RLAA Board Meeting Minutes for September 20, 2010

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

Call to Order at 7:15 pm

Present: Larry Bick, George Schneider, Bill Kidder, Wade Quale, Rick Stulac, Scott Roeglin

Absent: Nika Rybinski, Joy Roeglin

Approve this Agenda

Approved with no changes

Introduction of Board Members and Guests (George)

There were no guests in attendence

Treasurer Report (Rick)

Current finances

$13,536 in the bank (Savings & Checking)

No new members since our last meeting on July 14

No additional dues received to date since last meeting

Maple Grove Run flyers did not generate any incremental revenue/members

Upcoming expenditures/bills

None until we receive bills later this year for 2 FSS projects

Old Business

Q2 Newsletter released August 19

This issue was not sent as an e-mail attachment; just a link to the website to read it.

Site Stats show 41 visits to the Newsletter page from Aug 15 through Sep 9.

August 19 à 10 visits

August 20 à 12 visits

Only received one comment (Councilwoman Karen Jaeger - good job!).

Action Item: Larry Bick checked into the option of sending out the Newsletter in ready-to-read format within the e-mail (rather than as an attachment or link to the site), which would make it easier for our recipients to read it immediately.

However, he found out that this only works for single page documents created in MS Publisher. Our newsletter is created in MS Word so it would not be possible to do.

Membership concerns

·         Did recent membership drive efforts bring in more members/revenue?

Follow up e-mails (done in May/June)

Did not generate additional members/revenue

Flyers (distributed at Maple Grove Days in mid-July)

Did not generate additional members/revenue

Other ideas?

May need to go Door to Door when we need more funds

Larry reminded the Board to welcome new residents to our neighborhoods and invite them to join RLAA.

Rough Fish Removal project (Nika)

·         NOTE: Nika was not present at the meeting and didn't have any updates from Jeff.

·         Is Jeff Riedemann going to get out on the lake this open water season (2010) to check for stumps, etc? Has anyone heard from him? Do we still want to pursue working with him?

Can we get a commitment from Jeff for removal efforts this winter?

Arboretum parking lot ramp access for winter removal as an option instead of Glacier cul-de-sac?

Board members present agreed that our primary objective is to improve the water quality on the creek/lake. If this requires rough fish removal, we should continue that pursuit.

Next steps to get Jeff Riedemann on board and committed to our efforts:

Get Carp Exclosure results from FSS and his opinion on rough fish removal.

If FSS agrees it would make a significant difference in the lake, find out what costs/resources would be necessary for Dr. Peter Sorenson tracking process.

·         Carp Busters - Any more information on this organization?

Sounds like they operate locally (north of Twin Cities), but may not be able to have much of an impact due to our poor water clarity (can't bowhunt what you can't see).

·         Larry recommended we plan on dedicating more time to cover this topic at our next board meeting. Hopefully we will have more questions answered by that time and can come up with some action items.

On-Going Business

Elm Creek Watershed TMDL Project Plan (George)

·         Next Stakeholders meeting on September 23 at Plymouth City Hall.

·         George to provide update to Board after that meeting.

·         NOTE: September 23 session was cancelled on 9/21 due to too many outstanding issues not documented for the group. More information will follow on rescheduling that session.

Storm Water Drain Inventory (Bill)

·         Anything new with the City on this project?

Now that the leaves are beginning to fall, may be a good time to review our inventory by boat and land?

Nothing new from the City, but George/Bill plan on getting out again to re-do the survey after the leaves start falling and before the snow starts falling.

Scott asked if we could have the City check out the cistern on Elm Creek south of County Road 30 located between the Nord and Grefe properties.

Action Item: George will check with the City to have them inspect it.

New Business

Q3 2010 Newsletter

·         Plan on releasing by 2nd half of October.

·         What topics should we cover in this issue?

·         George to follow up with board via e-mail on next issue content

Algae/Water Quality for this past season

·         According to the experts, the excessive nutrients and sporadic heavy rainfall contributed to our algae bloom outbreaks in July and August this season. Some other lakes in the metro area experienced similar activities.

o        FSS reminds us that algae production is very dependent on the weather.

·         What can we do to prevent/reduce impact in the future?

Emphasize Lawn Aeration

Find a service provider for a discount for RLAA members. Once that discount is available, contact RLAA membership via e-mail to contact that service provider to secure the discount for services.

Larry and Scott will to some research looking for a company to provide this type of discount.

No other recommendations/suggestions at this time, but George did advocate thinking about Education for our members, including the 'Green Section' we offer in the Newsletters.

Begin discussion on 2010-2011 projects

·         LIP project ideas (not formalized) need to be discussed by LQC at October meeting. Need to have the respective lake associations submit their ideas (rough cost estimates) at that time for 2011 budget planning.

·         Dredging out boat ramp channel

o        Yes, pursue this and we should request 50% co-share with the City on this project

·         Potential Curlyleaf Pondweed problems in 2011?

o        Don't plan for a drawdown in 2010-2011, but reach out to membership for possible drawdown in 2011-2012 if necessary.

·         Plant Survey in 2011

o        Don't plan for one in 2011, but if we need to do one, request it then.

·         Carp Removal in 2011

o        Keep this on the possibility list for 2011

Other New Business?

Larry mentioned using MS Outlook as meeting planner for Board members. George will use that going forward.

Project Updates

FSS Projects update (George)

·         Carp Exclosure

o        Reviewed early project update (not formal) from FSS which confirmed our suspicions that the presence of carp is wreaking havoc on both vegetation growth and water quality. ("The results clearly show that carp are physically uprooting plants in Rice Lake and are greatly reducing plant growth in nearshore areas that receive enough light to support plants.")

·         Zooplankton results

o        Early sampling review indicates there should be plenty of plankton to support a healthy game fish population.

Task Team Updates

Lake Management (George)

Nothing new but plan on having another team meeting this fall.

Membership (Rick/George)

Other Business?

Next Meeting date

·         Already scheduled for Tuesday, October 12 at the Maple Grove Library in Room 105.

Adjournment at 9:00 pm

Minutes written by George Schneider 9/23/10

Rice Lake Area Association website = http://www.ricelakemn.com