The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District
Thursday, May 17, 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 at 6:30 pm by Vice-President Dan Staebell.
Trustees present: Staebell, Kramer; Burger, Havertape, Herman and Gifford. Leonard by phone
Trustees absent: None
Visitors: Ben Pasker, Ed Schmidt, Jason Wenger, Dan Reyner, Gary Grant & Larry Murphy
Motion to approve the meeting agenda as read was made by Herman, seconded by Havertape. Motion carried.
Motion to approve the minutes of previous meetings was made by Burger, seconded by Herman. Motion carried.
Kramer presented claims for payment. Claims for payment in the amount of $14,259.44 from the General Fund for electricity, dam operation services and generator inspection, printer maintenance, lobbyist expense, audit services, repair work at the dam, phone/internet service, license for dam trailer and annual dam inspection were presented. Requests for payment in the amount of $251,340.40 from the Debt Service Fund for bond principal and interest were presented. Burger motioned to approve the claims for payment as read, Herman seconded. Motion carried.
Kramer presented the April financial reports. The General Fund had revenues of $18,723.47 from Delaware County and expenditures of $14,036.27, ending April at $1,876,309.71. The Debt Service Fund had revenues of $30,560.43 from Delaware County and no expenditures, ending April at $278,470.34. The Dam Improvement Fund had no activity and ended April with a $10,000.00 balance. Burger motioned to receive and file the financial reports as read, Herman seconded, Motion carried.
The Board considered the annual financial compilation report by Hunt and Associates for fiscal year 2017. The report confirmed that the Board did not need to amend its budget for last year and did not exceed planned expenditures. Motion to accept and file the compilation report made by Burger, seconded by Herman. Gifford asked if we could receive the document to file electronically on our website. Kramer said she would check with the Auditor’s Office. Motion approved.
Kramer presented Resolution 5.17.18 to authorize Delaware County to conduct the July, 2017 trustee election. Herman made a motion to approve the resolution, second by Burger. Motion carried.
The Board considered possible action on a donation request from the LDRA for assistance with the LDRA dredge debt. The LDRA requested $72,575.50 for the June 1st payment for the dredge debt. Dan Reyner, the LDRA treasurer also suggested the Trustees review the payment schedule for the remaining dredge debt noting the payments continue to increase each year until dredge debt is fulfilled. Burger indicated he would check on the call provision on the debt. Motion was made by Herman, second by Burger to pay the current payment that is due. Motion carried.
A public hearing was opened on the proposed contract documents and estimated cost of the SCADA area drainage improvements project. Jason Wenger gave a brief description of the project and opened it up for public comment. He noted that the engineer’s estimate for the base bid of the project was $124,325.00 with a bid alternate for upsizing the storm sewer of $6,290.00. Public comment was received. Schmidt asked if the culvert improvements going into the driveway was the responsibility of the county. Wenger said the driveway was private and the responsibility of the owner. Reyner asked that if the county road is a conduit to the water coming down and causing the erosion is the county contributing anything to the project. Wenger stated that the trustees made changes to the property so it makes it difficult to ask for county participation. There has been no formal request from the county to contribute. Staebell asked if we need to ask for input from the county before we award the contract. Wenger stated we have 60 days to award the contract and that once the contract is awarded the contractor has 45 days to complete the project with an end date of no later than November 1, 2018. Burger asked Wenger his opinion on upsizing of the storm sewer from 24” to 36”. He said theoretically and 24” storm sewer would cover a 10 year event and a 36” storm sewer would cover a 50 year event.
A motion to close the public hearing was made by Burger, second by Herman to close the public hearing. Motion carried.
Wenger informed the board that the bid opening was held at the county house on Tuesday, May 15th. There were eleven contractors that took out bid documents and eight that returned the bids with a bid bond associated with them. The low bid was from F.L. Krapfl, Inc. out of Dyersville. The bid was for $93,838.75. The high bid was $149,341.00. Krapfl had an alternate bid of $7,063.00 for a total bid of $100,901.75. Burger asked Wenger if the motion to award it tabled would he have conversations with the county engineer regarding their participation in the project. Wenger said he would follow whatever direction he was given by the board of trustees. Burger made a motion to table the award until next month to give Wenger time to meet with the county engineer, Herman seconded the motion. Gifford asked what options the board has regarding awarding the contract. Wenger said the bids are good for 60 days and the trustees can accept or reject all bids. Wenger suggested that he and another trustee meeting with the county engineer and then schedule a separate meeting with the county supervisors to review the project. With no other comments, the motion carried.
A resolution to transfer $10,000 into the Dam Improvement Fund was introduced by Kramer. She noted that per our 28E agreement with the Delaware County Supervisors we are required to transfer no less the $10,000 annually into this fund. The trustees can always transfer more into the fund if desired. It was noted this is merely a transfer and the overall budget balance remains the same. The purpose of the transfer is to make sure we have allocated funds available if monies were needed for unanticipated dam expenses. Motion was made by Herman, second by Havertape. Motion carried.
The board of trustees considered the resignation submitted by Kramer effective May 18, 2018. Kramer stated that she and her husband had put their cabin up for sale and when it sells she would no longer be eligible to be a trustee. She also noted that she learned she had to resign 60 days prior to the July 17th election and that was way the resignation was effective so soon. A motion was made by Burger, second by Herman to accept her resignation. Motion carried.
Gary Grant and Larry Murphy, lobbyists for the Lake District, were present to give the board a legislative update. Grant stated that the goal this legislative session was to make Lake Delhi eligible for the lake restoration fund. The DNR made some restrictions regarding eligibility requirements that make lakes that have a watershed ratio greater than 200:1 ineligible for funding. Lake Delhi’s ratio is greater than that limit. Grant & Murphy lobbied the House with the help of our local representatives but were unable to get language approved to change that requirement. Grant stated that being eligible for the lake restoration funding is crucial to Lake Delhi because it will likely be the sole source of funding the District will receive from the State. Grant stated that the argument with some legislators has been that Lake Delhi is not a private lake and should be allowed the same resources as any other public lake in the state of Iowa. He also stated that because of the investment made by the state to help with the rebuilding of Lake Delhi he has been lobbying that it would a mistake to not help maintain it as a public resource. Kramer asked if there has been a major change in the legislature from when the District was first awarded the $5 million from the state that caused a shift in support for Lake Delhi. Murphy stated there has been some change and some of our major supporters are no longer there. He also stated that the watershed ratios affect not just Lake Delhi but most of Eastern Iowa. It was noted that with the upcoming election for governor there’s a large support on the Democratic side to raise sales tax by 1¢ to support water legacy which would support a lot more money for watershed management authorities. This may be an area where the trustees direct their interest. Grant suggested that with the upcoming legislative elections it would be wise to bring candidates to visit Lake Delhi to give them an overview of what’s happened at Lake Delhi and the needs going forward along with the impact that the rebuilding of Lake Delhi has had economically within our community. Gifford asked if we should be thinking about taking the pressure off the legislature or should we keep moving forward. Grant indicated the felt keeping the momentum going is easier than trying to generate momentum. That would need to be a decision by the board. Grant said there are two big issues going forward that will contribute to the success of the district. Being able to participate in the Lake Restoration Funding is the best source for ongoing funding. Particpation in the Watershed Management Authority is necessary because these authorities are well positioned to help mitigate downstream erosion.
Committee Updates:
Beach Maintenance – Burger stated that the beach committee had talked with Rich Hughes about parking on the beach for the bar patrons and also the run-off from his parking area. Rich is going to sod on the hill on his property. Rich suggested we sod about three foot on our property. He has prices and would lay the sod and maintain it. Rich though our share would run between $600-$700 dollars. There was some discussion about how soon Rich was expected to start the project. The resolution we have in place allows for the President and Treasurer to authorize expenditures up to $5,000. The consensus was to have Rich move forward with the project assuming we get something in writing to confirm he is willing to maintain the sod and the board would formally approve the expenditures at the June meeting.
Burger also mentioned he has been working on signage for the beach. He got an estimate from Manchester Signs on a 4’ x 8’ sign with steel poles. The cost would be around $600 that includes installation. Once the trustees come up with verbiage they would start the design for the sign or signs. Burger also stated we may want some more smaller signs for parking at around $60.
No other committee updates.
Public Comment: A question of asked of who’s up for re-election. Larry Burger and Doug Herman are up for re-election and there will be an election for a two-year term that was vacated by Kramer.
Burger motioned to adjourn, Gifford seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:54 pm.