The meeting was called to order at 10:10 AM by President Ronnie Brown. A motion to accept the minutes from last year's meeting was made by John Ester and seconded by Lou Glatzer. The motion was passed by the membership.
Copies of the treasurer's report were made available by Chuck Retallick, Treasurer. A motion to accept the treasurer's report was made by John Sundstrom and seconded by Sally Sundstrom. The motion was passed by the membership.
The president introduced the speaker, John Ester, who's topic was "The Birds of Little Platte Lake". John discussed the advantages of Little Platte Lake with regards to the favorable habitat for our feathered friends. Amongst the other bird items he discussed included the recent "Pelican Rescue which is notated on the web site. He also included information regarding the eagles and loons on the lake. Because the loons on the lake have not successfully reproduced in the last two seasons he is looking into the possibility of building a loon platform. He then answered questions from the membership.
At 10:38 the president talked about the Lake Information brochure that was available at the back of the room. Under Old Business he then began the committee reports by introducing Lucy Swanson, Membership Committee Chair.
Lucy asked the members present to talk with their friends and neighbors who are not members of the LPLA and to encourage them to support the group by their membership. She also stated that they are looking for volunteers to assist on the Membership Committee. Discussion included an upcoming article that will be published "Benzie Current".
At 10:54 the president introduced Lynn Walker, Chairman of the Water Level Committee. Lynn informed the membership of a number of concerns which include erosion, downed wood in the National Park (which has property along the lake shore) and a proposal for a new survey (estimated cost of $300) regarding the court dictated level of 586.7' above sea level. A motion to spend the money for the survey was made by Jim Beukema and seconded by Don Franck. The motion was passed by the membership. He also indicated that the County Road Commission has sought and received a letter of support from the LPLA regarding the paving a one mile stretch of Saffron Road on the hill where it frequently washes out and causes extra sediment to be washed into the lake. Lynn then answered questions from the membership.
At 11:20 the president introduced Lou Glatzer, Chairman of the Water Quality Committee. He introduced committee members and then discussed the Secchi Disk readings, where the readings were being taken and the type of data that is being collected. This is all aimed at checking the clarity of the water, however, clarity depth does not seem to play into our lake because of the shallow depth of the lake. Phosphorus samples are being taken at the deepest part of the lake off Sylvan Point. Chlorophyll "A" and Phosphorus measurements are important but the length of time that readings have been taken lack the longevity for the results to be significant at this time. David Van Hammen received training to properly take these measurements. Lou then answered questions from the membership. He also mentioned they are looking for additional volunteers to assist with committee efforts.
At 11:39 the president introduced himself as the representative for the Fishery Committee (in the absence of Ron Troutman). He indicated that it was important to practice catch and release especially of the larger bass as they are purportedly the best breeders. He also indicated that our lake is on the list for a fish count by the state - the most recent count of that nature having been made in 1981. He also indicated that it would be necessary to send a member to as workshop on mapping the lake vegetation.
At 11:42 Chuck Retallick stated that the board had decided that the LPLA apparel business was not profitable. Contact to a couple of local businesses has been made to see if they will support LPLA apparel.
At 11:45 Chuck Retallick introduced the webmaster, Keith Farley. Keith indicated that the web site was a work in progress and frequent changes are made to the site. He suggested checking it or a regular basis and looking at the date at the bottom of the opening page which indicates when the most recent changes have been made. He also encouraged the membership to submit items for the web page and added that any items added to the web page would need to meet board approval.
At 11:47 Kathleen O'Connell made the motion to reelect the board members for another year's term. The motion was seconded by Donald Franck. The motion was passed by the membership.
A concern was voiced by Bea Lavender regarding the duck blind that remains on the east shore of the lake. Lynn Walker answered some questions regarding her concern. Lou Glatzer added that according to the information available the blind should have been taken down no later than 2 weeks after the duck season closed. Chuck Retallick related that the enforcement officer he talked with indicated that if someone saw someone using the blind, that they should report them to the authorities so that the authorities could take action. Ronnie Brown, President indicated that the board would revisit the concern of the duck blind at the next board meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:55 AM.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Keith Farley, substituting for Gretchen Staub, Secretary.
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Corrections posted on 8/26/06 by Keith Farley, substituting for Gretchen Staub, Secretary.