We had a nice socially-distanced meeting Thursday night at Fern Park. In the pavilion was myself, Jane Slack, Connie Perry, Holly Koeppe, Karl Marsh, Mary Catalino, Bruce & Margie O'Hara, Greg & Toni Rudd, Joanne Kelly and joining by Zoom was Lynn Durkin and John & Sarah Frey. Dennis Hudson also stopped at the pavilion briefly.
Jane reported in IABA's Checking Account $13,681.58 of which $173.82 is earmarked for the Community Garden and in BFC's Checking Account $30,866.85. Jane noted that some of this money was 2020 sponsorships that will be rolled over to 2021.
Adele reported that there are currently 67 paid IABA members for 2020, with several first time members.
Adele asked for volunteers to help Ted with pole banners, hoping to be able to work on this over the winter and have new banners to hang in the spring. Joanne Kelly and Mary Catalino will help. If anyone else would like to work on these, please let Adele know.
Lynn stated that the Fern Park Master Plan Committee is looking forward to beging working on a plan again. The group has received good input from the survey, and has seen many projects taking place in the park already. Their next meeting will be by Zoom on Tuesday, September 22 @ 7:00 p.m. A link will be sent out to anyone interested.
Adele is going to continue to try and keep the Update Pages updated. This time of year, many people inquire what's open as hours have definitely changed since Labor Day. Please let me know what your hours are so I can send people to you.
The Inlet Parks Department and Black Fly Challenge have been working on some new single track flow trails in Fern Park that look great. More work will be done in the spring. John stated that Mitch Lee is working with Mike Bartolotti who will be taking over head of the Parks Department when Mitch retires. Mike is looking forward to working more on the Fern Park trails, which happen to be in his "backyard." John also mentioned that there might be additional funding through the Northern Border Regional Commission, which is being looked into.
The North Country Chamber of Commerce has tremendously helpful through the coronavirus pandemic. The IABA is considered a partner member. Adele has reached out to them asking if there is a paid membership that we should be considering.
Adele still has some coupons that are good for the farmers markets in Indian Lake and Speculator. Indian Lake's market is held on Saturdays up until September 26 and Speculator's is on Thursdays until Columbus Day. If anyone has an interest, please let her know.
Adele will continue to collect any of your COVID-19 stories that you might be willing and have the time to share. These will not only be interesting for the IABA to have, but Goodsell Museum would also love to have them. I would like to share them with both the Webb & Inlet historical society.
Adele had a conversation with Alex Roalsvig of Raquette Lake recently about the vacation planner printed by the CAA. Adele will be talking with businesses and with the CAA about possibly skipping a 2021 printing of the vacation planner. The Inlet Infor mation Office currently has a good supply of the 2020 planner, which is not dated. If you have any thoughts about this, please share them wiht Adele.
The 2020 Census is concentrating on ALL buildings this year, which makes it important for property owners to fill out a form for every property they own. Census information can be found at 2020Census.gov. Adele has extra lawn signs to remind people to complete the census. Stop by the office and get one for your lawn!
Adele reminded everyone about the CADK COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. This fund is still available for anyone from Woodgate through Raquette Lake and will provide temporary financial assistance by utilizing local businesses to meet your needs. Find out more here. Adele also talked about the CADK COVID-19 Business Grant Fund. An article in the Express announced that 13 businesses had received funding from the first round of this grant program, and that a second round would be announced this fall and that the fund continues to seek donations. Find out more here.
If any of the groups (Accommodations, Retail, Restaurants, Hospitality) would like to get together, just let me know. I can set up a Zoom meeting anytime. The group at this meeting talked briefly about how the summer season went. It was noted the businesses that did really well: recreational rentals, grocery stores, take-out meals, cottage rentals, gift shops, liquors stores - the ones that struggled: indoor dining and places that would of had wedding receptions and large parties - and the businesses that were not able to open at all: boat cruises, seaplane rides, water parks. The group also talked about what the winter might look like. Wnter rentals are already filling up, some completely booked already. If there is snow, there will be people playing in it. If indoor dining remains at 50%, this does cause some concerns. NCCC is pushing for 75%. This would definitely help.
Hamilton County Public Health will be holding COVID-19 Testing at the IVES Building 10:00-11:00 a.m. on September 15. Call for an appointment 518-648-6497. They will be holding Flu Shots some time in October. At this time, the vet they contract with is not traveleing, and so they will not be holding any Rabies Clinics.
Upcoming Events:
- CAP-PY Duck Derby - will be live streamed soon!
- Rustic Artisans Street Fair- today until 5:00 and continues tomorrow in Blue Mountain Lake
- Fall Used Book Sale - September 18 @ Old Forge Library
- Garage Sale & Bake Sale - September 19 & 20 @ Eagle Bay Fire Department
- Inlet Fall Marketplace - September 19 & 20 @ Fern Park - 34 booths socially distanced & ready to sell some great items! - looking for people to help with social distance enforcement & parking, contact Adele
- Adirondack Kids Day - postponed until October 2, 2021 - but there will be a Kids Day 2020 Geocache hidden in Fern Park and might be an Adirondack Kids book signing October 3
- Halloween Parade & Party - is dependant on how school goes - October 30
- Adirondack Christmas on Main Street - might not have some of the activities, but people will still want to shop. An Elf Hunt is being planned to encourage peopel to visit every open business - November 27-29
- Holiday Open House - depends on indoor capacity - December 1
- New York Shootout - is still on the calendar and becasue this is an outdoor event, there is hope - December 12
- Cookie Swap - is still on the calendar, location may change - December 13
The IABA's next regular meeting will be October 6 @ 6:30 p.m. Location to be determined.
