In the last PLCA membership survey we had 54 responses from our membership of roughly 275 at that time, which equates to about a 20% response rate. In the survey world that is pretty good! The commentary is based on the results from those respondents. Below is a summary of the key findings.

Respondent Profile

We had good representation from all parts of the lake. If you group Inlet Bay and North Bay, the respondents are equally split between North Bay/Center/Inlet, Joe Bay, and Lower Paudash.

In terms of tenure on the lake, we have many responding members who have been on the lake for a long time, about 41% over 50 years or 63% over 25 years.

In terms of membership, we have a good mix with newer members, 15 years or less at 5% and longer-term members, greater than 25 years, at 43%.

Overall Satisfaction with the PLCA and its Objectives

Our purpose is to recognize and protect the unique character of the lake, to develop specific objectives for long-term protection, maintenance and restoration of the lake, and to identify land use and stewardship actions to protect the lake for the future. This helps protect the values (economic and personal) we hold on our lake.

Overall, the PLCA was given a 94% approval rating from the responding membership and >93% satisfaction levels regarding actions to:

Protecting the unique characteristics of the Lake
Long term protection, maintenance, and restoration of the Lake
Land Use and Stewardship actions to protect the future of the Lake

These objectives are supported by the programs sponsored by the PLCA, including the Lake Management Plan, Love Your Lake Program, on-going Water Quality Testing (O2, Phosphorous and Water Clarity testing), and support of Lake Trout stocking by our local Bancroft Fish Hatchery.

It was great to see many of our lake health initiatives well socialized within the Paudash Lake community. 3 of the 4 programs we have initiated have 90%+ awareness amongst respondents. Love Your Lake came in at a respectable 78%. Love Your Lake was a program which provided the landowner an individual assessment of their shoreline. The overall objective is to have 75% of our lake to be designated natural shoreline and we were pretty much on target.
A natural shoreline is the preferred state to protect our properties and lake health.

Communication

We are constantly striving to improve our communication with members. This year we have had to make a tough choice in eliminating the Paper version of the Newsletter. However, there is a multitude of media available for the PLCA to communicate with its members. Feedback on the different forms has been very valuable.

Newsletter – 70%+ respondents are somewhat to very satisfied with the Newsletter in both forms (Paper and Digital). Most respondents actually prefer the Digital version (46%) with 26% being indifferent.
President’s Newsletter – Our President’s summary of events and action has been well received by our members as indicated by respondent’s satisfaction. 70%+ Somewhat to Very Satisfied.
Websites – We have been using the PLCA website along with the “I have a cottage on Paudash Lake” Facebook page, and most recently the PLCA Facebook page. Satisfaction at the Somewhat and Very Satisfied level is at 57%.
Annual General Meeting – Our AGM has been traditionally lightly attended. 31% of our respondents indicated they attended the AGM. It is no surprise that most (59%) of the respondents also indicated they were indifferent or were not aware of the AGM.
Email – Email is most effective when emails are up to date. Our survey indicates when received, 85% were Somewhat to Very Satisfied. There are a few which are either not aware or indifferent. This may indicate incorrect email addresses. If you are not receiving emails from PLCA please reach out to our Membership Coordinator to ensure your email is correct.

Social Events

Social events are designed to provide an opportunity to bring our community together, if people so desire. They are also designed to provide activities for the community. We are fortunate to have many volunteers to help run these events and given today’s social distancing realities, I believe many of these events are truly missed.

Our most visible and longest running events are well received. The newer events or activities are slowly being developed.

Regatta – A long standing event, 65% were Somewhat to Very Satisfied with this event. Very few felt it was not valuable, 9%.
Canada Day Boat Parade – Our most visible event, it really is quite the sight, 74% of respondents were Somewhat to Very Satisfied with this event. Very few felt it was not valuable, 6%.
Don Thomas Rock Bass Derby – An activity to help manage our Rock Bass population and assist the more desirable sport fishing species, Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Lake Trout populations. 57% were Somewhat to Very Satisfied.
Geocaching – a new program which has taken off in Highlands East since we are the Geocaching Capital of the World. There are many geocaches around the lake some of which were planted by the PLCA. In today’s social distancing world, it is a great family activity. The newness of this activity is reflected in the lack of awareness at 26%.
Golf Tournament – Our Paudash golfers created this user event. If you are a golfer this is one for you. There is 30% satisfaction amongst the respondents. This event also has a large lack of awareness at 19% and indifference at 35%

Short-term Rentals

An on-going topic which can be quite polarizing. Most of our respondents are not in favour of Short-term rentals. The PLCA is focused on the health of the lake for the enjoyment of all. The PLCA has attended municipal meeting on the matter to ensure the rules and regulations are in place to protect our lake.

Q: How do you feel about "Short-Term Rentals" on Paudash Lake. (The municipality of Highlands East defines it as follows: “Shortterm Rental” or “Short-term Accommodation” typically describes residential dwellings which are rented over a short period of time (e.g. less than 30 days) for monetary gain.)

Open End Responses

We received some great responses to the open ends in our survey. These are very useful.

How would you like the PLCA to support the conservation efforts on the lake and surrounding area?

Many of the responses referenced lake and shoreline protection (11). Other multiple mentions include boating (safety and etiquette), short-term rentals, and finally many responses indicating continuing the current activities of the Association.

The “Love Your Lake” program was supported by the PLCA to address many of the comment’s raised by our respondents. The individual shoreline report should be very helpful to all Paudash Lake cottage owners.

If there was one thing you would have the PLCA stop doing, that is:

The few inputs received for this question surrounding stopping the mailing of paper copy of the newsletter. Most inputs were “nothing” related.

As you are aware this year, we have stopped mailing the newsletter. The digital media will be used more extensively moving forward.

If there is one thing that you would have the PLCA do that they are not doing, that is:

Comments here surround increasing the number of activities run by the association, monitoring lake and trail traffic, and marking lake hazards.

One of the main challenges our organization has is getting volunteers to help drive the initiatives and activities. Then it is the support of our cottage community, both are needed to make any event/activity successful. We would encourage you to get involved with the PLCA and support our events where possible.

2019 PLCA Member Survey