The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District
Board of Trustees Meeting
Thursday, June 20, 2013 – 6:30 p.m.
Maquoketa Valley Middle School Conference Room
Delhi, IA
The meeting of the Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District Board of Trustees was called to order by President Steve Leonard at 6:31 PM at the Maquoketa Valley Middle School Conference Room.
Trustees present: Leonard, Kramer, Peter, Davidson, Kray, Schneider and Burger
Trustees absent:
Visitors: John Murphy, Ken DeKlotz, Barb DeKlotz, Jacques Dubois, Kathy Dubois, Sue Christiansen, Lou Christiansen, Dave Larson, Patti Larson, Tom McLaughlin, Marcheta Cooey Lux, Chip Hughes
Agenda reviewed by Leonard. Motion made by Schneider to approve agenda, Kramer second. All ayes, motion passed.
Kray requested approval of minutes for 5/20/13 meeting. Burger made motion to approve, Davidson second. All ayes, motion passed.
Kramer reviewed bills for payment – L&L Consulting for $2,000; Simmons Perrine Attorney for $10,409.54; Alliant Energy for $20.17; Hunt and Assoc for $750.00. Kramer would also like to add payment to Delaware County for $52.00. This is for the warrants they pay for us each month at $2/warrant. Burger made motion to pay all bills as presented, Kramer second Davidson asked why we are paying electric bill for the LDRA. Kramer indicated when we took over billing we expected transfer to happen shortly and it did not but we have just continued to pay the bill. Discussion surrounded asking LDRA for back funds if transfer does not happen within the next month. Individual roll call requested. All ayes, motion passed.
Kramer covered the financial report and as of May 31, 2013 the ending balance of the General Fund was $78,884.87. Debt Service fund balance after funds from the county and interest and bond payment is $13,427.50. The Dam/Spillway project fund balance as of May 31, 2013 is $5,841,915.04. Kray asked about why there was a difference in the funds received from the DNR vs. the total Stanley bill. Kramer explained that some of the Stanley billings were before the legislation passed and some billings were for FEMA work. Leonard said have submitted the recent cost of the Peck property purchase to the DNR and don’t know if these will be considered reimbursable expenses but we believe they should be. Additional documentation may be needed to have them be considered. Burger moved to receive and file the financial report, Peter second. All ayes, motion passed.
Kramer covered the audit report from the Auditor’s office for FY 2011/2012. There are no notes at the end of the report so nothing is of an issue. Leonard said County Auditor and her staff have been very helpful. County uses Hunt and Assoc. and we used them also at a reduced rate. Motion to receive the budget report by Burger, Davidson second. All ayes, motion passed.
The resolution to transfer previous expenses was explained by Burger. These are attorney fees that are eligible to be paid out of the bond fund which were originally paid for out of the general fund. Burger brought a packet showing which charges can be covered by the bond fund. This packet was reviewed with the Budget and Finance Committee members and we have their concurrence to move the monies. The applicable attorney fees for property transfers is $24,556.18 and for dam reconstruction is $54,610.08 for a total of $79,166.26. It was decided that after a conference call with Larry Burger, Steve Leonard and Carla Becker today rather than have a specific amount of dollars in the resolution it was suggested we add “the amount to be approved by the District Treasurer”. Motion to approve resolution 6.20.13 by Burger, second by Schneider. Davidson asked McLaughlin if he was ok with the resolution since he is a member of the Finance Committee and he said yes. Individual roll call requested, all ayes, motion passed.
The Third Agreement Regarding Payment Delays was presented by Leonard. We have agreed to make an interest only payment on the dredge debt. This is an official agreement drawn up by bond counsel and Bank Iowa has reviewed and accepted it. Moiton to approve by Kramer, Burger second. Individual roll call requested, all ayes, motion passed.
Committee Updates
Finance – no update other than previous information on billings
FEMA and Dam Construction/Timeline – Leonard gave information and said the same information was given in the new Lake Delhi Voice. FEMA has taken over as the lead federal agency. We need the federal permit from the Army Corp of Engineers but FEMA has the right to review our application because of their lead agency status. The FEMA Committee is working with Homeland Security to assist with the information flow to FEMA and to get them up to speed. Stanley is almost done with Phase II design work and will be giving to the District Trustees for review. An operating plan and emergency action plan need to go with the DNR request for permit. Leonard has been very impressed with Homeland Security and the time they are dedicating to Lake Delhi considering all the other work they have to do this year with the declarations of disaster areas by the Governor.
State/County Legislative – nothing to report
Property Management – Peter gave update as to what is required for demoliton of the Peck property, Wright and Wiersma properties. On the Wright and Wiersma land we will need to fill or get rid of the well and septic tanks. The District will need to decide if we want to save any of the steel building at the Peck property. The Wright building is completely down except for the concrete. The mobile home is just a shell on the Wiersma property. The electric service has been unhooked by Alliant Energy. The phone needs to be disconnected by Iowa One Call and we were given permit numbers which we should hold on to. The only real issue is the location of the water line at the Rocky Nook properties as we need to make sure we know where to seal it off. Leonard said in order to record the purchases of the Wright and Wiersma purchases we had to have a form from the County Santitation department signed which gives us until November 1, 2013 to seal everything off. Our attorney can now do the final recording of the purchase of the properties. Kramer said Locke wanted to know if we could use the $2500 grant from Rockwell. Leonard indicated the board needs to have a work session to discuss lake bed cleanup and what we want to do with the Peck property. Peter reminded the board that there are lifts still in the Rocky Nook lake bed area. Davidson asked about insurance and Kramer advised that properties with no dwellings are automatically included with our insurance.
Public Comment – Tom McLaughlin said when an audit report is done there are 3 levels of review that can be done with an audit as the hightest level. Hunt & Associates did a just a compilation which they just pulled the numbers the County Auditor gave them. He advised it is okay for this year but as we spend more funds we may want to do a more intense review.
Kathy Dubois thanked the board for all work that has been done and the communication to the lake population.
Chip Hughes said as of Jan 1, 2013 the County Assessor raised land taxable values by 150%. Did Trustees have any conversation with the Assessor before this was done. All Trustees advised they had no contact.
McLaughlin said people are frustrated that the rebuild is now taking longer than anticipated and the fact is that we are very close and we need to keep our chins up and realize what we have accomplished. Leonard indicted yes it is important to look at the timeline and to understand all we have done. Leonard said if there are any road association meetings coming up, the Trustees will be glad to give details and we will be happy to come to the meetings.
Barb DeKlotz said during the last flood event, some homes almost flooded and she wondered if there was anything that could be done. Leonard indicated that the water was 6.5 ft from touching the bottom of the gates and the gates were partially open. There are different points within the river with bends and such that impedes or holds the water flow back. Peter said Baileys Ford bridge is 59 feet larger than before and he thinks that is where the impact is coming from. Ken DeKolotz asked if anything was going to be done to Hartwick Bridge and Leonard said we need to prioritize our dam for the short term and we will continue to have further discussions and be mindful of other long term goals.
Hughes asked if final number had been drawn up wth Turtle Creek. Leonard advised the County Engineer has come up with another plan to move the road and needs to revise the costs based on this revision. The previous amount was approximately $600,000 and no monies were available in this legislative session. The County may have access to other funds/grants.
Motion to go into closed session for discussion and consideration of the terms, strategy and negotiations for the acquisition of interests in real estate for the pupose of restoring the lake and dam per Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)(j) by Kramer, Davidson second. Individual roll call requested, all ayes, motion passed.
Motion to adjourn by Kramer, Davidson second. All ayes, motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 7:54 pm.