May 5, 2024 Meeting Minutes

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

May 5, 2024

A meeting of the board of directors of the Blackwater Lake Association (“the BLA”) was held on the above date at 3058 4th Avenue North, Longville, MN 56655, at the home of Lloyd Thielmann. Board of Directors; Chairman Shannon Klundt, Lloyd Thielmann, Carolyn Dindorf (via WebEx), Brian Roos, Dodi Sletten, Tim Maar (via WebEx) and Scott Agre attended the meeting. Becky Seemann, Rick Zbikowski, and Barbie Laughlin were not present. A quorum was present for the meeting.

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 8:33 a.m. by Board Chairman, Shannon Klundt

Approval of Agenda

Shannon Klundt 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 24, 2023 BOD’s meeting were written and distributed by Lloyd Thielmann previously via email and reviewed by the board prior to this meeting. Dodi Sletten redistributed them for review and approval in 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 reported the membership at 119. The balances in the accounts are as follows:

  • General Checking $5,693
  • Walleye Stocking  $6,020 ($5,000 CD matures 10/9)
  • Lake Protection $20,322 ($4,000 CD matures 10/8) ($15,569 CD matures 11/20)

The funds that have been placed in CD’s have earnings of $572 in interest to date. Brian reported that the current CD’s will generate over $800 more in interest by the end of 2024.

Most pre-approved expenditures for the traditional year ($3300 to date) have been paid.  The spring Blurb costs remain.

We will see an additional $1600 of overlap expenses to close out the extended 2024 calendar year and have one outstanding $75 check to Jim Hasser from last year for mowing. Lloyd will follow up with Jim.

Inquiries from the board members centered on whether we would incur a penalty if we needed to cash a CD in early. Brian said there would be no penalty but we would forgo any interest earned on those funds.

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

 NEW Business

  1. Annual meeting: Shannon reported the Woodrow Town Hall has been reserved for the annual meeting on July 20, 2024. We will have a silent auction this year and Barbie Laughlin, Dodi Sletten, and Kathy Zbikowski will spearhead this for the meeting. Lloyd has spoken to Tim Marr to see if Jeff Marr who was part of a Wake Boat study (effects on the lakes and shorelines) would be willing to speak. At the close of the meeting, it was confirmed Jeff Marr will speak. Shannon also asked whether we wanted to serve sandwiches again from Costco.  The board had no objections but those details along with the meeting agenda will be finalized at the June 23rd BOD meeting.
  2. 4th of July Boat Parade: The boat parade will take place again this year. The prize will be $100 and Lloyd will check with Brandon and Cindy Larson to confirm they will be willing to chair the parade.
  3. Blackwater Blurb: A big thank you to Becky Seemann and Judy Leeds who have been working hard on the spring blurb. Articles include: Our Forest Treasures, Sewage Treatment, contributors lists, and more. Becky recommended we thank Judy for all her design work by giving her $200.00. The board approved this expenditure. 
  4. DNR Walleye Stocking: The DNR stripping has taken place and we are due to get our semiannual stocking amount this fall. This will be approximately 336 lbs.  The walleye stocking fund will continue and the plan will be to purchase walleye in the odd numbered years as money permits. Shannon will contact the hatcheries to see what might be available for 2025. The discussion centered on obtaining larger stock to allow for a better survival rate. The DNR will need to be contacted to approve this stocking.
  5. BOD Elections: Up for election this year are Becky Seemann (director), Barbie Laughlin (director), and Rick Zbikowski (director at large). Shannon will contact them to see if they are willing to serve another term.
  6. ACCL Meetings: Shannon and Lloyd will continue to attend. They are the last Friday of the month; May-August.  Other board members are encouraged to attend as it’s a good opportunity to meet other lake association members and exchange ideas.
  7. AIS Early Response Team: Carolyn reported that she has one area that needs a volunteer but will confirm with the current individual to be certain. Shannon indicated he would be willing to expand to another area. Carolyn is working to coordinate training for one of the new volunteers. Lloyd and Scott indicated seeing an increase of rusty crayfish. Carolyn suggested doing some active trapping and putting a notice in the Blurb to encourage other lake owners to so as well. The board discussed considering some funding toward the purchase of additional traps. Shannon will look into the cost of traps. This will be discussed further at the June 23rd meeting.
  8. New Member Packets: Dodi talked about the process of identifying new owners and passing that information on to Becky and the board. Becky visits the new owners in person on Memorial Day and again in the fall to deliver the new member packets.  She educates them on all the great things the Lake Association does to keep our lake protected and encourages them to join as a member.
  9. Beaver Control: Lloyd reported that 17 beavers have been trapped this year. Part of the trapper’s job is to keep the flow open and to clear out any dams and he’s done a great job this year.
  10. MLRA Emails: Shannon noted that the board members emails have been given to MLRA and to expect seeing articles coming directly from them.
  11. Fishing Committee–Kids Program: Shannon talked to the Mule Lake representative who headed up their kids fishing program that was handled as a fishing session. They handed out a rod, reel, and tackle to the kids. Discussion centered around how many kids to expect and to potentially have them RSVP to reserve with age groups 8-15 and 8 and under. It was discussed limiting the number of attendees based on how far the budget extends. The fishing equipment is provided from The One Stop at cost.  Shannon and Lloyd will meet with the One Stop to determine what that will cover and for how many individuals. Shannon will meet with the fishing committee and then run the plan past the board. Brian suggested potentially adding to the budget if needed to cover the number of attendees. Carolyn suggested bringing in a DNR representative to talk to the kids when they pick up their equipment and hand out information on invasive species. Carolyn said she would be willing to set up a table to hand out the AIS information.
  12. Year End Membership Envelope. This envelope would be sent out in January and contain a letter, membership form, and a self-addressed return envelope to encourage and make it easier for people to pay their dues for the year. The board discussed whether or not to place a stamp on the return envelope. The board will debate this in a future meeting as there is time to consider the options.
  13. Loon Signs: This discussion centered on placing loons signs at the access/landing. Shannon will look into the cost of the signs. Permission will be required before placing any signage. Further discussion will be taken up at a future meeting.
  14. AIS Removal Tools: Carolyn reported on a study she and her team conducted on the use of AIS tools at public accesses/ramps. They observed 597 boaters at different accesses and she reported that tool use was very low. Only 35 boaters used the tools. In some cases, they used their hands to pull weeds from their boats. More tool use happened when signage was really clear and in a spot where it was convenient and easily accessible. The biggest factor was time. The grabber was the most used with the Aqua weed stick being the most effective. Carolyn suggested spending time at our access to educate the boaters.
  15. Cabin Coffees:  The board agreed to continue cabin coffees and discussed how to get more folks involved. These are held on the second Friday of the months of June, July, and August. The board discussed considering a change in day if someone was willing to host but Friday was prohibitive for them. The board members will reach out as well to folks that might be willing to host.
  16. Annual Meeting Sign:  Prior to the meeting, Dodi forwarded photos of the sign used to   announce our annual meeting. The sign is in rough shape and would need some work for it to be presentable or a new sign would need to be built. The board thought that the sign should be kept and Scott and Lloyd agreed to work on fixing the current sign and putting some new Blackwater Lake decals on it. They will place the sign out 10 days before the meeting.           

 Next Board Meetings and Annual Meeting

         The remaining Board of Director’s meetings for 2024 will be held on June 23rd, 2024 and September 24th, 2024.  The Annual meeting will be held on 7/20/2024.

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 10:03 a.m.

Dated as of the date first written above.

       ____________________________________

         Dodi Sletten, Secretary