1999 Annual Meeting Minutes
LAKE PULASKI IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
ANNUAL MEETING
AUGUST 12, 1999 BUFFALO PUBLIC LIBRARY
BUFFALO, MINNESOTA MINUTES
| Present: | Florence Deutsch |
| Galen Eastlack | |
| Kathryn Hoy | |
| John Siffert | |
| Jim Allen |
Florence introduced the guests present at the meeting.
| Guests: | State Representative | Bruce Anderson |
| Wright County Water Patrol | Joel Mackerath | |
| Buffalo City Council | Marcia Paulsen | |
| Wright County Commissioner | Ike Eichelberg |
Chairperson Florence Deutsch called this annual meeting of the Lake Pulaski Improvement District to order at 7:00 PM.
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS ANNUAL MEETING
M/S/C: Judie Rose moved to recommend approval of the 1998 annual meeting minutes. Motion seconded by Greg Hules. Motion passed unanimously.
Wenck: Kent Torve, a representative from Wenck Associates, spoke on the Water Quality Management Plan. Wenck designed and constructed the screening building, which screen milfoil from the Lake Pulaski before reaching Buffalo Lake. The pumping is done at 6000 gallons per minute. The screen building is not a onetime operation. It is ongoing and very unique. It will remain important as development increases.
Water Quality Management Plan: Two Major Focuses
- Study effects of development on the water quality of the lake
- What can be done about it now before all the residential developments come in.
Top Five Facts
Watershed is 29% developed
Increase to 85% developed
Water quality will remain good
Small land area to lake
Ground water is major factor.
Recommendation
Study Pulaski Pond
50% watershed drains into pond Measure current treatment capacity Protect future treatment capacity
Treat Runoff from Douglas Addition
- Divert to Pulaski Pond
- Build pond near boat landing
Mr. Torve explained the use of the holding ponds. The ponds treat water through detention time. The longer you can keep the water still, the phosphorous has time to settle. By holding the water still for at least 20 days, 50 % of the phosphorous is dissolved.
There was discussion regarding the pond in front of Greenbriar Estates. It was explained that the water level never seems to change regardless of the amount of rainfall.
Cooperate with city on new developments. All new developments Must pass through the planning process to review run off.
General Policies
Lake Shore Erosion Protection
The DNR provides information on what landowners can do so that their lakeshore doesn’t erode.
Promote Phoshorous – Free fertilizer use
Soil tests can be sent to the U of M for $7.00 to let you know if you need phosphorous. Other cities have passed an ordinance where phosphorous fertilizers cannot be used in the lake areas. This can be brought up with the city.
Continue street sweeping
Encourage the city to continue street sweeping. This is done two times yearly at least.
2. 1999 BOATING REGULATIONS:
Joel Mackerath, representing Wright County Water Safety Patrol, explained the boating rules and regulations for boating on the area lakes. There are only two people for water patrol to cover the 160 area lakes. The patrol is looking for boat registration, life jackets; accessible and fits, and for a 16 foot or longer boat, the presence of a whistle on board. The patrol is not out there to ticket you. They are out there to educate you and keep the lakes safe. New boating handbooks were available as well as boat safety tests for kids.
There was discussion regarding skiers on the lake. Joel explained that there is no limit as to how close the skier can come to a boat. Personal watercraft need to be 150 feet away from the shore. Also must stay 150 feet away from a dive flag.
LID Association Annual Meeting Page 3
Careless Boating was addressed. Joel stated that if you witness careless boating, you should call the Buffalo Police or 911. It was suggested that Lake Pulaski develop a volunteer water patrol. Joel stated that 90% of the visibility out on the lake will eliminate problems.
Volunteer patrols have a flag on their boat to act as a visible patrol. No training is needed to be a volunteer patrol, just a background check and approval of the lake association. A volunteer sign up sheet was sent around at the meeting.
3. WATER QUALITY REPORT:
Barr Engineering conducts a study of the lake every 2 – 5 years. This study checks for particles and plant flora. This tells us how clean the lake is. The study remains consistent from year to year. John Siffert explained the Secchi disk readings. The disk is lowered into the lake and when the disk can’t be seen, that point is measured. The disk was seen at 5 meters in June and 2 meters in August during the summer of 1998.
In regards to developments around the lake, the developers start out with the pond plans. From there the pond is checked by the City of Buffalo, then to Wenck, Kent Torve’s office. These offices together, act as watchdogs for the lake. Before the LID was looking at quantity of water now we are looking at quantity and quality of the water. Galen Eastlack reported that the City of Buffalo has been very helpful. It is the LID’s plan to meet with the city council this fall about the developments around the lake.
Carl Johnson reported that the lake level today was 965.00. Mr. Johnson was presented with a T-Shirt which read “Lake Pulaski Fathomologist” , a small token of the LID’s appreciation for recording the level of the lake every day.
The City of Buffalo removed the trailer that was on the North side of the lake. There is a small shack that will be removed as well.
4. MILFOIL REPORT:
Galen Eastlack reported that this is the third year of a three year cycle. There is a lot of milfoil in the lake right now. Two years ago the DNR made the rule that no one can treat Eurasian milfoil in the lake anywhere from shore to 150 feet unless they have the permission of the lake owner. There is a lot of milfoil within that range. The LID board needs people to go house to house and have the landowners sign a permission slip for treatment. A sign up sheet was sent around the meeting requesting people willing to assist in this project. City property will need to be treated and the LID board will talk to the City of Buffalo. There are people who do not want the lake treated because it is good for fishing. We need to form a committee and go house to house to get signatures. Much of the milfoil is around the north side of the lake by Pulaski Shores. There are about 220 landowners on the lake. There are 80 acres inside 150 feet that need to be treated. Every third year the milfoil needs to be treated more aggressively. The treatment of milfoil is part of the budget. This will not come out of the pockets of the landowners. After treatment, do not swim in the lake for a few days. The treatment goes right to the root system very quickly.
The treatment of the milfoil is a control issue not a destroy issue.
5. BUDGET:
Kathryn Hoy reported on the budget for 1999-2000. See enclosed budget for details. The projected budget for 1999-2000 is $35,000.
M/S/C: Nancy Biegert moved to recommend approval of the 1999-2000 Budget.
Motion seconded by Jan Volkenant. Motion passed.
6. ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Florence Deutsch and Jim Allen are up for re-election. Jim Allen resigned from the board. Nominations were opened to the floor. Merle Loken nominated Florence Deutsch. John Siffert nominated Judie Rose and Ralph Muller nominated Carl Johnson.
Ballots were counted. Results were Florence Deutsch and Judie Rose.
No Old Business.
New Business: Water Quality Lake Day sponsored by Minnesota Extension Office is August 21, 1999 at Ney Nature Center. Florence explained that this is a resource open to the public to attend. This is an excellent avenue towards understanding lake management.
Friends of the Lake, a committee sponsored by the City of Buffalo is looking for volunteers to assist in developing ideas on how to fix up the parks and fix up the areas around the lake. Contact Gary Mattson at the City of Buffalo for more information.
Florence has stencils provided by the City of Buffalo for the storm drain. The stencil is a plea not to drop refuse into the drain. It was suggested that the Boy Scouts could assist with this project. This could also be done by people needing community service hours.
Goals for the Board in the coming year are:
- Bylaws
- Meet with the city about Pulaski Ponds
- Check on Greenbriar holding pond
- Fertilizer ordinance from the city
M/S/C: Greg Hules moved to adjourn this annual meeting of the Lake Pulaski Improvement District. Motion seconded by Dan Abramowski. Motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted,
Carol Muntifering Administrative Assistant