Minutes from October 15, 2015

The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District Board of Trustees

Regular Meeting

October 15, 2015

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: Gifford, Davidson, Leonard, Kramer, Herman, Burger

Trustees absent: Colgan

Recording secretary: Shelley Kallenbach

Visitors: Larry Peter, Chip Hughes, Carol Pohlman, Becky Willey, Jim Willey, Don Dede, Pat Dede, Ed Schmidt, Jim Locke, Ken DeKlotz, Barb DeKlotz, Dean Montour, Marlene Montour, Marcheta Cooey-Lux, Nancy Hurt, Larry Aschbrenner, Tom Cook, Marilyn Cook

 

Motion to approve the agenda as posted made by Davidson, seconded by Burger, motion approved.

 

Motion to approve the posted September 17, 2015 and October 5, 2015 meeting minutes made by Burger, seconded by Herman, motion approved.

 

Requests for payment from the District were presented by Kramer. Payments from the General Fund were presented in the amount of $2,549.43 for electricity, copier, warrants, and lobbyist expenses. Payments from the Dam Spillway Fund in the amount of $193,627.12 were for Phase 2 payment to GCI, engineering services to Stanley Consultants, and legal services. Herman motioned to receive and file the payments as presented, Gifford seconded, motion approved.

 

Motion for a request to Delaware County for reimbursement for invoices paid by the District for the spillway rebuild in the amount of $93,131.81 was made by Burger, seconded by Kramer. This represents the 50% county reimbursement for Phase 2 payments to GCI. Motion approved.

 

Motion for a request to the Community Fund to Rebuild Lake Delhi for reimbursement for invoices paid by the District for the dam rebuild in the amount of $617,928.21, which represents the half of the GCI payments not covered by alternate sources, was made by Herman, seconded by Gifford, motion approved.

 

Kramer presented financial statements as of September 30, 2015. The General Fund had revenues of $72,322.50 from a county tax draw and interest, and expenditures in the amount of $8,930.05 for insurance, lobbyist, and general expenses, ending the month at $272,779.22. The Debt Service Fund had revenues in the amount of $164,569.86 from Delaware County and interest, ending the month at $244,744.38. The Dam/Spillway Project Fund had revenues of $189,549,68 from the DNR and interest, and expenditures in the amount of $307,923.46 for Phase 2, engineering, and attorney payments, ending the month at $3,645,869.38. Burger motioned to approve and file the posted financial statements, Gifford seconded. The lobbyist expense was clarified to include two bills for $2000 each, and clarification regarding the overall payment big picture was requested. Further information would be discussed later, but it was confirmed that the financials are projected to be looking good for the ending of the project. Motion to approve the financial reports approved.

 

Motion to approve a request for a donation in the amount of $23,553.00 to the LDRA for the December 1st, 2015 interest payment was made by Burger, seconded by Kramer. Herman clarified that he had researched these donations and that there is no legal requirement for the Board to pay them, though there may be a moral obligation, but feels he does not yet know enough about the donation requests at this point to vote in favor of this obligation. Votes listed as all ayes, one nay (Herman), motion approved.

 

Matching requests from various associates were considered by the Board.

 

The Linden Road Association presented a request for an 80-20% reimbursement from the Board in the amount of $2,644.00 for work done by the Linden Road, Inc. This work includes stump removal and siltation reduction to allow for an average of 2-3 feet of water over their island. Davidson motioned to approve this 80-20% reimbursement, Kramer seconded. It was confirmed that the existing stumps presented a significant safety hazard as noticed during the tree-cutting day, as well as the fact that this is away from boat docks in a navigable area of the lake. The Association was commended for the initiative and the work to make this area deeper and wider, therefore increasing boater safety. Motion to approve an 80-20% reimbursement to Linden Road, Inc. carried.

 

The Turtle Creek Association reimbursement request is ongoing, and a conclusion is expected at the end of the week. Motion to table discussion regarding reimbursement for the Turtle Creek Association project made by Gifford, seconded by Herman, motion approved.

 

The Board heard committee updates.

 

The Lake Bed Cleanup Committee stated that another lakebed cleanup community day is being organized to occur within the next few weeks. Information on this hand-cutting event will be forthcoming. The Committee continues to solicit specific description of existing debris to remove prior to lake fill.

 

The Dredge Committee is looking at the Turtle Creek project. During the course of the project, the county engineer has approved dumping siltation loads in sharp culverts along area roadways. In addition, Randy Harbach has offered to take an unlimited amount of any material to fill the areas where clay has been removed for the dam rebuild. This means there are significant opportunities to place material if associations have a way to remove it, and the Board encouraged associations to consider these new disposal options. Braun will be returning within the next 2 weeks to complete soil borings in the northern part of the lake. More data regarding soil boring work costs will be available at the next meeting.

 

Leonard presented Dam Construction updates in Colgan’s absence. Work on the downstream and upstream retaining walls is ongoing, as are buttress and base concrete pours. Sheet pile driving continues and is 65% complete. The spillway will visibly take shape in the next few weeks. GCI is working 6 days a week from sunup to sundown to complete the work quickly.

 

Larry Peter presented additional dam construction updates. The DNR requires a minimum of 83 cfs water flow to fill the lake, and currently the river is flowing at 68 cfs. Therefore, if the dam were done today, it could not be filled until the cfs flow met DNR requirements. The Burrington Group will be in charge of paperwork, training, and manpower for running the dam. The massive size of the spillway was discussed. Unique methods are being used to drive the sheet pile due to the high strength of the clay. GCI has two crews working on opposite sides of the dam to build the labyrinth spillway as quickly as possible.

 

The Water Quality Committee presented updates. A presentation will be coming to the Board shortly regarding funding and options for a watershed management plan. Next week the Committee will have a meeting with members of the NRCS, DNR, city officials, legislators, and County Conservation to look at past watershed plans and determine how to best move forward with watershed and siltation management.

 

The Finance and Legislative Committees had no additional updates.

 

The floor was opened for public comment.

 

Concern was expressed for future funding due to Lake Delhi not meeting the 400 to 1 government criteria to be in the public lake programs by the DNR. This was noted, but the Board also stated that that is only one avenue to solve funding requirements.

 

Clarification regarding the current financial standing of the dam rebuild was requested. Estimates of financials were given; however, as these numbers are fluctuating, they were only estimates. Approximately 5.3 million remains available to spend from multiple sources, and there are remaining obligations to GCI and Stanley of approximately 4 million. Therefore, it is estimated that barring unexpected costs, the project is estimated to finish with approximately 1 million in funds leftover taking into consideration all funding sources.. However, these are high-level estimates, and administrative effort would be necessary to offer more specific numbers. However, the Board is confident in saying that without any additional major unplanned expenses, the dam is expected to come in safely under all funding source revenues options.

 

Concerns regarding the approval of the Linden Road Association 80-20% approval were expressed. A member of the public stated that the Board should have an overall dredge plan regarding these requests. Concern that siltation is not being removed, but only moved to places that may impact other places in the future, was also expressed. Information on total funds available for such reimbursements was also requested.

 

The Board clarified that each project presented for reimbursement is unique and is reviewed on individual merit to the lake. There is no ultimate limit on reimbursements available, as the Board will consider all association reimbursement requests individually. Projects do not necessarily have to be for siltation removal, but can also be for other needs that improve the safety and functionality of the lake in the little time remaining prior to lake fill. Such needs may include stump and tree removal. Each project will be reviewed uniquely regardless of amount requested. It was reiterated that there is very little time remaining to manage safety issues at a cheaper price point prior to lake fill, and as such the Board must be given leeway to make decisions quickly given this timeframe. The Turtle Creek Association reimbursement decision was made using a cost benefit analysis from 5-year-old bids for hydraulic dredging that were confirmed to still be approximately accurate, which estimated an overall cost savings of near $100,000 to the Board if the work was completed prior to lake fill. This data was discussed in previous meeting minutes. This demonstrated the way that each project will be reviewed individually for its potential improvement to the lake as well as a cost benefit analysis. It was confirmed that the Board has access to multiple lasers to allow for specific numbers regarding the amount of siltation removed in the Turtle Creek project. This will confirm the new water depths. This data will be obtained and reviewed for the public. It was confirmed that the Linden Acres project is complete and was fundamentally different than the Turtle Creek Project. It was suggested that if members of the public have concerns with individual projects, to contact the Board members directly to discuss specific concerns prior to voting regarding the specific project reimbursement.

 

A member of the public described debris to be removed prior to lake fill. The Lake Bed Cleanup Committee noted this location for removal.

 

The public expressed concern regarding association dredging to virgin ground. It was confirmed that soil boring measurements are shared with the associations so they are made aware of virgin ground levels.

 

The public requested a date for the lake to be refilled so the public could know when projects much be completed. It was confirmed that the lake will be filled as soon as possible. However, this date is dependent upon weather and river flow levels. If the weather and river flow levels permit, the lake will be filled immediately upon dam completion before winter. However, it is currently impossible to know these dates because of the unpredictability of rain totals and winter freeze dates. Projects should be completed as soon as possible, as the lake will be filled as soon as the dam completion, weather, and as water flow permits. No delays will be made unless required by weather or water flow.

 

A member of the public expressed disappointment that there was a Trustee who voted no on the vote regarding donations to the LDRA, as it is felt that the lake would not exist without the LDRA and therefore the Board has a strong moral obligation to provide LDRA donations.

 

A member of the public asked what the lobbyists are currently working on. It was confirmed that they are working on watershed and siltation management plans, funding, and the move from reconstruction to lake management by putting Lake Delhi on the list of Iowa public lakes.

 

An update on FEMA work was requested. Work is ongoing with both FEMA and Homeland Security, and it is felt that this FEMA and Homeland Security group is friendlier than groups in the past. Work is ongoing to confirm that the appropriate funds were spent in the appropriate amounts.

 

An update was requested regarding the Harbach land purchase. Currently the LDRA owns that land, and according to FEMA, the District needs to own it. The District is trying to negotiate a resolution. The Harbachs have the right of first refusal in the event of a sale. The Board is interested in a legal determination that this transfer would not be considered a sale. If a resolution cannot be negotiated, legal action will be pursued for a solution that benefits all parties.

 

No further public comment.

 

Burger motioned to adjourn, Kramer seconded, meeting adjourned at 7:41 PM.

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