SPRING NEWSLETTER 2010
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Jenny Morrow
Happy Spring to all Berry Lakers! We have a number of interesting topics which will come before us at our Annual Meeting this year. I’ll provide you just a brief update on some topics that I’ve got a bit of knowledge on:
Revised Bylaws…As you will recall, we had a detailed discussion regarding a set of Restated Bylaws for our Association at last year’s Annual Meeting. The purpose of the Restated Bylaws was to align the Bylaws with the manner in which our Association conducts its business, and to incorporate a number of provisions which are required to be present in the Bylaws in order for our organization to become a Qualified Lake Association.
Attached to this newsletter is a clean draft of the Restated Bylaws which will be voted upon at this year’s Annual Meeting by all BLPO members (please pay your annual dues in advance to ensure that you will be qualified to vote at the upcoming meeting). There has been just one small modification made to the attached Bylaws since last year. Specifically, the Annual Meeting date is no longer fixed in the Bylaws to occur specifically on Memorial Day weekend. Instead, the meeting date is to occur “at a time and place determined best by the Board of Directors upon notice duly given in accordance with the notice provisions”. Although we anticipate that our Annual meeting date will continue to be held over Memorial Day weekend because we’ve gotten some good feedback on that date and we always like to try to maximize turnout for the meeting, we wanted to allow future members of the Board the flexibility to call the annual meeting as they deem appropriate without having to amend the Bylaws to do that.
The Restated Bylaws attached should be in good shape for passage by our Membership at the Annual Meeting. If there are any questions regarding the Restated Bylaws, I’d be happy to address your questions either at the meeting or you may contact me at jmorrow@azco-inc.com.
Qualified Lake Association…As mentioned in our Fall newsletter, our Lake Association is now in good shape to become a “Qualified Lake Association” and, as a consequence, it will be entitled, if appropriate, to apply for grants and seek state financial assistance in its own name. Once we have adopted our new Bylaws, I will be able to complete and submit a simple application on behalf of the Association and we should, shortly thereafter, be recognized as a Qualified Lake Association.
“Identity Crisis”…This heading is somewhat tongue – in – cheek of course but there has been some significant confusion lately between the identity of our organization which has been formally in existence for the purpose of representing its Members since 1940 and an organization by the name of the “Berry Lake Association, Inc.” of which Mr. Brian Ewart serves as President. Most of you previously received a statement I issued in March on this topic but we have attached a copy of that statement to this newsletter in case for those of you who aren’t on our email list. We hope that the attached statement clarifies the fact that there is no formal relationship whatsoever between the Berry Lake Property Owners Inc. and Mr. Ewart’s which was incorporated last year.
EWM / Clean Boats-Clean Waters Update…There is not much new news to report at this time on the Milfoil front but we did want to remind you that last fall some questionable milfoil plants were sent in for confirmation and the good news was that they were determined to be Northern Milfoil (the “good” stuff) so it was not deemed necessary to treat Berry Lake for EWM last fall.
We also were informed by the Town of Underhill that if treatment would have been necessary, funds are still available through the town for that purpose.
This news was good but we need to continue our vigilance and continue to monitor our boat landing and our lake as a whole for EWM. We also need to report these plant sightings when they occur so we can compile our information and seek treatment if and when it becomes necessary. We will be discussing methods for tracking this information at our annual meeting in a few weeks.
Most important in this continuing effort to combat invasive species, PLEASE VOLUNTEER when asked to monitor our boat landing through our Clean Boats/ Clean Waters campaign. It’s an easy thing to do, doesn’t take too much time and you’ll feel better after you do it – Guaranteed! It takes just one boat with one sprig present to infect us again! Don’t let that happen to Berry Lake.
Groundwater Protection…Our Fall newsletter contained a lengthy discussion of the relationship between our lake level, groundwater levels and high capacity wells operating in our area. I won’t repeat that discussion here but I would urge you to keep an eye on Wisconsin Senate Bill 620/Assembly Bill 844 for developments in the standards for protection of Wisconsin surface water that could have an impact on our lake. You can watch the status of these pieces of legislation as they work their way through our State Legislature at this link: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/ There is also a bulk of information available on-line regarding this topic if you simply Google “Groundwater Protection Act – Wisconsin”.
Finally, we look forward to seeing you at our annual meeting and, best of all, on the shores and water of Berry Lake as we kick off the Summer of 2010!
ANNUAL BLPO DUES
The annual dues for the Berry Lake Property Owners are still just $25.00/year. Dues are used to cover our operation costs including insurance, membership to the Oconto County Lakes Association, office supplies such as envelopes/stamps, copies, setup/delivery charges for Berry Lake merchandise, fish stocking, and social events including our annual corn boil.
PLEASE MAIL YOUR BLPO DUES to the above address prior to May 22, 2010 payable to the Berry Lake Property Owners. Prepaying your dues will be necessary if you wish to vote on agenda items at the annual meeting (which will include amending our Bylaws). Remember that only BLPO members in good standing are able to vote on agenda items at our annual meetings.
FYI…Aquatic Invasive Species Statute Quick Guide as of July 2009
Note: This was forwarded to all on our email list last winter, and I am including it again in our newsletter. It is not a complete list of all aquatic invasive species statutes, but is a quick guide to the most commonly used AIS statutes in Wisconsin as of the date listed at the top of the page.
30.715(2)- Place or use boat or boating equipment or place boat trailer in navigable water if the person has reason to believe the boat, boat trailer, or boating equipment has any aquatic plants attached. Minimum Fine: $154.50 Maximum Fine: $249
NR19.05(3)- Illegally transport live fish or live fish eggs away from any water or its bank or shore.
Minimum Fine: $329 Maximum Fine: $2,138
NR19.055(2)- Fail to drain all water from a boat, boat trailer or boating or fishing equipment before entering Wisconsin over land from another state. Minimum Fine: $228.50 Maximum Fine: $329
NR20.08(6)- Posses or use live fish or fish eggs for use as fish bait if not imported in compliance with DATCP requirements (This means if people are using any minnows purchased in any state other than Wisconsin!). Minimum Fine: $1,133 Maximum Fine: $2,138
NR20.08(3)- Release any unused bait into any waters.
Minimum Fine $630.50 Maximum Fine: $2,138
NR20.08(7)- Illegal possession of dead fish, frogs or crayfish as fishing bait.
Minimum Fine $208.40 Maximum Fine: $2,138
BERRY LAKE CALENDAR (also posted on the Calendar Events page of this website)
There will not be any monthly Socials at Berry Lake this summer, as no one volunteered to host one (despite several requests). Please mark your calendars for the following BLPO Events:
- ANNUAL BLPO MEETING: Saturday May 29th at 9:30 AM @ the Northern Grace Youth Camp
- ANNUAL 4TH OF JULY COMPETITION – BOAT PARADE “ON SAFARI” Saturday, July 3rd All participants are to meet at the point at 1:00 PM and proceed counterclockwise for one complete trip around the lake. Winners will notified shortly after the parade, and the results will be posted on our website. Participants should look for the “HERE COME DA JUDGE” banner which will be displayed on the judge’s dock (yet to be determined).
- ANNUAL CORN BOIL: Saturday, August 7th from 11:30 – 1:00 PM
- LADIES OF THE LAKE meet every other Monday at 9:00 AM throughout the year at area restaurants for breakfast and socializing. All are located in Shawano unless otherwise indicated. See our calendar for a complete schedule.
BERRY LAKE EMBROIDERED MERCHANDISE
Remember that you are able to order custom Berry Lake merchandise all year long through Hillcrest Custom Embroidery (N5539 Hillcrest Drive, Shawano, WI) which is located midway between Cecil and Shawano on Hwy 22. You can bring in your own items and pay $6.25 to have our logo embroidered on. They also have several items in their store (like polos, Tshirts, and jackets) that you can purchase and have embroidered there, and most items will be ready within a week’s time.
2010 WRITING/COLORING CONTEST FOR KIDS
Although there wasn’t much interest last fall, we’d like to try again this spring! The BLPO is interested in sponsoring an annual writing/coloring contest for Berry Lake kids, and you’ll have the whole summer to come up with something. Legend Lake has been doing this for years, and we thought it would be a good idea to promote the same here at Berry Lake.
1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes will be awarded in all age groups, and your story and/or picture will be published in our newsletter. Please submit your entry to our mailing or email address (shown on the letterhead of this newsletter) prior to September 6th, 2010 (Labor Day) and include your NAME, AGE, BERRY LAKE ADDRESS, & EMAIL ADDRESS. Here are the categories:
- AGES 3-7: Color a picture of the lake or something in it, or a picture of the wildlife in our area
- AGES 8-12: Write about “My Favorite Summer Memories or Activities @ Berry Lake ” or “My Observations of the Wild Life @ Berry Lake ”
- Ages 12-16: Write about “What I Have Learned to Make Me a Safe Boater” or “My Favorite Memories or Activities @ Berry Lake” or “My Observations of Wild Life @ Berry Lake” or “How I would Improve Berry Lake if I Were in Charge”.
BERRY LAKE ANNOUNCEMENTS (please forward me any news that you would like to include in this portion of our newsletter for our fall publication)
- Berry Lake says goodbye to two Berrylakers…Carol Hackett passed away in November of last year; our Ladies of the Lake group will miss her. And longtime Berrylaker John Green passed away in December of last year at the age of 83.
- Geocaching FYI: There was some interest in creating a Cache in the Berry Lake area, and I will continue to pursue this if others are interested. For more information on Geocaching, visit the following website: http://www.geocaching.com/. If anyone is interested in becoming involved with this project, please contact me.
- Not receiving our email notifications throughout the year? If you would like to be included, please send a note to our email address berrylakewi@gmail.com and I’ll add you to our email list (all emails are sent out Bcc to reserve your privacy).
- Do you have any Berry Lake history to share? If so, I’d like to include your write-up in our spring/fall newsletters. Submit your submissions to our email address by the end of summer to be included in the fall newsletter.
This newsletter prepared by Kay Rankel-Gamsky, Sec-Treas Berry Lake Property Owners Inc.
Attachments: proposed BLPO Bylaws, BLPO clarity notification