Category: GLA Meeting Minutes

Meeting Called to Order by Amy Heaven 9:00 AM at the Gardner Senior Center.

Board Present: Amy Heaven, Mike Rankin, Sandy Adams, Ryan Mueller, Melinda Broward, Greta Jahrus, Blake Larson, Leslie Hind, Clifton Bencke

Board Absent: None

Introductions: Board members and new lake residents were introduced.

Agenda: Amy Heaven presented the agenda for approval. Miranda Burnett moved to approve the agenda, this was seconded and approved.

Secretary: Ryan Mueller presented the previous resident’s meeting minutes. Blair Honeyman moved to approve the minutes, this was seconded and approved.

Treasury: Presented by Leslie Hind. Major expenses in 2022 were: $636 for 4^th of July Parade, $188 for kayak race, $1,472 for dumpsters (for 4 tons of trash removed!), and $850 for the Grass Carp addition project. Funds that were received in 2022 are: $3,954 in dues collected from 115 members, $2,008 collected from merchandise sales, and $4,150 received from 51 benefactors specifically for the Grass Carp addition project (thank YOU!). Leslie explained that of the GLA’s assets, $15,000 has been earmarked for infrastructure expenses and the remaining $3,806 is in the general fund, with another $435 in the Paypal receivable account.

Special Events: Presented by Melinda Broward. Melinda led us down memory lane with a review of the fun events held throughout the year. Some special highlights were the 4^th of July Boat Parade with online voting, 2 very successful lake cleanups that beautified the dam / spillway area, and a kayak race with 25 volunteers and 40 participants (including a paddling pup!). Melinda built more excitement for the Annual Chili Cookoff that occurs later this day (10/8/22) and announced a Christmas Light Contest to occur later this year.

Special Presentation: Lake Infrastructure:

-Amy Heaven addressed the recent article by the Gardner News. In response to the article, Amy and the GLA board created a Gardner Lake Infrastructure Taskforce: a subset of GLA board members and residents especially dedicated to getting into the deep details of what it would take to repair the dam and spillway. The taskforce is made up of Leslie Hind, Mike Rankin, Ryan Mueller, Tim Orrick, and Amy Heaven.

-Leslie Hind reviewed the history of the dam / spillway repairs as well as the inspection report produced in 2021 by engineering firm Olsson. The lake Dam is currently classified as a High Hazard dam because a failure of the system could result in extensive loss of life, damage to homes, or traffic on high volume roads.  At the 2021 inspection, the dam was found to be in fair condition but deficiencies and needed repairs were noted including deterioration of the spillway crest, undesirable vegetation along the dam embankment, and sparse riprap in certain locations.

-Tim Orrick presented information on the current governance of the lake and nearby properties. Importantly, it was noted the dam / spillway repairs are estimated to cost in the neighborhood of $800,000. Of this total, Johnson County has offered a grant to pay $400,000 towards these repairs. This has been declined for several years by the city of Gardner due to a lack of funds for the remaining portion of funding – approximately $400,000. So far, the city has expressed that some portion of this cost will be burdened by the residents of Gardner Lake. To this point, the GLA Infrastructure Taskforce is currently investigating options that would help get the dam and spillway repaired with various forms of financial structuring. These options and some of their pro/cons were:

1) Do nothing and allow the city to repair on their terms and timeline

-pros: passive choice, happens automatically

-cons: no control, city could decide to raise dock fees unilaterally to cover costs

2) Work with city to finance a ‘resident portion’ of the cost through dock fees

-pros: some voice in structuring of dock fees

-cons: dock fees not a good mechanism – overcharge some residents and undercharge others

3) City of Gardner passes ownership of the lake to Johnson County

-pros: county has authority to levy tax assessments in a more equitable way than dock fees

-cons: unlikely that Johnson County is interested

4) Transfer ownership of Gardner Lake to a private entity such as a newly formed HOA

-pros: an HOA would have control of decisions

-cons: would be difficult to form an HOA, resident responsibility for repairs increases

Old Business:

-Calendar Update: Sandy Adams is preparing calendars for 2023, sponsorships are available.

-Membership Update: Mike Rankin is working to build a contact list of lake residents for email notifications. Let the GLA know if you are not getting lake announcement emails.

-Dredging/Grass Carp Update: Leslie Hind said that dredging is still a priority and will be investigated soon. The existing and newly added grass carp have been working hard cleaning up algae around the lake.

-Raffle Update: Ryan Mueller showed off the awesome items available in the raffle for the Chili Cookoff.

New Business:

-By-Laws Update: Amy Heaven announced forthcoming proposed updates to the By-Laws to be voted on at the Spring Resident’s meeting.

Adjournment: There was a move to adjourn, which was seconded and passed unanimously.

Meeting Called to Order by Amy Heaven 4:22 PM in Zoom format.

Present:           Amy Heaven, Ryan Mueller, Greta Jahrus, Leslie Hind

Absent:            Clifton Bencke, Blake Larson, Mike Rankin, Melinda Broward, Sandy Adams

Treasury: Presented by Leslie. Current amounts are as follows: $22,384 checking, $435 Paypal, $574.20 Venmo, coming to a total of $23,393.91. Currently 61 people have paid 2023 dues for membership.

Old Business:

-Presented by Amy. Amy, Mike, Leslie, and Ryan met with Shirley Allenbrand, Todd Winters, and their teams. The meeting was a level-set for all sides. The GLA representatives shared the information they had presented at the Fall Resident’s meeting. The other parties had some questions and comments around these ‘options’. The city and county parties agreed to look into the dam/spillway issue and schedule a follow-up with the GLA after. The GLA was then excused from the meeting allowing for further discussion between the county and city privately.

– Leslie mentioned the By-laws taskforce is going to meet soon to draft proposed updates to the current by-laws. These will be submitted to membership prior to the Spring Resident’s meeting for review and comment.

New Business:

-Spring Resident’s meeting is 3/25!

-Fall/Winter/Spring newsletter: Amy is working on a forthcoming document.

-Ryan to work on getting by-laws on Lake site.

Adjournment:

-Leslie moved to adjourn the meeting, this was seconded by Amy.

Meeting Called to Order by Amy Heaven 4:09 PM in Zoom format.

Present:           Amy Heaven, Mike Rankin, Sandy Adams, Ryan Mueller, Greta Jahrus, Melinda Broward

Absent:            Clifton Bencke, Blake Larson, Leslie Hind

Old Business:

-Lake Preservation Force Report: Amy has been discussing infrastructure with the county. The county is interested in having a discussion. Concerns about fixed income residents if dock fee changes are on the horizon.

-Social Events: Christmas light contest is upcoming. Residents can email a photo of their house to GLA and we will host a vote on the GLA Facebook page.

-Calendar Update: Currently accepting advertisers for the calendar.

New Business:

-Task force for by-laws: Amy, Sandy, Greta, and Ryan going to work on a draft for the by-laws.

-Fall/winter newsletter: Amy is working on a forthcoming document.

-Ryan to work on getting by-laws on Lake site.

Adjournment: Greta motioned to adjourn, seconded by Ryan.

Meeting Called to Order at 6:35 in Zoom format.

Present: Mike Rankin, Sandy Adams, Ryan Mueller, Melinda Broward, Greta Jarhaus, Leslie Hind, Amy Heaven.

Absent: Leslie Nemitoff, Blake Larson, Clifton Bencke

Amy presented the agenda for approval. Sandy made the motion that we accept the agenda as submitted and Mike seconded. The vote was called and the agenda was accepted.

Amy submitted the minutes from the March 26 general membership meeting. Sandy made the motion that we accept them as submitted with a second by Mike. The vote was called and the minutes were approved.

Leslie H. gave the financial report as basically unchanged from the last meeting when we had $20,274.21 on hand. She has one outstanding check to deposit.

Sandy gave a tee shirt update. We have about 150 left with 10 having sold at the general meeting for a total of funds collected around $2000 so they have covered the costs and are generating income.

Ryan gave a raffle report. He sold ten tickets at the meeting for a total of $40.00. Ryan is working on a David Payne picture for our raffle collection. He is also going to solicit Gardner business for donations.

On Old Business:

The topic of roster maintenance was presented, and it was agreed that it would be a good task for our Lake Road Representatives. Mike agreed to head up the rep program and reach out to the current volunteers to reengage them. Amy mentioned that she’d received Angela Larson’s resignation. An in-person gathering was discussed and Greta volunteered to help with that process. A date will be determined in the future.

The floor was turned over to Melinda for the events update. She asked about the success of the dam clean-off April 16th. Workers who participated were Todd Chappell, Dave Young, Pete Adams, John Modic, Blair Honeyman and Travis Fleming. Trees that could not be pulled where sawed off with the trunks treated with Tordon. The city has been slow to remove the loose brush.

The topic of Mary Burnett’s clean-up party was raised. The turnout was fantastic, but the wind wouldn’t permit the use of boats on that day. People launched out on foot but even that was a challenge. There was talk of possibly scheduling another one for the fall, but not determination was made.

Leslie forwarded a couple names of people who had volunteered to serve on Leslie Nemitoff’s beautification committee. They were people who signed up at the general meeting.

Regarding the 4th of July boat parade, Melinda will plan a meeting in the next couple weeks to start planning. Several different methods of judging were discussed. The budgets for all the social events is $500 for simplicity. Leslie H. asked if Susan Dolan had been invited to judge and that she would take it very seriously.

Leslie H. presented her grass carp report. She was disappointed that Lucas with the state was walking back his offer of providing 500 grass carp for us this year. After our successful program last year he had made that offer. He was saying that our lake looked very good and he wanted to wait and see until fall. Melinda asked if the cost had stayed the same. Leslie H. was going to check on that. Melinda suggested that we get them reserved.

The condition of the spillway was discussed. Leslie H. said that Jason with the city was going to get us a copy of the last spillway report. Leslie said that the city has no budget for a repair and that is was a low priority for them. There is a condition report provided every two years.

On the condition of the dam, it too is inspected every two years. Mike was wondering about its evaluation and wondered how concerned we should be. It was mentioned that the valve below the dam was inspected monthly.

On the topic of dredging, Leslie H. commented that the city has had two grants in the past that expired and that it doesn’t fair well for future grants. But Jason is meeting with the county for possible options. Melinda asked if the city had investigated the purchase of dredging equipment? Leslie said “no.” Greta asked if Leslie had her task force? She said that Harold will help and Greta said that Fred, her husband, and volunteered as well. Ryan also said that he’d like to help. Leslie said that Jason felt we would need to use the cities grant writer.

Leslie remarked that only seven crew members maintain all the parks in Gardner. They are purchasing fancy trash cans for all the sites and that we would get 3 or 4. On the subject of beautification, Jason was very supportive. Leslie H. asked about having a park ranger and Jason said there was no budget for that. Gardner Lake will, however, get two security cameras to be monitored by the police. Leslie H. had asked the city about replacing the Porto-Potty and they said they would not because they are always destroyed by the public. They were considering something permanent. The amount of work what Leslie Hind was doing was recognized and Greta volunteered to help her. Leslie feels that Jason is trying to do the right thing.

Communications and our website was discussed. It was agreed that we need to know the password to our website as Blake is the only one who has it. Ryan volunteered to help Blake as he too has web design skills.

On New Business, Greta suggested that we maintain a running list of concerns and Ryan suggested a share Google Sheet. Greta remarked that it would facilitate managing feedback and understanding concerns. She agreed to manage it.

We would table a report on beautification until Leslie Nemitoff is available.

Tee shirts were discussed, and it was agreed that we would look into a new logo design for next year. Sandy felt like this wasn’t the time of the year to order them. Having our lake road reps in our tee shirts was a good idea. The topic turned to the lake road rep party and when a good time to have it would be. It was decided that this June might be the time.

Discussion turned to earmarking the treasury to avoid continual criticism over our utilization of excess funds. It was discussed that infrastructure should be the larger amount with earmarking the social events as another along with campaign seed money. Leslie mentioned that we need to update the signatories on the checking account while we were at it.

Amy mentioned that the Gardner Historical Museum was featuring an exhibit on Gardner Lake history starting June.

A permanent monthly meeting time was set for the third Wednesday of each month at 6:00 pm. Amy will get the Zoom password from Chuck.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 pm.

In a post-meeting e-mail exchange on April 28, Ryan Mueller motioned that we go forward with the purchase of 500 grass carp and Melinda Broward seconded. The vote carried.

Minutes submitted by Amy Heaven in the absence of Leslie Nemitoff, Secretary.

GLA-Meeting-Minutes-3-21-22

GLA-Meeting-Minutes-10-9-21

The meeting was called to order at the home of Amy Haven by Larry Desmarteau.  Attendees were:Chuck Lawrence, Blake Larson, Sandy Adams, Amy Haven, and Miranda Burnett.  Absent:  Leslie Hind and Shawnna Steele.

Larry passed out a draft shell that could be used to petition the State for financial support for dredging, spillway and algae control.  He asked board members to draft ideas for the wording and to send those to him.  He would like to put together a draft then form a committee to review and edit the petition.  Once the committee has a draft petition it would go out for review.  Then lake residence would have opportunity to sign.  Dredging costs at this time are probably over $1.3M and Gardner would need help with 40% of the cost.  The board felt strongly that the state should help with the cost of dredging since residence pay state taxes, buy boat and fishing licenses.  The petition is important to get out and get feedback from the state.

A note of concern on the spillway start was the that the KPW did not approve of the spillway plan.  Michael Cramer indicated to Larry that the concern was the plan did not address the debris buildup and tree growth in the drainage area past the spillway.  The city and public works are having a meeting this week about their concerns.  Larry will contact Michael and get back to the board and residents the outcome of this meeting.  The board hopes that the spillway repair can still move ahead in spring of 2020. 

October Association meeting minutes have been reviewed by the board and put on the Lake website.  The September board minutes are also available on line.

Leslie was called into work and could not deliver the treasurer’s report. 

Larry passed out a list of out top events and what functions need to be covered for these.  He would like us to plan more ahead on who is doing which activities to support the events. Some of the same folks are getting overloaded with back to back events. We need more volunteers and committees to help with events.  Miranda suggested using Survey Monkey to find out what events the lake residence would like and who would be willing to volunteer for events.  The board approved of using this survey.  Miranda will setup the survey and Blake will help get to all the lake residents.

The calendar is on track to get it done and to printer in November (2 weeks).  Larry gave out a list of the advertisers noting which ones will not be advertising, which ones have paid and which ones still owe.  Two additional advertisers have paid (Jawhawk Foot & Ankle, Cordray Roofing).  Sandy will get Blake the JPEG files from the advertisers so he can get these on the website. Larry also passed out a letter to go out with the calendars when lake representatives deliver calendars.  He had the board review the wording.

We discussed the years coming events. There will be no Christmas lighting contest for 2019.  The 4^th of July boat parade for next year needs more contestants.  With it being on a Friday  Amy thought we would have more entries.  We would also like to add a category that encourages folks to just get out and join the parade, not require much effort.  Chuck proposed a monetary award for the top boats.  The board liked this idea. We will discuss this further at the next board meeting.  Ideas for two new events for a Lilly Pad race (Lilly pad race involves putting pads across the lake in a more narrow area and folks race across the top of the pads) and a color race (runners race to stations, get doused with a different color)  The color race would be a gravel type run and the route could go from the lake park across the dam and down lake road 1-3 and then loop back to avoid going out on the main road about 2+ miles.  If we went around the lake we would need police to close roads.  By using only our private lake roads  this could be avoided.  Miranda would be interested in heading up the organizing of the color run.April 25^th, Saturday after Earth day was set for removing any new tree start on dam (weather permitting).

Miranda is taking over responsibility of the t-shirts.  Larry will drop off the remaining shirts to her.  She has some ideas for long sleeve shirts with Gardner lake written on sleeve, state of Kansas outline and the lake picture. 

We reviewed the Gardner paper article about the association meeting.  It was a nice article with nothing controversial.  The board voted that in the future the paper would not be invited to attend.  The board thought the residence should feel free to bring up concerns and grievancesat the meeting.

Meeting was adjourned.

-Submitted by Melinda Broward

Steve Shute, Gardner’s mayor visited with our group prior to meeting start.  Steve indicated the spillway repair/replacement has been approved by the city and is scheduled to start in spring of 2020.  The cost of the spillway repair was now estimated at $766,053 up from the previous estimate of $310,000. The city will take financial responsibility and will need a general obligation bond- RFP to fund the project.  DWR has received the spillway plans (confirmed).  May 2019 Michael Kramer had submitted spillway plan and costing to Steve and the council for public notice.  Olsen Engineering Design Comp.  was responsible for the plan design which includes a new spillway with pedestrian/bicycle pathway (no car access since this causes excessive wear on the structure).  The plan is to drop the lake level by 1 foot and a coffer dam will be built to temporarily hold the water back until the spillway can be completed.  Should not have any effect or change on the flood zone. 

Steve Shute, Gardner’s mayor visited with our group prior to meeting start.  Steve indicated the spillway repair/replacement has been approved by the city and is scheduled to start in spring of 2020.  The cost of the spillway repair was now estimated at $766,053 up from the previous estimate of $310,000. The city will take financial responsibility and will need a general obligation bond- RFP to fund the project.  DWR has received the spillway plans (confirmed).  May 2019 Michael Cramer had submitted spillway plan and costing to Steve and the council for public notice.  Olsen Engineering Design Company was responsible for the plan design which includes a new spillway with pedestrian/bicycle pathway (no car access since this causes excessive wear on the structure).  The plan is to drop the lake level by 1 foot and a coffer dam will be built to temporarily hold the water back until the spillway can be completed.  Should not have any effect or change on the flood zone. 

Dredging the lake was discussed, the cost is estimated over 1.2 million and the city will need to partner with the state and lake residence to find funding.  The city could help with 60% of the cost but needs help with the remaining amount. The south end of lake has several homes that are no longer considered waterfront and pontoon boats can ot be docked in these areas.  Significant effect on property values.  The city is actively looking for funding sources. Our representative Willie Dove is also keeping an eye out for ways to help fund the dredging. The original grant that was submitted to state required that the lake was a public water source.  It was denied since it is not a source for drinking water, nor would it being an emergency source work.

There is significant silting coming from several inlets especially the south and east (APAC Quarry, Copper Springs and other sources). 

Algae in the lake is still a major concern. Fertilizer run off from yards and other neighborhood areas are a problem.  Fish & Wildlife has spot treated with a spray walking around the lake.  This has not had any significant effect. 

Questions were raised about regular maintenance and long-term plans for a continuous program to reduce silt build up and algae growth. 

It was suggested that the Lake association needs to file a formal petition with the City and State to address the silt build up and algae.  Willie Dove indicated folks could write to their representative but after so many emails or phone calls these don’t have as much of an impact as a formal signed petition.  Larry will work with the board to draft a petition and we may need an action committee.  The draft petition would be circulated for comment/editing.  Then Lake members would be asked to sign (we have 200-300 folks).  This would be sent to the Governor and state representatives.  Questions were asked of Willie Dove about any precedence or how best to frame the petition so it would be taken seriously. Buzz words would include any health hazards to or property devaluation etc.  There are areas of the lake that get lots of mud runoff during heavy rains, residence could submit these pictures.  Residence also have picture of large mounts of algae/plant growth removed from shorelines.

Lake roads were briefly discussed that these are private roads that can’t be blocked. Annexing by the city of Gardner is not being considered due to the high cost of bringing the roads up to codes/paving.

A boat wrap business from El Dorado, Mo talked briefly if anyone was interested in shrink wrapping their boats, RV’s etc.  The cost is $10/ foot or approximately $200 for a 20 ft boat and takes 1 to 1 ½ hrs to complete.  They would like to do several at a time to save on travel expenses.

Meeting was brought to order by Larry Desmarteau (President).

Melinda Broward, secretary read previous meeting minutes.  The minutes will be added to the new association website.

Leslie Hind gave the treasurer’s report. Our account balance is $16,025.22 and collected $600.  We have 24 new members.  T-shirts profit $650.57, advertising $1,214, raffle for Kaye race took in $395 (0with $352 in expenses for net profit of $42). 

Larry asked the residence to take a few moments of silence and remembrance while Susie Townley read off our Lake Residence who have passed away over the last year.  Lake road representatives and residence were encouraged to let Susie or Larry know if they missed anyone. 

Amy Heaven updated us on upcoming events.  Tonight’s Chili Cookoff/bonfire tickets are on sale for $3/person or $10/family.  So far we have 14 contestants.  Tokens and wrist bands will be given out when paid.  Tokens can then be used to vote for contestants.  Three winners will be announced once the counting has been completed.  Contestants can setup starting from 5-6.  Sampling starts at 6.  An off-duty police officer will be present. 

Susie and Larry are checking information for the directory (send any changes to emails or phone numbers).

Blake went over changes on the Association website.  Meeting minutes and upcoming events /meetings are being added.  There is a form if folks which to have the board address an issue or want to speak to the board.  Sponsors encouraged to check their information on website and let him know of any corrections.  The site will randomly show 5 sponsors.  Website is www.gardnerlake.info.

Lake road 1 needs a representative.

Lake road 5 where there has been standing water and ice build-up on road for a couple of years has been repaired.  A drainage trench was installed.

Meeting was adjourned.

Larry has visited with Michael Cramer with Gardner.  The city has indicated no new second tier docks will be allowed and the topic can be brought up at the next city council meeting.  They are also thinking of increasing dock fees to $100/dock.  This may be a hardship for fixed income retires. Questions were brought up about any added value to lake residence justifying the proposed increase.  Susie noted that Lake Lotawana residence pay ~$300 per year and those funds help go toward their lake getting dredged yearly.  The have their own dredger. The current year dock fees have not gone out from the city the administrator has been out on sick leave.  The fees for these year are the same $25.

Spill way was approved to be fixed starting this fall and bids are being taken.  The costs are more extensive from the contractors and engineers and surveyors than anticipated.  Larry indicated to them that a walkway was not needed at this time and the focus should be getting the spill way repaired.  Gardner city council meeting is April 1^st at 7:00 PM, these topics may be covered.

Mr. Cramer has indicated the city will treat the lake two times this year and they will use Larry as a driver on his boat to get them around to treat the lake.  Reminder to not treat the areas around you docks.  Reduce or eliminate fertilizer and herbicide usage in areas close to lake.  Rain runoff puts those chemicals right into the lake.

Gardner does not have funds to clear/cut down the trees on the dam this year but have given the go ahead to the association to have volunteers to do this.  The roots need to stay intact. Larry indicated the county will provide the stump treatment for us to use that is safe for the lake.  He needs to go pick the chemical up. Members pointed out that it was horrible that the City shied away from their duty to cut down the trees.  Moving forward Todd and Larry are organizing for the next Saturday if not raining or the next if we have a rainout. Todd will bring his tractor to pile up bush.  The City will take care of the piles.  Suggest 7-8 AM start times.

Harold commented that the Johnson County surveys are coming out and it would be an opportunity to get comments out to them about dredging, etc.  Folks could write and email Steve Shute and Willie Dove and our other representatives about their concerns. 

Discussed the Lake Garage sale.  Gardner City wide is in May and it would be good to have it before.  Folks were encouraged to come even if you only have a few items to sale, it’s also a social event.  It was voted and passed to have the garage sale 4/27/19.  The group will ask the city to cut the grass prior to the event.  Location is just off Gardner road down by the dam. 

Jan indicated that Dupont is reducing the use of anhydrous ammonia by 90% at the facility in New Century.

Blake discussed the new website and the host will be Go Daddy.  Most of the information from the old website has been captured and updated on Blake’s domain site.  Blake is temporarily hosting the site and will be getting the permanent site setup shortly.  Larry was able to finally get into Rick’s old site (last year of subscription) and Blake pull off the important information for the new site.  Susie’s monthly updates will be on site, lake rules and regulations, speed limits, the Lake Facebook connection, meeting minutes, photos.  Lake news will be added chronologically

Meeting adjourned. 

Dredging the lake was discussed, the cost is estimated over 1.2 million and the city will need to partner with the state and lake residence to find funding.  The city could help with 60% of the cost but need help with the remaining amount. The south end of lake has several homes that are no longer considered waterfront and pontoon boats cannot be docked in these areas.  Significant effect on property values.  The city is actively looking for funding sources. Our representative Willie Dove is also keeping an eye out for ways to help fund the dredging. The original grant that was submitted to state required that the lake was a public water source.  It was denied since it is not a source for drinking water, nor would it being an emergency source work.

There is significant silting coming from several inlets especially the south and east (APAC Quarry, Copper Springs and other sources). 

Algae in the lake is still a major concern. Fertilizer run off from yards and other neighborhoods area problem.  Fish & Wildlife has spot treated with a spray walking around the lake.  This has not had any significant effect. 

Questions were raised about regular maintenance and long term plan for continuous program to reduce silt build up and algae growth. 

It was suggested that the Lake association needs to file a formal petition with the City and State to address the silt build up and algae.  Willie Dove indicated folks could write to their representative but after so many emails or phone calls these don’t have a much of an impact as a formal signed petition.  Larry will work with the board to draft a petition and we may need an action committee.  The draft petition would be circulated for comment/editing.  Then Lake members would be asked to sign (we have 200-300 folks).  This would be sent to the Governor and state representative.  Questions were asked of Willie Dove about any precedence or how best to frame the petition so it would be taken seriously. Buzz words would include any health hazards to or property devaluation etc.  There are areas of the lake that get lots of mud runoff during heavy rains, residence could submit these pictures.  Residence also have picture of large mounts of algae/plant growth removed from shorelines.

Lake roads were briefly discussed that these are private roads that can’t be blocked. Annexing by the city of Gardner is not being considered due to the high cost of bringing the roads up to codes/paving.

Boat wrap business from El Dorado, Mo talked briefly if anyone was interested in shrink wrapping their boats, RV’s etc.  The cost is $10/ foot or approximately $200 for a 20 ft boat and takes 1 to 1 1/hrs to complete.  They would like to do several at a time to save on travel expenses.

Meeting was brought to order for Larry.

Melinda Broward read previous meeting minutes.  The minutes will be added to the new association website.

Leslie gave the treasurer’s report. Our account balance is $16,025.22.  We have 24 new members.  T-shirts profit $650.57 and advertising $2000.92 Raffle for Kayak race took in $395 with $352 in expenses for net profit of $42. 

Larry asked the residents to take a few moments of silence and remembrance while Susie Townley read off our Lake Residence who have passed away over the last year.  Lake road representatives and residence were encouraged to let Susie or Larry know if they missed anyone. 

Amy updated us on upcoming events.  Tonight’s Chili Cookoff/bonfire tickets are on sale for $3/person or $10/family.  So far we have 14 contestants.  Tokens and wrist bands will be given out when paid.  Tokens can then be used to vote for contestants.  Three winners will be announced once the counting has been completed.  Contestants can setup starting from 5-6.  Sampling starts at 6.  An off duty police officer will be present. 

Susie and Larry are checking information for directory (send any changes to emails or phone numbers).

Blake went over changes on the Association website.  Meeting minutes and upcoming events /meetings are being added.  There is a form if folks which to have the board address an issue or want to speak to the board.  Sponsors encouraged to check their information on website and let him know of any corrections.  The site will randomly show 5 sponsors.  Website is www.gardnerlake.info.

Lake road 1 needs a representative.

Lake road 5 where there has been standing water and ice build-up on road for a couple of years has been repaired.  A drainage trench was installed.

Meeting was adjourned.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM at the home of Larry Desmarteau.  Those present were:  Leslie Hind, Chuck Lawrence, Shawnna Steele, Blake Larson, Sandy Adams, Miranda Burnett, Larry Desmarteau and Amy Heaven.  Absent:  Malinda Broward.

Leslie delivered the treasurer’s report.  Our balance is $16,000 +/-.  We have collected $700.00 from the calendar advertisers.  Last year we had 19 advertisers at $100.00 each.  We collected $395.00 in the Kayak Run raffle for a net event expense of -$50.00.  This does not consider 25 tee shirts being sold for a total of $375.00.  Shawnna added that we have now made $650.57 on tee shirts.  We have 70 tee shirts left.  There was discussions on how to more effectively order them in the future. 

Amy discussed upcoming events and it was decided that we would cancel the Christmas Lighting Contest.  In discussions on the upcoming Chili Cook Off, Miranda suggested that we make it just a pot luck and not a contest.  It was decided that the event is too close and there has been too much promotion to date to change directions at this time.  Sandy agreed to head up the publicity efforts.  We will e-blast a flyer with information, use Facebook and outdoor signage.  Larry agreed to take charge of the grounds and facilities and provide chairs and tables and for the event.  We discussed the need to hire an off-duty Gardner police officer and voted to pass the $200 expense.  In addition, it was agreed that we rent a dumpster to handle the trash.  Dave Young has agreed to take care of the electrical needs of event including providing generators for the crockpots.  Miranda suggested that Malinda Broward could handle the food needs with her help.  Having paid entertainment was discussed and it was decided to eliminate the additional expense.  Amy agreed to manage the contest details and we agreed that the token method of voting would work for the winner determination.   Leslie agreed to manage the finances.  $355.00 has been approved for expenses and it was agreed that we will charge $3.00 a head, or $10.00 a family.  There will be no registration fee for the contestants.   

The directory was discussed and it was agreed that we would help collect updated information.  Residents do not need to provide phone numbers if they preferred not. 

Blake discussed the new lake website and advertising.  Blake will present the new information at the upcoming residence meeting.  Blake is looking for additional Facebook administrators.  With the two Gardner Lake Facebook pages, it was discussed that one be limited to residents and that the rules be posted.  He reviewed the friend requests on Facebook. 

Larry discussed the agenda for the upcoming residents meeting and adjourned the meeting at 8:00 pm. 

                                                                                                -Submitted by Amy Heaven