GLA Board Meeting Minutes – 2/21/24

Gardner Lake Association

Minutes to Monthly Board Meeting

2/21/24

Meeting Called to Order by Amy Heaven at 4:04 PM on Zoom

Present:           Ryan Mueller, Amy Heaven, Greta Jahraus, Leslie Hind, Mike Rankin, Clint Anderson, Clifton Bencke, Blake Larson, Melinda Broward

Absent:            None

Agenda: Approved as submitted.

Secretary: Approved as submitted. Greta motioned to approve, seconded by Leslie.

Special Presentation: Clint Anderson joined the group to discuss sanitation facilities at the boat ramp for Gardner Lake. Need: a lack of bathrooms at a public facility leads to people urinating/defecating in public around the lake or in the lake. Options: fenced in enclosure with gate for access, “concrete vault” restroom, full-on bathroom. Cost: city as a first priority, potential for residents or GLA to contribute as well. Ongoing Maintenance: ~$100/month for pumping. Ongoing Management: needs locked at night and cleaned.

   Discussion: The board agrees with the need for restrooms. All agreed that it would be a good topic to request from the city. Some are unsure of the long-term maintenance and costs. This will be continued in future meetings. Leslie said she would investigate options further.

Treasury: The GLA checking account totals $23,411 and in addition there is $1,301 in the Venmo balance. Ryan motions to approve, Mike seconded.

Old Business:

    -Taskforce update: Fact finding continues. The taskforce has additionally taken on the zebra mussel issue as a priority. The team will have an in-depth report from the Engineering firm soon and so plans to set up a special meeting for resident when fact finding concludes.

    -Merchandise: Sandy and the team discussed new ideas for 2024. Ideas included bucket hats, stickers, hand towels, and clothes with different logo designs. Also discussed a Facebook survey to get resident feedback.

    -By-laws: The team reviewed the by-laws status and committed to resharing them at the Spring meeting to be voted on at the Fall meeting. Ryan will work on these and share with residents.

New Business:

    -The group discussed the Spring Members Meeting planned for March 16th. We have received good feedback on the new location (JoCo Olathe Health Education Center) and will continue to have meetings there. The group discussed agenda items including zebra mussels, By-laws, and raffles.

    -Special Events: Sandy is looking into ways we can add a volunteer component to our annual activities. The team also discussed how to increase involvement with the community at events.

    -Lake Road Rep coordinator – Greta identified a gap in the Board’s communication with Lake Road Reps and volunteered to help with this. She wants to help coordinate with reps when we have projects where we request their help.

    -The Facebook group that is unofficially associated with the GLA was discussed. The Board believes the group should stay focused on residents and only add non-residents when necessary (e.g. child caretaker).

The meeting was moved to adjourn by Leslie and seconded by Sandy.

GLA Board Meeting Minutes – 1/17/24

Gardner Lake Association

Minutes to Monthly Board Meeting

1/17/24

Meeting Called to Order by Amy Heaven at 4:04 PM on Zoom

Present:           Ryan Mueller, Amy Heaven, Greta Jahraus, Melinda Broward, Leslie Hind

Absent:            Clifton Bencke, Blake Larson, Mike Rankin

Agenda: Added a discussion of a permanent bathroom at dam to new business. Agenda was then approved.

Secretary: Approved as submitted.

Treasury: We have 5 members added for the new year. Incoming credits were towel sales of $346, ladder raffle of $389, advertisers for calendar/website $798. Outgoing payments were $930 for calendar, $498 for directory, and $142 costs for holiday light contest. Current assets total $23,976. Zoom membership renewal will be paid soon.

Old Business:

    -Membership update: We forgot to put dues envelopes with the calendars, please send $25 member dues to Leslie Hind.

    -Taskforce update: The task force continues on a fact finding mission to determine the condition of the lake and its structures.

New Business:

    -Zebra mussels: Leslie has shared the info from the KDWP. Gardner Lake has been found to have zebra mussels. Signs are being added to lake entrances. There are no easy solutions to this new issue.

    -Special Events:

        -Light Up the Lake contest: This was a great success, we had 10+ contestants and lots of voting on Facebook. Greta and Ryan presented gift baskets to our winners. Larry Keegan was our 1st place winner!

        -We are looking for new events and new volunteers for 2024! Contact Melinda or Greta if you are interested or have ideas! Some early ideas the group is exploring are a poker run, a casual kayak day, a food drive, and home tours.

    -Calendars and directories were delivered to the community! We have identified a few areas we missed and will get them covered ASAP, please let us know if you haven’t received a calendar and directory!

    -We are planning to have our Spring Members Meeting March 16th. We have received good feedback on the new location (JoCo Olathe Health Education Center) and will continue to have meetings there.

    -Clint Anderson requested a discussion of a permanent bathroom solution by the marina and boat ramp. The GLA board discussed some points and look forward to discussing more with Clint at the next GLA meeting where he will be invited to present his thoughts.

GLA Fall Resident’s Meeting Minutes

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.

GLA Board Meeting Minutes – 10/11/23

Meeting Called to Order by Mike Rankin at 4:10 PM on Zoom

Present:           Ryan Mueller, Mike Rankin, Blake Larson, Amy Heaven, Greta Jahraus, Melinda Broward

Absent:            Leslie Hind, Clifton Bencke

Agenda: Approved as submitted.

Secretary: Approved as submitted.

Treasury: A treasury report was submitted listing assets at just over $25,000.

Old Business:

  -Taskforce Update: The taskforce is investigating dredging and infrastructure projects and looking into engineers to give us our own expert opinions. The team is preparing an update for the resident’s meeting.

  -Calendar Update: Calendar is in progress, hoping to share before 2024

  -Directory: Directory is in progress, hoping to share along with Calendar before 2024. Discussed a digital directory but have put this on hold for security concerns.

 -Lake update: KDPW has been out checking the fish population and plan to add more fish in the Spring

 -Soup cookoff: the team is getting ready to hold the annual cookoff down by the dam on October 21st

 -Fall Resident’s meeting: the team is preparing to meet and update members on October 21st

 -Ladder raffle: We are selling $10 raffle tickets and in the Spring we will raffle a top-notch dock ladder donated by Mac’s Docks to a lucky resident!

New Business:

   -Light Up the Lake Contest: the team is preparing some flyers and information for the light contest in December

Adjournment:

  -Greta moved to adjourn the meeting, this was seconded by Melinda.

GLA Board Meeting Minutes – 9/20/23

Meeting Called to Order by Mike Rankin at 4:07 PM on Zoom

Present:           Ryan Mueller, Mike Rankin, Melinda Broward, Leslie Hind, Clifton Bencke, Sandy Adams

Absent:            Amy Heaven, Blake Larson, Greta Jahraus

Agenda: Presented by Mike, approved as submitted.

Secretary: Presented by Ryan, approved as submitted

Treasury: Presented by Leslie Hind. The kayak race brought in $588 including the raffle and donations. Towel sales have brought in a profit of over $500. Chili cookoff/ soup challenge costs adding up to $78 so far. Assets for the GLA currently total $25,196.

Old Business:

  -Taskforce Update: The taskforce reviewed the survey results and feel they indicate a continuation of research on the projects. Accordingly, research into dredging and the dam infrastructure continues. The team checked to make sure the city is still open to negotiating major projects and potential change of ownership and they are. The taskforce is looking forward to presenting next considerations to residents at the fall meeting.

  -Terms for officers: The board discussed implementing terms for board members into the by-laws and plan to work on something to present to residents.

  -Lake update: Presented by Leslie. The city has added some signage to indicate public water access. In addition, they have put in some fish habitats. There were concerns about catching anchors and fishing lures on these, the city has said we should not have issues – they said they will do much better than Christmas trees.

  -Special Events: Presented by Melinda. We debriefed on the successful kayak race and discussed improvements for next year.

New Business:

-Soup Challenge (Chili cookoff): coming on October 21st, arrive hungry and please bring your best soups. We will have great raffle prizes!

-At the Fall Resident’s meeting, we will begin selling $10 raffle tickets and in the Spring we will raffle a top-notch dock ladder donated by Mac’s Docks to a lucky resident!

-The board planned for the upcoming Fall Resident’s meeting on October 21st

Adjournment:

  -Mike moved to adjourn the meeting, this was seconded by Leslie.

GLA Board Meeting Minutes – 8/16/23

Meeting Called to Order by Amy Heaven at 4:03 PM on Zoom

Present:           Amy Heaven, Ryan Mueller, Mike Rankin, Melinda Broward, Sandy Adams, Blake Larson, Leslie Hind, Clifton Bencke, Greta Jahraus

Absent:           

Agenda: Presented by Mike, approved as submitted.

Secretary: Presented by Ryan. Note added for kayak race per Melinda suggestion. Approved as with that change.

Treasury: Presented by Leslie Hind. Outgoing funds included $40 annual fee for non-profit organization status, $150 for renting meeting space, $1189 for towels, and $427 for 4th of July parade supplies and prizes. Incoming funds included $1135 for towels, and $70 for other merchandise. This gives a total of $24,291 for all assets. Approved as submitted.

Old Business:

-Resident Directory: Mike is working diligently on this. We discussed giving residents a heads up in case they want to be excluded from the directory.

-Special Events:

     -Kayak race: discussed logistics and planning for upcoming kayak race on 9/4. Clifton is going to create a Facebook event for this.

     -Chili cookoff / Soup challenge: Will take place October 21st! Weed wacking event will take place weekend before on October 14th

     -Rock the Docks: Schedule is set for multiple bands over the Labor Day weekend. Going to investigate ability to set up Venmo tipping for the bands

-Sailing/Kayak program: Clifton is working on setting up a sailing and kayak program with the city of Gardner, more to come and please contact Clifton if you are interested in helping.

-Algae/moss: this is being monitored and if it gets too aggressive will call the city and request a spraying

-Lake Taskforce Update: The board reviewed and discussed the high-level results from the anonymous surveys. After the taskforce reviews the survey, the results will be circulated on the Facebook page for residents to review.

New Business:

-None at this time

Adjournment:

-Ryan moved to adjourn the meeting, this was seconded by Mike.

GLA Board Meeting Minutes – 7/19/23

Meeting Called to Order by Amy Heaven at 4:09 PM on Zoom

Present:           Amy Heaven, Ryan Mueller, Mike Rankin, Melinda Broward, Sandy Adams, Blake Larson, Leslie Hind, Clifton Bencke

Absent:            None

Agenda: Presented by Mike, approved as submitted.

Secretary: Ryan did not have June minutes completed yet.

Treasury: Presented by Leslie Hind. Dumpster cost was $1,152 leaving total in assets of $24,071.

Old Business:

-Task force update by Leslie Hind: We are fielding questions from residents after sending out the FAQ and a survey. We are also working on a paper version of the FAQ and survey for people who do not use email.

-City removed the broken fish feeder and they are going to work with KDWP to add fish habitats.

-Special Events by Melinda Broward:

  -Annual Kayak Race is coming on 9/4! Planning taking place for that

-Planning for the Chili/Soup cookoff is starting!

-There will be a brush cleanup at the dam the weekend before Labor Day (8/26 or 8/27).

-Several homes will have bands playing for Rock the Docks, GLA to share schedule

-Merchandise by Sandy Adams: 18 of the new Gardner Lake towels have been sold and $70 in other apparel. See Sandy for a towel!

New Business:

-None at this time

Adjournment:

-Greta moved to adjourn the meeting, this was seconded by Leslie.

GLA Board Meeting Minutes – 6/21/23

Meeting Called to Order by Mike Rankin at 4:00 PM on Zoom

Present:           Ryan Mueller, Mike Rankin, Melinda Broward

Absent:            Amy Heaven, Leslie Hind, Blake Larson, Sandy Adams, Clifton Bencke, Greta Jahraus

Agenda: Presented by Mike, approved as submitted.

Secretary: May minutes presented by Ryan, approved as submitted.

Treasury: Leslie Hind submitted a report prior to the meeting. It indicated a total of $26,667.84 in assets for all accounts. So far $291.27 has been spent in preparations for the 4th of July parade.

Old Business:

-Discussed 4th of July preparations.

-Rock the Docks band sign ups should be coming out soon

-Kayak race is coming soon on September 4th!

-Lake Task Force Update: The team felt it was a productive meeting on June 10 and thanks the community for the words of support and the constructive criticism. The team feels that the next step is to get the residents on the same page as far as what is currently understood about the improvement projects. The task force will be sharing a FAQ sheet summarizing the information gathered so far. Once all residents have the same information, the task force intends to get a straw poll of the support of the community in order to decide whether to continue this investigation.

New Business:

-None at this time

Adjournment:

-Mike moved to adjourn the meeting, this was seconded by Melinda.

GLA Board Meeting Minutes – 5/17/23

Meeting Called to Order by Ryan Mueller 4:00 PM on Zoom

Present:           Ryan Mueller, Leslie Hind, Melinda Broward, Sandy Adams, Clifton Bencke, Greta Jahraus

Absent:            Amy Heaven, Mike Rankin, Blake Larson

Agenda: Presented by Ryan, approved as submitted.

Secretary: April minutes presented by Ryan, approved as submitted.

Treasury: Presented by Leslie Hind. Total assets are $24,763.64. Memberships are continuing to come in at a good pace.

Old Business:

-Lake Update: June 10 preparations are under way. Still finding a location, most places cost $1000+ or are booked. Team will work on a zoom broadcast/recording for the June 10 meeting. Leslie has been researching dredging and associated costs. Our most recent sedimentation rate study was done in 2004 and would need repeated.

-Dumpster Weekend: Also on June 10, we have determined where the dumpsters will be located. The team is making sure that proper labeling and instructions are posted for do/do not. Leslie will let the metal recycling guy know about the event.

-July 4th Event: Preparations are under way including choosing a parade Grand Marshall, designing a banner to celebrate the 20th annual parade, finding trophies for parade winners, and setting up the Facebook voting. Some residents have expressed concern at the amount of unruly behavior around the dam on the 4th of July evening. Many on the board share these concerns, but the GLA does not have authority to patrol, shutdown, or otherwise control the dam visitors.

-Signage/Buoys: Many of the “no wake” buoys have gone loose around the lake. Ryan and Clifton will work to find and reset these in the lake. Leslie mentioned that we need to add a sign for not removing carp at the South end of the lake, Sandy going to work on moving an extra sign.

-Directory: Lake Road Reps have been hard at work confirming and adding resident’s contact information.

-Spillway work: City planning to clear spillway to 151st street.

New Business:

-Fishing Report: Leslie spoke to the Kansas Wildlife and Parks after they performed a fish survey. They noted a decrease in the number and weight of bass but were not concerned with the amount of change at this time. This year they put 900 lbs. of bass in the lake and they are planning to add the same amount in the fall. Leslie asked if they noted any concerns with lake weeds. They were not concerned with the curly-leaf pondweed that has been identified here at Gardner Lake and mentioned it could help give the undersized bass more coverage. They did not think any spraying was needed for the lake at the time they assessed. The GLA is not 100% satisfied with the caretaking of the fish population and is keeping a close eye on whether to raise concerns with the KDWP.

-Clifton Bencke’s Sailing program: Clifton is discussing specifics with the city. The vessels needed for this project could not be privately owned, they would need to be donated. These would also need a storage location at Gardner Lake. Clifton is looking for assistance from residents on this project.

-Fish Feeder: Needs to be marked with reflective tape. Ryan will look into doing this.

Adjournment:

-Leslie moved to adjourn the meeting, this was seconded by Melinda.

GLA Board Meeting Minutes – 4/19/23

Meeting Called to Order by Amy Heaven 4:00 PM on Zoom

Present:           Amy Heaven, Ryan Mueller, Leslie Hind, Melinda Broward, Sandy Adams, Blake Larson

Absent:            Clifton Bencke, Mike Rankin, Greta Jahraus

Secretary: Presented by Ryan. Approved as submitted.

Treasury: Presented by Leslie Hind. The GLA brought in $2,661, from 86 dues this year. Board members voted to approve spending for a lake road rep meeting for up to $200 for food and supplies. Leslie is working with a resident on performing an annual review of the GLA finances.

Old Business:

  -Lake Update: Presented by Leslie Hind. The taskforce is meeting and corresponding frequently. They are researching dredging and spillway repair options for presentation on June 10th. Preparations are also being made for that meeting. The taskforce is communicating with the city of Gardner, trying to learn more about the history of the lake’s infrastructure so that residents have the most accurate information to make decisions from.

-ByLaws: Presented by Ryan Mueller. He discussed the suggestions that came up during the Resident’s meeting. The group decided the proposed by-laws update will be tabled for now so that the Board can focus on Lake infrastructure projects.

-Lake Resident Directory: Still building a complete directory. Reps are meeting with GLA soon to get organized and get on the same page for efforts this summer.

-Social Events: The Board agreed to allot $600 for the 4th of July parade and $500 for each other major social event through the year.

New Business:

-Newsletter: in progress and coming out soon!

Adjournment:

-Ryan moved to adjourn the meeting, this was seconded by Leslie.