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.