The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District
Thursday, March 21, 2019
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 Staebell.
Trustees present: Davidson, Burger, Leonard and Staebell. Havertape & Herman present by phone
Trustees absent: Gifford
Visitors: Wanda Davidson, Ed Schmidt, Mike Lehman with T & M Docks, Dan Reyner, Dan Recker, Margie Schneider, Bruce Schneider, Jeff Frasher, Joe Vorwald, Cindy Blonigan, Dick Blonigan, Rich Blonigan, Larry Aschbrenner Jason Wenger and Richard Wayne
Staebell asked for a motion to approve the meeting agenda moving the agenda item number seven, debris removal, to be discussed after the financial reports. A motion was made by Davidson, seconded by Burger. Motion carried.
Motion to approve the minutes of previous meetings was made by Burger, seconded by Leonard. Motion carried.
Claims were presented for payment in the amount of $9,746.02 from the General Fund for electricity, LP gas, internet services, dam operation services, printer maintenance, lobbyist expense, clerical expense, budget publication and miscellaneous supplies. Davidson motioned to approve the claims for payment as read, Burger seconded. Motion carried.
February financial reports were presented. The General Fund had revenues of $15,423.76 from Delaware County and expenditures of $9,155.30 ending February at $1,821,244.65. The Debt Service Fund had revenues of $18,920.78 from Delaware County and no expenditures, ending February at $91,935.70. The Dam Improvement Fund had no revenues or expenditures and ended February with a $20,000.00 balance. Burger motioned to receive and file the financial reports as read, Havertape seconded. Motion carried.
Staebell open the discussion regarding removal of debris in the lake bed by suggesting several points for discussion. He named four points to being initial discussions.
#1. Inventory of what items were lost from the flooding in the lake
#2. What is the best way to locate items that are under the water surface
#3. What are potential options for removal of debris
#4. Discuss having a special meeting to take formal action on how to proceed
Staebell asked the board their opinion on reaching out to lake owners on what’s been lost to gather some kind of inventory. He suggested posting a notice on the trustee webpage, emailing a notice through our email account and also sending a text alert Leonard stated he felt getting an inventory was critical. His suggestion is to give the community guidance to communicate to the Trustees what they’ve lost and inventory the material. He also expressed concern over potential liability to the Trustees if they move material out of the lakebed and also where would the key locations be to put the material for owners to collect. Davidson shared his concern that there will be a very short window of time to get all of this completed. Burger suggested owners of the docks and lifts sign a waiver to allow the District to remove their material from the lake if that’s is the route taken by the trustees. Other comments were concerns that some people won’t bother trying to retrieve their items and how that be dealt with. Leonard said he talked with a couple of companies that could retrieve items from the lake and for a fee that would haul unclaimed materials away. Leonard said something the trustees need to think about is making the determination of what materials get removed from the lake. Some items close to shorelines could be retrieved by the owner or by folks in the area. Another item to address is recycling the unclaimed materials. The consensus of the trustees is to do an email blast and notification to identify who lost items, what they lost and if they know the location of their items. Leonard had conversations with the Delhi Fire Department and asked them to attend tonight’s meeting. Joe Vorwald and Jeff Frasher, members of the Delhi Fire Department, said the department has the capability to go out and mark items in the lake. They also have sonar to detect items that are submerged and not visible from the top of the water. They would not be able to remove items from the lake because of the weight unless they were small items like a short dock. With regard to marking items, he said they have bouys that have little LP tanks that are weighted like an anchor. He estimated they have about 20-25 of them and the concern was more maybe needed. There was discussion regarding how many boats would be needed to search the width of the lake and the thought was that another 3-5 boats with sonar may be needed. Vorwald also said they have divers who could assist with marking submerged material. When asked about the length of time it would take the fire department to scour the lake with one boat, Vorwald said he would estimate it would take a month for them to do the work. Staebell opened the meeting up for public comment. Aschbrenner agreed that a notification needs to be sent out to see what’s been lost. He said he followed about 14 lifts from the Maples to Linden Acres. Lehman said he thought the search should begin as far up as possible. He stated his company is getting calls from people up in the Cozy Cove area. Margie Schneider asked what the cost would be for hiring a contractor to do the removal of materials. Leonard stated when he talked to the contractors he called they didn’t want to give a specific number because they were concerned that the work would be bid out. He estimated a number the amount to be anywhere from $8,000 to $20,000 depending on the scope of work. They would include marking and removing material and placing it in an accessible area. It would not include them hauling away the debris. He stated he that is just an estimate until we know the scope of work needed. Lehman said he had rope he would donate if needed. Burger suggested we reach out to the local marinas to see if they have an interest in working on the project. Margie Schneider said she could do an inventory of what was lost in their area. Bruce Schneider questioned whether individuals would be able to retrieve their lifts. He noted that when a similar flood event happened 40 years ago, very few lifts were intact. Aschbrenner stated he felt the first step should be for the fire department to go out and see what they find and then decide if the trustees need to hire another contractor. Further discussion included asking the fire department to note locations of debris so areas could be mapped out. Lehman stated the department could use their work boat. Staebell stated the fire department could use the access at the Cedars to get on the water. Staebell suggested having a special meeting on Monday, April 1st. He also suggested having several trustees meeting with the fire department the weekend before the special meeting.
The Board considered a request from the Hartwick Huskies to utilize Lost Beach for the 2019 ski show. The date of the show is July 13th. They also have asked for a few extra dates for practice. A motion was made by Leonard to approve the dates needed provided the Huskies provide an insurance rider as was done last year and the trustees will provide extra port-a-potties as was done last year. Davidson seconded the motion. Motion carried.
The next agenda item consideration and possible action on request from lake owner to purchase shore frontage. Davidson stated that there was still work being done on legal descriptions with the county auditor. He made a motion to table any action until further information was made available. Burger seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Committee Updates:
Water Quality & Sediment Control – Leonard stated that the Watershed Management Authority met two weeks ago and they are working on funding grants not just for Lake Delhi but other areas of the Maquoketa River. The funding will help with water quality projects. Jason Wenger from Burrington Group explained some of the issues they dealt with during the event. Burger asked about legislation allowing us to apply for grants that failed last year. Leonard said there are other funding mechanisms through the state being discussed. Nothing as been determined at this point.
Community Quality & Life – No update
Property Assets & Dam Committee – Davidson stated that Burrington Group has done an excellent job of managing the dam in this last weather event. He also said the Delhi Fire Department was available during that event.
Finance & Budget – The budget for 19/20 has been certified.
Recreation – Leonard noted that the LDRA is looking to put together the fireworks and Christmas on the Lake. Insurance is going to be an issue as to how it is provided.
Public Comment:
Cindy Blonigan asked the board how they plan to keep people off the lake until the debris is removed. Staebell said that it may be a question for the DNR and that they may be the ones to make the call of whether to put signage out to alert people or not. Leonard said he would be happy to reach out to the DNR and Delaware County to get their opinion. Reyner said he spoke with the DNR and they said it’s up to the landowner to get their stuff out of the lake based on the law. He also stated the DNR will be out again this summer to check on docks. He said talked to the DNR regarding Christmas on the Lake and getting a variance regarding boat lights. Reyner stated the LDRA is looking to have a boater safety course. He plans to come to a future trustee meeting with more information.
Aschbrenner informed the board that the St. Patty’s Day Fireworks Fundraiser at the Pizza Place on March 17th raised $900 dollars for this year’s fireworks.
A motion to adjourn was made by Leonard, second by Burger. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 7:12 p.m.