May 2, 2026 Meeting Minutes

MINUTES OF A MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE BLACKWATER LAKE ASSOC.

May 2, 2026

A meeting of the board of directors of the Blackwater Lake Association (“the BLA”) was held on the above date at the home of Becky Seemann at 2608 6th Avenue NW, Longville, MN 56655.  Carolyn Dindorf (via video conference) Lloyd Thielmann (past Chair),  Brian Roos, Dodi Sletten, Barbie Laughlin, Becky Seemann, Pat Mckee (via video conference), Scott Agre,(via video conference) and Rick Zbikowski were present at the meeting. Pat Horan as director elect was also in attendance. All board members were present at the meeting.

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 8:42 a.m. by Board Vice Chairman, Carolyn Dindorf.

Approval of Agenda

Carolyn distributed the agenda prior to the meeting via email which, upon a motion duly made and seconded, was unanimously approved. 

 Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes

The minutes of the September 20th and January 24th BOD’s meeting were distributed by Dodi Sletten previously via email and reviewed by the board prior to this meeting. After review by the board which, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the minutes were approved unanimously.      

Treasurer’s Report

      Brian Roos provided the treasurers report via email prior to the meeting for review by the board.  Brian reported 112 paid memberships for 2026. This is down from 126 the previous year but may be due in part when we transitioned to a fiscal year beginning in January. Brian suggested we collect dues for 2027 at the annual meeting. General checking has a balance of $8,025.23. The Walleye stocking fund has $8,761.56 with $8192.12 of that in a CD.  The Lake Protection fund balance is at $31,041.96 with most invested in 7-9 month CD’s. The CD’s for all the accounts will mature at various times this summer and fall with the expected interest return at approximately $831. Brian reported donations of $2900 were received for the lake protection fund as well as $4580 for walleye stocking along with other various donations. 

After review by the board which, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Treasurer’s report was approved unanimously.   

Old Business

  1. Blackwater Blurb:  Becky noted that the Blurb is targeted to be out late May or early June of 2026.  The articles planned include: Members and donor list, member registration form, land/water landscaping buffer (Carolyn) highlights of great times at Blackwater through pictures (Becky), Loon protection reminder (Becky), BLA wake boat guidelines ( Carolyn and Pat M) and Walleye stocking facts (provided by Rick and Brian).  Fourth of July boat parade changes and those in memory of the past year.  Becky reminded the authors that all articles would need to be to her by May 10th to meet deadlines. Lloyd noted that the printer will fold and also tape the blurb for extra expense. Various board members volunteered to keep doing the taping and labeling.
  2. Beaver Control: The contract with our beaver control is in place until next fall. Pat Horan (director elect) volunteered to take on the beaver management. Lloyd will get the contact information to Pat.
  3. Rental Properties: Pat Mckee will contact Brenda Doneux to follow-up on the flyer she wrote to be included in the welcome packet.
  4. Libraries Love Lakes: Carolyn gave an update on this potential program. She sent a video to the Library on what is in the plan. She referenced the donation of $250 approved to support this program and talked to the potential of the board members having to volunteer to read or head up activities. Board members expressed concern over the number of lake owners that had children of this age were limited and grandchildren that when they do come to the cabin, their interest most likely would be in spending time in and on the water.  Carolyn will try to contact the library to follow up and may also bring this up in the annual meeting to gauge interest.

          New Business

  • Annual Meeting:  Carolyn confirmed the town hall has been reserved. She also noted the speaker will be Ryan Carlson, Cass SWCD (Soil and Water Conservation District).  He will be asked to speak 15 minutes plus time for questions when finished. The food for the meeting will be ordered from Super 1 and Becky and Pat Mckee will coordinate. The rest of the agenda will include committee reports, a moment of silence for those no longer with us. Other agenda items will be discussed and approved at our meeting in June. 
  • 4th of July boat parade:  The board discussed the need for new coordinators to take on the boat parade or the possibility to not have the parade at all. Barbie suggested we have the parade, tie it into the 250 year anniversary of the United States, but without having the prize for best decorated boat. The board approved this and Barbie will head up this plan.  
  • Board of Directors Election: The following are up for election. All have confirmed their interest in the positions as noted. Carolyn nominated Pat Horan to fill the open director position.
    • Carolyn Dindorf-Chairman
    • Barbie Laughlin-Vice Chairmen
    • Becky Seemann-Director
    • Pat Horan-Director
  • Cass County Plan: Carolyn spoke about the Lakeshed Plan for Blackwater Lake proposed by Cass County. The plan covers educating our lake owners in protecting our lake by implementing various measures, including shoreline and land protection, phosphorus reduction, AIS monitoring and groundwater safety measures. Some of which we have in place today. Cass County will be sending this plan to all property owners on Blackwater.
  •     AIS Early Detector Team: Carolyn reported she needed to touch base with her volunteers and also noted a need for a couple more around the lake. An ask for volunteers will be put in the Blurb.
  • Water Testing:  Brian sent via email the current RMB labs analysis report on our lake water quality.  After much discussion regarding the Secchi trends and the variables that might contribute to them, the discussion was tabled. Carolyn provided a detailed analysis post board meeting providing further context.
  • New Member Packets: Becky spoke to the contents of the new member packets which includes a welcome letter, BLA information and purpose, protecting the water information, our newsletter, and membership form. She suggested including the rental letter and the Wake boat guidelines for our lake. Becky visits new lake property owners to welcome them and introduce the lake association.
  • ACCL Meeting:  The next meeting is on May 29th in Backus at the land office. Brian and Rick noted that water testing is on the agenda and plan on attending.
  • Walleye Stocking: Rick will take on the Walleye stocking plan and reporting process.
  •    Website Update: Carolyn asked Scott to correct the date the bi-laws were updated and a couple of other changes. Brian will forward the membership update to Scott. Scott asked the board to forward any changes or updates that should be done. 
  • Secchi Disc Reading:  Craig Laughlin will take over the Secchi disc reading that Lloyd has been doing for many years. The site he takes the recording is in North Bay-Otto’s point and in a water depth of 50 feet. He reports this to the MPCA which produces a dashboard on the readings for the lake.    

Next Board Meetings and Annual Meeting

The Board of Director’s meetings for 2026 will be held on June 20th and September 19th.  The Annual meeting is scheduled for 7/18//2026.

Adjournment

There being no further business to come before the Board, and upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned by unanimous approval at 10:31 a.m.

Dated as of the date first written above.

       ____________________________________

         Dodi Sletten, Secretary