The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District

Thursday, August 22, 2019

6:300 pm

Lake Delhi Trustees Administration Building

Delhi, IA

The regular meeting of the Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District was called to order at 6:300 pm by President Staebell.

Trustees present: Staebell, Davidson, Burger, Herman and

Absent: None

Visitors: Wanda Davidson, Ed Schmidt, Mary & Ken Kray, Marilyn & Tom Cook, Joe Scherrman, Larry Aschbrenner and Joel Althoff.

Staebell asked for a motion to approve the meeting agenda. A motion was made by Herman, seconded by Burger. Motion carried.

Recently elected board members, Joe Scherrman and Joel Althoff, took the oath of office to become official members of the board.

Election of officers was held. Burger made a motion to continue with the same slate of officers as this past year. Leonard seconded the motion.   Staebell asked if there were any other nominations. Current officers are Staebell as President, Herman as Vice-President and Burger as Secretary/Treasurer. With no further discussion, the motion carried.

Motion to approve the minutes of previous meetings was made by Herman, seconded by Davidson. Motion carried.

Claims were presented for payment in the amount of $6,972.73 from the General Fund for electricity, internet services, dam operation services, printer maintenance, lobbyist expense, clerical expense, beach cleanup, port-a-potties, LP tank rental, signage and office rent. There was discussion regarding the internet service provided by Windstream. Davidson said the service is extremely slow. He noted that Donna Kunde from Burrington Group has been looking into finding another provider. Staebell also stated that he asked Laurie Kramer to look into getting internet service for the lake office.   A motion was made by Davidson to accept the claims as presented. Seconded by Leonard. Motion carried.

July financial reports were presented. The General Fund had revenues of $4,049.67 from Delaware County. Expenditures for July were $65,914.33 ending July at $1,846,165.02. The Debt Service Fund had revenues of $1,147.34 from Delaware County with no expenditures, ending July at $39,177.19. The Dam Improvement Fund had no revenues or expenditures ending July with a $30,000.00 balance. Burger motioned to receive and file the financial reports as read, Gifford seconded. A motion was made by Herman to receive and file the July financial report. Althoff seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Leonard noted that the agenda they were given didn’t include the consideration for the contract approval with Culver’s Landscaping along with approval of committee assignments. The correct agenda was, however, posted on the website .   A motion to add both items number 8 and 9 was made by Herman, second by Burger. Motion carried.

The board considered entering into a contract with Culvers Landscaping site preparation and installation of the Wall of Recognition. Leonard noted he, Todd Gifford and Lamont Davidson have been working on finalizing the plans for the Wall of Recognition.   Leonard is recommending that the Board approve the signing of the contract along with a payment of one-half of the contract which is $26,884.45 to be processed by the county. The payment would be held until the engineers sign off on the plan. This would prevent holding up the project. Culvers is supposed to have the cross section drawings completed by this coming Monday for the engineers to review. Staebell asked if Burrington Group would have to sign off on the project. Leonard stated Burrington will be on site to approve the footings which is a different contract from the engineer’s approval. The process for approval of the project is to have Bill Holman from Stanley Engineers review the design and then it would be submitted to the DNR for their approval. Leonard noted that the plans have been reviewed once before, prior to the modifications, and it took less than a week to get approval from Stanley and the DNR. He said it should not be an issue. Once the drawings are complete this Monday, Leonard stated he would forward them to the rest of the Board. Burger asked about the time frame for the project. Leonard said he would confirm with Culvers but the thought is that the project would be completed this fall. Leonard noted that follow-up letters need to be sent to the donors to be sure that their recognition is stated correctly on the wall.   That needs to be done before the engraving can be completed. Leonard said he would get something in writing from Culvers on a completion date prior to releasing any payment. Davidson asked a question about insuring the wall. Burger stated that once the wall is completed it will be added to the property insurance. Burger noted that Culvers will need to provide us with proof of insurance prior to starting the project. Leonard reviewed his motion that included the signing of the contract, starting the process to get partial payment from the county which will be given to Culvers once the design has been approved by the engineers and the DNR. He will get a commitment on the final drawings from Culverrs along with a completion date and their proof of insurance. Leonard made this motion, second by Davidson. Motion carried.

The next agenda item was discussion and possible action on the approval of repairs to the overhead lifting crane that will be mounted on the dam. Davidson provided information to the Board regarding the crane. He stated that there have been problems with water getting into the crane and it was proposed to lower the box. However, the proposal was to build a whole new box at a cost of $43,800. As a committee it was decided not to go that direction. He noted on June 20 the Board designated $10,000 to do repairs to the box. Essentially, the company would come in with a crane and repair the box so it’s completely water proof.   The quote from Kistler Crane & Hoist came in at $14,694. Davidson this was the cheapest quote he received.   He stated they would complete the repairs. Leonard asked if Davidison felt there might be some additional expense and he agreed that that was a possibility. Leonard made a motion to increase the amount that was approved in June to add an additional $7,000 to cap the project at $17,000. Burger seconded the motion. Motion carried.

The next agenda item was the committee assignments. Staebell noted he had sent out an update of assignments for review. He went over the assignments and asked for input from the Board. Scherrman made a motion to accept the assignments as presented. Burger seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Committee Updates:

Water Quality & Sediment Control: Herman noted that a group of board members and community members met with several individuals from the Iowa Flood Center. They were given a tour of the lake.   The goal is to have them help with long term planning with the goal of getting funding for water quality and sediment control projects. Staebell noted that this group works closely with Stanley Engineering which is a huge benefit for the District.   One comment made by a member of the Iowa Flood Center was that unless something changes he said he felt that in 25 years Lake Delhi will not be conducive to swimming, boating and fishing activities. Leonard asked what kind of comments were made regarding sediment removal. Staebell stated that their proposal probably won’t go into great detail on how to move forward with sediment removal because they would submit their thoughts to Stanley Engineering before giving any detail on that issue. Herman noted that he checked in with Homeland Security because the District still does not have closure on the 2008 FEMA project due to questions regarding the dredge site. He said in talking with a lady from Homeland Security and she said while it is moving slow she felt the closeout will come by the end of the year. The issue is that there were some historical artifacts found at the site and while it was noted in the report there has been no plan on how to remediate the issue. Herman stated the final closeout will need to include a plan fix the issue. There’s a possibility that the District would need to pay the University of Iowa Archeology Dept. to put together a report of what artifacts may have been in that area. The cost including posting the information on a website could cost upwards of $38,000 which is still thousands of dollars less than if we had to return all the FEMA money the District received. Herman also noted that he also filed for FEMA monies after the 2016 event and that money is being held up until the 2008 project is resolved. The amount we applied for was around $8,000. He stated those monies may be used to offset the cost of the 2008 project.

There were no other committee updates.

Leonard asked Davidson a question regarding the stop logs. He asked when would the gates be tested using the stop logs. Davidson said once the repairs get made they will test the gates.   Staebell noted that the annual inspections are being done but the reports have not been received from Stanley.

Property & Assets: Staebell noted that the transfer of ground to Linda Slobodnik is proceeding. A survey has been done. Other documents such as deed preparation and recording fees still need to be taken care of before the actual transfer of property can be made.    He noted that preliminary work has been done on another properties that could be made available to the Board at an upcoming meeting. Herman noted that there are some complexities when reviewing these properties and documentation.

Leonard expressed appreciation to Ed Schmidt and Pat Dede for allowing their property to be used for this year’s fireworks. He also noted that both the fireworks and Christmas on the Lake were a huge hit this year and thanked all those involved for their efforts.

Public Comment:

Tom Cook asked why there’s not more patrolling of the lake especially when we have people boating who don’t know what side the river they should be boating on. Staebell noted that the DNR is coming next month and the Board will be having discussions with them on how they plan to patrol Lake Delhi. He did note that the Delaware Co. Sheriff’s Department has been patrolling periodically. Davidison noted that the DNR does not recognize our tradition of boating on the right or left side. Leonard expressed that there’s need to send out information about regarding boating safety noting it has been done in the past and it might be a good idea to send out communications again. Scherrman asked about additional communications for the proper why to handle downed skiers.   Leonard noted the LDRA is working on putting out communications regarding these issues.

Mary Kray asked how the District is getting contact information from new property owners. Staebell stated he has met with several road associations and received addresses from new property owners. He also stated he has the email addresses for all of the road association presidents and will send out a note to them asking them to give the District any information on new property owners in their area.

Larry Aschbrenner asked Davidson for additional information regarding the issue with the overhead lifting crane. Davidson said there have been discussions about building a cat walk to help with the issue.

He also asked about maintenance on the port-a-potties noting that North Beach was not in good shape the last time he stopped. Staebell noted that when there’s a rain event it’s hard for D & S to get down with their truck to take care of the port-a-potties and that did occur last week. He said he would call D & S to make sure everything is clean for the coming Labor Day weekend.

A motion to adjourn was made by Leonard, second by Burger. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.

The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

4:00 pm

Lake Delhi Trustees Administration Building

Delhi, IA

The regular meeting of the Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District was called to order at 4:00 pm by President Staebell.

Trustees present: Staebell, Davidson, Gifford, Havertape, Burger and Herman  Leonard was present by phone

Absent: None

Visitors: Ed Schmidt, Joe Scherrman, Larry Aschbrenner and Pat Colgan

Staebell asked for a motion to approve the meeting agenda. A motion was made by Davidson, second by Havertape. Motion carried.

Motion to approve the minutes of previous meetings was made by Davidson, seconded by Gifford. Motion carried.

Claims were presented for payment in the amount of $66,126.16 from the General Fund for electricity, internet services, dam operation services, printer maintenance, lobbyist expense, clerical expense, beach clean-up and port-a-potties, dam maintenance, watershed donation, debris removal and dredge removal. Gifford motioned to approve the claims for payment as read. Havertape second the motion. Davidson questioned the additional invoice from Frentress for $8,000. According to the invoice there was additional work done between May 31 and June 3 due to additional items removed from the lake. Staebell noted that an email he received from Jeremy indicated that he was notified by the Delhi Fire Department of several lifts in the Freddie’s Beach area that he removed around May 25^th. With no more discussion, Staebell asked for a vote on the motion. All ayes. Motion carried.

June financial reports were presented. The General Fund had revenues of $5,824.81 from Delaware County. Expenditures for June were $33,708.29 ending June at $1,918,029.68. The Debt Service Fund had revenues of $3,453.13 from Delaware County with no expenditures, ending June at $38,029.85. The Dam Improvement Fund had no revenues or expenditures ending June with a $30,000.00 balance. Burger motioned to receive and file the financial reports as read, Gifford seconded. It was noted that at the end of fiscal year 2019, the District overspent the amount received from the recreational tax of $4.00/$1000 by close to $147,000. This was due to several large projects, including the drainage work done on the south side of the dame. It was also noted that this past year monies were received from the Community Fund to Rebuild Lake Delhi to offset the additional expenses.   With no other discussion, the motion carried.

Burger presented information to the Board regarding the possibility of increasing the liability overage. We currently have $3,000,000 in liability coverage with ICAP. He also suggested the Board consider increasing their deduction which is currently $500. There was discussion regarding increasing the liability and Burger was asked to bring back costs for various levels of liability coverage. A motion to table until further information is available was made by Herman. Gifford seconded the motion. Motion to table carried.

Committee Updates:

Property, Assets & Dam – Davidson noted that he has talked with Burrington Group to go ahead and order the cable that is going to be replaced on the dam and also the crane needs to be lined up. They are thinking they only needs to be one contractor for the job at this point.

Burger also noted that Mitch Stender had been hired to take care of Lost Beach.

Gifford informed the Board that he has been in touch with Culver Nursery regarding the Wall of Recognition.   He stated he had forwarded their contract with the numbers and the drawings to both Davidson and Leonard for review. Because Gifford is not running for re-election he said whether he would continue to work on the project would be up to the Board.

Staebell thanked both Gifford and Havertape for the time they served on the Board.

Public Comment:

Aschbrenner asked if the Board had received a breakdown on the Frentress bill. Staebell noted that there is a breakdown and that he had talked with Jeremy Klima regarding the bill and noted that the Board approved the bill earlier in the meeting. Davidson also noted that in addition to taking out the debris in the lake bed, the District had Frentress cleanup a lot of the trees and debris that had settled on the dam area and spillway.

With no other comments, Havertape made a motion to adjourn, second by Burger.

Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

WORK SESSION began at 4:33 p.m.

Staebell presented the Board with a handout of issues he wanted to address.

The first item up for discussion was the Wall of Recognition. Gifford said the contract is ready for review. The drawings will need to be reviewed by an engineering firm because the project has been scaled back from the initial proposal. Gifford noted that the previous drawings had been reviewed by Stanley and given to Jon Garten of the IDNR for his approval. Davidson noted that the engineer should be on site during the process of digging the footings. Because of the change in the drawings, Leonard stated he thought the DNR should review prior to any work being done. Gifford stated that the names of the donors will need to be verified. He suggested that he and Laurie Kramer work on getting the names verified. Gifford stated that the project could be started as early as late August or early September. Leonard stated he would like to take the project to Bill Holman from Stanley for review prior to taking it to Jon Garten. Colgan agreed that any time you have a change in a project you need to go through the review process with Holman and Garten. Leonard noted there will be a fee to have Holman review the project. Staebell asked how the names were going to be placed on the wall and Kramer asked how the names are going to be attached and Gifford stated the names will be inscribed. Sizing of names will be based on the size of the donation. Herman asked if the site included seating or is it just the wall. Gifford stated that the only thing being done was the wall at this point. Leonard stated that he has been contacted by someone who is interested in donating toward some aspect of the project. At some point they would like to come to the Board and talk about it.

The next item for discussion was the trustee budget. Staebell stated he wanted to talk about several things regarding the budget. The first would be the LDRA debt and secondly he would like to discuss the cost of dredging possibly using matching funds and how this would impact the budget. Leonard asked Burger if he could tell him what the payoff amount would be if the District were to pay down the entire debt. He also asked Kramer what our current cash position is. The current cash position is around $1.8 million. He also asked how much is anticipated to be raised from the $4.00/$1000 in the coming fiscal year. That amount is a little over $347,000. Burger stated the payoff would be $1,260,000. Leonard asked Burger if he had any idea on how we could come to an agreement to with the bank to on a cash settlement noting there’s no obligation on the District’s part to pay the LDRA debt. Burger stated there’s a possibility to readjust the interest rates. He stated there would not be an issue approaching the bank regarding a payoff. The question for the Board is to decide whether to pay off the LDRA debt with the monies available knowing that there may be a need for those dollars for dredging projects in the future. Herman noted that if the District paid off the LDRA and needed to borrow it would require a referendum from the residents. Staebell noted that the under the current LDRA debt schedule annual payments will go from $151,000 this past year to $268,476 by 2026. A question was raised about the interested earned on the General Fund monies. Kramer noted that our money is invested by the Delaware Co. Treasurer and it’s very conservative because it’s public funds. Gifford asked it we had any options on investing some of the money and Kramer stated she could ask the county treasurer for that information.

Dredge discussion was next. Staebell noted that Gary Grant presented the Board with information regarding potential funding sources for dredging in the future. It would require the Board to come up with a plan for dredging to present at the next legislative session. A 3-5 year plan could involve maintenance, mitigation, sediment control, etc. He noted that Bill Holman had done a study several years ago. He also stated that he reached out to the Iowa Flood Center at the University of Iowa. He asked if they could give communities guidance on sedimentation, flooding, etc. They get funding to do this type of work and several professors said they could come to the lake and see what the conditions exist at Lake Delhi. Colgan stated that the biggest factor in sedimentation is floods. He suggested coming up with a grand plan and decide what the Board wants to accomplish. After establishing a policy there needs to be action items to make it happen. By studying certain areas over a period of several years the Board could use that data determine what areas need assistance. More discussion was held on how to develop a policy. Burger expressed concern about having a policy that restricts the District and could potentially be a liability. He suggested a broad policy that says the District will promote recreational and safety on Lake Delhi. Gifford said he there’s no need for a policy if you have a strategy. Having a policy is taking ownership of something you don’t own. Leonard suggested getting current data for potential costs in certain areas that have already been identified. More discussion was held on doing studies and gather the information needed and how to go about it. Because more data is needed, Staebell suggested having the professors from the Iowa Flood Center come to the lake. He provided two dates. July 31 or August 6^th. Staebell asked how many of the board members would be interested in meeting with the professors. Several expressed an interest on meeting July 31^st and holding a possible work session at that time. Leonard asked Burger if he could find out what the District has for bonding capacity based on the latest valuations and what has been paid down. Burger said he would look into it. A question was raised about the dredge site. Colgan stated the site is not operable. At this point there’s no way to get the water back to the river. He noted there are many details that need to be worked out before it could become operational.  Maintenance of the site will also be an issue. Colgan said there are a lot of strategies and suggested a comprehensive study of the area.

The last discussion point was dam operations. Staebell, noted Burrington Group is currently contracted for dam operations but there’s still a need for volunteers to do some of the day-to-day maintenance. Davidson said it’s hard to find volunteers for the day-to-day observations. Several names were suggested as individuals might be interested in doing the daily observations and small maintenance. It was also noted that the District doesn’t have enough volunteers to do the daily operations. Staebell asked Colgan if he could get him the names of volunteers that are currently in the Operations Plan to do daily observations. Staebell asked if he could get a synopsis of what the requirements for daily operations. Gifford suggested creating a checklist for the Board so future trustees are aware of those requirements.

A motion to adjourn was made by Herman, second by Burger. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 5:58 p.m.

The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District

Thursday, May 16, 2019

6:30 pm

Lake Delhi Trustees Administration Building

Delhi, IA

The regular meeting of the Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District was called to order at 6:30 pm by President Staebell.

Trustees present: Staebell, Davidson, Burger, Leonard, Havertape and Herman. Gifford present by phone

Visitors: Ed Schmidt and Dan Reyner

Staebell asked for a motion to approve the meeting agenda. A motion was made by Herman, seconded by Burger. Motion carried.

Motion to approve the minutes of previous meetings was made by Burger, seconded by Havertape. Motion carried.

Claims were presented for payment in the amount of $8,968.22 from the General Fund for electricity, internet services, dam operation services, printer maintenance, lobbyist expense, clerical expense, property insurance, trailer license and miscellaneous supplies. Herman motioned to approve the claims for payment as read minus the payment of the trailer license. Davidson seconded.  Motion carried.

April financial reports were presented. The General Fund had revenues of $160,528.07 from Delaware County and the Community Fund to Rebuild Lake Delhi. Expenditures for April were $$108,884.16 ending April at $1,965,506.84. The Debt Service Fund had revenues of $28,414.00 from Delaware County and expenditures of $236,579.00, ending April at $28,956.39. The Dam Improvement Fund had no revenues or expenditures and ended April with a $20,000.00 balance. Herman motioned to receive and file the financial reports as read, Burger seconded. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Burger, second by Leonard to approve the FY2018 Compilation report by Hunt and Associates. Motion carried.

The next agenda item was consideration of a resolution to consent to assignment of trustee agent agreements; escrow agent agreements; and/or paying of agent and registrar and transfer of agent agreements. Staebell asked Burger to update the Board.

Burger explained that the registrar paying agent that the District original signed up with is Bankers Trust. What they do is they keep track of all the electronic bonds that are out there so all the District has to do is send one check to them. If bonds are sold Bankers Trust distributes the money. They take care of all the paperwork for an annual fee.   What happened is Bankers Trust sold their service to UMB bank of Kansas City. Bond council decided a resolution needed to be done to verify the District is okay with transfer. While the actual transfer to UMB Bank has been moved back to July, it’s necessary to get the paperwork completed beforehand. A motion was made by Herman, second by Davidson. Staebell asked for a roll call vote.

Leonard – yes

Davidson- yes

Burger – yes

Gifford – yes

Staebell – yes

Herman – yes

Havertape – yes

Motion carried

Consideration and possible action on a resolution to transfer a designated amount into the Dam Improvement Fund as required by the 28E Agreement with the County Supervisors filed in January of 2014.   Staebell explained that this is an annual transfer and in the past two years the Board has approved $10,000 each year for a total of $20,000 that is in Fund 81003. He noted there has been some discussion among the Trustees regarding the amount to transfer. Staebell stated that more discussion about adding more money into the Dam Improvement Fund could be done at the next work session.   The requirement from the County is to get to a total of $150,000 in that fund. Staebell asked for a motion to transfer $10,000 into the Dam Improvement Fund.. Davidson made the motion to transfer $10,000, second by Havertape. Staeball asked for a roll call vote.

Leonard – yes

Davidson- yes

Burger – yes

Gifford – yes

Staebell – yes

Herman – yes

Havertape – yes

Motion carried.

The Board considered possible action on a resolution to approve a policy to transfer District lake frontage. Staebell noted that this issue has been discussed for several months and asked Herman to give the Board an overview of the policy. Herman stated that in Resolution 5.16.19 (d) he laid out a summary of how historically the LDRA had sold lake frontage in the past. Although most of the lake frontage was sold there are some areas that remain with the District. The District’s intent is to give up control and sell it to adjacent property owners. While we can’t force the property owners to purchase their frontage the District can prohibit docks and lifts to be placed on the frontage the District owns. While the LDRA transferred property to the center of the lake that could be a FEMA issue.   The intent of this policy would be to transfer 50’ from the shoreline. This would be done by a quit claim deed at the same cost that the LDRA sold front which was $10.00 a lineal foot. The property owner would have to pay for the survey and also all recording fees. In the deed the District would reserve the right to enter the property and maintain what was sold if an event warranted it.   It would be the District’s cost to move the owner’s docks/lifts and replace them. The District would also retains sole discretion to NOT sell frontage if for some reason that frontage was deemed valuable to the District.   Herman stated he felt the deeds will be pretty consistent and if there’s one attorney would could handle all of the deeds it may be a benefit to the owner. The homeowner can choose whoever they want for a surveyor. Leonard stated he felt the $10.00 per foot should go up every year to encourage property owners to take advantage of purchasing the frontage now. He also thought the estimate on the legal fees and recording costs seem a bit low.   Leonard stated his concern about putting cost estimates in the policy given the fact that the costs could run higher than the estimate. Herman said the estimate could be removed from the policy but Burger stated he felt there needs to be some language as to the cost. Leonard suggested the policy include a range for costs. Havertape asked how many properties were left that are District owned. Herman stated he thought around 20 or so. Staebell thought it was more like a dozen. Leonard suggested changing the rate per foot to $10.00 per for in calendar 2019 and a 3% inflationary rate thereafter. Herman said he’d rather do $10.00 per foot for the fiscal year 2020 and an additional $5.00 per foot per year thereafter.  Leonard asked if the language relating to moving property owner’s docks/lifts reviewed by the county auditor. Herman said he had talked with her but that he would draft language that would go on the deed. Herman said the policy approval could be postponed until after the public hearing. After some discussion, the consensus was to approve the policy tonight and if it needs to be amended that could be done at the public hearing in June. It was also clarified that the policy would reflect a range to the costs for surveying and the legal and recording fees. Leonard asked how is this going to be communicated to the homeowners since some may not know they don’t own their frontage.   Staebell and Herman stated they would be reaching out to the property owners who have been identified as not owning their frontage. Herman noted that the language on #4 of the policy would state the rate of $10 per lineal foot would be measured from the point where the district property meets the private property and that the rate of $10 per lineal foot would increase $5.00 annually starting in July, 2020. Davidson made a motion to approve the transfer policy as edited in Resolution 5.16.19 ( c ), Havertape second. Motion carried.

The Board considered possible action on a resolution to schedule a public hearing to approve the transfer of lake frontage owned y the District to adjacent property owners pursuant to the District lake frontage a transfer policy. Said hearing will be held on June 20, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. at the District Office.   Herman stated that he had talked with Laurie Kramer regarding the notice for the public hearing. He will be working with her on the language for the notification. A motion was made by Burger, second by Davidson. Motion carried.

The Board discussed action on removal of the wood debris located down by the Nook location near the dam and wood debris at Lost Beach.   Staebell stated that Rich Hughes plans to remove the debris on Lost Beach. The question is what to do with the debris in the Nook area. Leonard stated he had talked to Marty Pottebaum. Marty had talked with the homeowner next to the debris and she was comfortable with burning it but there could be some liability to do that. Davidson said he is not in favor of burning. He stated that the decision was made to let the wood dry out for 30 days and then anyone who wanted to take it for firewood could do so. He also noted that Jeremy Klima expressed interest in taking it. Burger stated he had heard from Bruce Schneider who had a lot of trees and wood debris dropped at his place. Burger said if action is going to be taken on wood debris the Schneider property should be included. Staebell also stated that there was a lot of debris in the Klima area also. Because of other debris that is still located in the lake, Leonard made a recommendation to reach out to Jeremy Klima to take another run through the lake. Other discussion was finding someone to haul the debris away. Different options were discussed. Leonard reminded the Board that the President and Treasurer have the authority to expend up to $5,000 to hire someone to remove debris after a couple of weeks. No other action was taken.

The next agenda item involved looking at options for the Wall of Recognition using funds gifted to the Trustees. Staebell began the discussion with some background information regarding monies for the Wall of Recognition. He noted that of the $1,700,000 pledged to the Community Fund to Rebuild Lake Delhi around $1,600,000 was collected. Based on the information on the CFTRLD website there were around 278 donors. The funds collected have been held by the Greater Dubuque Foundation. After previous donations for the dam rebuild the account in Dubuque has approximately $14,100 left. Staebell said he felt there’s need to close this account sometime in the near future. He also noted that the CFTRLD held around $112,000 in their bank account around a year ago. After a transfer to the District of $91,000, the current balance in that account is a little over $21,000. Staebell noted that there were three large fundraising events that happened prior to the completion of the dam in 2016. Those included the pontoon raffle, a cash raffle and St. Pat’s bartending tips. Those dollars amounted to approximately $57,600 of the $91,000. So the balance would be for the wall and LDRA seed money.  The balance at Heritage of $21,000 would also be available funds for the wall and LDRA. He pointed out that on the CFTRLD website there was a notice of transparency that stated zero donation dollars would be going toward marketing, rewards, recognition, printing, mailing, etc.

He then asked Gifford to review the wall options with the Board. Gifford stated that in 2011 when the fundraising began it was identified that private funds would drive all the fundraising because the State and County wouldn’t come in unless there was a large private fundraising effort. An important part of driving the private fundraising was having a wall of recognition. The Dubuque Foundation was brought in to develop the trust and tracking of those donations. Because the funds in Dubuque couldn’t be used for marketing, the wall, etc., the other funds went into the bank in Delhi. He presented three options for consideration and noted that the committee to oversee the project included himself, Leonard and Davidson. He noted that while there are three options components of each option could be interchanged so multiple options are available.

Option #1 has a cost of $51,900. This includes the wall, concrete pavers and limestone sitting cubes Lake Delhi “map” inlaid pavers and “piers” would be paid by interested donors. He noted that there is a significant cost to the engraving.

Option #2 has a cost of $65,400. This everything in Option #1 but would include an enlarged concrete space by the spillway which would include a shade sail area and a sculpture area. Those two items would also be donated.

Option #3 has a cost of $81,900. It includes an even larger concrete area and additional limestone seating along with some landscaping.

Davidson asked if the budget difference between #1 and #2 including pulling out the existing concrete pad. Gifford said that was correct. Davidson said the removal of the concrete pad should be done no matter what option is taken. Burger asked if limestone is the best option in terms of cost and durability. Gifford said limestone is a good look and is receptive to engraving. It’s not the cheapest material but not the most expensive either. It was clarified that the material is Indiana limestone. Burger asked if the committee considered several walls versus one large wall that would need bigger footings. Gifford said there was some discussion but concluded that the main wall was the consensus was a main wall was the best choice. Staebell asked if all the names would be on one side and Gifford confirmed that. Leonard also stated a larger wall would be easier to see by water. Herman commented that he liked the idea of it being natural looking and not looking commercialized. Gifford said that was the key to the design. It was noted that the piers were salvaged after construction began on the dam. They have great historical value. Herman asked if there’s a comfort level with the location of the wall. Leonard stated they spoke with the dam safety engineer and the local fire department. A crane was also brought down to see what kind of access they would need. It was noted that all involved in the discussions felt the likelihood of needing a crane for assistance would highly unlikely. Herman said his concern was also regarding creating issues on the embankment.   Leonard said that was all reviewed by Bill Holman, our dam safety engineer. Staebell asked if the wall is located on the embankment on is where is it from the current sidewalk. Gifford stated the wall will be much closer to the sidewalk which is a big cost savings. Staebell asked if there were other locations considered. Davidson said the committee talked about some options but this location seemed to be the best area. Herman asked if there was any feedback from residents regarding using taxpayer dollars. Leonard stated it’s no taxpayer money is being used. It’s money that comes from fundraising. Leonard stated the $91,000 transfer made to the Trustees from the CFTRLD was accepted for use for the betterment of the public. Staebell referred back to his initial review of the transferred dollars.   His feeling is that the fundraising done prior to the completion of the dam would have gone to the Dubuque Foundation for the purpose of the rebuild but to avoid associated fees the monies went to Heritage Bank. Leonard stressed that the Board accepted the $91,000 was for public benefit and they have some great options to choose from for the wall project. Staebell asked if the committee is looking for a commitment of a certain amount of dollars for the project. The District would be the holder of the contract. Leonard made a motion to approve option #2 in the amount of $65,400 plus a 10% overage for sake of discussion. Havertape second the motion. Davidson asked what are the “paid for by donors” are getting for their donation. Leonard said there was some specific individuals interested in donating toward specific aspects of the wall like the shade sail area. These individuals are looking for guidance from the Board on what projects will be approved. Staebell said he’s comfortable with staying within the $34,000 level and would support paying for contingencies. He also felt the concrete repair costs should be supported by the District. Staebell said he would amend the motion to $34,000 plus a 10% contingency and also the cost to repair the concrete area. Davidson asked what the difference in site prep was for each option. Option #1 is $1,500, Option #2 is 3,000 and Option #3 is $3,400.   Gifford stated site prep increased with the size of the project. Davidson suggested the site prep be paid for by the District. Herman asked where the money at Heritage Bank came from. Leonard said it came from fundraising activities. Herman asked if the $21,000 remaining at Heritage Bank could be used for this project. Leonard suggested he sit down with Gifford and Kramer to see what expenditures are left to come out of that account. There’s currently $10,000 of the $21,000 is earmarked for this year’s fireworks. There would need to be input from the Board on how they want to handle those remaining dollars. Davidson asked if it would be agreeable to close out the account at Heritage Bank and Leonard said that could be done. Davidson asked Burger if there was dollars allocated in the certified budget for lake events. Davidson asked if there was money in there for the fireworks. The answer was yes. Staebell asked if there was going to be fundraising for the fireworks and Leonar5 stated the fundraising is done in arrears. Future fundraising would come from the LDRA.  Gifford noted the District has a bucket of non-taxpayer dollars that can support the project but Herman stated that some of that money could be used for other things. Burger noted that taxpayer money was used to enhance Turtle Creek and that was for public use. Leonard expressed to the Board that the $91,000 will always be up for debate on how to spend those dollars on any future projects. Havertape noted that when Gifford came to him asking for a donation the for the rebuild project he told him there would be a wall to recognize those donors who stepped forward. Burger asked who is designing the project which includes the footings, etc. Gifford said Culver Landscaping is doing the design and engineer. The DNR will sign off on the project. Staebell asked for clarification on what the DNR will sign off on. Gifford stated DNR has already reviewed the plans and have signed off. Davidson asked who was going to oversee the project? Gifford said Culvers will be the general contractor along with the three committee members. Staebell asked if we need oversight on the footing checks. Burger stated it’s important to protect our property. It was suggested the District hire Burrington Group to oversee the initial inspection. Davidson asked if Culvers will be drafting a contract and Gifford said that’s correct. Herman suggested taking the plans and specs to Burrington Group for review. Davidson said he wants it in the contract that there will be oversight from an engineering firm. It was agreed that no matter which option is selected additional items could be added to the project if agreed to by the District. Additional discussion surrounded discussion of the monies to be approved for the project. There was some conversation regarding how much fundraising monies were eligible for the wall. Herman asked if Leonard and Gifford were comfortable with the $21,000 from Heritage going to the trustees.   Leonard said yes. There was discussion to amend the motion on the table. Leonard moved to amend his motion to approve option #1 in an amount not to exceed $55,000 + a 10% overage that will be paid by the District. The funds will come from $34,000 that has already been transferred to the District from the Community Fund and the remaining $21,000 monies held by the Community Fund at the Heritage Bank in Delhi. Engineering and inspection services will be covered by the District. It was also noted that the concrete removal and repair would be a cost to the District. Havertape seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Committee Updates:

Staebell stated he had some dates for a planning session to be scheduled for May or June. Because of conflicts, he will send out a Doddle poll to find a date that will work.

Debris update: Staebell has been in contact with Jeremy Klima . They will be here for a couple more weeks and it was noted that several more items have been located to remove.

Staebell also noted that the filing for trustee elections is required by June 7^th at 4:30 p.m.

He also noted that there have been requests for trustee attendance at various annual road association meetings. Those are covered.

Leonard stated Rocky Nook folks reached out to him to make sure they could do the weed control on the side by their docks. They also asked about removal of the canvas on the fence since it is pretty well shredded. The consensus of the Board was to let them remove the canvas. Leonard then addressed the issue of the fireworks. The contract to get the discount is due very soon so if the Board is okay with payment coming from the $21,000 at Heritage Bank. Davidson addressed the concern about the Rocky Nook owners putting a “no trespassing” sign on District owned property near their docks. Leonard said he would speak to them. Leonard also noted that our lobbyists will be coming to the June meeting to give an update. Davidson gave an update on the problems that the operations team is having with the crane at the dam. Options are being discussed.

Public Comment: Schmidt asked a question regarding the budget for Option #1 on the wall. It was noted that there were four specific item that were a part of Option #1.

Reyner noted that the road association meeting for Turtle Creek Cove is Sunday, May 26^th at 10:00 if any trustee would like to attend.

Davidson made a motion to adjourn, second by Herman Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 8:47 p.m.