Meeting Called to Order by Amy Heaven at 9:00 AM at the Johnson County Community College: Olathe Health Education Center
Present: Ryan Mueller, Amy Heaven, Greta Jahraus, Leslie Hind, Melinda Broward, Mike Rankin, Sandy Adams, Clifton Bencke
Absent: Blake Larson
Agenda: Amy reviewed the submitted agenda. Approved as submitted.
Secretary: Ryan read the minutes from the Sprint meeting. Minutes approved as submitted.
Treasury: Leslie presented the finances. The GLA currently has $25,405.37 total assets. Recently for the kayak race, we brought in $280 for raffles, $70 in donations, and $669.99 in apparel/merchandise. Expenses for the event were $257. At the fall cookoff, we collected $601.02. We added $200 in raffles for the summer raffle items between the two events. Treasurers report was approved as submitted.
Old Business:
-By-laws: Ryan reviewed the proposed by-laws. Question was raised whether renters could vote on matters in the GLA. Some suggested renters should not be members of the GLA at all. Points were made regarding the scope of votes in GLA and that major property owner votes would be different. A motion was raised by Jim Shipee to allow only property owners to be able to vote on anything on the agenda. Discussion was had by members with points raised on both sides. No disagreement made by any that renters should not be voting on major decisions related to property. Some suggested two tiers of membership in the GLA. Larry Desmarteau, Jim Shipee, and Vivian Levin volunteered to join a By-laws subcommittee to further review this and any other issues in the proposed by-laws. For this meeting a vote on the proposed by-laws was skipped.
-Board Elections: Mike led the process. 3 board positions were being voted on – positions held by Amy Heaven, Ryan Mueller, and Clifton Bencke. Clifton Bencke decided to step down from his position on the Board. Mike Stappert volunteered his name for consideration. Votes were casted by 62 people present at the meeting. Results were the following: Clifton-4, Amy-51, Ryan-50, Mike S.-52, and 5 votes for no candidates.
-Taskforce: Leslie introduced the Taskforce members and then passed the mic to Tim Orrick. Tim emphasized that the scope of the GLA does not include any enforcement or authority to require residents to do anything. A benefactor funded an engineering report to independently verify the condition of the dam, spillway, and lake in general. Tim reviewed the timeline that has led to now, including past GLA meetings and city/lake history. The Taskforce has been working to show that the spillway and dam need addressed. Indicators show that this work has made progress and the city of Gardner is considering a grant and project to address the spillway/dam. The city has again reminded the Taskforce that they do not want to maintain or even own this lake – only pull water for the golf course. Any ownership would have to be taken by a new entity – not the GLA – and agreed upon by residents. The group fielded some questions from members about what ownership could look like. Details are not exact, but for some amount of money generally around $750 minimum per year per resident, the lakeside residents could maintain the basic costs of owning the lake. Many factors to consider including liability, water rights, exact costs, other possible lake owners, etc. Please contact Amy or Leslie with your particular questions. Tim then reviewed the engineer report bathymetric survey. This shed light on the amount of sedimentation that was accumulating in various parts of the lake. Two focus areas were Pirate’s Cove and the South end of the lake. In Pirate’s Cove, analysis shows that there is some sedimentation, but that Pirate’s Cove is generally a shallow area based on bedrock depth. Expenses to dredge this area would be cost prohibitive. In the South end of the lake, sedimentation is significant. The Taskforce’s engineering report showed that it would be approximately $2M to dredge just the central channel area of the South end.
New Business:
-Merchandise: Sandy reviewed some of the great items the GLA has for sale. She also is looking for feedback for new product ideas.
-Lake Road Reps: Greta discussed some projects that the Reps are working on including neighborhood magnets. The GLA is also working on a process so that LRR’s can update contact info easier.
-Special Events: Melinda shared information about the upcoming Light Up the Lake contest in December. She also reflected on our year of successful events and reminded the group of the meatball contest happening the same day.
-Zebra Mussels: Leslie shared the latest information on these pests. Our lake has been confirmed to have an infestation. Please use caution, anything left in the water can become covered with the mussels. These animals do have ‘boom and bloom’ cycles where the population will balloon – it is suspected we are in this phase now. Fishermen should use extra caution when removing their boat from the lake, there is a protocol to follow before a boat can be put in another body of water. The State KDWP analysis showed that we have a strong fish population currently.
-Summer Raffle: Two items were raffled at the meeting. One was the Hyperlite Elevation SUP won by Ryan Mueller. The second item was an inflatable kayak won by Angie Eck.
The meeting was moved to adjourn by Blair H and seconded by Ryan M
