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Regular Meeting – October 10, 2007 Commissioners present; Gordon Ceskowske, Kurt Heckl, Lionel Wagner, Dennis VanderWerff, and Cheryl Witkowski. Also present: Les Schraufnagel, operator; Steve Kallenbach, commercial fisherman; and Kathleen Rydquist, clerk-coordinator. Chairman Gorgon Ceskowske called the regular meeting of the Fox Lake Inland Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District to order at 9:00am on October 10, 2007 at the District Town Hall Office. Motion to approve the minutes as printed, K. Heckl, second L. Wagner. All yes. Motion carried. Motion to approve the financial statement as printed, subject to audit, K. Heckl, second D. VanderWerff. All yes. Motion carried. Operators report: attached Additional comments – D. VanderWerff asked Les about how long it takes to read the flow meters and how often they need to be read. Les stated that how often varies. With the new meters, they may want to check them more frequently than later on. The actual reading only takes a couple of minutes. One person makes the pumps are not pumping, takes the reading and relays that number back to the plant to Barb or whoever is there. K. Heckl asked if there was any other information re a problem at N10561 Chief Kuno Trail. The operator, property owner, and plumber are working on the problem. Audience Participation: Chairman Ceskowske recognized Steve Kallenbach. Kallenbach is a commercial fisherman who holds a permit to fish carp on Fox Lake. He stated that he would like to fish here this year and as local residents had reported seeing a lot of carp, we were glad to see him. He said that he has 40 years experience fishing carp and that he has spoken to DNR about gill nets being especially detrimental to fish population. He also questioned not being able to fish in spring because of the aquatic plants. It seems that he would like more flexibility as to when he is allowed to fish here. The District responded that at least for now, we are very protective of our aquatic vegetation. The increased vegetation and improved fishery are contributing to the improved water quality that is occurring. Mr. Kallenbach stated that he would be fishing the lake in early November. WCC report: 1] The new flow meters will be delivered by October 19th and should be installed by the end of November. 2] Health insurance at Wastewater is going up possibly 25% to 30%. 3] WCC received a communication from the City re the surcharge for using a portion of the Districts’ capacity at the treatment plant. To date, there have been two occasions (two week periods) when the City had sent out too much wastewater (probably due to infiltration). WCC has assessed a charge that is payable to the District. The City feels that our flow meter is not accurate and has asked for the surcharge to be forgiven and initiated at the time the new flow meters are installed. District Commissioners discussed this at length. They believe that the amendment to the ordinance and service contract signed last year address this issue and waiting until new meters are installed does not appear in the contract. Also, DNR and the Department of Justice requested a copy of the amendment and were pleased to see that a surcharge for overages was a part of the ordinance/service contract. In that spirit, the District Commissioners agreed to expect payment of the surcharge from the City. They also discussed the possibility of a tie vote and going to arbitration or circuit court. Regular Meeting – October 10, 2007, page 2 State and federal report: 1] At the last meeting, it was reported that LPT 244-04 had been sent in for final reimbursement. That was reported in error. It will be sent in soon, but payment can not be received until DNR/Hey & Associates/District approve of the study and report. 2] Received an email from DNR that we will be receiving a reimbursement for $2,343.75 for the large scale lake planning grant for the Aquatic Plant Management Plan. 3] Spoke with Steve Kallenbach re fishing in November. He was interested in the amount of funds the District had available for carp removal. 4] Set up and attended the District/DNR meeting at the Town. A special “Thank You” to Barb Dutkiewicz for her famous deviled eggs and peanut butter cookies, and for helping set up and clean up afterwards. 5] Talked with Neal O’Reilly the day following the meeting. We discussed setting up a meeting with Senator Scott Fitzgerald and Representative Jeff Fitzgerald to open a dialogue re the high nitrates levels in Drew Creek. Called Chairman Ceskowske and he said to go ahead and contact the Fitzgerald’s. 6] Asked N. O’Reilly to put together a proposal for writing and Environmental Assessment in case we have to have an emergency alum treatment in the spring. 7] Spoke with Laura Stremick-Thompson. She stated that if the weather permitted, DNR would be electro-shocking on the evening of October 8. 8] Received a “report card” from Doris Thiele, DNR, re our CMAR that was submitted in June. We received an A on the Financial part and a B on the Maintenance part. Thiele also stated a “job well done” for the operator. 9] Received an email from Dona Turgeon stating that she thinks it would be a great idea for the District to send 2 different people to the WAL Convention every year. She also suggested nominating the Plant Management Committee for a Stewardship Award. It was mentioned by the Board that Julie Flemming nominated the committee last year. We received a letter of thanks for the nomination. It should be noted that the recipients of the Stewardship Awards have usually been involved in lake and environmental issues for ten years or better. 10] Received an email from a patron questioning the raise in the sewer bill. Offered the Board a copy of the email and the response so they would know the tone of the answer coming from the office. 11] Last year, someone cutting a tree limb, dropped it on the power line and broke the post holding the electrical panel. Repairs entailed hiring an electrician to make the repairs. The total cost of repairs was above $800. The responsible person was billed and billed again. The only way the District can collect delinquent utilities or other money owed to the District. A motion was made by D. VanderWerff, second K. Heckl to put this amount on the patrons’ taxes if payment was not received by November 1st. All yes. Motion carried. County report: The Finance Committee of the Dodge County Board of Supervisors is proposing cutting the budget for the Land Conservation Department. They would be cutting one full time conservationist reducing the staff to three. The Board directed the Clerk to send letters to the supervisors in support of keeping the money in the budget to fully fund LCD. She will also contact Lake Emily, Beaver Dam Lake and Lake Sinissippi and ask them to send letters of support also. Town report: October 18th is the Town budget meeting. The Town share of the Fox Lake Fire Association is $141,000. Next year this will be assessed on the value of property, i.e. house, garage, etc. and not land value. Regular Meeting – October 10, 2007, page 3 Old business: 1] Maintenance for District projects – Gully’s Digging – no information. 2] Discussion of Watershed study/Management plan meeting – Everyone thought the meeting went well. N. O’Reilly’s presentation was excellent as usual. The two outstanding points concerned the high concentrations of nitrates in the Drew and Alto Creek areas and the possibility of an emergency alum shock treatment as a management tool. The poorer water quality conditions in the summer of 2007 show the need to keep a close eye on the lake and the aquatic plants as well as fisheries. It seems that, for our lake, there is a delicate balance and we can shift from a plant laden lake with good water quality to an alga laden with poor water quality and declining plants. 3] Form for hook-ups – tabled. 4] Insurance Meeting – The Insurance Committee met with Richards Insurance to discuss the Districts’ coverage. K. Heckl expressed concern re the possibility of a rupture in the sewer lines on the lake bottom. He was concerned about the cost of environmental clean up that may be required by DNR. The Insurance man said that such coverage would no doubt be expensive and would have to inquire as to prices and availability of policies. He will get back to this for us. K. Heckl made a motion, second C. Witkowski, that the District contact our attorney to ask about the liability to the District should such a break occur. Three – aye. Two – nay. Motion carried. New business: 1] Tracer wire requirements – We haven’t heard back from Tom Wissing re this issue. Table. 2] Environmental Assessment proposal from Hey & Associates – Motion by L. Wagner, second D. VanderWerff to table for next meeting. 3] Use of District truck by Wastewater to read flow meters – Both meters could be easily read within one hour. Motion by K. Heckl, second C. Witkowski to let FLWCC employee use the District truck to read flow meters at a cost to be negotiated at Wastewater. All yes. Motion carried. 4] Meeting with Legislators – A meeting between Senator Fitzgerald, Rep. Fitzgerald, Neal O’Reilly, Marc Bethke, and the District Board has be set for November 5, 2007 at 9:30am at Juneau to discuss the excessive nitrates on the north side of the lake in the area of the prison. 5] WCC request for information from Engineer – WCC has written or will be writing a letter to Ayers & Associates asking for information on future needs in the District as it applies to influent at the plant. Motion by K. Heckl, second D. VanderWerff to notify Ayers & Associates that the District wishes them to respond to the WCC/MSA letter requesting information about out collection system. All yes. Motion carried. 6] Harvesting contract for next year – table. Motion to pay the bills K. Heckl, second L. Wagner. All yes. Motion carried. Suggestions for the next agenda – Gill netting, City surcharge letter, Charge for use of truck, EA The next meeting will be November 14, 2007 at 9:00am. Motion to adjourn D. VanderWerff, second L. Wagner. All yes. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted Kathleen Rydquist Clerk-Coordinator