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Summer 2011 Newsletter |
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2011 Newsletter Board Officers & Members: Co Chairs: Mike Rancour (Goodrich) & Open Position (O’Brien) Secretary: Open Position Treasurer: Dwight Seward O’Brien Members: George Chuba, and Bob Mattson Goodrich Members: Kathy Royce, and Miles Johnson 2011 GOLA Meeting Dates All meetings are on Saturdays at the Crosslake American Legion Club. September 4, 10:30 A.M – Business Meeting After the business meeting we are planning to participate in the American Legion Pork Chop Lunch. We did this two years ago and the meal was great at a bargain price. If they do not have the pork chop lunch then we will have a potluck. Watch the sign at the end of Bonnie Lakes Road and the bulliten board at the Y for notice of potluck or Legion Pork Chops. If we do have a potluck the assignments are: A-I salad, J-Q dessert, R-Z entrée. 2012 GOLA Meeting Dates At the July 2011 meeeting there was a motion made, second and approved to move future Spring and Summer meetings to 9:00. O’Brien Launch Site The old launch site between the lakes is planned to be open on twice in the fall: Saturday September 3, 1:00 to 3:00 pm Saturday October 22 10:00 to noon These are proposed times which still need to be approved by Fairfield Township. If needed updated times will be posted on the Y bulliten board. If you could help staff the launch contact George Chuba. GOLA received a notice of “Opportunity To Comment” regarding a potential new launch site. The notice is attached to this newsletter and posted at the Y bulliten board. Members are encouraged to send their comments to David Clute, NNR Parks and Trails, 1601 Minnesota Drive, Brainerd MN 56401 or via email to david.clute@state.mn.us. GOLA Website The lakeshore association website can be located at http://www.golamn.org. The hosting service is being provided by Crosslake Communications at a reduced rate. This site is the fastest way to get information out to members. Bring your ideas for content to the meetings or send an email to rancourm@aol.com. GOLA Directory A new association is available. If you paid dues in 2009, 2010 or 2011 your directory was mailed with the Newsletter or hand delivered if you didn’t pick it up at a meeting. Anyone attending a meeting can pick one up. If you paid dues and didn’t receive one send an email to rancourm@aol.com or contact Mike Rancour. Exotic Weeds Milfoil continues to spread to lakes throughout Minnesota. Remember to remove any weeds that cling to the bottom of your boat, motor or trailer. Remind your friends to do this each time they launch a boat. Annual Membership Dues We encourage everyone with property on the lake to join our association. The last page of the newsletter has a form to submit with your annual dues. Dues are $20 per year per household. The last year you paid dues is in the upper right of the address block of the newsletter. Please make your checks out to GOLA and mail to PO Box 674, Crosslake, MN 56442-0674. Contributions to the Walter Israel Fish fund are tracking separately and by lake. If you send fish fund contributions along with dues, please let us know how much for each. The next stocking will be in 2012. Water Quality Testing Complete testing for water quality continues to be done on a regular basis. Temperature, dissolved oxygen, PH, and specific conductivity are done at two meters of depth. A secchi disk reading is also done to measure water clarity. Lowering the disk and taking two water samples only takes a few minutes, but should be done each month from June to September to monitor the long term trends. The team of Paul Krueger and Bob Mattson has been testing O’Brien. Miles Johnson and Bob Stock are Goodrich team. The information collected is available on the DNR website at: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/index.html (when state government functions resume). The latest secci disc reading were 23 feet for O’Brien and 10.5 feet for Goodrich. This are in line with historical readings. Legislative Update While the overall budget is at an impasse, there was action on some natural resource bills. The Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) bill, which was included in the Omnibus Environment Policy Bill, was signed into law by Governor Dayton on May 27. In the DNR News Release, Commissioner Tom Landwehr said, "Aquatic invasive species threaten the lakes and rivers that are so valued by Minnesotans. With the support of Governor Dayton, legislators and water resource users, we are ramping up the battle to stop the spread of zebra mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil and other aquatic invasive species." Governor Dayton signed the Environment Policy bill into law on May 27. While the Environment Policy Bill included the vital aquatic invasive species (AIS) laws, it also included several concerning environmental issues. The Governor vetoed the Environment Budget bill, which contained significant cuts to natural resource programs in Minnesota as well as measurable rollbacks on existing protection efforts. It is important to note that including the proposed Watercraft Surcharge Increase could help offset many of these cuts and rollbacks by generating an estimated $4 million annual revenue for aquatic invasive species prevention and management. Additionally, a proposed hunting and fishing license increase in the Budget bill could provide some of the needed funds to compensate for the proposed overwhelming cuts. Watercraft Surcharge Increase for Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention and Management - The increased AIS prevention and management efforts included in the new AIS laws will require increased funding. Minnesota Waters, the Minnesota Environmental Partnership (MEP), many lake associations, coalitions of lake associations, and numerous conservation organizations across the state co-signed a letter that was sent to legislative leaders last month. The letter requested that they create long-term funding for aquatic invasive species (AIS) programs in Minnesota by including the DNR's boat license surcharge increase as part of the final resolution of the environmental funding package for the next biennium. Developed by the MEP, the letter stresses the importance of creating an adequate and ongoing funding base to support the new AIS laws. As we all know, the efforts to prevent and effectively manage AIS require a continuing and concerted statewide commitment only possible through sustained funding. Water Rulemaking Moratorium - This bill was included in the Environment Budget bill. It would prohibit Minnesota agencies from implementing any water quality rulemaking until 2013 and delay or halt several rulemaking processes already underway or almost complete. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Pollution Control Agency have testified that they have strong concerns about how the bill would affect them as well as the Department of Health and the Board of Water and Soil Resources. The Minnesota Waters website has legislative updates and a great deal of other information of interest to lakeshore property owners http://www.minnesotawaters.org/publications#Legislative%20Updates O’Brien Launch – Opportunity to Comment The following text of a legal notice to be published in the Brainerd Dispatch on 7/3 and 7/10 was sent to GOLA by the DNR. The Minnesotal Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Trails, is proposing the purchase of a property on O'Brien Lake, described as Lot 56, Goodrich and O'Brien Shores, Section 18, Township 137, Range 26, Crow Wing County. The property, which contains approximately 0.62 acres, is located on Tamarack Road one-tenth of a mile from Bonnie Lakes Road. The Department of Natural Resources proposes to purchase the referenced property with the intent to develop a public water access. Currently, there is no public access to O'Brien Lake. Watercraft have been launched and retrieved at a private fee access site. For short periods, at the beginning and again at the end of the season, the township road authority has allowed limited access directly off Tamarack Road. In concept, a new public water access would consist of a single concrete boat ramp, a boarding dock, a parking area with car/trailer spaces, and design features for managing storm water runoff. The type of surfacing utilized throughout the proposed water access and the total number of parking spaces developed will be determined during facility design. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Trails, will accept public comment concerning this proposed acquisition until July 12, 2011. Written comments may be sent to David Clute, DNR Parks and Trails, 1601 Minnesota Drive, Brainerd, MN 56401, or e-mailed to david.clute@state.mn.us. For more information call 218-833-8717. 2010 GOLA Survey 55 surveys were returned and the results were: What times do you prefer for the Association meetings? 67% Current Schedule, Saturday morning closest to the 3 major holidays 16% Saturday mornings the week before the three major holidays 9% Saturday mornings the week afer the three major holidays Which of the following activities should the association continue? 82% Yearly newsletter 73% Email alerts 65% Website updates 71% Lake monitoring for invasive weeds 51% O'Brien old launch monitoring 75% Fish stocking 76% Publish lake directory 76% Maintain the GOLA website What new activities should the association undertake? 27% Shoreland management commitee I would be willing to help with: 11% Being a board member 9% Publish lake directory 2% Finding guest speakers 7% Boat launch staffing 2% Fish stocking 15% Lake water quality monitoring Comments End meetings by noon. Concerned with the speed of traffic around the lakes. Work with Crow Wincounty Soil and Water Conservation District to apply for cost share grants for riparian buffers. We shold begin to educate homeowners on the benefits of native plantings along our shores and the negative impact of bluegrass to our shore. We love this lake because of its pristine waters but our actions are impacting its future. Purple loostrife eradication. Start meetings at 9:00 on the current schedule. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Goodrich O’Brien Lake Association Membership Signup Form Last Name(s): ______________________________________________________ First Name(s): ______________________________________________________ Home Address: _____________________________________________________ City, State, & Zip Code: ______________________________________________ Home Phone: _________________________ Lake Address: ______________________________________________________ Email Address: ________________________ Special Crosslake Mailing Address (P.O. Box): ____________________________ Please send the annual newsletter to me via: ______ email ______ U.S. postal mail ______ I’ll just download it from the website Please mail to: Goodrich O’Brien Lake Associaton P.O. Box 674 Crosslake, MN 56442 Or give to a board member Yearly membership dues are $20 per household. Donations for fish stocking are tracked in a separate fund (Walter Israel Memorial Fund). __ |