Ronkonkoma Lake Foundation Announced as Incorporated Public Charity

Nearly a year after first being proposed, and roughly five months after first seeking approval from the Department of State, the Ronkonkoma Lake Foundation (RLF) has finally been incorporated. It was made official during the April meeting of the Lake Ronkonkoma Advisory Board (LRAB).

Originally proposed as a 501(c)(3) charity organization, the RLF is incorporated as a public charity. Though George Schramm, a LRAB member and the Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization President, has been trying to establish the RLF as a non-profit organization for the past five months, he said the Department of State wouldn’t grant that right.

“At this time,” Schramm said, “it’s not possible to create a lake organization that is a 501(c)(3) charity.”

As a result, the RLF's incorporation as a public charity means it is a non-member organization. The non-member element was met with questions and concerns from both the LRAB as well as the public.

Schramm responded by outlining the structure of the RLF in detail, saying, though non-member, the RLF fills a much needed purpose which is the ability to apply for grants and obtain funds in order to maintain and support the ecology of the lake.

“This was a tough decision for us,” Schramm said. “We took a path we felt would fill a void.”

The RLF will be made up of a board of trustees. In addition to Schramm, the board of trustees, right now, includes Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization members Dawn Hopkins and Patricia Duffield. There are seven trustees positions in total: a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, audit secretary, and outreach secretary. All trustees will be volunteers and, hopefully, experts in a given field.

“That is what we need,” Schramm said regarding experts in lake ecology, grant writing and the likes. “Obviously we are looking for experts that know more than we do.”

Hearing this, a Highland Avenue resident asked how the input of the community would be considered. Schramm let the gentleman know that volunteer committees will be set up as part of the RLF. The volunteer committees will meet on a regular basis and are open to anyone. What the RLF pursues as a public charity, according to Schramm, will be a result of the input from the volunteer committees.

Schramm also stressed that the board of trustees will abide by the goals and bylaws of the RLF. Those bylaws and goals, though not yet complete, will be posted on the RLF web site when they are. Schramm expects the bylaws to be posted within two to three weeks. He said there are a few details not yet complete and that he did not want to post incomplete bylaws.

With its incorporation, Schramm said the RLF can start brainstorm what projects to pursue. He added, though, that pursuing grants and donations will not start until the summer or fall.

The meeting concluded with an aide for Suffolk County Leg. John Kennedy’s office reporting on the status of stocking the lake with grass carp, which was recommended by the DEC during the as a preventive measure against the invasive plant hydrilla that is plaguing the lake.

Kennedy’s aide said there is one grass carp dealer locally and estimated the cost to stock the lake at $10,000. She said the legislator’s office has pursued several grants to meet the cost but was not near the $10,000 price tag. In addition, she noted that the DEC also recommended installing nets into the lake to keep the grass carp from escaping into the lily pond. The cost of the nets was not included in the $10,000 figure.