Lake Washington Association Board Meeting August 9, 2016
Board Members Present:
| Mike Wosmek Sandy Wosmek Cathy Klehr Pat Hanson Dean Shaner | Tom Hauer Ron Bubany Skip Sustacek Sharon Daniels | Steve Grotbo Steve Ullom Mark Johnson David Rathe |
Board Members please let someone know if you are not able to attend.
Treasurer Report: Invasive Species Fund $44,943.00 General Fund $71,680
PAID MEMBERSHIPS: 205
1) Call Meeting to Order 7 PM – by President Steve Grotbo
2) Secretary’s July Board Meeting Report – approved for publication with corrections.
3) Treasurer’s July Financial Report – The activity is pretty much self-explanatory. The ad payment revenue of $320 is all from Zach Rogness of ReMax Realty who has prepaid for $40 dollar ads thru 2018. On the expense side, the $378 is for renewing the Constant Contact mass e-mail system by Ron Bubany. $212.56 reimburses Skip Sustacek for parts and materials for the watershed drainage system. The $107 is the balance of the annual insurance premium for the I-LIDS equipment.
4) August Pot Luck >- Sandy reported everything is ready for the Pot Luck on Friday. Many prizes have been collected from area merchants. Cathy reminded everyone that those collecting prizes will be sending Thank You notes to those making contributions.
5) Committee Reports:
Aquatic Invasive Species:
Water Quality Testing/Vegetation Survey – Latest water survey noted secchi disk readings of about 3 feet. Water testing will be done next week.
Vegetation survey, Tim Plude, area Invasive Species Specialist, reportedly conducted a vegetation survey of Lake Washington in recent weeks. He reported they did not find any milfoil in the lake. Ron B. shared that Tim would like to talk with the vegetation survey working group and possibly do a vegetation survey together in the coming weeks.
I-LIDS/Watercraft Inspection – Dave R. reported the I-LIDS unit is going to be moved to the east side of the landing, in hopes of cutting down on the morning sun glare. When moving the unit they will cement the unit into the ground. The present anchoring system does not secure the unit on windy days, resulting in blurred images. The Litchfield Newspaper published an article about the I-LIDS unit on Lake Washington. There was a mention in the article of every lake getting an I-LIDS unit.
Dave Rathe will forward notice regarding registration for the 2016 Aquatic Invasive Species Research and Management Showcase Monday September 12 at the University of Minnesota Continuing Education and Conference Center on the St. Paul Campus.
Cormorants & Pelicans – Steve G. received and email from Scott Mackenthun, DNR Fisheries in Hutchinson that included many pages about the most recent fish surveys conducted, July 2016 on Lake Washington. Scott M. shared articles related to Federal Judges reviewing cormorants being a protected migratory bird and the DNR is awaiting this decision before talking about any action. They sent a preliminary summary report with many numbers of fish found during the surveys. Dean Shaner did accompany the survey crews for part of the time. He will contact Scott M. to get a better idea of spots used during the survey. Steve G. will contact Scott Mackenthun about writing an article for the fall newsletter regarding cormorants and the fish survey.
Zebra Mussels – Dave R. has received no reports of zebra mussels on any of our inspection plates.
Watershed – Skip S. shared the culvert on the south side of the Lake was washed out during the recent heavy rains. They reconfigured the culvert diverter and it seems to be working just fine. Next they will be looking at a culvert on 213th street.
Membership / Shoreline Captains – Cathy K. noted 205 members is about the same as we have had at this time many other years. Shoreline Captains have been getting more new members. A shoreline captain shared some people on the lake were upset that we didn’t publish lake itch notices. Cathy shared with them that this is something that is being talked about on social media.
Education & Public Relations:
Fall Newsletter – Ron B. will have a date for the articles to be in at the September meeting. Also if anyone knows of others that want to advertise, they should send a JPEG image to Ron.
Website, Facebook, and Email Activity – Steve G. reported we have 127 on Facebook.
Social Committee – Sandy asked for members to come about 4:30 on Friday night to help set up.
Financial – Grants – Sharon D. is still missing a few receipts and in-kind hours he has spent on projects this year. Sharon has signed up and set up an account on the DNR website. In communications with the DNR , Sharon has found some grants that are due in August, that she is trying to apply for. She also noted LWIA of Meeker Co, needs a partner in various projects we are working on (Meeker County Soil and Water is one possible candidate for our watershed projects). They also would like to see our 5 year plan when it comes to lake projects, Skip is working with Joe Norman to come up with this plan.
MCAL – Representatives/meeting dates – At the August meeting they elected the same officers to serve for the next year. Someone reported a commercial fisherman taking larger amounts of fish from Clearwater Lake. No other members of the MCAL have seen this happening. There was a discussion about raising dues that are presently $20, but no action was taken. Tim Plude, DNR Invasive Specialist was reportedly more open to associations doing treatments for milfoil. There was a conversation about setting clean water goals for the county. A more mature zebra mussel was reported to be found in Lake Stella. Next Meeting October 2016.
6) Aquatic Invaders Summit 2016 in St. Cloud October 5th and 6th at River’s Edge Convention Center
http://aissummit.mnlakesandrivers.org/ $165 per person payable on or before Sept. 14, 2016
Lake Washington Improvement Association of Meeker County will pay the registration fee for any board member to attend this conference. In the past members choose/pay to register and LWIA will reimburse those that attend.
7) Pull Tabs Person from New York, NY @ 917-243-8495 contacted us about having pull tabs to raise money for LWIA. The board had looked at this option about 20 years ago and chose not to enroll. The Board voted not to explore this option at this time.
8) Open Discussion – Dean S. shared the Hydro Geologist from Meeker County had sent out 1000 notices about doing well testing, they will choose from those that returned surveys to conduct free water analysis.
Next Board Meeting Scheduled for 7 PM Thursday September 1st at Dassel Rod & Gun Club