Little Green Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District

Markesan, Wisconsin

State of the Lake

April 15, 2010

Dear Members:

Our Annual meeting will be held on May 15, 2010 at the Markesan High School Cafeteria. Doors will open at 8:00 AM and the meeting will start promptly at 8:30 AM.

Over the last number of years I have taken time out, not to sharpen my typing skills*, but to give all of you a heads up regarding what your board has done since we last met. In the past, while we never really had an off season, this last year and particularly the last few months have been quite busy for the board. I say that because quite frankly ,and I only speak for myself, feel our little lake had a rough go of it last year and one that should not be repeated. It would be most convenient to put the blame on only one particular event or person, but unfortunately we are not blessed with such a convenience.

Last year we were assigned a new Water Resource Biologist……….Ted Johnson, and like every change there is a period of adjustment, flavored with a little angst and dis-connect. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but rather a somewhat expected circumstance when different ideologies come together for the first time. We continue to work through our issues and are making good progress in establishing a commonalty of goals and objectives. However we are not there yet and both sides still have work to do. Herbicide and harvesting permitting were beyond a doubt, the two issues that consumed an awful lot of our collective energies. For example, we were remiss in understanding the permitting requirements for harvesting. We worked through that last year, but we still have work to do on that issue…………..however I remain optimistic.

Ted will be at our annual meeting to share his thoughts on the lake. His presentation will be followed by a question and answer period. This will be everyone’s opportunity to voice their concerns. Please have your questions prepared before the meeting so everyone can learn from your thoughts as well as providing your neighbor with the possibility of raising those issues important to him/her as well.

Now for some really good news! Four years ago I applied, and we were awarded an

AIS (Aquatic Invasive Species) grant used to cover 50% of our herbicide treatment costs. The grant expired at the end of 2009 with an unexpended balance of approximately $40,000.  That is equivalent to total project costs of $80,000. Aaron Gruenwald, our resident consultant who I will speak about a little later advised me that at times the D.N.R. gave extensions to previously approved grants. Operating under the theory of “if you don’t ask you don’t get” I presented our case to Brenda Nordin who is the A.I.S. grant specialist in Green Bay. After a series of discussions and e-mails she approved my proposed budget and gave us a three year extension on our grant. Let me repeat myself, she gave us a three year extension on the $40,000 dollars remaining grant balance to be used for herbicide control. That means we have up to approximately $80,000 dollars in total project costs, allocated over three years with out having to apply for any new grant funding request at a time when the competition is fierce for these monies.

Last year, as a result of the dialogue over our harvesting permit application, the D.N.R. advised us that our existing Aquatic Plant Management Plan was out of date and not reflective of the Little Green Lake’s existing condition. Keep in mind that the Aquatic Plant Management Plan is comprised of a current assessment of the lake’s plant community and how best to manage these plants, both native and exotic, in the near and not to distant future. Work on the revised plan began over the winter months and was completed this March. The plan was submitted to the D.N.R for their review and final approval. The plan was prepared by Aaron Gruenwald, I told you I would speak about him again, and in the Board’s opinion is an outstanding and professionally well done report of the highest caliber. Just a reminder, Aaron previously worked for Northern Environmental and came to us when that company was doing the herbicide treatment. As a matter of fact, Aaron was the biologist that suggested a new herbicide formula that we tested in Lakeview Bay a few years ago. The result was outstanding.

When we first started working on the revised plan Ted Johnson suggested that we form a committee, actually a sub-committee of the board, to bring various representatives from the lake residents together in order to combine a number of different interests together assuring all of us that these varying interests were well represented. Recall, this idea was first discussed at last year’s annual meeting. The committee was chaired by Dick Schneider, and the members were Mike Boeselager, Todd Schulz, and Dave Chrorest. I want to personally thank each and every one of these individuals for donating their time and talent. Their efforts have certainly been instrumental in redefining the needs of the lake as reflected in the revised Lake Management Plan.

For those of you who are not computer challenged, and don’t feel bad if you are because there are a lot of us out there, we also have updated our web-site (www.littlegreenlake.com). The site was designed by Christy Ross and is vastly improved. We will be using the web site more and more as an extended source of communication so if you want to know the latest “happenings” that’s the place to go. Our e-mail address is on the web site so feel free to contact us via the internet. Congratulations to Christy for a job exceptionally well done.

Paul Rosenfeldt will speak to us about the recent D.N.R. notice to us regarding our responsibilities for maintaining the dam on Hwy 44. This notice came as a bit of a surprise to us, so we need to work through this issue. Also, one of our members brought up an issue regarding our by-laws and how the document references “resident requirement.” I promised not to bring up Doug’s name, so I won’t, but his insight was quite thoughtful and deserving of a response.

Financially, the District remains in a sound fiscal position and should be able to pursue the goals and objectives incorporated in our annual budget. Our cash reserves, for debt service and major equipment repairs and replacement, remain in place and were not accessed at all this last year. We will talk a little more about this during the meeting.

Finally, I am saddened to say that our Treasurer Chuck Merlin, whose term is up, has decided not to run again for office. Chuck’s love for the lake and his dedication and commitment to that position is exceeded only by his love and devotion to his family. My heart felt thanks to Chuck for the many years of service to the District. His presence on the board will be sorely missed.

I, as in the past, would like to leave you with some reflective thoughts:

A bit of wisdom from the great Prussian mathematician Jacobi “All I want to know is where I’m going to die, so I’ll never go there.”

“If you can actually count your money you are not really a rich man” J. Paul Getty

“The taxpayer is someone who works for the Federal government but doesn’t have to take a civil service examination.” Ronald Reagan

See you at the Meeting,

Gregg Cygnar

Gregg Cygnar

Chairman

* Intentionally done