Important Meeting Notices & Lost Paddles, Aug 22, 2023

The Cabot Historical Society will be having the annual meeting on Friday, Aug 25th at 5 pm at the historical society building. 

If you are interested in Cabot history, please consider attending. This will be the first business meeting of the Historical Society in several years and it would be great to have a large turnout of people with fresh ideas to help this important organization begin to flourish again. We recently lost our long-time president, Bonnie Dannenberg, and we will miss her, but Vice President Ruth Goodrich hopes to keep moving ahead with new members and new energy. I hope to see you there.

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I had a note this morning that someone lost two paddle board paddles on Sept. 12th. If anyone has found them, please contact Sue LaGue at 802-522-6856.

There will also be an important Joe's Pond Association meeting on Sept. 2. Most members have already received an email regarding this, however, if you didn't, here it is:

 JPA Fall Meeting

       Our fall meeting will be held September 2, 2023 at 10 AM at the pavilion. At that time we anticipate there will be a vote on the future of the Joes Pond July fireworks. Please make an effort to attend to ensure your opinion and vote are counted. Members whose dues are current will have one vote per property. Members who have more than one property and have paid dues for each property can cast one vote per property. Given the sensitivity of this situation we plan on using a paper ballot.

       We have learned that Northstar, who produces the show, requires the rail trail to be closed at approximately noon that day. This is due to safety regulations inposed by the State. However, as of now, we have not determined if the Vermont Agency of Transportation will allow closure for the that length of time. We are in contact with the Agency and hope to have a definitive answer by the time of the meeting. The Board feels the most appropriate approach is to have a simple vote for or against the fireworks rather than debating the source of funding.  

     The Board encourages as many members as possible to attend this meeting. Please take the time to read the information below prepared by our treasurer Jack LaGue. It provides some historical information regarding the fireworks and some answers to some FAQ's.

      Joe Hebert

      President JPA

  

 

  Information from JPA Treasurer Jack LaGue:  

At the upcoming Fall Member's meeting, the Association will vote on whether or not to continue having the fireworks each year given the recent significant increase in the cost of the fireworks.  The vote presumes that we can find a suitable site for having the fireworks, which is currently a significant challenge.  We have used the end of the Rail Trail in recent years and we were able to do so because the Rail Trail ended at Channel Drive so there was no through traffic to deal with... the Rail Trail just dead ended a little earlier than normal.  However, with the Rail Trail now being open past Channel Drive, Northstar Indicates that they can't set up for the fireworks with pedestrian traffic coming and going on the Rail Trail due to safety concerns.  The State of Vermont would allow us to close a portion of the Rail Trail for a half day or so but the cost of detouring Rail Trail traffic, signage and possibly jersey barriers on Route 15, will add to the cost of doing the fireworks and no other suitable site is readily apparent. It is yet to be determined if the State will allow us to close the rail trail for several hours without a detour.  Below are questions and answers relevant to the fireworks so that members can be informed in preparation for the meeting and the vote.  If you have any questions on this, please contact either President Joe Hebert, Vice President Richard Gagne or Treasurer Jack LaGue.

 How much has the Association historically spent on fireworks?

 The table below shows the cost of the fireworks and fireworks donations for the last 10 years.  The cost of the fireworks doubled from 2019 to 2022 and would have been $12,500 for 2023.  Fireworks donations increased in 2020 to 2022 as JPA members generously increased their fireworks donations in response to news of the increased cost.

              Cost of Fireworks                                            Fireworks Donations                        Deficit (cost less donations)

2014          5,000                                                                3,510                                                    (1,490)

2015          5,000                                                                3,495                                                    (1,505)

2016          5,000                                                                3,680                                                    (1,320)

2017          5,000                                                                2,775                                                    (2,225)

2018          5,000                                                                1,920                                                    (3,080)

2019          5,000                                                                2,000                                                    (3,000)

2020          7,000                                                                2,175                                                    (4,825)

2021          7,000                                                                1,925                                                    (5,075)

2022         10,000                                                               4,530                                                    (5,470)  

   

 Can the Association afford to continue to have fireworks considering the significant increase in their cost from $7,000 in 2020-2021 to $10,000 in 2022 to a proposed $12,500 for 2023?

 Yes, in the normal course the Association has a roughly $15,000 excess of revenues over expenses annually before considering the cost of the fireworks, so the Association can afford to continue having the fireworks even given the recent significant increase in cost.  However, the increase in the cost of the fireworks would result in less money available to the Association for emergencies and routine equipment replacement, etc. Continuation of the fireworks would also reduce the rate of growth in our savings for any water quality crisis.

 If the Association were to discontinue having the fireworks, what would happen to the money that would normally be spent on fireworks?

 Absent any other changes in the Association's programs, the money that would normally be spent on fireworks would increase our general fund that would be available in the event of a water quality crisis.

 Is it true that the profit from the Ice-Out was earmarked for the fireworks as some people claim?

 No, it is not true.  There is no record in any of the minutes of the Association of the membership or the Board ever adopting a policy of earmarking the profits from the Ice-Out for fireworks, either in whole or in part.  In addition, until the recent spike in cost, the cost of fireworks was routinely significantly less than the sum of firework donations and the Ice-Out which would not be the case if the Association had made a policy decision to earmark the Ice-Out for fireworks.

 The only money that is earmarked for the fireworks are fireworks donations and as the table above shows, the cost of the fireworks consistently exceeds fireworks donations.