The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District
Thursday, October 21, 2021
5:30 pm
Lake Delhi Dam Office
Zoom Meeting
Delhi, IA 52223
The regular meeting of the Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District was called to order at 5:30 pm by President Burger.
Present: Jasper, Burger, Scherrman and Thompson were present. Leonard was present via Zoom
Absent: Staebell, Althoff
Visitors: Randy Rattenborg, Pat Colgan and Ben Pasker. Laurie Kramer, Dan Reyner and Ed Schmidt & Doug Herman via Zoom
Burger asked for a motion to approve the meeting agenda. A motion was made by Scherrman, second by Jasper to approve the agenda. All ayes. Motion carried.
Burger asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. Thompson made the motion to approve, seconded by Jasper. All ayes. Motion carried.
Claims were presented for payment in the amount of $61,954.67 from the General Fund for electricity, internet services, copier expense, dam operations, clerical/accounting expense, lobbyist expense, lawn maintenance, port-a-potties, blanket insurance coverage, dam supplies, dam repairs and signage. Additional claims were presented for the principal and interest due for the GO Bond in the amount of $236,622.30. Motion by Scherrman and second by Thompson to approve payments. All ayes. Motion carried.
September financial reports were presented. The General Fund had revenues of $153,472.95 from Delaware County. Expenditures for September were $17,395.42 ending September at $2,159,553.35. The Debt Service Fund had revenues of $206,901.34 from Delaware County and with no expenditures ending September at $378,877.19. The Dam Improvement Fund had no revenues and no expenditures ending September with a $50,000.00 balance. A motion was made by Scherrman to receive and file the September financial report. Thompson seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried.
The Board discussed possible action on a donation payment to the LDRA for the 2005 dredge debt. Jasper made the motion to make a payment of $16,626.00 that is due December 1, 2021. Leonard seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried.
The Board reviewed the proposed dam service agreement with Lunda that was presented last month. Pat Colgan gave the Board an overview of the contract noting the annual cost would be around $3,000 or less. After some discussion, a motion was made by Jasper, second by Leonard. All ayes. Motion carried.
The annual contract with L & L Consulting was reviewed by the Board. The annual cost is $15,000 for lobbying services. A motion was made by Scherrman, second by Thompson to approve renewal of their contract. All ayes. Motion carried.
Burger opened the discussion regarding hiring Doug Herman, attorney with Dallas Lynch, to provide the District with legal services. There’s no retainer as he will be providing services on an hourly basis. A motion was made by Jasper, second by Thompson to hire Doug Herman with Dallas Lynch as the District attorney. All ayes. Motion carried.
The Board considered a request from Lake Peak Design to continue selling merchandise in the 2022 summer season. Dan Reyner said this past year was very successful and A.J. Peter, who runs Lake Peak Design, has been very pro-active in providing merchandise and observing any beach issues. Leonard made a motion to allow Lake Peak Design to continue sales in 2022. Scherrman seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried.
The next agenda item was consideration on an addendum to the HDR contract for grant application purposes. Leonard explained that the State approved a Restoration Fund this year for $500,000 to go toward lake restoration projects. As a District, the Board would need to apply for funds via a grant. Grants are due by November 15, 2021. HDR and Andrew Judd can help the District through the application process. Leonard is asking the Board to approve the amendment to the HDR contract to allow for this additional work. A motion was made by Scherrman, second by Leonard to approve the amendment. All ayes. Motion carried.
The Board considered a request from Bill Decker to purchase his frontage on Lake Delhi. Burrington Group completed the survey and all the paperwork is in order. Decker will pay $10 per linear foot for his frontage which goes into the District general fund. After some discussion, Scherrman made the motion to approve the request. Thompson seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried.
The Board reviewed two proposals for concrete work on the south side of the dam. One was from Ace Concrete LLC for $12,280. The other was from Neuhaus Construction for $14,800. There was discussion on how the work will be done and if there are any engineering issues. Rattenborg stated that the project should be fine with some direction. Leonard asked if the project would be done this fall. Burger stated that the plan would be to have the project completed this fall unless the weather doesn’t cooperate. That would push it back to spring. Thompson made a motion to hire Ace Concrete to do the project. Jasper seconded the motion. Leonard asked if the board should put a “not to exceed” cap on the project. Burger stated he has the ability to authorize up to $5,000 in the event the total expense runs over the bid. With no other questions, all voted aye. Motion carried
The next agenda item was consideration of renting a storage unit from Schmitz Storage for the purpose of storing the spare actuator that has been stored by Lunda. Colgan explained that the storage in the lower part of the powerhouse is not suitable to store it. Burger asked for motion to rent a unit for six months at a cost of $135 per month. Jasper made the motion to approve renting the storage unit for six months. Scherrman seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried.
The Board reviewed the five-year DNR dam inspection report. Colgan gave an overview of the report. The report will be helpful for the Board going forward to budget for issues that need to be looked at. He noted that there were no issues of immediate concern. Leonard made a motion to receive and file the inspection report. Scherrman seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried.
Committee Updates:
Water Quality – Nothing else to report
Community Events – Reyner said the LDRA is scheduling new events for 2022. They are planning on music events with no dates scheduled as of yet. They are also planning a golf outing for June as a fundraiser. Fundraising for the fireworks for next year is in the works. The LDRA also helps sponsor fishing contests, works with snowmobile groups, etc. They are also looking to expand Christmas on the Lake and the Boat Decorating Contest. Reyner stated that the LDRA is thinking about approaching the DNR about removing the sandbar on Lost Beach. They would like to bring in an excavator to pull sand from the sandbar and place it on the beach. Then they would use the beach cleaner filter out the rock. Reyner also expressed concern with the erosion that is taking place on the beach near the rock wall upsteam of the beach. Burger suggested that the LDRA visit with the Property Management Committee which includes Scherrman, Jasper and Thompson to review possible action for the issues.
Dam Operations & Maintenance – Burger said the committee which includes Jasper, Althoff, himself and Pat Colgan met with Burrington Group to proceed with developing a three-year plan for dam maintenance which will help with maintenance issues and also be useful for budgeting purposes. He also noted the he, Althoff and Pat Colgan met with an ICAP representative to review our computer system for cyber security issues. Cyber security is becoming a real problem for the insurance industry and recommendations have been made for things the District needs to do to keep up with security issues. He noted Althoff will speak to the report at the next board meeting.
Property Management – Kramer noted that she had talked to Bill Downs and he said he would be removing the port-a-potties this week.
Finance/Budget – Burger stated that the budget committee will be working on developing a budget for the 2022/2023 fiscal year sometime after January 1.
Legislative – Nothing else to report
Dredge – Leonard stated that Andrew Judd will be giving the Board a proposal regarding the dredge site. He will also be giving the Board possible options on dredging solutions.
Wall of Recognition – Work continues on the project.
A motion to adjourn was made by Leonard, second by Jasper. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6:52 p.m.