TURTLE LAKE
IMPROVEMENT AND PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION (TLA)
MINUTES OF
MEETING – 3/20/04
President
Cheryl Mitacek opened the meeting. The
5/17/03 and 9/13/03 minutes and 11/8/03 Treasurer's Report were approved. Tom Mitacek noted that buoy work is done at 8:00
am.
Balance
on Hand 11/8/03: $5,645.30
Landing
Info Boxes
will be filled with Zebra Mussel and Boat Cleaning info. Terry Vat, of TLA, has proposed placing Catch & Release signs at the
landings. We support this effort.
Goose
Egg Oiling
- We will decide this summer whether to get the Jan. 1 $25 to $50 permit. Goose eggs can't be tampered with without a
permit.
Exotics - (1)Milfoil Spraying -
Richmond Township has $1500 in their budget.
Dick Gronert is following up with Marine Biochemists re: permit and
spray date. The channel will be free of
boats. (2)Purple Loosstrife - Patricia
Carroll hopes that we see smaller amounts and has much literature available. Remove head and spray with Round Up. (3)Garlic Mustard - White flowered plant
whose seeds remain viable for 5 yrs.
Remove head and spray with Round Up.
(4)Buckthorn - Thorned plant that should be pulled/dug up and sprayed
with Round Up.
Buoys - We have 28 buoys (23
good/5 damaged). Buoy cost is over
$100/buoy; buoys are owned by Richmond Township. They will provide 5 new buoys this spring. We need to ask Wally for 5 X 20-ft. chain
lengths. Dick noted that we must have
the correct chain length and brick weight to avoid "floaters". Members volunteered to provide some new bricks. At the township's request, Cheryl will
complete a map showing buoy locations by 4/13/04 Town Meeting. Rob Kaye suggested we have a dispatcher on
shore and maps in the boats to ensure buoys are placed correctly. We can also mark buoys with longer chain
lengths. **Richmond Township is adding
the TLA to their insurance policy and paying to cover liability of buoy
work. TLA places and removes buoys on
behalf of Richmond Township. Carol
noted that Richmond's guideline state that buoys are to be placed 175 ft. from
shore. It was noted that we could
sometime amend to state 150 to 175 ft. from shore, depending on water depth.
Water
Level -
There is still concern re: water level.
Snow/rain levels are lower than average. We have a letter of opinion from an experienced DNR
representative stating that there is an issue with the culvert. Richmond Township does not share this
opinion. We feel that more money and
expertise may be needed to study this concern.
Cheryl's review of grant eligibility requirements, either standard or as
a Conservancy, has raised issues for TLA.
Patricia Carroll moved that we have Mary Baas follow through with the
Limnological Institute to get an opinion about TLA grant eligibility and then
form a committee to pursue this matter.
The motion passed. WAL attendees
will also obtain further information.
Sportsman's
Club - Bill
Paladino and Pat McIntyre are spear heading the Turtle Valley Friends Group for
the new wildlife area. The DNR would
like a new, grant-eligible group formed to create an education
building/area. Contact Bill if
interested in being involved.
Walworth
County Lakes Association (WCLA) - Mary highlighted info discussed at 2/04
meeting (see web site). Rob informed us that a Lake Fair is being
developed that would be open to lakes and area businesses for info and
fundraising. Turtle Lake may have a
fish survey in 2005.
NEW BUSINESS
Richmond
Township -
Carol Behrens reported that the Delavan Rescue Squad is taking over the area
and is looking for volunteer first-responders.
The township has sent a letter to Walworth County asking to withdraw
from County Zoning. Richmond does not
want the County to dictate their zoning requirements. This will be tabled until after the County election.
Crew
V - Scott
Porter has been accepted and will be attending several education sessions
around WI. It was moved to give Scott
$300 to cover the cost of the training.
The motion passed.
Shoreline
Property Changes - Cheryl handed out guidelines for approvals needed when making
property changes. When requesting
approval from Walworth Cty., it is a courtesy to submit a copy of that info to
Richmond Township.
Nominations - Rob and Pat Carroll will
present a report at the next meeting.
WAL
Convention
- Dick & Elaine, Mary, and possibly Rob will attend this year's
convention. Cheryl read a letter
requesting donations for the silent auction.
Linda Friedman generously offered a certificate for Dinner for 2 at Snug
Harbor. The TLA has 2 votes to exercise
for WAL officers. It was moved that
Mary and Elaine be authorized to vote.
The motion passed. We will keep
WAL registration fees for TLA members ($1000 max) in our budget.
Survey - Patricia Carroll will
spearhead coordination with Mary, Cheryl, and Rob. We should send to all area residents and need to get an updated
RE tax list. Patricia noted that we
should include a statement that the TLA is helping to protect your property
value, and encourage people to join and support our efforts with your
dues. Possible question: My most
important concern about TL is…
Newsletter - Rob volunteered to edit,
print and distribute the newsletter, as he would like to see a more official
format. The consensus was that the TLA
president may decide how they would like to handle and it was noted that the
president should always have the last look at and final approval of the
newsletter prior to distribution.
Lake
Activities
-
*Saturday,
May 1 - 8:00 Buoy Placement followed by Meeting
*Saturday,
June 26 - 6:00 Potluck (5:30 Set-Up) and Annual Meeting.
Rob moved that we invite DNR Rep. Heidi Bunk
to the potluck and ask her to present a 20-minute Limnology 101 course about
lake cycling. The motion passed. Cheryl will invite Heidi and offer to pay
expenses that she may incur.
Mary
Baas, Secretary