News

Sadly we have just been informed that our Lake Gerry Association Treasurer - David M. will be stepping down from his position.  We want to thank him for his years of service and help wo the Lake Gerry Association and wish him the best of luck. 

Past Treasurer, Marc Speziali will be filling in for David as we look for his replacement.  We will be continuing the audit process this fall with the board and trustees.  

Dear Pauline,

As of September 3, 2022, I am resigning from my position as treasurer of the Lake Gerry Association.  My health is impacted because of the responsibilities of the position.  Due to many family issues that I must handle now until next year, I cannot maintain my services to the lake association.

Dave Moy

Welcome to the new Lake Gerry website.  Over the past two years we have been working toward a web platform and member experience that will be helpful and easy to use.  I have been designing and testing this new website for the past month and should have most of the bugs worked out.  

Current Lake Gerry members will be able to sign-in to the members-only section of the website by using your email address.  If it is your first time signing in to the new website, you will need to reset your password by pressing the 'Forgot Password' button.  This will then email you a temporary password.  

I am still waiting on finalizing the payment platform on this site.  That will hopefully happen in the next few days.  Once that is up and running you will be able to join/renew/donate and buy items to help support Lake Gerry.  

This website will allow you to interact with each other and the board through member forums.  Here we hope you will have some fun and help us discuss topics that are important to our community. 

This website will also allow the Lake Gerry Association Board members to easily post their updates to the community via: Email Newsletters, News Blogs and in the Forums.  This will cut down the amount of second or third hand sources and give us an accurate voice for the community. 

I hope you all find our new Lake Gerry Association website easy to use, full of useful information and a valuable resource for the community and potential home buyers.  Please feel free to reach out and let me know if there is anything else you would like to see or if you experience any issues. 

- Tim

Lake Gerry Association Meeting

Unofficial Summary – August 14, 2022

Lily Pad Treatments have been scheduled tentatively for the end of August, and hopefully before Labor Day.  Please keep in mind that this schedule is highly variable and may not occur for several weeks.  The lily pad treatments will be a focused effort in the dense areas in the corners of the lake.  This will be the last planned lily pad treatment.

There will be several trees on Ellis Lane being cut down in the coming weeks.  This same company will be cutting back trees around the pavilion that are 4 inches in diameter or less.  This will help the pavilion get more sunlight and help dry out the surrounding area.

The Port-a-potty was cleaned this week.

The Lifetime Membership Plaque at the Charles Kelley Rd. Pavilion has been updated.

We are investigating a product called the Neptune Rake to aid in the muck removal in the lake.  We will be reaching out to fabricators to see if we could build something similar.  Removal of the muck may require permission from waterfront property owners to give us a place to remove the muck.

There are openings for a Permanent Board Member and a Trustee position.   Erich Kennedy was nominated and voted in as a permanent board member of the Lake Gerry Association.  David Depew was nominated and voted into the Trustee position.

The Chicken BBQ will be held on Saturday September 20^th starting at 12:00pm.  Previous correspondence said 1:00, however the new time is 12:00pm.  There are about 55 dinners ordered.  If you haven’t yet and would like to order a Chicken Dinner from Phil’s Chicken House the cost is $15 each and includes ½ a BBQ chicken, Salt Potatoes, Coleslaw and a Dinner roll.  The Association will provide drinks and members are asked to bring a dessert to share.

During the Chicken BBQ, we will be having a fundraising raffle for several items including: Artwork, a tent, a canoe and other camping equipment. Items are coming in all the time so be sure to stop by and drop a ticket in for any items you would like.

The annual Lake Gerry Boat Parade will be held on Saturday August 20^th at 5:00pm.  Trophies will be awarded.  Participants are to decorate their boat (the more fun the better) and take a lap around the lake drumming up support.  Judging will take place at the beach. The more that participate the more fun everyone will have.

The port-a-potty at the Charles Kelley Rd Pavilion is aging and a bit small.  We will be looking into finding an affordable replacement.

In the coming days or weeks we will be launching a newer version of our LakeGerry.com website.  This website will reflect changes based on your usage of the site and what the community needs.  It will also streamline the payment process and provide more effective newsletter emails to be delivered.  It should eliminate many of the bugs we encountered in the old system and create better experiences for our members and the general public.  The login credentials you use on the current website will no longer work on the new version.  You will login with your email address and create a new password.  This new site will also allow you to add other members of your household to the website so they can access member-only content as well.  Check the website often for the latest information.

We have had some incidents on the lake involving members and non-members that violates our code of conduct.  If you are involved in any incidents or see them occurring, please call 911.  Threatening behavior toward anyone will not be tolerated, at any time.

There have been many reports of non-members using the lake and members who have not been purchasing guest passes for people visiting the lake.  If you see this happening, please call 911 and report them for trespassing.  All guests must always have a guest pass lanyard on them while using Lake Gerry.  You can purchase additional guest passes on the website. 

A vote was held by attending members that will eliminate the Extra Household Vote available with each membership.  This will return our voting rolls to one vote per membership and will eliminate potentially unfair voting practices.

Our next Lake Gerry Association meeting was going to be held on Sunday September 11^th.  Instead, out of respect for September 11^th remembrance we will hold the last Lake Gerry Association meeting on Sunday, September 18^th.  During this meeting we will be holding several very important membership votes.  There will be additional descriptions of the votes coming from Pauline in the next few days.   I will post them once I receive them.  These topics will include:  Annual Membership Fees Evaluation, Elimination of the Early Bird Guest Membership, Changes to By-laws and the elimination of the guest pass system and changes to the Lake Gerry Association Membership structure.

It is very important that you read up on these efforts and attend the September meeting if you would like your voice counted.

During the month of August, we will be testing a new membership and association administration platform.  I will be redesigning the website to something that is easier to use and provides important information to members and potential home buyers on the lake.  

My hope is that this will improve accessibility to all our members and allow the LGA board to communicate to its members more efficiently.  

We will be condensing our Lake Days activities into a single day this year.  We will be hosting a Chicken BBQ catered by Phil's Chicken House on August 20th.  BBQ Dinners must be pre-ordered by August 8th by mailing payment to PO Box 665 Oxford, NY 13830

 

There will also be our annual Lake Preservation fundraiser held at the chicken bbq.   This year instead of the auction, we will be holding raffles for donated items. 

If you have any special thing you make or would like to donate to help us raise funds, please contact Carol Birdsall  (contact info will be coming).  

Suggested items include:  Gift Baskets/Cards, Homemade Items like: quilts, woodworking, art.  Fishing/outdoor equipment/gear.  

Lake Gerry Association Meeting

July 10, 2022

Unofficial Summary

 

Treasurer's Report --  See Financial Summary in member section

Lake Steward Report -- Given by Pauline:  

• Pine Road Pavilion - being painted today and upgrades have been completed.  It did run a bit over budget, but should be much improved.  We encourage all Lake Gerry Association Members to use this facility with their families.  Reminder:  There is limited parking next to the pavilion.  You may also exit Pine Road via the access lane that connects Pine Road with Kent Road.  This road has not been traveled much, and is narrow.  NOTE: This is NOT a foot path, but an actual road to be available to all Lake Gerry Members. 
• Fire Inspections - Required fire-extinguishers and first aid kits are now available at each pavilion.  It is unlikely that we will get to completing the required renovations on the Charles Kelley Road Pavilion this year due to budget constraints.   It will become a priority once funds are available. 
• Beach -  The beach has become overrun with muck and aquatic vegetation.   This will become a testing site for a new Muck treatment called Muck Doctor that was recommended by Weeders Digest.  These muck "spikes" will be placed this week and evaluated for their effectiveness.  There will also be a new donation of sand to the beach shortly. 

 

A question was raised by a new member about plowing the roads during the winter.   Note: The Lake Gerry Association does NOT maintain roads or lanes around Lake Gerry.  Road/Lane Maintenance is to be performed by residents on these roads.   A page on the website will be dedicated to community members who provide these services.  If you offer these services or know of a reliable contact, please let us know by emailing:  contact@lakegerry.com

 

Officer Nominations:   We will need nominees for President, Vice President and Lake Steward.  As of this meeting there were NO volunteers.  We will be putting together a more comprehensive list of duties for each officer in hopes of attracting a competent leadership team.    

 

We currently have a problem with guest passes not being used on the lake.  There is a proposal to limit the liability of Lake Gerry Guests by including them in a resident's home-owners policy.  Note:  Non-Members and guests of members without guest passes are trespassing on Lake Gerry and will be subject to trespassing charges. 

 

Financial Vote -  During the September meeting, we will be voting on new Board leadership as well as having a financial vote to decide if we need to increase association dues and what to do about boat and guest passes.  Please be sure to attend. 

 

Lake Restoration/Preservation --  Our last scheduled muck treatment will occur this week by SOLitude Lake Management.   They will be evaluating the floating islands of muck that are arising with the lily-pad die-offs.  We anticipate the price of these services to be very high and will be reevaluating our options in the fall.   Our last lily pad treatment is planned for August.  We will be focusing these treatments on the real dense areas at the ends of the lake.   After this year, we will be doing spot treatments as needed.  We are also investigating the purchase of a mechanical cutter to help maintain the lake better from now-on. 

 

Lake Days -  The attendance over the past couple years has sucked and it has been costing the association a lot of money in wasted food and time.  We are considering shrinking down the weekend events to just a single Lake Day for now, until it gains tractions again.  We are looking into pre-ordered meals to be provided by a catering service (currently looking at Phil's Chicken House) - Each attendee will have to order their meals and can pick them up at a designated time.  They can be enjoyed at the pavilion with other members, or can be taken home to eat.  We are looking at getting rid of the Auction as lately it has been mostly junk and raised no money.  Instead, we are looking at offering raffles for various items such as: Quilts, Wine, Gift Cards, Gift Baskets, etc.   We will know more about this in the coming weeks. 

 

Entrance/Sign Planters have become overgrown.  We have hired a local gentleman to weed and maintain these gardens for us on a monthly basis. 

Peg Philips has made a proposal to purchase an un-used access lane adjacent to her property.   The access lane does not service any homes or properties. 

 

Fish Derby - was a huge success this year.  Thank you for all those involved and who donated time and prizes.  There were 23 registered and everyone had a great time.  We were even able to meet some new residents on the lake.  We look forward to continuing this tradition next year. 

 

 

The 2022 Lake Gerry Fishing Derby was held on Saturday July 2nd.  

We had a total of 23 participants fishing the lake. 

 

The Results:

Adult -  Largest Fish:  Brandon Shaw with a Large Mouth Bass measuring 15-3/4 inches and weighing in at 1.87 pounds!

Adult - Most Fish Caught:  Chris Seminera caught 5 fish that morning. 

 

Junior - Largest Fish:  Aaron Murray caught a 25 inch, 2-1/2 pound pickerel!

Junior - Most Fish - Eleni Tumbelekis caught 5 fish. 

Junior - Smallest Fish - Carter Davis with a whopping 4 inch fish. 

 

A special thank you to Patrick Fucci for donating a fishing rod and lures at prizes and Scott and Debbie Meade for donating a $25 Mayhood's Gift Card!

 

 

Thank you for all of those who participated, we hope you had a great time!

2022 Lake Gerry Association Board Member Nominations

Nominations will be held for Lake Gerry Association Board Members at our July 10th, 2022 Meeting.  

Board Member VOTING will take place at our September LGA Meeting

Please consider volunteering your time to help make our lake an amazing place to live and visit. 

From our By-Laws - RE: Officer Positions - 

Article 4

Duties of Officers

Section 1 –

President:  It is the duty of the President to preside at all meetings, enforce By-Laws, appoint all committees, and perform such other duties, as necessary.

Section 2 -

Vice President:  It is the duty of the Vice-President to assist the President in the discharge of their duties and in case of absence, death, resignation or removal of the President, the Vice President shall take their place and perform such duties as these laws provide and shall perform other duties as requested by the President.

Section 3 –

Secretary:  It is the duty of the Secretary to address all correspondence, notify members of special meetings, keep correct record of minutes at each meeting and preserve the same and perform other duties as requested by the President.

Section 4 –

Treasurer:  It is the duty of the Treasurer to receive all money paid into the Association for dues, fines, assessments, etc. and deposit said in the bank, as well as keeping a correct record of all monies received.  It is also the responsibility of the Treasurer to pay all vouchers submitted by the financial secretary. Either the Treasurer or the President may sign checks for the Association (as per NBT Bank).  The Treasurer shall perform all duties as requested by the President.

 

Section 5 –

Financial Secretary:  It is the duty of the Financial Secretary to receive the bills and submit a voucher to the treasurer for all expenditures.  The Financial Secretary will also perform all other duties as requested by the President.

 

Section 6 –

Trustees:  Three (3) Trustees shall be elected and shall audit the books, accounts, and vouchers of the Treasurer before the September meeting and report at the September meeting.  Also, it will be the responsibility of the Trustees to canvas unpaid residents of Lake Gerry for potential membership in the Association.

Section 7 –

Any Vacated position may be filled at the discretion of the President.

Any officer absents for more than three consecutive meetings without showing due cause shall be considered having vacated their office can be replaced at the discretion of the President.                                                       

Section 8 –

 Lake Steward: It will be the responsibility of the lake steward to survey and report on all lake properties.  At each meeting a report will be given on the conditional of all docks, lake access lanes, pavilions, etc. This position will also be responsible for fish stocking, water testing and assisting the ongoing activities around the lake improvement efforts.

 

 

The annual Fishing Derby will be held on Saturday July 2nd from 9am to 1pm.   Registration will take place at the Lake Gerry Access point near 200 Charles Kelley Rd.  All members and their guests are welcome. 

Trophies will be awarded for both adult and youth fish caught.  

If you need extra guest passes, please purchase them from the Lake Gerry Membership Shop. 

LGA Meeting – June 12^th, 2022

 Un-Official Summary

A continuation from the May meeting which was cut short due to a storm hitting the area.

 

Lily Pad Removal – This year will be the last year spraying for Lily Pads as recommended by the DEC and SOLitude Lake Management.  The DEC has offered us an open permit for the next 5 years which will allow us to seek treatments without having to go through the lengthy and expensive permitting process.

Muck Treatments – There are two more treatments on our SOLItude contract from last year.  The digester treatment will take place tomorrow (June 13^th) around noon, and another one will be applied at the end of June.

Lake Restoration/Preservation – Lily Pad Treatments and Muck Digester treatments are by far, the largest expenditures the association has.  Our expenditures over the past three years have been roughly $15,000 so far.  We can expect these prices to increase significantly due to inflation and may not continue to use the solutions we have been and are looking at other possibilities.

One of these options is to save a few thousand dollars a year that we would spend on lake restoration and purchase a brand new machine from Weeder’s Digest called the Water Bug which will allow us to cut and remove the lily pads via portable, battery powered and remote controlled machine.  Please see the videos posted on the website for more information.  We will be discussing the feasibility and options to raise funds for this machine in the future.

We ask that this year, you limit the amount of lily pads you cut again, so that when the herbicide is applied later in the summer, it will be most effective.  Lily pads that are cut, do not have any chance to absorb the herbicide which will kill the roots of the plant, and will regrow the following year. 

The restoration and preservation of Lake Gerry must be a collective effort and can’t be supported by just a few members doing their own thing.  We want to encourage all our members and residents of the Lake Gerry community to do their part in helping reduce chemicals and pollutants that enter the lake and promote the growth of algae, lily pads, and the formation of muck.  We will be putting together a list of easy and affordable ways you can help.

Pine Road Pavilion – The pavilion itself has been reduced to half of the original size.  This will make it easier and more affordable to maintain.  Gravel has been placed in the pavilion to help with drainage and footing.  Two picnic grills will be going in that can be used by association members.  We will be adding a picnic table or two to the pavilion over the next couple weeks.  We will be seeking volunteers to help paint the pavilion in the coming weeks.  The Fire Inspector would like us to have a fire extinguisher and first aid kit at each pavilion.  Those will be purchased and placed in the coming weeks.  We ask that you all help take care of the pavilion and take pride in our community.  If you see these facilities being abused, vandalized or any property being stolen please contact the police by calling 911.

By-Laws – The by-laws have been revised to include appropriate language that more accurately reflects the time.  You can find a copy of the by-laws on the website.

Codes Enforcement – We are working with Codes Enforcement to address the blighted, empty and abandoned houses around the lake that are dangerous, ugly, lower our property values, and have ruined many property sales.  Codes has identified many of the properties and are working toward notifying the property owners to encourage clean-up, demolition or sale of the blighted properties.   This can be a lengthy process, but hopefully the ball is rolling now and we can clean up the neighborhood.

 

Beach Upgrades – After last month’s regrading of the beach, we were originally going to not do any more improvements to the beach.   However, the floats were deteriorating and not effective, so we installed a new floating pool boundary. We also had a very generous donation of sand to be added to the beach this summer.  We look forward to these improvements and hope everyone gets to enjoy the beach this year.

 

Lake Access Signs – Lake Access signs have been added to three private Lake Gerry Association lanes.  Please remember to keep these lanes clear of personal items, boats, cars, and other stuff.  Access lanes are only to be used by Lake Gerry Association members.  If you see anyone trespassing or encroaching on these private properties, please let us know.

 

Speed Limit Signs --  A few years ago we sent around a petition to have the speed limit lowered on Charles Kelley Road.  There has been little-to-no movement on this issue as it was approved by the town of Oxford, and is now in the County’s hands.  We do not anticipate them to agree to lowering the speed limit on Charles Kelley Rd.  It was suggested that we put out our own signs to warn of Kids and People Walking.  There was some discussion about borrowing an automated speed sign from the town.

 

Fishing Derby – Will be held this year.  We have not decided on a date yet.  Traditionally it has been over the 4^th of July holiday, and other times during Lake Days.  We will post information as soon as we have it.

 

Dogs --  There have been several incidents regarding dogs around the lake.  These dogs have attacked other dogs being leash walked around the lake.  If a dog is seen off-leash or is becoming a nuisance on your property or Lake Gerry properties, please contact the Oxford Dog Control Officer @ 607-952-6025.    If you are attacked or bit by a dog around Lake Gerry please contact the police by calling 911.

 

Lake Access --  Only Lake Gerry Association members have access to Lake Gerry and Lake Gerry Association Properties.  If someone has not joined or paid their Lake Gerry Association membership, they are not permitted to use the lake.   If you have guests visiting the lake please make sure they are using your boats that are properly labeled with a current Lake Gerry Association Boat Sticker, in addition, make sure they have their Lake Gerry Guest Passes.  If you know of someone trespassing on Lake Gerry, call 911 and report it.