10-25-2021 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 10/4/2021 Each year in August we must also have a Point Intercept Survey that maps all of the existing weeds by location and type. What’s important for the Board is how much milfoil is left after the treatment, which this survey indicates. The CLP that is left after treatment has naturally died back by the time of the survey in August, and is gone. The survey showed there was 15% occurrence of milfoil (i.e., 85% reduction) left after the treatment, which is pretty good. Our goal is to be at 20% or less. Last year there was 11% occurrence and 3% in 2019. Kennefick interjected that to control the CLP we use Diquat in May, which kills some of the milfoil early on. However, as mentioned earlier, if after seven years we don’t have to treat for CLP, it may mean more milfoil to treat. In all of North Arm Bay, three years ago, the DNR allowed PLM to use another chemical, Fluridone, also known as So- nar A.S. As a result of that treatment, they now have no milfoil. North Arm was approved for Flu- ridone because it is an enclosed bay. Carman Bay is an open bay and for that reason would not be approved for this treatment by the DNR. There is some discussion about the whole Upper Lake be- ing considered as one entity and using the Fluridone chemical to treat all of it. That would be more economical, and would likely eliminate milfoil for a period of time. There was an open discussion with homeowners about options for them for native aquatic weed control. B. Proposed 2022 budget Treasurer Kennefick presented the budget for 2022 (see attached “2022 CBLID Budget Report”). Our goal is to have a $70,000 annual carryover. When we looked at the estimated carryover from 2021 and estimated what our expenses may be next year, using a higher but reasonable amount for treatment, the Board feels that we can reduce the property assessment from $300 to $200 per prop- erty for 2022, then at the end of 2022 we should still be within the range of our goal of a $70,000 cushion. We want to maintain that level going into the future. This proposed budget does not in- clude a DNR Grant, as we cannot count on it. If all goes well next year, if our income is up with a grant, and our expenses lower, we may propose lowering the assessment even more. We want to be cautious, as we could have a bad year or have to deal with Starry Stonewort, which is expensive to manage. Other invasive species in our lake, but not in our bay at this time, are Flowering Rush and Purple Loosestrife. It is also unknown what other invasives we may face in the future. Nielsen stated the worst situation would be to not have the funds available to fully treat the bay. The Board is trying to be judicious with the funds, only spend what it costs to treat but not cut cor- ners on treatments. In a new development, the Lake Minnetonka Association (LMA) is in the pro- cess of forming an advisory committee to look at the overall lake management and study the inva- sive and native weeds, with the goal of developing an overall Lake Minnetonka management plan. Chalupsky moved to approve the 2022 budget as proposed, 2nd by Owen. VOTE by voice vote of Board and those in attendance: All who voted, voted Aye, Nays 0. MO- TION PASSES. C. Proposed 2022 Tax Assessment Nielsen stated that the Board supports a 2022 tax assessment of $200 for 112 properties. Chalupsky moved to approve the 2022 tax assessment of $200 for 2022 for each property in the CBLID district, 2nd by Plewka.