Lake Washington Association Board Meeting May 2, 2019
Board Members Present:
| Mike Wosmek Sandy Wosmek Lyle Walker Tom Hauer Dean Shaner | Ron Bubany Skip Sustacek Mark Johnson Sharon Daniels David Rathe | Steve Grotbo Steve Ullom Pat Hanson Cathy Klehr |
Board Members please let someone know if you are not able to attend.
Treasurer Report: Invasive Species Fund $63,244.36 General Fund $65,551.60
Paid Memberships: 100
1) Call Meeting to Order 7 PM – by President Steve Grotbo
2) Secretary’s April Board Meeting Report – Approved for publication on website
3) Treasurer’s April 2019 Financial Report – Lyle W reported Income: $4950.00 dues, $120.00 ads for newsletter, $1995.00 contributions to Invasive Species Expenses:$1045.00 donations collected for Dassel Fire Dept, $3170.18 for laminated maps, $800.22 Newsletter and mailing, $250.00 Water Quality Testing, $490.00 Hosting Application, $165.70 Administration. Year end balance is $128,796.00. Lyle is pulling the year end report together and submitting is to Piehl, Beckman, Hanson for filing State and Federal reports.
4) Board Member Elections – Sharon Daniels and Ron Bubany have agreed to serve another term on the Board. Cindy Hewitt has agreed to join the Board for a three year term. Steve G will ask Renae M and Mark J. will ask Laure if they would agree to be on the board.
5) Garbage can at Ellsworth Landing – There was some discussion about the monthly cost but has been established it will be $30.60. The Board approved this cost, and Steve G will contact the DNR to begin services using Waste Management. From May 2019 through September 2019.
6) Lake Map for Members – Steve G. reviewed a color coded map with 5 foot depths. This will be given to all lake shore property owners by the Shoreline Captains this year. Suggestions were made to print the map on heavier paper, include a color key and a compass.
7) Walleye Population Estimate and Angler Study – Tanner Stevens, DNR Hutchinson office, is leading this walleye study on Manuella, Stella, and Washington. He has agreed to speak about this study and answer questions at the Membership Pork Chop Dinner on Saturday. Steve G. reported getting a great deal of interest in this study when he asked if there were any questions. 35,143 people viewed this post, with 5,363 actually clicking on it and 198 shared Steve’s post. Some of the questions he received were: Number of walleye tagged on each lake, sizes of fish tagged, what to do with tagged fish, any prizes for turning in the tag, purpose and long term benefit of the study, is it worth the tax payer monies spent. Steve will get these questions to Tanner before the meeting.
8) Sweatshirt sales – Renae McKimm is selling Lake Washington sweat shirts (hoodies) with $10 of each sale going to the Association, this will be considered a donation. Approved and talk about an area she could set up a display at the Membership Meeting on Saturday.
9) Committee Reports:
Aquatic Invasive Species:
A. Water Quality Testing – Dave R. reported MPCA had a web meeting where they will be looking at the water data for all the lakes in Minnesota and developing an Index of Biological Integrity, IBI, for each lake.
B. Vegetation Survey – Mark J talked to Limnopro about doing additional AIS surveys on lake Washington, They sent 5 options with costs for a variety of surveys they could conduct. Option 1 – standard point intercept of the whole lake (2,438 = 1 point per acre) costing $20,113.50, this could be adjusted to 1 point every 2 or 5 acres for less money. Option 2 Meandering survey over 5 foot depth 10.5 miles costing $1,470.00 Option. 3 Meandering survey over 10 ft depth 14.6 miles costing $2,044.00. Option 4 AIS Early Detection, of the whole lake, using different points than last year costing $1199.00. Option 5 Standard point intercept 1 point per acre where EWM was found last year but expanding on the areas it was found last year. For a total of 380 points at a cost of $3,135.00. This can be spread over several years. The Board approved Option 5, also asked Mark J to contact Limnopro about the costs for doing a search for Starry Stonewart.
C. I-LIDS/Watercraft Inspection – Dave R. reported the SUP (Special Use Permit) has been signed by Jeremy Losinski, DNR Parks and Trails and is good through 2021. Dave R with help will be installing the I-LIDS soon. Our contract with Environmental Sentry Protection for video capture, storage, review and maintenance for 2019 will cost $2,084.06
D. Cormorants & Pelicans – At times this spring there have been reports of hundreds of cormorants and many Pelicans on the lake. Steve G will check with Rick F about any new information.
E. Zebra Mussels – Mike W. reported hotels go out Memorial Weekend.
F. Watershed – Skip S. reported, Joe Morgan, Meeker Soil and Water, has been talking with Nelson Farm about ways to slow the water flow from the farm tiles just west of the lake outlet. Joe also reported there is money from the County to pay for this project. Skip and Dave R are getting together to make a plan for doing water testing in specific areas after heavy rains. Skip was proposing putting up a light on the pathway on the southwest corner of Lake Washington that connects with Stella. He will check with county to see if this is even possible.
Membership / Shoreline Captains – Meeting Scheduled for 9:30 May 18 at Cathy Klehr’s house. Cathy reported she is keeping track of the new people that are moving on to the lake. She will continue sending out membership updates to the Shoreline Captains on a monthly basis. Ron and Cathy reviewed Ken’s files and kept relevant information.
Education & Public Relations:
A. Summer Newsletter – tabled until June meeting
Website – Website is getting 7 hits per day, up from 4 last month. Facebook 308 likes up 108 from last month. Steve G has lost email connection and Ron B will work on fixing this.
Social Committee – Sandy W. reports we are getting the pork chops from Schroeder this year and everything is ordered, with B&B paying for them again this year. Asking people to show up about 4 pm to help with cooking and set up. The Agenda: Social Hour 5-6; meal followed by thank you to board members leaving, election of Board members, Cathy K welcome of new lake property owners, Q & A LWIA Board of Directors from people present, Tanner Steven, DNR, talk about the walleye survey, meat raffle.
Financial / Grants – Sharon D. reminded everyone to submit hours and expenses for any work we do on a monthly basis. She will keep running totals and track of our volunteer/in kind hours.
MCAL- Representatives/meeting dates – Pat H reported there was not a quorum of members at the last meeting but lots of discussions. Of interest there are 19 lake associations in Meeker County and 100 lakes. AIS is the big issue and MCAL is encouraging lakes to ask for help with these problems. July and December are when they approve grants. There was lots of talk about the Wright County AIS boat inspections and what is happening in different parts of the state. There has been some conversation about classifying lakes based on how much boat traffic they have. MCAL will continue to focus on education, treatments, inspections, but there is a general lack of money and volunteers. Dave R. reported Meeker Boat inspections schedule will be weekends from Opener until Labor Day. There will be a decontamination station alternating between Washington and Stella on the weekends. Also larger clean drain disposal sites will be installed at the landing. Some Lake Associations are going to mechanical control of AIS because of limits on chemical control methods. Also, MCAL is not a 501(c)(3) organization.
10) Open Discussion – Skip S. was approached by Jordan from EZ Dock & Lift about paying for the main dish at our gatherings. Board agreed B&B has the right of first refusal when it comes to paying for the pork chops. But will look at ways Jordan can make a contribution toward the main dish for our Pot Luck Dinner. Skip will get back to him.
Next Board Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday June 4th at Dassel Rod and Gun Club
Steve Ullom will not be at June 4 meeting, so Mark Johnson has volunteered to take notes.