Newsletter 2007

February 20th  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??

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