Meeting Called to order by Amy Heaven at 9:00 AM at the JCCC Olathe Education Center
Present: Ryan Mueller, Mike Rankin, Blake Larson, Amy Heaven, Greta Jahraus, Sandy Adams, Melinda Broward, Leslie Hind,
Absent: None
The meeting was kicked off with some of Amy’s reflections on living at this special lake.
Agenda: Presented by Amy, merchandise item added to previously distributed agenda. Approved with the addition.
Secretary: Minutes presented by Ryan, approved as submitted.
Treasury: Leslie discussed the treasurer’s report. This year we have 126 total members, a record! This year the organization brought in $2,661 in total over all events and projects. Included in this are the fun new Gardner Lake towels that brought in over $600 and the Kayak Race that brought in over $300. Thank you to Chuck Lawrence and Larry Desmarteau for hosting the dumpsters for the clean up weekend! That project was a cost of $1,152 but is important and something we will be sure to do again next year! Other expenses include $150 for the meeting room for Resident meetings, $40 for taxes, and $539 for 4th of July prizes and supplies. Total bank account assets are $24,769 plus $27 in Venmo. Also Leslie has submitted her books to an accountant for review and no issues were found.
2023 in Review: Amy gave a summary of the last 8 months of work that was initiated by City of Gardner comments to drain the lake. In this time, a task force of dedicated and concerned residents has been convened to understand the options residents have at their hands to better maintain this lake. This group has met and had calls with city, county, and state representatives in an effort to get answers. During this time, the state and city has taken notice of some nuisance items and remedied them – namely the brush at the lower end of the spillway and the removal of the broken fish feeder.
Old Business:
-By-laws update: Ryan gave a quick update, in addition to what was previously reviewed, he is going to work on an update for a clearer definition of the financial review as discussed in the Spring of this year. Ryan wants to share the by-laws over the Winter and vote on them in the Spring.
-Taskforce update: In summary, the team has met with Shirley Allenbrand of the county as well as city officials trying to determine what level of funding they are willing to contribute to the lake. In short, the county may be willing to contribute some but the city does not seem willing to assist without passing those costs directly to residents through dock fees. Because of this, this group has been investigating whether there are any other options for residents to consider. The CID is mechanism that allows residents to fund large projects themselves. Of course, any significant contributions from the community would require a shift in the way the city of Gardner is maintaining and managing this lake. This has led to considerations such as if there is any possibility or interest in residents taking the lake private, or creating a public/private partnership with a more defined relationship with the city.
The next major step in our investigation is to take serious steps towards understanding the condition of the lake. To do this, the team felt the need to get a pulse on the community’s opinion of this project. They conducted a survey that asked: While we recognize that there are many unanswered questions and issues yet to be nailed down, based on the information that you have seen thus far, would you be willing to pay _____ a year for up to 20 years to repair the dam/spillway and dredge the affected areas of Gardner Lake? This amount was $1000-1500 for first tier residents living on the lake, $500-$750 for residents that are not lake-adjacent but have docks, and $250-$375 for members of the community with neither. Speaking generally, a good portion of residents responded and of them, Tier 1 was generally supportive 73% for/27% against, Tier 2 was 53% for/47% against, and Tier 3 was 35% for /65% against. The taskforce believes the Tier 1 resident opinion was significant enough that they should continue their investigation. With this support, the team will begin working with an engineering firm to do our due diligence in understanding this lake’s status quo, needs, and costs. A firm would investigate the structural components of the spillway as well as the overall health of the lake, including dredging needs. In addition, they will be able to provide estimates for costs.
New Business:
-Merchandise: Sandy presented some fun Gardner Lake merchandise to get ready for Winter. Specifically, there are some great new jackets in stock!
-Ladder Raffle: Sandy presented the newest raffle item from the GLA. Donated by Mac’s Docks, this ladder is valued at nearly $1000! Raffle tickets are $10 each! The ladder will be raffled off at the Spring Resident’s meeting!
-Soup Challenge (Chili cookoff): Later today!
-Calendars and Directories: Mike presented updates on the calendar and directory projects, both of which should be out around the new year.
Adjournment:
-Amy moved to adjourn the meeting and this was seconded by many in attendance.