Lilly Lake
Protection
& Rehabilitation District
Rev. 17-May-2010
May 15, 2010 meeting
summary
The spring meeting took place on May 15, 2010, in the Town Hall. Board
members present: Bill Glembocki, Andy Lois, Bob Herda, and
Sheila Siegler. Visitors included Kathy Aron of Aron & Associates,
DNR Recreational Safety Warden John Bronikowski, and DNR Water
Management Specialist Heidi Kennedy. Below are brief notes on the main
topics that came up during the meeting.
Water Patrol Officers
This year, we will have two Water Patrol Officers: Jacob Costello and
Ron Hecker. Between them, they'll cover peak times at the lake. There
will be coverage over the busy July 4 weekend. They are there to
enforce the laws. Weather conditions may result in some uncovered
times. E.g., if it's raining, they won't come out, even if later the
rain stops and the sun comes out. It will be their call.
Voting
WI State Statute Chapter 33 (available on the Town web site
www.townwheatland.com under the Lilly
Lake Protection & Rehabilitation District link) specifies
voting rules for a Lake District. To vote, you must be at least 18
years old and living in the District or be the owner who's paying the
tax bill. Everyone who fits that description in a household gets one
vote. E.g., if there are 6 adults in your household, all 6 can vote,
just like in a state or national election.
Proxy or absentee voting is NOT allowed.
Why not? During state and national elections you can vote absentee.
Yes, but in those elections you have a chance to read about the issues
and listen to the candidates through the media. In a Lake District, the
meeting is the only chance you have to hear all the arguments. How do
you know how you'll vote before you hear the discussion? The Town
cannot just decide to supersede a state statute.
Issues to be voted on must have prior notice
You can discuss an issue in a meeting, but if it's not on the
distributed agenda, you can't act or vote on it. Any issue you want to
vote on must be submitted 30 days ahead of the meeting to be included
on the agenda. This lead time is necessary to ensure that there is
enough time to create the agenda and print and mail the meeting notices.
Weed control application and permit
Marine Biochemists, the applicator, was out on the lake reviewing the
entire shoreline and will schedule the application. So far, milfoil and
curly leaf are not bad. Those are the only weeds to be treated.
Grant money
Tom Kaczmarek reported on the DNR grant situation. At first he was told
that grants are available. Then he learned that the grants are not just
for weed spraying. There are lots of extra requirements, e.g.,
volunteers have to man the boat ramps 200 hours/season and pull weeds
and plant native species; there has to be a 3- to 5-year money
commitment. Lilly Lake can't possibly meet all the requirements for a
grant.
Zebra mussels
Zebra mussels are the next threat to the lake. They're next door to us.
It's just a matter of time before someone (probably a fisherman) brings
them here. Fisherman tend to move between lakes, especially during a
tournament. The nymphs are microscopic. You can't see them being
brought into the lake on a boat.
Clean Boats, Clean Waters (http://dnr.wi.gov/lakes/CBCW/about.html)
Wisconsin has a new Clean Boats, Clean Waters program to help prevent
the spread of invasive aquatic species. It sets very stiff fines
(starting at $200 for first offense and up to $700 for subsequent
offenses) for transporting weeds between lakes on a boat. (See http://dnr.wi.gov/lakes/CBCW/2009AISLawsQuickGuide.pdf
for a summary of fines.) You must remove all weeds from your boat as
you leave a lake. You can throw them on the ground or put them in the
garbage containers provided. You cannot travel with weeds hanging from
your motor. Any Wisconsin law officer can ticket you.
Citizens who observe violations of the law can call the DNR tip line at
1-800-TIP-WDNR (800-847-9367). This tip line is open 24 hours/day, 365
days/year. We probably need a serious group of volunteers to monitor
for violations during busy weekends.
Education
You are responsible for making sure that you and your visitors know
about and adhere to the boating laws. There is a real need to educate
even
our own people.
Signage
There's going to be so much information on the new signs at the boat
ramp that people will be overwhelmed and won't read it all. One idea to
grab attention is to put a chain across the boat launch with a hanging
sign. As people unhook the chain, they'll see the warning about
transporting weeds. The DNR tip line number should be on the signage.
Mooring slips at Lily Lake Resort
The Lily Lake Resort is renting boat slips. They currently have 6 of
them. Is that legal? Isn't there a way to tax that activity?
You are allowed 2 watercraft (that includes boats, pontoons, Jet Skis)
for the first 50 ft of frontage and one for each additional 50 ft. Even
though the slips are in front of the motel (70 ft of frontage), the DNR
combines adjacent parcels owned by the same person when calculating the
number of watercraft that can be moored. The lounge (150 ft of
frontage) and the motel are thus allowed a total of 5 slips. They can
get a one-time
permit ($500) for the 6th slip, or they can cut back to 5.
This rule applies to homeowners too. How many have more than 2
watercraft on their 50-ft frontages? The rules apply to everyone
equally. The Resort pays taxes too. Why should they be singled out to
pay extra fees? Because this is a for-profit commercial activity. And
how many homeowners are renting space to someone else for money?
Is the Resort responsible for seeing that the boaters who are renting
slips follow the laws? Shouldn't they have to put up some signage?
No, the boaters themselves are responsible for following Wisconsin
boating laws. The Water Patrol enforces the laws. The Resort is not
renting boats, just mooring slips. Still, if there were a one-page
summary of rules that the Resort could hand out to boaters, that would
be nice. Perhaps a visit from the Constable to encourage them to hand
out rule books would be beneficial. Wave runners who come to the Resort
parties need instruction on rules.
At Powers Lake, they are renting boats and Jet Skis and experiencing
wild behavior. The businesses are providing guidance on rules.
What if your frontage is 49 ft? Do you still get 2 watercraft?
The DNR is not out to argue about small differences, and most
homeowners are grandfathered in: you are allowed to keep the piers and
watercraft that you've always had.
Water levels
The Town can write an ordinance stating that if the water meets a
certain level, it results in an automatic Slow-No-Wake (SNW). Note that
the Town can always declare an emergency SNW under extraordinary
conditions. You need a public benchmark location, like a retaining
wall. Mark the level during floods and see at what level property is
harmed. The committee looking into this dropped from 6 to 4 people.
Wasn't the committee supposed to gather data in a public spot? There
are no convenient permanent structures on which to post lake levels.
The ice moves things around. We probably need to put something like a
lot stake 2 to 3 ft into the ground.
We need to benchmark the average high level. If that's a known level,
then people can refer to it and protect their property accordingly. The
committee to look into this is Mike Adam, Ray Giesler, Tom Kaczmarek,
and Frank Waliace.
Water quality
After being trained, the testers need to report back to the community
on a regular basis. We need more than one tester so that someone is
available to test every 2 weeks and report on the first of every month.
Newsletter
We need a much more informed and cohesive lake community. That will
require a lot more education. Kathy Aron opined that the last meeting
alone produced a dozen topics that could go into a newsletter. We've
made no progress yet on creating a newsletter discussed at the last
meeting. Maybe we should start small, e.g., one newsletter a year. The
clean boat legislation and the rules about boat slips are two topics
that can go into the first newsletter.
Criteria for calling an emergency
district meeting?
A lake district must have one annual meeting of electors. The Board of
Commissioners meets 4 times to implement the annual projects approved
by the electors. A special meeting can by called by the Board or 10% of
the electors to amend the budget or pass a new project.
Board meetings require just 24-hour notice. Last year's sudden Board
meeting was necessary because time was critical to get the weed
spraying permit and spray before the weather got too warm. When a new
weed control contractor was suggested, the Board had to act quickly.
The Board and the Rehab District are two different things, and
different laws apply.
Launch fees
Powers Lake charges $7 to launch. Residents can buy an annual pass for
$15 and non-residents for $22.50. Fishermen don't like the charges.
Jim Ritchie is the man to see for the laws governing fee schedules. You
cannot charge anything you want. Lock boxes are not impervious to
tampering. The one at Eagle Lake got yanked out of its solid concrete
base.
The Board will investigate costs to buy and install a lock box and
report at the annual meeting.
NOTE: The launch charge would apply to EVERYONE, residents and
non-residents alike. What if you launch just once/year to put your boat
in for the season? What if you have several boats to launch? The law
does not allow one freebie per household.
The root problem is outsiders. How about providing a certain number of
parking spaces and charging for parking? Locals can launch and drive
their trailers back to their homes. Then when the spaces are used, no
more outsiders can come and launch.
That's not quite the case. When the parking spaces are full, NO ONE can
launch, resident or non-resident. That stops all launching. On some
lakes, residents have parked in the spaces to ensure that no more boats
get onto the lake.
Boat registration
You can only register your boat in one place at a time. That's a
federal law. If your boat is here for 60 days or its principal use is
here, then you must register it in Wisconsin. Snowbirds who use their
boats here for 6 months and in Florida for 6 months have to change
their registrations twice a year.
Annual meeting is set for August 14,
2010 at 10 AM, Wheatland Town Hall.
August 14, 2010
annual meeting summary
TO BE PROVIDED AFTER MEETING
Lake dredging history
What was the problem?
By 1970, the process of vegetation decay had filled the lake with muck
to the point where the maximum water depth was 6 ft. Weeds were
rampant.
Underlying organic sediment was 30 to 35 ft deep. Some spots were so
shallow
that you could not run a motor boat. Activities like fishing and water
skiing were very limited, and the experience was low quality. Winter
fish
kills caused dead, smelly fish to wash up on the shore in spring. No
one
was putting any money into the area. There was a real risk that
property
values would decline significantly due to the worsening condition of
the
lake.
Back to Lake dredging
What was the proposed
solution?
Studies resulted in a proposal to dredge about 890,000 cubic yards (550
acre-feet, that is, 550 acres to a depth of 1 ft) of sediment out of
the
lake to increase the depth to about 22 ft. Some of the muck was spread
on nearby farm land, but most of it was piped to a modified gravel pit
about 2 miles away (off Hwy W, south of F and FR, near the Schwarz
Nursery).
Back to Lake dredging
Who was involved in the
project?
Don Puchalski led the effort, starting in 1971. He worked with the Town
Board, engineering firms, the State, and the federal government.
Although
the project started out as a local one, new programs initiated at the
State
and federal levels offered some help with the financing. Changing
environmental
laws and financing programs delayed project start several times. At one
point, the 5-year permit ran out. The government did extensive testing
to ensure that the sludge would not harm the environment.
Engineer Associates of Elkhorn tested feasibility, prepared initial
plans, and got a permit from the Wisconsin DNR. In 1974, Jensen and
Johnson
of Elkhorn took over planning and preparation of environmental impact
statements.
Johnson and Averill of Waukesha completed the design and development of
the whole project. Robers Dredge of LaCrosse did the dredging. Mann
Brothers
of Elkhorn constructed the disposal site.
Back to Lake dredging
When and how was it
done?
Dredging occurred over 2 years: July, 1978 through September, 1979. The
first year, work started at 6 am and finished at 10 pm every day. The
second
year, it was decided to run 24 hours/day for 4 days of every week to
avoid
the jarring noise of diesel engine startup at 6 am and to allow use of
the lake on weekends..
A 12-inch cutterhead sucked out muck and weeds. Two miles of welded,
12-inch polyethylene pipe carried sludge to the gravel pits. A booster
station around the Riley and Topczewski property helped pump muck up
hill.
Property owners were paid $0.15/ft per year for a pipeline easement.
Some
of the muck was also applied to 160 acres of farmers' fields. Farmers
got
$40/acre/year for the loss of use of their land. After project
completion,
they got the benefit of decayed organic matter on their fields. People
report seeing fish coming out of the pipe at the gravel pit. The entire
shoreline was cleaned and graded at completion of the project.
During the dredging, use of the lake was minimal. The shoreline
stretched
out 200 ft in places. You could do a little boating and swimming in the
middle of the lake. One pocket (about 100 ft by 300 ft) on the north
shore
had to be left because the water level was too low to work it. It was
only
in 1980 that the lake filled back out to its present size.
Back to Lake dredging
What did it cost?
Federal: $350,000
Local: $225,000
State: $155,000
Total: $730,000
Back to Lake dredging
What are the benefits?
- Lilly Lake is consistently the cleanest lake in Kenosha County.
- All sorts of water recreation are now possible, including ice
fishing
and
water skiing (which were virtually impossible before the dredging).
- Property values have increased substantially.
- Local businesses (like the current Lily Lake Resort) can
capitalize on
the recreation the lake offers.
New muck is accumulating at the rate of about 1/4 inch per year. At
that rate, it will be about 200 years before Lilly Lake has to consider
another dredging project.
Dredging pictures
Many thanks to Kathie Cashman for these pictures of the dredging
operation. Note: The full-size
versions of the photos run 150KB to 260KB.
Dredging rig
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Lake view 1
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Lake view 2
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Dredging site in winter
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or
Back to Lake dredging
Copyright © 1999 Lily Lake Summerhaven
Association
Lilly Lake (Wisconsin)
