The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District

Regular Meeting

Thursday, July 20, 2017

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 Steve Leonard

Trustees present: Leonard, Burger, Kramer, Colgan, Havertape, Gifford (by phone), Herman (by phone)

Trustees absent: None

Visitors: Ed Schmidt, Doug Camp, Lisa Camp, Jason Wenger, Marcheta Cooey-Lux, Bill Lux, Dan Straebell, Larry Aschbrenner, Dan Reyner, Maggie Burger

Recording secretary: Shelley Kallenbach

Leonard read a modified agenda merging action on the proposal and award of a General Obligation Refunding Loan Agreement for the Series 2017 Bonds and removing action on authorizing a sale of Series 2017 General Obligation Refund Bonds, Burger seconded, motion approved.

Burger motioned to open a public hearing on a proposal to enter into a General Obligation Refunding Loan Agreement, Kramer seconded. Public hearing opened. Visitor Maggie Burger from Speer Financial explained that lobbyists were able to get the law rewritten to allow the Board to refinance the existing general obligation refund bonds to take advantage of lower interest rates. No public comment. Burger motioned to close the public hearing, Havertape seconded, motion approved. Public hearing closed.

Burger presented the proposed General Obligation Refunding Loan Agreement. Speer Financial proposed that the Board enter into an agreement with BB&T Governmental Finance of Townson, Maryland in association with Piper Jaffray of Des Moines, Iowa as the placement agent. This agreement proposed that the Board sell its $5,170,000 in General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2017 at a true interest cost of 2.6603%, which would result in a gross savings of $528,798 or 7.074% of the refunded bonds. The agreement would change the repayment schedule to have two principal and interest payments a year, which provided an additional $17,000 in savings. This would allow the bonds to be called on or after June 1, 2023 and would have a projected payoff date of June 1, 2030. Funds would go into an escrow account to facilitate the refinance. Burger strongly reiterated that this would not change the existing tax levy in any way and there is no new money involved.

Motion to approve resolution 7/20/17 to refinance the General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2017 with the proposal as presented by Burger made by Herman, seconded by Kramer, all ayes except for Burger’s abstain, motion approved.

The Board considered possible action on ratifying the Lake Delhi Trustees’ president’s signature on the Private Placement Engagement Letter and Escrow Bidding. Leonard signed paperwork in between meetings necessary for the forward movement of the bond refinance. Motion to ratify said signature made by Havertape, seconded by Colgan, motion approved.

Motion to approve the June 15, 2017 and July 3, 2017 meeting minutes as posted made by Burger, seconded by Colgan, motion approved.

Kramer presented the requests for payment. Payments in the amount of $18,916.26 from the General Fund for electricity, printer/phone service, dam operations, maintenance, easement abstracts, port-a-potties, Lost Beach supplies and cleanup, lobbyists, actuator maintenance, and dam operation supplies were presented. A payment in the amount of $4,145.27 was added to this list for Delaware Co. Transfer for additional work required at Lost Beach due to significant rainfall. This work fell under the not to exceed amount previously approved. Motion to approve the payments as presented made by Colgan, seconded by Burger, motion approved.

Kramer read the financial reports. The General Fund had $2,302.77 in revenues and $55,559.49 in expenditures, ending June at $198,079.10. The Debt Service Fund had $4,266.00 in revenues and no expenditures, ending June at $31,449.94. The Dam/Spillway Project Fund had $1,419.26 in revenues and no expenditures, ending June at $1,592,914.35. A new retainer fund was opened with $10,000 funds to satisfy 28E on 5/17 as discussed in previous meetings. Motion to receive and file the financial reports made by Burger, seconded by Havertape, motion approved

The Board considered possible action on approval to Cedar Cove and Chad Kelly for the retainage basin. This is based on the discussion of a siltation basin in the Turtle Creek Cove, properly named Cedar Cove, area. A partnership was approved between the Board and the cove owners for a siltation basin to be installed with an amount of not to exceed $40,000. This siltation basin appears to be working with a depth in the center of between 8 and 10 feet, a rock base, and currently about an inch and a half of siltation. It is unknown how long it will be before dredging is required. There is a current question of who is on the property easements now as there were originally three owners but it has been stated that one of those owners no longer owns property in the cove. County records still show three owners. Herman motioned to approve the $40,000 contingent on a signed easement, Kramer seconded. Burger expressed concerns about the Board not having had enough time to do due diligence on this payment request. Burger motioned to table discussion until next meeting to allow the Board to view the completed work, Colgan seconded, motion approved. Possible action tabled until next meeting.

The Board heard committee updates.

The Beach Maintenance Committee stated beach maintenance is going well at Lost Beach. The port-a-potties are being kept on North Beach and it is being well mowed voluntarily by Dave Fink. Rich Hughes has been raking Lost Beach and may be modifying his rake to remove rocks.

The Lake Recreational Maintenance Issues Committee stated there have been 3 issues with fencing: an individual drove through some fencing and destroyed it so the Board is waiting on an insurance payment, a section of fencing near Marty Pottabaum’s property was never finished, and some fencing was destroyed in the September 2016 flood event. Colgan recommended that the fencing from the 2016 event not be replaced. The sum of completion of these projects is approximately $3,800. The Board expressed support of going forward with completing these projects. There has been expressed concerns about the logs in the labyrinth spillway. Colgan explained that a lake drawdown would be required to remove them and that they are not impacting dam operations in any way but to be unsightly. He stated that they will be removed at the completion of boating season.

The Dredge Committee suggests a work session for discussions on siltation basins and dredging. It was stated that Randy Pilkington, an expert from UNI, is willing to join these planning session

The Dam Operations Committee gave a presentation of the various awards that the Lake Delhi Dam received for the 2016 award season. These include a national honor award, the top Iowa engineering project of the year, and several top awards from Minnesota due to Stanley Engineering’s location in Minnesota. The dam also received the national top prize in Water Resource Architecture for the year, and state and dam safety officials awarded it the top national prize for refurbishment of an existing dam.

There were no other committee updates.

A trustee election is coming up July 25 and Pat Colgan has chosen not to rerun this year. He will remain as an advisor to the Board. Thanks and appreciation were expressed from the community to Colgan for his extensive efforts on the Board in the rebuilding and support of the Lake Delhi Dam.

The DNR had a write-up about the carp fish kill in the lake. This fish kill should be resolved over the next few weeks and was a natural event.

It is also believed from fishing experts that fishing in the lake will be great next year and only improve over the next ten years. There was a reminder that there will be a fishing contest on August 5^th.

The floor was opened to public comment. There was no public comment.

Burger motioned to adjourn the meeting, Colgan seconded, meeting adjourned at 7:32 pm.

The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District

Special Meeting

Monday, July 3, 2017

5:00 p.m.

Lake Delhi Trustees Administration Building

Delhi, IA

A special meeting of the Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District was called to order by President Steve Leonard at 5:00 p.m.

Trustees present: Kramer and Havertape. Leonard, Herman, Colgan, Gifford & Burger by phone

Absent:

Visitors: None

A motion was made by Burger, second by Havertape to approve the agenda.

Kramer reviewed the resolution 7.3.17 regarding a General Obligation Refunding Loan Agreement that would require holding a public hearing.  A motion was made by Burger, second by Herman to set the public hearing date for Thursday, July 20 at 6:30 p.m. Motion carried

There was no public comment.

Motion by Burger, second by Herman to adjourn. Motion carried.

The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District

Regular Meeting

Thursday, June 15, 2017

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 by President Steve Leonard at 6:30 pm.

Trustees present: Havertape, Colgan, Gifford, Leonard, Kramer, Burger (phone)

Trustees absent: Herman

Visitors: Ed Schmidt, Chip Hughes, Chloe Colgan, Doug Camp, Dan Staebell, Bob Galiher, Lola Galiher, Randy Rattenborg

Recording secretary: Shelley Kallenbach

Colgan motioned to approve the meeting agenda as read, Gifford seconded, motion approved.

Gifford motioned to approve the May meeting minutes, Havertape seconded, motion approved.

Kramer presented claims for payment. Claims in the total amount of $45,891.47 for the Rotork gearbox, Lost Beach restoration and mitigation, legal services, dam operations, utilities, port-a-potties for Lost Beach, trailer insurance, and fire extinguisher services were presented. Havertape motioned to approve the claims for payment as presented, Kramer seconded. It was confirmed that the port-a-potties are approximately $20/potty/week, and there are four potties on Lost Beach for 8 weeks. The Rotork expense is for the spare actuator for Gate 2. This week Lunda Construction will come out with the spare actuator and will determine if it needs to be swapped with the existing actuator to allow the existing actuator to be rebuilt to solve oil leak issues. Motion approved.

Kramer presented the financial reports. The General Fund had revenues from the county of $3,267.13 and expenditures of $92,693.10, ending May at $251,667.80. The Debt Service Fund had revenues of $6,205.03 from the county and no expenditures, ending May at $27,183.94. The Dam/Spillway Project Fund had revenues of $1,219.71 from the county and no expenditures, ending May at $1,591,495.09. The Dam/Spillway Project Fund will be merged with the General Fund on July 1. Colgan motioned to receive and file the financial reports, Gifford seconded, motion approved.

The Board considered possible action on Lost Beach cleanup. Kramer told the Board that she and her husband have been going to Lost Beach two times a week to take care of the trash and clear out cans. They also made arrangements with the Delhi Fire Department to allow them to put the trash in their dumpster provided the cans are donated to them. Kramer stated that Randy would continue to remove the trash and cans at a cost of $25.00 per trip and also stated that if the Board wanted to make other arrangements that would be fine. In addition, Rich Hughes has been raking the beach at no cost. Motion to continue with this setup for the time being made by Havertape, seconded by Gifford. All ayes except Kramer who abstained. Motion approved.

The Board considered possible action on increasing the hourly rate for the recording secretary. The recording secretary has been with the Board for 2 years at a rate of $12/hour, for 3 hours of work per meeting. Kramer motioned for an increase to $15/hour for the 3 hours of work per meeting, Burger seconded, motion approved.

The Board considered possible action on a request from the DNR and Delaware County Sheriff for input on placing a “No Wake” signage around Hartwick Bridge and the dam to bring additional awareness of the spillway. The DNR and Delaware County Sheriff have concerns about several close calls near the dam spillway buoys and cables, and has sought the Board’s input on mitigation options. The DNR suggests a no-wake zone at Hartwick Bridge. The DNR was confirmed to be responsible for the lake itself and for the final determination of steps to take, but the District was asked to offer input before a final decision would be made by the DNR. Colgan suggested a no-wake zone from noon to 6 pm daily and stated that a no-wake zone would be beneficial as it is simple to enforce. Burger suggested a no-wake zone on weekends only. Havertape suggested electronic signage on the dam to identify no-wake zone times that could be turned on and off. The community is asked to offer input to Board members. The Board was asked to come to a consensus for suggestions to the DNR and Delaware County Sheriff to be made in writing from a liability standpoint at the next meeting. Ultimately, the decisions will be up to the DNR not the District.

Burger presented suggested options for refinancing the $6,090,000 Series 2012 General Obligation Bond for Lake Delhi after July 1, 2017. Several options, called Option A and Z, were presented. The goal is to refinance the bond debt to make the most savings and benefit to the taxpayers on the lake given much lower current interest rates. Option A used a 7.4775 tax rate and created an overall savings of $555,000 with shortening the bondage one year. Option Z keeps the current tax rate with $20,000 less overall savings than Option A. The Board’s general consensus was to look into Option Z with keeping the existing tax rate and accepting slightly less overall savings to keep tax payments stable for taxpayers. Burger will continue to work on these options with the goal of having an approval at the July meeting with closing for August 1.

The Board heard committee updates.

The Beach Maintenance Committee stated that they have had a volunteer mow at North Beach and are looking into getting port-a-potties to North Beach.

The Dam Maintenance Committee stated that tomorrow there will be diesel generator maintenance. Next week Lunda will do the actuator maintenance. They are looking into signage for the spillway over the dam as well as closing out items from last year like fencing and drainage. The river flows have been below average. They continue to look for creative ideas to remove debris from the spillway with more to come.

The Lake Maintenance, Dredge, Water Quality, Funding/Finance, and Legislative Committees had no updates.

The floor was opened to public comment.

Chip Hughes asked if there was an application being made with FEMA for the Lost Beach monies. This was confirmed. Hughes stated that he was told by a senior supervisor from FEMA in Washington who felt there may be no justification for storm water runoff reimbursement. It was confirmed that Herman is having communications with FEMA daily regarding this situation.

Bob Galiher thanked the Board for the presentation on the Road Association meeting and stated he was happy that the Board is considering reactivating the fishing activities on the lake. He also asked if the LDRA donation is a principal and interest payment. It was confirmed that one of the yearly payments is interest and one is interest and principal per the repayment schedule.

Lola Galiher asked if it was possible the fireworks for next year could be on the Fourth of July and possibly be in a different location. It was confirmed that the Celebration Committee votes to determine dates and locations, and members of the public are invited to join and assist with making those decisions.

Motion to adjourn the meeting made by Colgan, seconded by Gifford. Meeting adjourned at 7:27 pm.