Minutes of Manitowish Waters Lakes Association Board Meeting
Monday, July 21, 2008 Koller Library

Karen Dixon, President, called the meeting of the MWLA Board to order at 9:36 a.m.

Members present: Karen Dixon, Marilyn Gabert, Greg Holt, Tom Joseph, Jack King, Merry Perkins, Cal LaPorte, Jim Banovetz, Fred Theisen, Jim Reichert, Pat Egan, Eleanor Butler
Members absent: Gayle Strand, Jean Rein
Guest: Mark Leistickow

Introductions were made around the table as we have our four new Board members in attendance today.

Approval of Agenda
Motion by Jim B., second by Pat to approve the agenda with the addition of discussion of the proposed MW bike trail under Government Relations. Motion passed.

Approval of Minutes
Motion made by Fred, second by Jack to accept the minutes of the June 30, 2008 meeting. Motion passed.

Approval of Financial Report
Eleanor passed out the financial report. The checking account balance is $1,631.16 and the savings account balance is $19,616.81 for total cash on hand of $21,247.97. Eleanor reported that there is approximately another $4,800 dollars of income that she is holding. It will be deposited on August 1 to avoid paying a fee for going over the limit for the number of deposits that can be made per month.
Motion made by Jim, second by Jack to accept the financial report. Motion passed.

Correspondence:
- Received July 14, 2008, thank you card from the MW Chamber of Commerce for offering the trout pond activity and helping to make the 4th of July celebration a success.
- Sent July 16, 2008, thank you cards to Mike Fitzpatrick and family, Mike Biszak, Ticki Lambrecht, Julie King, Mike and Nancy Patek, and Mary Sinkus for their help with our Annual Meeting.
- Received July 17, 2008, letter from John Hanson in response to our letter re: floating island.
- Sent July 18, 2008, letter to Vilas County Board re: Failing septic systems.
- Email received from Jim Banovetz addressed to homeowners on Wild Rice Lake addressing update on the dam and invasive species.
- Alan Drum sent an email inviting everyone to a celebration for the ATV victory. The potluck will be held Sunday, August 10 at 5:00 p.m. at Star Lake Shelter.
- The WAL newsletter has just come out.
- DNR is revising the AIS grant program rules in response to increased funding for the program. The closest hearing on this proposal is on July 29, 2008 in Rhinelander at the DNR Northern Region Headquarters.

Old Business
In regard to legal advice on a tax number and tax return - Eleanor has not gone to get her tax return from her CPA yet, but will ask about these issues at that time.

New Business
Merchandise inventory – Eleanor found a business in Rhinelander that prints a design on t-shirts giving them a much softer feel than silk screening. She will talk to them and get some prices. We need to decide what we want and how many based on a price quote and turn around time.

Donation to Fire Department – Motion made by Jack, second by Fred to donate $250 to the MW Fire Department for assisting with our 4th of July trout pond. There was concern that some of the parents were showing their children how to “snag” the fish. A suggestion was made to maybe put up a sign that states, “Teach your children good sportsmanship. No snagging of fish”.

Committee sign up – Karen handed out a committee description and assignment sheet for review for existing Board members and for new Board members to decide in which areas they would like to become involved.
Public Communications Committee now includes Merry Perkins and Jim Banovetz.
Community Outreach Coordinator will be Karen Dixon with new committee member Cal LaPorte.
Government Relations Committee now includes Merry Perkins and Jim Banovetz.
Water Ecology and Safety Coordinator will be Pat Egan with new committee members Jim Banovetz, Jean Rein, and Fred Theisen.

Wisconsin Public Trust Document –
Karen handed out information on the Public Trust Doctrine by John Bates and the Vilas County Lakes Association. We are to read this information to be discussed at our next Board meeting.

Committee Reports
Public Communications:
Julie and Karen have updated the website with new member information. Membership renewal reminders will go out at the end of August. Last year our total membership was 353. So far this year 248 members have renewed.

Community Outreach:
Everything went pretty well for our 4th of July trout pond and information booth. The only addition would be to have a specific list of helpers for the take down of our tents and trout pond.

Fred & Terry Theisen did the 2nd of 3 sweeps for our roadside pick-up on Sunday, July 20.

Water Ecology and Safety:
Town AIS Committee
Adopt a Shoreline – 24 MWLA members have responded and 10 non-members were recruited at our booth on the 4th of July.

We have 20 new names to add to our email alert list for a total of 336 email alert names.

There was discussion on fish cribs, but it was decided to leave that up to the DNR.

There was a Town AIS meeting last week on 7-15-08. Mike is on track with his timeline. He has 5 organizations involved with the AIS - Yakkers, Island Lake Association, MWLA, Dead Pike Association, and Wild Rice Lake Association. They already have in 1,000 hours towards the grant. Mike has also talked to and is working with Camp Manitowish, Camp Jorn and North Lakeland Discovery Center.

There is a new AIS – Japanese Knotweed. It grows along the water edge, not IN the water. It grows to about 4’-5’ tall, has large leaves and a reddish stalk that looks a little like bamboo. The roots grow down to 8’ deep so it is difficult to get rid of. Please be on the lookout for Japanese Knotweed and contact Mike Biszak if you see any on the shorelines.

Administrative
The Administrative Committee will meet after today’s meeting to discuss the by-laws and our budget.

Eleanor will put new Board members on the list to receive the WAL newsletter via email.

Karen attended the MW Alliance Annual Meeting. One of their motions was to support the MW bike trail along the Hwy 51 corridor.

MWLA Annual Meeting – We had about 125 attendees at our annual meeting and both speakers were well received. Mike Biszak talked about AIS and Mike Fitzpatrick spoke about the history of dam and how the process works to amend the working order of the dam.

Next year’s Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, July 11, 2009. Discussion was held on possible guest speakers.

Government Relations:
PC and TB meetings – It was brought to our attention that many people are upset about part of the new sign ordinance that disallows residential white directional arrows. It was decided that it is only tangentially part of the MWLA so the residents that are not in favor of this part of the new zoning ordinance will have to take it up with the Town Board.

The next Plan Commission meeting should be August 5, but they often do not meet throughout the summer so check the Town Hall bulletin board to see if the meeting is posted if you want to attend.

Karen will find out when the next Town Board meeting will be held and will see if the proposed bike trail is on the agenda.

Rest Lake Dam
The general rule for fall draw-down has been: before the ice is 75% off Rest Lake, they can raise the water in the pond from 5’5” to 5’10”. The DNR would like to have more water in the pond in the spring, but the Defense Fund wouldn’t do that unless there was total agreement between the parties involved. There was much discussion on this issue, different opinions, pros and cons, compromises, etc. We continue to discuss these issues and the best way to educate everyone on the facts.

Next meeting Friday, August 15 - 9:30 a.m. at the MW Library. Please try to park in the Community Center parking lot so we don’t take up library patron parking spaces.

Motion made by Fred, seconded by Greg to adjourn meeting at 11:30 a.m. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Marilyn Gabert, Secretary
 

   For more information about the MWLA or to join the MWLA:

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PO Box 286
Manitowish Waters, WI 54545
(715)543-8401
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