DLA Annual Meeting and Picnic

In preparation for the Duane Lake Association annual meeting, your DLA Board of Directors recommends reviewing the June 2024 Annual Meeting Minutes and the 2024 Financial Review. These two items will be voted on at Saturday's Annual Picnic and Meeting. 

Three Duane Lake Association Board positions are opening up. They are President, Vice President and Secretary. If you would like to serve in any of these positions for the three year term or if you would like to nominate someone who you feel would be an asset to the community in one of these capacities, please notify the DLA by e-mail. Please note, all persons interested in serving or being nominated to serve must be present at Saturday's Annual Picnic and Meeting.

Also, the DLA Board is proposing three changes to our By-Laws:

The first one has to do with voting rights. Our current By-Laws state, in effect, one vote per household. But it does not contemplate having two or more directors serving on the Board of Directors at the same time. The proposed change keeps it at "one vote per member household" for votes at general membership meetings, but would afford one vote per director (even if a second member of the family) at Board meetings. The rationale is that occasionally it is difficult to find members willing to serve on the Board of Directors. This could help deal with that situation.

A second one is intended to clear up a contradiction that neither our attorney nor we caught at the time of incorporation. It has to do with more clearly stating our mission to include a valid public purpose (not merely association members) and

A third that would clarify our IRS tax-exempt status in relation to that public purpose.

You can find our By-Laws by clicking here. There you'll find where and how each of these proposed amendments fits and the rationale for each proposed change.

THE ANNUAL DUANE LAKE ASSOCIATION 

PICNIC AND MEETING 

AT THE VAN PATTEN MILL PARK 

IS THIS COMING SATURDAY!

The Annual Duane Lake Association Picnic and Meeting is on Saturday, the 21st starting at noon. The meeting will begin with a neighborhood picnic at the park pavilion. Hamburgers, hotdogs, all the 'fixins and beverages will be provided. 

Everyone is invited to bring a dish and if you have any questions including "What should I bring?", please reach-out by text message or call our bar-be-que master chef and party coordinator, Kim Roberts.

 

Van Patten Mill Park is located on Depot Road, just a two-minute drive from Stewart's in the hamlet of Duanesburg. It's a fun gathering with bar-be-que favorites and lots of really tasty dishes to share along with our neighborhood camaraderie and celebration of all things summer! Please plan to join us!

We hope to see you all on Saturday!

Septic Replacement Program update

What’s up with the Septic Replacement Program?

Is Duane Lake going to be allowed in?

June 9—Thursday June 12th is the last scheduled date for the NY State Assembly to convene. That means there are only four more days for it to consider and possibly pass a bill that would require DEC to admit Duane Lake into the Septic Replacement Program. The bill was introduced jointly by our Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara and our State Senator Patricia Fahy.

Brendan Savage, a senior legislative assistant to Assemblyman Santabarbara, had already been heavily supplied with documents pertaining to the history of the Duane Lake Association’s efforts to gain entry into the program. This past Thursday the DLA received an email from Mr. Savage, asking for additional documentary evidence of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s rejection of our application and its disinclination to respond to fact-based refutations of the DEC’s reasons. “Can't promise a result here,” he wrote, “but that documentation could potentially be very helpful to us, if you can send as soon as practicable.”

A report was drafted and sent from the DLA to Mr. Savage on Friday the 6th and a collection of actual documents and correspondence was sent late Saturday night, the 7th. For further information, you can read the report sent to Mr. Savage here.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by Holly Vellano, a Schenectady County Legislator most instrumental in advancing our cause: “Thank you so much for the invitation to your picnic, unfortunately, I’ll be out of town. BTW, the legislative session ends soon, but Angelo’s office is pushing to get his resolution passed making Duane Lake eligible for the Septic Replacement Program. Fingers crossed.”

                                                                                                            - Alan Knight   

Who woulda guessed?

Photo by Alan Knight

"Apparently snapping turtles approve of the new silt barriers! The one on top is the biggest one I have ever seen in Duane Lake."  - Alan Knight

There's been a lot of turtle sightings all around Duane Lake lately.  We shared a story from the May 12th, 2025 E-edition of The Daily Gazette titled, How to help turtles in the road: DEC, advocates share tips during spring egg season in a post last month.  Click here to read it!

DLA responds to letters to the editor in the Times Union

Here is a compilation of letters-to-the-editor of the Times Union in response to Lucy Hodgman's front-page article about the DLA's struggle to gain admission to the NY State Septic Replacement Program - previously published on the DLA website.  Link to article here

Times Union, 5/14/2025

Times Union, 5/19/2025

Times Union, 6/2/2025

This weeks DLA updates

Happy Sunday! We have a pair of loons that seem to be sticking around Duane Lake this year. Have you heard their haunting call or seen them skittering across the water? It's pretty wild!


FREE - FREE - FREE!



One of our neighbors has a paddle boat that they no longer need. If you are interested in taking this off of their hands for free, please reach out to Derek at alienator9752@live.com.


THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU!

A very big shout out to the crew that helped out with a necessary and beneficial [to the lake] project this week - the "straw bale project." This project is one of the necessary stewardship tasks that help to keep the waters of Duane Lake clean for all. Three silt settling basins were dug, then straw bales and silt barriers were installed to filter the runoff in an area that has tested high in phosphorus over the last few years. Straw bales were also placed along the outlet culvert glide rails to alleviate the sand and salt runoff that collects and adds to the debris in the culvert from the snow plows as well. We want to embarass and thank the site manager, Alan Knight, the organizer, Pat Huff, equipment arranger, Kim Roberts and all of the laborers: Adam Cooney, Dennis Decelli, Tom McGrath, Art Miller, Bob Smith and Jay Tanzman. It was a hot and dirty job but they persevered and got it done! Pat created a little movie of the pictures that were taken. You can check it out on the Duane Lake Association website in the Photos tab: https://duanelakeassociation.blogspot.com/p/photos.html.


THE ANNUAL DUANE LAKE ASSOCIATION PICNIC AND MEETING AT THE VAN PATTEN MILL PARK IS IN TWO WEEKS




The Annual Duane Lake Association Picnic and Meeting is on Saturday, the 21st starting at noon. The meeting will begin with a neighborhood picnic at the park pavilion. Hamburgers, hotdogs, all the 'fixins and beverages will be provided. Everyone is invited to bring a dish and if you have any questions including "What should I bring?", please reach-out by text message or call our bar-be-que master chef and party coordinator, Kim Roberts, at 518-522-6811.

Van Patten Mill Park is located on Depot Road, just a two-minute drive from Stewart's in the hamlet of Duanesburg. It's a fun gathering with bar-be-que favorites and lots of really tasty dishes to share along with our neighborhood camaraderie and celebration of all things summer! Please plan to join us!




Enjoy the sun!