2019 Spring Lake Association Minutes
Lipsett Lake Association Spring Meeting
May 25, 2019
The general meeting of the Lipsett Lake Association was called to order by the President, Mark Hansen, at 8:58 a.m. at the Lipsie Pines Tavern. Approximately 47 members were in attendance. Mark H opened the meeting and thanked all for attending.
Committee Reports
Presidents Report – Mark Hansen – Last meeting, we discussed getting Bob Baker covered under our insurance and Kasey Cronlin took his place as director on the Board.
Treasurer’s Report – Mark Schlitter –The Treasurer’s report was handed out to the Association. We did get all the grant money for 2018 and it is already in for 2019. The first report is a comparison of 2018 to 2019; everything is on track except for the grant check because it didn’t happen until January 2019. Grant money is estimated around $5,000 and we get about 80% of that back. As long as we can show that we’re spending that money, we will get reimbursed. Mark H/Bob MSC.
Fundraising – Aaron & Holly Tempel –From last fall, we had the Dock Out and it was highly successful at $1,620. Dock In was in April 2019 and raised $1,380. Total, we raised $3,000 for the Association.
We still have mugs for sale; down to 14 at $20.
As of 5/25/19, the can koozies are sold out. Please pay and pick up if you haven’t! Aaron will see if there is more interest and will place a pre-order based on interest (50/order). Each koozie is $5 each.
Corn and Brat Feed—still need a host! Association fees are waived and everything is taken care of for you (food, seating, etc.) as the host. We also need a band for the event. At 2018’s Corn and Brat Feed, we raised $1,613.
Still looking for silent auction and raffle items. Every year we raise about $1,600 and it is a great fundraiser! We can do a meat raffle if we can get meat donated.
New Ideas:
Parade of Cabins:sell bracelets and you could take a tour of various cabins/homes around the lake. We would need cabin volunteers.
Poker Run:People buy in and drive their pontoons around for poker event.
Biathlon:Run and paddle around the lake. Could be a great way to get more involvement around the lake.
Pontoon Olympics:Six different cabins host a yard game. Participants decorate their pontoons and go to each game.
Membership Dues:when we do have an issue with our lake, we will need the funds; eventually, the dues will have to go up. We’re trying to think of all these ideas to raise money in case we have any future problems.
Sally: in regards to all the things we do to sustain the lake, we should be appealing to more non-members. Does it need to be more one-on-one or what can we do to get them more involved? We need to emphasize protecting the lake. Mark Hansen emphasized our Lake Association mission statement. Grace: we used to send out letters with more than just the social aspects. Everyone on the lake received information about the zebra mussels, but participation is still difficult for some residents. More volunteers can help people get invested in the lake.
Lake Management – Bob Baker – Pamphlets available at the meeting: Clean Boat, Clean Water and Lake Courtesy Codes with contact information. Leonard Hudson is our Clean Boat, Clean Water worker; normally, we have college-age students, but received no interest. Stop by and say hello to Leonard! In general, he’s here weekends only. Bleach sprayer and pump are kept full all week long, and then Leonard maintains over the weekend. Fortunately, as the weather gets nicer, we’re getting more usage of the cleaners. Based off last year’s statistics, 60–70% of lake users were decontaminating. It’s illegal not to decontaminate, but there is not a lot you can do; you can take their license plate, call the sheriff, etc. but could result in retaliation. Requested a No Parking sign by the decontamination station; last year, we didn’t have a problem, but seeing a few more people blocking the station with their vehicles. Bob’s word of caution: when you have guests from off the lake, make sure they know the law and decontaminate.
Zebra mussel update: last summer, they did a count of zebra mussels in Big McKenzie and the density was 60 per square foot. That’s not good and the number will increase over time. Chemicals are hugely expensive and not as effective on our type of lake. They did DNA analysis at the University of MN on zebra mussels; they did not originate in Minnesota, but originated in SE Wisconsin. Scott Valentine, genetics professor at River Falls, is working with his students to do genetic engineering to come up with a variety that don’t reproduce. If he’s successful, those mussels can be put into other lakes and could eliminate all the mussels. The DNR, for the last 2–3 years, has tried using villager toes to rake the lakes; ours has been measuring 0, but even Lake McKenzie has measured 1. Instead, going to do E-DNA Analysis of aquatic bodily fluids and see if there are zebra mussels in the lake, even if you can’t see them. We’re on the list for the E-DNA Analysis.
Northwest Lakes Conference on June 21stin Hayward. 9 AM – 3 PM. Four sessions during the day and each one has multiple talks going on. Examples of sessions: Fisheries in Wisconsin, Lake Management, Ground Water Ecology, Lake Boats, Shoreline Erosion, How to Deal with High Water Levels, etc. Registration fee is $45 and that includes breakfast, lunch, and sessions. In previous years, the Association has funded up to 5 people to attend. Aaron/Mark S M/C. You can send a check and give your receipt to Mark Schlitter to be compensated.
Curly Leaf: Mark H and Bob suggested an idea to the DNR to eradicate it, but the DNR is not worried as our lake is too big without effecting the entire lake. Aaron suggested a session on Curly Leaf to raise more awareness. Bob reports that it’s not as bad right now; usually when the ice melts, the curly leaf emerges. People can pull it if they see it in their dock areas; it can grow 0–12’. Greg delivered a handmade rake and Bob will bring it to Leonard. The census will be provided at the end of the season. Last year’s survey was terminated in the middle of the year. Remember, the survey is non-threatening and not ticketing/enforcement, so please be polite and honest!
Bears: Aaron saw a baby bear in the tree in the yard with a blue tag in its right ear; no momma bear. Two bear cubs with no momma bear were seen by another resident.
Copies of the bi-laws are available at the meeting. Mark Hansen pass a motion to accept. Sally/Johnathon M/C. Adding Bob to the Board and adding a voting member. The voting member’s primary objective is to act as a voice for the whole Association. Mark H is looking into options of what to do with our funds. Doug requested a more detailed budget for the year. Mark H suggested an electrical pump station; Bob: you would need a paid certified technician to run that since you can’t leave it for everyone and could risk injury.
Membership – Carolyn Schlitter and Julie Plumedahl – Carolyn and Julie took the list of members and highlighted who has paid their dues. 58 of the 108 members have paid their dues and are current for this year or beyond; about 54%. We also have 26 of 108 who paid last year but haven’t gotten a check this year; about 24%. We have 24 of 108 who haven’t paid this or last year; about 22%. Total, our Lake Association membership is almost 80% of current or paid last year but not this year. Their plan is to provide envelopes with Mark Schlitter’s address for members to bring home and can send in the mail. They will provide a week to pay their dues, then anyone who hasn’t paid since 2016 will receive a letter as a reminder with self-addressed envelopes. They will wait a couple weeks, then will go to people who haven’t paid and personally touch-base with them. The blog website is available to check your balance.
We could possibly have a Venmo or PayPal for people to pay online. Would just have to create a Lake Association email account and the money could sit in Venmo account or go directly to account. Currently use QuickBooks for its accounting; there is a payment option available with QuickBooks. Blog is up to date as of this morning. Mark Schlitter will look into these options.
Request to print and pass out a list of all member names and fire numbers.
If you have a neighbor who sells their cabin, let Carolyn and Julie know so that they can reach out to the new neighbor.
Loon Ranger – Donna Twining –Assume female is nesting somewhere? There have been sightings of a pair, possibly three, but no sight of a nest or baby. Providing $50 to Loon fund. Grace/John M/C.
Other News –Question about the financing: wondering if there could be a reserve schedule. The Association has been building finance in case of a major problem, not necessarily to spend every year. The Board could think of a goal number to work toward and will present it this fall. Bob reported that McKenzie had to pay a major expense, even with the grant from the DNR.
REMINDER – Volunteers are extremely important for the Association and the lake, please volunteer in any way you can! See you all on the lake and at our Labor Day meeting!
The meeting was adjourned at 10:15.
Report is submitted by Mari Yell, Secretary.
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