GREEN LAKE & BETSIE RIVER ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL MEETING
AUGUST 16, 2014
Meeting called to order at 10am by President Bill Hutchison, and Bill started the meeting by
showing our Mission Statement. He also went through the Agenda for the Meeting. Bill introduced the
Board Members of the Association, the different committee's and their duties. He also told about the
passing of our Vice President Bob Robinson, and his commitment to the Green Lake & Betsie River
Association and the Interlochen Public Library. Secretary Barb Bayer read the minutes of our 2013
meeting. Don Dierkes moved to accept. Seconded and passed. Bill said a survey on Phragmites was
done on Green Lake and will be done on Duck Lake next year. A permit from the DNR was applied for
because there were seven areas on Green Lake that might contain Phragmites and we need a permit to
spray them. Bill also told about a mobile boat wash station, but it was too late to do it for the Bass
Tournament this year. Wade Adams said there was a lot of damage to the west shoreline of Duck Lake
this year because of high water. He talked to the DNR about someone moving boards on the Duck Lake
Dam, and they said it won't happen again. Water sampling sites were shown around Green Lake and
Duck Lake, and there were no problems found. The plant sampling was done and nothing invasive was
found in either Lake. Bill also showed the web-site that Vice President Dave Pennington maintains.
Treasurer Laurel Thompson gave the treasurers report. Green Lake with 134 members had an
income for 2013-2014 of $9,087 and expenses of $1,395, and we have $68,000 in our invasive species
fund. Duck Lake with 63 members had an income for 2013-2014 of $1,336 and expenses of $733, and
they have $4,500 in their invasive fund. Mike Emaus moved to accept. Seconded and passed. President
Bill said our dues are the lowest and our membership the highest of all the associations in the area.
NEW ASSOCIATION, BY-LAWS, AND NOMINATIONS
There was a question raised about the homes on the Betsie River if we drop them from the
Association, and Bill said other organizations handle the Betsie River as it's part of the Crystal Lake
watershed. Bill went through the by-law changes, and said only Green Lake members can vote on
including Duck Lake in the Association. The vote was unanimous with 30 Green Lake members voting to
change the by-laws to include Duck Lake in the Association which now will be called the Green Lake &
Duck Lake Association. A question was asked, how would we contact people who aren't members an
encourage them to join? Bill said the information will be in the Winter Newsletter. While the voting was
taking place a video was shown on how to clean your boats, trailers, and other equipment. Nominations
for Board Members up for election are: Barb Sandys, Mike Emaus, Margaret Fako, Marc Alderman, and
John Novak. Dave Pennington moved the nominations be closed. Seconded and passed.
SPEAKER
President Bill introduced Ed Hoogterp as our speaker. He is a Past President of the Crystal Lake
& Watershed Association, where non-riparians can be members, and their dues are $35 per person. He
was very impressed by what we do with volunteers. There's watershed planning for the Crystal Lake and
Betsie River watershed, including Green Lake and Duck Lake. He showed a picture of Lake Erie and the
problems they're having. The watershed is using 6th graders to take water samples, and there're finding
that the watershed is in pretty good shape. This is a two year project, with a grant from the Michigan DEQ
for $160,000 which will be published in 2015. Ed showed pictures of our watershed of which Green Lake
and Duck Lake are the headwaters. He said that once the watershed plan is completed there may be
Grants available for different projects. The plan must maintain water quality, recreation, fishing,
navigation, scenic beauty, public access, and economic issues. Ed said fishing alone on Green Lake
contributes $1,000,000 a year. The issues facing headwater lakes are concerns like erosion, fertilized
lawns, septic and holding tanks, storm water runoff, sediment getting into lakes, e-coli both human and
animal, invasive species, and he said swimmers itch is indicative of good water. Wade Adams asked if
the algae on the west side of Duck Lake could be caused by Florey Ranch Estates on the south side of
Youker Road? No one knew. Donn Gresso said it's very hard to get through Grass Lake and the Duck
population is down. There's lots of silt and how can we get rid of it? Ed doesn't know how to manage this.
He said plans to navigate the Betsie River caused lots of trouble because of trees down, and you can't
haul trees out but you can cut them for boats to pass through. He said it helps the fish habitat. Arch Carey
said he knew when the Grass Lake Dam was put in and would like to see it taken out, as he feels it's
ruined the upper Betsie. Don Dierkes said the DNR pulled the boards and wondered if that had any effect
on the lower Betsie. Paul Morris wondered what a dead zone is? Ed replied that it's an algae bloom that
died and takes all of the oxygen so nothing can live there.
OTHER
Thompson Pharmacy in Traverse City has cream for swimmer's itch and it's called Itch Guard. It
did reduce the itch somewhat, and also sunscreen with Deet may help. President Bill thanked everyone
for coming and Cathy Dierkes thanked Bill and the Green Lake Board for all they've done.
Meeting adjourned at 12:10pm.
Barb Bayer, Secretary