August Minutes, 2009
Annual Meeting, unapproved

Rock Lake Improvement Association

Annual Meeting at 10 a.m., Aug. 22, 2009

Korth County Park

RLIA board members present: President Milt Strauss, Vice President Tom Pezzi, Treasurer Jim Colegrove, Secretary Margaret Krueger, Johanna Chworowsky, Larry Clark, Scott Johnson, Ron Niedfeldt, Stan Smoniewski and Russel Wagner.

Secretary’s Report – Margaret Krueger
Minutes of the Aug. 16, 2008 meeting were approved.

Treasurer’s Report – Jim Colegrove
Treasurer’s Report showed overall total of account balances was $11,186.57 as of Dec. 31, 2008, including $6,971.24 in RLIA Checking Account; and $4,215.33 in RLIA Savings Account.

President’s Report – Milt Strauss

The RLIA Articles of Incorporation were signed and registered Oct. 7, 1971, and was designated a 501(c) 3 on May 24, 2004. The mission of RLIA is to promote and generate positive action on issues concerning the preservation, protection and improvement of Rock Lake. We are a lake advocate group and highly sensitive to issues that affect Rock Lake and its watershed. Our current major emphasis has been implementation of the Management Plan for Rock Lake. Memberships include Wisconsin Association of Lakes and Rock River Coalition. We maintain a close interest in statewide, county and local water-related issues. Current major emphasis continues to be implementation of the Management Plan for Rock Lake, and also the Miljala Shores channel grant.  Board members have attended public hearings at the Jefferson County Courthouse, State Capital, and many Lake Mills governmental meetings in the city and the town. The RLIA has supported the Glacial Heritage Area. Volunteers are encouraged to participate in RLIA activities. Projects of RLIA include Adopt-A-Lake clean-up program and annual goose count.

Guest speaker Dave Marshall, RLIA consultant, DNR Lake Planning Grant, Underwater Habitat Investigations, LLC

Guest speaker Dave Marshall of Underwater Habitat Investigations was introduced by Larry Clark, committee chairman of the Miljala Shores grant. He noted phosphorous in the Cedar Lane channel was #2 priority on the Management Plan for Rock Lake. RLIA got a $10,000 DNR grant and met matching funds of $3,800. Marshall said no specific source of the pollution has been determined for the bacteria entering the Miljala Shores channel on Rock Lake. He has been taking water samples of the channel and the drainage ditch that flows into the channel. Volunteers from the RLIA board have been assisting with the sampling, along with water resource management specialist Patricia Cicero and also intern Jennifer Kiser from Jefferson County Land and Water Conservation. Marshall said the biggest problem is the drainage ditch itself. The ditch, in the southwest subwatershed on the west side of the lake, was built years ago to improve agricultural drainage but also transports sediment and harmful nutrients. The drainage ditch is no longer needed for agriculture but it is a major source of phosphorous and sediment into the channel. Box elders prevent grass from growing and other invasive plants do not hold the soil which is running into the ditch and then the channel and to the lake.

With water sampling completed, the focus of the grant has been changed to a study of how to slow down or eliminate the pollution into the channel. A proposal is being studied from the engineering firm of Montgomery and Associates to consider the possibility of filling in the ditch and therefore removing the conduit of pollution.

Publicity report - Chairwoman Johanna Chworowsky
RLIA had a display at Town and Country Days where tee shirts are sold. RLIA is seeking a writer to write stories on water-related issues. Membership brochures are available and there will be a display at the Fall Festival. A presentation was given to Tyranena Ladies Club. Volunteers are always welcome to help.

Joint Rock Lake Committee Report – Chairman Bob Wardall
A pier ordinance is on hold; bottom ash report was written; city report on dam hazards evaluated; new holders for aquatic invasive brochures; and study being done on boat density and navigational buoys. All are welcome at meetings.

Lake Rules Enforcement - Dave Walz, DNR Conservation Warden, DNR Bureau of Law Enforcement, South Central Region; and Scott Erwin, Rock Lake Patrol Officer, Town of Lake Mills.
Walz said new legislation in 2010 will protect unprotected shorelines. All boats within 100 feet of shoreline must travel at slow-no-wake speed. Funding was left in place for water guard deputies to be at boat landings and check for invasive species. Some are certified to write tickets. Dive teams will work to retrieve sunken boats from the lake. Complaints have been received about noise made by nighttime bow fishermen.
Scott Erwin said 813 hours were spent on patrol last year, with 647 hours on the water. On the water, 475 boats were contacted, with 40 percent of that number for slow-no-wake violations in protected areas. Since the town of Lake Mills stopped issuing season passes for boat launches this year, the town has received less income than the city which has seasonal passes. Erwin said the town has received $14,000 while city revenue was $20,000.

Jefferson County Land and Water Conservation Department – Patricia Cicero, Water Resources Management Specialist
Aspects of her job include helping to research lake issues with RLIA and DNR, including a DNR survey of the bull rushes every five years; water quality sampling to collect data to determine trends; working with funding from agriculture and also the county for cost-sharing for farms and shoreline restoration; and stream sampling for the Miljala Shores channel grant.

Management Plan for Rock Lake Update – Tom Pezzi, RLIA Vice President
The board is working on 21 of 47 projects listed in the plan, including pollution in Miljala Shores channel. Storm drains were labeled and north end parking lot project completed. Other priorities include Shoreline zoning, informational signs and buoys, education on shore land zoning rules, recreational rules packet, protect sensitive areas with navigational buoys, adding boating rules and fines to website, educate landowners on aquatic plant removal laws; garlic mustard control, reduce Canada geese population, and requesting fish surveys in Marsh Lake.

Election of board members and officers:
On the printed ballot for board members were incumbents Milt Strauss (president), Tom Pezzi (vice president), Margaret Krueger (secretary), Jim Colegrove (treasurer), Johanna Chworowsky (at-large director), Larry Clark, Scott Johnson, Ron Niedfeldt, and Stan Smoniewski. Longtime board member Russ Wagner did not seek re-election. The name of Pyles was on the ballot and was suggested by the nominating committee to run for Wagner’s position. The name of Pyles was scratched because he was not present.

Nominations from the floor included write-in candidates Bill Amann, Betsy Delorey, Lee Gatzke, Janet Jenrich, Katie Otto, and Jim Plotz. The write-candidates names were hand written by members onto their printed ballots. Ballots were marked by members and collected by current board members. All of the collected ballots were given to election counters, Pete Ebbott, former RLIA board member, and Scott Johnson, current RLIA board member. Johnson proceeded to read the votes while Ebbott marked a tally sheet.

Upon completion of the tally, numbers were given to teller Johanna Chworowsky, who announced the winners as Amann, Colegrove (I), Clark (I), Gatzke, Jenrich, Johnson (I), Krueger (I), Niedfeldt (I) Otto and Plotz. The actual vote counts were not given to the secretary at the meeting and were not available to her after the meeting for inclusion in these minutes.

New board members called for a recount but no recount was granted. The existing board, under the direction of President Milt Strauss, accepted election results and proceeded to the election of board officers. Jenrich was elected president, by a vote of 29-18 over Jim Colegrove, and Plotz was elected as vice president by approximately the same margin, although the other VP candidate, Larry Clark, indicated a show of hands was sufficient and an actual count was not necessary. Colegrove was re-elected treasurer, and Krueger was re-elected secretary. Jenrich again called for a recount of the ballots. Again her request was denied. No recount was taken at the meeting.

General membership forum – Strauss dispensed with the public input section listed on the agenda, allowing no further public input.

Adjourn - The meeting was adjourned at 12:45 p.m. Attendance sign-in sheets were signed by 74 people and 64 ballots were cast.

Minutes submitted by Margaret Krueger, secretary