RLAA Board Meeting Minutes for September 7, 2011

Location: Maple Grove Library (Room 105)                                                                                                                                    Time: 7:00 pm

Call to Order at 7:05 pm

Approve this Agenda

No changes made

Introduction of Board Members and Guests

Present: George Schneider, Bill Kidder, Rick Stulac, Scott Roeglin, Joy Roeglin

Absent: Wade Quale

No guests were present

Treasurer Report (Rick)

Total of $13,200 in the bank (Savings/Checking)

No expected bills coming up the next quarter

Old Business

Reassign Rough Fish Removal project to another board member since Larry Bick resigned.

Larry is willing to turn over this project to someone in person.

Recommend turning this over to Bill Kidder/Wade Quale as both are on Lake Management Task Team.

Rough Fish Removal project

Last Action siince June 8 Board meeting:

Larry contacted Jeff Riedemann and discussed contract needs, timing, commitment, etc

No plan for action at this time.

Next steps:

See how Foster Lake carp removal project goes with Jeff and decide next steps

Slow/No Wake Signs

Buoys launched in June.

Only received one response from residents, which was positive.

Volunteer crew from the RLAA Board will plan on removing the buoys on October 1, 2011

Will tie off ropes to small plastic containers to mark the anchors for the winter.

George to store the buoys with his pontoon over the winter.

On-Going Business

Elm Creek Watershed TMDL Project Plan (George)

·         Stakeholders Meeting held on August 23

·         Project is still in the data collection phase through 2012

·         Next Meeting in October - Stakeholder Meeting #6 at (TBD)

Update  on 2011 projects

·         Potential 2011 Projects for this season through  early spring submitted to LQC for funding:

o        Dredging out boat ramp channel

§         Follow ups with DNR Hydrologist and residents who denied project work. (George)

§         Based on those conversations, see if we want to pursue this project for next year.

o        Plant Survey in 2011

§         There was not enough nuisance growth (Curlyleaf Pondweed) to warrant a plant survey for 2011. Wait and see if one will be necessary next year.

o        Carp Removal in 2011

§         Keep this on the possibility list for the future.

RLAA Asset Inventory

Aerator motors (2) stored at Larry Bick's home.

Weed Cutters (2) stored at George Schneider's home; 1 more at Tim Zastipol's home.

Other winter aeration materials still stored at City garage on Fernbrook Lane.

Q2 2011 Newsletter (George)

·         Plan on writing one up in September/October which will cover Q2 and Q3.

·         Topics to include:

o        RLAA Survey Results

o        Recognize those who have paid their dues

o        Projects completed this season (Buoys)

o        Other?

New Business

Officially recognized the resignation of Board member Larry  Bick

Larry submitted his resignation August 10, 2011 in order to concentrate on other non-profit boards he was already committed to.

The Board thanked Larry for his time and effort put in during his tenure with RLAA.

Recruit more board members

Down to 6 members now; would be nice to have more representation.

Advertise this need in the next newsletter.

August 30 Fish Kill discussion

Expected causes

Low Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

Little rainfall

Heat

Action taken

None possible. Not enough dead fish to warrant an organized cleanup

Can we prevent in the future?

Not without knowing when it will happen. If there was any advance warning, we could put out aeration units to introduce oxygen into the water. But the changeover to low DO usually occurs too rapidly to plan anything.

Simplify the projects we work on

Rather than tackle just long-term, slow moving projects, look into shorter term projects which are more manageable.

An example would be the Buoy project, which did not take long (couple of months from time they were ordered until installation), provides a resolution (slow traffic; boater awareness) and is visible to all who visit the lake.

Ideas for other projects to work on:

Plant trees along interstate to serve as noise buffer and beautify the area.

Spring cleanup along the shoreline by volunteer residents. Make a fun event by offering snacks and beverages after the activity.

Task Team Updates

Lake Management

None at this time. Probably should have another meeting before the winter.

Membership

Have not met since initial meeting last year. This could be a key driver to help grow the association membership. Do we have any volunteers to help chair/manage this team?

Other Business

Boating on Rice Lake

Received 2 different requests from residents who do not have lakeshore access asking if they can have a boat on the lake. When told they could not if they don't own it, but we do encourage them to pay dues, they asked why would they want to pay for something they can't enjoy.

Maybe we need to rethink how we solicit dues from our potential members? Ideas?

Applebees décor with Rice Lake photos

A designer (Melissa Hudson from Kansas City area) was asked to come up with a local décor for the Applebee's in Maple Grove. She asked about photos, which I forwarded to her in late August. Have not heard back from her if she got them or would use them.

Wait and see if any of the photos are displayed at the restaurant.

Have a 2nd All Members meeting sometime later in the summer

Measure how RLAA has been doing and plans for the upcoming season.

Good method to get feedback from membership.

Do we want to investigate having such a meeting before the winter?

Plan to discuss at our next board meeting.

Adjournment at 8:30 pm

Minutes George Schneider 9/16/11                         Rice Lake Area Association website = http://www.ricelakemn.com