THREE
MILE
P. O.
SPRING NEWSLETTER 2004
THREE MILE LAKE ASSOCIATION ALL
OF US
We need the support of
everyone on the lake.
WHY ?
Without a substantial Association
the interests of Three Mile Lakers are left vulnerable.
The lake has been challenged
repeatedly by private commercial/industrial interests.
Let’s band together as a group and
continue to retain our real-estate reputation as a “prestigious
Are you interested in issues
associated with: noise, pollution, real-estate, road conditions, boating
regulations, buoys, water quality, wildlife, rentals, cottage etiquette, gravel
pits, trailer parks, taxes, elections, road safety, drinking water, garbage
disposal or any other like concerns?
If so, why
aren’t you a member?
We need all of
your voices!
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING SUNDAY JULY
4, 2004
Everyone is invited to the KATRINE COMMUNITY CENTRE for our
PICNIC/REGATTA/GOLF TOURNAMENT
The annual picnic/regatta is scheduled for Saturday, July
31. Volunteers are needed. Please contact Barb Leonard at
There will be information about the Golf Tournament at the general meeting or the picnic.
We would like to send a special thank you to Steve and Gail
Martin for all of their contributions to our annual picnics. Their
COTTAGE ETIQUETTE - for the care and concerned use of the cottage property!
Whatever the reasons for you going to the cottage, the hundreds of neighbours on the lake will be there for other reasons. It is a bit like going to a public park. For everyone to have a good time, respect needs to be shown to those public resources of space, air and water - by all.
Noise, or the lack of it, is one part of the cottage experience that grabs everyone’s attention. The silence of a morning on the dock, the cheers at a Bar BQ, all have their place and the trick is to know when that is. Sound travels great distances very easily at a cottage. Your directives and disciplinary dialogues will be public knowledge when conducted on the waterfront. Your early morning construction will be heard clearly by those trying to sleep in after a late night drive from the city. Those whose children are not sleeping after an exhausting day on the waterfront do not appreciate noisy Dock Parties. Please Be aware, and respectful!
Security lights, which cover doorways and parking spaces, stain a star-lit sky, which you don’t see in the city any more. That is another feature of the cottage experience, which never ceases to draw comment. Please see that your outside lights are properly directed to do the job they should, and not become an irritant to others. All near and far will appreciate using properly tuned motion sensors.
Boating and Fishing carry potential for happy memories and horrific tragedy. Please recognize the reality of this double-edged sword. Personal watercraft and water skiing may not be the choice of others nearby, or be seen a risk to swimmers large and small. You can do a lot to improve safety and neighbourhood relations by conducting those activities well out in the lake. Realize the need for appropriate documentation and other boating regulations. Take care to secure watercraft properly and for heaven’s sake, leave the boat at the dock if you have been drinking.
The public space and fishing
resource is at risk if even a single person dumps a bait bucket into the lake,
or launches a boat contaminated from another lake. There are so many new invaders that have
been discovered in the
Water use is probably the most private, but potent place for careful action. All that goes down the drain to the septic tank, will eventually escape to the soil, air and water around your vacation place. Septic tanks cannot handle sustained use by large numbers of guests. Phosphate free soaps, low flow toilets and showers, hand washing of dishes are all requirements of conservation that needs to be practiced by cottagers and their guests. This may sometimes require a change of practice from your city life, but realize that the space you are sparing, and caring for, is everyone’s now and for a long way into the future.
Bar BQ’s and outside fires need to be carefully used because of changing weather conditions and the forest environment where they are used. Camp fires in front of the tent, or fires to sit around at the end of the day, need special pits to prevent them escaping, while you are there, or after you’ve gone to bed. Be aware when high forest fire risk prohibits outside fires and always have adequate water on hand to put out the fire so that when you’ve doused your fire you aren’t afraid to run your hands through the ashes.
The uncleaned Bar BQ is an invitation to our four footed neighbours. While raccoons or chipmunks may be ‘cute’ casual companions, they can get used to the easy pickings, and become problems for later guests or neighbours with pets and small children. The attraction of bears and the like is not something you want to do. In fact, you need to be aware of the consequences of attracting any of the wildlife. Ducks congregating at your dock for meals will contaminate drinking and swimming facilities at your area and for many cottages in each direction.
Please use the cottage space and buildings with consideration and respect, which will ensure the continued enjoyment of so many. Those in the past have given you this wonderful place through their own care. Please continue the tradition!
Contact the Watson’s if you’d like to help in the monitoring of the lake environment.
Good news! Following the improved water testing procedures introduced last season; the MNR has stilled our worries about the source of what looked like elevated phosphate levels in June water sample. Microscopic beasties were slipping into the samples and pooping in the water before they reached the testing lab. New filters provided by MNR have eliminated the beasties, and water now shows levels consistently below 10 micrograms per litre (ug/L.).
Our vigilance continues with regular measuring of the water
clarity throughout the summer and we welcome any interested helpers to record
these values and interpret what they mean to neighbours and guests. Contact me at
PROPERTY ASSESSMENT
If you decide to appeal your property assessment, you need to provide reasons based upon market sales in your area, and assessments from equivalent properties. A large database of such information is now in hand and will be updated as needed and as information becomes available. It is worth your while to work at keeping your assessment values low as the chart below shows.
Of the
roughly 240 properties on
a) Not all the properties on one road are together in the Assessment Book and it is hard to find those which are detached from their neighbours.
b) Some properties have taken out building permits and so increases could be attributed to those improvements
c) Some properties were not assessed separately in the previous period and so could not be compared with an earlier value
Assessed
|
50, 000 or less |
50,001 to 100,000 |
100,001 to 150,000 |
150,001 to 200,000 |
200,001 plus |
0 to 8 |
9 to 17 |
18 to 26 |
27 to 35 |
36 plus |
|
Vacant lots = 5 |
|
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
60, some are vacant |
|
|
|
6 14 |
30 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
|
|
|
80 |
|
|
6 |
44 |
19 |
10 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
23 |
|
1 |
5 |
12 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
5 |
5 |
2 |
You can see that the higher your prior assessment was, the more likely you were to get a still higher assessment in 2004. Properties at 50,000-100,000 were most likely to see an increase of about 17% or less. Properties valued at over 200,000 were not in that low bracket and got increases from 18% - 36+%
New assessment values are sent out annually now, arriving in Nov-Dec. If you feel hard done by, you first ask for a Request for Reconsideration. If you aren’t happy with the results of that, or if the Municipal Property Assessment Corp. (MPAC) hasn’t dealt with your case promptly, you need to pay $50 before the end of March to contest it at a Review Board. If they eventually get around to talking to you and resolve things over the phone, you will get your $50 back, and taxes will be credited to you. If you continue to the Review Board, and if your Cottage Association membership is current, you have access to the information and strategies others have successfully used to keep their taxes down.
RAFTS
In the interest of public safety on the lake at night please ensure that any floating apparatus you place in the water is marked with reflectors on all sides. Also ensue that it doesn’t encroach on boating traffic. Some cottagers with shallow water are putting rafts far enough out to find deep water for diving forgetting about the hazard this creates for boaters.
SHOALS AND ROCKS
Tim Taylor is repairing and preparing to put out the blue buoys to mark some of the most dangerous rocks and shoals. REMEMBER NOT ALL ROCKS AND SHOALS ARE MARKED. The water level is higher in the spring making boating a little safer but as the level drops more of the rocks and shoals become more dangerous. Be careful. We are planning to put reflective markings on the buoys.
LOON PLATFORM
Tim Taylor, a man of many talents, has begun construction on our loon platform. If you would like more information on why the association is having one built please attend our annual meeting.
THREE MILE LAKE T-SHIRTS AND
SWEATSHIRTS
Sue and Al North have some fun shirts that help build community spirit. Gary Hollo donated the T-shirts. The T-shirts are $10 and the sweatshirts are $30. Proceeds are used to support the picnic/regatta/golf tournament. There will be some available to be purchased at the annual meeting.
NEWSLETTERS EMAILED
In order to cut down on our mailing costs we will be sending about 30 of our newsletters to those who requested emailed newsletters on last year’s membership form. We will have extra newsletters at the annual meeting if we are not successful.
BOATING OPERATOR COMPETENCY CARD
All operators born after April, 1983 must have a card by
All operators of craft under 4 m in
length, including personal watercraft must have a card by
All operators must have a card by
The operator card is good-for-life.
The Office of Boating Safety (OBS) is now part of
Transport
ATV BY-LAWS
Under Bill 11, effective July 31, 2003, municipalities may now also pass by-laws to decide if, where and when ATV’s can be used on local roads. If you are interested Reeve Thomas should be able to answer your questions at our annual meeting.
ASIAN LONG-HORNED
BEETLE –Help prevent the spread of this forest pest.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has established a regulated area (roughly encompassing the GTA) to prevent the spread of the Asian Long-horned Beetle (ALHB). The Asian Long-horned Beetle Infested Place Order prohibits the movement of any tree materials (including nursery stock, trees. leaves, logs, lumber, wood and including firewood all species) out of or through the regulated areas. While this insect presents no threat to public health, the beetle poses a significant risk to Canada’s trees and forests. The ALHB has no natural controls in North America that would prevent its spread, and prefers (but is not limited to) maple, poplar, willow, ash and other hardwood trees.
So far 15,000 host trees have been removed as part of the ALHB eradication plan.
How can you help? Do not move any regulated materials out of the regulated areas. While the ALHB has a slow natural spread, it will infest cottage country forests by way of hitchhiking with infested materials. Including firewood.
To find out more about the ALHB, to report signs of infestation, or if you have further questions, contact the CFIA’s toll-free line at 1-800-422-2342.
The following links have pictures of the Asian Long-horned Beetle
http://www.cfl.scf.rncan.gc.ca/CFL-LFC/what_we_do/research/longhorned.html
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/plaveg/protect/pestrava/asialong/asialonge.shtml
http://www.region.york.on.ca/Publications/News/Asian+Beetle+Fact+Sheet.htm
MEMBERSHIPS
Everyone is welcome to pay for more than one year if you wish to do so.
Your membership, (with some hands on support!) offers some of the following advantages:
1. An informative
newsletter that keeps you in the
‘know’ concerning your lake
2. A Neighbourhood Watch program
3. Barrel markers
put in and out of the lake seasonally (purchasing the necessary materials)
4. A loon
platform to protect our lake loons and their nesting areas
5. An annual
picnic/regatta/golf tournament with games for all family members
6. A FOCA
membership (Federation of Cottage Association)
7. Assessment
Appeal Advice
8. Water Testing
Advice
9. Monitoring of
the quality of our lake water, secchi Disc Tests
10. Message Board
concerning lake events and notice board for families
11. Septic
Information
12. Availability
of networking to help solve questions or problems
13. An association made up of volunteers who love Three Mile Lake and who are
ready to help you protect your investment and your enjoyment of the area.
14. An annual
General Meeting
Remember the motto of
all volunteer organizations: Many hands
make light work!
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THREEMILE LAKE COMMUNITY CLUB INC.
MEMBERSHIP FORM
$25.00 for 2004
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