Copake Lake Conservation Society

2016 Annual Meeting: Report

The Annual Meeting of the Copake Lake Conservation Society (CLCS) took place on July 9, 2016 at the Copake Town Hall.

In addition to the Board Members and Advisors, there were 57 CLCS members in attendance, up from 52 last year. We were gratified to see many new faces in the room.

CLCS Recognition Award: Cherie Berk presented Dominick "Buddy" Sinisi with the CLCS Recognition Award for his exceptional service and dedication to our lake community in his years as both the owner of the Lighthouse Marina and past President of CLCS. As part of her remarks Cherie Berk stressed the need for volunteers to help carry on the goals of the Copake Lake Conservation Society.

buddy sinisi 2016 award

​Elections: Jed Luchow presented this year's slate of Board of Trustee nominations. The following trustees were approved unanimously for two-year terms: Cherie Berk, Fred Bunger, David Craw, Eileen Faranda, Lindsay LeBrecht, Maria Powers, Debra Ruggieri, Stu Troyetsky, Edward Werfelman.


COMMUNICATIONS:
Newsletter: For the sixth time since 2004 the excellence of our Lake Newsletter has been recognized by t he New York State Federation of Lake Associations (NYSFOLA), winning Third Place in the "Medium-Sized" lake category, which includes lakes as large as Saratoga Lake. Congratulations to the Newsletter Committee responsible for publishing the newsletter, including Editor Jed Luchow, Sharon Luchow, Joyce Craw, Barbara Rindler and Anne Weisholtz. It is a pleasure to see their hard work recognized once again. Our newsletter sets a standard to which other lakes aspire.

Electronic Communications: Communications Committee Chairman Jim Murphy gave the report about our Electronic Communications: Website, Email Communications and Facebook page. In general, the relevance of our communications to the lake community is very high, with approximately 2/3 of all recipients opening our emails, and hundreds of users reached by our most popular Facebook posts. The brief Powerpoint presentation illuminated the profiles of our various users, including the fact that we have followers all over the world!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS PRESENTATION.

Lake Management: The Lake Management Committee presentation was led by Chairman Fred Bunger, enhanced by a Powerpoint presentation by Keith Schaefer and our limnologist (fresh water scientist) George Knoeklein. Their presentation showed that our lake is in constant change and that the Lake Management team plan ahead each year based on what the lake has taught us the previous summer, as well as trend data accumulated over previous years. The lake continues to be in much better condition today than in years gone by due to their diligence.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW LAKE MANAGEMENT PRESENTATION.

​Other topics of discussion included:

  • ​The need for more volunteers to help in our efforts to maintain Copake Lake.
  • ​Water Safety: It was pointed out that the #1 cause of boating accidents is large wakes. Boaters are reminded to always be aware of both small and large craft in your vicinity.
  • ​The Boating Safety Course was well attended in May. It will be offered again next year, but we need members to sign up earlier to guarantee that the Sheriff's office will continue to offer this specific, local course for the convenience of Copake Lake residents. This course is also now available online for those born after 5/1/96.
  • ​The majority of the meeting involved issues of water levels and erosion, the control of invasive species and non-native vegetation, monitoring the different types of algae that appear during the season, storm water run-off, and bacteria testing.
  • ​Lindsay LeBrecht poke about the carp population and Carp-ageddon, the fishing group that come periodically to try and catch them. Carp are invasive to our lake and feed on fish eggs and small fish so therefore impact our fish population.
  • ​The summer fireworks (a non-CLCS event that is organized by Denise Chickery) will take place on Saturday, August 20th at 9:30pm. Members may contact Denise directly (DChick1125@aol.com) to contribute to help cover the cost of this annual event.
  • ​The CLCS Labor Day Raffle Drawing will take place at 11am on Sunday, September 4th at the Lighthouse. Tickets are available throughout the season for a chance to win a $1000 grand prize. For tickets, contact Debbie Ruggieri by phone at 518-325-4747 or by email copakeelakee@verizon.net or contact any Board Member.
  • ​T-shirts are still available for purchase. Contact Jim Murphy at 518-325-1261.
  • ​CLCS President Debbie Ruggieri thanked the community for their attendance, continuing support of the CLCS and all their efforts to make our beloved Copake Lake all it can be.
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