The First meeting of the Sandy Pond Channel Maintenance Association was held on January 19th, 2003. The Meeting was presided over by Cathy Goodnough of Greene Point Marina. The minutes of this meeting were taken by Chris Noel of The Sandy Pond Sportsmen's Association.
Thank you to all who came out in the snow storm to meet at Taco Bob's Wayside Inn. Cathy Goodnough introduced the problem of the Sandy Pond Channel filling in. She is looking for ideas on what to do about the problem. Is there money available to fix this problem? What is involved in annual dredging? This problem cannot be ignored anymore. It is hurting too many businesses and residents on the pond.
Wanye Lindsey , County Legislator informed us that there is no money available on the County Level. The County is in a budget crisis, but will speak to Jim Wright to see what kind of support they can give us on the county level. It was pointed out that other companies received grants to solve problems similar to this. It was proposed to speak with Christine Gray the Director of Promotion and Tourism in Oswego County.about obaining grant money information.
Some ideas that came up at the meeting:
Purchase our own machine - a Nessy Dredge Sand Sucker? Who will run it?
Where do we get the money? Some Snowmobile Trail Maintenance monies come from DMV Registrations. Can we get monies from Boater Registration? Most monies from Boater Registration goes to Boater Safety where monies are dolled out for projects like this. This problem is definately a question of Harbor Safety. What about the Rivers & Harbor Act? Do we use private money or can we qualify as a partner with the town or an organization like The Sandy Pond Sportsmen's Association. When we do drege where do we put the sand? How much does dredging equipment cost? What are the cost of permits and how do we go about getting them? What is the most expensive way to go? What is the least expensive way to go? Can we sell bumper stickers or in this case boat stickers to raise money.
After all of that discussion its seems we had more questions than answers.
However, it was decided to form an Association. The legalities and how-to will be investigated by Cathy Goodnough. It was determined that our name be The Sandy Pond Channel Maintenance Association (SPCMA). It was also determined the next meeting will be held on Sunday, February 2nd, at 1:30PM at the Town Hall Sandy Creek. All who attended donated money to get the project started. The grand total was $170.00. Thank you very much!!! We hope to have answers to most of these questions at our next meeting. Please if there is anything I left out of this account. Please let me know at the next meeting.
Respectfully Submitted by Chris Noel
