The meeting was opened by club president Dennis McCarthy at 5:10 PM on November 21, 2024. In attendance were Kathi McCarthy, Dennis McCarthy, Joe Dudiak, John Krake, Skip Couch, Michael Rainville, Matt McCullouch and Charlie Stage.
- The October meeting minutes were distributed via email, read at the meeting and were then approved by members with the noted update from Dennis McCarthy.
- Treasurer report:
Ken Kozin was not present but reported a club balance of $1610.81. That includes $841.66 in the general club fund and $769.15 in the mooring fund.
Old Business
- Divers Access Dock – Dennis scheduled a meeting and Skip Couch presented a proposal to place the divers access dock at the East end of the Clayton Village dock (where it was located in the past) to Mayor Hyde and Terry. Both the Mayor and Terry agreed the Village of Clayton is responsible for the dock and have targeted May 2025 for all repairs to be completed and placed in the water. The Village reviewed the permit and found it is now up to date. .Charlie still has the parking meter for contributions and plans to place it at the dock for next season. The village will contact CDC for any assistance needed during the placement of the dock.
- Clean-up dive – Dennis mentioned the plan to hold a clean-up dive to Mayor Hyde and she was quite enthusiastic. The Mayor will need details of what the village should provide about 2 months in advance for proper scheduling. It was suggested that possibly the Village Fire Boat could be there for diver access from the water. More details to be discussed at a future meeting in order to fully schedule the June 7 tentative date.
- Christmas Parade Float – The idea for the club float as an underwater aquarium is taking shape. Carol requested that anyone who has a bubble machine to please contact her at tide@gisco.com. The members voted to allocated $50 for cost of candy for the parade. The date for building the float is set for December 5 at 5 PM at Ken and Carol's house at 834 Rees St. Anyone planning to participate should RSVP Carol at tide@gisco.com and should bring a plate to pass. Anyone planning to participate in the parade should be at their house on December 7 at 4 PM. All are welcome since we will need 'divers' to march with the float.
- Thousand Island Museum – Members completed the decorations for the CDC entry at the museum's 'Festival of Trees'. Kathi showed a picture of the finished product and urged club members to see it and cast a vote for our tree. Kathy also mentioned there will be a Christmas Party held at the museum on December 19 sponsored by the Clayton Chamber of Commerce. All are invited to attend. There will be a $10 fee which will include food and drinks.
- Annual Christmas Club Dinner – John Krake reported that the annual club dinner will be held on December 12 at the Island Bay Pier House. Please contact John (jskfrogboy@aol.com) with your RSVP by December 5 if you plan to attend so he can get the restaurant a final count for dinner. All members and family are welcomed to attend. Happy hour starts at 6:00 with dinner at 7:00.
- Ships Wheel of the AE Vickery - There is interest from Clayton Mayor Nancy Hyde to refurbish and display the wheel in Clayton. Dennis will pursue a meeting with Mayor Hyde and personnel from the ABM to determine if this project is feasible. Joe Dudiak reported that another grant program will become available in August of 2025 by the New York State Parks.
Cannon from the Iroquois – Michel Rainville asked about the status of retrieving the cannon for display. Dennis reported that its resides at a friend's home near Cortland but that no additional progress has been made. Dennis will continue to make more inquiries in the future.
- New Business
- Nominations of club officers are complete and voting will be sent to members with results announced at the December 12 Christmas Party.
- Joe reported that a card was sent to Carol & Ken Kozin from the CDC expressing sympathy for the loss of Carols' mother.
- Joe reported that John Krake, Matt McCullouch and Joe Dudiak removed the buoy from the Keystorm for the season.
- A thank-you card was sent to Hunt's Dive Shop for use of their boat for that effort. All club sponsored shipwreck buoys have now been removed for the season.
- Skip reported that Diver's Talk will resume in December. It will be every Wednesday night at 7PM. The December agenda will be movies of local shipwrecks.
- John Cannaday from New York Sea Grant sent a note asking if the CDC would be interested in setting up an educational booth at the Lake Ontario Waterfront Festival on May 17, 2025. More discussion regarding this request will be held in future meeting.
The next club meeting is scheduled for January 16 at 5:00 PM at the Clayton village municipal building The meeting was then adjourned by Dennis at 6:20 PM.
