2019 annual report for Turtle Creek Watershed District

Steve Lawler and Steve Penkava discussed briefly the Landowners informational meetings scheduled for Re-Determination of Benefits Freeborn/Mower County JCD J-24 to be held at the Hollandale/Riceland Township Government Center in Hollandale, Minnesota for Geneva twsp it will be Monday March 4th, 2019. Steve Penkava also clarified there would be two sessions one at 9 AM and one at 4 P.M. which ever is convenient for you to attend.

Reimbursement of beaver tails was discussed. Pete made a motion to adjust the payment for beaver tails to $60.00 per tail which is the same payment as Mower County seconded by Jon and carried. This rate will be effective immediately.

At the April meeting Lowell Schlotzhauer from Newry Twsp attended the meeting in regard to road damage near Deer Creek which has been an on going issue for some time. Steve Penkava will assess the damage and possible solutions to discuss to improve the area at the next meeting. At the May meeting Lowell Schlotzhauser from Newry Township attended the meeting in regard to road damage near Deer Creek on 890th Ave. After discussion Pete made a motion for Turtle Creek and Newry Township to cost share to stabilize the East shoulder of 890th Avenue on Lateral 1-2 of Deer Creek in the SW ¼ NW ¼ Section 35 Newry Township. All costs will be split 50/50 up to and not to exceed amount of $3000.00. Seconded by Jeff and carried.

At the May meeting at 4:30 a “meet and greet” was enjoyed to welcome Emily Javens and Ruth Schaefer from MAWD to the Hollandale area followed by a Power Point presentation by Pete VanErkel sharing how Hollandale came into being and a brief history of the area. Following questions and answers the group shared refreshments during the meeting that was called to order at 5 P.M. The first agenda item was the presentation of the 50th anniversary award to the Board of Managers from Emily and Ruth. They complimented the Board on the history and longevity of the Watershed Board with such a strong bond to the community. We thank them for making the long trip and the award presentation for this honor. The plaque will be displayed at the government Center for all to share.

In May Steve Lawler distributed a draft of a Memorandum of Understanding between TCWD and Freeborn SWCD for the Managers review. This outlines responsibilities for both parties in the administration of both 103E (Ditch law) and 103F (the new buffer law). Hopefully this will help to eliminate any confusion and duplication when implementing the Buffer requirements on JCD J 24. After brief discussion Pete made a motion to sign the agreement seconded by Jeff and carried.

At the June meeting Steve Lawler distributed copies of the MAWD summer tour this year which begins on June 26th 2019 in the Red River Basin for any of the Managers that would be able to attend.

Steve Penkava reviewed the Mn DOT’s proposed SH 251 culvert work, the plan project, where the culverts were located and each plan crossing would have a permit attached to each plan.

MDOT plans to submit permits for the culvert work at the August meeting.

At the July meeting Jon distributed a proposed copy of the 2020 budget and explained the changes he proposed After discussion Dave made a motion for Nancy to publish the proposed budget for the hearing to take place on Tuesday August 20th, 2019 at 5:30 P.M.at the Government Center in Hollandale Minnesota during the regular meeting , Jon seconded the motion. Publications are in the Austin Daily Herald in Mower County and the Albert Lea Tribune in Freeborn County according to statute.

Steve Lawler received the following email from Jeanine regarding Geneva Lake as she was unable to attend the July meeting: There is mixed news regarding the lake. As you can imagine with all the rain the progress toward the summer drawdown objective is minimal. The lake level is only about 4” below normal runout (our goal was about 18” by this point in the growing season). To the casual observer, the lake level may seem much lower as we have become used to seeing water levels higher than normal the last few summers. Water clarity is poor and the lake is green with algae. Nevertheless, submersed vegetation, particularly sago