President Larry Nokes called the meeting to order at 10:30a.m.. All Board Members were present . Guest speakers included Keith Riley (Fire Chief), Dean Westerman (Fire Commissioner and Deputy Sheriff), Bruce and Helen Hughes, along with Marv King (Squadron Coordinator, 141st Air Refueling Wing). 78 total members were present.
Larry acknowledged Dennis DeMattia for his excellent work with the Dlpoa website the last two years, then introduced Chief Riley who announced that we will soon be getting a new medic truck. He dispelled any rumors about closing our fire station, but he did state the necessity for more volunteers. In the near future a new fire station will be built.
Dean Westerman gave us an overview of the County Sheriff's Department. There are 19 uniformed deputies in the Sheriff's Office, of which 4 are Sergeants. In addition there are a few reserve deputies. This small number of officers must cover the entirety of Stevens County. Complaints range from dogs chasing cats to homicides. Routine patrols in relatively crime-free areas (like Deer Lake) are necessarily few. A growing problem has been drug boats floating down the Columbia from Canada. If you see patrol cars in your area with their lights flashing, gnerally they are responding to a 911 burglary or a domestic violence incident. Lights off indicate non-emergency situations. For such complaints you are urged to call the Dispatcher's number, 1-800-572-0947.
In a Question/answer period the following was covered:
Bruce and Helen Hughes discussed a care package project for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. They will make a flyer to get people involved in this project. They introduced Marv King who discussed the need for this project and appealed to us to help with funds for postage. People desiring to help should call Bruce or Helen at 233-3010.
In the next order of business, the Secretary's Report and the Treasurer's Report were approved as presented.
Larry Nokes then discussed the proposed amendments to the Bylaws, going through the old and the new language for each Article. There was an objection to the General Membership not having the right to vote for Board Members as per the Proposed Amendment to Art.IV (Elections). This constituted "Taxation Without Representation," so to speak. A long discussion followed. The Board's position is that in the past, people have veen nominated from the floor and have accepted the nomination with little or no inclination to serve. The Board is attempting to be better structured as a Non-profit Corporation and is seeking people who are dedicated to serve--thus the need for the new language in Article IV. Larry Twitchell moved to accept the new bylaws and Jason Johnson seconded. The result of the vote was 75-3 in favor of approval.
Larry Twitchell discussed the vote on the sale of the Narrows Property. 781 ballots were sent iut. 261 Dues-paying members returned ballots. 174 of these (67%) voted against the sale, and 87 (33%) voted for it. Dlpoa will retain the property and the issue is now dead, the window of opportunity to sell the land to Fish and Wildlife being closed. It is not anticipated that the issue will be raised again. In September the Board will form a Committee to discuss plans for the property.
Committee Reports
Fourth of July ----- Larry Nokes reported that plans are finalized for the parade on Saturday, July 3, and the Boat Parade and Fireworks on Sunday, July 4. He asked for volunteers to help. We are also in need of a large dock on which to light the fireworks. Several were offered. Perhaps a "Junker" will be found suitable for this at the Dock Demolition on June 26.
Pancake Feed -----Sally Clark expressed the need for volunteers to help with the Pancake Feed which is to begin at 7:30 A.M. on July 4.
Patrol Boat -----Pete Clark reported that the boat has been repaired and is running well. Volunteers are needed to man it. Contact with the public ss to be non-aggressive and informational in nature. If problems with the same violators continue, boat numbers should be given to the Sheriff's Department.
Water Quality -----Mike Phillips stated that no Milfoil has been found in our lake, and the lake water appears to be getting cleaner. We need testing to compare present water clarity and quality with pre-sewer line conditions.
Fisheries-----According to Bruce Bassett, a couple of Fishery items in our last newsletter were erroneous. There are no Mysis Shrimp in our lake, and the lake is not overfished. The main problem with Deer Lake is that there are too many predator fish in it, Mostly Small-mouth Bass--but also lots of Macs. We are raising lots of fish in our net pens, but we need more. Fish and Wildlife for some reason is no longer planting Brook Trout in our lake. The Triploids are doing well and getting large. They should be 6 Lbs by the Fall and perhaps 10 Lbs by next Spring.
Membership-----Dean Crump reported that we mailed out twice as many newsletters as we have members. We currently have 360 actual members out of a potential 600. He asked that we encourage our neighbors to become members and to give them newsletters, invite them to our meetings, etc. We need to have more participation from more people.
Newsletter-----Claudia Otis talked about the new feature of our newsletter: "Letter to the Editor," and encouraged more people to write. She also talked about the problem of address changes and forwarding newsletters. This is a very expensive process.
Firewood-----Virgil Standerfer is hopeful that we will be allowed to cut Firewood again this year. If interested, call him at 233-9178.
Emergency Services -----Gerry Block talked about free Smoke Alarms from our Fire Department, Vial of Life kits, and Reflective Address Markers. Call the Fd or Gerry Block for more info.
Road Safety -----According to Larry Hersom, we have asked for an increase in patrols around our lake, mainly to address our biggest problem--Speeding. However, as we have learned, Deer Lake is not a major problem area compared to other places in Stevens County, and routine patrols are infrequent. There is an increasing number of unlicensed vehicles (ATV's) on our roads and an increasing amount of trash. 2000 Lbs of trash was collected in our recent road cleanup. The question was asked whether Southwood Shores Road was ever going to be paved. NO. It would need to be brought up to Federal Standards first, and this would be very expensive. People desiring Oiling on their road should contact Larry Hersom and plan to attend our September Meeting.
Another Question: What happened to the repair of East Deer Lake Road? It is presently on Hold. There was another question about Dust Mitigation around the Lake to improve Water Quality. This can also be discussed at our September Meeting.
The next Order of Business was to ratify the Dlpoa Officers and Board Members as presented by Larry Twitchell. All were unanimously approved. (Note that there were 3 vacancies due to the resignations of Bruce Bassett, Lee Bayley and Tim Dschaak.)
In Old Business, Larry Nokes told of the History of the New Property on North Deer Lake Road and the discussions with the heirs of the property. Further discussion is forth-coming.
Dock Demolition Day is set for June 19 at Gardener Acres Boat Ramp. Volunteers are needed. Work is to start at 9 A.M.
In New Business, Larry told about the New Community Action Committee w hich has been formed to handle unresolved problems around the lake which require the support of Government Agencies. Dlpoa will back individuals with legitimate complaints against neighbors, etc. Members having problems that can't be resolved should present them at a meeting or supply the Board with written documentation. The biggest problem we are having is getting the County to enforce the Zoning Ordinance. Larry said that Dlpoa will get copies of the Zoning Ordinance and have them available.
Finally, Dean Crump asked the membership for Picture-histories Of Deer Lake to be housed in a central location--perhaps in a building erected on the New Property, if it becomes available to us.
Larry Nokes adjourned the Meeting at 12:50 P.m. and there was a general rush to the Potluck Tables.