Yahara Lakes Association, Ltd.
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Thursday, October 8, 2020 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
The Yahara Lakes Association Board of Directors held its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, October 8, 2020, via a Zoom meeting.
The following members participated: Stuart Allbaugh, Caroline Fribance, Annette Hellmer, Tamara Knickmeier, Allan Levin, Nancy Peckham, Dan Schultz, Scott Seymour, Dave Silverberg, Jim St. Vincent, Sal Troia, Eric Vieth, and Brenda Matthias
Members and advisors not present: Dick Adler, Eric Englund, Eric Olson, and Dick Pearson
11:35 a.m. Call to Order: In the President’s (Eric Olson) absence Sal Troia called the meeting to order at 11:35 a.m.
11:36 a.m. August Minutes:
· Jim St. Vincent made a motion to accept the August 13, 2020 meeting minutes. Stuart Allbaugh seconded the motion. Motion passed.
11:37 a.m. Treasurer Report – Sal Troia
· The financials were reviewed –
o The 2020 dues are $6,800 higher than the 2019 dues at this time.
o Current Marketing & Membership expenses are at $13,000 and the committee expects to be under the $14,000 budgeted for the year.
o No funds were needed from the reserves to cover expenses this year.
· Caroline Fribance made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report. Dan Schultz seconded the motion. Motion passed.
11:45 a.m. Marketing & Membership Committee (M&M) – Nancy Peckham
· The membership drive is done for the year. 2019 membership totaled 230, the 2020 membership total is 339 – that is a 47% increase!! With the individual dues increase from an average of $45 to $50 and the increase in membership numbers, 2020 dues went up by $6,780 over 2019 which is a 65.6% increase!! Nice job to Brenda Matthias, the M&M committee and the YLA board for a banner year in membership growth!!!!
· Since August 18th we have 9 new members and 4 new YL-Alert signups.
YLA membership by lake as of September 23, 2020
2020 Renewals 2020 New Total 2020 Members 2020 Non-Renewed
Kegonsa 26 29 55 2
Mendota 90 32 122 8
Monona 80 28 108 12
Waubesa 32 20 52 12
Yahara/other 2 0 2 7
Totals 230 109 339 41
· 2020 totals –
o YL-Alerts – 111 signups
o Sponsors – 16 = 1 Gold/5 Silver/10 Bronze
o Lake Organizations – 2
· Lakeside Learning Zoomcast –
o 145 registered attendees
o 80+ – Estimated attendees (this is a minimum #. Some households could have had more than 1 person join the meeting but I couldn’t tell since not everyone joined with their video turned on)
· Preliminary 2021 Marketing Plan –
o The following are preliminary numbers and committee will present final budget amount at the November board meeting. These are strictly marketing expenses and do not include internal administrative marketing expenses.
§ Membership Drive mailings
· New members – 3 for $3,100 total
· Renewal – 2 for $500 total (in addition to email blasts)
· Sponsor/lake organization membership drive – 2 for $500 total
§ $3,000 budget for Lakeside Learning & Listening sessions, targeting 3 events (how the dollars are allocated between the three depends on our ability to host in-person events.)
§ Would like a $1,000 budget for promotional items (ie. giveaways, caps, signs).
§ Would like to increase our Facebook/social media presence next year.
§ Total preliminary budget amount is $8,100.
o Administrative marketing expenses TBD and will present for approval at November meeting along with final marketing budget.
· Newsletters -
o Eric Olson led the effort in September.
o Sal Troia will be leading the effort in October. The goal is to send the newsletter out on October 27th or October 28th. Possible articles include President’s message, dredging update, leaf pick up program by Annette Hellmer, legal article by Scott Seymour, and Manke sponsor article.
o Newsletters will be sent in November and December as an additional touchpoint with YLA members. Jim St Vincent or Eric Olson will lead the effort in November and Tamara Knickmeier will lead the effort in December.
· YLA Mailing List
o Eric Olson will provide the new house sales at the first of each month to the current YLA administrator to update the mailing list.
o Tamara Knickmeier will work with Brenda Matthias to determine the best way to keep the LWCA list updated.
· Website and Facebook page revisions since the last board meeting:
o Added August newsletter to website
o Added September Newsletter to website and Facebook
o Added August minutes and financials to Board area
o Removed Lakeside Learning Zoomcast information under the Latest News on Home page
o Removed Zoomcast registration link
12:08 p.m. Water Quality, Lake Levels & Flow Committee – Eric Vieth
· For the Yellow Zone Slow No Wake signage Eric Vieth is working with John Reimer to create signage to display at the area launches. The signs are not needed now but will work on this over the winter months to have ready next year when they are needed.
· Proposed Lake Alerts this Fall/Winter include –
o County budget approval including dredging
o Ice On/Ice Off – best way to communicate this would be to provide an update on where to find the informational websites with current conditions
o Dane County Sheriff ice condition reports
o Ice fishing shacks off
· Dredging update – Dane County continues to make important progress with its multi-million-dollar effort to reduce flood risk along the Yahara Chain of Lakes. The Yahara Chain of Lakes Sediment Removal Project started this summer and is designed to improve flow—moving rainwater that currently sits in the lakes for weeks through at a steadier clip. This year's work is focused on the area between Lakes Monona and Waubesa. When completed later this fall, the river will be 2 to 4 feet deeper, and 40,000 cubic yards of sediment will have been removed. Dane County purchased its own dredging barge and equipment this year, which is due to arrive in October. It will be deployed next summer as part of the second phase of flood risk reduction work and focus on areas downstream of Lakes Waubesa and Kegonsa. There is over $6 million in the budget, including $2.5 million in new money, for this work to stay on track next year.
· Yahara CLEAN Compact Plan – SmithGroup consulting firm will be assisting in creating the plan over the next 12 months.
· Stoughton Dam removal – no update as meetings have been delayed.
· Dane County Lakes and Watershed – Allan Levin
o No changes to the Sheriff’s budget including no increase for monitoring the lakes especially during no wake.
o Budget amount for dredging is $6 million.
o Current phase of dredging will be done in approximately the next 2 ½ weeks.
o Phase 2 of the dredging project will be strictly handled by the county.
12:30 p.m. Legislative & Legal Committee – Caroline Fribance & Scott Seymour
· Future articles for the newsletter – PFAS, burn pits, state and local laws.
· Caroline Fribance and Scott Seymour will review the bylaws and come back to the board with a recommendation in regards to holding an Annual Meeting and what is needed to fulfill this requirement.
12:39 p.m. Events – no report.
12:40 p.m. Other Business -
· Monitoring Station on Lake Waubesa – Friends of Waubesa Wetlands letter –
o The reason the monitoring station is so important is to understand the impact of the substantial development occurring in the Swan Creek watershed in the City of Fitchburg. This development may have an impact on the watershed and the sooner a monitoring station is operational, the greater understanding we will have about the water quality and impacts (positive or negative) from current and future development.
o The City of Fitchburg pulled the funding for the monitoring station due to lack of interest and support from other areas.
o YLA advocacy efforts include reaching out to YLA members to help push the City of Fitchburg to put funding for the monitoring station back in their budget. Along with asking the YLA members to attend the October 13th Fitchburg City Council meeting.
o Allan Levin made a motion to support the Monitoring Station advocacy proposal put forth in the letter. Dave Silverberg seconded the motion. Motion passed.
· Dick Adler will be resigning from the Board as of October 31, 2020.
· A new committee – Human Recourses - was formed and committee members include Eric Olson, Nancy Peckham, Jim St. Vincent, and Sal Troia.
o The committee will review and handle the following –
§ Board terms and nominations
§ Board Committee Chairs and new committees
§ Administrative replacement with Brenda Matthias leaving at the end of the year.
1:00 p.m. Nancy Peckham made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Jim St. Vincent seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Next meeting date is November 12th via Zoom conference call.