SPRING MESSAGE FROM THE LAKE ST PETER PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION Snow on Mother’s Day and germs everywhere – this is a most uncertain time for all. At times like this it’snice to fall back on long established traditions and for most this coming weekend marks one of those special traditions - opening the cottage for the season. For those of us who are lucky to reside at the Lake the change of season and some warmth in the air is welcome. Although our family gatherings may be limited this year due to the COVID 19 pandemic we will rejoice in the unofficial start of summer and life in the great out of doors. The May 24 weekend is upon us. The May 24 weekend also marks the start of our annual membership drive. This year I hope we all make a concerted effort to renew our membership through the simplified e-transfer option – no security question to be answered! Alternatively, we encourage you to send a cheque in the mail. Current social/physical distancing protocols preclude that friendly Road Captains knock on your door. Althoughthe face to face meeting can’t happen, we hope that you will contact your Road Captain or any other member of the executive with any questions or concerns you may have with respect to Association business. We hope that you will proudly display the small sign that signifies your membership in our Association at a prominent location on your property – your Road Captain will attach your 2020 sticker to your sign when you renew your membership. The current COVID 19 pandemic is having a major impact on all of our lives. We hope that its impact on yours is manageable and that you and your family are safe and healthy. Social interaction at the moment is not possible. As a result, the vast majority of events that we had planned for this summer have been cancelled, reworked or postponed in hopes of better days ahead. The first victim was the annual road clean up and thank you BBQ. The events had to be cancelled. We hope that you will do your part and safely pick up and dispose of any garbage you come across when you are out for your walks. The Hastings Highlands Interlake Association’s annual meeting that was scheduled for June 6 has been postponed and rescheduled to October 3. Lake St Peter is one of 7 member Lakes that make up the Interlake Association. The groups focus this past year has been on Land Use Planning and discussions with Hastings Highlands with respect to a fireworks bylaw (please see the updated Fire Ban Notice from Hastings Highlands attached to this message and note that a total Fire Ban is currently in effect). Plans for the annual Yard Sale are on hold. We will advise if it becomes possible to put on the event and in the mean time we encourage you to support this very worthwhile endeavour by safely setting aside any items destined for the sale. We are exploring an alternative fundraising event in support of the Maynooth Food bank – stay tuned for future details on a food drive. Plans for the LSPPOA Annual Meeting in late July are also on hold. We are exploring various options to put on the meeting and will let you know well in advance of our plans in this regard. Plans for the 2nd annual summer social in August are also on hold. Stay tuned for more on whether or not this event will run as the season progresses.
On a more positive note, it was nice to see that water levels in the local lakes were considerably lower after the spring ice break up than seen in the last 3 years. Good news for those who have experienced flooding in previous springs. We have been working on a new LSPPOA web site. We anticipate having the new site up and running within a month so please stay tuned for more on that as the launch date approaches. Remember also that you can get updates, local news etc. by going to the LSPPOA Facebook page - Lake St. Peter Property Owners Association. The executive typically meets throughout the year via conference call but we try and have one face to face meeting over lunch at the start of the season to kick off the year’s plans. This year that face to face meeting was scheduled for March 15. We cancelled the face to face meeting and opted for a conference call in the face of escalating concern over the pandemic – that decision proved fateful as Ontario was locked down within a week. I urge you all to respect the social/physical distancing protocols while at the Lake. Despite the pandemic, the executive continues to work hard on your behalf and we hope that some of what we had planned will come to fruition this summer. We attended the Fall and Spring FOCA meetings along with the FOCA AGM – our relationship with FOCA provides a wealth of timely information with respect to Lake Stewardship issues among many other matters – we hope you enjoyFOCA’s regular newsletter/updates. More locally we continue to monitor Hasting Highlands Council and note that the Lake St Peter skating rink was recently funded for another year of winter fun. The fate of the Lake St Peter Fire Hall and the review of all fire halls in Hastings Highlands is an ongoing matter with Council. In closing, I want to thank the executive and the many volunteers for their tireless contributions to our Association’s well-being. On behalf of the executive (Geoff Aldworth, Tom Scanlan, Shawn Kelleher, Ann Judson, Craig Judson, Bonny McCleery Scanlan) we wish you a great summer at the Lake – it’s going tobe like no other summer has ever been. - Geoff Aldworth President
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