October Newsletter
Next Meeting: To Be Announced
(printable view)

CONTACTS
Email cglakeassoc@yahoo.com Web Site: cgclakeassoc.org
Chair: Curt Brungardt Vice Chair: Joyce Hutter
Treasurer: LuAnn Fuller Secretary: Fred Vance

CHAIRMAN’S COMMENTS

Two years ago this month many of us were working hard developing the Council Grove City Lake Master Plan. Our membership served on task forces, issue committees and researched important topics. Today I am happy to announce that that hard work has paid off in many different ways. As a result, our Lake Association has never been so strong, and more importantly, improvements are being made that are affecting our lives. We continue to use the Master Plan as a springboard to a stronger organization and improvements at the city lake. Clearly, we have momentum and I call on you to join the leadership at the Lake Association in volunteering to keep things moving in a positive direction. We are looking for volunteers to step forward and assist us in implementing the numerous recommendations of the Master Plan. Please see our detailed Master Plan and its 2007 progress report on our website. The Master Plan focuses on five areas of improvement. They include: financial stability and governance; infrastructure; beautification and park area improvements; water quality and environmental issues; and recreation, public safety and fishery management. If you are interested in being involved in the implementation of the Master Plan, email me at cbrungar@fhsu.edu.

While exciting improvements and change have occurred in just the first year of our Master Plan, much more is needed as we continue to improve the city lake. Let me also thank the Council Grove City Council for its recent efforts in joining us in this collaborative effort. Through the efforts of the city and the Lake Association, I personally believe we can accomplish our desired goals set out by the Master Plan.

New Boat Dock

The project of replacing the old boat dock at the north boat ramp and removing the old boathouse is complete. Replacement of the old dock is an excellent example of how planning ahead and working together can improve facilities and better the quality of life for all concerned. Now, both lake homeowners and the people of Council Grove have a safe, more easily usable boat loading dock.

Replacing this unsafe boat dock was a goal of the Lake Association Master Plan, developed from a comprehensive survey and presented in May of 2006. That paragraph is reprinted here:

3e. Boat Ramps and Public Docks

This plan recommends that the two public boat ramps (near Section A) be repaired as soon as possible. Next, new floating public boat docks should be purchased to replace the existing and unsafe dock and boathouse near the north boat ramp. Strategy: Various grant options for improvements should be researched by the Improvement District and should be included in the public park overall improvement program.

The Lake Association leadership experienced several failures while trying to convince the Council Grove City Administration that the old Boat dock was truly unsafe and needed to be replaced. Finally, through a collaborative effort and a new spirit of cooperation with a new mayor and new members of the City Council Lake Committee, the replacement of the old unsafe dock became reality. The combined effort is continuing as the Lake Association leadership is working to assist the city in obtaining grant funding to pay for a portion of the construction.

The lake association wants to take this opportunity to thank the City Council for their efforts to build a new community relationship with lake homeowners. We look forward to continuing to move ahead through such cooperative efforts which will benefit both lake homeowners and the citizens of Council Grove.

Council Grove Students Participate in World Water Monitoring Day

Council Grove City lake residents Christie Brungardt and Diane Bolton organized local student participation in the World Water Monitoring Day event. Working under the leadership of Diane Bolton and Enrichment Educator Janis Briggs, six Council Grove elementary and middle school students participated in this world wide event. The students collected samples, performed tests, and recorded data from ten sites around the Council Grove City Lake. 

For the past several years, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has encouraged participation in World Water Monitoring Day.  The main purpose of this educational event is to invite citizens to experience water monitoring first hand and to evaluate conditions within their local watersheds and water bodies.  Volunteers enter their monitoring results into a global database that stores all information collected during the monitoring period from Sept. 18 through Oct. 18. 
Within the U.S., Kansas has been a leader in this event for the past three years. Kansas has been called "a wonderful example of how goals of World Water Monitoring Day can ignite the collaboration of local officials, volunteers and citizens and increase citizen awareness."  To learn more about this project and review the data you may go to the website www.worldwatermonitoringday.org

Education Foundation Fund Raising /City Lake License Plates

The idea to have Council Grove City Lake promotional license plates grew from the desire of the Lake Association to support our local school system. Lake home owner, Leon Lungwitz, has graciously donated the entire cost of the license plates. This means that EVERY CENT you pay for the plates will be donated to the USD 417 Education Foundation, which then determines where the money will be spent within the school district. The design for the license plates was approved by the executive committee and the plates are now in production. We should have the license plates within the next several weeks and will be offering them for sale in several locations. Since we are now in the “winter season” and many of the regular visitors to the lake are gone until next spring, this will be an on-going project. We certainly encourage every one of you to purchase at least one of these license plates. This is a worthy cause and gives lake homeowners another opportunity to support Council Grove and be a part of the community.

Community Wide Pride Clean- up

City lake residents Cheerie Baker and Diane Bolton have been very active in leading the Council Grove Pride Committee Community Wide Clean-up Month. The city provided pride trash pickup at the lake is scheduled for October 29 th.. Due to processing and mailing , the time may have passed before you read this newsletter. Details, about the Pride Clean-up are in the September newsletter. Be sure to take time to thank Cheerie and Diane for taking the lead in the Community Pride Committee effort.

No Wake Period October 30 th to April 15 th

City ordinance sets a no wake period for the entire lake from October 30 th to April 15 th. During the rest of the year the no-wake time is from sunset to 8:00 am. Official sunset time may be found numerous places; the Council Grove sunset time is available on our web site home page. The no-wake ordinance is also available on the Lake Association web site.

The complete state boating laws and safety tips are available by clicking the KDWP link on our Lake Association web site home page http://www.cgclakeassoc.org/

Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Threats

Zebra mussels and other aquatic nuisance species should be of great concern to all of us. In our Master Plan published and presented to the city council in May of 2006, the lake Association specifically identified this threat and requested that the city become more proactive in countering this threat. The 2007 annual review of the Master Plan is available on our web site www.cgclakeassoc.org. Please take time to review the section about zebra mussels and see how rapidly this threat is expanding. We are once again in the process of trying to convince the city to join with us in effective collaborative effort to effectively counter the ANS threat. ANS pose a threat to the city water supply, water recreation, and to our property values. Look for more news about this very important issue as we move forward.An article from the KDWP web site is reproduced here:

ZEBRA MUSSELS CONFIRMED AT NORTHEAST KANSAS’ PERRY RESERVOIR

Fourth Kansas lake to document presence of troublesome species

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) has confirmed that zebra mussels have been found in Perry Reservoir.

KDWP’s aquatic nuisance species specialist Jason Goeckler sent SCUBA divers to investigate on Tuesday, Oct. 10th, after a Perry boater contacted him about a single zebra mussel attached to his boat hull. The divers discovered three adult mussels in about ten feet of water in the Marina Cove area. Zebra mussel veligers (larvae) were also found in plankton samples, indicating that the population is increasing at a low level.

The zebra mussel is a fingernail-sized, D-shaped mollusk that typically has a dark and white (zebra-like) pattern on the shell. Since introduction into the United States in 1988, it has rapidly spread from the Great Lakes Region to Midwestern streams. In Kansas, zebra mussels have been documented in El Dorado Reservoir in 2003, Winfield City Lake in 2006, and Cheney Reservoir earlier this year.

Zebra mussels reproduce rapidly. Once introduced, new populations can expand quickly and cause great damage, both economically and environmentally, Goeckler said. They can rapidly attach to and cover any hard structure in water, including native mussels, pipes, water supply structures, rocks, piers, flooded timber, boat hulls, and aquatic motor parts, often clogging them to the point of malfunction. Once zebra mussels become established, they are nearly impossible to eradicate.

“Educated boaters and other lake users are still our best tool to prevent the further spread of this species,” Goeckler said. “With Perry’s close proximity to many other Kansas reservoirs, it is imperative that we work together to prevent this species from spreading to other lakes. We will post signs around the reservoir and river to inform all users that zebra mussels are present and that it is illegal to possess or transport them. All lake users need to ensure that they are not moving mussels out of Perry Reservoir.”

Zebra mussel larvae are free-floating and microscopic, which enables aquatic users to unknowingly transport them between water bodies. All Perry Reservoir users must adhere to the following precautions to help prevent the spread of zebra mussels:

Phone 620-342-0658 or email jasong@wp.state.ks.us if zebra mussels or any other nuisance species are found.

Winter Meeting Schedule

Historically, the Lake Association has not met during the months of November through February. At the October meeting the membership decided to skip the monthly meetings for the winter. However, due to the negotiations with the city and/or decisions made by the Special Commission, it may be necessary to call a special meeting. The membership did decide to continue with the monthly newsletter through the winter months.