DLPOA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGNovember 10, 2005Secretary Jack Low opened the meeting at 7:00pm. Eight members were present. Two guests, Commissioner Tony Delgado and Lee Bayley, were in attendance. Absent members were Larry Nokes, Jason Johnson, Virgil Standerfer and George Renner. The secretary's report was approved as presented. There was no treasurer's report. Lee Bayley, who is in charge of the pancake breakfast , informed us that other commitments prevent him from holding the breakfast on July 2. He would like to move the date to Sunday, July 9. After some discussion, the July 9 date was agreed upon and approved. Tony Delgado reported on County happenings. He discussed the status of certain zone violations on the lake. A question was asked whether the County kept track of red tags. While in the past there was limited follow-up, currently the policy is to follow up on all red tags. On the subject of the gas-tax issue, Stevens County receives more state dollars for road improvements than it raises through gas taxes. If our county had voted to repeal the gas tax, Tony would have feared retribution from the state. Lee Bayley raised the nagging issue of improving Southwood Shores Road and received the standard reply: not enough traffic to warrant the cost (which Darrell Rung reports would be about $1.5 million.). What is needed, suggested Ken Rozelle, is not to ask the County to cough up the money, but to get them to change the policy. Ken Rozelle complained to Tony about the recycle bins in the area. They are constantly full. Can't they be emptied more frequently? Answer: We should complain to Dennis Durbin in Public Works. No action will be taken without a record of complaints. Finally, Tony reported that a new building at the transfer station is in the works. The 10' X 14' structure will store hazardous waste and will cost $162,000. COMMITTEE REPORTS Fisheries: John Gregerson has a new batch of silvers (27,000) in his pens. Road Safety : Darrell Rung wondered whether more speed limit signs strategically placed would slow the traffic around the lake. He spoke with the County Sheriff who agreed that this might help. However, in the discussion following, it was learned that there are more speed limit signs on roads around Deer Lake than on any other roads in the county--and still we have speeding problems. The best deterrent seems to be police presence. This was very effective last summer. Water Quality : In a brief summary of the Water Quality report, Mike Phillips said that the lake is in good shape and relatively free of germs. Tests show a slight raise in phosphorus due to fertilizer use. Newsletter: Pete Clark reported some good news: Dennis DeMattia has offered to take over the writing part of the newsletter. That leaves the mailing part. Pete suggested we hire Walt's Mailing Service to do this task. It would cost us $135 per issue, plus postage, but we would save $150 per year for our mailing permit, plus a lot of man hours and gas money. A motion was made to accept this idea and it was approved unanimously. We thank Dennis for volunteering for this important job. After preparing the current newsletter for mailing, the meeting was adjourned at 9:05pm. |
DLPOA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGOCTOBER 13, 2005President Larry Nokes opened the meeting at 7:00pm. Eight members were present. Two guests, Claudia Otis and Don Waller, were in attendance. Absent members were John Gregerson, Jason Johnson, Ken Rozelle, and Virgil Standerfer. Don Waller introduced himself as a paramedic/firefighter working for the Spokane Fire Department. He is running for the office of Stevens County Fire Commissioner. He has had extensive experience as a volunteer firefighter and recently spent time in the South, aiding victims of Hurricane Katrina. The secretary's and the treasurer's reports were approved as presented. The board set the dates for the following events :
The board needs new members . Interested persons are asked to contact President Larry Nokes (233-2088) or any other board member. We also need a new vice president and newsletter editor. Some names were suggested for the newsletter position. These people will be contacted. Larry Nokes ( July 4th) said that fireworks donations have dropped. He will solicit donations in the next newsletter. Jim Santora (Fisheries ) will be getting a new batch of fish next week. The report on the Deer Lake fish survey should be ready in February. Jim reports that perch are coming back to the lake after being absent for several years. Gerry Block (Emergency Services ) said that Station 5 will be getting a newer tanker. Lee Bailey has offered to run the pancake breakfast next July. We need seven signs to advertise the breakfast. George Renner will check with Jim Leggett about making these signs. He is a professional sign-maker. Darrell Rung (newly appointed Road Safety chairman) will check with Tim Dschaak to see if the county would allow us to chipseal Southwest Shores Road. If chipsealing is too expensive, perhaps we could pave with reground asphalt. Mike Phillips (Water Quality ) said that the final report on our water-quality testing may be presented at the November board meeting. Mike received a letter from Wash. State Aquatic Plant Specialist Jennifer Parsons informing us that we have once again dodged the milfoil bullet. No milfoil nor any other invasive plants were found in the latest survey of our lake. Mike also reported that 1400 pounds of trash were taken in our recent roadside clean-up. The meeting was adjourned at 8:35pm. Our next meeting will be held in the basement of the Salvation Army dining hall . We will no longer meet at Loon Lake School.
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DLPOA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGSEPTEMBER 8, 2005President Larry Nokes called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Nine members were present. Absent members were Mike Phillips, George Renner, Ken Rozelle, Darrell Rung, and Virgil Standerfer. The secretary's and treasurer's reports were approved as presented. Larry Nokes asked for a discussion of goals and objectives for the new year. Committees could then be developed around these objectives . Pete Clark suggested that we make our entrances to the lake more attractive--particularly at the "Y" and at the intersection of Grouse Creek Rd. and N. Deer Lake Rd. Both need landscaping (at least dry-land landscaping), and signage needs to be limited. Such improvements might help to keep our roads cleaner, and might attract more help with the road clean-up. Our next clean-up is set for Sept. 17. John Gregerson offered to check with the dump manager to see about having locked dumpsters placed at the fire station for use during clean-ups, but some members feared that garbage would be left around these dumpsters throughout the year. The subject was tabled. Rather than chili, coffee and doughnuts will be served after the clean-up. Larry Nokes learned from Clay White that the County Comprehensive Plan will be ready for final review in November. It is hoped that everything woill be approved--including zoning--by February, with implimentation in March of 2006. Larry Hersom noted that DLPOA should be in the loop in requests for buffers and variances. He will check with Clay about this. Gerry Block brought up the subject of oiling the east side roads. Larry Hersom reiterated the members' lack of response to this ides. He stated that in some places property owners have spread two coats of vegetable or pine oil on the road for about half the cost of regular oil, and it has held up pretty well. Larry Nokes will check with Tim Dschaak at the county about the possibility of chip-sealing the roads. Pete Clark suggested that we get some kind of permit for our new property before it is impossible to get one. Larry Nokes has a rough sketch of a building plan. He will bring a more specific design to the next meeting. The cost of the building would be $100,000 or less. A grant for a senior center would be possible. We need to approach Salvation Army about allowing us some land for parking space. Jack Low asked Dean Crump if Deer Lake Resort would be willing to rent a pontoon boat to lake residents. He will look into it. Liability for motorized crafts is a concern. Dean will also look into the possibility of painting crosswalks at the resort. Loon Lake has a preservation society for the protection of loons. George Renner would like to see something similar on Deer Lake for the protection of deer. He will pursue this. Larry Nokes brought it to our attention that DLPOA owes a debt of gratitude to Bruce and Helen Hughes and West Bay Resort for their generosity with time and money in their support of the July 4th activities. Jack Low will write a thank-you letter to this effect. Larry Nokes discussed a letter from the U.S. Department of Interior , who monitors the water flow of the Colville River at Kettle Falls. Since we are located within the watershed, they are asking us for financial support ($525 per year). Jason Johnson will contact the department and inquire about the benefits to us before we commit to financial support. Larry Nokes is requesting applications from prospective board members . We have a number of vacancies to fill. Interested members should contact Larry or any other board member. Pete Clark stated that our newsletter will be mailed out in November, February and May. Articles for November are due by our next meeting on October 13. The meeting adjourned at 8:45pm.
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DLPOA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
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DLPOA Board of Directors meetingApril 14, 2005As amended. And amended again. And again. And still again.President Larry Nokes opened the meeting at 7:05PM. All members were present except for Dean Crump, Jason Johnson, and Ken Rozelle. Guests were Commissioner Tony Delgado, Lee Bayley, Jerry Rasley and Sondra Collins. The secretary's report of the March 10 meeting was amended. (See third paragraph of official minutes concerning the treasurer's report. Also view this paragraph on the DLPOA Website.) Thus amended, the secretary's report was approved. Pete Clark's treasurer's report was approved as presented. He noted a donation of $1440 from the Helping Hands Organization. The question was raised whether we should set this donation aside for a specific purpose. This was tabled for future discussion. Pete also reported of a letter of thanks from the Food Bank for our donation to them. Finally, Pete made a recommendation that we move to quarterly financial reports rather than monthly reports. With no objections this recommendation was accepted. Tony Delgado was asked how the Comprehensive Plan was progressing. He stated that the first draft of the plan is due to come out later on this month. The Public Website will keep us updated with information and listings of hearings concerning the plan. George Renner added that right now the plan is focusing mainly on density control in nine areas of Stevens County, including Deer Lake. Hearings on our area should take place in a couple of months. Sondra Collins, a riparian ecologist and resident of Loon Lake, spoke to the group, offering to survey our Narrows property to assess its ecological condition. Jim Santora will be her tour guide of the area. Mike Phillips suggested that she coordinate her survey with Fish and Wildlife who owns the adjoining property. Also, it might be advantageous to compare her samplings with our water quality testing this summer. COMMITTEE REPORTS July 4th.--The fireworks are scheduled for Monday, July 4th and will be put on by ENTERTAINMENT FIREWORKS. In the event that fireworks are not allowed this summer, there will be no charge. We still have not secured adequate docking for the fireworks. There is a 6'X40' dock that may be available, but it is in need of flotation. Larry Nokes will check into this. John Gregerson will head the boat parade. The direction of the parade will be reversed this year so people in the Narrows will get to see it before it peters out. If we had a banner for a parade marshal, perhaps the following boats would do better at remaining in line. Larry will see if the Sheriff Department would be willing to furnish a Parade Marshall for us. FISHERIES-----Jim Santora will release his rainbows (6"--9") on May 1. Triploids will be received in mid May. John Gregerson said that 25,000 silvers (3"--4") will be released in May. An extra net pen (20'X20') is available to us if someone is interested in taking charge of it. Jim will donate manual feeders for it. The net must be placed in deep water. John reported that NE Wash. Game would like us to donate $800 for the fish food used for this year's crop of fish. The board's position is that we have not budgeted for this in the current year. Requests for money should be made in advance of need so that we can budget for it. Mike Phillips informed us that a complete survey for fish in Deer Lake and Loon Lake will be done this summer. ROAD CLEAN-UP-----John Gregerson said that all is ready for the May 14 clean-up--to be followed by the chili feed. The roads are exceptionally trashy this year. Also, several members in recent weeks have been complaining of unkempt properties around the lake. Mike Phillips offered to send letters to the owners of these properties to persuade them to clean up their yards. EMERGENCY SERVICES-----Gerry Block reported that a new sign has been placed at the fire station. Also, all four of our reservation requests have been approved. NEW PROPERTY-----Larry Nokes said that plans for the new property are on hold, awaiting newsletter feedback. We need to write a thank you letter to Margaret Matthews who donated the property to us. The secretary will take care of this. Lee Bayley asked if we were going to replace the fence that was torn down on the Narrows property. Jim Santora said that the old fence was not on the actual property lines and that he had placed orange stakes in the property corners. ROAD SAFETY-----Larry Nokes asked Larry
Hersom if he could get the sheriff to set up radar traps around the lake this
spring. He felt that a concentrated effort for a month or so would slow down the
traffic for the rest of the summer. Larry Hersom will look into this.
WATER QUALITY-----Good news! At the last commissioners meeting, the PUD approved $2000 to help us with the cost of our testing this summer. Mike Phillips reported on the WALPA meeting he recently attended. Briefly: A program for Lake Stewardship in the Northwest sends grad students to Northwest lakes to make studies. Hopefully, they will visit Deer Lake in the near future. A new weed in the West has been discovered. It is as invasive as milfoil and may be headed our way.. Lake Coeur d'Alene is a timebomb waiting to go off. If metals sealed in at the lake's bottom are released into the water, the lake will be unsafe to use. Phosphorous erosion (caused by humans) may one day break the seal. DOCK DEMOLITION-----There are a lot of derelict docks on our lake, but George Renner doesn't know if a dock demo will take place this year. Our old location is no longer available, and he has not been able to find a suitable new location. John Gregerson will check with Bruce Hughes for a possible site. Also, there was a suggestion that we offer to repair Ivy Shaw's dock area if she would allow us to use her beach. The same could be done with Deer Lake Resort. Another possibility: Mike Waddell has a good location and a large boom. Larry Nokes will speak to him. Lee Bayley suggested that in our next newsletter we remind everyone that dock owners are responsible for their own docks. It is not DLPOA'S responsibility to get rid of them. SUB AREA PLAN-----Larry Twitchell said that he and Larry Hersom will review the preliminary draft of the GMA in late April. WOOD CUTTING-----Virgil Standerfer said that Boise Cascade has sold its property to a conglomerate. He doesn't know how that is going to affect wood cutting in our area. NEWSLETTER-----Claudia Otis will be retiring from the board next year but will continue to write the newsletter with the assistance of Pete Clark. Susie Alexander will serve as a back-up to Claudia. NEW BUSINESS ----- Larry Nokes referred to a letter from Bruce Hughes regarding the low level of our lake. Mr. Hughes asserted that DLPOA removed an old outflow gate, and this has been a major cause of our lake's low level. According to Ivy Shaw, long ago her father installed a gate for the purpose of keeping fish from escaping through the overflow. This gate was below the overflow level. DLPOA did not remove this or any other gate. Furthermore, Larry Twitchell has old pictures of Deer Lake showing water lower than its current level. DLPOA is not responsible for the current low level of the lake. Darrell Rung discussed the story of the deer falling through the ice this winter. It occurred to him--what if it were a human out there? What do we have in place for this type of rescue? Gerry Block referred us to 911--Water Rescue. But what about response time? Darrell offered to meet with Spokane Water Rescue to develop a plan for winter rescue on our lake. Maybe we could get them to attend one of our meetings. A major concern for us would be the problem of liability. The meeting was adjourned at 9:18PM. |
DLPOA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGMARCH 10, 2005As Amended.
Vice President Larry Twitchell called the meeting to order at 7:pm. Absent members were Dean Crump, Larry Hersom, Larry Nokes, Claudia Otis, and George
Renner. One guest, commissioner Tony Delgado, was present.
Tony Delgado spoke again of the county-wide fire
protection plan
which should be completed by the end of the year. Larry Twitchell asked if there was
currently an emergency evacuation plan in place in case a fire should move through the area this summer. Tony was not aware of a specific plan. Larry advised
all citizens to have a "get-away bag" ready in case of a fire or other emergency. 4th of July -----there was nothing new on the Fourth of July, except that the fireworks may have to be eliminated if the drought conditions continue. Larry Twitchell led a discussion on Dennis DeMattia's e-mail regarding
boat launches
. The public launch will probably be unusable this
spring. This leaves precious few other places where boats can be launched. The Deer Lake Resort launch is in need of repair (and because of EPA regulations
may not be repaired); the ramp at Gardiner's is private, and also--according to one member's report--in need of repair. It was generally felt that DLPOA does
not have the means to check the membership of boat owners, nor should we try to persuade private property owners to allow public boat launching and risk
liability for accidents. The best solution we could agree upon was to have boat owners use at their own risk the Deer Lake resort launch, unless they know
private property owners who would grant them access. The meeting was adjourned at 8:35pm. |
DLPOA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING February 10, 2005President Larry Nokes called the meeting to order at 7:05pm. Seven members were absent: Dean Crump, Claudia Otis, Virgil Standerfer, Gerry Block, John Gregerson, Jason Johnson, and George Renner. Guests included Clay White, director, Stevens County land services, and aquatic biologists Dave Lamb and Darren Lantzer from Spokane tribal labs. Larry introduced the biologists, who were invited by Mike Phillips to talk to us about water quality testing . According to these experts, a complete test would run at least $20,000. Why so much? It is because of stratification. Different chemical reactions occur at different depths. Can we get by with less elaborate testing and still get some meaningful data which will indicate the health of our lake? At a minimum, the lake should be tested for nutrients and coliform bacteria in two different months of the year. Dave and Darren were unable to estimate cost of such testing at this time, but will be sending us some estimates for some "pared-down packages" soon. Clay White explained that the county is under the gun to complete a comprehensive plan for the Growth Management Act by the November deadline. He told us bluntly and honestly that there is no way they can study sub-area plans before November. He advised us to hold off on our proposed sub-area plan until we have had a chance to examine the comprehensive plan. The preliminary draft of this plan will be completed by the end of April and may cover the guts of our sub-area plan. For updates on GMA-related information, check the county website at www.co.stevens.waus/landservices/planning. Or if you prefer, call Clay's office at 684-8325 and ask to be put on the mailing list. In any case, we should not indulge in a political issue with the county. Rather, we need to work together to further our mutual interests. He said that the county is very much interested in working with us. After the GMA is finished, the county will develop a priority system for analyzing sub-area plans. In regular business , the secretary's report was approved as presented. There was no treasurer's report, as Pete Clark has just returned from vacation and has not had a chance to put a report together. He will present a year-end financial statement in march. Committee reports July 4th : Larry Nokes reported that Dave Kline (pyrotechnician for deer lake resort) has agreed to do our fireworks this year. He will be able to put on a better show for less money. Perhaps the money saved could go toward the purchase of docks needed for the display. Fisheries-----Jim Santora reported that he has had a good winter batch, losing only 4 of 15,000 fish. Newsletter-----due to Claudia Otis's injury, only one more newsletter is planned for this year and should be out around April 1st. We need to be looking for an assistant for Claudia. Dlpoa property -----Larry Nokes has written an article for the newsletter asking for input from the membership on plans for the property. Road safety----- the question arose whether we could get the sheriff to set up a radar patrol schedule for our lake. Larry Hersom will check on this. Water quality----- returning to the subject of testing, the following points were discussed: complete testing is cost prohibitive. How much, then, can we afford for minimal testing. It was generally agreed that we should table the idea until we get some estimates. The best time for testing would be in late June and then again in July. Mike Phillips asked the board to approve expenses ($130) for his attendance at the annual meeting of the Wash. St. Lake protection assoc. Pete Clark moved to approve the expense, Jack Low seconded and the motion was unanimously carried. Sub area plan -----Larry Twitchell said the committee is still developing information in preparation for the writing of a plan, if necessary. New business -----several of the board members received an e-mail from Ken and Debbie Ferguson who had concerns about the level of our lake. They were wondering whether our recent ditching has contributed to water loss. Mike Phillips answered the letter, explaining that we just haven't had enough moisture in the past couple of years to fill the lake, and there has been no overflow water in the new ditch. Ken Rozelle said that on Sunday evening of the July 4 weekend , Pinelow Park is planning a community barbeque open to the public. Sally Clark plans to have the 4th of July breakfast again this year at the fire station. Metal sheets are needed around the stoves there. Lee Bailey has said that he would be taking care of that. It was reported that Dave Hovda's variance has finally been approved. Larry Nokes offered this advice: if you disagree with the building department on permit matters, ask for documentation. In a final piece of business, Larry Nokes brought up the subject of a "public clearing house", and asked if a board member not currently on a committee would be interested in organizing a helpline service for senior citizens, etc., around our lake. To be continued. The meeting adjourned at 9:30pm. |
DLPOA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING JANUARY 13, 2005President Larry Nokes called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Absent members were Pete Clark, Claudia Otis, George Renner, and Darrell Rung. Guest speakers were Commissioner Tony Delgado and county assessor Al Taylor. County planner Clay White was expected to appear but was not in attendance. Al Taylor discussed the issue of land tax exemptions, of which there are three types: designated forest, agricultural land (both under the purview of Mr. Taylor), and open space land (less than 20 acres), which falls under the jurisdiction of the county commissioners. The latter type is of chief importance to Dlpoa since it most affects the tax structure of Deer Lake property. The question is, how do open space tax exemptions affect the taxes of the general residency of Deer Lake. The answer, according to Mr. Taylor: there is a definite shift in tax responsibility. The next question, then, is are the tax exemptions equitable? This is a legislative question. Our equalization board--a citizen committee--is supposed to handle these matters fairly. It reviews the applications and takes into account the historical significance of a property and the public opportunities for recreation. In the case of Deer Lake Resort, it meets both criteria. In addition, it is the only site which affords lake access to disabled persons. The question was asked how Dlpoa can get information on the other properties which get open space tax exemptions. Mr. Taylor will look into this. He explained that a major problem is the fact that the county is not fully nor accurately parcelized. The mapping process for this has begun and should be completed in 2-4 years. Some of the mapping will soon be available on the internet. In conjunction with this discussion was the subject of a proposed sub area plan for Deer Lake. Larry Twitchell wondered whether a sub area plan would be taken under advisement by the county commissioners or whether it would turn out to be a tedious exercise in futility (Faith Lundstrom--county land management act consultant reportedly being unwilling to take a stand on the subject of sub area plans). Tony Delgado assured us that all three county commissioners would take sub area plans in consideration before finalizing the LMA in September of this year. What is the correct process for submitting a sub area plan? Tony did not know, but he suggested that George Renner, planning commissioner, would be able to help us with that. Finally, Tony informed us that next week there will be a meeting with all Stevens county fire chiefs to begin the development of a county-wide fire plan. Completion of the plan--which will be grant-driven--will take about a year. In regular business, the secretary's report was approved, subject to two corrections: one, a typo, and two, the addition of Larry Hersom as sub area plan committee member. There was no treasurer's report as Pete Clark esta en mexico. Committee Reports July Fourth -----Dean will talk to his fireworks man in the next couple of days so we can finalize plans. Fisheries-----Jim Santora said that his fish are doing fine, The winter batch being the easiest to raise. John Gregerson informed us that the northeast game council would like us to support their program. John called them to ask about specifics, but he has not received an answer. We need a dollar amount before we can commit. Fishing was good in the fall. Lots of macs were caught, and the triploids began to show. Newsletter-----Claudia Otis has a back injury but will do what she can--with lots of help--to get the next newsletter out in a timely fashion. News articles are due by the Feb. meeting. Emergency Services -----Gerri Block reports that the next fire district meeting will be wed., Jan. 19. Dlpoa property -----Larry Nokes has secured the closing documents for the new property. In the next newsletter, he will include in his president's message a questionnaire on the use of the property and the funding for any improvements. The results will be presented at the annual meeting. Road Safety -----Larry Hersom reported that there has been little interest shown in supporting dust control measures around the lake, so the issue--which was raised at our last annual meeting--has apparently died. Water Quality -----Mike Phillips will attend a water quality meeting on Saturday where he will talk to Dave Lamb (water quality technician) about the cost and possibility of doing a complete WQ study of Deer Lake. Results of this study would be compared to past studies. Mike feels that such studies should be done every ten years. Zoning/sub area plan -----Larry Twitchell will arrange to meet with Tony Delgado, Jim Davies and Clay White to determine what credence the county will give to our plan and to try to define the watershed boundaries of Deer Lake. Old Business -----Larry Twitchell talked to Dave Hovda about his quest for building permits. He still has not received them, but two documents are in final review. He has three pieces of advice for people who desire to build near the shoreline: (1) be aware that the high water line needs to be established; (2) send all written communication to everyone involved; (3) develop personal contact with someone in each bureaucracy. New business -----Larry Nokes asked whether Dlpoa should offer services to deer lake residents who are in need of help (especially the elderly who live alone). He will address this in the next president's letter in an attempt to promote interest in establishing a volunteer list and a public service number. The meeting was adjourned at 9:40pm. |