Xenophobia?? In Findley Lake??

In my opinion (hereafter IMO), restricting voting membership to only Town of Mina residents is patently wrong on several levels. The easiest way to understand the issue is to look at a situation. The boundaries for Town of Mina stretch about 2 miles towards Erie, 3 miles towards North East, 5 miles towards French Creek, and maybe 6 miles towards Sherman. You can live about three miles from Findley Lake, within the Mina boundaries, pay your "membership" dues to the Watershed Foundation, and have a vote at the annual meeting. You can live 2 miles from Findley Lake, just over the border in PA, give all the money in the world to the Watershed Foundation, and have no vote because technically you can't be a "member".

You may be seriously in love with Findley Lake (the Lake that is). You may have interests and abilities that would benefit and augment the organization. However, if you don't live in Mina, you not only can't be a voting member, your desire to be a voting member is construed to mean you want to take over the board ... and do what????

Do we hear the words xenophobia and good old boys club yet? Time to grow up and grow a set. The Foundation needs it's membership to grow. Most people join organizations to support them. Most people don't want to be on the board (which meets monthly by the way). Most people don't want to have to attend a hot, long annual meeting and go through the dog and pony acts of presentations and reports. However, most people don't want to be second class citizens. If I live in Mina, donate to a non-profit, and get to vote, then someone who lives 2 miles away in PA, donates to the same non-profit, should have the right to vote. In fact, they may be more passionate about the lake than I am.

Time to realize that it's not a private lake any more. Time to realize that accepting Town, County, and State funds means access for all. Blather that allowing condo owners to become real honest to god okie dokie members would cause an influx in people wanting boats allowed through the gate on weekends shows just how "old boy" this network is. You say no member is allowed to get the gate unlocked while another guy is bewailing how much time it took over the holiday weekend to let boats through the gate. In other words, you do it for the current member but you don't want to do it for non-Mina members (should we ever have any). Look at your own rules and ask why you go against them. Its the way you've always done it!! Wake up, move on, get out of your rut.

As a non-profit, you should be open to anyone willing to pay the "membership". Every paid membership should have a vote at the annual meeting. And by the way, every board member should have paid their dues before the first January meeting or withheld their voting on the board until such time as they do pay them, since membership is determined by PAID DUES, not just because you fill a board slot.

Of course, the above is only my opinion. I'll keep paying my dues until they really piss me off with the good old boys, outsiders need not apply attitudes. Then I'll gladly keep my money at home.