Long & Crooked Lakes Association Board of Directors Meeting, February 3, 2017
Present
Ken Bachofer, President
Dan Torgersen, Secretary/Treasurer
Bob Payne: Environmental Director
Greg Koenigs, Immediate Past President
Absent
Judie Manea-Baker, Vice-President
Dave Weeres, Lake Management Plan Director
Dick Nohner, Director at Large
1. The meeting was called to order by Ken at 6:08 pm.
2. The October 24, 2016 Meeting Minutes were approved.
3. The Treasurer’s Report showed a balance of $4,859.08
4. Trapping update.
a. Justin trapped 28 muskrats in November/December 2016 and was paid $140.00.
b. The Board confirmed that LCLA will continue to use Justin as the trapper and will revisit at the 2017 Annual Meeting.
5. What the heck is 501(c)(7)? Maybe 501(c)(4) is more suitable? Maybe it’s just too much trouble and too expensive.
a. 501(c)(7) is a sports club or homeowner organization created for the good of the membership.
b. 501(c)(4) is an organization created for the good of the community. LCLA would probably qualify since it cooperates in maintenance of the lake access.
c. Bob will check with Susan McGuire to see if other lake associations have a 501(c)(7), 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(3) registration.
d. It appears from websites that the application fee is $400.
e. Dan will check with Gordon Hansmeier to see what might be appropriate for LCLA and how much it would cost to register.
6. AIS update from Bob. What was learned at Jan 7 CRWD AIS meeting from Bob & Ken.
a. Bob’s Minutes
Clearwater River Watershed District (CRWD)
The CRWD put on an AIS Summit, on 7 Jan 2017. Ken B. and Bob P. attended the meeting. 16 Lake Associations were present to talk about their AIS battles. Representatives from four local counties were there to help discuss activities and procedures dealing with AIS.
It was a scary meeting as the participants were talking about their problems and what they have had to do to fight the infestations. The grants from the county and the DNR were discussed.
According to the agenda thee was a time set aside for a “Lake AIS Strategy Round Table”. That is where I felt it would be really beneficial for us. However, they did not have the time to run it. Bottom line we heard some of the same comments and issues as we have heard in the past:
Who is in charge when a new infestation is found? (lake association)
Who is financially responsible? (Lake association)
What is a Rapid Response Plan? Who produces it? (lake association)
What are the AIS Treatment Grants? Funding process? (County and DNR)
Bottom line is we do not qualify for a grant because we do not have AIS. Prevention is our hope for success. It was good to meet some of the contact people at county level.
b. Ken’s Notes
i. First infestation decreased property values 6%!
ii. Fighting AIS is Very expensive. Sometimes special equipment and SCUBA divers are needed. Grants often only cover part of the cost.
iii. Most of the meeting focused on AIS infestations.
iv. The most effective AIS prevention measure is lake access inspections by volunteers.
v. We should work with another lake association to get enough people to meet the lake access inspection training minimum.
c. Starry Stonewort cost Lake Koronis $900,000.
7. Newsletter. At the October BOD Meeting we voted to have a quarterly 1-page letter. (Let’s try for March and June). Topics should include:
a. What the Lake Association is doing for residents
b. AIS
c. Greater participation in LCLA.
8. Jerry Finch has requested an article about AIS and our lakes for the township newsletter. Do we want to do that?
a. Board decided not to submit an article, particularly since the article needs to be submitted by February 6, 2017.
9. Winter parking at access (we have seen 8 vehicles).
a. We are not going to worry too much about winter parking.
b. We will concentrate on parking when the lakes are open.
10. Growing LCLA membership
a. Currently there are 29 households paying dues out of 94 households that are eligible. This is 31%
b. Set a goal of getting a 50% participation rate.
c. Will concentrate on how to do this at the next BOD Meeting.
11. Status of Buckthorn project
a. Will table until September/October when plant is obvious.
12. Status of mowing by township at the lagoon narrows. No action taken – still open item
13. CC ski grooming. Do we support?
a. Consensus was for LCLA to not support trail grooming.
14. Set a regular monthly date for BOD meetings?
a. No. But we will generally try to hold BOD Meetings on Tuesday as this seems the best day of the week
15. Adjourned at 7:27 pm.
Submitted by Dan Torgersen
Secretary/Treasurer of Long and Crooked Lakes Association
