Minutes from 12 June 2005 Meeting of the Friends of Tully Lake
14 people in attendance
With summer coming on, people are making great strides in publicizing this serious issue: putting up lawn signs, expressing themselves in local news media, and planning a big fundraiser tag sale.
1. Meetings with the lawyer and engineers have been very productive, and we are focusing on several key areas of the preliminary plan that could require additional action by the applicant.
2. A letter to the Editor was recently published in the Athol daily news, publicizing people’s concerns with the proposed development. We intend to submit many more letters from individuals throughout the region to focus public attention on this issue.
3. Contacts at the Athol local radio station and AOTV have been made. Public service announcements were aired on WJDF (97.3), and we are checking to see if AOTV has aired them as well.
4. Both Trout Unlimited and the Sierra Club have contacted our organization and we are working with them to broaden the base of support and activity.
5. Lawn signs are popping up all over town! Leafleting has been extensive in Athol and the surrounding towns and among users of Tully Lake and environs, and we will continue to do outreach. Bumper stickers are the next PR item in production.
6. Leaflets and fundraising letters are available on the web-site for download and distribution.
7. We have raised over $1000 since our last meeting, and will continue to fundraise aggressively. The fundraising letter will be updated for distribution at the July meeting.
8. We are planning a multi-family tag-sale and can-drive as a fund-raiser. The date for the tag-sale is Saturday August 20th (rain date – Sunday August 21st).
9. A letter-writing campaign is underway to both Senator Brewer and Representatives Donelan and Knuuttila, and to raise the state-wide profile of this issue. We encourage ALL interested people to write to either or both of their elected representatives, and their addresses and emails are below.
STATE SENATOR STEPHEN M. BREWER
State House
Room 109-B
Boston, MA 02133
Telephone: (617) 722-1540
Email: Stephen.Brewer@state.ma.us
STATE REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTOPHER J. DONELAN
State House
Room 39
Boston, MA 02133
Telephone: 617-722-2930 (local) 978-544-2180
FAX: 978-544-5169
Email: Rep.ChristopherDonelan@hou.state.ma.us
STATE REPRESENTATIVE BRIAN KNUUTTILA
State House
Room 166
Boston, MA 02133
Telephone: 617-722-2900 (local) 978-632-0930
FAX: 617-722-2846 (local) 978-632-9320
E-Mail: Rep.BrianKnuuttila@hou.state.ma.us
People are also encouraged to contact the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA). EOEA spearheaded the effort to protect land surrounding Tully Lake over the past few years, and they need to be notified that their efforts, and Tully Lake itself may be compromised by a large and damaging subdivision. The contact is:
Ellen Roy Herzfelder, Secretary of Environmental Affairs
Executive Office of Environmental Affairs
100 Cambridge, 9th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02114
Phone: (617) 626-1000
FAX: (617) 626-1181
Website: http://www.mass.gov/envir/
The next meeting of Friends of Tully Lake will be on Sunday, July 10 at 4:00pm at 3514 Chestnut Hill Avenue in Athol. Join us! You can make a difference in the future of Athol!