Attached is the draft of the BOD meeting minutes from June 14th, 2022. The final posting will follow approval of the minutes at our next BOD meeting.
2022 Annual Meeting Minutes Draft
Attached is a draft of our 2022 Annual Meeting Minutes. The final minutes will be posted after they are approved at our Biannual Meeting. It was a great meeting and the BOD received a lot of good input from the Members. The BOD showed the progress we are making on our rehabilitation efforts. Thank you to the BOD and the Members.
Community Update!
A community update!
With the annual meeting nearing we’d like to update the community on the current status of the Silver lake rehabilitation project. Despite claims to the contrary, the BOD is absolutely committed to clear communication and we’re happy to show our progress and status- expect further updates to come monthly!
Delays related to the aggressive emergency dam repair schedule have pushed the overall project back by roughly two months. SLCA’s engineering firm (KPI) has been working per the attached schedule for the completion of our initial submission to DEP. This final report (Task 4) was received 4/12; reviewed & marked up by the BOD. Upon receiving corrected copies from the engineer, Silver Lake has finally submitted our first report to DEP.
The report details both the modelling of Silver lake’s three watershed areas, spillway and dam; along with the quantity of rainfall we must design our lake to manage. While this does not decide construction plans, it does set the waterflow design parameters for our lake moving forward.
This is an important milestone- the first step to rehabilitation of our lake is for DEP to agree with the watershed modelling KPI has done thus far. This puts the ball in their court and satisfies our obligations to their needs. Unfortunately, we are subject to DEP review queues, but that is out of our control, and will ultimately affect the overall project schedule.
Interview done by ABC 27 News with John Taylor and Van Hoffman
Please click on the link to see the interview. The interview is meant to raise awareness to the public on what our Lake is dealing with.
Earthen Dam Repairs
We want to update everyone on the progress of the Emergency repairs to our Earthen Dam. The work started on October 25th, 2021. Today the work has been completed. There is still some clean up work to be done. We want to remind everyone this is only a temporary repair. We are hoping to have the permanent repairs completed in 16 to 24 months. We are not allowed to fill the Lake back up until the permanent repairs are completed.
http://silverlakecommunityassociation.org/860-2/
2022 Annual Meeting Minutes Draft
Attached is a draft of our 2022 Annual Meeting Minutes. The final minutes will be posted after they are approved at our Biannual Meeting. It was a great meeting and the BOD received a lot of good input from the Members. The BOD showed the progress we are making on our rehabilitation efforts. Thank you to the BOD and the Members.
Annual Meeting
We are having our Annual meeting June 4th at the Lewisberry Borough Pavilion at 10:00 AM. We have lot’s to discuss! We encourage all members to attend. We will be updating the members on where we are with the rehabilitation of the dams. We will also be discussing our options for financing the project. We look forward to listening to your concerns and questions.
Fundraiser for the Lake, Sponsored by The Silver Lake Inn
Please share with your family and friends. Every dollar helps!
Please come and enjoy a fun evening.
Save Silver Lake Fundraiser
Please tell your family, friends and neighbors!
Interview with Fox 43 News
This interview was with Brad Ellenberger, John Taylor and Kevin Gramlich. Just putting more public awareness out there!
https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/lake-dam-repairs/521-feb17c1a-a73c-49de-947e-95a76a45467f
Waterfowl and Raptors that Use Silver Lake
Silver Lake resident Ken Boyer has been photographing the wildlife of beautiful Silver Lake, Lewisberry PA for decades. Recently, the torrential rainfall from Hurricane Ida damaged our lake’s earthen dam, which was constructed by Quaker settlers in 1786!
Consequently, the PA DEP is requiring that our dams be brought up to 21st century engineering standards before we are permitted to allow our lake to return to a full pool of water. Engineering and construction costs will be substantial, and the 65 small homes and cottages that make up our association are challenged to raise the money needed to permanently rehabilitate our dams.
Ken Boyer put together this introduction, inventory of species that use our lake, and a gorgeous Powerpoint Presentation that showcases photographs of these waterfowl and raptors. Links are at the end of this post.
To whom it may concern:
I have lived on Silver Lake since 1975. I immediately fell in love as I noticed the unusual amount of wildlife that visited the lake/lake wetlands/lake wooded areas. Especially noticeable were the number of waterfowl and raptors.
Whitetail Deer, Wild Turkeys, Possums, Raccoons, Skunks, American Minks (a pair have been living here for about 6 – 8 years), a Beaver every so often, River Otters every so often, and many other animals use the lake for varying reasons—drinking water, food sources (such as fish, crustaceans, insects, and vegetation to name a few). The varieties of fish living in the lake that I am aware of are, Crappies, Bluegills, Gizzard Shad, Carp, Catfish, Smallmouth Bass and Largemouth Bass. Largemouth Bass are the biggest population, but every so often you will see Smallmouth.
When Silver Lake freezes during the winter people come from all areas to ice skate and play ice hockey. They are able to access the lake from a small public area on Silver Lake Road. During these times when I look out the window, I feel like I am looking at a Norman Rockwell painting.
Getting back to the waterfowl and raptors, you will see from the list below what I call visitors to Silver Lake. I started this list almost immediately after moving here because I found that there were far too many species visiting and residing at this lake to be a coincidence. Silver Lake is on the migratory path of the Eastern Flyway. I am convinced of this because regarding the Eastern Flyway, in the movie Fly Away Home, (a 1996 movie about a young girl leading mother-less geese in an ultralight plane from Canada to North Carolina), there is a brief scene of a map of Pennsylvania and the route they use – it’s directly over Silver Lake!
I used to be a hunter, but in 2005 I put down the guns, picked up a camera and began using my hunting skills in another medium: photography. I wondered how close I could get to these different species of waterfowl and raptors to capture their real beauty? Well, it turns out, with a lot of patience, I could get pretty close at times. My reason for telling you this is that I can back up, with photos taken on Silver Lake, the majority of species on the list of Waterfowl and Raptors that I have provided. If you look in the gallery section of the Silver Lake website, you will see many of these photos.
Over the years, I began sending out emails, to friends, family and anyone interested in the photographs I had taken of nature in action. This has been my way of sharing with everyone the gift that nature has provided to all of us who live on the lake. It gives visitors, residents and others the chance to observe the real habitat of nature and the opportunity to see nature in action.
Silver Lake is one of nature’s special places. All of us who live here know this.
By living on Silver Lake, I have observed the different types of waterfowl and raptors that have passed through here on their migratory travels. It has been an education that I value. It is my sincere hope that we can preserve this lake for future generations.
Ken Boyer