Forest Lake Association
Annual Meeting
MINUTES
Saturday, July 19, 2025
West Cumberland United Methodist Church Hall
Upper Methodist Road – Cumberland
Call to order
Jan called the meeting to order at 8:37 AM, following the pot luck breakfast which began at 8:00 AM.
Greetings and Announcements
Jan introduced the board of trustees to everyone. She reminded everyone to be diligent about lake safety rules and the suggested counter clockwise travel route on the lake. She also noted to get your raffle tickets for the raffle after the meeting.
Introductions
Jan continued the annual tradition of having everyone introduce themselves and tell where they live and how long they have lived there.
Gino crunched the data:The average length of time on the lake is 31.4 years. The 45 people present have lived on the lake for 1,413 years. The newest member arrived 2 weeks ago and we had 3+ people that have been here 70 years. The oldest house on the lake could be the Hughes by the dam built in the 1800’s. It was also mentioned that in 1976 Forest Lake was hit by a meteor.
Jan introduced a special visitor: Geoff Michalak, a Cumberland councilor representing West Cumberland. He suggested people write to your councilors – they respond well to hearing about what the community wants/needs.
Secretary Report
Paula reminded those in attendance that the minutes from last year’s meeting were approved by the FLA board and posted on the website last year.
She mentioned that it has been a quiet year, which is a good thing.
Treasurer Report
Ted shared the report which follows on the next page:
Greg made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report: Sharon seconded the motion. All voted in favor.
Paula explained the insurance expense which is to protect the all volunteer board members from being personally sued.
Ed brought up that his newsletter did not get delivered and that they should be hand delivered. Debbie, the correspondence secretary, explained that she uses the town records information as of June 1, 2025. This year only a few were returned to sender. She mails it to just those on the perimeter on either side of the lake abutting lakeside and across the road from the lake. He is also concerned about boat safety.
There was also a thank you from Denise Tanguay regarding association work and efforts.
Old Business:
Water Quality Update
Janene and Paula presented the update. Paula showed how they test the water using the Secchi disk and the Oxygen Sensor. The lake water is tested about every two weeks during the late spring and summer months. The water clarity and oxygen levels have remained stable since last year’s meeting.
A conversation started about the loons. Ted reported that there are two loons that are annual residents and that there are 3 more that come in /out to fish.
Janene also highlighted information from the blue folder that was available at the meeting.
Plant Patrollers Presentation and Volunteer Information
Connor shared that he is going to UMO this fall and studying marine science. He reported that there is a need for more patrollers. They need to get certified online and then need to take an in-person plant identifier course.
He noted three points: Awareness,Education, and Prevention. He reminded people to clean their watercraft when returning from another body of water. If you find a plant and think it might be invasive, don’t touch it. Let a patroller know. They will determine if it is invasive and send a sample to Lake Stewards of Maine. We have many native plant species and no invasive species at this point in time.
Ted mentioned that IFW now has a dry bilge law.
Watershed Information (Town of Gray Resiliency Committee)
Audrey Pyper, AmeriCorps member and part of the Town of Gray Resiliency Committee gave a presentation on protecting our watershed, ongoing initiatives and how we can help. She noted that there is more phosphorus, due to development. She also shared best practices for trying to reduce phosphorus in the lake. She offered to share her presentation with the FLA.
Discussion shifted to boat safety and the fact that drones are not allowed because the lake is an air strip.
New Business:
Election of trustees and officers positions
Ted heads the board nominating committee. He presented the slate of officers who need to be nominated each year.
Officers
- President- Jan Lavallee
- Vice President- Gino Sferra
- Treasurer- Ted Ney
- Recording Secretary- Paula Curcio
- Correspondence Secretary- Debbie Hastings
Janene made a motion to accept the slate of officers; it was seconded. All voted in favor.
Ted then presented the trustees whose three year terms have expired and are up for re-election. Alternate trustees are re-elected annually, as they have a one year term.
Nominated this year for Trustees
- Gino Sferra
- Heidi Joy
- Ted Ney
Alternates:
- Hiarie Kennedy
- Connor Hughes
- Donald Hughes
- Antonio Rocha
- Pat Larrabee
Gino made a motion to accept these nominees; Heidi seconded. All voted in favor.
Changes to the by-laws
Ted gave an overview of bylaw changes. Julie made a motion to accept the changes to bylaws; it was seconded. All voted in favor to pass the bylaw amendments.
It was noted by Tina that some Lakeside Road Association members may need to leave due to conflicting times for their meeting
Guest Speaker – Jennifer Picou
Hilarie introduced Jennifer Pictou, a Mi’kmaq storyteller, artist and business woman.
Highlights from the presentation:
- Her other name is ‘eastern wind woman’.
- Her dad was Micmac (mi’kmaq) and her mom was Irish.
- Jennifer grew up with stories of water.
- She has a Bar Harbor ghost stories store.
- Maine is unceded Wabanaki land that includes four tribes.
- Like the Wabanaki, we here on Forest Lake are a whole group of water protectors.
- She shared stories of Glooskap, the culture hero of the Wabanaki people.
- Sweetgrass, a sacred plant and the “hair of mother Earth”, is found in marshy areas and in Acadia National park
- The Wabanaki tribe have an agreement that they can now harvest it there.
- She showed cultural objects such as baskets, abalone, sweetgrass, etc.
- Brown Ash trees are harvested after 40 years to make ash baskets.
- The Emerald ash borer is killing the ash trees and will wipe them out.
- Plant ash tree seedlings.
- All 4 tribes (5 reservations) have tribal environmental departments that are undergoing testing on ways to preserve ash wood for future basket makers.
- Trees talk to each other. Everything around you is alive and can communicate.
Questions/Comments
Winter snowmobilers did trek over peoples’ ice skating rinks this past winter.
Adjournment
Ted made the adjournment motion. Paula seconded it. All voted in favor. The meeting adjourned at 10:25 AM
Respectfully submitted,
Paula Curcio
Raffle Prize Drawing immediately following end of meeting
Raffle donations came from the following businesses and people:
Bud’s Service Center
Hannaford
Brickyard Hollow
Skin Deep Spa
Birchwood Brewery
Fisherman’s Net
Lakeside Garage
Jess n Nic’s
Caddy’s
Cumberland House of Pizza
Goose Pond
Ed Keenan
All Star Graphics
Pat Larrabee
North Cove Design