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The eNews
Douglas Lake Improvement Association
PO Box 472, Pellston, MI 49769

www.douglaslake.org             September 15, 2021
 
DLIA 2021 Annual Meeting Report
                    On August 24, 2021, the DLIA Annual Meeting was held at the Hidden River Golf and Casting Club (HRGCC). Although the number of bodies present was less that optimal, those who attended enjoyed the air-conditioned comfort of the Rainbow Room at HRGCC provided by our generous hosts Becky and John Duffey.  The cash bar and table snacks also were popular. Fortunately, over 50 proxy votes from DLIA members who were not able to attend the meeting assigned voting authority to members who were in attendance, assuring that actions requiring a vote of at least 10% of the membership were official.  In addition to approving the minutes of the August, 2019 Annual Meeting, present members + proxies voted to:1) approve the election of Suzanne Witthoff for second term as DLIA Treasurer by acclamation; and 2) approve an Amendment to DLIA Articles of Incorporation to include protection from personal financial liability for the voting members of the Executive Board (EB) when acting in their EB roles, as provided in State of Michigan regulations governing Boards of nonprofit organizations.
          Guest speakers Randy Bricker, Fire Chief of Pellston Fire Department and Chief of the EMS squad that operates out of the Pellston Fire Department, and one of his MFR (Medical First Responders) volunteers spoke about how 911 calls received in Pellston area, including Douglas Lake, are handled. The MFRs are trained volunteers who live in the local area and are notified by the 911 operator based on who can get the scene most quickly to provide initial assistance and assessment.  The emergency squad at Pellston also gets notified and travels to the scene. They reported that most calls from the Douglas Lake community are for emergency medical assistance.
          The second speaker, Sergeant Earl Manual, Head of Recreation Division, Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Office oversees Marine, Snowmobile and OffRoadVehicles (ORVs) patrols to meet the needs of the citizens of Cheboygan County.  He emphasized that their primary objectives are safety and education rather than issuing citations. He also encouraged the Douglas Lake community to contact the Sheriff’s office/him if there were particular concerns or issues that he could help with.
          Attendees heard Kim Grant’s brief report about the status of the swimmer’s itch control program after one season on Douglas Lake. In Kim’s absence the report was read by Frank Spezia. A more comprehensive report drawing from the Final Report for the 2021 Merganser Control Program submitted by Swimmer’s Itch Solutions LLC will appear in the DLIA November Newsletter – the article will include answers to the questions members raised at the Meeting.
          Stuart Case, Chair of the DLIA Boat Ramp Committee, updated attendees on the deteriorating status of the boat ramp. His Annual Report is included below in the DLIA Committee 2021 Annual Reports. DLIA is working with the Munro Township Supervisor and the Cheboygan County Road Commission to address these problems. 
          Open discussion identified issues of concern to the attendees. These focused on need to get the boat ramp in more stable and safe operation with the expectation that resources from DLIA may be needed to achieve this goal. There was strong support for raising funds, if needed, through dues increase, a special assessment, or other means to raise the financial resources for the probable replacement of the 30-year-old boat ramp. The DLIA Executive Board will be following up on the concerns raised and members’ recommendations.
          
DLIA  2021 Annual Committee Reports*
 
End of Year Boat Ramp Report, 2021
          The Douglas Lake boat ramp was operational this year, but experienced continued degradation of the underwater portion of the ramp. This was the 30th year of operation for the ramp in its present form, and several of the concrete planks comprising the underwater portion of the ramp have fractured and the concrete is crumbling, exposing the internal reinforcing metal rods (rebar). This situation poses an increasing risk to persons launching and recovering watercraft, as well as, possible damage to their boats and trailers. To assist in seeking a remedy to this undesirable situation, the DLIA has contacted the entities responsible for the boat ramp, the Cheboygan County Road Commission and Munro Township to initiate a plan for returning the boat ramp to a safe and fully serviceable condition. It is the DLIA’s goal to help achieve a plan to accomplish the necessary improvements and to implement the required construction by next spring or summer.

Submitted by:  Stuart Case, Chair, Boat Ramp Committee
Committee members: Glenn Brantley, Grant Case, Kent Case, Stuart Case (Chair), Ryan Cherney, Bill Duffey, Dave Fisher, Lloyd Flanders, Holly and Rich Gedert, Alan Grams, Pat Keiser, Tom Roop, Steve Sweeney, Chris Waltz
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Loon Committee Report
       2021 was a successful loon nesting season here on Douglas Lake.  Thanks to Rich Gedert, the nesting platforms were placed in the lake in early April.  To the best of our knowledge, four chicks have survived the summer; two from Maple Bay and one each from Marl Bay and Manitou. The nest in North Fishtail, however, produced two eggs, but no viable chicks.
Four new buoys were added this year, as well as a new 4G camera.  We are grateful to Otto Busard, who made a generous donation to the DLIA for the purchase of the camera. After AT&T has their upgrade in 2022, our other cameras, which are 3G, will no longer be able to upload pictures directly to the website.  Their photos will be saved to an SD card for viewing after the nesting season. 
      Our plans for next year include purchasing another 4G camera and constructing 3 additional buoys.
       Special thanks to Holly and Rich Gedert for their work with the cameras and uploading the pictures to the website. And appreciation to the rest of the committee (Scott Davis, Dave Thompson, Jim Hodgson and Dale Covy) for all that they do on behalf of our loon residents.

Submitted by Anne Covy
September 15, 2021
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DLIA Aquatic Invasive Report 2021
          DLIA partnered with the TOMWC to host the Watershed Council’s Mobile Boat Wash Station on three dates his year, May 30, June 27, and August 21.  DLIA volunteers were on hand to provide boaters with information about the ‘Clean Boats, Clean Waters’ program while Watershed Council interns power washed the boats.  The information was well received by boaters, and most were aware of the need to keep invasive plants out of the lake and prevent transfer of plant material to other bodies of water.
       Nonscientific surveys of the boat ramp activity this season suggests that there were more nonresident boaters launching and retrieving boats than previously observed.  Visual inspection of trailers showed that they were generally clean, which suggests that the message is getting through.
      A random sampling of aquatic plants in Bryant Bay found no suspicious plants were present.  While not a comprehensive survey, this area is the most likely to show any invasive plants before other areas of the lake. 

Submitted by Peter Klaas
September 14, 2021
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DLIA 2020-2021 News Team Report

Team members: Frank Beaver, Holly Gedert, Joan Hartwig (Chair), Jan Huntley, Margie Ladzick, Jayne Morris, Linda Orlow
     The team virtually planned both Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 newsletters, and were responsible for assigned article preparation, either writing articles or contacting community resources to prepare articles. Deadlines for newsletter articles were:  Fall 2020 (10/02/20) and Spring 2021 (04/02/21).
      The Fall 2020 edition was available via eNews or postal delivery by mid-November, with the Spring 2021 edition via eNews or postal delivery available by mid-May.  The 12-page Fall 2020 and 2021 Spring newsletters, were delivered electronically to members with email addresses, and hard-copy newsletters were mailed to approximately 40 members without email addresses.  Approximately 25% of the hard-copy newsletters have Pellston/Levering mailing addresses.
In addition to those member households receiving hard-copy newsletters in the Spring, approximately fifteen black/white copies were distributed by Bill Hartwig, DLIA Community Liaison, to the Cheboygan County Road Commission.  Due to the pandemic, in-person meetings were not held last Fall, and black/white copies were not distributed to Munro Township, Cheboygan County Road Commission, and Cheboygan County Planning Commission.
      The news team continues to suggest zone reps encourage members to provide email addresses to the DLIA.  Electronic delivery of the semi-annual newsletters usually reaches members several days before mailed hard-copies. Current printing and postage costs ($0.55/oz.) are $2.03/newsletter.
Fall 2020 Newsletter (12 pages) - $472.00
  • Key Creative, Alanson – Composition, photo charge, final web & high resolution $360.00
  • Northern Copy Express, Petoskey –
  • 11X17 newsletter, b/w @ $.80                                                      90.00
  • Postage                                                                                          22.00
Spring 2021 Newsletter (12 pages) – $485.55
  • Key Creative, Alanson - Composition, photo charge, final web & high resolution  $380.00
  • Northern Copy Express, Petoskey –
  • 11X17 newsletter, b/w @ $.1.48, folded and stapled                      83.00
  • Postage                                                                                          22.55                                                                                        
Submitted by: Joan Hartwig, Chair
__________________________________________________________________
 Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program:
Water Quality Testing on Douglas Lake
     Samples taken in June, July and August 2021 were collected in the deep hole area just NW of Pells Island. (Samples are also collected by other volunteers from 55 other lakes and streams for the Watershed Council Program.)
     We tested water clarity, water temperature and measured chlorophyll, which is a pigment found in all green plants (including algae). This gives a fairly accurate estimate of the algae in the lake water. Low chlorophyll is indicative of good water quality. At the end of the sampling season, the accumulated test tubes are delivered to the U of M Bio-station for analysis.
     Data collected by this program are used by the Watershed Council staff to determine the current level of productivity or the “tropic status” of a lake
      This information has been collated into a single database that can be used by staff to evaluate aquatic ecosystem health, examine trends within or among water bodies and identify specific problems. The water quality data are now available to the general public. The entire database can be downloaded by clicking “CWQM Database” button on the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council site.

Submitted by: Warren Woolcott and Linda Orlow, 2021 DL Water Quality Monitoring Team
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DLIA Community Relations
2020/2021 Activities
     Because of Covid restrictions, many of the governmental meetings were virtually on-line.Agencies contacted were:Munro Township, Cheboygan County Commission, Cheboygan County Road Commission, and the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council.
  1. Represented DLIA at semi-monthly Cheboygan County Road Commission meetings; distributed copies of the Newsletter; at the Commission’s request, drafted a Resolution for the Commission urging area Legislators to support additional funding for transportation projects. 
  2. Represented DLIA at monthly Munro Township meetings; distributed copies of the Newsletter; updated them on DLIA and Road Commission activities. 
  3. Assisted Douglas Lake DLIA members with the Cheboygan County Road Commission to repair Bryant Road potholes;
  4. Offered to assist with developing a Cheboygan County Blight Ordinance, although this is not a DLIA effort it has generated a great deal of member interest; provided information from the Michigan Association of Planning;
  5. Served on the Douglas Lake Boater Assistance team;
  6. Developed a Munro Twp. Road Millage proposal as requested by Charles Antkoviac, Twp. Supr* This activity is awaiting a decision on the possible need for a Fire Department millage increase. 
Submitted by Bill Hartwig, DLIA Community Liaison
*[Editor’s Note: Keith Ginop elected Township Supervisor, November 2020.]
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* In years past, DLIA Committee Reports were given orally at the Annual Meeting. Because of COVID. the 2020 DLIA Annual Meeting was cancelled.  However, the work of these DLIA Committees continued through 2020 and 2021. As was done in 2020, we have collated the various DLIA 2021 Committee Reports and share them with the membership through eNews: this issue and a future issue.  Please notice how many volunteers are actively engaged in these committees.  Thank you to all of our DLIA volunteers for their time and contributions. There's always room for more volunteers!
Your comments/questions about sharing DLIA Committee Reports through eNews are most welcome. Please email info@douglaslake.org.
Douglas Lake Improvement Association    ─   Dues are $25 a year 
Mailing address: DLIA, PO Box 472, Pellston, MI 49769
See the Membership tab for the 
New Member/Update Member Form
or send membership updates to membership@douglaslake.org 
Send News Articles and Obituaries to info@douglaslake.org
Send pictures/photos for DL calendar to pictures@douglaslake.org
The eNews is published twice a month in-season and
as needed (~once a month) off-season.
The DLIA Newsletter is published twice a year - Fall and Spring.
The deadline for November DLIA Newsletter is October 1, 2021. 
Note: We appreciate the obituaries being brief (300 words or less)
and relevant to Douglas Lake. News articles should not exceed 700
words unless approved by the editor. Please be aware
that any article or obituary may be edited to fit into the layout.
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