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Full House at I
ndian Lake Watershed Association's Annual Meeting
Thank you to everyone who showed their support by attending the annual meeting of the Indian Lake Watershed Association. Thank you Bancroft School for the use of your wonderful Field House! Here are some of the highlights from the meeting:
"Worcester Lakes & Ponds Program: Year 1 at Indian Lake"
Jacquelyn Burmeister, Environmental Analyst, City of Worcester Lakes and Ponds,
DPW&P Water Operations Division
Jacquelyn gave us a summary of the Indian Lake Water Quality Report which you can find at the link below. Summer monitoring and algae management plans are already in place for this season. More detailed reporting is planned this year to help further assess nutrient loading at Indian Lake. Volunteers are needed for the Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative (see next section for more details).
"Leading by Example: Field Management at Bancroft School"
Peter McKone, Director of Operations, Bancroft School
Peter gave an enlightening presentation on the techniques that Bancroft has developed to ensure that their field care has little impact on Indian Lake. The lengths that they go to in order to be good environmental stewards is really commendable. Peter made it clear that they continue to look at new ways to support this effort. A copy of the presentation can be found here: Bancroft Field and Turf Care
"Progress in our Parks: Master Plan Updates for Public Spaces around Indian Lake"
Rob Antonelli, Assistant Commissioner, City of Worcester - DPW & Parks
Parks, Recreation & Cemetery Division
Rob gave us updates on the master plans below and renewed his commitment to continue working with the association and neighbors to improve the parks and beaches in our neighborhood. Below are the master plans that many of the neighbors worked to develop several years back. The City, working with in conjunction with the YMCA of Central Massachusetts and Hanover Insurance, moved the new building and access road at Shore Park forward to complete Phase 1 of the Shore Park improvements last year. The beach will open this summer staffed for the 10th year with lifeguards from the YMCA! Bancroft School has also played a pivotal role in helping with the maintenance of this facility.
The Morgan Park master plan is currently in the design phase and we are anxious to have more detail in the coming months. Last year, the state installed a temporary ramp in place of the long ailing boat ramp that had served us well for many years.
The beach at Clason Road will have improved lighting installed very soon. At this time, there is not funding to move the master plan into the design stage but we won't give up hope on making improvements to this facility.
"Neighborhood Policing" Roger Steele, Captain, Worcester Police Department
Captain Steele shared his longstanding commitment to work hand in hand with the Parks Department to keep our beaches and parks safe and problem free. The Summer Impact Program will bring additional patrols to support this effort. Keep an eye out for the City of Worcester's new mounted police patrols in our neighborhood!!
Welcome 2017-2018 Board of Directors!
Elizabeth Proko, President
Peter McKone, Vice President
Diane Schwartz, Treasurer
Morgan Proko, Secretary
Tony Economou
William Clougherty
Katie DuPont
Steven Rothschild
James Vargas
Kevin O'Sullivan
Aaron Sakulich
Michele Sloan
Steven Sycks
Jim Chapdelaine
Edward Dubois
Dave Schwartz
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Worcester Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative Training
On Tuesday, April 24th at 5:30 pm at the Bancroft School Field House, there will be an opportunity to learn about the volunteer cyanobacteria monitoring efforts in the city. How to recognize a bloom, reporting and what opportunities there are to become a 'citizen scientist', collecting and analyzing water samples from lakes and ponds throughout the city!
Please see the flyer with more detail below and we look forward to seeing you on the 24th!
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Shore Park Block Party - SAVE THE DATE!
Wednesday, June 27th from 4:30 pm to 8 pm
The building is complete at Shore Park and we're excited to announce the beach WILL BE OPEN this summer! And what better way to celebrate this important improvement to our neighborhood than a neighborhood Block Party!
There will be food, music, activities and much more as we kick off the re-opening of this beautiful park and SUMMER!!
More information will be coming soon!
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Membership Renewals
It's membership renewal time and we hope we can count on your continued support! As you know, mailing costs are constantly going up which makes it increasingly challenging as a small non-profit. If you could kindly consider printing the membership form below and sending it in with your dues, it would be a great help.
Otherwise, regular renewal letters will come out very soon.
Not a member yet? We would be honored to have your support!
Membership Form
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City of Worcester Strategic Planning Survey
On behalf of the City of Worcester, we are sharing a public survey that we hope you will consider participating in. It is part of the City's strategic planning process and allows you to provide input and prioritize items that are important to you.
You should probably give yourself about 10 minutes to participate in it's entirety:
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Focus on Little Indian
The ILWA's Water Quality Subcommittee met with Little Indian abutters last month to discuss the lake's history, current management and what the future may look like for Little Indian.
Little Indian is a small but beautiful water body which boasts much wildlife. Turtles can be seen sunning themselves on a log on virtually any warm day and the swans have already returned to nest alongside the water.
The introduction of Rt 122A many years ago turned a small meandering stream into the lake you see today. Yet the design failed to take into account the issues that a shallow pond without a consistent way for water to turn over would face. Thus the lake has struggled for years with stagnant water, sediment buildup, weeds and algae and requires a constant oversight in the summer months.
The lake is owned by both the City of Worcester and residents, with property lines stretching to mid lake.
Residents have worked very hard over many years evaluating numerous management techniques. With many new faces in the neighborhood, it was great to meet and discuss the best ways to move forward in the near term and encourage people to get involved.
Representatives from SOLitude Lake Management came to discuss the results of last year's summer management plans and answer questions about their experiences at the lake.
Thank you to everyone who came out to support this effort!
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Spring Cleanup Set for Saturday, May 5th from 9 am to noon
Our spring cleanup will be on Saturday, May 5th. Please join us as we focus on shoreline cleanup, Morgan Park, Shore Park, Clason Beach, Frostholm
Memorial and Hapgood Brooks Memorial!!
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Monthly Neighborhood Watch
The Indian Lake Neighborhood Watch meets the third Tuesday of each month at 6:00pm at the training room at Harr Toyota, 100 Gold Star Boulevard. At every meeting we receive an update on the neighborhood crime statistics from the previous month from Worcester
Police Officer Lisa Carlson. Officer Carlson also shares other updates with the group including trends in crime around the city as well as important tips regarding general safety, home security and how to identify illegal drugs and drug use behaviors.
This meeting is also about quality of life issues in the neighborhood such as missing street signs, graffiti, illegal dumpting, pot holes, abandoned vehicles, abandoned houses, etc. The meeting is typically attended by one of the City of Worcester Code Enforcement employees who is also available to answer questions about city ordinances.
If you are unable to attend these meetings but would like to share information with the group or ask a question you can email
[email protected]
or Officer Carlson directly at
[email protected]
.
The next neighborhood meeting is Tuesday, May 15th at 6pm.
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Indian Lake Watershed Association, Inc.
PO Box 60244, Worcester, MA 01606
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