meeting

August 6, 2022, held via Zoom

 

The meeting was called to order by President Steve Magoun at 9:36.

For new members, Steve had none to report.  David Banker introduced himself as the heir to the Banker/Brown property at 453 Thorndike Pond Road.  Eman Namati introduced himself.  He was a new member last year after buying the home of Peter McGowan, but he did not attend the meeting because of the pandemic.

Steve then held a moment of silence for members who had passed in the last year:

• Ann Rayleigh Schulte
• Pat Hanley
• Bob Chamberlain
• Marie Bolles
• Sallie Austermann

Steve reported that there are currently no properties for sale on the pond.  He reminded members of the courtesy practice we have of notifying the membership if a property is being sold so we could let friends and family members the opportunity.

The minutes of last year’s meeting were approved on a motion by John Brouder, seconded by Lisa Frantzis.

Steve then described the actions taken by the board in the last year:

• The board approved some repair work to be done around the dam identified as needed in a June inspection by the state.
• The board agreed to take an extra board out this fall to facilitate repairs to the raft at the Thorndike Club.

The membership approved all actions taken by the board.

Jim Banghart then gave the treasurer’s report, a copy of which is included below. The organizations finances are in good shape, especially considering that the biggest need is normally repair to the dam and this year’s inspection showed only minor needs.

Anne Banghart then gave the Geese report.  She reported that despite John Brouder’s diligent searches we were unable to find a nest this spring and 2-families of Geese have produced goselings. The normal line of defense against geese and ducks is fencing open areas of grass and beach, best done in early spring before they mate.   Discussion continued on all types of animals and foul on the pond:

• We had 3-Loons this year but no babies for a second year in a row.  John Brouder believes that the presence of Eagles discourages the Loons from reproducing.
• Otter’s have been spotted on the pond and have been seen as year-around residence.
• A family of Mink has been spotted and Amy Radin reported that they are nesting under their beach house.
• Beaver have not been spotted.  Amy Radin has contacted the town to suggest they not leave the bedsprings just lying on the ground near the SW inlet at the Ginsberg’s but has received no response.  Jim Banghart reported that the TPCA has in the past acted against Beaver only if they block the flow of water into the pond or if they build a home in the pond and neither has happened this year.
• A Black Bear was also spotted on Thorndike Pond Road

 

Jonathan Birge was unable to attend this year’s meeting, but his water testing report is included below.  The result for E. coli and phosphorous will not be ready for another three weeks. Water quality has been stable, albeit a bit high in acidity caused by acid rain and the poor acid neutralizing capacity of our granite bedrock.  E-coli testing was discussed although data from the testing at the town beach and camps is not part of the State’s Volunteer Lake Assessment Program (“VLAP”) that we do.  Those results tend to be localized and last year’s problem at the town beach went away quickly.  Steve pointed out that we can all help by making sure our septic systems are in good order and we are cautious with fertilizer use around the lake and sensitive to soap/type of laundry detergent usage.

Jonathan also provided a report on the dam, a copy of which is included below.  We discussed the 6-year inspection done by the state’s dam Bureau in June that found some dead stumps with animal burrowing near the dam and some cracking of the concrete.  The board has approved the stumps removal in the fall and some patching of the cracks, also to be done by volunteers in the fall after the camp closes.

Jim Potter gave a combined report on LakeHosting and weed-watching describing them as a two-tier line of defense against invasive species.  A copy of both reports is included below.  He reported that we have 2-paid LakeHosts this year and we are paying them $12/hour for a total of 44 hours per week, up from 20 hours last year. His report included a picture of invasive milfoil on Lake Winnipesaukee which was appalling to see.  John Brouder described a remediation on Lake Monomonac, which cost over $100,000 and required the application of chemicals that were dangerous to swimmers.  There was a very long and emotional discussion on the LakeHost program.  Volunteering at the ramp is easy and even interesting and members were encouraged to contact Skip Cornelius, take the simple on-line training, and sign up on the TPCA Website Ramp Volunteer calendar.  Jim said that the grant we get from the state for this program is dependent on the amount of volunteer hours and matching donations, as they try and leverage the grant money.  Members showed support for increasing the payrate for paid LakeHosts if that would help and to have more paid hours and left it to the Board to work out the actions necessary as we launch next year’s program.

Under new business Steve mentioned that permits are required for certain activities on the pond.  Mentioned were:

• Any construction on the shoreline.
• Septic system building and repair.
• Beach building and replenishment
• Campfires
• Tree and brush clearing along the shoreline
• Docks either new or reconstructed

Steve then presented volunteer opportunities helpful to the association and asked anyone interested to contact the lead for that activity.  The programs that we have are:

• Board of Directors
• Lake Host: is our primary activity with many options, Jim Potter.
• Dam Oversight
• Water testing
• Weed watching
• Geese/Pest control
• Whittemore Island coordinator
• Ice in/out reporting.

A QR code was shown at the meeting which allowed easy access to a link on these opportunities.  Members can also use the following link. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iG5H6TQI6J6pcfZoxKayi6a7sPDKSvuhxllt0HrLtek/edit

The annual dues of $200 was approved by the membership at last year’s annual meeting and is now due for the fiscal year staring on July1st.  Members have received a request for payment, and all are urged to send in a check.

John Brouder, on behalf of the nominating committee, nominated the following people to serve on the board:

• Steve Magoun for a third one-year term as President
• Lisa Frantzis for a third one-year term as Vice President
• Amy Radin for a one-year term as Secretary/Treasurer
• David Nash for a two-year term as a board member at large
• Jim Potter for a two-year term as a board member at large

There were no other nominations, and they were all approved unanimously.  Jinnie Russell and John Brouder each have one year remaining on their two-year terms, to complete the seven-member Board of Directors.

Under other business Paul Santos raised the concern about wake boats, which are becoming more popular.  His concern is that they have ballast tanks that take in water, and that makes them more prone to bring invasive species that are hard to catch by LakeHosts.  Jim Banghart reported that NH Lakes was promoting a bill that would ban wake boats on smaller water bodies and require them to not generate wakes any closer than 250 feet from a shoreline.  That bill was not approved by the state this year.  Members were encouraged to join the NH Lakes non-profit to not only help with their LakeHost and Lake Smart program, and their legislative work, but also to receive interesting newsletters and video’s about lakes.

“Pepper” Denman mentioned that some boaters violate the no-wake regulation at the narrows and said he would do what he could to help with compliance.

Members were reminded of the social to be held at the home of Jinnie and Peter Russell at 4 Gilson Road, starting at 5:30 that evening.

With that on a motion by John Brouder seconded by Lisa Frantzis the meeting adjourned at 11:20.

 

TPCA Treasurer’s Report

 

Operational Checking Account Transactions
Starting Balance				$     6,316.34
Deposits			$ 16,570.00
	Dues	$ 10,200.00
	Donations	$   6,370.00
Withdrawls			$ 16,671.94
	Dam Registration	$       400.00
	NH Lakes Dues	$       300.00
	Water Testing	$       300.00
	Dam Maintenance	$       120.00
	Postage/stationary	$         55.00
	PO Box key	$         12.00
	Repro	$                -
	Bank Charges	$                -
	Website	$       113.95
	Lake Host Chair	$       179.49
	Lake Host Umbrella	$         32.50
	Filing Fees	$         75.00
	PO Box	$         84.00
	Transfer to Money Market	$ 15,000.00
Ending Balance				$     6,214.40

 

 

Account Balances
Account		Action Amount	Starting Balance	Ending Balance
Checking			$   6,316.34	$     6,214.40
Infinity
	Start		$      272.02
	Bank Credit	$         40.00
	Ending			$         312.02
Money Market
	Start		$ 86,282.47
	Transfer from Checking	$ 15,000.00
	Interest	$         49.46
	Ending			$ 101,331.93
Totals			$ 92,870.83	$ 107,858.35

 

Respectively submitted

Jim Banghart, Treasurer

 

 

TPCA Dam Report

 

Preliminary Inspection Results

• State inspection done this spring

• Awaiting formal results, but nothing major appears to have been found

• Some minor patching to concrete suggested

• A few animal burrows and trees

• Minor remediation work planned for this Fall

 

Status Update

• Recent draw-down was a three-board year

• This winter we’d normally do one board, but will take out two to accommodate a maintenance request from the Thorndike Club

• Lower water level will also facilitate the aforementioned work on the dam

 

Respectfully submitted,

Jonathan Birge, TPCA Dam Coordinator

 

 

 

 

TPCA Water Quality Report

 

June Testing Results

• June sampling done with NH DES biologist

• Phosphorus and e. coli. measurements not available yet due to database issue at NH DES

• Everything reported within typical ranges for Thorndike

• Chlorophyll-A was 4.15 μg/L

• Measure of algae growth in lake

• Technically within “impaired” range (>3.8 μg/L) for our lake category

• Nonetheless, about the average for past 30 years

• Samples for July taken last week; one more sample to be taken in August

 

Water Quality Report from NH DES

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Jonathan Birge, TPCA Water Testing Coordinator

 

 

 

 

2022 TPCA Weed Watching Report

 

Maintaining the beauty of Thorndike Pond is of vital importance to all of us.  Keeping invasive plants and animals out is an important aspect of doing so.  The first line of defense is the lake host program which is designed to prevent the introduction of such unwanted species.  The second line of defense is the weed watching program which is designed to identify invasive species early so that efforts at eradication are easier, more effective, and less expensive.

 

The TPCA weed watching team for 2022 includes Jim & Anne Banghart, Eve Share Banghart, Emily Carr, Alisa Nash, Roberta Schnoor, and myself.  Each member of the team has an assigned section of shoreline to monitor on a regular basis, observing for new or suspicious plants or animals.  Reports are logged monthly, but anything raising questions is addressed immediately.  We have the resources of the NH Dept. of Environmental Services to assist us in positive identification of any questionable samples we collect.

 

I am happy to report that as of this date we have not discovered any suspicious plants or animals in Thorndike Pond.  This is great news, but it is not a guarantee of things staying the same in the future.  Every year more and more bodies of water in NH get contaminated by invasive species, including several that are nearby.  We must remain vigilant and the more of us involved in the process the more effective it will be.  Weed watching is easy to do.  Training is available locally and the process involves simply kayaking along a small area of shoreline near your home to keep track of the plant and animal growth in the water.  We need more TPCA members to help with this program to make it more effective.  Please consider joining us.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Jim Potter, TPCA Weed Watcher Coordinator

 

 

2022 TPCA Lake Host Report

 

 

The lake host program is our primary defense against the introduction of non-native plants and animals into Thorndike Pond.  These invasive species, once they get established in a body of water, are very difficult to irradicate.  They often spread and overtake the local ecosystem of the lake resulting in killing off beneficial native plants and fish.  They can make the water very unpleasant for swimming, boating, fishing, etc.  This clearly has an impact on the value of waterfront properties.

 

The lake host program at bodies of water in NH is coordinated through NH Lakes, a nonprofit organization.  We work with them to hire our paid lake hosts, provide us with a grant each year (based on volunteer hours spent by our members at the boat ramp) to help us cover the cost of the paid lake host salaries, provide training for volunteer and paid lake hosts, and provide uniforms (shirts, hats, etc.) and essential materials for lake hosts to be successful in their efforts. 

 

Locally we manage our own lake host efforts through a team of TPCA members who volunteer their time.  For 2022 the TPCA lake host leadership team is:

 

●          Lake Host coordinator - Jim Potter

●          Paid Lake Host Manager – Jim Potter

●          Volunteer coordinator - Skip Cornelius

●          Camp coordinator - John Brouder

●          Grant writing, administration, including entering timesheets + boater data - Paul Santos

 

We have had some better success with paid lake hosts this year.  Two Conant High School students have shared the hours and have been more reliable than we have experienced in previous years.  There have been some gaps when they were away on vacation.  They have been very compliant with signing up for weekend hours as well as early mornings and late afternoons on weekdays.  Volunteers have been stepping forward to fill some of the gaps and we wish more members would do the same.  Thank you to all the volunteer lake hosts.  You are performing a valuable service for our pond and also helping to increase our potential grant from NH Lakes toward the paid lake hosts next year.  The Scout Camp was able to help out a little this year, but not Camp Wa-Klo.  Most importantly, we continue to have an active lake host program here and we have so far succeeded in keeping aquatic invasive species out of our beautiful Thorndike Pond.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Jim Potter, TPCA Lake Host Coordinator   8/6/2022

 

The following properties were represented at the meeting

 

Bailey/Roston: by Phil

Banghart: by Jim and Anne

Banker: by David

Belletete: by Nancy

Brouder/Greenwald: by John and Carol

Davidson/Webster: by Stuart and Wendy

Dahl/Frantzis: by Lisa and Ophelia

Epstein: by Stephen

Ginsberg: by Ed

Grant: by Janet

Hunt: by Susan

Levine: by Catherine

MacKenzie: by Kathy

Magoun: by Steve

Mansfield: by Fred and Tom

Moore/Hanley: by Tom and Joan

Nash: by Dave

Namati: by Eman

Plent/Denman: by Stephanie and “Pepper”

Potter: by Jim

Radin: by Bob and Amy

Raleigh: by John

Reiman: by Linda

Roman: by Ken

Russell: by Peter and Jinnie

Scholl: by Patty

Stuart/Santos: by Anne and Paul

Schnoor: by Roberta

Silbert: by Pat

Strickland: by Elise

White: by Brad and Pam

Whittemore/Cassel: by Robin

Woods: by Heather Ames