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MINUTES
OKAUCHEE LAKE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Annual Meeting & Budget Hearing
Monday, August 22, 2005 7:00 pm
To be held at Lord of Life Church
(N60 W35980 N. Lake Drive, Oconomowoc, WI 53066)

Call to Order

Chairperson Carol Wilson called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.

Meeting Notice Announcement

The meeting was published two consecutive weeks prior to the meeting in the official newspaper, posted at the Town of Oconomowoc Town Hall, on the two boards, and mailed to all riparian owners.

Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Chairperson will open the meeting:

Introduction of Commissioners

Carol Wilson introduced herself and the other commissioners, Dennis Johnson, John Roelandts, and Jim Hemmerich. Commissioner Tom Godar was not present. William Chapman, Attorney for the District and Patricia Furno, Accountant for the District were also present.

Comments on parliamentary rules and order

C. Wilson read the parliamentary rules and order.

Volunteer Recognition

Certificates of appreciation have been prepared for two volunteers who have participated in water quality sampling, namely Herb Jensen and Dale Knutson. Since the volunteers were not present, the certificates will be given to the individuals at a later date by C. Wilson.

Approval of Minutes of the Previous Annual Meeting

D. Stabelfeldt motioned to approve the minutes from the August 24, 2004 annual meeting. B. Pinter seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report, Discuss and Act

The following was reported:

Total Revenue $305,363.47
Total Expenditures $226,086.31
Balance $79,277.16

G. Hirt motioned to approve the Treasurer’s Report as presented. L. Neeb seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Discuss and Act on Proposed Projects:

Goose Control

C. Wilson explained the project. The cost of the project would be approximately $5,000 for 2006 and no more than $2,000 per year for the goose round-up portion of the project. A line item in the amount of $5,000 has been added to the proposed 2006 budget for this project. The geese would be donated to food pantries. The $5,000 would be used to test the geese to make sure that they are fit to eat. The year after testing (2007) a line item would be added for the actual round-up of the geese. This would not eliminate the geese, but would reduce the population. Once tested, the geese would not need to be tested again.

K. Aron, Aron & Associates, was present at the meeting and detailed the project for this lake. She also explained projects that have already taken place in other areas. The testing is the first step of the project and would only need to take place one time. She then answered questions from the audience. This would be a blend of state and federal programs. The geese would be handled in a humane manner. The OLMD would need to work closely with its constituents to make this program work. General discussion took place.

D. Stabelfeldt motioned to abandon the program until the adjoining lakes in the area join in the program. J. Hemmerich seconded the motion. He discussed the phosphorous problems in the lake. G. Hirt stated that a pilot program may be advantageous and that he would not be in favor of the motion. D. Stabelfeldt called for the question. L. Neeb seconded the call for question. A hand vote determined that the call for the question was opposed. Discussion continued. A vote on the original motion took place. The majority were opposed to the motion. The motion failed.

S. Budick motioned to approve the $5,000 for the testing for next year. J. Taylor seconded. S. Budick amended the motion to reflect that the amount be “up to $5,000”. J. Taylor agreed to the amendment. There was no further discussion. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Sediment Evaluation – Ice House Bay

The problems of the sediment in Ice House Bay were discussed. It began in the 1970’s when Highway 16 was built. There is some land at the end of Jaeckles Boulevard that belongs to the Town of Oconomowoc. The pipes in this area go into Okauchee Lake and are deteriorating. The Town is looking at the cost to repair the pipes. An amount of $6,000 has been included in the budget for a sediment evaluation involving a consultant fees. K. Aron explained the project. The idea is to work with the Town and put a stormceptor in the area when the sewer pipes are being installed. The stormceptor would filter the water before allowing it to enter into the lake. In order to perform dredging in this area, a sediment evaluation must take place. Once the permit is obtained, dredging could take place. General discussion took place. This project is unique in that no particular owner’s shoreline would be improved. The area would be able to handle the water that comes into the lake from the pipes on Highway 16. J. Roelandts clarified that right now this project is only dealing with the sediment evaluation. Sediment evaluation must take place before anything else takes place. This is the first step.

G. Hirt motioned to approve this budget line item in the amount of $6,000. G. Laugerman seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Water Study Regarding Phosphorous Content

Water Quality Research ($40,000) was in the contingency. This is not in the budget, but needs approval to spend. K. Arons explained the need for this study. It was clarified that the $40,000 is a reallocation of funds.

G. Laugerman motioned to approve allocating $40,000 for the water quality research fund. D. Stabelfeldt seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Discuss and Act on Proposed 2006 Budget

D. Stabelfeldt moved to approve the budget as presented. There was no second. Motion failed.

P. Furno reviewed the different areas of the budget. It was clarified that money is being put into the land purchase item for future purchase of land.

The Road L Improvements cover landscaping/aesthetics improvements of the Road L property so that OLMD can continue being a good neighbor.

The Savings Account Balance includes operating funds for the year which are kept in an interest bearing account.

D. Stabelfeldt motioned to approve the budget as presented. B. Pinter seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Discuss and Act on Approval of $10,000 off-budget Emergency Fund

L. Neeb motioned to approve. D. Stabelfeldt seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Lake Patrol Report, Discussion and Questions

Officer Rob Wiercyski of the Town of Oconomowoc Police Department was present and reported the following:

They have spent 724 hours on Okauchee Lake to date. One hundred thirty citations have been issued, four individuals have been arrested for OWI on a boat, and 207 warnings were given. This equates to 5.57 patrol hours per citation. Last year there were 836 lake patrol hours, 124 citations, with ratio of 6.7 hours per citation for 2004. A review of boat accidents took place: 2001-6; 2002-4; 2003-2; 2004-3; 2005-3. The first accident in 2005 occurred on July 3, the second occurred on July 19, and the third occurred on July 28. Twenty-seven percent of the violations were from lake residents. It was clarified that waterskiing hours are from 8 a.m. until sunset. Skiers are considered an extension of the watercraft and should stay 100’ from piers and watercraft. Placement of “slow, no wake” signage on the new bridge was requested by D. Johnson.

Chief James Wallace was present and introduced himself.

Discuss and Act on Approval of OLMD By-Laws

B. Pinter motioned to approve the by-laws as presented. J. Roelandts seconded the motion. J. Hemmerich pointed out that Article 7, Section 7 was an addition to the By-Laws. The By-Laws have all been updated to current regulations. In Article 1, Section 2 it states that if you are listed on the tax roll as owner, each owner gets one vote. Businesses get one vote. This is taken directly from the State Statutes. The majority were in favor of the motion. One opposed. The motion carried.

Nomination of Candidates to the OLMD Board - Self-introduction and questions to candidates from the board and floor.

C. Wilson stated that D. Johnson’s term is up, but that he would accept a nomination for the board for the next three years.

J. Roelandts nominated D. Johnson for three more years on the board. C. Schultz seconded the nomination. C. Wilson asked three times if there were any other nominations. There were no none. J. Roelandts moved to close nominations. L. Neeb seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion carried.

Election of Commissioner

J. Roelandts motioned to have D. Johnson serve another three year term on the board. C. Schultz seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. All were in favor. Motion carried.

The audience thanked the board members for their service.

Other Lake Management Issues or New Business, Discuss and Act within Open Meeting Law Limits

B. Pinter was concerned about the water level of the lake. J. Roelandts stated that the State regulates how the dam is operated and it cannot be closed completely – enough water must be allowed through to keep the river flowing. Chief Wallace commented and stated that he checks the levels daily. The dam is closed as far as it can be due to the lack of rain.

It was asked why spraying has to be done so far into the summer. It was expressed that residents would appreciate notification of spraying when it takes place. D. Johnson explained that they did a partial early spraying and one later in the season. Discussions have taken place regarding tagging for notification of spraying – two tags or a flag will be placed. The spraying program was explained to the audience by D. Johnson. Approximately 70 acres were permitted to be sprayed this year.

The website is being worked on.

Discussion took place regarding fireworks taking place in Ice House Bay – the police department should be called. It was requested that the police boats come into Bay Five after the fireworks on the Fourth of July to monitor this situation next year.

The water in the bay by Road Q is very clear this year. This could be due to lack of run-off and/or zebra mussels.

The weeds near California Avenue were discussed. D. Johnson stated that the cutters try to stay approximately 5’ from piers. This area will be reviewed by the lake foreman.

A letter from Sue Runyon was given to the board.

Adjournment of Annual Meeting & Budget Hearing

G. Hirt motioned to adjourn from the meeting. S. Lovas seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. All were in favor. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:57 p.m.