Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

April 7, 2007 Lake-Osceola State Bank, Baldwin

Administrative

1.                  The meeting was called to order by Vice President Dave Gibbs at 9:04 am. Dave announced the ongoing extension of Winter with Spring scheduled to arrive sometime this summer.

2.                  Attendance: Jay Barnhart, Paul Bigford, Jim Bos, Jeff Carpenter, Rick Conney, Jill Engelman, Dave Gibbs, Jim Schramm, Dick Schwikert and Tom Seroczynski.

Excused: Steve Fraley, Fred McLane, Kevin Morlock, , Ken Sink and Chuck Turk.

Guest: Mike McKinney

3. Minutes of the March 3, 2007 Board Meeting: Motion by Jay Barnhart to accept the minutes as distributed: APPROVED. On file in PMWC office.

4.      President’s Notices:

Memorials in the amount of $430 have been received from eight donors in the name of Charles W. Cliff Sr. of Cheboygan. Acknowledgements to be sent.

Osceola-Lake District Conservationist Ed Rivard has announced his

retirement; over the past 6-8 years Ed has assisted in rehabilitation of

over sixty sites, mostly on the Middle Branch. Motion by Jim Bos to

acknowledge Ed’s service: APPROVED.

Old Business

5. Financial Integrity: Jay Barnhart

A.     Treasurer’s Report: On file in PMWC office. Revenues from both dues and donations exceed forecast already. The grant form the

Great Lakes Commission has been received and forwarded to CRA.

Motion by Jill Engelman to accept the Treasurer’s Report: APPROVED.

B.     Membership: Jill Engelman announced we have 146 memberships paid to date plus 23 life members. These included 40 older renewals. Dues continue to be received in the mail. Several members have volunteered to help on projects. We have also received requests for information on endowments and estate planning; Jill Engelman will obtain information from the Lake County Community Foundation to forward to these individuals. A “dues reminder” will be sent to past due members early in May. Paul Bigford to obtain, as is possible, the names/address of Lake County riparians as part of LCRPOA project (see item #17) to be added to the Mason County names to be utilized for a upcoming membership drive.

C.     Expos: Dave Gibbs/Jeff Carpenter relayed that the new booth format and information was well received, but sales of memberships and shirts were low at FFF’s March 10-11 show. The crowd was down, but many were interested in the new C4C format. We had very good exposure. At the next Expos we will have sign up sheets for information and projects.

D.     Annual Banquet, July 14: Jill Engelman has been delayed in contacting our first choice for a speaker but should have information for the next meeting. Invitations will go out once the speaker is confirmed. Articles (for both Banquet and C4C) have appeared in the Great Lakes FFF magazine and on the MUCC website and will be posted in the MUCC June magazine issue as well. PM Rod and Gun Club has donated $100 to the Banquet. Jill asked all directors to notify her as early as possible regarding their contributions. A special raffle is planned to attract those who may be unable to attend the Banquet. A sweepstakes with either a 50/50 prize or a material prize is being considered. Jim Schramm reported following the meeting that a 50/50 sweepstakes is acceptable by the postal service. With regards to “larger prizes” Jill will be contacting various retail corporations in hopes of obtaining donations and Tom Seroczynski will contact Orvis through the local distributor. The program this year will include recognition of two Excellence in Conservation Awards and acknowledgement of two new life members.

E.      Cast for Conservation©, July 13-14: Jill Engelman reported for chairmen Steve Fraley and Tom Curtin that 5 teams have signed up for the event. There are 4 more verbal commitments to date as well. We intend to improve communication with C4C participants with focus on getting all to attend the Saturday evening Banquet. The new 2006 format has been well received with this year’s interested parties.

6.      Restoration Committee:

A.     Restoration Committee March 20 meeting: CRA’s Kim Balke -

Has submitted a grant request for $477,000 in 319 monies in partnership with the Land Conservancy of West Michigan; funds would update the watershed plan to EPA standards and assist enrollment of lands into conservation easements. Two properties are currently being investigated.

The Baldwin River sandtrap was cleaned twice in 2006 at a total cost

$8,000 for 800 cubic yards. DNR’s Todd Wills is monitoring the

efficiency of the cleaning.

Big Rapids Land Development Company has employed CRA to

investigate their sites on the Little South to establish a management

plan.

MDEQ’s Garth Aslakson indicates the CMI funds for the Baldwin

Village Storm Drain must be used in 2007, as DEQ will not renew

the permit if the work is not completed this year.

The Bell Sandtrap will be cleaned by MDNR in May; the spoils from

USFS’s November 2006 cleaning remain on the pad, well back from

the river’s edge.

The Baldwin River Restoration project has been completed with 18

sites repaired at a cost of $138,314.

House Bill #4323 proposed the use of Road Right-of-Way usage by

ORV traffic, supposedly to encourage tourism spending. Lake County

Road Commission opposes the change due to shoulder deterioration and maintenance increases, including deliverance of sand and sediment at road stream crossings. Motion by Jim Schramm that PMWC be on

record in opposition to HB4323: APPROVED unanimously. Letters

to be sent to the legislature, governor and county officials. Dave Gibbs

and Fred McLane to follow up.

B.     Nature Conservancy Plan: John Legge has scheduled a meeting for

Monday, April 23^rd at 1:00 PM at PMWC office to review the final

proposal for sites to be rehabilitated.

C.     Baldwin Village Stormdrain: We have not yet been able to meet with

Village President Doug Bolles to update the stormwater issue. It has become even more important now that DEQ has announced the existing permit will not be renewed.

7. Unified Management

A.     Natural River Zoning Review Board: The April 16^th Public Hearing

will review two requests for variances -

Steven Priest (Little South east of James Road) wishes to construct three retaining walls, each 4’ high by 22’, 46’ and 48’ long; the lower wall would be 29’ from the river.

Jack Cannata (Little South, north of 96^th Street) is requesting an after-

the-fact variance for a retaining wall and a 10’x12’ deck, mistakenly installed under a 2004 variance for an addition. Dick Schwikert will chair the meeting in Paul Bigford’s absence.

B.     Pagura Litigation: No word yet on the removal of the dam, but it is

understood that it must take place by year’s end.

C.     Henry Campground: MDEQ has announced they have filed a civil suit

on March 16^th; they are requesting removal of 100,000 cubic feet of fill (original complaint alleged dumping 10,000 cubic yards on floodplain and wetlands). Henry has 91 days to respond. Reports differ on whether the Mason County trial will be bench or jury.

8.                  Communications & Information:

A.     USFS:

PM River Management Plan. Following discussion at the March 3^rd

Board Meeting, President Fred McLane sent a letter to Director Becky

Humphries requesting a memorandum of understanding be issued to

resolve differences between state and federal public access sites. The

letter specifically did not address the issue of transfer of lands or titles

between agencies as the Board previously agreed. The Plan was to

have been published by the end of March, but PMWC has not

received a copy or notification to date. Jim Schramm reported that he

believed he had received a CD of the Plan, but on follow up with

USFS following the meeting it was discovered that the Plan is

intended to be issued within the next two weeks. The 30 day comment

period will begin with the publication notice in the Lake County Star

Newspaper.

MDNR announced a meeting April 12^th, 6-8 pm at McGuires in

Cadillac to offer to other government units or alternate conservation

organizations (USFS included) a total of 25 parcels of land in Lake

and Wexford Counties. (All are in Lake Co.). These sites include

Wagonwheel PAS, Forks PAS, M-37 PAS, and Sulak PAS. Total

acreage is 237.89. This goes well beyond what was discussed at the

earlier hearing at Baldwin High School regarding the PM River Plan.

It would be difficult to comment on the relevance of such a land

transfer until the specifics of the PM River Plan are announced.

Board discussion resulted in the following comments – The land

transfer goes beyond the unified rules concept. If parking and access

fees are extended, where are those dollars going? Will the Feds do a

better job that the DNR? What aspects of unified management will

change with a change of ownership? It seems that the DNR always

has no money and the Feds always do have money. With the existing

State budget crisis, the DNR’s ability to manage is decreasing.

Improved communication between the Feds and State is necessary,

Would that be possible with just a change in ownership? Why does

the USFS have control over access to state property (the river)?

B.     US Fish and Wildlife Program: Custer Weir. Jeff Slade forwarded a