The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District
Thursday, February, 15, 2018
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: Kramer, Leonard, Herman, Gifford, and Havertape (by phone)
Trustees absent: Burger, Staebell
Visitors present: Jason Wenger, Larry Aschbrenner, Pete Buschmann, Pat Colgan (by phone)
Gifford motioned to approve the meeting agenda, Herman seconded. Motion carried.
Herman motioned to approve the January regular meeting minutes, Gifford seconded. Motion carried.
Kramer read the claims for payment. Claims for payment from the General Fund included electricity for dam and office, contracted services for dam operations, printer maintenance, lobbyist expense, LP for dam, 2017 election expenses, expense for issued warrants and internet/phone service. Herman motioned to approve the claims for payment, Gifford seconded. Motion carried.
Kramer presented the financial reports. The General Fund had revenues of $10,300.97 and expenses of $6,126.00, ending January at $1,812,519.74. The Debt Service Fund had revenues of $15,427.09 and no expenditures, ending January at $113,664.45. The Dam Improvement Fund had no changes with a remaining at $10,000. Gifford motioned to receive and file the financial reports, Herman seconded. Motion carried.
The Board reviewed the proposed FY19 budget that will be presented March 1, 2018 for approval. Kramer gave a brief overview noting that the Board needs to take into consideration the donations made to the LDRA for their dredge debt as that amount increases each year.
Jason Wenger from Burrington Group presented a drainage design for the south side of the dam to help mitigate the run-off coming down from the south slope towards the spillway. The plan includes storm intakes along with concrete curb and gutter along the existing asphalt pavement in addition to a retaining wall south of the SCADA office. The design also includes re-routing the canoe portage from the upstream of the lake to the downstream side. Wenger stated once the concept is agreed upon he would finalize the plans and prepare a bid package. Leonard stated he would like to suggest the Board consider asphalting the parking area and part of the portage area in addition to taking out some of the current sidewalk that is not usable and put some other material in that area. He also suggested that something be done to protect the well head that is located in the parking lot. Gifford suggested that the bid package to done with options so the Board can approve all of it or parts of it. Wenger said the base bid will include curb and gutter, the storm sewer and drainage work. The canoe portage, parking lot surface and retaining wall, etc. will be options to include if desired by the board. There was additional discussion of possibly adding an option for fencing for safety purposes and options for removing the existing walkway that’s unusable.
Pat Colgan presented the Board with a quote from B & J Hauling & Excavation, Inc. for rip rap work downstream of the powerhouse. He explained that the reason for the rip rap repair is from damage that was done to the original rip rap during the flood of September, 2016. It needs to be replaced and the area needs to be cleaned up. FEMA funding is no longer in the picture. To get FEMA funding we would have had to go through the bidding process which Stanley said would cost around $8,500. The scope of work is estimated to be around $16,000. Colgan’s recommendation is to award the work to B & J Hauling & Excavation without going through the bid process. He stated one of the reasons for going this route is because it’s about a week long project and the work requires heavy excavation equipment that most businesses in the area don’t have. Brian Monk, the owner of B & J, did the original work and knows what is required of the project. Herman made the motion to hire B & J Hauling & Excavation, Inc. to do the rip rap repair as described by Colgan, Gifford seconded the motion. Herman stated that when he and Kramer met with Brian Monk the previous week Monk mentioned that some of the smaller rock that needs to be removed could be placed on the south side to help with the drainage issue. Wenger said the benefit would depend on the cost to move the rock. He said some of the rock could be used but not all of it would be needed. Colgan stated that he’s had some additional discussion with Monk and feels it would be easier and cheaper to just stockpile the rock and make it look like it fits in above the water line so if rock is needed in the future it would be available. Herman asked if Colgan felt Monk’s bid was based on moving the rock. Colgan stated this is a estimate not a bid and is based on quantity. Leonard stated that he had a couple of board members visit with him about the project. They said they supported using B & J Hauling but were concerned about other local vendors who may have interest in the project. He asked Colgan if he would be comfortable if the board referred any vendor with a potential interested in future projects to him so that he could review the projects and make recommendations to the board. Colgan said he would be happy to do that. Gifford said he feels we should ask Monk specifically about the quote if it included the cost to move the rock to the south side. Herman made a quick call to Monk and Monk stated that his estimate included approximately $3,000 for moving the rock. Herman revised his motion to approving the B & J Hauling & Excavating quote not to exceed the proposed amount of $16,000. Gifford seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Leonard presented the background for consideration and possible action on a pledge to provided funding for the Maquoketa Watershed Authority in partnership with other WMA members for the purpose of creating a watershed management plan for the Maquoketa River. There are about 35-40 members of the WMA including Lake Delhi, Delaware County and other counties and cities along the Maquoketa River who all have an interest in the water quality of the Maquoketa River. There’s an opportunity to submit for a grant in the amount of about $100,000 which would help put together a master water quality plan for the entire watershed of the Maquoketa River area. 95% of the cost could be paid for by the State and the other 5% paid by the WMA. The letter the Board is being asked to approve states that if the State does approve a $100,000 grant the Board would approve up to $300 to support the 5% match that is needed. Gifford made a motion to approve the letter as written, Herman seconded. Herman stated he was aware of other communities in the area that have committed to the 5% match but feels it’s a good approach for the District to approve up to the $300 level because some rural communities may not contribute and Lake Delhi has a lot to gain from a grant of this nature. He also said possibly getting a total pledge of more than 5% may help in getting grant approval and is still a small cost for what we would be getting in return. There being no other discussion, Leonard asked for a vote. All ayes. Motion carried.
Gifford informed the Board on the progress being made to establish and Policy and Procedure Handbook. Kramer has been helping in the process going back to 2012 to pull together resolutions and policies changes that have been made since that time. One of the issues that came up in the search was that not all adopted policies were done through a resolution. Some were made as motions and so had to be located by going through minutes. Gifford is suggesting we establish a procedure for adopting policies in the future possibly having future policies done through a resolution. He suggested coming up with wording to be approved at our next board meeting.
Leonard spoke regarding the agenda item for consolidation of committees and committee structure. Staebell, who was unable to be at the meeting, is leading the initiative to establish committee structures and assign different trustees to take the lead assignments under each committee. Leonard stated Staebell was just asking for the trustees to review his framework and get a general consensus that he was moving in the right direction with the assignments. There was no formal action taken but the board agreed that the members assigned to the various committees should move forward and put together their objectives.
There were no committee updates other than the mention that the lake flows are low.
Public Comment: Larry Aschbrenner stated he was very happy with the snow removal being done on the dam. He also complimented the county for the work they did removing snow near the dam entrance.
Leonard also mentioned that the Harbach structure at the upper end of the lake has been removed per a request from the DNR.
Motion to adjourn the meeting made by Herman, seconded by Gifford, motion approved. Meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm.