Siseebakwet Lake Association Board of Directors Meeting Minutes of July 15, 2017
1). CALL TO ORDER - ATTENDANCE
The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. by president Bruce Erickson. A quorum was present including, Maxine and John Otis, Betsy Martin, Deb & Bill Hagenbuck, Bruce Erickson, Marv Christensen,, Roger Quern, Sharon Haiskanen, and Tom Huettner via teleconference call.
2). AGENDA
The agenda was approved with no additions.
3). SECRETARY’S REPORT
Motion was made by Bill H. and seconded by Betsy M. to accept the minutes of the June board meeting with no corrections.
4). TREASURER’S REPORT
Roger Q., treasurer, reported that the SLA account has a current balance of $21,391.40. The annual fee for the porta-potty at the boat landing site was paid. There were no other outstanding bills this month,
Roger also stated that contributions for the Sugar Lake fireworks were very poor this year. Only twelve households contributed with a total contribution of $605.00. Requests for fireworks donations were made in the April newsletter and at the Spring potluck.
Deb H. made a motion to approve payment of the SLA P. O. box. Marv C. seconded, with an “aye” vote by all. Betsy M. moved to approve the treasurer’s report. Maxine O. seconded, with an “aye” vote by all.
5). OLD BUSINESS
a). SLA Committee Structure - (Gwynne B. & Betsy M.). No Report.
b). Weir Subcommittee Update - A subcommittee consisting of Marv C., Bill H., Bruce E., and Tim M. met on July 8, 2017, to discuss how to proceed with the weir reconstruction project. The design of the newly proposed weir is completed, the lack of sufficient funds is delaying the start of the project. All Grant applications have been rejected, so board members discussed other options for funding the weir.
Options discussed included:
- Hiring a professional grant writer. It was felt that this would add to the cost of the project and it would be unlikely to produce results in a timely manner.
Loan application. This would provide immediate capital to move the project forward, however, the money would still need to be raised somehow to repay the loan.
Fundraising. This would mean requesting funds from the Siseebakwet property owners and watershed area residents.
Matching Funds. A board member shared that an anonymous Sugar Lake property owner has offered a donation of $5,000 if matching funds can be raised from other parties for construction of the weir this winter (2018).
Also discussed were the consequences of the weir deterioration and/or removal:
Sugar Lake water elevation would drop dramatically. Without the weir, the “new” shoreline for lakeshore owners would be where the water-level is now at a depth of 5 feet from their existing shoreline.
Bruce E. read a list of development issues compiled by Marv C., in which Marv recommended that the weir project be done in two phases. Phase I - Winter: move in heavy equipment and boulders. Phase II - Spring: complete plantings and landscaping. Marv also feels that if an amount of $36,000 could be raised, (of the total $55,000 needed), a contractor could likely be hired to start the project.
Betsy M. moved that we abandon grant writing for 2017 and focus on raising donations from property owners and watershed area residents. Bill H. seconded the motion with an “aye’ vote by all. An effort will be made to get out information about the new fund-raising effort to all Sugar Lake and watershed property owners via USPS mailings, e-mails, and Facebook notifications in August. Tim M. will be asked to draft a letter with assistance from Betsy M.
c). Web-Site Update - Bruce E. met with Abby, the SLA website designer. She agreed to tweak some of the site’s design and develop ways to make it easier to navigate.
d). Survey Update - SLA members are now able to take the survey on-line through a link on the SLA website.
The purpose of the survey is threefold:
to give SLA members an opportunity to prioritize issues relevant to the lake association, which will help the SLA board members in their decision-making.
to learn where the board can make overall improvements.
to learn the memberships’ opinion of the work that the SLA board does.
The survey will be tested by the SLA Board members prior to the e-mail to SLA members.
e). ICOLA - Should the SLA board pay the $60 annual dues this year? No action taken.
6). NEW BUSINESS
a). AIS Plan for Siseebakwet, Bill G. - Bill H. read a response from Bill G., who was unable to attend the board meeting, regarding an AIS plan for Siseebakwet Lake. Bill G. recommended that SLA members form an AIS subcommittee to formulate an AIS plan. According to Bill G., Siseebakwet needs a quick-response plan in case some form of AIS is found. Bruce E. stated that a pro-active plan is also needed, and read an article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune regarding a pro-active approach being implemented in Wright County, MN. An AIS subcommittee which includes Bill G. needs to formed to come up with both proactive and re-active strategies for invasive species in Siseebakwet. A board member mentioned the possibility of collaborating with Pokegama Lake Association to establish a central cleaning station on Sherri’s Arm boat landing.
b). Conferencing Software (Zoom, Go To) Bill H. - The conference-call system was tested using Tom H. Four lines were open, one was used, and it worked well.
7). COMMITTEE REPORTS
a). New Neighbor/Membership - Betsy M. will work on getting “new neighbor packets together.
b). Social - Discussed the annual board member gathering. No date was set. Also discussed possible speakers/presenters for the September SLA membership meeting/dinner.
c). Lake Management and Education - Bruce E. will do water sampling later in July.
d). Nominating - The committee will need candidates to replace five members going off the board at the end of this season.
e). Neighborhood Watch - No report
f). Newsletter - No report
g). Road Clean-up - No report
h). Receiver of Notice- No report
i). ICOLA - Covered above.
8). ADJOURN
Maxine O. moved and Betsy M. seconded a motion to adjourn with an “aye” vote by all at 10:05 a.m.