LIA Meeting
10:00 a.m. August 2, 2014
Minutes
Held at Celina Moose
Executive Board Members Present: President Tim Lovett, Vice President Mark Piening, Sgt. of Arms Dave Eyink, Treasurer Ted Bertke and Trustees Seth Brigham, Tom Rampe, Stan Wilker, Jeff Vossler, and Brian Morris. Absent: Secretary Eric Morris and Trustee Stan Wilker due to prior obligations.
President Tim Lovett welcomed everyone to the LIA meeting and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Treasurer Ted Bertke gave the treasurer’s report. Ted started off by saying that the LIA had a net income of $1200, but that a lot of Bar Stool Open funds will be coming in soon. He reported major expenses included $2000 for aeration system subsidies, $3000 for the Governor’s Cup Regatta, and $5000 to support the LRC.
Vice President Mark Piening initiated the Board Reports. The net income from the Golf Outing was $2683. Mark thanked Stan Wilker for his outstanding efforts to put on the Outing. He also thanked Bob Sachs and Karl Schrader for donating their prize money from the Outing to the Kid’s Fishing Derby.
Trustee Seth Brigham reported preparations for the Bar Stool Open are going well and 57 teams have already signed up. He expects to get many more teams signed up this weekend. Behms will be hosting the judges for the pontoon decorations and the t-shirts. Bay View Pub will host the awarding of contest prizes. Trustee Tom Rampe reported more hole judges are needed and judging is a lot of fun.
Kids’ Fishing Derby – Mark noted the kids’ fishing derby will be on Wednesday, September 10, at the East Bank State Park. Lots of homemade cookies are needed for the kids as well as volunteers to assist the kids. If you can’t bring the cookies to the derby, contact the LIA and arrangements will be made to pick them up. Volunteers should come about 9 AM. Please volunteer to help, it is very rewarding to see the joy the fishing brings to the kids.
Zombie Fest – Mark reported the LIA’s Zombie Fest is scheduled for, Saturday, September 13th. There will be 35 to 37 food vendors present. Secretary Eric Morris has the lead and the entry fee is only $10. See the LIA website for further details.
Milt Miller updated the LIA on the Lake Restoration Commission’s activities. He noted that Best Management Practices being implemented by producers in the watershed will take time to reduce the phosphorus coming into the Lake. The three treatment train/wetlands being constructed or expanded on the Lake’s tributaries will help reduce the P in the meantime.
The construction for the expansion of the Prairie Creek treatment train will begin in early September. Milt noted the PCTT has reduced the total P in flow through it 91% and the dissolved reactive P 36%.
The Beaver Creek treatment train will be located at the south end of the Montezuma Airport on Mercer County owned land. Since it is near the airport, it will be a prairie type wetlands with tall grasses to discourage birds.
The Coldwater Creek treatment train will include a rock berm to encompass the Lake side of the wildlife area by the mouth of Coldwater Creek. It will encompass 252 acres and process 8 million gallons per day of the flow in Coldwater Creek. The side of the treatment train along the Lake will also be used as a dredge spoil area.
Milt reported the LRC had water from the Big Chickasaw tested for herbicides. The tests herbicides were present but at very, very low levels. Their concentrations would not affect plants. Milt noted that aquatic plants are growing in the Chickasaw which is further evidence that herbicides are not the cause of the loss of aquatic plants in the Lake.
Milt also reported that goose poop has been tested for phosphorus and the level is very low. So they are not really contributors to the high P in the Lake.
Milt noted that toxin concentration in the water is determined by taking a sample of the water, ultrasonically exploding the algae in the sample, and then testing the sample for the toxin concentration. When three samples were tested without exploding the algae, the toxin level is below the 6 ppb threshold established by the State requiring the posting of warning signs at the beaches. The algae in samples are exploded based upon the premise that if you ingest the Lake water, your digestive system will break down the algae cells and your system will be exposed to the toxins they contained. If one does not ingest the water when exposed to the water now, one’s skin would only be in contact with the low concentration of toxin dissolved in the Lake water. Milt also reported that Grand Lake in Oklahoma has a toxic algal problem similar to our Lake. Oklahoma broadcasts on a local radio station daily information on the status of any toxic algal blooms on the Lake and where on the Lake recreational activities are safe. Milt has talked to ODA, OEPA, and ODNR officials about the thresholds for posting warning signs at the Lake’s beaches. They will investigate what are the practices in other states concerning algal blooms, what research exists on hazards from toxic algae, and what if anything should change with Ohio’s practices. Milt emphasized that the public’s safety should be the foremost factor.
A member voiced concerns about the mowing of the embankment on the channel side of the PCTT. Milt indicated the mowing is being accomplished by volunteers and he felt it is being adequately mowed.
Lake Dredging – Tom Grabow indicated the Pump-a-Little will finish up at the Maples and then go the Southmoor Shores channels and lagoon. Brutus has finished the sailboat club channel and is now working in the Little Chickasaw. The new dredge, the Hoedag, will be delivered and assembled this week. Its delivery was delayed a little bit so some safety and reliability changes were made to it. It will go to Riley Bay first and pump into the new Wright State DMRA. The amount of material dredged this year is behind schedule due to several problems with the dredge Eagle.
Oil Derrick – Tom Grabow reported 20 tons of concrete slurry has been placed on the rocks which were added to the old oil derrick site in the Lake. The replica of an oil derrick will be installed this month on the pad which was formed in the slurry. It will include a navigation light which can be seen for three miles and will help navigation on the Lake at night. A concrete mixer truck had to be barged out to the site to place the concrete slurry. Tim noted the funds collected by the LIA for the oil derrick project a couple of years ago were contributed to the project which was undertaken by the Lake Recreation Club. When the project is completed, a press release will be released which will include the name of the individual who had donated $2500 to the LIA for the project.
Lake Level – Park Manager Brian Miller reported the Lake level was 3.5 inches above the spillway notch. This is a good level for this time of year. He noted the visitation to the Park continues to increase. He has seen a lot more traffic at the boat ramps also. He reported the shelter houses at the Park have been renovated and some of the hook ups at the camp sites have been upgraded. The splash pad for the kids will be installed next year at the park.
West Bank Road – The contract to improve the road has been awarded to VTF Construction. The work will begin after the Governor’s Cup Regatta. The bids for the extension of the West Bank walkway have been opened and the contract is expected to be awarded soon.
Fishing Enhancement Structures – Brian noted that the Tractor Supply store south of Celina had a lot of left over Christmas trees last year and donated them to the park. Several volunteers recently tied them to concrete blocks and they were placed in the Windy Point area of the Park. The structures provide fish habitat which helps to protect juvenile fish.
Goose Season – Brian reported the goose hunting season has been moved up and will begin on September 1st.
Governor’s Cup Regatta – Brian reported the Regatta is on for sure this year. The Goodwin’s are sponsoring the unlimited class in honor of Bill Goodwin, a long time businessman and camp grounds owner, who died recently. He thanked the LIA for being a sponsor this year also. Brian expects a lot of boats to participate in the Regatta this year. The boat owners all say this regatta is their favorite and they love the local support they receive. The owner’s will provide a boat for photo ops for attendees of the regatta.
Watershed Update – Frances Springer from ODNR Soil and Water reported a manure application field day was recently held in the watershed. There was a great turnout, over 90 people came and most were producers from Mercer County. Over 15 different cover crops were planted in plots for participants to see. She noted the Soil and Water staff continues to work in the watershed assisting producers in implementing best management practices to reduce nutrient runoff into the Lake.
President’s Update – Tim thanked Brad Fisher, the President of Lake Recreation Club and the Club for taking the lead on the oil derrick project. Volunteers from the Club placed the concrete slurry, provided materials for the oil derrick, and will help erect the derrick. Tim also thanked Brian Miller and Deb Himmelgarn for organizing this year’s Regatta. They have been successful in getting needed sponsors. Tim noted the fireworks were successfully fired off at the Lake Festival and they were impressive. The LIA helped sponsor the fireworks.
Marathon – The first Grand Lake marathon will be held in September. You can go to our website to connect with the organizers. They will need a lot of volunteers and you can sign up to help. Milt noted over 700 runners have already signed up for the race.
The 50/50 drawing was held. The winner donated the $34 prize money to the Kid’s Fishing Derby.
The Meeting concluded at 11:05pm
Submitted by,
Tom Rampe
Trustee
Lake Improvement Association