Friendship Lake District Annual Meeting Minutes



​FRIENDSHIP LAKE DISTRICT 
ANNUAL MEETING & BUDGET HEARING
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2023
9:00AM
ADAMS COUNTY COMMUNITY CENTER
569 N. CENTER STREET, ADAMS, WI
Draft
1.    Call meeting to order: Bob Berry called the annual meeting and budget hearing of the Friendship Lake District at approximately 9:06am. Present were commissioners Karen Pokorny, Secretary, and Sue Booth, Treasurer. Also present were Chad Rhinehart from the Town of Adams and Marcus Skelton from the Town of Preston. Tony Sindelar from the Village of Friendship and Rick Pease from Adams County were not available. Approximately 57 Lake District members were present as compared to 44 in 2022, and 60 in 2021.  
Approve minutes from previous annual meeting, September 3, 2022: Karen Pokorny presented the minutes from September 3, 2022 annual meeting. Tina Meinen made a motion to approve the annual meeting minutes and was seconded by Karen Reske. The motion was carried unanimously.  
2.  Approve Treasurer’s report fiscal year 2023: Sue Booth presented the July 31, 2023 fiscal year end treasurer’s report. Sue reported the NOW checking account had an August 1, 2022 beginning balance of $3,451.31 with transfers and deposits totalling $153,635.01, interest earned of $2.75, and disbursements in the amount of $155,931.45 with an ending balance of $1,157.62. The Money Market account had an August 1, 2022 beginning balance of $77,073.62 with deposits totalling $146,211.46, interest earned of $162.95, and transfers in the amount of $117,745.01 with an ending balance of $105,703.02. The Harvester Fund savings account had a beginning balance of $28,000 with deposits of $55,423.00, interest earned of $51.32, and disbursements in the amount of $38,487.15 with an ending balance of $44,987.17. Included in this report is $15,616.24 final grant payment received from the Wisconsin Waterways for the harvester trailer. Donations of $1000 were received from Adams County and $5000 from the Friends of Friendship Lake. Final payment of $28,000.00 was paid for the new trailer and $2000 was paid for winter storage of the harvesting equipment. Sue said that there are two loans outstanding with One Community Bank. The Dam loan balance is $345,090.67 and has an annual payment of $29,446.07 due in October. The Harvester loan balance is $221,394.49 and has a biannual payment of $13,785.94. Karen Reske made a motion to approve the fiscal year 2023 treasurer’s report and was seconded by Larry Swaziek. The motion was carried unanimously.
3.  Presentation and submission of the annual audit:  Sue Booth presented the Friendship Lake District Annual Audit Report beginning August 1, 2022 ending July 31, 2023. The audit was performed by lake district members, Chuck Spargo, Carol Berry, and Lawrence Swaziek who performed a certified review of the financial records and found them in proper order.  
4.  Discussion, recommendations and possible action on board members being compensated: Bob Berry opened the floor to discuss the possibility of implementing a stipend for the Board of Commissioners of Friendship Lake District, specifically the Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer. Karen Pokorny shared that per Wisconsin Statutes this decision can only be made at the annual meeting by property owners.  After a lengthy discussion with input from the property owners , Tom Bell made a motion that the three elected board members of Friendship Lake District, Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer receive a base stipend in the amount of $150.00 per calendar year and an additional amount of $35.00 per board meeting with a cap of 10 meetings per year or a total of $500 per board member. Additional questions and discussion on the motion was given and the motion was seconded by Chuck Spargo, passed 56 to 1 in favor of the stipend.
 5.    Review and consideration of Budget for FLD fiscal year 2024:  Chuck Spargo, chairman of the Financial Advisory Committee, began his presentation with an overview of the work done by this committee, as well as introduction of the members, Bob Berry, Carol Berry, Sue Booth, Karen Pokorny, Fran Schmidt, and Larry Swaziek. Chuck explained that this committee begins the annual fiscal budget review in April and meets monthly until it is finalized. Sue Booth shares accounting of the district, the financials are reviewed and the proposed budget is prepared. Chuck spent over an hour detailing the 2024 budget proposals, the 2023 actuals, with a line by line explanation, as well as answered questions. After all questions were answered, it was recommended by the property owners that the 2024 budget should be increased to include the $1500.00 commissioners stipend and $5700.00 to cover the recent cost to repair the harvester truck. Dann Reske made a motion to approve the amended proposed 2024 fiscal year budget, including the increases for commissioner stipend and truck repair, and was seconded by Karen Reske. The motion was carried unanimously.  
6. Consideration tax levy for operating costs and repayment of debt detailed in the proposed 2024 budget: Chuck detailed how the revenue needed for operating expenses and debt service is determined, along with the mill rate proposed. Chuck will update the recently approved 2024 budget data to reflect the approved increases. The change will increase the proposed mill rate by a small amount. Chuck will amend the spreadsheet to reflect the changes. After discussion and questions answered, Mike Koonce made a motion to approve the amended 2024 tax levy for operating costs and repayment of the debt. The motion was seconded by Jean Trost. The motion was carried unanimously. 
7.  Report from Lake Management Committee: Mike Koonce presented the 2023 annual lake management report. Mike detailed harvesting hours, hauling of weeds, maintenance and training. In 2022 we had a total of 868.5 work hours vs. 1,195.25 in 2023 year to date. Total weeds removed in 2022 was 206.5 vs. 299 as of today's date. The DNR allows harvesting till September 15th. The lake water testing was performed in May, June, July, and August and was sent onto the DNR for analysis. The lake was tested for PFAS this summer with test results showing very low elements of PFAS. The property owners then went into a lengthy discussion and concern of the amount of weeds this summer. Many ideas, suggestions, and opinions were shared. Bob Berry recommended that we form a committee to investigate how we can improve our lake weed situation in the future. Bob Berry will meet with anyone interested in serving on this committee after today’s meeting. 
8.  Discussion, recommendations, and possible action on lake level: Bob is recommending this year that we lower the lake at least 6 to 12 inches to allow for spring thaw of snow and ice. Chuck Spargo recommends a temporary drawdown of the lake this year. Chuck said the underwater stumps and debris are a major concern of potential damage to our equipment, especially on the East side of 11th Avenue. In addition to being a harvester operator, Chuck Spargo also manages the lake levels at the dam. After lengthy discussion by the property owners, with questions and opinions shared it was proposed that we have a temporary two(2) foot drawdown as measured by staph gauge at the dam beginning September 29, 2023 and ending October 9, 2023. This drawdown will allow our harvesting operators to mark underwater stumps and property owners to perform shoreline maintenance. Karen Pokorny will mail notices to all owners, place a notice in the newspaper and have radio announcements made. The notice will include that it is recommended that property owners remove their watercraft by September 24th to prevent any damage. Bob Berry asked for a hand count on the proposed temporary drawdown and the proposal passed 56 to 1. Chuck will begin lowering the lake level on September 24, 2023, following required no more than 6 inches per day. The water level will return to the summer level from mid October to the end of November. 
9.  Report from the Harvester Program Coordinator:  Mark Weber was unavailable today so Chuck Spargo gave the report. In spring the new trailer arrived. The harvester had issues with the hydraulic system, tank leaking which was replaced and under warranty. Aquarius will be replacing the hydraulic motor for raising and lowering the front end, also under warranty. In Spring we had three new operators hired who all declined the position after finding full time work. We had five returning operators including Mark Weber the coordinator. One operator quit during the summer.  Chuck shared he was a new hire this year. It's important to remember that the machine cannot go into less than three feet of water to harvest. We have a DNR approved weed harvesting map with designated protected fish habitats that we are not allowed to harvest. Chuck said that the drought and lack of water flowage into the lake has made the weed growth extensive. Chuck said that there are some new DNR proposals with probability of updating all lake bathymetry maps as well as reporting daily work log electronically. 
10. Report from Dam Advisory Committee:  Chuck Spargo reported that on August 7, 2023, the dam was inspected by Ayres Engineering and a representative from the DNR. He presented pictures of two small areas on or near the dam that have been placed on watch only. There is a small crack in the concrete near the dam gates and on the west side of HWY 13 there is some seepage. It was recommended that some of the foliage may need to be trimmed in that area. This may need to be done along with the help of the Village of Friendship who maintains that area. A complete report will be sent within the next month or so with formal recommendations. Chuck thanked all the property owners who have really helped and prevented tree trunk and limb debris from flowing towards the dam. Chuck shared that he has had a few conversations with two gentlemen who may be interested in getting the dam powerhouse operational to produce power. They plan to meet in the next few months to see the feasibility of the project. Chuck said that a few years ago it was projected the cost to get the dam operational would be around $30,000.00. The downside is that as of today it may be more like $50,000.00 to get it up and running to produce power.  
11.  Report from Friends of Friendship Lake:  Carol Berry shared that the 2023 big raffle ticket fundraiser raised over $4,100.00. Two brat fry’s were held this year, one at the Spring Ducky Derby and one at Ace during the 4th of July holiday weekend. Both were successful raising around $1000 together. The annual golf outing was held on August 5th and we were able to raise over $7700.00. Carol said that all money raised this year was dedicated towards the harvester equipment replacement costs. Carol finally announced that she can no longer serve as the Friends of Friendship Lake Fundraising Chair. Carol said with her full time position she does not have enough time to dedicate to this position. Carol did state that she will continue to help out and support this group in the future. A big thank you was given to Carol and a round of applause by all present. Carol presented two checks to the district, one for $5000.00 the annual donation towards the budget, and one for $15,000.00 to be used towards payment of our outstanding loans.  
12.  Election of Commissioner (term ends) Treasurer:  Bob Berry asked for nominations for treasurer position. Sue Booth, our current treasurer said that with her full time job and her position as Treasurer of the Town of Preston, it is difficult to continue as our treasurer because of the time required. Carol Berry nominated Chuck Spargo for treasurer, who respectfully declined. Sue Booth said that because no one has come forward, she could continue as our treasurer, however if there would be someone interested in taking over her position she would be happy to work with them for an easy transition and then resign. Bob asked a second time for nominations for the treasurer position and Karen Pokorny made a motion to nominate Sue Booth as treasurer. Bob Berry asked a third time for any nominations for the treasurer position and no additional nominations were made. Chuck Spargo seconded the motion to nominate Sue Booth as treasurer and the motion was carried unanimously.  
13.  Tentative Future Commissioner Board Meeting Dates, Quarterly/Monthly: 
November 2023; April 2024; May 2024; June 2024; July 2024, August 2024, November 2024: 
14.  Set date for next Annual Meeting & Budget Hearing: 
August 31, 2024(Labor Day Weekend.
15.  Adjournment:  Rich Wieloch made a motion to adjourn and was seconded by Dann Reske. The motion was carried unanimously.

Respectfully
Karen Pokorny
Commissioner Secretary
September 15, 2023