Crow Wing Lake Improvement District 2015 Annual Report October 2015 Submitted to: Submitted by: Crow Wing County Mitch Brinks Water Protection Specialist Land Services Department 322 Laurel Street, Suite 14 Brainerd, MN 56401 Crow Wing Lake LID Mike Valentine, President 9030 160th Lane NW Ramsey, MN 55303 [email protected] MINNESOTA COUNTIES INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRUST CERTIFICATE OF COVERAGE Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust 100 Empire Drive Suite 100 St. Paul, MN 55103-1885 Crow Wing Lake Improvement District Post Office Box 136 Brainerd, MN 56401-0136 PC732015 X 01/1/2015 01/1/2016 X 500,000 1,500,000 500,000 1,500,000 100,000 2,500 X PC732015 01/1/2015 01/1/2016 500,000 1,500,000 X PC732015 X 01/1/2015 01/1/2016 X BOND 500,000 1,500,000 DOCUMENT# PC732015 TERM 01/1/2015 thru 01/1/2016 Annual Report for Crow Wing County BOND - Employee Dishonesty and Faithful Performance of Duty Bond - $5,000 – No Deductible Issue Date: 10/6/2015 Crow Wing County Attn: Mitch Brinks 322 Laurel St. Ste 14 Brainerd, MN 56401 Should any of the above described coverages be canceled before the expiration date thereof, the Trust will endeavor to mail 30 days written notice to the certificate holder named to the left, but failure to do so shall impose no obligation or liability of any kind upon Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust or its representatives. CROW WING LAKE ASSOCIATION cr NEWSLETTER Crow Wing Lake Assn, PO Box 136, Brainerd, MN 56401 www.crowwinglake.org [email protected] 218-828-7026 May 2015 ICE OUT April 2!... MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Saturday, May 30, 2015 Spring Meeting Fort Ripley Town Hall Coffee 9:00 Meeting 9:30 Spring is a bit slow to arrive – but it won’t be long now…Grass is getting green, the trees are budding and the birds are singing! If you’ve been to the lake – you know the water’s a bit low this year…AND There was quite a bit of ice heave damage this winter. For more information on guidelines contact Crow Wing Co. Land Services: 218-824-1125 Saturday, July 4, 2015 4.4 Walk Run Music on the Point with King’s Ransom Saturday, August 29, 2015 Fall Meeting and Breakfast St. Mathias Community Center A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT David Hermerding Welcome back after a relatively mild winter by Minnesota standards. Unfortunately, ice heaves did a bit of damage to some of our shorelines. The water level on our beloved lake is down at this point, so I want to remind everyone to boat safely and carefully. Please be cognizant of the wake from your boat, and what damage it can cause to other folks lake shore. CWLA SPRING MEETING SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2015 FORT RIPLEY TOWN HALL The lake treatment has started, and I am hopeful we will continue to see progress on our battle with invasive weed species. Please let the lake association board know what you think. I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable summer on beautiful Crow Wing Lake. 9:00 COFFEE – 9:30 MEETING Come to the Spring Meeting: Sign up for year-round email notices of related Crow Wing Lake activity Learn about the 2015 invasive species treatment plan Register for the FREE Swimmers’ Itch treatment Hear about our plans for on-going water quality monitoring Pay your $15 2015 Association dues to receive above listed benefits! Meet your neighbors, have coffee, conversation, and sprinkle donuts! IT’S TIME TO RENEW YOUR 2015 MEMBERSHIP! These days, a $15 Lake Association membership is unheard of and arguably, the best deal in town! Your participation helps the Association with printing and distributing our newsletters along with providing treats at meetings and sponsoring our summer lake activities! Please bring your checkbook or $15 to the spring meeting, or mail it in with the registration form below! Bring your neighbors… we NEED all of you! We have 146 property owners… so let’s recruit that many members! CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE at: www.crowwinglake.org EMAIL: [email protected] ANNUAL DUES $15.00 Mail to: CWLA PO Box 136 Brainerd, MN 56401 CROW WING LAKE ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION Mail to: CWLA PO Box 136 Brainerd, MN 56401 Name: ____________________________________________________________________________ Permanent Address: ________________________________________________________________ Lake Address: ________________________________________________________________ Email Address : ________________________________________________________________ Cell Phone: ________________________ Lake Phone: ______________________ Winter/Home Phone: ________________________ *Note: You may share multiple family email addresses if more than one family would like to receive the newsletter. Your email will not be shared with any other organization or entity. CROW WING LAKE ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES August 23, 2014 St. Mathias Community Center Board Members Present: Rick Pederson, Past President; Jeanne Lindholm, Treasurer; Judy Swanburg, Secretary. In the absence of President Hermerding, the meeting was called to order by former president Rick Pederson. After a brief introduction he asked if everyone was receiving the newsletters. A motion was made by Jeanne Lindholm to waive the reading of the minutes as written in the newsletter. Motion was seconded and approved. The Treasurer’s Report was given by Treasurer Jeanne Lindholm. Checking Account Balance $ 7272.78 CD Balance – Milfoil Account Interest earned $ 2948.30 .73 CD Balance Interest earned $ 7077.75 2.06 Spring Meeting Expenses Refreshments Darby Nelson Presentation Lakes & River Alliance Conservation Minnesota Fall Newsletter Postage $ 41.00 $ 263.00 $ 50.00 $ 150.00 $ 78.40 A motion was made to approve the report as presented. Motion was seconded and approved. Rick Pederson thanked Joyce Grant for her work on the breakfast. Also encouraged people to join the activities committee. Again this year the band played at the point the evening of the 3 rd of July and there was the 4.4 mile walk, run, ride around the lake on the 4 th. The garage sale had beautiful weather and was well attended. The question was asked if we could link other property owners with our garage sale participants. Many people are already extending the days of their sales. The consensus was that the more garage sales means more exposure for everyone. It was suggested that members talk it up and suggest joining our association. Another question was asked regarding the lake association member signs. They are no longer available but members can make their own signs. There were some questions regarding this years treatment of sago pond weed around the docks and in the correct areas. Discussion followed. Members stated the treatment took time but felt Ron Duy does a good job. Adam Field passed out information from CTC regarding bringing high speed internet to the Crow Wing Lake neighborhood. He explained that there are grants available to companies and CTC would like to take advantage of this opportunity if there is enough interest in bringing fiber optics here. He also stated that there are no upfront costs. He passed around a sign up sheet for those interested. Townhall on May 30th 2015. A motion was made to adjourn the meeting. Motion was seconded and the meeting adjourned at 10:40. Rick Pedeson reminded everyone that the spring meeting will be at the Fort Ripley Respectfully submitted, Judy Swanburg, Secretary A special welcome to new CWL Residents! We’d love to meet you. Join us May 30th! CROW WING LAKE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (LID) Meeting Minutes August 23, 2014 St. Mathias Community Center The meeting was called to order by acting chairman Rick Pederson at 9:45 am. Other board members present were: Lyle Bourdon, Secretary/Treasurer and Paul Hanson, Member At Large. Minutes of the last meeting, August 34, 2013 were read and approved. It was noted that notice of this meeting appeared in the Brainerd Dispatch 10 days prior, as required by County guidelines. The Treasurer’s Report was given as received from the Crow Wing County Auditor’s Office. (Copy available upon request). The 2015 Crow Wing Lake LID Budget was presented. The Chair asked if there were any questions or discussion. Being none, the budget was approved. Cash on hand $45,845 Revenue Tax Settlements ($200 per Property) $28,000 Expenditures: Liability Insurance $1,700 County Administration Fee $220 DNR Permit $750 Curly Leaf Treatment $14,000 Sago Pondweed $9,000 Swimmers Itch Treatment $3,000 Watershed Nutrient Mitigation $4,500 Engineering fees $1,000 Total Estimated Expenditures Balance end of 2015 Tax Increase ($10 per property) (Approved at $210/property) $34,170 $34,170 $39,675 $1,470 $41,145 Mr. Pederson stated that there would be an election of LID Board of Directors. The slate of nominees was included in the August newsletter and was mailed out to all members, along with a ballot, 2 weeks prior to this meeting. The slate of officers is as follows: Mike Valentine, President; Lyle Bourdon, Secretary/Treasurer; David Hermerding, CWLA President; Pat Altrichter, past president of CWLA; and Rick Pederson, Member at Large. Chairman Pederson asked for nominations from the floor. There being none, all mail-in ballots were tallied and a motion was made to accept a unanimous ballot. The motion was seconded and approved. Mike Valentine took over as presiding officer. He answered questions concerning the undertaking of physical work on the watershed to contain the flow of phosphates into the lake. Rick Pederson reported that curly leaf treatment was applied in early spring; copper sulfate treatment for snails was applied in late June; and the treatment of sago pondweed was applied in July. He reported that Ron Duy, Central MN Aquatics, who has provided the treatments since we first started treatments, has outlined the success of the herbicide treatments. Several LID members confirmed the dramatic improvement in the water quality. Following discussion of the annual LID assessment, (currently $200), a motion was made and seconded to raise the assessment to $210.00 in 2015. Motion approved. Meeting Adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Lyle Bourdon, CWL LID Secretary/Treasurer CWL Water Monitoring and Watershed Management Update Mike Valentine, CWL LID Chair During the Summer of 2014, a small group of volunteers monitored the water quality of the lake by collecting water clarity data (by Secchi Disk) and a group of water quality parameters including such things as phosphorus, nitrogen, alkalinity, chloride and suspended solids at a location off of the Point. These data are currently being evaluated by the MPCA, Central Lakes College (CLC) in Brainerd, and the Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District (CWSWCD). In 2009, Crow Wing Lake was designated as impaired for nutrients (e.g., phosphorus) by the MPCA, so it will be important to determine if there has been any improvement or degradation in water quality since that time. In addition, these data will be very important to the development of a Watershed Management Plan for the lake and surrounding area. This summer, volunteers will be collecting lake water and stream clarity information to further aid in the development of a Watershed Management Plan. In addition, we hope to do a spot check to see if the lake is showing any evidence of zebra mussel infestation. This will be done by netting for zebra mussel veligers (larvae). Crow Wing Lake is currently designated as uninfested by the DNR, but this work is important because the best way to keep zebra mussels out of the lake is to stop them before they have a chance to get a foothold. We are currently in the early stages of developing a Scope of Work for a Watershed Management Plan for Crow Wing Lake and the areas upstream in a joint effort that includes the CWSCWD, the MPCA, CLC and our LID. This effort will include a parcel-by-parcel evaluation of the areas upstream from the lake to determine what, if any, mitigation might be applied to improve the water quality of the lake. So far, much of the coordinating effort for this work has come from Melissa Barrick, Director of the CWSCWD, whose help has been invaluable. Sometime this summer we hope to have a Scope worked out which will then lead to a discussion of cost sharing among the parties involved. None of this work could be done without the hard work of our volunteers and the cooperation of the many organizations involved including the CWSWCD, CLC, MPCA and DNR. My thanks to all involved and let us know if you’d like to help! Ice out…Dock in! Same day: April 2, 2015 Wahoo Chad & Jennifer Stadum family! Oh the view! Thanks for sharing it with us Jeanne Stern Lindholm! SAVE THE DATE: Are you interested in learning more about our monitoring the water quality of Crow Wing Lake? Please attend our Annual Spring Meeting where Mike Valentine, president of our Crow Wing Lake Improvement District, will be sharing some of the findings from our collaborative Citizens’ Lake Monitoring Project during the summer of 2014. Future monitoring and watershed studies will be a collaborative effort with our Association volunteers, the DNR, MPCA and the Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District. 4.4 ON FRIDAY, THE 4TH This fun walk/run/ride race will be on Saturday, July 4th this year starting at 8:30 a.m. A kid’s race will follow upon the completion of the race around the lake (approximately 9:30 am). The starting line will be at Chippewa Lane and Chippewa Shores Road. Participants are welcome to run, walk, bike, ride, etc. around the lake. Thank you Chad and Jennifer Stadum! High Speed Internet / Fiber-optic Network Coming to Crow Wing Lake Area Invasive Species Treatment: Ron Duy, Central MN Aquatics, has already surveyed and applied the first treatment for Curly Pondweed on May 5. CTC (Consolidated Telecommunications Company) s proceeding with bringing a fiber-optic network around Crow Wing Lake this summer. They anticipate construction starting in July. All CWL residents should have received a letter regarding this option. If you are interested and need more information, contact CTC @ 218-454-4004 to schedule a site survey by their crew. If you haven’t already done so, be sure to send in your Swimmers’ Itch Treatment Authorization Form. See attached. Have you noticed? .... If you have walked or biked around the lake; or traveled it by boat, you may have noticed the display of old Crow Wing Lake Association signs! I am intrigued by the various locations that lake residents have chosen to display them. Some are roadside, some are lakeside; some are on garages, while others are on the cabin itself. Most have a family name noted below the Association designation. The actual state of the signs also has caused me to ponder former days on this lake. A few are so weathered they can only be identified by their “Crow Wing” shape! Many are displayed in their original state, while a few have been embellished with paint, outlines or lettering. My personal favorite are the ones that have colorful fireworks or flowers painted on them. We finally hung ours on the cabin! A great debate occurred about where to hang it, and how to add to it. It only took us 8 summers here to get it done! So… if you are so fortunate to have one of those signs, display it proudly and know that there are others who enjoy seeing your pride in being a Crow Wing Lake Association member! Submitted by, Kathleen Hermerding, Summer CWL Resident and proud member of CWLA NOTE: There has been some discussion about making these signs available once again to our lake residents! We are looking for volunteers that may be interested in cutting out more of them, painting them. We could then sell them to our newer residents. If you would be so talented, let us know at the meeting this spring, or contact us at [email protected] Hope to see you on Saturday, May 30th! CROW WING LAKE ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER Crow Wing Lake Assn, PO Box 136, Brainerd, MN 56401 www.crowwinglake.org [email protected] 218-828-7026 August 2015 Wrapping up a great Summer! ANNUAL MEETING OF THE CROW WING LAKE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT and Crow Wing Lake Association Come join your neighbors, enjoy a complimentary egg-bake breakfast and get the latest updates on the work of your Lake Improvement District! Saturday, August 29, 2015 Fort Ripley Town Hall 2015 LID treatment and financial report Election of CWLA Officers Vote on your 2016 LID Assessment 9:00 Complimentary Breakfast 9:30 CWL Annual LID Meeting 9:45 CWL Association Meeting and Election of Officers A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT… By David Hermerding It is hard to believe that summer is already on the wane. I hope each and every one of you had a relaxing summer on the lake. The weather was beautiful, the weeds weren’t too bad, and once in awhile I even managed to catch a fish off the dock. I hope you all enjoyed the music off the point on the 4th and the 4x4 relay around the lake. Thank you again to all of those who made these great events happen. Remember next year will be our garage sale around the lake. Start to tag those items now! Finally, as I step down as the president of the association, I’d like to thank the great group of people I have worked with. I want to wish Mr. Jeff Lewis (as my kids affectionately refer to him) the very best as he takes over. So, enjoy the remaining weeks of summer, have a great fall and winter, and don’t forget to wave as you cruise on by the Hermerding cabin! WANTED! CROW WING LAKE ASSN VICE PRESIDENT If you, or someone you know, would be willing to serve our organization as vice president, please submit your nomination by emailing us at [email protected] And/or Nominations will also be accepted from the floor at the August 29 meeting. PLEASE… Help us UPDATE your CONTACT INFORMATION Those of you, who have email, know how convenient it has been to receive reminders of important invasive species treatment notices and our fun activities. We can only reach you if we have CURRENT, updated contact information; especially emails. If you have an email address and are not receiving periodic notices, please send your contact information to [email protected] or PO Box 136 Brainerd, MN 56401 If you know of a property that has recently changed hands in your neighborhood, please let us know. Did you accidently forget to pay your CWLA dues for 2015? It’s not too late! We NEED your support. There are 146 property owners on the lake and 70 of you have joined our organization. Thank you for your support! If you’d like to be part of this circle of supporters, please bring your check for $15, and your contact information, to the August 29 meeting – or send it to: CWLA PO BOX 136 Brainerd, MN 56401 CLC and Gallaudet students assist in water monitoring program on Crow Wing Lake. To read the complete story – go to our website. CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE at www.crowwinglake.org EMAIL: [email protected] Thank you Tim Theis for keeping our website current with fun photos and important announcements regarding events and LID treatments. We’re on FACEBOOK now too! Stay in touch! 2015 Summer LID UPDATE Water Monitoring and Watershed Management: by Mike Valentine, LID Chair The summer of 2015 has been another busy year for lake monitoring. We have continued to collect water clarity data (by Secchi Disk) and this year we also collected water clarity data from the north inlet and the outlet near the highway. We stopped collecting stream data when they stopped flowing around the 4th of July. These data will be evaluated by the MPCA, Central Lakes College (CLC) in Brainerd, and the Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District (CWSWCD). CLC, in partnership with Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., also collected extensive water quality data this summer that is aimed at assisting in the development of a Watershed Plan for the area around Crow Wing Lake. (Please check out the Crow Wing Lake website for a more detailed article about the CLC study.) These studies will be ongoing, hopefully into 2016 and beyond, and will be critical to the development and implementation of our Plan. Thanks to Pat Altrichter, Rick Pederson and Jeanne Lindholm for providing lake transportation for the study researchers. This summer, Jeanne Lindholm has emerged as one of our most industrious lake researchers. Among all of her other duties, she took charge of our zebra mussel evaluation. On her own, she agreed to be trained in the fine art of collecting zebra mussel veliger (larvae) samples to determine if Crow Wing Lake might be in the early stages of infestation. Just this week, we were informed that our samples were clean and no veligers were found. That’s good news, however, we all need to remember to clean up our boats that have been taken to other lakes to do what we can to keep the pesky little critters out of our lake as long as possible. We are still in the early stages of developing a Scope of Work for a Watershed Management Plan for Crow Wing Lake and the areas upstream. As discussed previously, the Plan will be a joint effort involving CWSWCD, the MPCA, CLC and our LID. This work will likely include a parcel-by-parcel evaluation of the areas upstream from the lake to determine what, if any, mitigation might be applied to improve the water quality of the lake. So far, much of the coordinating effort for this work has come from Melissa Barrick, Director of the CWSWCD, whose help has been invaluable. We will be working with Melissa over the fall and winter months to prepare a Scope of Work for developing our Watershed Management Plan. None of this work could be done without the efforts of our volunteers and the cooperation of the many organizations involved including the CWSWCD, CLC, MPCA and DNR. My thanks to all involved. Invasive Species Treatment: by Rick Pederson, LID Board of Directors The 2015 LID assessment for $210.00 was overwhelmingly approved at the 2014 Annual LID Meeting As per our agreement, Ron Duy of Central MN Aquatics, treated for Curly Leaf in early spring, applied copper sulfate for snails before the July 4th holiday, and followed up with treatment of Sago Pondweed in late July. Mr. Duy outlined the past success of our herbicide treatment of the lake, with several members confirming dramatic improvement in water quality. The LID Board reminds all residents of Crow Wing Lake to keep their addresses (physical and electronic) current so we can contact them in a timely manner. This is especially critical in filing DNR permits; if DNR authorization deadlines are missed by the resident, scheduled treatments are not allowed on their lakeshore area. CWLA Spring Meeting Minutes May 30, 2015 Board Members Present: David Hermerding, President; Pat Altrichter, Past President; Jeff Lewis, Vice President; Jeanne Lindholm, Treasurer; Judy Swanburg, Secretary. The meeting was called to order by President Hermerding. After a brief reminder asking members to pay their dues, he reminded members to check their email information and to keep it updated. New members Kacee and Tom Barret and Matt Worms were introduced. A motion was made by Jeff Lewis and seconded by Rick Pederson to waive the reading of the secretary's meeting minutes from last fall because they were distributed in the newsletter. Motion was approved. The Treasurer’s Report was given by Treasurer Jeanne Lindholm Checking Account Balance 04.30.15 $7192.38 CD Balance – Milfoil Account Matures 5-30-2015 Interest earned $2949.77 .73 CD Balance Matured 3-31-2015 Interest earned $7079.81 2.06 Expenses since 8-23-2014 meeting: Fall Meeting Brunch $ 166.94 St Mathias Park Rental $ 100.00 CWC Lakes & River Alliance Membership Dues $ 50.00 P.O. Box Rental $ 62.00 Credits from fall meeting to 4-30-2015 $ 180.00 A motion was made to approve the report as presented. Motion was seconded and approved. Mike Valentine spoke on the LID progress. With the help of the MPCA, we were able to increase water monitoring of the lake. This baseline data will eventually help us develop a watershed management plan. We found that phosphorus levels were elevated but did not exceed high end limits. Sodium was also high which could indicate possible road run off or septic system leakage. This spring Melissa Barrick, Crow Wing County Soil and Water Conservation District, will assist in working towards development of the watershed plan. Mike noted that the clarity of the water is better than last year, due to less winter run-off. A SECCHI test showed the clarity at 5-6 feet last year. This year the clarity is at 9 feet. CWLA will again partner with CLC students, who will gather additional water quality data for us. Jeanne Lindholm has volunteered to sample our waters for “veligers”, zebra mussels’ larvae. Tim Theis has set up an area on our website, www.crowwinglake.org specifically for information on our Lake Improvement information. Rick Pederson explained that the LID was formed to help improve the lake. We have 3 major goals: 1. Monitor and treat weed infestation; 2. Encourage lakeshore improvements to reduce run-off and erosion, by planting native grasses. 3. Create a long-term plan to monitor and improve water quality in the lake and watershed. On May 5th, 25 acres of the lake were treated for curly leaf pondweed. A onetime copper sulfate treatment for swimmer's itch will be applied the week before July 4th. Sago pond weed will be treated later this summer. Rick reported the LID financing as follows: Balance on 01.01.15 Additional revenue received 01.23.15 Expenses: DNR Permit Inter government Trust Fund County Administrative Fee Payment for Curly Leaf Treatment Ending Balance: $ 57,333.30 911.00 750.00 1648.00 250.00 14,900.00 $40,696.30 Ron Duy clarified that the $750 DNR permit fee was for the swimmer's itch treatment and sago pondweed. There is no permit fee for treating invasive species such as curly leaf pondweed. He also explained the pre-treatment, treatment and post survey procedures for treating curly leaf. Joyce Grant reported on this coming summer’s activities. The 4.4 walk, run, ride around the lake will start at 8:30 on July 4th. King's Ransom will be playing at the Point starting at noon. Comments regarding the lake garage sale being held every year were discussed. It was decided to keep the sale every 2 years but extend the sale to Friday and Saturday. The fall meeting will be held at the Fort Ripley Town Hall on Saturday, August 29th. New Business: Members indicated an interest in making Crow Wing Lake Association signs available again. We will look for volunteers to make and sell the signs. CTC has received a grant to bring fiber optic cable around the lake. Completion should be sometime this fall. If interested, members were encouraged to contact CTC now, as adding access at a later date will likely be more costly. David Hermerding asked members to consider becoming board members, as elections will be held in the fall. Members discussed the ice heaves the lake experienced this winter that caused damage to the lake shore and boat houses. It was suggested we have someone come to our fall meeting to discuss the science behind ice heaves so that we better understand how they do damage to our shoreline. Lyle Bourdon thanked Mike Valentine for his leadership with the LID. A motion was made and carried to adjourn the meeting. Respectfully submitted, Judy Swanburg, Secretary
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