Home

Cedar Lake Improvement District (CLID) Annual Meeting Minutes
held on April 11, 2017, 7:00-8:30 pm at the New Prague Fire Station

Attendees: Marie Jaeger, Joel Larson,  Barb Novotny, Melissa Bokman of SWMO, Tim Singleton, Tim Schroeder (nominees for two board positions) and approximately 50 district residents.

Agenda
     -Introduction - Marie Jaeger
     -Board Member Elections - Marie Jaeger
     -Carp Tagging Study - Carp Solutions
     -Treasurer's Report - Marie Jaeger
     -Code Red - Marie Jaeger
     -Curly Leaf Pondweed Treatment Update - Joel Larson
     -Carp Kabob Tournament - Barb Novotny
     -Lake Vegetation Management Programs - Melissa Bokman

Marie opened the meeting with introductions of current board directors, two board candidates, Melissa Bokman of Scott Watershed Management Organization (SWMO) and the Carp Solutions team.  Marie also briefly discussed a map showing the 457 properties included in the CLID and the main road boundaries.

Marie reviewed board requirements and election terms.  Two board directors, Gary Morrison and Jon Nordrum were up for re-election this year but both declined to run for another three-year term.  Marie and the board expressed appreciation for all of their contributions for the last few years.  Marie then introduced two candidates who applied to fill the vacant 3-year terms:  Tim Singleton and Tim Schroeder.  Both were unanimously elected by a vote from the property owners in attendance.

Carp Solutions, a company that specializes in surveying carp infestations and constructing sustainable management plans, was hired by SWMO to complete a project on Cedar Lake.  SWMO chose to do a carp study because carp management is listed on the approved Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Implementation Plan.  The study would then provide data on carp population in Cedar Lake to learn the magnitude of the problem of invasive carp and options to control them. 

Przemek Bajer and Jordan Wein of Carp Solutions then explained their study and results.  They started work in the summer of 2016 by estimating the population of carp using boat electrofishing surveys.  They also implanted radio transmitters in 20 live carp and released them so the carp’s location could be tracked.  They gave all other carp that were captured and released a mark on their fin to indicate that they had been captured previously.  A sample of carp in a range of sizes was collected and lab analysis revealed the carp’s age.  Doing so helped them determine an effective management plan.  Part of that plan was to use commercial fishermen to net a group of carp before the ice had melted on the lake. When Carp Solutions tracked the carp in the winter, two main aggregations of carp were in places that commercial fishermen were not willing to seine for under the ice.  Open water netting in the spring was only acceptable to them.  Carp Solutions tracked the locations of the carp with transmitters and advised the fishermen where to net.  In total, the fishermen were able to net 442 carp on April 7, 2017 at the southern end of the lake.  Only 3 of the 20 tagged carp were in this group so the carp had already disbursed from their two larger winter groups.

In summary, Carp Solutions estimated a population of about 7,000 carp in Cedar Lake.  The average size of adults was around 30 inches and about 14.5 pounds.  There were many ages of carp determined by lab analysis with a range of 0 years old (spawned in 2016 when captured) to over 40 years old.  Overall, it appeared there are only a few young carp surviving each year.   Bluegill sunfish eat carp eggs and Cedar has a nice population of them so that could be one possible factor. 

In general, if the Cedar Lake Improvement District can reduce the population of carp by about 10% each year (700 carp), Carp Solutions predicted a sustainable drop in the overall population of carp in Cedar Lake.   To accomplish this, their recommendations included:  using existing radio transmitters to find large aggregations of carp, winter seining if possible, open water netting in early spring and late fall, hold the carp bow-hunting tournament,  monitoring presence of young carp, and continue boat electro-fishing 1-2 days per year.

Marie reviewed 2016 (1/1/2016-12/31/2016) expenses.   The budget approved from last year’s meeting exceeded the actual expenses paid out in 2016.  She also presented the 2017 budget detailing expenses for weed treatment, carp management, liability insurance, and general expenses.  No objections were raised to the proposed budget and it was approved by meeting attendees.

Marie then discussed an emergency notification service offered by Scott County to residents called Code Red.  Notifications can be about any public safety concerns (severe weather warnings, missing child reports, flooding/no wake, etc.) specific to areas within the county and can be sent at any time of the day and night.  Residents have the option to sign up for notifications sent to them via email or phone calls or both.  The number for enrolling at Scott County is 952-496-8181.

Joel reviewed the chemical treatments by PLM, displayed a lake map detailing the treatment areas, and provided a yearly breakdown of budgeted and actual costs since 2012.  The CLID is well under budget mainly due to the optional grant funding by the DNR and the competitive bidding by the lake treatment company (PLM) over the years.   The DNR’s budget was slashed in 2016 so funding for any lake projects were much smaller if awarded.  Melissa Bokman applied as soon as possible to request the maximum grant of $4,999 which was awarded by the DNR for this year’s treatment.

Joel also provided an overview of the 2017 Lake Vegetation Management Plan which is to treat 400 acres.    Each area has been treated over three years per the DNR-approved plan.  After this year’s treatment, all five areas of the lake have been treated at least twice.  The CLID, SWMO and DNR have agreed that detection and spot treatment of curly leaf infestations will continue after the planned areas are completed.  CLID’s funding continues via the approved 10-year tax levy through 2022.

Barb discussed the Carp Kabob Tournament to be held May 19-20 with June 2-3 as back-up dates if poor weather forces postponement.  Everyone is invited to attend the carp weigh-in and prize awards tentatively set for 5:30 a.m., May 20th,,  at the east public access/boat launch parking lot.   Sam Dresow has applied for funding from SWMO which has been awarded in past years that fund the tournament prize monies.  We are again allowing 10 boats this year to participate.  The CLID and SWMO are collaborating to offer this tournament as part of the overall Lake Management Plan to eliminate carp.

Melissa Bokman from SWMO gave a recap of the Lake Vegetation Management Plan for new members at the meeting: its purpose, goals, and current results of vegetation surveys.  She described aquatic invasive species, laws concerning the cleaning and draining of boats and water-related equipment, the required 21-day dry time for lifts and docks and the authorization form required by law to transport such equipment. She also discussed permit requirements for weed removal and treating private shorelines. 
Meeting concluded with a question/answer segment and adjourned by 8:30 p.m.

Next board of directors meeting is at 6:30 pm at the New Prague Library on May 9, 2017.