Friday, November 7, 2008

Board of Directors Meeting November 6, 2008

Call to Order: 7:13 p.m., Chair Jim Grisim presiding

Members present: Dale Bacon, Dick Brink, Ryan Hoops, Jim Grisim, Rod Kreuser. Also present, Julie Yoho and (for part of meeting), Nancy Kreuser.

Motion by Bacon, seconded by Kreuser, to approve the agenda as modified. Motion carried.

Motion by Hoops, seconded by Bacon, to approve the minutes of the September 18, 2008 Board meeting. Motion carried.

Treasurer Kreuser reported that as of the date of this meeting the bank balance was $6,322.48. Nancy Kreuser presented a tabulation of budget and expenditures covering the period of July 1, 2007 through November 1, 2008, reflecting the change of fiscal year from July 1-June 30 to calendar year as of January 1, 2009. A copy of this tabulation is attached to these minutes. Motion by Brink, seconded by Bacon, to approve the report. Motion carried.

Grisim reported that the BLID budget proposed for 2009 was approved, without opposition, by the White Bear Lake City Council at its October 28, 2008 meeting. City Manager Mark Sather, Mayor Paul Auger, and several Council members made complimentary comments about the work of the BLID. Renee Tessier, Council member who represents the district in which Birch Lake is located, expressed interest in attending a Board meeting of the BLID. Grisim will follow through.

Printed information about the M4 checking plan, provided by City Treasurer Don Rambow, has been confusing. Grisim and Kreuser will arrange a meeting with Rambow to help clarify the program and how the BLID might participate.

At the October 28 City Council meeting, the Council approved two changes to the June 3, 2006 Order establishing the BLID, (1). the Council will no longer need to approve Board appointments to fill openings on the Board between annual meetings and (2) the requirement for absentee ballots will be replaced by the provision of proxies. Both of these changes will facilitate the operation of the Board.

Bacon reported that the final report on the condition of Birch Lake, prepared by Steve McComas of Blue Water Science, is anticipated shortly. It is anticipated that the report will endorse weed harvesting and recommend shoreline management.

Bacon and Brink reported on the September 28, 2008 VLAWMO Watershed Summit workshop they attended. A great deal of attention has been devoted to storm water runoff, most of it not applicable to the BLID.

Hoops reported that the air lines to the three aerators have been repaired and that he and Grisim have installed warning signs in the area to encourage slow boat traffic. Kreuser raised the question of whether the air lines could be enclosed in rigid PVC pipes. The cost of such a project will be investigated.

Bacon reported that in early December we should learn the status of the joint VLAWMO-City-BLID request for a $5,000 matching grant from Minnesota Waters to improve part of Birch Lake’s shoreline.

The plan to have newsletter reporters Patty Kuppe and Ron Auger attend Board meetings is not doing well. Grisim will invite Kuppe to the next Bard meeting. Grisim and Bacon will meet with her to decide on content for the next newsletter.

Dick Gillitzer has made numerous repairs and improvements to the weed harvester and recommends more extensive repair. Kreuser believes the harvester can perform satisfactorily for another year before undertaking such action.

Motion by Brink, seconded by Kreuser to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:32 p.m.


Richard E. Brink
Secretary