By Rusty Fleming, Executive Director
In May 2006, we announced the formation of
Grand Lakers United Enterprise (GLUE) at the suggestion of state
representative Doug Cox. The primary motivation for our existence was the
Shoreline Management Plan mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
It was our belief, both then and now, that
the silent majority of Grand Lakers should have a voice in decisions
affecting the future of Grand Lake.
As I like to say, a lot of water has passed
through the turbines since then. Our membership has steadily grown and is
made up of property owners, property owners associations, boaters,
commercial interests, politicians and people just plain interested in
Grand Lake. To my knowledge, we’ve not refused membership to any one
person or organization. However, I’ve not seen a membership application
from Mike Brady or the Duck Creek Homeowners Association.
By the end of the first year, our
membership had grown to approximately 225. We worked hard to establish
some name recognition for our group by adopting a slogan, GLUE: WE STICK
TO THE ISSUES. Through the attendance of countless meetings, both public
and private, we established a positive relationship with the GRDA, have
become a known entity at FERC; have expressed our concerns about the
future of Grand Lake to our elected representatives, at both the state and
federal levels; and perhaps most importantly, we provided the GRDA the
only written proposal for changes to the Shoreline Management Plan
prepared by the SMP committees and Kleinschmidt & Associates, the
consulting firm, headquartered in Maine, hired to develop the plan.
We also initiated action, through the
development of a petition, signed by thousands of lakers just like you, to
find an alternative to the millet seeding program which required the lake
level to be dropped to an elevation of 741’ each year. That petition was
presented to the GRDA full board and was favorably received. In May, we
met with the Technology Committee, made up of GRDA staff members, state
and federal wildlife personnel, a representative from the Oklahoma Water
Resources Board and two professors from Oklahoma State University, to
pitch our alternative to the millet seeding program. Without their
endorsement, our proposal would stand little chance of being approved by
FERC.
Although our proposal was favorably
received, the committee would have to have assurances the city of Miami
would not intervene. I agreed to contact the Miami city manager to test
the waters. The heavy rain fall and flooding we’ve experienced this season
have put that effort on hold with respect to timing.
There is still a lot of work to do. Since
the public meetings in February and March, the GRDA legal staff has been
tweaking the shoreline management plan draft for presentation to their
board. We are convinced the authority has heard the public and has
implemented changes accordingly. We also think our recommended changes
will have been incorporated into the plan and that it may even be better
than we hoped for. The plan will be made public at the September board
meting scheduled for September 12th.
Through our efforts and other Grand Lakers,
who provided valuable input to the authority at public meetings, in phone
calls, e-mails and letters, it is our belief the GRDA is developing a user
friendly plan. There’s a lot of ground to cover before such a plan is
approved by the feds.
There will be a public comment period and
an agency comment period that will prove vitally important in determining
the future of Grand Lake. If the plan turns out as we expect, GLUE will be
at the forefront supporting the plan, but the naysayers will be there to.
Our group will need to be extremely active in this portion of the process,
if we are to get a plan we can all live with.
We accomplished a lot in this first year
with respect to representing the views of moderate thinking Grand Lakers.
As our membership grows, we can become even more effective in representing
the views of the “Silent Majority.” For those of you who have joined us
this year in the fight for Grand Lake’s future, we thank you and look
forward to your continued support. As promised, our application for tax
deductible non-profit status has now been initiated. We are currently a
not-for-profit Oklahoma corporation.
For those of you that share our concerns
for the future, your membership in our organization will be welcomed. For
more information, I can be e-mailed at
rustyfleming@wavelinx.net or you can visit our web site at
grandglue.com.
See Ya’ Around the Pond!
