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THIS WEEKEND!
Indian Lake Spring Cleanup Saturday,
May 11th
Please join us on Saturday, May 11th from 9 to 12 for our annual spring cleanup which is focused on Indian Lake and the public spaces that surround it.
Projected locations are shoreline cleanup, Morgan Park, Clason Road beach, Shore Park, Frostholm Memorial, Hapgood Brooks Memorial, Little Indian guardrail and Sears Island Causeway.
As always, list is dependent on the number of volunteers. Torrential rain attributed to our fall cleanup cancellation so there is much work to be done.
Please meet at Morgan Park at 9 am on May 11th.
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Full House at ILWA Annual Public Meeting!
Thank you to everyone who came to our annual meeting! Our presenters were fantastic and informative!
Jacquelyn Burmeister,
City of Worcester,
Senior Environmental Analyst, Lakes and Ponds spoke about the city's efforts to track water quality and nutrient data which is key to predicting and responding to harmful algae blooms. Jacquelyn's presentation can be found here.
Henry L. Barbaro,
Stormwater Program Supervisor,
MassDOT, Highway Division shared information on the MassDOT Impaired Waters Program designed to improve waterways across the state. He also spoke specifically about what is being done to reduce nutrient loads at Indian Lake. We will send a notice once this presentation is up on our website.
Michael Berberian,
Chief Sanitary Inspector,
City of Worcester
Department of Inspectional Services, shared a lot of great information on the city's efforts to manage geese. The city is constantly evaluating new tools to control the geese population. Geese Brochure
Christina Puleo, Executive Director, and
Katie DuPont,
Senior Program Director, for the YMCA of Central MA Greendale Family Branch talked about what to expect at Shore Park this summer.
Our 2019-2020 Board of Directors was approved. Welcome and thank you for volunteering your time to our lake and neighborhood!
Elizabeth Proko
Peter McKone
Diane C. Mohieldin
Morgan Proko
Tony Economou
Kevin O'Sullivan
Aaron Sakulich
Steven Sycks
Jim Chapdelaine
Edward Dubois
Katie DuPont
Steven Rothschild
Marcel Blais
Sarah Patenaude
Dan Benoit
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Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative Poised for Growth in 2019!
The spring
Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative training brought volunteers from all over central Massachusetts including many from around Indian Lake! Preston O'Connor will be our lead for the Indian Lake effort this summer with several neighbors assisting with this, Little Indian and Kiver Pond samples.
Would you like to participate? There are many opportunities to help across the city. No experience necessary. C
ontact
Jacquelyn Burmeister,
City of Worcester
Senior Environmental Analyst, Lakes and Ponds at
BurmeisterJ@worcesterma.gov.
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Trichome Update at April's Neighborhood Watch
Diane Mohieldin, coordinator of the monthly Indian Lake Neighborhood Watch, recently sent out notes from Trichome's visit the the April meeting:
Alex Mazin of Trichome gave us an update on his plans for the retail marijuana establishment that he is opening at 62-68 West Boylston Street. Alex spoke to our group in August last year. His plan for the location includes new fencing around the entire back of the property where there is a mix of old and older fences right now. There will be new trees and plantings and the parking lot will be expanded and will contain sidewalks within the property and the traffic flow will be designed so there is a single entrance and single exit. He plans to restore the look of the building to what it was originally based on historical photos. He believes this will encourage other businesses in the area to spruce up their properties as well. He will be going before the Planning Board on May 15th to get the parking lot plan approved. If you are interested in seeing more details on the plan, this would be a good meeting for you to attend. Planning Board meetings are open to the public and this one is scheduled for 5:30 in the Levi Lincoln Chamber at City Hall.
Alex believes this location will open in November or December of this year.
Alex is working to organize a Worcester Cannabis Association. He also intends to make charitable contributions in the neighborhood unrelated to the tax that will be levied on Trichome's revenue that is earmarked to go to the City of Worcester.
We learned that part of the "marijuana tax" that is paid to the City of Worcester is for "mitigation" meaning that the funds are to be used only for the expenses the city incurs directly related to the existence of the marijuana establishment. The Commonwealth is responsible for auditing the use of these funds and if the tax revenue coming in exceeds the actual expense incurred by the city then the money goes back to the business. Residents asked who at City Hall was responsible for keeping track of these new taxes and making sure the city complies with the regulations. Councilor Rosen said that Jake Sanders in the City Manager's Office is the one most familiar with all of the rules around these facilities and the new taxes.
What became very clear during the meeting is that the city will decide how to spend the funds, not the marijuana establishments, so the residents need to let their city councilors know how we want the money spent.
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Membership Renewals
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.
Online renewals will be implemented soon!
Not a member yet? We would be honored to have your support!
Membership Form |
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Monthly Neighborhood Watch
The Indian Lake Neighborhood Watch meets the third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm 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 dumping, 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.
The next neighborhood meetings is: Tuesday, May 21st.
http://www.worcesterma.gov/calendar
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*** PUBLIC SAFETY ***
Worcester Police Department
Emergency 911
Non Emergency 508-799-8606
Massachusetts Environmental Police
Dispatch: 800-632-8075
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Indian Lake Watershed Association, Inc.
PO Box 60244, Worcester, MA 01606
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