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NFLAA October 2020 update

At the 2020 AGM, the membership voted for the MPOA to join the North Frontenac Lake Association Affiliation (NFLAA).  Jamie Fraser on our MPOA board is our representative at the NFLAA meetings.  Below is his summary of the meeting held on October 28/20.

The NFLAA lent support to an Ardoch Lake community group and their challenge of a Council decision to allow the 77 metre waterfront minimum to be waived for a local condo developer. The challenge was successful and the Ardoch Lake condo developer has reduced the number of planned waterfront lots from 17 to 15.

Cell coverage: The NFLAA is reaching out to the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) cell gap project to ensure NFLAA member concerns are met regarding coverage and capacity. As Mazinaw Lake residents no doubt noticed this summer, cellular data download speed in our area (for internet) from both Bell and Rogers towers was poor during the week and effectively zero as soon as the weekend cottagers arrived. Among other things, the EORN is pushing for a higher standard of internet service than what CRTC is recommending. The NFLAA agreed that a letter supporting steps to improve bandwidth in the near term will be sent to the EORN.

Lake Carrying Capacity: The Township’s Official Plan (Sections 4.10.5 and 40) sets out the intention of the Township to develop classification and other systems to protect the character and qualities of individual lakes. Recreational carrying capacity estimates the development and activity load of a lake. Determining a recreational carrying capacity for Mazinaw Lake could become a tool to protect our lake from over development. The County will be taking the lead, given their planning role with the Township, and expects this work to start in 2021. The NFLAA has asked to be included in the Working Group at both the County and Township level and has received positive interest. The NFLAA intends to contact various Lake Stewards and to seek out other expertise that may exist within the membership of lake associations.

The new NFLAA Logo was presented. The design embraces the key qualities that the NFLAA aspires to practice, including healthy lakes and natural resources. The circle form represents the unity of the North Frontenac alliance of lake associations.

Septic inspection: The NFLAA submitted a report to Council recommending a septic re-inspection program. The MPOA supports this initiative as it would help ensure the health of our precious lake. The report made the following recommendations:

1. Applicable to waterfront properties only.

2. All changes in property ownership would require a mandatory septic inspection and certificate of compliance issued.

3. All properties known to have habitable buildings/shelters etc that do not have a registered system must be inspected.

4. Mandatory re-inspection of all septic systems installed before 2001.

The Manager of Public Works is to study the issue and report back this spring.

The Mazinaw-Lanark Forestry Plan is currently under review for 2021 harvesting. Other lakes reported positive interaction with the logging company. While the current plan does not impact the shores of Mazinaw Lake, the MPOA is continuing to monitor the plan and engage with the MNR.

Gypsy Moths: spraying was briefly discussed. Good information is available on the FOCA website https://foca.on.ca/invasive-species/