Horseshoe Lake Improvement Association

Mid-Summer Meeting Minutes July 11, 2009

President Steve Eichman called the summer meeting of the Horseshoe Lake Improvement Association to order at 9:30 AM, on Saturday, July 11 at the Beaver Town Hall.

Treasurer Joe Waldo was unable to attend. The secretary read the following synopsis of his email: As of July 6, we have collected dues from 64 members plus an additional $1,275 in additional Milfoil donations. Account balances: General Fund Checking - $1,843.25; Milfoil Fund Checking - $1,943.00; Milfoil Fund CDs - $21,553.94.

Outstanding bills General Fund - Ordered 4 more buoys (have not received buoys or bill yet). Have not gotten a bill from Selle Construction yet for work done on boat landing. Milfoil Fund - All current expenses paid.

Steve had the bill from Selle for $321.61, which was now forwarded to Joe. We are still asking the township to pay 50/50.

The secretary's report was approved as read.

Pam Nelson reported that we have not yet officially heard that our 2nd grant was approved, but all indications are positive.

The dive day was postponed to June 9 because of rain. Twenty-five divers, four teachers, and six assistants spent the day on our lake - the kids didn't want to leave and plan to come back in September. In lieu of planting "treasures" to be discovered during the dives, we bought approximately $150 worth of small gifts and gift certificates that were given as door prizes during lunch. The board approved a donation of $800 for the dive team, (At 50/50 match, this is $400 from our budget - a very small price for the service we received.)

Laura Nackerud's DIVERS LOG JULY 2009 is a very readable discussion of both this dive and the future of diving in our lake. Professional divers cost $750/half-day, plus "boating" and "feeding." Still we may want to try this option once, to see what kind of results we get. Another option is using a "snuba", a machine with 2 to 4 air lines, which combines snorkeling, and scuba diving. Users can be certified on line, and could be volunteers or high school students hired for the job (which brought up the question of liability insurance. No, the association does not carry any.)

MOTION made, seconded, and carried that a committee investigate the cost and liability issues in purchasing a snuba and wet suits to present to our next meeting. The core of the committee is Pam Nelson and Craig and Laura Nackerud. They welcome more members; call any of them to volunteer.

The pulling has been very successful in areas where it was done. Keep pulling around your own places. If there are dense spots that may require chemical treatment, let Pam know. She needs the GPS coordinates to apply for a permit to treat, If chemicals are used, it would be in late August or early September.

Our speaker was Phil Dorn, Game warden for our lake out of Cumberland. He is in Cumberland Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and can be reached through the Barron County Sheriff's Department.

Steve had contacted him on opening the channel to Mud Lake. As the DNR owns the land on one side of the channel, they "might be able to waive the $500 permit or fee." Phil suggested hiring a consultant, such as Cooper Engineering, to determine exactly what it would take so that it didn't immediately fill back in.

He commented that as water levels fall, problems arise. We need 3 good years of precipitation to get back to normal water level. In Wisconsin, jet ski regulations are different from regulations for other watercraft. Motorboats with no skier(s) could legally be side-by-side, while jet skis must maintain a 200' distance from shore and a 100' distance from everything else. As the narrows is now less than 400' wide, it is officially illegal to operate a jet ski at anything faster than Slow/No Wake, in the narrows. Basically the bay by the boat landing is also illegal unless the jet ski is the only watercraft on the lake. Phil asked for Slow/No wake buoys at each end of narrows.

MOTION, seconded and carried, that channel buoys with signage recommended by the DNR be placed at each end of the narrows. John Plaschko has 4 buoys in storage now that we may be able to use if signage is correct. We might consider ordering more buoys at the next meeting. Steve will get forms and township approval for placement. We need a volunteer or two to place, pull, and store these new buoys.

Phil is also concerned with illegal manipulation of shorelines with current low water. Shorelines may only be manipulated above the normal high water mark; nothing can be placed on the newly exposed lake bed without a permit. Weeds in that lake bed can only be pulled by hand --- he suggested they make good fertilizer.

Every Barron County lake is being surveyed under a grant that will end with the publishing of a huge report. No zebra mussels have been reported thus far. The large snails we're seeing on our beaches are Chinese Mystery Snails - an exotic that seems harmless and is providing food for small animals. There are new pier regulations. A dock or pier may be a maximum of 6' wide. The length may be the distance needed to get to 3' of water. Two boats may docked or slipped for the first 50' of lake frontage, with one additional boat for each additional 50'. Landowners can apply for a permit to keep a pier installed before 2004, but it will not affect the number of boats allowed. Complete information is available at the web site http://dnr.wi.gov/waterways/factsheets/Piers2009.pdf. The information will also be printed and posted at the picnic.

We are forwarding Phil a copy of our list of lakeshore property owners for an informational mailing on new regulations.

We still need volunteers to do boat inspections at the landing - a calendar was passed for sign ups. Everything you need should be in the red box on the side of the townhall.

The next meeting is our final for the season and the annual picnic is Saturday, September 5 at 11:00 AM at Turtle Lake Park. (There is a picnic sign up sheet link on the hlake.org home page.)

Rough committees were reestablished:
Beer/water/pop: Walt, Bob, Jack
Corn: Tom and Jerry
Clean-up: Steve, Mike
Beans & Brats: John
Nametags: Sam, Thiets?
Please feel free to offer to help with any of these!

Sam will try to have a lakeshore history finished and printed to sell as a small fundraiser at the picnic.

Meeting adjourned at 11:30 AM.

Respectfully submitted,
Sam Lindquist
Secretary
7/14/09

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