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

September 26, 2021

A meeting of the board of directors of the Blackwater Lake Association (“the BLA”) was held via video conference and hosted by Carolyn Dindorf on the above date. Lloyd Thielmann, Carolyn Dindorf, Linda Burns, Becky Seemann, Dodi Sletten, Tim Marr, Shannon Klundt, and Scott Agre were present at the meeting. Barbie Laughlin was absent. A quorum was present for the meeting.

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. by Board Chairman, Lloyd Thielmann.

Approval of Agenda

Lloyd distributed the agenda prior to the meeting which, upon motion duly made and seconded and was unanimously approved. 

Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes

The minutes of the June 27^st, 2021 BOD’s meeting minutes 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 was approved unanimously.        

Treasurer’s Report

      Linda Burns provided the board with the BLA General Fund financial summary report via email prior to the meeting. Linda reported a balance of $8089.00 in the General Fund and a total of 99 members to date. She noted this was the same number of members last year prior to the Fall Blurb being sent. Linda also noted invoices that will be due next month include RMB labs and Beaver control along with an anticipated fee for our new web management and host Minnesota Lakes and Waters. Linda and Lloyd reported that Minnesota Waters will discontinuing hosting as of year end 2021. They have refunded the annual hosting fee of $120.00. Lloyd negotiated a prorated fee with Minnesota Lakes and Waters of $50 and their annual fee will be $120 reflecting no increase of annual Web hosting and management cost. Lloyd indicated they promised to have the site up and running on Monday afternoon. He encouraged the board to check out the new site and make sure all was transferred correctly and to identify what needs to be updated. Scott volunteered to help with the web updates as needed.        

Lloyd inquired as to the balance in the Lake Protection fund. Linda will send a summary of that fund via email to the board.

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

 Old Business

1. Membership: Lloyd recommended going through the membership lists and sending a separate letter as a reminder to folks who have not renewed their membership. He anticipated it would be approximately $75 to cover the cost. The board agreed this was worth the expenditure.  Becky will collaborate with Lloyd on the wording of the letter to ensure folks are educated and reminded of all the great ways the lake association works for everyone and how the funding is used to keep our lake in good shape. Lloyd extended a big thank you to Becky, Dodi, and Linda for taking over the membership committee duties. Becky will manage the disbursement and management of the new membership packets, Dodi will manage the membership listing and database, and Linda will be filing our nonprofit paperwork with the State of Minnesota.  Lloyd introduced the idea of having watchers on each of the roads similar to the way AIS volunteers are determined who would help identify any new ownership or changes in ownership and report to the membership committee. Lloyd has volunteers in mind and will follow up with those to start the process. Lloyd also asked that we consider thanking Tom and Geri Staley for the tremendous amount of work they have done since 1996 when Tom stared out being Secretary/Treasurer of the BLA Association. Becky suggested a framed plaque or picture of the lake with words of gratitude and recognition would be very meaningful to them. It was also suggested giving them a gift such as an Amazon gift box with a value up to $200.00 in addition to the picture. Becky will look at options for the framed plaque/picture and Scott will explore the Amazon gift basket option. The board agreed this was appropriate. The plan would be to present to Tom and Geri at the Annual meeting in 2022.  
2.   Seedlings Program: Lloyd opened the discussion on the seedlings budget by reviewing the number of the people (19) who participated in the program in 2021, the increase in diversity of tree and plant types, and the cost of expenditures this past year that went beyond the $400.00 budget allotted. He asked the board’s consideration in increasing the funding on this to meet the greater demand. The board discussed paring back the number of species of plants and trees and limit it to native plants and trees that are offered as a part of this program and keep the budget at $400.00. Carolyn will consult with Pat on these suggestions.
3. Cabin Coffee:  Lloyd asked the board’s opinion on hosting Cabin coffee in 2022. The board was in agreement we should get them scheduled and adjust if necessary taking into consideration any health and safety concerns. They will again be held on the second Friday in June, July, and August at 10:00 a.m.  Becky will assist Lloyd in following up with those who committed to hosting in 2020. 
4. ACCL Meetings:  Lloyd attended all of the ACCL meetings this year which were all held virtually. He reported the meeting format has changed to more of educational and informational discussions. As an example, he cited the Gulf of Mexico oil spill which granted Minnesota a settlement $8,000,000 for loon habitat and care and the status of that settlement was presented. He urged all board members to attend when we can.   
5. Beaver Control: Lloyd asked the board’s thoughts on whether he should negotiate recovering some of the payment paid to our Beaver control individual due to the lack of water in the channel and no beaver activity during this past summer. The board felt that we should continue paying him full payment. Linda will cut a check for his payment.
6. AIS Volunteers: Lloyd has a recommendation for an AIS volunteer to cover Pine Haven Resort. When confirmed, Lloyd will ask Carolyn to coordinate training.  Shannon suggested it might be helpful for the volunteers to be able to bring samples to Carolyn a couple of scheduled times a year if they have questions or unsure of their findings. Carolyn concurred and will give some thought to a plan. Lloyd reported that divers will be going into Women Lake to do an official search to confirm the presence of Zebra mussels. If confirmed, Carolyn suggested sending a notice to members to educate and also to remind them to decontaminate their boats.
7. Fish Stocking: Lloyd asked the board to consider designating a line on the membership application for fish stocking donations. Lloyd reminded the board that stocking is done by the DNR on even numbered years so the first opportunity for self-stocking would be 2023. After much discussion, the board recommended not adding a line to the membership application due to the concern that members may designate funds away from water protection to fish stocking. It was discussed using word of mouth if members wanted to donate to the fish stocking fund.
8. Shoreline Repairs: Lloyd reported being approached regarding shoreline repair and improvements asking his permission to approve. As he’s had to educate members that they need approval from Cass country and possibly the DNR, Carolyn suggested that we put an article in the Blurb to educate folks.         

          New Business

• Web Site: Lloyd reported that the Blackwater Lake Association website will be up under the new hosts Minnesota Lakes and Waters by Monday afternoon (September 27^th) and encouraged all of the board members to review to help determine what needs to be updated.
• Woodrow Township Meeting: Lloyd attended the Woodrow Township Board of Supervisors meeting and reported that 6 lake associations are planning on using a highway stencil to spray the words-Clean, Drain and Dry-on the highways near their boat launches. The cost would be approximately $200-$300 and expected to last 3-5 years. Permission from the Cass County Highway Department would be required. After discussion, the board felt this was not something we would want to pursue doing as we have existing signage at the boat launch that is very prevalent.   
• Judy Leeds Appreciation: Becky asked the board to consider giving a gift thanking Judy for all of her design work on the Blackwater Blurb. The board approved a $100 visa gift card and it will be sent along with a thank you note.  

        Next Board Meetings and Annual Meeting

         The Board of Directors meetings for 2022 will be held on May 1st, June 26^th, and October 2^nd.  The annual meeting will be held on 7/16/2022.

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 10:04 a.m.

Dated as of the date first written above.

       ____________________________________

         Dodi Sletten, Secretary