2024 Annual Meeting

2024 Annual Meeting

  MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING

   OF THE BLACKWATER LAKE ASSOC.

          July 20, 2024

The Annual meeting of the members of the Blackwater Lake Association, hereinafter referred to as “BLA”, was held on the above date at 9:00 a.m. with social hour and meeting at 10:00 a.m.at Woodrow Town Hall. 44 members were present including board members, Chairman Shannon Klundt, past Chairman Lloyd Thielmann, Carolyn Dindorf, Brian Roos, Dodi Sletten, Barbie Laughlin, Becky Seemann, Tim Marr, Scott Agre, and Rick Zbikowski. 

                                                         Call to Order

Shannon Klundt, Board chair called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. with an opening statement asking any new first time members to stand and introduce themselves.

         Approval of Agenda

The agenda was distributed prior to the meeting via Blackwater Blurb, direct mail and email and copies were also available at the meeting. Shannon asked the floor if there were any additions to the agenda. There were no additions from the floor and upon motion duly made and seconded, the agenda was unanimously approved.  

                 Approval of Prior Minutes

The minutes of the 2023 annual meeting were posted on the BLA website and were made available at the meeting by Secretary, Dodi Sletten.  Upon motion duly made and seconded, the minutes were unanimously approved.

              Guest Speakers

Shannon introduced our guest speaker – Jeff Maar – A civil engineer at the University of Minnesota. Jeff spoke to the study on Wake boats and their effect on the lake shore and water bottoms. The study centered on 1) Prop Wash 2) Transverse Waves and 3) Divergent Waves and the conditions that occur at different speeds. They researched using 4 different boats. The study indicated that a wake boat versus a non-wake boat, seemed to point to limiting damage the wake boat needed  to be 500 feet away from shore. The second study was on Lake Minnetonka and focused on prop wash effects on vegetation, water quality and shorelines. The third study is in review and was centered on wind waves versus boat waves. Tim recommended anyone interested in the full study and the details go to the website; cs.umm.edu/safl.com and look for the publication on wake boats effects on freshwater lakes

                                                                  Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer Brian Roos provided the Treasurers report – highlights and summary for the year 2024 to date. Treasurer Brian Roos reported membership at 124.  The balances in the various accounts and funds as of July20, 2024 are as follows:

General Fund:  $4,546.52

Lake Protection Fund:  $22,361.94 this includes a $4,000 CD that matures on 10/8 that will generate $150 in interest and a $15,569 CD that matures 11/20 that will add $454 in interest.

Walleye Stocking Fund: $6,330.00 this includes a $5,000 CD that matures on 10/9 and will earn $188 in interest.

To date, the CD’s have earned $572 and an additional $800 will be earned by the end of 2024. Most preapproved expenses have been paid with an additional $2,000 of overlap expenses expected due to the change in the fiscal year end. 

A commitment was made for Walleye Stocking in 2025 and the balance in the Walleye fund will cover that stocking.

 Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Treasurers Report was unanimously approved.

                                                            In Remembrance

 A moment of silence was held in remembrance of friends who are no longer with us.  

         Committee Reports

  1. 4th of July Parade: There were 18 watercraft that participated in this year’s boat parade. 5 boats participated in the best decorated boat. The winning boat was the Gardell’s with a theme of Lake Monster.
  2. Beaver Control: Lloyd Thielmann reported that our beaver control contractor has done a very thorough job. He reported the removal of 34 beavers prior to Memorial Day. The dam is being allowed to be built back up again to maintain water levels but will be treated again in the fall.  
  3. Lake Water Quality Report: Jim Sletten talked about the process he goes through to test the water and to get the clarity readings. He noted that we use RMB labs to test and track the results.  He had physical copies of the trends for anyone who was interested in seeing the results and also told the members of the RNB site they could access and look at the trends at any time. While Phosphorous ticked up slightly, he reported that overall the lake looks to be in good shape with no significant changes.
  4. AIS Report: Carolyn Dindorf spoke about the volunteers who looks for invasive species around the lake. She reported that Woman Lake has Zebra mussels. She talked about the importance of cleaning our boats and the installation of tools at our access for our use. These tools include a grabber, brush and a plug wrench. She reported the invasive species we have on the lake are Chinese Banded Mystery Snails, Rusty Crawfish and a little Purple Loosestrife.
  5.  Water Levels:  Scott Agre reported that the DNR comes out in May to record water levels. He noted that the water level recordings from year to year can be found at MN Lakefinder. Scott takes the water level readings weekly and reports them to the DNR. 
  6. Fishing Committee report: Shannon reported that the fishing committee has committed to stocking walleye in the fall of 2025. The association was able to do this due to generous donations from its members. 338 lbs. of fish at $20 per pound has been committed to. These will be fingerlings size 6-9 inches. Shannon spoke to the Youth Education and opportunities for our youth. A donation from the One Stop and a match from our general fund will allow us to outfit 30 of our youth with a rod, reel and tackle boxes. The committee will be sending out an email notification with the date and detail for sign-up to reserve this for you kids or grandkids. 
  7. Board of Directors Election:

The board of directors nominated the following for election. 

  • Becky Seemann (Director-2 year term)
  • Barbie Laughlin (Director-2 year term)
  • Rick Zbikowski (Director at large-1 year term)

A motion was duly made and seconded, the nominations were closed as there were none from the floor and the slate of directors nominated by the Board of directors was elected by unanimous acclimation.

  • Cabin Coffee:  Shannon and Becky spoke about the Cabin coffee at Seemann’s who reported a great turnout of 27 lake owners and a very enjoyable time. The next cabin coffee is at Tom and Robin Shannon on August 11th.    

New Business:

There being no further business to come before it, upon motion duly made and seconded, the               meeting was unanimously adjourned at 11:33 a.m.

Dated as of the date first written above.

____________________________________

Dodi Sletten, Secretary