BIG FISH LAKE ASSOCIATION

August 30, 2014 – Saturday

8:30 AM – Annual Meeting – Township Hall

Meeting called to order by President James Sand at 8;30 AM. Collegeville Township Hall.

Board Members present: Jim Sand, President, Jack Brunner Sec’t. Matt Peters, Treasurer, Allen Schmitz, Bill Schnettler, Mike Fandel, Joe Fox, Bryan Bjorkland and Rena Weber – Past President.

1. Quorum established: 28 paid members present. Coffee and cake provided by Assoc. officers.

2. Agenda reviewed and approved. Motion made, seconded and passed (MSP)

3. Everyone received a copy of the minutes of 6/8/13. Read silently: MSP

Present membership is at 49 plus 6 new members. Last year we had 119 paid members.

In the future there will be a membership committee: Pattie and Kit will co-chair.

4. Treasurer Report: Budgeted $1,965; spent $1,979.10; Deficit -$14.10.  Visionary Fund $391.70 (to be used for water clarity); Water Guard: on hand $10,332.  Final Bill will come this September. This sum will cover that expense); Membership: $1,225; Balance: $11,202.79 w/petty cash $11,471.79.  Conservancy Fund: as of 3/31/13: $50,477.{interest to be used only as needed for Water Guard}

5. Elections: Mike Fandel and Rena Weber retiring. 4 openings: Bill Schnettler and Jim Sands re-running along with Bill Faber and Bill Schnettler. Motion made to accept these four for a new term. Seconded and passed (MSP). Officers will be elected at the next Association meeting.

6. LID Did not pass: 113 Yes, 137 No, 57 not voting. Membership committee will determine future membership programs. Lengthy discussion regarding our financial future. Water Guard may cost $16,000 annually. In 2013 had over 1,200 boat inspections. About 10 violations. AIS is a state wide problem. Need to lobby for a charge to launch a boat on a Minnesota Lake or find a statewide method of protecting lakes from AIS. The BFLA belongs to an association that does lobby. State has given Stearns Co about $115 thousand for AIS. How this will be distributed is pending. There are many lakes in our county plus three major rivers.

7. Water Quality: Ice on 11/27/13;Ice off 4/26/14; Total rain in 2013 19.84” ; So far rain in 2014 17.61”; Secchi Readings for 2014: 20.5” as of 5/17/14; 17.0” as of 8/27/14; Average Mean 17.5” as of 8/30/14.

8. Loon Report: 3 nests two used and each had two chicks. Across the road another pair had chicks. One pair used the nest the day it was installed. 2^nd week in July the nests were docked.

9. Boat Parade: 3 boats only. Danny Westrup and Mrs ‘Big Red” will chair the program 2015.

10. Rena: Hidden Cove Orchid Picnic. 3^rd Thur in August. Bryan provided the chicken. 50 – 70 people attended. Started at 6 pm. And pretty much ended by 8:30 PM. Excellent success.

11. Alexander property: has 7 wetland. Very well done development. The BFLA works to protect all wet lands.

12. Fund Raising: a big job that is necessary. Jackie Opatz volunteered to develop the committee and to work with the group. Several ladies at this meeting volunteered to help her.

13. Membership Fees: This is pending for the future. Hopefully the vast majority of property owners and their families will be members. Notices will be mailed.

14. A round of appreciation was given to Jim Sands for his outstanding work as president of BFLA.

15. Adjourned at 10:14 AM.

Minutes by Jack H. Brunner