LIA Members Meeting
10 a.m. May 4, 2013
Minutes
Celina Moose Lodge
Board Members Present: President Tim Lovett, Vice President Mark Pienning, Sgt. of Arms Dave Eyink, Treasurers Ted and Diane Bertke, Secretary Eric Morris, Trustees Stan Wilker, Jeff Vossler, Tom Rampe, and Brian Morris. Absent was Trustee Dave Meyer due to a prior obligation.
Tim Lovett welcomed everyone and led the pledge of allegiance.
Time Lovett welcomed the new Secretary Eric Morris to the board. He also notified the members of Board Member Daniel Shenking’s resignation.
Ted Bertke gave the treasurers report:
Beginning of April $46789.42
Income 14455.71
Expenses 6431.19
May 1 Balance $54813.94
Stan Wilker spoke about the LIA Golf Tournament that is to be held at 1pm on June 15th. He said that the LIA is still looking for hole sponsors. Mark Piening commented on Kroger being a big sponsor for the golf outing and recognized their part in the special event.
Mark Piening spoke about the Bar Stool Open meeting that was held in the past month. He noted that only a few bars attended the meeting, but positive ideas came out of it. He will put all the info they discussed at the meeting into an info packet and distribute it.
Dave Eyink offered a report on the Membership Drive. He said two-thirds of the membership base has already renewed.
Mark Piening added to Dave’s information by saying “Word of mouth is the best way to get new members.” He then updated members on the membership drive and spoke about the 4×6 postcard that they may be receiving to remind them to renew their membership. He also spoke about the Membership Challenge to have everyone go out and find just one more person to join, and noted that if that happens we can double the LIA membership base. Mark spoke about the Discount Card and commented that if you renew before May 20th we will mail it directly to your house but if you renew after you must come to the meeting to pick your card up.
Tim Lovett spoke about things that are impacting the lake. He spoke about everyone’s ability to receive funding towards adding an aeration device to their channels. Tim spoke about how the Parks Department had to remove trees due to the Emerald Ash Borer. He said that if people want to donate a tree it is possible to do so for $150.00 and that the trees will be planted in the fall.
Donna Grube CVB Director talked about the annual “Get the Carp Outta Here” Tournament. She spoke about getting as many people out to the tournament as possible. She said that there are only 23 “tagged” carp in the lake and If you pull one of the tagged carp out of the lake you will win $100 automatically. (there are only 23 tagged carp” She said that we are in need of volunteers to help out for an hour for either the east or west bank during the tournament. Last year we took 13,500 lbs of carp out of the lake during the tournament and the year before it was 8,000 lbs which all helps the phosphorus levels in the lake. She noted that we would like to increase that this year as always.
Terry Mescher with The Ohio Division of Soil and Water was present to talk about watershed and how they are going out and doing site inspections and sending their results to the AG. He noted that they are looking at 158 operations of which 60 of them have been approved by the end of April. They are working with the group Ag solutions and are looking at a 5 year time frame to get fix the problem entirely.
Co- Founder of Mad Scientist, Mark Dilley, spoke about what Mad Scientist is finding in areas around the lake. “One of our biggest problems is the presence of oxygen in water that fluctuates on a daily and seasonal basis. Mark had a presentation about the issues that Grand Lake St. Marys is facing and how we are addressing those issues. Included in the presentation were all the different types of aeration. Mark mentioned all the benefits of having oxygen in the water (aeration) and how we can balance it out to help restore water quality. Mr. Dilley answered questions about plant life in the lake and the oxygen levels in the lake.
Brian Miller State Park Manager gave an update on the Lake Restoration Commission for Milt Miller and also gave a lake update. He said that the lake is high right now and that the gates are closed if they were wondering. Dock Fees were due this past month and if you have not paid yet there will be a late fee added to the cost. They are going to get the buoys out in the next few weeks. He also commented on the loss of the trees mentioned earlier due to the Emerald Ash Borer, he mentioned that they have planted some new trees, purchased under the memorial program, in the past few weeks.
Brian spoke about the newly installed Solar Bees and the linear aeration system that was donated to the City of Celina from the Celina Lions Club. He mentioned that to this point the Parks Dept. has pulled out 5,200 pounds of carp already this spring. He said that the water temperature is getting high enough now that they are becoming more active and he encouraged people to go out and fish. He spoke about the low probability of tall vegetation growing around the additional low wetlands in the Prairie Creek area of the lake. He also mentioned that a lot of Dayton area residents are coming up to visit our lake. He also mentioned that a lot of Dayton area residents are coming up to visit our lake. He said that since 2008 we saw a 23% decrease in Bed Tax, However in 2012 he saw a 8% increase in bed tax which shows that people are steadily coming back to the area. He noted that we are having trouble with the electronics on one of the Airy Gators in the lake but it is being fixed. Wright State owns several acres across the street from the campus on 703. Wright State has agreed to let us use it for spoil removal related to dredging related operations.
He stressed that all your safety equipment should be checked before you get your boats out for the summer. He said to make sure your fire extinguisher is up to date as well as your licenses. Brian answered several questions from members regarding several different issues. Brian also spoke about several events coming up. The new east bank dog park will be open on May 15th people are welcome to come out for the opening event. There will also be a Bicycle Poker Run on June 8th.
Dave Eyink LIA Board Member Drew the winner of the 50/50.
The Members Meeting concluded at 11:10am
Submitted by,
Eric Morris
LIA Secretary