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2011 Monthly Meetings:
January
February
March
April
May
June
Bi-annual Membership Meetings:Spring MeetingFall Meeting
DPA Board Meeting
Board members in attendance: Jamie Pierce, Wayne Kelley, Bob Smith, Susan Green Wayland Surface Water Quality Committee report on Dudley Pond Wayne Kelley opened the meeting, passed over old business so that Mike Lowery could do his presentation on the health of Dudley Pond including his meticulous documentation of milfoil growth in the pond, and efforts to treat the pond with herbicides and hand-pull weeds to stem the growth of milfoil. He also mentioned that the Wayland Surface Water Quality Committee will publish a report describing the water chemistry of the pond including dissolved oxygen levels, clarity, and e coli. The WSWQC employed a scoring system for measuring the health of the pond, and considering all water quality factors, the pond is considered mesotrophic – which means the pond is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of being eutrophic (full of nutrients and plants) and oligotrophic (very clear, with few nutrients and plants, like a mountain lake). In addition, Mike described the difficulty of keeping the pond clear of weeds with a continuing supply of nutrients from road runoff and septic systems. Busse Green Technologies has developed a waste treatment system that is compact and requires no leaching field. Mike and others from the WSWQC have been looking into systems like this one, to see what might be done to upgrade failing or failed septic systems. The systems provide excellent nutrient removal, resulting in water outflows that exceed the requirements for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Title V regulations.
Mike also mentioned that the WSWQC will spend over $60K on Dudley Pond this year. Dudley Area Advisory Committee Update Steve Garone led a discussion to help establish DPA’s position on the proposed uses of the Dudley Area. Though a very small group, the discussion was lively, and centered on how we would apply criteria, yet to be established, for deciding the “best use” of the land. The consultants, Tighe and Bond, hired by the DAAC, have proposed a range of options including differing waste water treatment options, recreation uses, and 4 to 6 houses. The members present decided to review the proposed options in detail on January 3, 2012, in order to provide Steve with a final recommendation before the DAAC votes later in the week. Steve’s presentation to the DPA is here. [PDF] Next meeting: DPA Membership Meeting – January 3, 2012 at 38 Lakeshore Drive.
Respectfully submitted,
DPA Fall Membership Meeting The Fall Membership meeting commenced at 5:55 when Wayne Kelley called the meeting to order. Jamie Pierce presented the Treasurer’s report and discussed the investment of the endowment and operating funds. The endowment is in 5 year CDs and the operating fund is in 1 year CDs. At present, the endowment is $80k, and the operating fund is $44k, for a total of $124k. Jamie put forth the budget for FY12, which, along with the Treasurer’s report, was approved unanimously. With excess money being in the operating fund, Jamie proposed that we move $4K from operating fund to the endowment. John Darack made a motion to transfer $4K plus 10% of the net proceeds from the Fun Run just for FY12. Jackie Ducharme seconded the motion and the membership approved the motion unanimously. Lisa Jacobs was awarded the Harry S. Olin award for her outstanding contributions to the DPA in support of the Fun Run and as a Board member. DPA wishes to thank cooks Wayne Kelley and Bob Smith for the delicious dinner including shopping, meal preparation, serving and cleanup. Board members in attendance: Jamie Pierce, Wayne Kelley, Bob Smith, Lisa Jacobs, Susan Green. Dudley Pond 5K Run, Walk and Kids’ Race (aka “Fun Run”) Karen Lowery presented the DPA Fun Run update. This year’s race was 15th annual race held on September 11, 2011. She told us stories about the community spirit embodied in the race with Team Cochituate composed of 26 people, all graduates of Wayland High School who ran with together with their spouses and kids. Joe’s Team was a group who celebrated their weight loss by running the 5K race. DPA’s race proceeds contribute 25% of the costs for pond treatment. This year’s event raised over $15,000 and netted $12,785 after expenses. Dudley Area Advisory Committee Update Steve Garone presented a report on the status of the Dudley Area Advisory Committee. It is posted here. [PDF] Milfoil Update Unfortunately, we ran out of time to hear from Mike Lowery about the milfoil removal and treatment efforts. He agreed to present his report at the next DPA meeting on December 5, 2011 at the Senior Center. His presentation is here. [PDF] The meeting adjourned at 7:00 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
DPA Monthly Board Meeting
Board members in attendance: Jamie Pierce, Wayne Kelley, Bob Smith, Lisa Jacobs, Susan Green Bob Smith mentioned that Frank Cuttita had offered to do another DPA fundraiser where people could do paddle boarding on Dudley Pond. He runs a business for people to learn to snowboard and paddleboard. The Board thought it was an intriguing idea, and asked Bob to explore it with Frank. The Fun Run netted the second highest amount ever -- $12,811. Jamie showed us a spreadsheet with the history of the proceeds starting 15 years ago when the Run first began. The proceeds increased from $2,661 – nearly 6 fold! In addition, more proceeds now come from corporate and individual sponsorships than the raffle tickets and race registrations. Contributing sponsors – individuals who live around Dudley Pond -- contributed about $2,500. Thank you to all who helped make this race such a success! Jamie Pierce reported he filed the annual report with the Secretary of State. He also reported on our current fund balance – about $43,000, the most ever, in operating funds and $80,000 in endowment. Karen Lowery reported that diving to remove milfoil is continuing as long as the weather allows. The diver has pulled hundreds of milfoil plants out in the last few weeks. Mike Lowery will have further information in the newsletter. We have invited him to give us an update at the fall DPA membership meeting. Cheryl Kreinbring offered to be the Administrator for the DPA’s Facebook page. (Thank you!) Linda Smith has been a liaison to those who have seen the swans in distress – entangled in fishing line or with an embedded fishhook. She has called the Animal Rescue league on several occasions. Most recently the mother swam was taken to Grafton to receive antibiotics and to remove a fishhook. She would like to retain a list of boat owners to call upon when a rescue is necessary. We discussed the contents and progress of the newsletter. Jamie has agreed to do the layout, coordinate with the printer and do the mailing. Susan will help Jamie to edit. The contents include: pictures, the President’s letter, Steve Garone’s update on the Dudley Area Advisory Committee (DAAC), Karen Lowery’s report on the Fun Run, Judy Currier’s paragraph on Good Search which will benefit the DPA, Mike Lowery’s article on the status of invasive weeds in the pond, and Linda Smith’s paragraph on how the swans have been negatively affected by fishing line and hooks. Cheryl Kreinbring reminded the Board that the DAAC charrette is September 27, 2011 and asked Susan to remind the membership. Lastly, we discussed the agenda for the Fall DPA. Wayne will invite Mike Lowery to do an update on the weed status in the pond, Bob Smith will connect with Steve Garone about giving an update on DAAC activities. Karen will discuss the Fun Run results and Jamie will give the Treasurer’s report and conduct the vote on the 2012 budget. Susan will reserve the Senior Center for the meeting and get the Health Department permit. Wayne will shop for food and he and Bob will handle preparation. Susan will make salad and draft the LaClaire’s to help. Next meeting: DPA Membership Meeting -- November 6, 2011
Respectfully submitted,
DPA Monthly Board Meeting
Board members attending: Wayne Kelley, Bob Smith, Lisa Jacobs, Jamie Pierce,
Susan Green
DPA Monthly Board Meeting
Board members in attendance: Jamie Pierce, Wayne Kelley, Bob Smith, Lisa Jacobs Jamie discussed creating a Facebook page for DPA. We need to put content on it. Bob suggested his daughter Melissa may be able to help do this. A new resident on Dudley Pond contacted Jamie suggesting we have a welcome package for newcomers. He said he’d chair a committee to do this. Lisa will be in touch with him. Linda Smith has an old diskette with newcomers’ information on it, and Bob will look into trying to open it and see if we can update the information. Karen Lowery reported for Mike Lowery. The Surface Water Quality Committee is going to collect curly leaf at the Chateau and at the end of the pond. The rationale for hiring divers to do this was to remove biomass. Molly Upton and Mike Lowery took water samples at the turtle, Mansion Beach and 123 Dudley Road and the lab that the Health Dept. uses will analyze for e coli. Molly will take additional samples next week and again, the week after. Allison and Ted removed 89 milfoil plants after 40 hours of diving. They will cease diving until July 4th when they expect milfoil to be growing again. Fun Run sponsors: We have $4300 of corporate sponsorships so far including some new sponsors. Last year’s total was $7,050 for corporate sponsorships, so we are well on our way. We have two registered runners though we haven’t done any publicity. The flyer party will be on August 3rd. The flyer distribution and mailing is August 4th. Next meeting: Chateau on July 11, 2011.
DPA Monthly Board Meeting
Board Members Attending: Wayne Kelley, Lisa Jacobs, Jamie Pierce, Susan Green DPA Membership List and Email List We discussed how we could clean up and expand the DPA Membership list. Susan sent the list of email bounce backs to the Board for review to update the emails. Lisa has the list of members from Jim Ogletree and she said she would review them against the current email list to update it. We could put all membership in a Google app spreadsheet so the entire Board could access it. We also talked about doing outreach to former members who are on Jim Ogletree’s list to keep them in the loop for DPA updates and mailings. Dudley Pond Clean Up and Newcomers’ Pot Luck Lisa made posters for the clean up on May 21st, and will post them around the pond. She also contacted the Town Crier to advertise the clean up. Lisa also mentioned she heard from two families new to the pond who would be attending the Newcomers’ Pot Luck on May 22nd. Allison told us about a large container of pink sulfurous smelling substance she found at the edge of the pond. She contacted Mike Lowery who called DPW to remove it. She mentioned the pond looks pretty clean, though she had seen trash embedded in the bushes (in the poison ivy) particularly around the Chateau. Milfoil Update Allison and Ted found a total of 69 milfoil plants near Simpson Road and Mansion Beach. We can expect to see more plant growth as the water temperature warms. Update on Dudley Area Advisory Committee (DAAC) Steve Garone, the DPA’s representative to the DAAC reported to the Board about the charter of the DAAC and his role on the Committee. He said the Committee’s first charter was to create a Statement of Work and Request for Proposal (RfP) to hire a consultant. He wanted to make sure to balance DPA’s concern, the health of the pond, with other interests of DAAC members in the proposal to create a well-balanced RfP. Mike Lowery had showed us three proposals from consultants at the last meeting. The firm Tighe and Bond was selected to study the best use of the Dudley Area parcel. DAAC meetings will continue monthly and the Committee is expected to complete its report early in the fall, and make recommendations at the Town Meeting in November 2011. Dudley Pond Run Medals Jamie reviewed the cost of providing trophies in each category to the top 3 winners. Most races give trophies to the top winner in each category. We decided to table the discussion until the race managers were at the meeting. We proposed having the next Board meeting on June 13th or June 20th, depending on Board availability. Respectfully submitted, Susan Green, DPA Secretary
DPA Spring Membership Meeting The Spring Membership meeting commenced at 5:00 when Wayne Kelley called the meeting to order. There were approximately 30 members who voted in the new slate of officers including: Wayne Kelley, President; Lisa Jacobs, first VP; Bob Smith, second VP; Jamie Pierce, Treasurer; and Susan Green, Secretary. The vote for the new slate of DPA officers was unanimous. After this business took place, the traditional spaghetti supper was served. DPA wishes to thank cooks Wayne Kelley and Bob Smith for the delicious dinner including shopping, meal preparation, serving and cleanup and Lafe LaClaire for the salad preparation. Board members in attendance: Wayne Kelley, Lisa Jacobs, Bob Smith, Jamie Pierce, Susan Green. Treasurer’s Report In 2011, DPA took in $19,006 and expenses were $10,901 with a profit of $8,105. The overall fund balances are: the operating fund of $36,294 and the endowment of $75,092. Milfoil Update and East Dudley Septic Study Report Mike Lowery presented a report about the status of the milfoil. Combining the spot treatment of triclopyr and hand pulling, the pond was clear of milfoil. The herbicide applicator has said we won’t need to do any treatment this year. We will continue to need to do hand pulling, though at this point, no milfoil has been spotted. (Update as of 5/11/2011, Ted Fiust found one plant.) With the success of the milfoil treatment program, the focus of the Wayland Surface Water Quality Committee (WSWQC) is now on controlling and reducing nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen and has initiated a septic survey in the East part of Dudley Pond. Study Background Pond gets most of the water from groundwater not surface water. Groundwater comes into Dudley Pond from the Southeast side of the pond (by the Chateau) and flows to the Northwest. Most of the soil around the pond is Merrimac Urban Complex, which is a type of soil that water flows through very quickly. Whereas most soils will adsorb phosphorus (phosphorus will stick to it), this is not the case with Merrimac Urban Complex. The result is that phosphorus flows into the pond, causing elevated levels of nutrients, and plant growth. Since milfoil is under control, it is reasonable to ask why is there a problem? First, even a Title-5 compliant septic system will not filter out nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen, because septic systems are designed to control pathogens, not nutrients. Second, the nutrients are still present and available to feed other plants like algae. Third, it is a matter of time before milfoil will return and it it costs between $20,000 and $80,000 a year to control it. One person’s septage contains 1 to 1.5 lbs. of phosphorus, enough to grow 1900 lbs/year of wet weeds costing on average, $270/year to remove. Septic Study Fifty septic systems in the East Dudley area were the focus of the study. The systems range in age and type: 12 are of unknown type, 20 of unknown age. The Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 25% of the systems have failed. The study ranked septic systems according to a scoring system. The WSWQC will run the scores by the homeowners to see if the information seems correct. High scoring systems will be reviewed for possible further action. Study Options, Recommendations and Conclusions WSWQC takes the position that land use management practices and prevention of nutrient migration into the Pond must be done to help control nutrients. There are several possible choices: erosion control, paving, catch basins; a nearby waste water treatment plant for the East Dudley area; or possibly, off-site wastewater treatment at the Middle School fields or connection to Natick or Framingham sewers. The study recommends further public education and involvement, to develop a TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Loading) to determine a maximum permissible daily phosphorus load for Dudley Pond, apply for additional grants, expand the area of the septic study to include the 99 homes between Dudley Pond and Rte 27, and consider watershed by-laws to control septage and fertilizer use. The study’s conclusions are:
The next Dudley Pond Run will be on September 11, 2011. Karen Lowery provided a list of things we could do to help the DPA Run. She’s looking for new corporate sponsors, contributing sponsors, people to sell and buy raffle tickets, and volunteers to help with the Run. Newcomer’s Potluck May 22, 2011 at 4:30 at 3 Priscilla Path. Pond cleanup will be on May 21st, from 10 to 1, meet at either Mansion Beach or the Chateau. Refreshments will be served after the cleanup. The Iron Chef competition will be held again on the xxx and Bob Smith will be the head chef representing the DPA. The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
DPA Executive Board Meeting
Board Members Attending: Wayne Kelley, Bob Smith, Lisa Jacobs, Jamie Pierce, Susan Green Dudley Area Advisory Committee Mike Lowery showed us three consultants' Statements of Qualifications to conduct the Dudley Woods studies. The DAAC will review these Statements of Qualifications, meet with the consultants at a meeting on 4/26/11 and pick a consultant to prepare a proposal. Treasurer’s Report Jamie has prepared the DPA 'tax return' for the Commonwealth of MA, change of signatories for the bank, and federal 2010 annual report. Wayne will need to sign them. Preparation for the Spring Meeting Lisa will contact Jim Ogletree if he will be at the meeting to sign up new members and she will contact Lynn Dowd to bring the DPA clothing. I will check with the Board of Health about getting the Food Permit for the meeting and will send out a notice to the Membership reminding them about the Spring meeting. Mike Lowery will be presenting the results of the study of the East Dudley septic survey. Mike and Toni Moores have already briefed the Conservation Commission, and Dudley Area Advisory Committee, and will be presenting to the Board of Health and Selectman and any other interested parties. Steve Garone will write a synopsis of the DAAC committee news for the meeting. Bob Smith will read it at the meeting.
Agenda: Lafe will be printing out the sign-in sheet. Bob will bring the leftover newsletters to the Spring Meeting. Wayland 2013 – 275th Anniversary Committee Meeting DPA will be invited to participate in the informational brainstorming meeting for the celebration of Wayland's 275th Anniversary. Memorial Day Parade Lafe and a group will be unicycling in the parade and other DPA folks will join in. Next Board Meeting Date May 16th. Respectfully submitted, Susan Green, DPA Secretary
DPA Executive Board Meeting
Board Members Present: Jamie Pierce, Lisa Jacobs, Wayne Kelley, Bob Smith The meeting was called to order at 7:45pm. The Spring Meeting will be Sunday May 1, 5-7pm. Elections for new officers will be held. All current officeholders have agreed to serve another year if elected. We also want to create a committee to address the by-laws which haven’t been reviewed in many years. The newsletter will go out by April 1 and will have a report from SWQ, an article on the Fun Run and upcoming events, and will also include an article by Toni Moores about an SWQ program to measure the phosphorus contributions of the septic systems located on the east side of Dudley Pond. The newsletter will also include the list of the officers up for reelection. Bob Smith talked about the first meeting of the Dudley Advisory Committee which consists of representatives from SWQ, Wayland Planning Board, Wayland Housing Coalition, the Citizens for Responsible Land Use and the Dudley Pond Assoc. The process thus far seems focused and results oriented. An RFP was written and sent out with responses due by March 24. Steve Garone, DPA’s representative to the committee, defined the scope of the RFP which is to find usage of the parcels near Doran Road. The RFP defines the options as 1) open space, 2) passive use, 3) septic system usage, 4) management of stormwater runoff and 5) construction of affordable housing. Steve will attend the next Dudley Advisory Committee meeting and provide a summary for the Spring Meeting. The Newcomers Pot Luck dinner will be on May 22 at Susan Green’s house. A preliminary decision was made to discontinue the Father’s Day Ice Cream Social. The next board meeting will be April 25 at 7:30 at Lisa Jacobs house. Meeting adjourned at 8:35 pm. Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Jacobs (for Susan Green)
DPA Executive Board Meeting
Board Members Present: Jamie Pierce, Lisa Jacobs, Wayne Kelley The meeting was called to order at 7:55pm. The Spring Meeting will be held on Sunday May 1, 5-7pm. Jamie reported that our CD's are being rolled over at a much lower rate. Wayne asked Jamie to check Ally Bank who may have better rates. The board received a letter from David Rand, a Wayland resident, who had sent letters to the DEP and Governor Patrick about buses parked at the Middle School while the High School is under reconstruction. The buses are parked in an ecologically sensitive area that is protected under the Aquifer Protection act of 1989. David Rand was complaining about the increased bus activity violating this act, and was unsatisfied from the responses thus far. The board agreed to send a letter to Mr. Rand. Jamie also noticed that a lot of extra snow from all the winter's storms was being dumped in this same sensitive area at the Middle School. We will alert Judy Currier about this. In preparation for the Spring meeting, all officers present (and Susan Green by email) agreed to run for another term. The Spring Newsletter is scheduled to go into production by April 1 and be sent out a week later. We will ask Lafe LaClaire to help us put it together since he has the template. Karen Lowery will write about the Fun Run; Mike Lowery will write about our pond health, Wayne Kelley will write the President's message, and we would like to have SWQ write about their septic system investigation. The newcomers pot luck party will be held either Sunday May 15 or 22. Susan Green and David Poole agreed to host it again this year. The Ice Cream Social is scheduled for Father’ Day June 19, 2011. Lisa Jacobs has agreed to organize both. Next board meeting: March 21. Meeting adjourned at 8:55 pm. Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Jacobs (for Susan Green)
DPA Executive Board Meeting
Board Members Attending: Wayne Kelley, Bob Smith, Jamie Pierce, Susan Green Old Business Steve Garone will be the DPA representative to the Dudley Woods Advisory Committee and will be sworn in within the next two weeks. Dudley Pond 10K Race We selected 9/11/11 as the race date. Tom Klem will be organizing the time keeping for the race. COLAP and News from COLAP regarding Pesticide Application The Massachusetts Congress of Lakes and Pond Associations is having their annual conference on January 29, 2011. There will be major changes to the permitting process for application of pesticides that will involve more paperwork for permitees. However, the MA Department of Environmental Protection will be extending the permits for two more years. DPA’s order of conditions for herbicide application will also be extended. Surface Water Quality Committee The Wayland SWQC will inspect the pond for weed growth in the spring. A member of the DPA will start attending the SWQC meetings. Other Activities We discussed perhaps having a pond-based activity like progressive hors d’oeuvres via boat at different people’s homes, or spring pond cleanup by boat or rides on pontoon boats with historic commentaries. We could invite DPA members who have shown interest in helping out to help organize these activities. We could have activities every few months to keep Dudley Pond in people’s minds. Newsletter We need to put out the newsletter by April 1st so that people have notice for the Membership Meeting. We will refer to last year’s newsletter a suggestion for the newsletter. Next Meeting The date for the next meeting is tentatively scheduled for February 28, 2011. Bob Smith offered his house. The date was selected so we would meet after Board members and DPA members had been to the COLAP meeting and a Surface Water Quality Committee meeting so they could report back at the monthly meeting. Respectfully submitted, Susan Green, DPA Secretary |
