Spring Newsletter 2015

Below is a link to our spring 2015 newsletter
Spring Newsletter 2015

 

Spring Newsletter 2014

Comments from the President – A Landslide

On Tuesday, April 15^th at about 11:30 in the morning, the mountain on the east side of the Lake near the village gave away in a landslide. This landslide, approximately 300 meters wide by 500 meters long destroyed a cottage and a boathouse in its path and sent debris of rocks, gravel, dirt, trees and cottage rushing into the lake. This sent a wave of ice and water estimated to be 3.5 meters high surging across the lake where it destroyed a cottage and some boat houses and seriously damaged three more cottages. This wave of ice also destroyed boat houses, damaged the cottage on Rodger  Island (Drinkell’s) and destroyed or severely damaged numerous boat houses along the east side towards the village. Mayor Baillargeon reported that the volunteer emergency response teams and police arrived promptly and determined that fortunately nobody was hurt. Property damage was determined to be major. Some residents were evacuated and the MTQ has determined that their homes remain off limits and fencing has been placed around the houses at 94 and 100 east side.

Members of the community and the press kept the seasonal residents and the public well informed about the magnitude of the damage.  Photos from the air and the ground showed the extent of the damage. Mayor Baillargeon has done a great job at managing the crisis. Once it was determined that there were no casualties and the situation was stable, he informed Premier Couillard’s office, and our Federal Deputy,  Mylene Freeman, promptly visited the site and was shown the damage by the Mayor. The following Saturday, our provincial Deputy Mr. Yves St-Denis toured the site with the Mayor.

Mayor Baillargeon asked Friends/Amis for assistance in communications, initially to help get volunteers to help with the cleanup.  The success is best described in the following excerpt from Bill Clelland’s email to the mayor:

“Congratulations to you and your team on putting together an extremely well organized day on Saturday. Given the short timeframe that you had to organize the day, I did not expect that level of efficiency – in fact, I was expecting chaos with 150-200 volunteers. It was anything but!! Together we were able to clean up and dispose of most of 6 boathouses on the east side of the lake – all taken away in containers. I saw people on the west side doing work as well. Everyone I spoke with was proud of how our municipality responded to this disaster. You, your council and your staff responded very well – as did our entire municipality. There will of course be much to do over the days, months and years to come.” Bill Clelland.

Congratulations to all the volunteers who worked so hard to help friends and neighbours. Both Saturdays were an excellent start to the environmental cleanup. As Bill mentions the effect of all the debris sliding into the lake will be felt throughout the summer. The stability of the soil on the hills around the lake will be a topic of vital interest as we move forward.

Municipal happenings

In 2013, the efforts by Amis du Lac/Friends of the Lake were directed towards the continuing difficulties within the municipal administration.  There were personnel problems, compounded by an aggressive agenda, and a municipal election scheduled for November. It was the culmination of four difficult years. Fortunately, a number of residents offered to run for mayor or council or volunteered to work on the election.

Election

Congratulations to Yves Baillargeon who was elected Mayor; Rene Pelletier, sector 1, village east side; Dave Estall, sector 2, east side of the Lake; Lucie Robillard Barbeau, sector 3, south end Laurel; France Robillard, sector 4, south end;  Corina Lupu, sector 5, the west side of the Lake;  and Francoise Tasse, sector 6, village west side.

• A lot of effort by volunteers went into making this election a success. A special thanks to:  Bill Clelland, Marie Eve Bonneville, Olivier Hamel, Jean Calder, and Robert  Sarrazzin.
• The need for many residents to reregister to vote by mail made it especially challenging. Ultimately the turnout was very high for a municipal election, especially in the Lake sectors.
• The effect of the new electoral sectors for councilors may have played a role, especially in the sectors with the smallest number of registered voters.

A special thanks to all of you who spent the time and effort to reregister to vote by mail, who returned the election ballot promptly, sometimes at considerable expense.  Only few ballots were too late to be counted in spite of a very tight schedule.

George Calder and Richard Lessard , municipal councilors and residents of the lake, announced that they did not wish to seek re-election. Both George and Richard served the citizens of the community well over the previous two terms (8 years) under somewhat difficult conditions. We appreciate their hard work and thank them for their dedication on behalf of the residents.

Municipal News

A new navette or ferry appeared on the lake late in the fall. There was concern by the residents about safety issues of the navette. At the April, 2014 council meeting, the council voted not to give the navette docking rights in the village.

The next council meeting will be Saturday, May 17, 10:00 AM at the south end in the Club l’Etoile  du Nord. The June 21^st council meeting is at the municipal hall at 10:00 AM. It is important for all who are able, to attend, to participate in the issues and to support our elected council members.

Land Use:  Urban Plan 

Last August the municipality held a special public meeting to present the “Strategic Development Plan”, commissioned by the municipality. This “Plan” was a precursor to the revisions to the Urban Plan. The “plan” had been made available to Friends/Amis and the Sixteen Island Lake Fishing Club a short a couple of weeks prior to the meeting. The meeting was well attended by over 100 residents.  Friends/Amis, the Fishing Club and a number of residents requested that the review of the “Plan” be delayed to July 2014 in order to make a studied response. Friends/Amis is looking forward to working with our members, the public and the new administration on revisions to the Urban Plan.

Environment

Milfoil aquatic infestation

In the disturbed lake bottom in the area of the new unloading docks in the village, and where the stream from Sixteen Island Lake enters Lake Laurel, the invasive aquatic weed milfoil has established itself and begun to spread. Milfoil is a nonnative plant that occurs elsewhere in the lake but until the installation of the new wharf and relocation of the boat ramp it did not occur in the main wharf area. This is of particular concern as milfoil can be spread by boat propellers cutting the weed that then migrates elsewhere in the lake to establish more milfoil. Friends/Amis and the municipality would like to work together to develop a coordinated plan of action to deal with the threat of spreading milfoil.

Night Lights

In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to view the beautiful night skies over Sixteen Island Lake.  All of us have been awestruck as we come down the lake at night to see a million stars in the Milky Way, or the meteors streak across the sky, or the fall sky filled with the Northern Lights. There has been a slow but persistent increase of light pollution on Sixteen Island Lake. It is difficult to see past the blinking lights of the cell towers, marker buoys and increased cottage shore lights. Friends/Amis proposes to do a study and start a public dialog in hopes of reducing the light pollution of the night sky and yet keep the lake safe for night navigation. This summer the Presides Meteor Shower reaches its maximum on Tuesday night, August 12^th and we encourage residents to view the meteor shower from their boats. For this bright sky event residents are encouraged to turn off all outdoor cottage lights.

Sightings

Last spring’s newsletter talked about a loon rescued from fishing line entanglement. This summer’s sightings include a baby loon born on the lake, a bald eagle spotted at the south end, some very large owls (yet to be identified) and a couple of cormorants visited for a week or so.  A couple of years ago some of us had the opportunity to see a black bear up close behind the cottage. Many of you have had interesting sightings / encounters such as the recent arrival of wild turkeys and the increase in turtles of various types and sizes in the lake. Chris Campbell is interested in hearing about your observations or any interesting encounters with nature within the lake watershed which would give us an informal listing of nature within the watershed. Of course photos would be wonderful if you are so lucky.

Chris Campbell at: [email protected].  450-226-6727.

Calendars

Once again the 2014 calendar offered a great selection of photographs of the lake and watershed arranged professionally by Tim Boswell. Each year approximately 50 excellent photos are included in the calendar, all taken by residents of the community. A special thanks to all who have contributed your beautiful photos. Some have submitted dozens of beautiful photos over the years. If you have photos taken within the lake watershed, be it flora, fauna, seasonal scenes, or beautiful cottages, please share them by sending them to Tim Boswell at [email protected].

Membership

Membership in Friends/Amis remains strong. The response of all our members, as we made certain that all eligible voters were signed up to vote in the fall election, was amazing. We value your past support and your willingness to come forward when needed. We look forward to a very active 2014 and appreciate your membership and participation.

Centennial Celebrations

In honor of 100 years since incorporation, the municipality is planning numerous events this summer.

July 5&6:  Helicopter rides & Boat floats.

July 12:*  Wine & Cheese; Plaque honoring mayors; old movies (videos) of logging,  the old saw mill, the  steam train, the fish hatchery, early 1920 regatta, numerous early photos of the municipality and lake.

July 13:    Brunch in the Village.

July 19:    Classic boat show and parade as well as a Classic car show.

July 27:     Soft Ball Game for all. Special request to former players to attend.  Participation not necessary.

August 1:  Open Golf Tournament.

August: 8,9,&10:  Artists and artisans show. Video and display of artifacts retrieved by scuba divers from the lake

August 15:* Concert featuring L’Harmonie des Vents du Nord with Denise Parent and Louise Lemire.

August 16:*  BBQ /Mechoui. Horseshoe tournament, large fireworks, Time Capsule.

October 4:    Roast beef dinner in the village

*Passports are available for purchase from the municipality at 450-226-3117. ($50 /after May 24 $60).

Email George Calder if you desire updates at [email protected]

Classic Boat Show

A Classic Boat Show will be held this summer on the afternoon of July 19, 2014. This event is jointly organized by Amis du Lac/Friends of the Lake, the Sixteen Island Lake Fishing Club, and the Municipality of Lac-des-seize-Iles. This one-time, one-day event will bring together classic boat owners and enthusiasts alike, in a series of venues that will allow the lake community to take a moment to appreciate many of the wonderful boats that were common in days gone by in honour of the municipality’s 100^th anniversary.

The plan is to start the event at the Sixteen Island Lake Fishing Club’s waterfront in the very early afternoon where visitors can view participating boats up close, meet the owner to discover the history of their boat, and view a pictorial display of boats that used to ride the waves of our lake long ago. This will be followed by a parade of these wonderful boats out on the lake where they will arrive at the village marina where a venue similar to the one at the Club will be set up. Classic Boats for this event are defined as being constructed of wood, aluminum, or fiberglass, yet is classic in nature. If you are interested in participating please contact the event organizers Ken Morehouse or Geoff Cresswell at [email protected]. Everybody is invited to view these classic boats, many of which are rarely seen out on the lake.

Station and Resto DCseize Iles

Both the Station and Resto DCseize Iles have been open this winter. It has been a difficult winter for business for both of them as snowmobile trails from St. Adolphe and St. Agathe have been closed for several years now, as well as the Aerobic Corridor. Snow mobile riders are the chief source of income for both businesses during the winter other than the small local community.

Jesse who runs the restaurant, Resto DCseize Iles, is back home in the Philippines for a month but will be back in May and will be open for the summer, as usual.

Stephanie and Roland from the Station will also be open as usual. This summer the plan is to open the restaurant 5 days/week (Resto DCseize Iles and the Station will cooperate so at least one of them will be open all the time). Roland will also be available (when the restaurant isn’t open) to do in home catering. For those of you who have engaged him as a caterer, you know what a treat it is.

Please patronize these last two commercial establishments in our village. We would be less of a community without them!!

Annual General Meeting 2014

Amis du Lac/Friends of the Lake Annual General Meeting:

Friday July 11^th at 7:00 pm at the municipal building

2015 Calenders will be available for sale at the meeting

Web site: www.amisdulacdes16isles.org

Email: [email protected]

Newsletter 2013

Amis du Lac/ Friends of the Lake is very pleased and excited that a major Environmental Study of the lakes and land of the Sixteen Island Watershed has been completed. Started in 2008 under the direction of Corina Lupu and assisted by a number of our members, the first phase was completed in 2009 and a report was issued by Biofilia in 2010.Then, a second phase commissioned by Amis du Lac in 2010 was completed in 2011.The data from this phase was included in a final study commissioned by the Municipality, completed by Biofilia and presented to the council in 2012. This report gives a clear picture of the lake and its watershed and all is not well. Your association will use the report to plan projects and set priorities to preserve the lake and watershed. It is hoped that the present council and future administrations will use the study wisely and take the necessary action to preserve the watershed and lakes that are under stress.  A very brief section on the Biofilia recommendations and conclusions is included in this newsletter. We would like to extend an invitation to everybody to join us at the presentation of the findings of the study presented by Corina Lupu at the Amis du Lac meeting in July.

Land Use Committee Trust

In 2012, Amis du Lac was approached about the possibility of acquiring part of the property on the mountain in the village, including land extending from the cell tower, south  behind the cottages along the east shore.  The intention of Amis du Lac was to place the property in a land trust, forever protecting it in its natural state.

A professional evaluation of the property was commissioned by Amis du Lac. Members of the land use committee solicited assistance from residents of the lake to fund the purchase of the property. The evaluation report indicated that the value of the property was substantially below the asking price. It was decided that purchasing the property was not something Amis du Lac could pursue at this time.

Environment 

Lake and Watershed Environmental Study

Last summer the completed environmental study of the Sixteen Island Lake and Lac Laurel and their watersheds was presented by the environmental consultants Biofilia to the municipality. This is a comprehensive inventory and study of the health of the lakes and their watersheds. The study, commissioned by the municipality, also includes the results from the first two Biofilia studies of the lake commissioned by Amis du Lac. This is an extensive study encompassing the complete watershed which occurs in five municipalities and within three MRC’s. In addition to the Biofilia report of approximately 250 pages, there are 26 colored maps showing the locations and information within the watershed.

BIOFILIA RECOMMENDATIONS

The recommendations are divided into six main areas of intervention.

1. The protection of river system

2. Control of residential development

3. Constraints on deforestation

4. Restrictions on road construction

5. Measures of erosion control to be applied to construction sites

6. Conservation of biodiversity

(Details of these recommendations will be found in the complete Biofilia study on the Amis du Lac website here.)

BIOFILIA CONCLUSIONS

Following the analysis of the watersheds, as well as human intervention impacting the quality of the environment, we believe that the ecological integrity of the following lakes’ watersheds is:

• Lac Wonish at risk
• Lac du Grand Heron at risk
• Baie des Soeurs at risk
• Passage des Grenouilles at risk
• Lac Laurel at risk
• Lac des Seize-Îles is at moderate risk

“In order to improve or maintain the water quality of the municipality’s lakes, control of the phosphorus intake must be a priority for the municipality. Phosphorus may come from punctual sources, such as erosion problems related to roads, deterioration of the shore and other erosion hotbeds. Some non-point input of phosphorus can also come from individual drain field, fertilizers and naturally, from rain. Thus, establishing by-laws for fertilizers and drain fields would limit non point sources of phosphorus. Continuing the riparian strip restoration program would also capture the residual non point sources. Furthermore, adopting legislation with strict construction norms for roads and deforestation around dwellings would limit erosion problems as well as non point sources of phosphorus and sediments harmful to the water quality and aquatic habitats. Due to the wave action of “Wakeboats”, a real problem for the shoreline stability, this type of boat should be prohibited on the waters in question. The washing of all watercrafts should continue in order to avoid the establishment of other invasive species such as water milfoil.

In conclusion, the protection of the environment and the development of land include a range of actions, of policies and of legislations which limit the pressures of development and human usage on the receiving environment. An environmental protection policy is a process through which these actions are understood, adopted and applied. This process is first and foremost a long term vision of good territorial management. The span of this vision and the necessary time to reach it are directly dependent on the principles and the conviction of the citizens and their elected representatives. This is why raising awareness towards the importance of natural processes and the impact of every action is the key element to adopt an environmental policy quickly and efficiently.  Since the municipality of Lac-des-Seize-Îles is still, to this day, a jewel in the Laurentians, citizens have every right to expect its preservation and count on the increased protection of their environment.”

( From Biofilia report)

(Details of these conclusions will be found in the complete Biofilia study on the Amis du Lac web site here.)

Presentation and discussion of the Biofilia report    

Corina Lupu has been instrumental in getting the Biofilia study started at Sixteen Island Lake, including doing much of the field work for the first two phases.  We are most fortunate to have Corina make a power point presentation of the Biofilia Study of the lakes and watershed. This will be at the Amis du Lac meeting on Friday July 12^th at 7:00 pm, at the municipal center. This is a great opportunity to learn about the study and its potential impact, its’ critical findings, its ramifications and importance to the lakes and community, and the actions needed to be taken. The Biofilia report is intended to be used as a starting point for the revisions to the municipal urban plan. The report is to be studied by the CCU who in turn inform and make recommendations to the council.

Loon Rescue

Each spring the Sixteen Island Lake loons arrive shortly after ice out and stay until late fall when their formal black collar, spotted black and white plumage with beautiful greens and whites turn to a dull winter gray.

Late last summer, a number of Lakers noticed an adult loon continually rolling over on its side and appeared to be in distress. They could see a flash of sun and hear a metallic clinking sound as the loon shook its head and laid on its side in an attempt to dislodge a large fishing lure from its mouth. Fishing line could be seen wrapped around the loon’s head and body severely restricting its head, feet and wings. An attempt by Donald, Corina and Michael to catch the loon was futile as the loon still had enough energy to evade capture. About a week later, Miriam spotted the loon at the south end of the lake. She shut off her motor and coasted to within a few feet of the loon when she noticed that the fishing line wrapped around the loon’s body and head was trailing behind in the water. Taking hold of the line she tried to gently pull the loon towards the boat. The loon immediately began to shake its head violently with a mournful howl. Realizing that more hands were needed, she called Christiane, who in turn called the Parizeaus who arrived in their boat. Try as they might, they could not get close enough to net the loon and he slowly headed out for bigger water.

Miriam and Christiane, knowing that the loon was getting weaker, decided to attempt another rescue later that evening. They were joined by Rich who brought a larger net. After much time they spotted the loon in Black Bay where he appeared to be sleeping while a number of loons close by kept an eye on him. As they quietly approached, the loon awoke and began very slowly swimming along the shore line. Miriam kept the boat close to the loon and an initial attempt to scoop the loon up resulted in Christiane falling into the water. Recovering quickly, Rich managed to net the large loon and put it in the bottom of the boat gently holding it down using the net as a restrainer. Then, slowly and carefully working through the net, he cut all the fishing line that was wrapped firmly around the loon’s head, neck, back, wings and one foot. To their surprise the fishing lure did not have a hook, but just fell away when the fishing line that was wrapped around the loon’s tongue was cut free. Miriam, keeping her boat cushion between her and the loon, “just in case”, carefully double checked inside the loon’s mouth and tongue for any signs of a hook but none was found.  Placing a towel carefully over the loon, Rich cut the net away from its frame, and gently lifted the loon towards the water.

Immediately the loon exploded into a mad scramble of wings and feet as it flailed across 20 meters of the lake where he settled into the water and let out a large haunting loon howl. Then he rose out of the water vigorously stretching and testing his newly liberated wings.  Swimming towards the approaching group of loons he paused, turned, and looked back towards his rescuers as if to say thank you. It was a very emotional moment with not a dry eye in the boat. The three rescuers watched as the loon paused once more for a moment of preening and stretching his wings. Then joining the waiting loons, he headed towards bigger water leaving a few small feathers floating on the quiet water just ahead of the boat.

Replanting 

Friends/Amis purchased $1000 of plants and bushes to assist the municipal project to replant the south end parking area. The project directed by council member Denis Charlebois was done by the students of Centre de Formation Horticol de Laval. This project is a great improvement to reestablish the natural area that was disturbed by parking lot construction the previous summer.

Web Site

The complete Biofilia Watershed Report can be found in French on Friends/Amis  website.  The English translation of the details of the Recommendations and  Conclusions can also be found on our website here.

Calendars 

Tim Boswell continues to do an incredible job producing beautiful calendars with photos taken by Lake  residents. The 2014 Sixteen Island Lake calendars will be available this summer at the annual general meeting, at major events and from Penny Love (450-226-8062). Thanks Tim for another outstanding job.

Municipal

The past year continued to be difficult for residents as both spending and taxes have experienced large increases. 2013 is a municipal election year for the council and the mayor. For the first time the election will be held under new redistricting. Candidates for council may run in any of the six districts regardless of where they have their residence. However, only the residents of legal age who live in a district may vote for the candidate of their district. Seasonal residents get one vote per property. The position of mayor is voted on by all eligible residents in the municipality (again one vote per property owned by seasonal residents). There will be vote by mail. Once again this is an important election. Our municipality is only as good as our elected officials and we encourage residents to consider serving in the municipal government.

Be sure you are registered to vote and that your preference to vote either by mail or in person is correctly recorded at the municipal office.

Municipal Centennial Celebrations 2014 

Amis du Lac in conjunction with the Sixteen Island Lake Fishing Club is cosponsoring a Classic Boat Show and parade for the Municipal Centennial Celebrations to be held in the summer of 2014. It is estimated there are close to 30 classic boats of all types on the lake and we encourage everyone with an old boat to participate. This fun event is being coordinated by Geoff Creswell.

Membership

Thanks to all of you who continue to support the lake Association. Reminders will be sent out if renewal of your three year membership is due. Your participation in Friends/Amis is most appreciated. We will have a table at the Municipal Arts Festival so stop by to purchase your calendars. This year we will also introduce a shopping bag with the association logo. Geoff Cresswell is working on a brochure that willpromote and inform the public about Friends/Amis.

Annual General Meeting 2013

The Amis du Lac/ Friends of the Lake Annual General Meeting is Friday July 12^th at 7.00 pm.at the municipal building. We invite everyone to join us for the presentation on the Biofilia Report

Friends/Amis wishes everyone a warm and sunny summer, filled with great adventures and lasting memories!

Newsletter 2012

President’s Message

Amis du Lac/ Friends of the Lake once again had an active year in its efforts to protect and preserve the Lake and the surrounding watershed.

• Efforts are underway to establish a land trust to preserve land within the watershed and the surrounding area.
• The environmental study commissioned by Friends /Amis was completed and made available to the municipality as part of an expanded study of the complete watershed.
• The Friends /Amis website created by Geoff Cresswell and Clea Mittag has been successfully launched.
• Friends /Amis once again supported the environmental education program for the youth of the lake.
• The 2012 lake calendars were a great fundraising success.
• In 2011 and early 2012 considerable time and effort was devoted to municipal concerns. Unfortunately, against the wishes of over 90 percent of lake residents, the municipal council voted to support the installation of a cell tower on the mountain in the village. The tower has been installed as well as a second cell tower near the south end in Laurel.

Land Trust

Preservation for the Long Term

The need for a land trust was first discussed in the 2009 newsletter:
“The land use committee seeks to preserve the lakes, streams and forests within the Sixteen Island Lake watershed for the future. The first approach is to work with the municipal council to establish bylaws that protect the environment……..Unfortunately bylaws can be changed depending on the personal objectives and agendas of present and future elected officials.”
“ However, there is a more permanent solution available to protect the watershed and lake. Establishing a land trust and conservation easements (servitudes) offers an effective method to assure that the land and lake will always be protected for future generations regardless of the municipal politics.”

Presently, there is an immediate concern with recommendations to the municipality for development. These are recommendation to reduce lot sizes, increase the number of dwellings and size of structures and to build roads, all in an effort to increase the tax base. The pressure to develop the second tier land around the lake will most certainly increase. This land needs be protected from development, including high density development.

Friends/Amis has been approached about the possibility of acquiring 72 acres of the village mountain top including land extending from the cell tower south behind the cottages along the east shore. The formation of a land trust and the purchase of this land would assure that it would never be used for second tier development as was the original plan. The land trust would also provide a means to protect other land within the Sixteen Island watershed. In many cases this could be done through the use of conservation servitudes (easements). Servitudes do not require a change of ownership of the land but offer the advantage of both protecting the land in perpetuity and possible financial advantages for the landowner.

The Land Use Committee previously sent the “Environment Canada Ecological Gifts Program Handbook” to numerous residents. Copies are available for those who have an interest in conservation for their land. For more information feel free to call Dave Logan 450-226-8939, or Chris Campbell, 450-226-6727.

Environment – Lake Study

The first phase of the study of the lake commissioned by Amis du Lac was completed in 2009 by the firm Biofila. The report for the first phase was received in 2010 and copies given to the municipal council. A second phase was commissioned by Amis du Lac and the field work was completed in 2011. These studies were done with a great deal of field assistance by a number of members including Corina Lupu and Lucie Barbeau. The municipality then decided to have a study of the watershed and Biofilia was selected as the consultant. Amis du Lac agreed to allow Biofilia to use the information from the first two phases in the final watershed study with the agreement that Amis du Lac would have access to the completed report. Because the data from phase one and two would be included in the final watershed report it was decided not to request a report for the second phase. The study of the complete watershed has been completed by Biofilia and will be presented to the municipal administration on July 16th. Amis du Lac will be given a copy of the complete study.
This is a report on a major environmental work initiated by Amis du Lac in 2009. Our association is delighted and proud of the excellent contribution by our members to the study. A special thanks to Corina Lupu under whose direction the study was possible.

Web Site

Good news! Friends/Amis has a web site.

www.friendsof16islandlake.org

Many thanks to Geoff Cresswell and Clea Mittag for their hard work creating the Association’s
website. Visit the website for urgent news bulletins requiring the attention of the
membership; current updates on matters that are deemed ‘At Issue’; minutes of past Annual
General Meetings; interesting and informative articles; and links to organizations and services
of local interest.

Calendars

This year Tim Boswell has made some beautiful changes to the layout of the annual
Friends/Amis calendar. As usual the pictures in the 2013 calendar are stunning. A special
thanks to Tim Boswell for his continuing hard work and to all the lake photographers who sent
in photographs. A reminder to all our members that photos of the lake, its landscape and the
flora and fauna are needed for next year’s calendar. The 2013 calendars are available from
Penny Love (450-226-8062) and at major events.

Youth Environment Education

Again thanks to Marty and Alison Warner Timusk for their environmental education work with
our youth. In 2011 they presented a program on birds of the area. The children participated
by making various birds from felt to be hung in a window or on their Christmas tree.
Friends/Amis supported the program with a donation from the Tom Clasper Memorial Fund
and will again participate in their 2012 project which will be on bugs. This is a wonderful
opportunity for all the children to learn about our environment.

Community

La Station:
As most of you know, la Station store/restaurant is now owned and operated by Roland
Meunier and Stephanie Chouinard. Patrice Gouyet was unable to continue for health reasons.
Roland and Stephanie have been living above the store with their daughters since January and
began by running the restaurant at la Station in early 2012. In May they bought the whole
operation from Patrice. There is a new energy apparent that anyone who has visited the store
will notice. There is new shelving and lighting as well as new and improved grocery and meat
products, weekly specials, better pricing on many items and of course the bistro/restaurant.

Roland is a chef having worked at the Fairmont Chateau Montebello as well as several other restaurants in the area. The menu at la Station is expanded and the food is wonderful – witness the difficulty of finding a table at this busy spot. It’s a good idea to reserve your table for dinner. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 8am to 7pm; on Friday and Saturday from 8am to 9pm.

Stephanie and Roland have long term plans for la Station and are fast becoming a part of the community. Their children are currently enrolled in swimming lessons at the club and the family is quickly integrating into the life of Lac des Seize Iles. They look forward to your support as they continue the tradition of la Station operation.

We are lucky to have a second restaurant in our small village – the Casse-Croute DCeize Iles. Open for 7 years now and run by Joselyn Patrimonia and her partner Daniel Cyr, they offer a more than full menu of casse-croute style food as well as a sampling of Filipino food from Joselyn’s native country. Daniel is the great nephew of world famous Louis Cyr who lived in the late 1800s to 1912 – Ben Weider said he was the strongest man to have ever lived. Maybe it had something to do with the food! The Casse-Croute is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9am to 8:30pm; on Friday from 9am to 9pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 9pm.

Municipal

Cell tower
In spite of the wishes of over 90% of the lake community who signed the on line petition, the
mayor and three councilors supported the placing of a cell tower on the mountain in the
village. This precluded the opportunity to arbitrate the location of the tower with Videotron.
Arbitration has resulted in satisfactory results in a number of communities in Quebec.
Unfortunately there is now a cell tower blinking in the middle of the village as well as a new
tower at the south end of the lake near Lac Laurel and the Bell tower to the east of the lake.
This was a major failure on the part of the elected municipal officials to satisfactorily
represent the wishes of the majority of the residents.

New wharf
Fortunately, the municipality decided against using the extremely expensive wharf design and
commissioned a second more reasonable engineering design. This design includes the use of
floating docks. Friends/Amis continues to be concerned about the location of the boat ramp,
the one way traffic at the unloading section and the height and stability of the floating docks
for use by our senior citizens, a remarkable number of whom now have knee replacements
etc. To our knowledge there has been no public consultation for input from the residents who
actually use the docks.

New toilet and skate building
The unrelenting spending continues with plans to construct a new building on the northeast
corner of the parking lot in 2012.

Elections
Municipal elections are scheduled for November 2013.

Executive and Board
There have been some changes to the board and executive of Amis du Lac. On the executive
Bill Clelland replaces Pieter Folmer as treasurer. Many thanks to Pieter for his long service as
treasurer. We welcome to the board Dave Estall, Louise Lorange.

Membership
Thanks to all who joined the association in 2011.Our membership numbers were up and our
offer of a three year membership continues to be popular. Three year members will be
notified when their renewal date comes up. It cannot be emphasized enough how important
all our members are to the Lake. Please encourage your friends and neighbors to join. Our
legitimacy as an association representing all the municipality is reflected in our numbers.
Check our new website for a membership form and all the latest news.

Annual General Meeting 2012

The Amis du Lac/ Friends of the Lake Annual General Membership Meeting is Friday July 13th at 7.00 pm at the municipal building.
2013 calendars will be available for sale to members at the meeting.

Friends/Amis wishes everyone a safe summer, filled with sunshine and the company of family and friends!

Newsletter 2011

President’s Message

2010 was another eventful year for Friends of the Lake.

• The featured speakers at the annual general meeting were councilor Susan de Schulthess and town manager Michel Trudel from Bark Lake.
• The environmental study commissioned by Friends /Amis and headed by Corina Lupu made great progress and is preparing for an expanded study.
• The Friends /Amis website under the direction of Geoff Cresswell , Clea Mittag and Ken Calder is in development and will be launched this season.
• Friends /Amis supported the bat education and bat house program for the youth of the Lake.
• The Lake calendars were once again a great sellout success.
• In 2010 and early 2011 considerable time and much effort was devoted to municipal concerns.

Municipal

Since the Sixteen Island Lake municipal elections 18 months ago, the newly elected council under the direction of Mayor Luc Lamont has undertaken a number of projects in the municipality. Many actions were taken without adequate public consultations and frequently without all the council members being adequately informed.

• South end parking and wharf.  A major parking lot and wharf project at the south end was proposed by the mayor and built without adequate public hearing for all the residents of the community including seasonal residents. The wharf as designed was too costly and the scope of the project had to be revised during construction. A different less costly wharf was proposed by members of the community patterned after the successful municipal wharfs at Bark Lake. The municipality has significantly overspent on this project.
• Referendum to borrow money. The mayor proposed that the municipality borrow such a large sum of money for the loading dock project in the village that the municipality was forced, by provincial law, to hold a referendum.  In spite of a very short notice the referendum was defeated by the prompt action of the citizens. An approximate equal number of citizens from the village, the lake and Laurel, voting not to borrow the large sums of money required.

• Cost of village loading dock. In spite of repeated requests, the mayor delayed informing the residents about the layout and design of the proposed replacement for the loading dock in the village. It became evident that the proposed loading dock was of a similar design to the wharf at the south end and it would be prohibitively expensive. In September members of the community (engineers) presented the mayor and council a written proposal of three options for the loading dock that would better suit the needs of the lake residents at significantly less cost. The repair or replacement of the loading dock appears to be a low priority. There has not been a response to date.
• Design and cost of parking area. The administration continues to push for changes to the village parking lot area including an expensive gazebo/well/toilet/septic field and a new municipal service building to replace the existing one in the parking lot. There is some financial assistance available from the MRC for some of the gazebo, however it is expected that the project will be costly for the municipality. At a public hearing Friends/Amis requested that the total design of the parking lot and the loading dock be completed prior to starting any of the projects. These projects are inter-related. To our knowledge there has not been a design of the complete parking lot area /loading docks. Some preliminary construction work has been started for the gazebo and more floating boat slips have been added perpendicular to the dock loading area.
• Increased taxes. Municipal property taxes have increased by approximately 15% this year. In addition, the municipality which has a tradition of being debt free has begun borrowing funds. Two years ago a group of upset citizens from the village started a movement and circulated a petition to split the municipality in two and have the north end (village) join Montcalm. The reason for this drastic action appeared to be that a number of village residents felt their municipal taxes were too high. No word has been forthcoming from this group concerning this latest tax increase or the plans for large cost projects.
• Communications tower. Last fall the municipality was approached by Videotron to install a large communications tower on the Laurin property in the village. The seasonal residents of the community were not informed of the communications tower by the municipality. In spite of the knowledge that a large cell tower is not needed to successfully supply high speed internet service to all of Sixteen Island Lake, the Council voted 3 to 2 to support the Videotron tower.  Many emails from irate citizens and a petition with 489 signatures were sent to the council requesting that a cell tower not be constructed in the village. Over 338 (79%) of the petition signatures came from residents of the community or their families. On June 4^th a public consultation meeting was held concerning the proposed change to the language for residential zone 9 to accommodate one tower the height of the proposed Videotron tower. The language on this vote was written to exclude an existing cell tower that is so small it is difficult to see and has been in service since June 2009. The meeting was very well attended by citizens opposed to the proposed change and to the Videotron tower. Numerous residents spoke in opposition. There was almost no support for the changes to the zone 9 language. A copy of the petition in opposition to the tower was formally presented to the council. It remains to be seen if the council decides to change the language.

Thanks to all who supported the efforts to prevent the installation of an unnecessary 87 meter communications  tower in the village. Your emails of protest to the municipality, the signing of the petition, your letting your elected officials know how you feel about the tower, all contribute to the effort to prevent the tower. A special thanks to Richard Lessard, Ted Claxton and David Claxton for their tireless effort. Unfortunately it is not over yet.  Our community will continue to work to prevent this communications tower that would be a blight on beautiful Sixteen Island Lake.

Also, many thanks to councilors George Calder and Richard Lessard who have been working very hard during these difficult times. They are the only council members with previous council experience. Thankfully they have been there for the residents of Sixteen Island Lake for the past five and a half years.

Chris Campbell

Environment

• Bark Lake:  Friends / Amis where most fortunate in having councilor Susan de Schulthess and town manager Michel Trudel speak at our annual general meeting. Bark Lake is similar to Sixteen Island Lake with few roads and access mainly by boat. It is a very small municipality of predominantly seasonal residents. Bark Lake is known within Quebec for their success in protecting their environment, both lake and land. They talked about their success in completing an environmental survey of the lake and the forests and how they developed bylaws to protect the lake. They talked about how they managed the affairs of the Municipality of Bark Lake with a minimum number of people and cost and how they run the municipality with a short municipal meeting one day a month. Many questions were asked by our members. Thanks to Susan de Schulthess and Michel Trudel for sharing their experience with us.   

• Lake Study:  As most you know, in 2009  ‘Les Amis du Lac’ commissioned an environmental study of Sixteen Island Lake, the purpose of which was to obtain objective information, which in turn would allow us to make fact based decisions regarding the protection of our environment.

This study, assigned to the environmental firm Biofilia (assisted by many lake volunteers), is ongoing. The first report was tabled in the summer of 2010; the second report is due this spring (available to members on request).

Summarily, the areas of study included: The characterisation of the littoral zone (the area of submerged shore visible to the naked eye) and the buffer strip shoreline (bande riveraine).

• The examination of potential and existing spawning beds of grey and brook trout.
• The identification and density of aquatic plants, in particular the areas populated by the highly invasive Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum; these plants spread when propellers chop them; each small piece sprouts a new plant. Several Laurentian lakes are choking with them).
• The determination of the age of our lake (young [oligotrophic], vs. mid-life [mesotrophic], vs. old [eutrophic]) by measuring water temperature, turbidity, concentrations of phosphorous, oxygen, chlorophyll a, and pH in water samples at several locations in the lake. These measurements were combined with existing data dating back to the seventies.
• The measurement of Periphyton algae (that brown carpeting growth covering submerged rocks and tree trunks ..), also a health indicator and age predictor.

The results of the first study were presented to the municipal council in July 2010. This presentation sparked keen interest by the mayor and the councillors. At the urging of “Les Amis du Lac”, they decided to embark on a comprehensive environmental study to include all 5 bodies of water of the municipality (lac des Seize-Îles, passage des Grenouilles, baie des Sœurs, and lacs Wonish, du Grand Héron and Laurel) and the water shed.

In order to implement this, a committee was selected to formulate a quotation request (“Devis”). Committee members (Lucie Robillard, Denise Cloutier, Richard Lessard, Corina Lupu, plus on occasion Joël Badestecher from the M.R.C.) met several times from November 2010 to January 2011.

The Final form of the Devis was presented for tenders and these will be presented to council for budget approval.  Hopefully, and if all is conducted by the municipality with due diligence, this study will be completed by December 2012.

Corina Lupu

A special thanks to Corina Lupu for her continuing work for the Environmental Study of Sixteen Island Lake. Also to Lucie Robillard  Barbeau who has worked on this study and previous lake water studies and is presently our representative to the South Rouge River Watershed Organization. Sixteen Island Lake is in the Rouge watershed.

Youth bat project

Thanks to Marty and Alison Timusk for initiating the Bat project with the children. They presented a power point with lots of great photos of bats. Then the children assembled bat houses. There are now 18 single chamber bat houses around the lake and their locations are plotted on a map. It is planned to keep a count of the bats in residence each year. Friends/Amis helped with a donation for materials from the Tom Clasper Fund and will again participate with their 2011 project which will be on birds. This is a wonderful opportunity for all the children to learn about our environment.

Community

Le Station:

As most of you will have heard the Station store was sold late last year to Patrice Gouyet.  Patrice and his wife are bilingual. They are from France originally but have spent several years traveling the world.  In particular they lived in Bora Bora in the south Pacific for the last several years.   Having young kids and a desire to raise them in a different environment, they came to settle in St. Agathe about two years ago.  They fell in love with the lower Laurentians and decided to make this wonderful location their permanent home.

Patrice began his search to buy a small country store in late summer and found La Station through an ad Sylvie had placed.  Needless to say, one look at the charming setting and business and he was hooked.  He has been operating the store through the winter and is very much looking forward to the spring and the return of his seasonal cottage clients. Patrice’s passion for area and his desire to keep the country store feel make him an excellent addition to our community as the new store operator.

Patrice and his staff will continue to bring the familiar personal touch to the operation and will offer the same services that we have been used to over the past years. In addition the restaurant is open for business again serving breakfast from 7:30 am and lunch. He will also carry spring garden supplies.

Patrice would like to accommodate our community by offering products that we’d like him to carry in the store.  In particular, breakfast items, groceries, bread, meats/sausages, dairy products, any alcohol (wine, liquor, beer or liquers) or magazines/newspapers. He would like your suggestions at [email protected] The Station is a vital part of life at Sixteen Island Lake – more than a store; it is a community resource and meeting place. Patrice is committed to the store and the community. He will need our continued patronage and support.

Bill Clelland.

Calendars

Tim Boswell has once again produced a beautiful Lake calendar for 2012. Special thanks to Tim for his continued hard work. He takes photos, does the graphics, does the production layout and arranges for the printing of the beautiful lake calendars each year. Thanks to all who have sent photos to Tim and thanks to Hal Myers who each year takes stunning photos of the Lake. Everybody is encouraged to take photos of the lake, its landscape and the flora and fauna and send them to Tim. Small cameras can take beautiful pictures.  However the resolution must be a minimum of 6 mega pixels. Penny Love will be handling sales: 450-226-8062.

Web site

In 2011 Friends /Amis commenced the first stages in the development of a new website to be launched later this year.  The website will be home to urgent news bulletins requiring the attention of the membership; current updates on matters that are deemed ‘At Issue’; minutes of past Annual General Meetings; interesting and informative articles; and links to organizations and services of local interest. The plan is to launch the site in a simple format so that it may be easily managed and serve the membership with the information they need.  Your executive will keep you posted when the site is officially launched.

Geoff Cresswell

Thanks to Geoff Cresswell, Clea Mittag and Ken Calder and their hard work on our new Friends/Amis web site.

Membership

Thanks to all who joined the association in 2010. Our offer of a three year membership proved popular. Three year members will be notified when their renewal date comes up. It cannot beemphasized enough how important all our members are to the Lake. Please encourage your friends and neighbors to join. Our legitimacy as an association representing all the municipality is reflected in our numbers . Enclosed in this packet is a 2011 membership form and return envelope.

Mary Campbell

Annual General Meeting 2011

The Amis du Lac/ Friends of the Lake  Annual General Membership Meeting is Friday July 15^th at 7.00 pm at the municipal building.

Calendars will be available for sale to members at the meeting.

Friends/Amis wishes everyone a safe and active summer, filled with sunshine and lots of family and friends!

Newsletter 2010

President’s Message

Once again Friends/Amis had a busy year at Sixteen Island Lake. In 2009, the ice went out on April 22, which is a little earlier than average for the Lake. Discussions were already under way concerning the municipality and the planning of the Friends/Amis photo calendar. This was quickly followed by the hydro line problem and the early testing of the lake water. The municipal scene was particularly busy ending with the election in November. Our volunteers continued to do an outstanding job with the environment, where most of the work is hands on. Also a number of our members participated in planning and municipal meetings held at the lake and many responded to our email survey concerning the shoreline setback . The first information outreach concerning land trusts was completed thanks to Dave and Lisa Logan, and of course there was the wonderful success of the Station becoming the first land preservation under the direction of the “Gestion 16” group.

The second best way to protect the future of the lake after land trusts is to have a good urban plan with the associated by laws. Many Laurentien communities have conducted major reviews of their Urban Plans in recent years and revised their bylaws accordingly. It is felt that our municipality of Sixteen Island Lake is in need of a major review as suggested in the recommendations, “A Vision for the Future”, submitted by Friends/Amis to the council.

This spring (2010) the ice went out on April 8th the second earliest on record for the past 73 years. (The earliest on record was April 5th ,1945). Could this be due to global warming?? In any case, it does open the lake up to a longer warming season.

We look forward to another very active summer.

Chris Campbell
[email protected]

Municipal

Friends/Amis had previously requested that the council pass a bylaw regulating the launching of boats on Sixteen Island Lake. The request was to have the regulation be similar to the Ste. Adolphe bylaw which had been successfully tested in the courts. The council passed Regulation 160 requiring that the launching of boats be restricted to the municipal launch site in the village. Details of enforcement are being worked on. Thanks to Bill Clelland, George Calder and Richard Lessard for their hard work on this.

Last November Mr. Luc Lamont (former councilor) was elected Mayor. The six councilor positions where uncontested. George Calder and Richard Lessard are returning councilors and the new councilors are Denis Charlebois, France Robillard Pariseau, Rene Pelletier, and Francoise Tasse. We thank all of them for offering their time and effort to see that the Municipality is well run and that the Lake and its watershed remain unspoiled for future generations.

Quebec law requires that the first 10 meters back from the shore line remain undisturbed in order to protect the lake. A number of years ago many municipalities, including Sixteen Island Lake, passed a bylaw extending the protection zone to 15 meters. This fall the new council decided to consider a request to reduce the protected zone to 10 meters. Friends /Amis polled our members with the result that a majority of respondents favored leaving the protected zone at 15 meters. These results were sent to the council. Unfortunately, the council decided to reduce the protected zone to 10 meters.

There was a request for a bylaw variance (derogation) to permit a helicopter landing site on or near Hawthorne Island. Had it not been for the prompt action by council member Calder, this derogation may well have been approved without the knowledge of the lake residents. As a result of our association’s notice to our membership, there was an excellent email response by members to the municipal council requesting that the helicopter not be permitted to land on or near the island. Also a special thanks to the many members who made the trip to Laurel in March to attend the Council meeting and to speak out against the proposal. You all made a difference, not only concerning this specific derogation but it also served as a statement that we all want to preserve the Lake and its watershed.

The municipality of Sixteen Island Lake has been classified as a “milieu défavourisé” (community in need) and funds have been made available from the Quebec Government to our MRC to study the situation and make recommendations. Friends/Amis submitted recommendations titled “A Vision for the Future” to the mayor and the council and to a meeting of citizens held in February. The “A Vision for the Future” paper discusses the critical need for planning for the future. Thanks to Jacques Causse for attending the meeting on behalf of Friends/Amis. The complete paper is included at the end of this newsletter.

Environment (Penny Love)

The survey of the condition of the lake water continued over this past year by Lucie Barbeau and her assistants. This survey, funded by the municipality, is developing a history of the health of the lake water and pointing out the areas of the watershed that are in distress.

Friends/Amis hired Biofilia in 2009 to research and inventory the littoral zone of the lake. Spawning beds were inspected by a team of scuba divers at specific times during the summer of 2009. The last portion of the initial study is to take place in the spring of 2010.
The Biofilia team is processing the data collected and it will be used to help determine and predict the health of the lake and what action is required to preserve and/or restore the littoral zone. They will report to Friends/Amis this summer and it will help set a direction for the season of 2010-11. It is hoped that we may be able to access grants from the Quebec government to assist us in these ongoing studies of Sixteen Island Lake.

Many thanks to Corina Lupu and her team: Lucie Robilliard Barbeau, Marg Meldrum, Janet Logan, Suzanne Causse and Hal Myers for their help with this very important project.

To assist with the project to study the health of the lake, Friends/Amis is asking fishermen to complete a brief survey when they catch fish on Sixteen Island Lake. This questionnaire is purely to help determine the types and numbers of fish being caught and the approximate location. This information will help to identify sensitive spawning zones and indicate the state of fish life in our lake. The survey forms will be available at the parking lot and we are asking Eric to help with their distribution. There will be a drop box at the municipal building by the boat ramp.

Friends/Amis is a member of this regional environment council. Its focus is to promote sustainable development, to protect the environment and to encourage collaboration in these efforts in the Laurentians. Their website: www.crelaurentides.org

In the spring of 2009, it was discovered that a contractor working for Hydro Quebec had severely damaged the area under the power lines and through the woods on the southeast side of the lake. The damage included trees cut for bypass through the woods, compromised drainage and muddy runoff into the lake. Friends/Amis was able to get the work stopped just before damage was done to the wetland area at Beaver Creek. A public meeting was held with Hydro, the municipality, and residents from the lake. The contractor did some repair work to the damaged land and an effort was made to keep the muddy water from running into the lake. The work of replacing the hydro poles on the northeast end of the lake has not been restarted.

Land use (Dave Logan)

Our land use committee requested that the municipality revise the zoning bylaw to increase the lot size and waterfront required for all residents, lake and village. This was done to a limited extent. We also talked about the advantage of land trusts and servitudes as a method of establishing permanent protection for the future of the Lake as compared to bylaws that can be revised at any time. This year in the continuing effort to protect and preserve to lake and watershed, the Land Use committee sent a letter and book to many lake residents informing them about land trusts and servitudes as an excellent approach to preserve the lake for future generations. Sixteen Island Lake is in an area targeted for preservation by The Nature Conservancy of Canada and there have been recent land trusts completed at nearby lakes. If you would like to receive these publications and/or discuss the advantages of land trusts please call Dave Logan 450-226-8939 or Chris Campbell 450-226-8939.

2009 saw the first major success in the preservation of property at Sixteen Island Lake. Thanks to the vision and hard work of Phil Deschamp, Bill Cleland, and Ross Hamilton, and to all the residents of the community who stepped up and purchased shares of “Gestion 16”, the “Station” general store and property have been preserved for future generations. Additional good news is that Sylvie Tasse has agreed to continue the operation of the Station. This is a wonderful example of the community pulling together to preserve what is good for Sixteen Island Lake. Let’s all support The Station.

Membership (Mary Campbell)

Our membership numbers were, once again, strong in 2009 with 108 memberships representing 197 members. Your support of the lake association has united residents in a new way. It helped get the word out to everyone several times this year, when your participation in municipal affairs was crucial. Now that we have joined together with a common purpose, much can be achieved to protect and preserve our beautiful lake.

For your convenience, we have added the option of a three year membership to our membership form. We hope you will print up the form and drop it in the mail! We look forward to seeing you at the Annual General Meeting on July 16.

Calendars

Once again Tim Boswell did a superb job at producing the beautiful Lake Calendar. From photos to finished calendars, we owe Tim our thanks. Also thanks to all the Lake photographers who gave us great photos from which the 38 photos in the calendar were selected. All 200 calendars were sold making them the largest contributor to Friends/Amis. Look for the 2011 Calendar with beautiful lake photos again this summer. Thanks, Tim, for your great contribution.

Volunteers

An organization such as Fiends/Amis depends on volunteers. I would like to offer a special thanks to Lucie Robillard Barbeau for the work she has done to preserve our lake in recent years. Lucie as a councilor initiated a long term study of the lake water, found the experts and the funding and with the help of others sampled the lake water through the year and sent them out for analysis. When the study of the littoral zone was initiated by Corina Lupu, Lucie offered to help with the scuba diving necessary to make the measurements and observations. Over the years she has attended many meetings and conferences concerning the environment in the Laurentiens and she identified the blue green algae when it occurred in Sixteen Island Lake. She is a dedicated environmentalist for the benefit of our lake. Friends/Amis would like to offer a special thank you to Lucie for her dedication.

The Annual General Meeting will be held at the Municipal Center on Friday July 16th at 7.00 P.M.
The invited speaker will be Mr. Michel Trudel, director general from Bark Lake. Bark Lake has recently made many changes. They have had the help of the environmental firm Biofilia and the engineering firm Apur to study their watershed and lake environment and recommend changes including an urbanism plan and bylaws. All members and friends are invited to hear of Bark Lake’s vision and how they have proceeded to made changes to achieve it.

Friends/Amis wishes everyone a safe summer filled with family and friends!

Newsletter 2009

The Presidents Message

As we look back on 2008 we see that once again Friends/Amis had an active year. Members participated in a number of environmental, municipal and land use activities.

• Green Day was well attended with a return by Mr. Lapalme
• The Friends/ Amis lake calendars and tote bags were introduced.
• The land use committee presented a position paper concerning lot sizes.
• Members actively participated in the municipal hearing on the amalgamation of the municipality of Sixteen Island Lake into Montcalm and Wentworth North.
• The annual general meeting was held in August.
• Member volunteers assisted with the building of the parking lot wall.
• Lucie Barbeau and Corina Lupu continued the municipal lake water testing program.
• In September Friends/Amis submitted recommendations and discussed with the municipal council areas of greatest concern.

Municipal

Councilor George Calder has worked diligently to re-establish vote by mail for the municipality of Sixteen Island Lake. As a result the provincial government voted to change the election language to permit vote by mail. The language has been prepared and now has to be voted on by the legislature in Quebec. Friends/Amis wrote Mme Nathalie Normandeau, Minister of Municipal affairs and Vice Prime Minister of Quebec and our representative David Whissel to ask for help in getting the legislature to vote on the changes before they leave for summer break. The concern is that if the changes languish over the summer it will be too late for the upcoming fall elections or worse yet will never be brought up for a vote.

Municipal elections are scheduled for November 1st, 2009. In order to participate seasonal residents must be registered at the municipal office. Seasonal residents may have to fill out and return a “formula” in order to vote by mail. Identification will be required to vote. Permanent residents of Quebec require a current Quebec driver’s license. A current Canadian Passport is required for those who are not permanent residents in the province of Quebec. Friends/Amis will keep members posted as developments occur.

A public hearing was held by the municipality in July concerning a petition that was being circulated by some residents. The petition requested that the municipality be amalgamated with an adjacent municipality of either Montcalm or Wentworth North. Friends/Amis submitted a position paper at the meeting that took the position that the Municipality of Sixteen Island Lake should remain as a separate municipality and not be annexed by another municipality. After vigorous discussion by many residents, Mr. Pieter Folmer and Mr. Claude Lemire offered to form an adhoc committee to hold discussions with representatives from both camps. Three meetings were held and a submission with recommendations was made to the Mayor and Council. The primary recommendation was to reduce spending and taxes. As a result of these efforts there no longer appears to be a desire on the part of the petitioners to amalgamate with another municipality.

There had been an extraordinary run up in municipal spending over the previous three years in spite of requests by Friends/Amis for moderation. Then the citizen’s petition for amalgamation sent a message to the administration that was difficult to ignore. As a result the municipal budget for 2009 has been reduced from $798,011 for the 2008 Budget to $642,705 for the 2009 Budget. Some of the one time projects have been paid for and are now completed or soon will be. Additional funding for some projects has been obtained from other government sources. Friends/Amis continues to encourage the council to control expenditures.

In January 2009 a decision was handed down by the Quebec superior court on the Ste. Adolphe d’ Howard case concerning launching boats from private property. The ruling favored the Ste. Adolphe position that launching of boats could be restricted to specific municipal launching points and that launching of boats over private property was not allowed. Over the past few years Friends/Amis has asked the municipality of Sixteen Island Lake to restrict the launching of boats to the municipal launching site. Their response has been that they would wait until a ruling was available from the Ste. Adolphe case. With the courts having ruled in Ste. Adolphe’s favour Friends/Amis will once again request that boat launching be restricted the supervised municipal ramp.

Environment

The 2009 16 Island Lake summer season is not far off. Our lake is changing. We know from the experience of our lake and other Laurentian lakes that our lake is not immune to pollution problems. We know that we must all be stewards of preservation for our lake by following some simple rules:

• Use only phosphate free products
• Keep our shorelines healthy through natural plantings to absorb and balance any toxins
• Ensure septic systems are functioning properly
• Do not over develop the watershed

Environmental statistics in Canada show that approximately 30% of all lake pollution is caused by badly managed septic systems.

Encourage your neighbors and lake residents to become members of Friends/Amis so we are all getting the same message to protect our paradise. It takes years before a lake shows the effects of human activity. Let’s not wait until it is too late.

There will be another Green Day held this summer in July with a focus on environmental tips and composting. Green day was well attended last summer and Mr. Lapalme presented the results to date of the water quality study of the lake. Literature on the lake aquatic systems was distributed and many folks took home trees to plant.

The water quality of the lake will continue to be monitored with water testing thanks to Lucie Barbeau and Corina Lupu.

Congratulations George Calder for the great job of organizing and building the parking lot wall with plant beds. Also many thanks to all the volunteers who donated their hard work building the wall. This spring under the direction of Geoff Cresswell the beds will be planted. The wall will resolve much of the problem of erosion run off from the parking lot into the lake. A second wall is planned for the parking lot this summer and volunteers will once again be required.

Get involved in Friends/Amis lake association

Assess the lake’s health with the CRE web site which you can visit online at: www.crelaurentides.org.
Go to publications, then select English or French for an excellent lake pamphlet, or a shore line plantings pamphlet.

Land use Committee
Friends/ Amis were saddened by the sudden loss of member Bob Wilson. Bob grew up summering at the family cottage on the lake. As a lawyer and an active member of the land use committee, Bob contributed to the preservation of the lake, particularly through his desire to have municipal bylaws that protect the lake and its environment. We offer our condolences to the Wilson Family.

In July the Land use Committee made a presentation to the council as part of a municipal public hearing on revisions to the zoning bylaw. Presentations were submitted by Dave Logan, Bill Meldrum, Vincent Causse, and Chris Campbell. Friends/Amis recommended that minimum size required for municipal lots be increased and that frontage be a minimum of 120 meters. Numerous individual members also spoke at the hearing. At the recent May meeting the council approved changes to the zoning bylaw. We have not received the official changes from the municipality but we understand that the minimum lot dimensions were not increased substantially. For most of the zones the minimum frontage was 50meters (164ft) and has now been increased to 65meters (213ft). The minimum area was 4000 sq m is now increased to 8000 sq m.

The Quebec municipal code requires that to build a residence (cottage) the property must be accessible by road. The MRC des Payes-D’en-Haut at the request of the Municipality of Sixteen Island Lake asked the Quebec Government for an exemption from this requirement. Quebec turned down the initial request for an exemption but said that if there were extenuating circumstances they might reconsider. The MRC held a public hearing at the Sixteen Island Lake municipal hall on April 7th, 2009. Friends Amis sent a submission detailing support for the variance. A number of lake residents also sent letters of support. It is our understanding that at the April MRC monthly meeting one of the municipal mayors on the MRC objected to the request and convinced two more of the mayors to change their minds. The MRC decision on whether to make another submission to Quebec was then postponed until the May 12th public monthly meeting of the MRC. Friends/Amis sent a letter to all the mayors of the MRC explaining the association’s position. Fortunately at their May meeting the mayors voted to support another request to Quebec for a variance. Friends/Amis will continue to follow developments.

The land use committee seeks to preserve the lakes, streams and forests within the Sixteen Island Lake watershed for the future. The first approach is to work with the municipal council to establish bylaws that protect the environment. Laws that have a direct effect on the lake and its ecosystem are constantly being added, deleted or modified by Quebec government, the MRC, the municipality, and the courts. The land use committee responds to these changes as they become aware of them. Position papers are submitted on proposed changes such as the recent public hearings on municipal lot size zoning, the MRC lake roads, and the size of boat houses. The next step will be to recommend changes to existing bylaws or propose new bylaws that offer greater protection. Good bylaws are the important first line of defense in protecting the environment.

Unfortunately bylaws can be changed depending on the personal objectives and agendas of present and future elected officials. However, there is a more permanent solution available to protect the lake and watershed. Establishing land trusts and conservation easements offers an effective method to assure that the land and lake will always be protected regardless of the municipal politics.

Cottages, the lake, and the healthy watershed can be effectively preserved for future generations with trusts. Some lakes in the Laurentians have set up such trusts and there are a large number of trusts throughout Quebec and the rest of Canada. The land use committee would like to introduce the concept of land trusts as a method of long term protection for the lake. Friends/Amis hopes to start a discussion on how land trusts can be an effective way to protect the Lake and watershed over the long term and to provide information and a method to establish a trust for the Lake. For more information visit the Canadian Government website www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/ecogifts. More discussions on land trusts will be forthcoming.

Once again, in 2008 there was excellent support from our community for Friends/Amis. Our membership was up from 2007, ending the season with 110 memberships, representing 200 members. We had more than 20 first time memberships and we hope to continue to see our organization grow in this very important election year.

Your commitment and involvement is very important and we look forward to working together to protect and preserve our beautiful community. Tell your friends and neighbors about us and encourage them to sign up!!
The 2009 membership form is attached to this newsletter for your convenience.

Activities for 2009

• Green day is scheduled at the municipal hall on July 4th at 10:00 AM.
• The 2010 Friends/Amis Lake Calendar by Tim Boswell will be for sale starting in late June. They were a sold out success last year.
• A nature hike up Blueberry Mountain is planned for the youngsters, with their parents, under the direction of Bob Zinck. Look for the date and details on the bulletin boards.
• We would like to ask folks to send us nature photos taken in the Sixteen Island watershed. These photos will be used for the annual calendar. The only requirements are that they be taken within the Sixteen Island Lake watershed or immediate area, that they have a minimum resolution of 6 mega pixels, and that Friends/Amis is permitted to use them. Please contact Tim Boswell or Chris Campbell.

2009 is an election year. Friends/Amis will be keeping abreast of developments and keeping members informed. Consider running for Council or Mayor. Do not delay getting your passport if you do not have one. It takes time.

• Friends/Amis requires assistance with our communications committee.
• Help is needed in translating our newsletters and emails. These are not complicated translations. Friend/ Amis would pay by the page. If you know of anyone who does translating please let us know. We would also like to have a pool of members willing to translate small, time sensitive items. If we have a big enough list, we may only call on you once every year or two.
• Help is needed in setting up a simple web site.

Please contact:
Penny Love [email protected] 450-226-8062 or
Chris Campbell [email protected] 450-226-6727 (lake), 901-527-1582 (home)

Lac des Seize Iles will be holding municipal elections in November, 2009. Our goal is to get everyone to register to vote.

• If you are a resident of Quebec, you will need a piece of provincial identification, such as a driver’s license, to register.
• If you live outside of Quebec, you must have a Canadian passport to register to vote.
• Only Canadian citizens may vote.
• There is one vote per property for seasonal residents. Only the property owner may vote. If more than one person owns the property, you must designate one person to represent your ownership group.

Voting is a right and a responsibility. We urge everyone to be proactive and to help “get out the vote”.

Friends/Amis wishes everyone an active, happy and safe summer!

Newsletter 2007

February 20^th  2007

Greetings to Members of Friends/Amis du Lac du Seize Iles:

I have just returned from a week’s visit to the lake which was a winter wonderland. The weather was brisk, the sky was clear, the woods perfect for snowshoeing and the road down the middle of the lake was in full swing. During the visit I had the opportunity to meet and talk with a number of folks.

Last October Claude Lorange and I on behalf of Friends/Amis presented a Submission to the Municipal Council at their monthly caucus. It was a review and recommendations from the presentations to the council by members of Friends/Amis during meetings this summer. The submission was done prior to the preparation of the municipal budget. In the interest of brevity only the main items areas of concern are presented here.

Municipal taxes and budget: Concern was expressed with the large increase in evaluations and the need to reduce the tax rate so the budget and hence taxes would not increase at a rate that exceeds the rate of inflation.

Environment:  Determine the present environmental condition of the Lake and develop a plan. Inspection of septic systems and prepare a plan to deal with noncompliant systems. Promote natural shoreline plantings.

Infrastructure: Effective boat and trailer washing program. Launching at main ramp only. Increase launching charges for nonresidents. Conduct a study of boating on Lac Laurel. Better signage on and at the ends of the lake. Modify the parking lot layout for better security, improved environmental design, and additional parking. Develop a method to better control the water level of the lake.

Land Use: Improve the CCU that reviews the requests for bylaw variances. Make a variance a rare exception. Improve enforcement to code of building permits. Hold contractors as well as owners responsible for not abiding to the bylaws or code. Prohibit roads closer than 15 meters to the lake.

During the visit to the Lake, Claude Lorange and I had the opportunity to meet and discuss a number of priorities and scheduling for Friends/Amis for the coming year.

Lucie Barbeau our councilor and I met briefly prior to the monthly municipal council meeting and we discussed the new municipal environment committee. This committee consists of Lucie Barbeau – Chair, Claude Lorange, Jacques Causse, Corina Lupu, and Roger Lyrette. Four of the five members are also members of Friends/Amis environment committee, thus we have the opportunity to work together with the municipality in an area of primary concern to the lake. The 2007 municipal budget includes $8000 for a lake water quality study and natural shore plantings and $4000 for routine annual water quality testing. These two budget items will be coordinated to get the maximum results for money spent.

George Calder, councilor, Claude Pelletier (snow removal contractor), Sylvain (municipal maintenance) and Chris Campbell met to discuss implementing the revisions to the municipal parking lot as proposed by Friends/Amis infrastructure committee.

It is my understanding from the municipal meeting that the CCU has increased representatives by one additional person and the lake will be well represented.

Here is Mrs Barbeau’s report:

Greetings to all of you,

Nature is waking up, water is flowing once again, ice is retreating, it feels like spring…

Back in 2006, the municipality consulted an aquatic ecologist, Mr Robert lapalme, to put together a report afetr a day of observation on Sixteen Island and Laurel Lake.

A brief overview for the Summer of 2007:

In order to get a health check of the lakes over many years.

(Phosphorus, oxygen, color, fecal coliform bacteria counts, iron) remote monitring, data analysis by Mr Lapalme.)

Saturday, May 19th 2007, Mr Lapalme will come for 1 day to train a group of volunteers on how to use the measuring instruments:

• pH-meter
• Oxymeter
• Secchi Disk
• Sampling bottles
• establish the permanent sampling stations on the lakes
• collect the first round of data
• adjust the calendar of the season
• fill out the data notebook.

Note to interrested parties, Mr Lapalme will be available early in the afternoon at the villagers to meet with people of the lake (time to be determined)

Did you think about the plantings?

At the beginning of July 2007, the municipality will start planting vegetation on a part of the road in the village. Here are some herbaceous perennials that do well in our region:

• New England aster
• Joe-Pye Weed
• cut leaved rudbeckia
• Umbrellate aster
• Canada reed grass
• Tuffed hair grass

…and here are some options for shrubs:

• Canada elder
• Cargo leaved meadow sweet
• Highbrush cranberry
• Dog wood
• Sweet gale
• Rough rose

Thanks and see you soon

Lucie Robillard Barbeau

Mayor Joanne Fandrich, George Calder and Chris Campbell met with a representative of the MRC to clarify the municipality’s role with the new 30% slope law. The next important date for those who plan to build on property of a slope of 30% or greater is the fourth week of October 2007 by which time permits to subdivide must be completed.

Pieter Folmer and Chris Campbell of the municipal committee met for a first look at the details of the 2007 municipal budget. The 2007 budget has increased by $170,910 or 33.27% over the 2006 budget. The expenditures in 2006 were $543,390 or $29,640 (5.77%) above the 2006 budget. A review of the municipal budget will be presented in the spring newsletter. The increase in the municipal budget for 2007 is very large.  The role of Friends/Amis is to scrutinize the budget and voice our suggestions to the council. This was done with the Submission to the Municipal Council and through emails last fall by our members to the council. They expressed concern over the large increase in evaluations and they requested that taxes not increase more than the rate of inflation (3%). It is my understanding that these emails were read by the council and consideration was given to the Submission. I believe that the council debate has been rigorous. However the results of our efforts were not totally satisfactory and much work remains to be done. Friends/Amis will continue to scrutinize budgets and maintain a dialogue with the council in an attempt to moderate municipal spending and taxes.

I have received emails concerning the municipal bulletin and individual tax statements. Specific questions should be addressed to the municipal office or the MRC. However the following is my understanding on some of the questions.

The Municipal Bulletin that came with the tax bill shows the 2007 budget was increased by approximately 33.27%. It is my understanding that some of the existing surplus has been used to cover part of the increased 2007 budget. Also some funds for specific projects have been awarded to the municipality by the federal or provincial governments on a 75%/25% bases.

A program has been started to pay some of the budget items as fixed cost per property rather than assessment. This has been done to make the relationship of taxes paid for services received more equitable. For the same reason a small part of the costs for each of the police (SQ) $53.37, the fire fighting service $19.79, and the MRC $24.02 are shown on the tax bill as unit cost, not an assessed cost. This tends to have a greater effect on properties with lower assessments and on individuals that own a number of separate undeveloped properties, a situation that is not prevalent on the lake.

The civic number is a charge of $25 per year for two years for a total of $50 per property. This is for street names and house or property numbers to be placed on all properties as required by law for emergency response. Residents of the village and 16IL south also have an additional charge of $34 per year for two years for blue recycle bins. I consider the civic numbers and the blue bins to be a one time (2 years) situation and do not consider them as part of the taxes when calculating the increase.

There is no doubt that lake property values have increased substantially with the recent reevaluations both on Sixteen Island and on other lakes in the Laurentians. If you feel your property has been unfairly assessed you should contact the MRC (450-229-6637) and ask for the French or English form “ Application for review of the Real Estate Assessment Roll”. The form says that you must state the grounds invoked. You have until the end of April to send in your request and it costs $60.

I have been impressed with how hard the municipal council has been working. In particular Lucie Barbeau, George Calder and Richard Lessard who have devoted a lot of their time this past year under what at times were very difficult conditions. As a result I believe there will be positive changes for the lake in 2007.

Look for the spring letter from Friends/Amis in late April.

Have a healthy winter and spring.

Chris Campbell

PS. For pictures of the lake taken last week go to lacdesseizeiles.blogspot.com. First two photos are Donald Smithers. His boat was in the water until after Christmas.  A record??