The Stocker Pond Association An historical perspective

A number of formal issues surfaced this year. Mentioned was a $25 filing fee for the renewal [every five years] of the Association’s nonprofit tax status with the State, so at least as of 1995, the Association was still in good standing.

In terms of bookkeeping, Secretary/Tresaruer Parsons stated "he would return to the past practice compiling the annual [treasurer’s] report as of June 1 for two reasons: first, each year is more accurately compared to the previous 12 months [presumably rather than variable 10-14 months]; and second, the report can be mailed out to the membership with the annual meeting notice which will give the membership an opportunity to see the report before the annual meeting."

Participation and hence election of officers continued to be an issue, so with no new names submitted to the nominating committee, Thain Allan was reelected president, Fred Parsons secretary/treasurer, and Barbara Eckbreth, Jack English and Michael Reney as directors.

The annual water testing report noted an increased level of phytoplankton. The increase in phytoplankton is often connected to increased nutrients in the water, both of which raised the concern for lower dissolved oxygen and algae blooms.

It should come as no surprise that there is now a heading in the annual meeting minutes titled "Annual Lake Water Level Discussion." Aside from beavers which can take positions at both the inlet and outlet of the Pond, the water level is affected seasonally in the spring when winter melt causes a backflow of water through the culverts at the outlet. There are also questions of how and when the dam at Eastman pond is regulated. As to beavers, the State will no longer deal with them, so it is left to retain the services of a trapper to remove the beavers from the area.

There was also renewed discussion of the deed covenants; for the full discussion, see the Association correspondence. In brief, in 1987 the Association accepted the responsibility of enforcing the deed covenants from Gretel Cole, but recently the legality of that motion had been questioned. First not all members of Association have those covenants in their deeds (only those with water front property on the east side of the Pond), and the Town questioned whether transferring the authority was allowed in the absence of a Quit Claim deed. Legal costs to simply investigate the matter were estimated to be several thousand dollars. The impetus for this renewed discussion is that (see the above correspondence) "a new family has purchased land and built within the last year and it appears they may be violating the deed restrictions in the future, if not already, in a number of ways. Some of the items may be in violation of zoning laws as well, but more items seem to be in violation of the deed restrictions." [No legal action seems to have been taken.]

Between attendees and proxy votes, 78% of the Association membership was engaged in the annual meeting on July 6, Thain Allan as presiding president. Pond water quality remained good.

In June the Town’s Board of Selectmen accepted the recommendation that all buildings in Grantham have a street number to assist emergency personnel and response teams. In most cases on Stocker Pond Road, the ten times the street number is the approximate distance in feet to the nearest intersection (Sanborn Hill Rd Ext), so 133 Stocker Pond Road is approximately 1330 feet from Sanborn Hill Rd Ext. By Town ordinance, posting of street numbers is mandatory and they are to be visible from the road to assist emergency personnel.

The Town added the Shoreland and River Overlay district to the zoning ordinance which affects all persons owning property withing 250 feet of a waterfront. Association members were strongly encouraged to be aware of its contents.

Ray Woolson [property 243-06] presented a motion to rescind the [unanimous] motion from July 1987 in which the Association voted to assume responsibility for managing and enforcing the deed covenants for waterfront properties sold by the 3C’s corporation. There were many reasons given, some of which were mentioned in the previous year’s summary. They include the facts that the restrictions only apply to certain properties among the members of the Association, enforcement of deed covenants would require legal action on the part of the Association which could be both costly and time consuming, and assuming responsibilities could result in assuming outstanding claims or liabilities against the 3C’s corporation. It was further pointed out that at the time the deed covenants were first written (late 1950’s) there were very few, if any, Town ordinances, building codes, nor zoning ordinances which are now in place at this date. Moreover, since the covenants were written, the State has instituted the Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act (RSA 483-B) which governs activities within the Shoreland and River Overlay district. The motion to rescind was unanimously approved.

New officers were elected: Raymond Woolson [property 243-06] for president, Glenda Szczesiul [property 236-037] for Secretary-Treasurer, and Barbara Eckbreth [property 236-024], Jackson English [property 236-030] and Frederic Parsons [property 236-032] as directors.

Mostly the usual topics with an interesting variation. Szczesiuls’ son [property 236-37] investigated the Pond floor that summer with scuba gear. He reported a heavy silt layer at the bottom of the Pond with no plant growth in the area mid-pond in front of Kunz’s [property 236-35] residence.

Beavers and water levels …. Ray Woolson found someone to remove the beavers at $30 per beaver, and $120 was authorized to relocate the current pod at the inlet. Cautions about Milfoil and zebra mussels were reiterated. In a second attempt to find monies to erect plaques to mount to the stone pillars at the entrance to Stocker Pond Road, Dan Field [property 243-07] said the historical society would erect a plaque on his pillar if the Association would pay half. The decision was not to use Association funds for this purpose, but interested individuals were told to contact Dan Field with contributions. Jackson and Mathilde English were recognized for their longterm commitment to the Association.

The Association still struggles to get members involved. Quoting from the minutes of the meeting: President Ray Woolson and Secretary-Treasurer Glenda Szczesiul have completed their two year term. The nominating committee of Fred Parsons and Dave Szczesiul have nominated Pat Woolson for president, David Szczesiul for Secretary-Treasurer, and Thain Allan, Barbara Eckbreth, and Ray Woolson as directors. There were no further nominations and the slate of candidates was unanimously approved.

In other news, the beavers were removed last fall at no cost to the Association and water testing at the inlet improved, though using the Pond for drinking water was no longer recommended. Speeding on Stocker Pond Road continued to be an issue [despite the condition of the road], and a motion made to ask the Board of Selectmen for assistance in terms of signage.

And for a new item of interest, we again quote the minutes. "Pat Woolson brought up the issue of gunshot noise on Stocker Pond. A request to discuss this was made by Barbara Eckbreth. Mauri Schwartz spoke up that she is the shooter on the Schwartz property on Stoney Brook Road. After some discussion regarding Town law, Mauri said that no shooting is allowed on Main Street, but there are no other known restrictions. It was then decided this was not an issue for the Association."

Perhaps sensing the coming Y2k, this last year of the decade was fraught with some serious debates: gasoline-powered boats on the Pond, Membership voting rights, and more I89 construction causing further damage.

On and off through the years, there have been discussions regarding the use of gasoline-powered boats on the Pond and of the consideration to impose speed limits, but for the most part, it was never felt that there was a need to try to regulate these matters in a formal manner. Serious debate ensued prior to the annual meeting with Bob and Mauri Schwartz [property 243-12] advocating for a ban on gas-powered engines and Barbara Eckbreth [property 236-24] offering supporting evidence for the opposite view. Warren and Crystal Kunz [property 236-46] offered a rebuttal to parts of the Schwartz’s letter. The links are provided for you to read the arguments. A vote was taken to form a committee which would distribute a survey assessing the sentiment of the Association as a whole.

There was another fairly vigorous discussion about membership voting rights, in particular how many votes per person, per property, per owner and so on. No changes seem to have been made.

There was a question of how the private road [property 236-56] came to be owned by the "Residents of Stocker Pond Road" and whether there is any tax implication for the Association. The road to the "Malloy and Partridge" properties was built by Ed Partridge. As of 2023, the Town’s tax records still list it as having a value of $200.

Finally log removal was discussed, but no action taken.