Horseshoe Lake Public Inland Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District Annual Meeting
Meeting Date: September 19, 2020 at Beaver Town Hall
Call to order at 9:00 AM by President Steve Eichman with approximately 18 people in attendance and another
16 attending via Zoom. A moment of silence was held in memory of two long-time lake residents who have
passed away: Jim Perala and Jack Sullivan - both who did so much to support lake activities for many years.
2019 minutes were not read, but posted on HLIA website and were approved.
Current Status of Lake
Steve gave a quick update on the status of Horseshoe Lake. The past 12 months have been focused on
recovering from the tornado, with many repairs completed on homes and cabins, but still more to be done on
several. For the most part - people were diligent on trying to minimum run-off into the lake as stumps were
pulled and other repairs were made, but still need to focus on this. We know we have had more soil going into
the lake then normal, so owners should look at this as an opportunity to do permanent shoreline improvements
focus on the long-term needs of the lake.
Dave Blumer from LEAPS attended the meeting and presented a detailed update on the lake health and what
can/should be done for its long-term care. A copy of his presentation has been posted on the hlake.org website.
Deep snow cover on the ice this winter delayed spring plant growth of Milfoil and resulted in only very small
areas of infestation this spring (which is great). Because it was under 2 acres (most in and around Buckwall Bay)
- the DNR did not allow us to do any spraying in 2020. The high water levels most of the year also helped
minimize milfoil growth and the summer whole]lake survey only saw scattered plants with the only larger are
being to the left before you go into Mud Lake. He again reminded people to pull individual milfoil plants if they
see any. A plant pulled today may save a $1,000 of spraying in two years.
Also seeing more Purple loosestrife on Horseshoe and spent an afternoon cutting plants on the east end of the
lake along the public land and in Buckwalls Bay. Thanks for Craig and Laura Nackerud for also monitoring and
cutting plants they found. Again - if you see plants on your lake shore, cut them before they go to seed and
dispose of the plants (burn or landfill).
The other thing we need to be vigilant for is Zebra Mussels. Once they are in the lake - there is not a lot that
can be done. We do have two zebra mussel plates in the lake (to see if we have them) and have been
monitoring them this summer. With COVID - we were not able to do much for boat inspections at landing. But
make sure your own boats and the boats of any of your lake guests are clean and live wells are empty before
putting them into Horseshoe and do the same as you remove them. Also as you take out your docks and lifts
this fall, make sure you (or whoever removed them) does a quick inspection to make sure you donft see any. We
will be updating signage at boat landing next spring.
Financial Report
Current Balances: Lake District Money Market: $10,761.82 (which includes $6,933 in advances from CWCB and
Lake Planning grants) and $17,840.85. in CDs (includes $12,500 Emergence Invasive Weed Fund).
Two major positive variances for 2020 are that we did not end up spraying for milfoil (spring survey did not show
enough areas to qualify for permit) and that we were approved for a two year lake planning grant, which will
cover 75% of the 2020 and 2021 expenses related to updating our lake management plan in 2021. Move and
seconded. Approved Approved.
Shoreline Renovations
Just remember to use silt fence and erosion control mats when doing any renovations along your shoreline (and
get permits if the amount of disturbed area requires it). There are many best practices owners can do to keep
the lake clean. Rain gardens, native plantings (benefits include less water, better adapted, survive winter, feed
wildlife), runoff diversion strips, and French drains (infiltration trenches) drains. If property owners are
interested, there are Wisconsin's Healthy Water grants available from state See http://tinyurl.com/healthylakes.
Potential cost - share grant award is $1,000 per project, with a maximum of $25,000.
Lake Management Plan and DNR Grants
Our five]year lake management plan is due to be updated by the end of 2022 and re-writing our Aquatic Plant
Management Plan including whole-lake plant survey work will need to be done. We did get a planning grant for
cost-sharing required work that needs to be done in 2020 and 2021. The planning grant also included funding for
some other projects that will require volunteers. Again - some of this will get pushed off into 2021, so will be
looking for volunteers. We also were awarded a Clean Water/Clean Boats grant, but landing inspections were
restricted by DNR due to COVID. Remember - with grants, volunteer hours are important to minimize the
amount of cash we need to spend vs what we get back.
Sewer and Sanitary Discussion
Tom Ludy lead a discussion on past experiences around discussion of sanitary and sewer issues on the lake. This
was discussed years ago, but the idea did not go over well. But over the past 10 years – more and more of the
“cabins” on the lake have turned into much larger permanent or seasonal homes and the majority still only have
holding tanks. Constant pumping of holding tanks is required (sometimes more than monthly) and this is
expensive and usually just mean your untreated waste is getting dumped on a field somewhere (and potentially
finding its way into the water system). The Village of Turtle Lake is in the planning process for future expansion
of its sanitary system (which is near or over capacity), so if we would ever be interested in tying into that in the
future, we need to be having those discussions with the village now.
After significant discussion, a motion was made for Tom Ludy and the Lake District to investigate what sanitary
options might be available and then pass that information on to Lake District residents for further discussion –
up to the point of which a finance commitment would be required. Motion passed (again – no financial
commitments, just have discussions, then education and inform lake district owners).
Boat Landing
The boat landing is a very important part of our lake. It is owned, managed and maintained by Beaver Township
and is a public landing - open to anyone to use (neither township or lake district can restrict access). A dock was
donated to the township this spring and they made the decision to put it out at the boat landing to aid boats
getting in and out. There was discussion around the increased number of people fishing and swimming off the
dock, with both pros and cons discussed.
The township paid to have the landing cleared of the down trees last summer, but their budget is stretched thin
and they do not have resource available to do any more tree trimming or removal at this point. The TL
Volunteer fire department cleaned up the branches still on the ground with local resident help and will burn
those two piles of brush when appropriate. There was a brief discussion on whether the lake district should
consider taking over ownership and maintenance of the boat landing, but that was not generally thought to be a
good idea (partially due to liability).
B&Bs and Rentals
There was concern about the increase presence of rental properties on the lake and the potential impact this
has from renters who do not know (or follow) boating regulations. Polk county does have shoreland ordinance
for renters with a list of rules that is supposed to published and posted in each property. Sam Lindquist and
Linda Christianson agreed to look into and maybe create a one-page "reminder" list of lake rules to share with
all lake owners (and publish on website). We will also check into what our legal authority is, as a lake district, to
create our own rules for our lake and also to be able to potentially do our own lake patrols to help enforce these
(or at least stop people and remind them of the rules).
Commissioner Election
Tom Ludy's three-year commission term has expired. Tom and Craig Nackerud were nominated for the position
and a vote was held among the members physically present at the meeting. Tom Ludy was reelected to a new
three-year term in a close vote. Steve Eichman's term will expire in 2021 and Joe Waldo's in 2022.
Lake Directory
A lake member update form was included as part of the meeting announcement mailing to gather updated
information to be included in a new lake directory. Over 70 forms have been returned so far. To reduce the cost
of printing a paper copy of the directory, a PDF version will be created and distributed to those people who
return the form. A list of all owners will be included (public information) plus the contact information received.
This will be a winter project to be completed by March 1.
2021 Budget.
The main change for 2021 will be expenses related to required updating our Five-Year Lake Management Plan
required by the DNR. However, we have been approved for a 75% DNR planning grant which will offset a
significant portion of these expenses. Here is a link to the summary of activities: 2020-21 Planning Grant Activities.pdf. It is important to
have volunteer hours in 2021 to increase our grant reimbursement and reduce our net expenses.
The budget was discussed and approved. A motion
was made and passed to maintain the tax
assessment at $9,300 for 2011 (average of appr.
$17 per $100,000 property valuation across the
$55MM in total valuation within lake district). We
have cash reserves to cover the difference (while
still maintaining our $12,500 emergency fund). Any
additional volunteer hours will also increase our
grant reimbursement. We will be reach out next
spring for volunteers to help coordinate as assist in
our 2021 activities and projects.
Formal meeting adjourned at 10:14.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Joe Waldo - Lake District Secretary/Treasurer
Horseshoe Lake Public Inland Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District
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