Officers, Board of Directors, and Projects

Contact us: EchoLakepa@gmail.com

 

About the Echo Lake Protective Association

Echo Lake (East Charleston, Vermont)

Echo Lake is located in the town of Charleston in Orleans County, Vermont, an area known as the Northeast Kingdom. It is one of only two deep, cold, and oligotrophic lakes in the Clyde River system. The first Surveyor General of Vermont, Whitelaw, gave it the name of Echo Pond because when any sound was produced in its vicinity it was reverberated in various directions, producing a series of echoes.

The freshwater lake covers 530 acres (2.1 km2) and is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long and 0.75 miles (1.21 km) at its widest, and drains a watershed area of 24 square miles (62 km2). Its maximum depth is 129 feet (39 m). The lake is fed by the outlet from Lake Seymour. The lake drains into the Clyde River, Lake Memphremagog and, eventually, Canada’s St. Lawrence River.

The outlet dam is used for hydroelectric power. Construction was completed in 1922 and was reconstructed in 1984. It is owned by Citizens Utilities Company. The dam is concrete with a homogeneous concrete core and a rock foundation. The height is 16 feet (4.9 m) by 120 feet (37 m). Maximum discharge is 693 cubic feet (19.6 m3) per second. Its capacity is 5,000 acre feet (6,200,000 m3). Normal storage is 3,180 acre feet (3,920,000 m3).

The lake supports a cold water fishery. There are wild lake trout. It also has rainbow trout (wild and stocked), brook trout (stocked), rainbow smelt, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, landlocked salmon, chain pickerel, longnose sucker, white sucker, burbot, various species of minnow, and probably others uncatalogued.

ELPA has set aside monies in a Contingency Fund for the remediation of an event in which an invasive species of an aquatic nuisance, plant or animal, were to occur within the waters or shoreline of Echo Lake.

The following Guideline spells out this fund’s purpose, scope, responsibility, establishment, maintenance, use, and disposal.

Contingency Fund Guideline Approved: May 16, 2024

1.0 Purpose:

The purpose of the contingency fund is to set aside monies for the remediation of an event
in which an invasive species of an aquatic nuisance, plant or animal, were to occur within the waters
or shoreline of Echo Lake.

2.0 Scope:

The monies contained within the contingency fund are for use in combatting the spread of
an invasive species found within the confines of Echo Lake.

3.0 Responsibility:

It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors (BOD) of the Echo Lake Protective
The association (ELPA) will oversee the contingency fund. It is the responsibility of the Treasurer of ELPA
to manage the fund on an annual basis.

4.0 Establishment:

4.1 The fund will be established by the Treasurer recommending an amount of funds to be taken
from the ELPA savings account and placed into a special account that can maximize return
while protecting principle and providing accessibility.
4.2 The Board of Directors will approve the recommended amount and investment vehicle.
4.3 The Treasurer will open the specified account.
4.4 The BOD will establish a target goal amount for the fund.

5.0 Maintenance:

5.1 On an annual basis, the Treasurer will suggest an amount of funds to be transferred from the
savings account to the contingency fund.
5.2 The BOD will approve the suggested amount or modify it as appropriate.
5.3 Each year, the fund will be reviewed to determine if any changes need to be made, such as a
change in investment strategy.
5.4 Although not encouraged, members and friends will be allowed to make directed donations to
ELPA for addition to the contingency fund. The Treasurer will honor the donors’ wishes unless
such action jeopardizes the regular funds used for routine association expenses. In such a case,
the treasurer or other officer will request that the donor’s donation be applied to the
savings account for routine expenses.
5.5 The Treasurer will add all directed donations to the contingency fund according to the terms
of the investment vehicle in which it is invested, which may impact the timing of adding
monies to the fund.
5.6 The Treasurer will report on the status of the contingency fund at the annual meeting of the ELPA
membership and at regular Board meetings.

6.0 Use:

6.1 In the event of an invasion of an aquatic nuisance or other threat to the water quality of Echo
Lake, the BOD will determine a course of action and how the action will be funded.

6.2 If the expenses associated with the determined course of action require funds beyond the
regular savings/checking accounts, the BOD will decide to utilize the monies within the
contingency fund as necessary.

6.3 While the intended purpose of the contingency fund is for the remediation of an invasive species,
the BOD will have the authority to elect to use monies from the fund for an action determined
by the BOD to be necessary to protect the water quality of Echo Lake.

6.4 The Treasurer will access the required funds and transfer to the checking account to pay for
the incurred expenses.

6.5 Upon approval of the BOD, monies within the contingency fund may be used for preventative
expenses, such as the Greeter Access Program, if insufficient funds exist in the savings and
checking accounts for these approved purposes. Interest earned from contingency fund accounts should remain in the fund absent a board vote.

7.0 Disposal:

7.1 Upon the decision of the BOD and/or the ELPA members, the contingency fund may be
discontinued.

7.2 Any monies remaining in the fund will be transferred to the savings account.

7.3 Further action on the disbursement of ELPA funds will be in accordance with the association’s Bylaws.

BY-LAWS ECHO LAKE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION

As of July 23, 2016

ARTICLE I – NAME PURPOSE

Section 1. The name of this organization shall be The Echo Lake Protective Association.

Section 2. The objective of the Association will be to promote the welfare of Echo Lake which lies within the boundaries of the Town of Charleston, VT. The Association will work to maintain the quality of Echo Lake, the waters, native wildlife, and habitat for all to enjoy for generations to come.

ARTICLE II • MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Membership shall be open to any adult (defined as 18 years or older) with an interest in Echo Lake as defined in Article I, Section 2.

Section 2. All individual members whose dues are paid for the year shall have one adult vote at the Annual Meeting. All families whose dues are paid for one year shall have two adult votes per family.

Section 3. The Board of Directors will determine dues for membership.

ARTICLE III – BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1. Board Role, Size, Compensation

The Board is responsible for overall policy and direction of the Association. The board shall have 5 to 9 members. Board Members receive no compensation. All Board Members shall be paid-up members of the Association. Vacancies on the Board may be temporarily filled by a majority vote of Board Members pending election at the Annual Meeting.

Section 2. Meetings

The Board shall meet at least 3 times a year, including the Annual Meeting; at an agreed upon time and place.

Section 3. Board Elections

Election of new Board Members or election of current Board Members to another term shall be determined by a majority vote of all members attending the Annual Meeting.

Section 4. Terms

Board Members shall be elected for a term of three years. To ensure Board continuity, three members shall be elected each year. A Board Member having served two complete consecutive three-year terms may not serve again until one year has elapsed. If a Board Member is not able to complete the term of service, a replacement member may be appointed by the Board according to Section 1 above, or elected at the annual meeting, to fill the open partial term. If the partial term is 2 or more years, then it will be considered a full term. If the partial term is less than 2 years, the member may then be elected to serve an additional two full terms, making the maximum consecutive service less than 8 years. Service time will be tracked as:

Term 1:             Year 1, Year 2, Year 3

Term 2:             Year 1, Year 2, Year 3

Partial Term:     Year 3* (partial year); or

Year 2* (partial year), Year 3 (full year),

Year 1** (partial year), Year 2 (full year), Year 3 (full year)

*   May serve 2 additional 3-year term

** May serve 1 additional 3-year term

Section 5. Quorum

A majority of Board Members will constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS AND DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1. Officers

The Officers of the Association shall be a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer.

Section 2. Election of Officers

Election of officers takes place at the Annual Meeting and is for a three-year term. Officer vacancies on the Board may be temporarily filled by a majority vote at a Board of Director’s meeting until a successor is elected at the next Annual Meeting.

Section 3. Duties of the President and Vice-President

The President of the Association shall preside at all meetings of the membership and the Board of Directors, call special meetings, as may be required, and have general administration over the affairs of the Association. The Vice-President shall assist the President in all matters wherever called upon and preside over meetings in the President’s absence.

Section 4. Duties of the Secretary

The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping records of the Board actions, including overseeing the taking of minutes at all Board Meetings, sending out meeting announcements, distributing copies of minutes and the agenda to all Board Members, and assuring that all records are maintained. The Secretary is responsible for all meeting minutes and for organizing the distribution of 2 annual newsletters – one in the winter and one in early summer.

Section 5. Duties of the Treasurer

The Treasurer shall have custody of the funds of the Association, shall receive dues and make disbursements as needed, and provide a financial report to the membership at the Annual Meeting. The Treasurer will prepare an end of fiscal year report which will be presented at the first Board meeting of the new year.

ARTICLE V – MEETINGS AND AUTHORITY OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors shall hold at least three meetings a year, including the Annual Meeting. The President or any three other Board members may call additional meetings. Notice of all Board Meetings shall be given to each Board Member in advance of the meeting.

Section 1. Authority of the Board

The Board is empowered to manage the affairs of the Association. It is authorized to vote the expenditure of Association funds consistent with these bylaws and subject to the direction determined by the membership.

Section 2. The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers. The responsibility of this committee shall be to make decisions that may occur throughout the year in accordance with the purposes of the Association.

Section 3. The Nominating Committee

The President shall appoint a Nominating Committee consisting of three members of the Association, at least one being a Board Member who will act as chairperson. The purpose of this committee is to select Board Members and Officers for consideration at the next Annual Meeting. Additional nominations may be made from the floor. Officers and Board Members shall be elected by the votes of a majority of voting members.

Section 4. Other Committees

The President shall appoint committees to meet the requirements of the Association.

ARTICLE VI – ANNUAL MEETING

Unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors, the Annual Meeting shall be held on the fourth Saturday in July. Advance notice of the Annual Meeting shall be distributed to all members. Nominations for Board of Director membership and Officers of the Association for the coming year should be included in this advance notice.

ARTICLE VII – RIGHTS OF MEMBERS

The current records of this Association shall be available for inspection by any Member.

ARTICLE VIII – MISCELLANEOUS

Section 1. All checks or demands for money or notes of the Association shall be signed by the Treasurer or the President.

Section 2. The fiscal year of the Association shall be the period from January 1 until December 31 of each calendar year.

Section 3. “Robert’s Rule of Order Revised” shall govern this Association when they are not inconsistent with these By-Laws.

ARTICLE IX – AMENDMENT

These By-laws may be revised or amended by a two-thirds (2/3) affirmative vote of the members attending the Annual Meeting.

ARTICLE X – DISSOLUTION OF THE ECHO LAKE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION

Should The Echo Lake Protective Association ever by dissolved, the remaining assets will be transferred to the Northwoods Stewardship Center to be used for educational and testing purposes related to Echo Lake.

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These By-Laws were approved as amended at the annual meeting of the Echo Lake Protective Association, July 23, 2016.

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