TURTLE LAKE IMPROVEMENT AND PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION (TLA)
President Cheryl Mitacek opened the meeting. The 6/29/02 Minutes and the 2002/2003 Year End Treasurers Report were approved.
6/30/02 Beginning Balance 3,805.48
Receipts 2,544.42
Expenses 2,018.46
6/28/03 Balance 4,331.44
Pat Carroll presented the Nominating Committee's Report: President Cheryl Mitacek, VP - Ray Sowinski, Treasurer Judy Jaeger, Secretary Mary Baas, Past President Rob Kaye, Directors Two Years - Beth Auer , Patricia Carroll; Directors One Year - Clark Hallberg, Linda Friedman, Ruth Ann Malcolmson. There were no nominations from the floor. Paul Witt moved that nominations be closed and we accept the committee's report. The motion passed.
OLD BUSINESS:
· Rob Kaye reported that Audrey Greene will remain as Walworth County Lakes Specialist for 2 more years. At that time, the grant supporting her services will end. The Walworth Cty Lakes Assoc. will work to develop an approach so that this position will not be eliminated. Audrey has been a great resource for all lake residents. Rob will provide dates for upcoming WCLA meetings.
· Lake Watch - Many panfish (mostly bluegill) died because of a natural occurrence of cold weather at spawning time. This combination weakened the fish and caused them to be susceptible to naturally occurring bacteria. The fish are safe to eat, but it is not recommended that they be eaten if they appear to be unhealthy.
Dick and Elaine Gronert distributed the 2002 Self-Help Monitoring Results for Turtle Lake. TL remains a mesotrophic (middle-aged) lake in good physical condition. The DNR visited 2 weeks ago. There are no signs of zebra mussels. Patricia Carroll passed out a lookout notice for purple loostrife. Contact Patricia if you spot this invasive species. See Attachment A. Mary Baas encouraged all to keep a shoreline buffer of native plants between mowed grass and the lake. This will act as a filter for water entering the lake and encourage an increase in diversity of shoreline plants and animals.
40 wetland acres (800 ft. frontage) of Jim and Elsie Grossman's property has been purchased by the DNR, with a contribution from Shawn Davies, Mrs. McIntyre's grandson. Rob Kaye recommended that we send a thank you. Stuart Rosenbush will provide an address. Mary Barrett asked whether there was a possibility that the DNR would put a public access on TL. Ruth Ann described the land restoration of Sugar Creek Wildlife Area and appearance of wetlands in the Turtle Valley area. There is no known plan for public access.
NEW BUSINESS
·
Patricia Carroll moved to accept the following By Laws change: Article
XIV. Nomination, Election of Officers and Directors. Section 3 - Change from "All Officers shall be elected for
one (1) year" to "All Officers shall be elected for one (1)
year. Directors shall be elected for
two years. Two Directors are to be
elected in the even numbered years; three directors in the uneven numbered
years." The motion carried.
· Kim Alba was concerned about the low lake level. Cheryl's research shows that we are in a drought period. Heidi Bunk, DNR, confirms that all lake levels are down. We will watch this year and form a plan, if necessary. Kim also asked about a culvert near McIntyre's that carries water from P into the lake. According to Pat Carroll, the culvert was put in because the houses would be under water if rainwater was not diverted.
· Stuart Rosenbush inquired about standing water in drainage ditches (home to mosquitoes and farm fertilizer). Per Patricia Carroll, people got permits to put these ditches in. Anyone interested in changing these would need to track down the permitting; it may be possible to fill. (Department of Agriculture). Carol Behrens suggested calling Wayne Redenus about this.
· Membership Chair Patricia Carroll emphasized that all who live near the lake have a vested interest in the lake because it impacts their property value.
· Kim Alba asked whether anyone was aware of shoreline changes between Turtle Inn and McIntyre's. No one at the meeting was aware of on-going changes. Previous changes made at Turtle Inn would not have been under scrutiny because there was no commercial inspector in Richmond Township. Carol Behrens informed us that Richmond now has a commercial inspector, and future changes to businesses will be monitored more closely.
· Effective December, fertilizer with phosphorus will be available only to farmers in Walworth County. Phosphorus in lakes is undesirable because it encourages rapid and excessive growth of plants.
·Elaine Gronert let us know that she and Dick were featured in an article entitled "The Unsung Heroes of the Lakes" in the Summer 2003 "At the Lake" magazine.
· Carol Behrens thanked everyone for contributions to the TLA Potluck. Ways and Means has more than $350, and Carol suggests a pig roast when we have over $500.
Cheryl Mitacek distributed the 2003/2004 schedule: 8/2/03 Pontoon Social 2:00 p.m.
9/13/03 Buoy Removal 7:00 am; 11:00 Picnic. Place TBA
11/15/03 Tentative Meeting
3/04 - Meeting Date TBA
4/15/04 through 4/17/04 WAL Convention, Green Bay
5/04 Buoy Placement 7:00 am. Date TBA
6/26/04 Annual Meeting & Potluck 6:00 p.m.
Cheryl closed the meeting by encouraging each of us to be a lake steward as we strive to protect and improve Turtle Lake.
Mary Baas, Secretary