August 2, 2019
Lipsett Lake Neighbors,
At the spring Lipsett Lake Association meeting the treasurer’s report showed that we had an account balance of about $32,000 and several people asked how much money we need to have available in our savings account. This letter addresses that question, as well as the importance of fund raising, donations, and volunteering to assist in tasks that are necessary to maintain our lake’s health.
The Lipsett Lake Association invests considerable time and effort in helping to protect the value of your lake property. For example, Mark Spease, with assistance of a few individuals, has monitored the water quality in Lipsett Lake several times a month for almost 15 years. This is done so that any long term changes can be recognized. In addition, we have a watercraft decontamination station that is staffed on weekends from the fishing opener in May through Labor Day in September. Other lake-protection efforts include monitoring and removing invasive purple loosestrife, and mapping and monitoring the extent of curly-leaf pondweed, (another invasive in Lipsett Lake). Our most important endeavor currently, however, is monitoring for zebra mussels, an invasive species that would destroy Lipsett Lake as it exists today. Our strategies to combat the introduction of zebra mussels into our lake include: 1) emplacement of four plate samplers around the lake, 2) donating boats for DNR zebra mussel veliger (zebra mussel larvae) tows, and 3) eDNA analysis to determine whether or not invasive zebra mussels are present, but have not been visually discovered yet. As most people are aware, zebra mussels were discovered in Big McKenzie Lake in 2016 and have proliferated to such an extent that in September 2017, their density was estimated to be 20 mussels/square foot and in September 2018 the density had increased to 60 mussels/sq.ft. The data from the 2019 season are not yet available, but the density will very likely be over 100 mussels/sq.ft. Note that the south shore of Big McKenzie is located only 1.5 miles directly north of Lipsett Lake and fishermen will occasionally fish on both Big McKenzie and Lipsett Lake on the same day, posing a significant threat of zebra mussel introduction into our lake.
During the week, from shortly after ice out in the spring until early November, the pump sprayers at our boat-landing decontamination station are kept full so that Lipsett lake users have the opportunity to abide by the county ordinance requiring decontamination at all lakes that have functional decontamination stations. Interestingly, on weekends when our CBCW inspector is working, only about 75% of the lake users actually decontaminate with the bleach solution that is available. During the week when no inspector is on duty, we are finding that it is necessary to refill the pump sprayers approximately every other day. This suggests that some decontamination is occurring, which is encouraging.
The lake-protection activities carried out by the Lipsett Lake Association require financial resources. For instance, we annually apply for and receive a $4,000 grant from the DNR to help offset the cost of hiring a CBCW boat landing monitor. However, the grant requires a 25% ($1,333) match from the Lipsett Lake association. The match is partially met through the 1) time spent supervising our CBCW worker, 2) maintaining our decontamination station, and 3) the time required by our association treasurer generating payments for our CBCW inspector. The remainder must come from our treasury. If, in spite of our prevention efforts, Lipsett Lake eventually becomes infested with zebra mussels, an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Prevention and Control grant of $150,000, would require a 25% match of $37,500 from the Lipsett Lake Association. Similarly, if our association ever decides that the invasive curly-leaf pondweed has become too densely established, the purchase of an aquatic harvester to reduce the pondweeds would cost between $25,000 and $60,000. Clearly, having a sizable balance in our association treasury is essential given the issues we face with aquatic invasive species. As a minimum, with the strong likelihood that we may experience a zebra mussel infestation in the next few years, we recommend that our association should work toward having a cash reserve of at least $50,000. We feel that it is imperative to have appropriate money reserves before a crisis occurs so that we can act immediately, rather than waiting until sufficient funds are raised.
So, please continue to be generous when our fundraising events occur and please volunteer to assist whenever possible. Some of our volunteer needs are: Dock-in and dock-out in the spring and fall; Roadside trash pickup in the spring; Assisting with pump sprayer refilling on weekdays; Purple loosestrife monitoring and removal around the lakeshore; Hosting the corn and brat feed; Hosting the pancake breakfast; and assistance with fund-raising activities.
The Lipsett Lake Association is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization and making tax-deductible donations is another important way of helping us increase our treasury. For instance, over a several year period, Rick and Susan Pearson donated over $10,000 to our association. At that time this more than doubled our cash balance. So, if you still itemize your taxes, please consider a deductible contribution to our association. And if you do not itemize, please still consider making a donation.
As mentioned earlier, the Lipsett Lake Association is working hard to protect the values of your lake homes. Please consider what resources you have that you could donate to help the association!!
Thank you,
Mark Hansen, Bob Baker AaronTempel
President, Lake Management Fund Raising
Lipsett Lake Committee Chair Committee Co-Chair
Association
No comments:
Post a Comment