2016 Annual Meeting

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING
OF THE BLACKWATER LAKE ASSOC.

July 16, 2016

            The Annual meeting of the members of the Blackwater Lake Association, hereinafter referred to as “BLA”, was held on the above date at10:00 A.M. at the Woodrow Town Hall.  Sixty-one members were present, including directors Barbie Laughlin, Linda Burns, Lloyd Thielmann, Travis Skalicky, Craig Laughlin, Jerry Franke, Claus Peukert and Dick Clough. Becky Seemann was absent, and a quorum was present at the meeting.

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 10:06 by Board Chair, Lloyd Thielmann.

Approval of Agenda

The members reviewed the agenda for the meeting which, after two additions by Lloyd and upon motion duly made and seconded, was unanimously approved.

Approval of Prior Minutes

The minutes of the 2015 annual meeting were posted on line and at the meeting by Secretary, Craig Laughlin.  Upon motion duly made and seconded the minutes were unanimously approved.

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer, Linda Burns presented the following highlights from the treasurer’s report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016:

Opening Balance         $4,745

Credits                                    $4,368

Expenses                     $5,614

Ending Balance           $3,500

Linda also noted that our membership dues covered our normal operating expenses for the year, but that our year-end balance was $1200 less that the starting balance – which closely approximated the amount spent on AIS.  Linda noted that, to meet our ongoing and unforeseeable future expenses related to AIS prevention, detection, and possible remediation, the Board is encouraging members to make additional donations toward our AIS efforts.

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

Auditor’s Report

Pat Schwerin reported that she had reviewed the books and found them to be in order.

 

Remembrance

Lloyd mentioned that Marilyn Marcellus had passed away in the past year and a moment of silence was observed for her.

First Responders Presentation

Lloyd introduced Bonnie Jepson and Ted Raines from Lake Country First Responders.  Bonnie gave a short presentation on the First Responders program in our area.  The responders are all volunteers, and their funding is strictly from donations.  The nine volunteers are dispatched by the Cass County Sherriff’s department.  When people call 911, they should be sure to mention that they are in Cass County MINNESOTA, as North Dakota has a Cass County as well.  Lloyd presented them with a $500 check from the BLA, and another $100 check from an anonymous Board member.

Committee Reports

  1. 4th of July Parade: Travis reported that 27 watercraft participated in this year’s boat parade. The Piehl family won the prize for best “float” with their hot dog theme.
  2. Beaver Control: Lloyd reported that our new beaver control contractor been doing a terrific job of both trapping and keeping the culvert clear.
  3. Bog report: Lloyd mentioned that he had checked on the bog and that it seems to be well anchored still, even in these high water conditions.
  4. Fish Report: Lloyd reported that the bass regulations had changed and that the slot had been increased from 12” to 14”.
  5. Seedling Give Away: Court Lechert encouraged members to watch the Blurb for the announcement of next year’s seedling give away and to contact him with their orders.
  6. Septic Report: Lloyd reported that the BLA is no longer paying for septic inspections because we lost our inspector relationship and the cost has gone up to $500 per inspection.
  7. AIS Update: Claus read a report by Becky Seemann regarding the past year’s AIS activates and  the AIS Early Response Plan (ERSP) as follows:
    1. The lake has been divided into 8 monitoring sections with volunteer inspectors in each section who are doing early detection work to collect samples and monitor for AIS species.
    2. Becky reported two situations at lakes where early detection resulted in the elimination of an invasive species before it could become established, therefore, early detection works!
    3. Blackwater Lake will receive about 1,000 hours of inspector time from Cass County at the public access.

Election Board Members

Lloyd announced that Barbie Laughlin, (2 yr. term), Claus Peukert, (2 yr. term), and Jerry Franke (1 yr. term, at large) had been nominated by the Board of Directors to stand for re-election as directors, and that Dodi Sletten had been nominated to stand for election as Secretary.   Lloyd then opened the floor to nominations.  There were none, so pursuant to motion duly made and seconded, the nominations were closed and the slate of directors nominated by the Board of Directors was elected by unanimous acclimation.

Aquatic Invasive Species Early Detection Presentation

Carolyn Dindorf gave a presentation on early detection of AIS which included the following information:

  1. The Secci Disc Transparency trend at Blackwater Lake since 1988 has been improving, with an average of 15 feet of clarity in 2015.  (This is good.)
  2. Total Phosphorus in the lake has been trending down over the same period with a 2014 reading of about 12 TP ppb.  Phosphorus stimulates algae growth.  (This is good.)
  3. Chlorophyll a is increasing slightly, which indicates a little bit more algae in the lake.  (Not good.)
    1. The above numbers indicate that we have good water quality now, but we are close to a tipping point – so it is very important that we all make sure that our septic systems are in good shape, that we have buffer zones next to the lake, and that we not allow runoff from construction sites to go into the lake.
  4. Aquatic Invasive Species are a problem because they:
    1. Displace beneficial native species
    2. Decrease biodiversity
    3. Harm fish populations
    4. Damage natural habitat
    5. Interfere with recreation
    6. Alter water quality Cause economic harm
  5. Eurasian watermilfoil, curly leaf pondweed, purple loosestrife, zebra mussels, and rusty crayfish are species of special concern in Cass County.  Carolyn presented several slides on how to identify each, where to look for them, and the time of year that they are most likely to be found.

Door Prizes

Next, a drawing was held for several door prizes.  A list of winners will be published in the next Blackwater Blurb.

Adjournment

There being no further business to come before it, upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned by unanimous approval at 12:09 p.m.

Dated as of the date first written above.

____________________________________

Craig Laughlin, Secretary

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