RLAA Board of Directors Meeting Minutes                                                                       3/8/2006

Meeting Location:  The Lookout Bar & Grill in Maple Grove

Time: 6:30 pm

Directors present at the meeting:

Chuck Berger               Steve Cady                   Mark Mitchell               Matthew Coumbe

George Schneider          Wade Quale                  Eric Lind                       Tom Dechmann

Jim Malone                   Jami Stromberg

(Absent - Roger Olson, Bob Cremers, Nika Rybinski, Rich Von Lehe)

Agenda Items

Annual Meeting Planning - Need to choose Date & Time, Location, and Agenda

Members selected Wednesday evening, April 19th starting at 6:00 pm. Dinner will be part of the meeting (as was last year) and paid for by RLAA if that member pays dues.

Chuck later brought it to our attention that April 19th will be the monthly LQC meeting, of which George would need to attend. Based on that date conflict, April 20 (Thursday) or April 26 (Wednesday) will be offered as an alternate meeting date. George will poll the members and get a response back to everyone within the next week.

Meeting venue will consist of a dinner format. Tom Dechmann and Matt Coumbe volunteered to find a location, make the reservation, and inform the Board with results.

Meeting Agenda will consist of:

i.      Presidents Report

ii.      Secretary Report

iii.      Treasurer Report

iv.      Election of new Officers

·         Bob Cremers

·         Jim Malone

·         Roger Olson

·         Wade Quale

v.      Overview of Drawdown Request

vi.      Vote on proposal from Steve McComas for Aquatic Plant Surveys

vii.      Miscellaneous

Other possible speakers at Annual Meeting

i.      Kent Kiewatt from Friends of Elm Creek

Rice Lake Management Plan - Review where we are at, what issues should be addressed next, and how our plan fits into the scope for available funding from the City LQC.

Directors agreed that Jim Storland's work on the Plant Surveys in 2005 was not sufficient, especially since the DNR may not accept any of his data since it did not conform to the necessary guidelines.

Reviewed the proposal from Steve McComas (Blue Water Science) for doing plant surveys in 2006. Steve has a very good association with the DNR and his data is accepted. The Directors agreed we should have Steve do the surveys this year, but need to clarify certain points of his proposal first, including the concern that the data must support a drawdown request if needed:

i.      DNR mentions 4 surveys per season; Steve is offering 2. Check with both parties to come to agreement what will be accepted as necessary information to be valid. (Chuck)

ii.      A request for LQC funding for $1,800 of the $2,800 total has been submitted (George).

The DNR West Metro Fisheries Manager (Daryl Ellison) has informed RLAA that a 2nd aerator will be necessary if we conduct future drawdowns. We need to look into getting that 2nd unit sometime this summer so we are prepared for Winter 2006-2007 in the event we do a drawdown.

LQC Lake Improvement Project funding submitted by George Schneider for 2006 assistance on these projects, each of which fits into the current objectives of the LQC:

i.      Aquatic Plant Surveys - $1,800 ($2,800 total)

ii.      Algae Control with Herbicide (if necessary) - $1,500 ($6,000 total cost in 2005)

iii.      Algae control with Cornmeal & Barley Straw (if necessary) - $2,000 (est. total cost $5,000)

iv.      Treat Curlyleaf Pondweed with Aquathol-K (if necessary) - $1,500 ($5,000 total in 2001)

RLAA member signatures for expected Drawdown and Algae Treatments: It was discussed that the Annual Meeting, but way of the Dues Notices, would be a good time to get members to sign petitions to approve of both a Drawdown and Algae Treatments, if necessary. This could be built into the Dues form and returned with payment to RLAA.

City of Maple Grove Parks Department will be planting trees along I-94 near the NW corner of the lake this year.

Administrative

Steve said the finances are becoming tighter, even with the dues increase imposed last year. We'll need to prioritize what really needs to be done if dues collection does not improve.

RLAA used to be incorporated; should we pursue filing the necessary paperwork and fees to do so again? Board tabled this for now and will review it in the near future.

Action Items

George Schneider will poll the Directors for revised Annual Meeting date of either April 20 or 26.

Chuck Berger will speak with Steve McComas to revise the Aquatic Plant Survey proposal to insure it will be accepted by the DNR for the sake of using the data towards a drawdown request.

Tom Dechmann and Matt Coumbe will find a restaurant that can handle our meeting group. They will make the necessary reservations and coordinate food choices.

George Schneider will follow up with Dr. Peter Sorenson from University of Minnesota regarding Carp reduction programs.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm.

Minutes compiled by George Schneider (RLAA Secretary)

March 11, 2006