KORONIS LAKE ASSOCIATION
May 23, 2014
Directors present: Karen Langmo, Shari Heitke, Ken Hess, Peter Jacobson, Sue Eyre, Diane Rittenhouse, Bert Stanley, Becky Felling, and Kevin Farnum.
Directors absent: Jim Elseth.
Secretary’s Report: Bert made the motion to approve of the April, 2014 minutes. The motion was seconded by Kevin. The motion was passed.
Treasurer’s Report: A discussion was held regarding the January 1-May 22, 2014 Treasurer’s report. The KLA has received $16,725 in dues from its members since January 1st. There has been $1,525 in AIS donations since April 25th. The KLA has had a net income of $22,066 since January 1st. The board is very happy for the support. A motion was made by Ken to approve the Treasurer’s Report and was seconded by Diane. The motion was passed.
OLD BUSINESS
Website: The KLA has hired Ron Shank – Optimus Media to help transfer our past website over to a new one that uses more up to date software techniques. Sue is learning how to sue the software and will still be managing the site. The site is under construction but viewable. Paypal is the next option to be incorporated.
Worm Spraying: At this point, the KLA has decided that it is not necessary to spray for worms around the lake. Bud Mcmillan informed us that it is not necessary. The board will discuss the topic again if any issues come up during the summer.
Newsletter: The newsletter is set to go out on the last week of June. There will be a short article about the new website in the newsletter. There will also be last year’s annual minutes included.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Community Involvement: The boat parade will be held 2:00 P.M. on Saturday July 5th. The KLA would like to draw more attention to the boat parade and receive more participants. The KLA has decided to advertise the boat parade in the newsletter, website, and the Paynesville Press. The Koronis Ministries will be helping out and will be the starting location. Prizes of $100, $75, and $50 in chamber bucks will be awarded to the winners. Diane will ask the Dairy Queen if they are willing to donate any coupons for the participants. The fireworks are scheduled for Saturday July 5th at dusk. The fireworks were the same price as in 2013. Diane has asked to use Paul Bugbee’s pontoon to transfer the fireworks from land to 1st Island. The KLA will be holding an annual picnic and are hoping to have it in late August at the Veteran’s Park shelter. Diane is looking into renting the shelter and seeing what dates it is available.
Lake Quality Improvement: Ken has been working on numerous wetland restoration projects. He spoke with Rick Reimer form Kandiyohi County soil and water. Rick is very supportive of wetland restoration and would like ideas for this brought to him, so he can look into them. The Hoeft wetland restoration project is in its 3rd phase. There will be a walkway for the cows on his property to walk over the river.
There is now new information on the No Wake Zone. Ken has made an effort to contact the Meeker County attorney, Anthony Specter, but is waiting to hear back from him.
Shoreline Restoration and Stormwater Mgmt Grant: The SCSWCD is in the final stages of developing a contract with the consulting firm(SHE) and then they will be ready to go full speed ahead. The contract should be done in a few weeks and they a meeting with us should take place late April. Once that gets going, SHE can take the lead on meetings and contacts with landowners will start happening. This will be based on background work they do to determine the most ideal locations for projects.
Lake Management Plan: Peter, Shari, and Sue worked at revising this last updated 2010 plan. Peter is working through the last part. When he is done, Diane will help Sue edit that if needed. When completed it will be uploaded to Web and sent to Rice Lake per their request. The board also discussed the topic of using advertising that promotes any kind of chemicals. It was decided that this is not in line with our lake management plan.
Lakeshore Restoration: Bert And Shari reported that a meeting is set up with Greg Berg and SEH at Greg's office on June 5th at 11:30 AM. Also in attendance will be Paynesville Township officier(s).
Membership/Dues: The membership letter has been sent out. Peter and Karen will work on getting member stickers designed and printed with the Press. A business directory of business members will be put together and be a part of the newsletter and website.
AIS: The AIS launch inspections have started at the ramps within the watershed. On fishing opener we had at least 70 boats between Rice and Koronis.
Kevin presented the new AIS pamphlets that were printed by Detroit Lakes. It was recommended that they be stamped with KLA logo and address and then distributed.
AIS funding was discussed. We discussed and a motion was made for KLA to donate $10,000 towards AIS initiatives. The discussion was around the correct number and the Board made the decision that the DNR commitment of $3,920 would come out of the $10,000. The motion passed. The Paynesville Township has committed to donating $7,500. The total contributed is expected to be $42,020.
The legislature passed a law giving $10,000,000 to the Counties across the state towards AIS. MN COLA is concerned how this money will be used and how it will be controlled. MN COLA is working on developing models for the Counties to use.
A map of Stearns County was shown to the board that has Lake Koronis depths highlighted on the back of it. This certainly designates us as a destination lake within the state.
Ken suggested setting up a budget for treatment of AIS in case Lake Koronis becomes affected by AIS.
NEW BUSINESS
Boy Scouts: The boy scouts have asked for funding regarding their clean up of the accesses on Lake Koronis. The KLA is waiting to hear more information about their projects in order to decide if they will help fund future projects.
Weed Control: A discussion was held about the weeds at the 5 mile bridge. Karen is going to have the DNR come and look at them this summer. They also discussed controlling weeds with “lake weed roller,” but it is rather expensive.
Next Meeting: June 27 , 2014: 11:30AM at the Wishing Well Cafe.