Yahara Lakes Association, Ltd.
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Thursday, August 13, 2020 11:30 a.m. - 1:10 p.m.
The Yahara Lakes Association Board of Directors held its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, August 13 2020, via a Zoom meeting.
The following members participated: Dick Adler, Stuart Allbaugh, Caroline Fribance, Annette Hellmer, Tamara Knickmeier, Allan Levin, Eric Olson, Dick Pearson, Nancy Peckham, Dan Schultz, Scott Seymour, Jim St. Vincent, Sal Troia, Eric Vieth, and Brenda Matthias
Members and advisors not present: Eric Englund and Dave Silverberg
11:32 a.m. Call to Order: President – Eric Olson called the meeting to order at 11:32 a.m.
11:33 a.m. July Minutes:
· Allan Levin made a motion to accept the July 9, 2020 meeting minutes. Caroline Fribance seconded the motion. Motion passed.
11:35 a.m. Treasurer Report – Sal Troia
· The financials were reviewed –
o Expenses this month included the Zoom monthly charge and the administrative fee.
o Administrative hours were within the allotted 20 hours including the Lake Alerts and newsletter tasks.
· Allan Levin made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report. Dan Schultz seconded the motion. Motion passed.
11:37 a.m. Water Quality, Lake Levels & Flow Committee – Eric Vieth
· County adjusted flow in Mendota over the last month, there was significant reduction in flow downstream of Kegonsa, and Stoughton dam is open.
· Allan Levin has not had any further discussion with John Riemer on the weed pickup and GPS capability to see where barges are located.
· Completed a 1,000 ft. of the dredging. John Reimer is not confident that the dredging will be done be estimated completion date and will probably be working thru October/November.
· Yahara CLEAN Compact put out a request for consulting firms to submit proposals on helping them develop a plan update. The will make a decision on what firms to interview in the next week.
· Dan Schultz and Eric Vieth had a Zoom meeting with John Reimer and Deputy Sheriff Thomas Sankey to discuss the process for implementing the “Yellow Zone” 500 ft shoreline no wake zone. The purpose of the 500 ft shoreline no wake zone is to allow for continued shoreline protection during high water events but leave 70-80% of the lake open for normal recreational and transit activities. John Reimer and the Sheriff had no objections to the proposal. Communication will be key with implementing this and YLA will play a big part in the communication. Eric Vieth and Dan Schultz will also work with John Reimer to create signage to put up at boat launches.
· Dane County Lakes and Watershed – Allan Levin
o Changes to the budget - added two additional weed cutters to the budget and removed Allan’s request to dredge Starkweather Creek for PFAS.
o Tabled the motion to keep lakes at a medium verses at a minimum.
12.20 p.m. Marketing & Membership Committee (M&M) – Nancy Peckham
· Since the July board meeting we have 4 additional renewals and 3 new members.
· One new sponsor – Madison Boats at the Silver level. Sponsorships – 1 Gold sponsor / 5 Silver sponsors / 10 Bronze sponsors and 3 lake organizations.
· Dues & Contribution Analysis through July 31, 2020
Actual 7/31/20 2020 Budget O/U Budget 2019 Actual O/U Actual
Business Dues 2,500 4,950 -2,450 3,200 -700
Individual Dues 16,560 15,000 1,560 10,330 6,230
Total Dues 19,060 19,950 -890 13,530 5,530
Contributions 7,295 7,000 295 6,180 1,115
Dues & Contributions 26,355 26,950 -595 19,710 6,645
· YLA membership by lake as of August 6, 2020
2020 Renewals 2020 New Total 2020 Members 2020 Non-Renewed
Kegonsa 25 28 53 2
Mendota 89 31 120 9
Monona 79 26 105 12
Waubesa 32 16 48 12
Yahara/other 2 0 2 7
Totals 227 101 328 42
· Newsletters -
o Tamara Knickmeier led the effort in July.
o Sal Troia will be leading the effort in August. The goal is to send the newsletter out on August 18th. Possible articles include President’s message, dredging update, Yellow Order – 500 ft no wake zone, legal article by Scott Seymour, and YLA Lakeside Learning Zoomcast invitation and items that will be covered during the event.
· Lake Alerts –
o YL Alerts total sign-ups are at 102 along with 5 new members.
o YL Alerts that were sent –
§ Monona-Waubesa dredging update – 7/11
§ Slow no wake – Wicawak Bay – 7/15
§ Dredging update video – 7/17
§ Mendota/Monona/Kegonsa – weed/debris pick-up schedule – 7/27
§ Waubesa – weed/debris pick-up schedule – 8/4
· Upcoming events
o Lakeside Learning Zoomcast Agenda
§ Welcome / Introductions – YLA mission / benefits / accomplishments / board - presented by Eric Olson (facilitator)
§ John Reimer – (20 min) Dredging update and timetable
§ Pete Jopke – (20 min) Plant harvesting updates, pier pick up program summary, fish survey summary of four main lakes
§ Prize winner – names entered into a drawing & will draw name at end
§ Q & A session / Wrap up
o Utilize chat feature for people to ask questions.
o Event communication will include invitation to members/non-members/riparians/YL-Alert subscribers in August newsletter.
o Will upgrade Zoom subscription to allow up to 500 participants for the month of September for $64.99.
o Offering 4 different sponsorship levels
§ Premier – name/logo on mailer and emails (limited 2 sponsors) - $300
§ Platinum - short infomercial, mention during event – (limited 2 sponsors) - $200
§ Gold – mention on power point and during zoomcast -(unlimited) - $100
§ Package of all 3 ($100 discount) - $500
o $1,000 has been raised in sponsorship. Clean Lake Alliance and Sprinkman are sponsoring the event. With the sponsorship the Yeti cooler and post card mailing will be covered.
· YLA Mailing List
o Our current list has been updated using the MLS riparian home sales for the last 6 months that Eric Olson provided.
o Dan Schultz made a motion to open up the mailing list to lake organizations for their particular lake with a fee to maintain the list. Annette Hellmer seconded the motion. Motion passed.
· Website and Facebook page revisions since the last board meeting:
o Add Aquatic Plant Management Harvesting Program link to Lake Links on website
o Current locations & Collection Schedule
o Added dredging video to Facebook
o Added July Newsletter to News & Articles tab
o Added July minutes and financials to Board area
o Filed Annual Report and added a copy to the Board area
o Added July Newsletter to Facebook
o Added Madison Boats to Sponsors page
o Added YLA Lakeside Learning Zoom cast info to Events page
12:40 p.m. Legislative & Legal Committee – Caroline Fribance & Scott Seymour
· Scott Seymour is working on a newsletter article on shoreline repair for the August newsletter.
· Dan Schultz is writing an article for the August newsletter about the yellow zone 500 ft slow no wake process being setup with John Reimer and Sheriff Deputy Sankey.
12:42 p.m. Events – no report.
12:43 p.m. Other Business - no discussion.
12:45 p.m. Allan Levin made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Stuart Allbaugh seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Next meeting date is October 8th via Zoom conference call.