LIA Member Meeting – May 2016

Tim Lovett welcomed everyone to the members meeting and stood for the pledge of allegiance.

Ted Bertke gave the treasurers report. Ted said there was a net income of $12,467, primarily from memberships and donations. Ted said the check book balance is $47857.00 in the LIA account for May.

Tim Lovett spoke about a new bench that was installed at Windy Point with the project being led by Stan Wilker. Tim said the bench is of all weather material and can be enjoyed by people now. Tim thanked Stan for his efforts in the project.

Mark Piening spoke about the 2016 Membership Drive that started in April lasting until May 15. Mark said memberships have been coming in with 60 percent of them including additional donations. Mark noted the board chose to send over 3000 renewal mailings to folks who live in close proximity the lake as part of an effort to gain new membership. Mark said the move paid for itself with new memberships coming in. The dues are $15 for individual and $25 for business.

Mark Piening also introduced the 2nd Annual Kickoff to Summer and 5K Color Run events to be held on June 18th on the East Bank in St. Marys. Mark said the event will feature live entertainment, food and other vendors, kids activities, cornhole and beer pong tournaments and a car cruise in. Mark said The Lakefest Committee will be hosting the burger stand and beer will be sold all to kickoff the summer at Grand Lake St. Marys. He also spoke about the Color Run which runs in conjunction with the Kickoff event and said registration is now live online.

Mark Piening Spoke about the Bar Stool Open for 2016. Mark said The LIA is still looking for a committee chairperson to run the event. Mark asked for folks to recommend a chairperson or possible committee members.

Stan Wilker spoke about the Ride for Life. Stan said while the event is not affiliated with The LIA however the Ride for Life is a great fund raiser for a great cause. Stan said there are tickets being sold for a 2016 Harley Davidson first prize and $1000 second place prize. Stan said the event culminates at the Celina Eagles.

Tim Lovett talked about the WDC Hen Farm and their decision to move its planned addition outside of the watershed. Tim said The LIA could not support such a project and attended a meeting to rally against it as well as promoting the membership to sign a petition. As a result The WDC decided to move their project outside of the watershed.

John Kaiser with ODNR presented a power point on Ohio Pollinators Habitat Initiative. John spoke about the importance of pollinating animals and insects in Ohio. He said the initiative is a grouping of different as of government and people to help improve the pollinator habitat across the state. John noted one thing folks can do to help with pollinators on their property is slow their mowing habits. He spoke specifically about Monarch Butterflies and Honey Bees and the efforts by many groups to help their populations as they are great pollinators. John said that Auglaize County is planning a pollinator habitat at the St Rt 33A and 33 on/off ramp. He said the area will be marked with a sign. John passed out some literature about the initiative and options for folks to fund their own pollinator habitats. John answered questions and concluded his presentation.

David Faler gave the Lake Update. David said lake level is 2’ below the notch and the splash pad is ready to be opened. He said the new restroom, shower house, and laundry room are just about finished and ready for permits before it is opened for public. Daivd updated for Tom Grabow. He said the dredges are in operation in several areas around the lake with a total of 56 hours of pumping a week. He noted that Pump a Little dredge was painted and is ready to be put into the water.

Tim Lovett gave the LRC update for Milt Miller. Tim spoke on the following points: The rough fish project found a large amount of rough fish but their nets got caught up on stumps in the bottom of the lake. Tim said they are looking for solutions options to get the fish out of the lake without tearing up the nets. Tim updated the memberships on the treatment train projects. He also spoke about the carp tournament to be held next weekend. Tim noted that if anyone caught a carp with a transmitter on it to please throw it back or let someone know so the transmitter can be recovered.

Tim Lovett opened the floor for questions.

Jeff Vossler drew the winner of the 50/50.

The Members Meeting concluded at 11:10am

Submitted by,

Eric Morris

Secretary

Lake Improvement Association