FOP 9 News & Minutes

May 11, 2021 - 7:00PM Driftless Education & Visitor Center The Friends of Pool 9 (FOP9) Board of Directors met at the Driftless Area Education & Visitor Center. President Alex called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Directors in attendance were, Larry Quamme, Jerry Boardman, John Verdon, Bruce ReVoir, Alex Galema, Bob Henkel, Joe Mazanec, Darrin Thran, Sue English, and Kevin Quillin. Also attending Wendy Woyczik from USFWS. Approve Minutes – 03/16/21 – On motion by John, second by Joe, the minutes were approved as written. Financial Report – Larry indicated that the FOP9 laptop experienced a hard disk crash but all information was restored from backups. Two bills had been paid, $390.32 to the Village Farm and Home for gloves & bags used in the river clean-up and $132.50 to Siebring Enterprise for the disk replacement. Eric donated hours that his employee spent recovering the data and programs. Correspondence – A letter of appreciation and thank you was received from the De Soto Schools for the scholarship funding. A support document was sent to the Wisconsin legislature supporting the bill to allow people to cross railroad tracks for recreational purposes. Scholarship Report – Bruce indicated that two 4-year scholarships had been awarded at Kee High School but COVID issues at the school, prevented him from attending. Mandi Boardman presented the 5 scholarships at the De Soto High School. John will obtain the names and photos for the newsletter. Printing Contractor – John reported that the Jackson Street Press had been sold to Rapid Printers on 1/1/21. He indicated that he had been in contact with Brad Schwickerath, President of the company who indicated they would print the newsletter but the charity discount would be lowered. On motion by John, second by Bob, the Board approved using the new company. USFWS Information – - Reno Bottoms Project – Wendy stated that the Corps had been on site and had been given the information solicited from the FOP9 members. The project is in the very early stages of developing plans towards saving trees dying from high water. - Pool 8 Carp Removal – Wendy indicated that 34 silver carp had been caught and samples of other fish noted good volumes. - Audit - Wendy indicated that the final rules on the Friend’s Group data reporting was nearing final approval. - District Manager – Applications had closed and interviews were in process to replace Brandon Jones. No Wake Zone – Alex reported that anchors had been completed and sign designs were set. An application for a permit to place the signs at both ends was being completed and submitted to the City of Lansing for council action. Some comments of concern had bee received by board members and it was pointed out that only 300 feet from the shoreline was designated as the no wake zone. A question of FOP9 ownership of the buoys and being hit and boat damage was discussed. Larry pointed out that the FOP9 liability insurance company was aware of the project. 2021 Annual Meeting – The Board favors proceeding with plans for the meeting. The by-laws set the meeting for the 4th weekend in September which is the 25th this year. The board committee is Larry, Mike, Sue, John V. and Jerry. The board will sponsor a raffle with 1,500 tickets (prizes 2 - $500, 1 - $300 1- $200) River Clean-Up – About 100 people participated this year and 12,160 pounds of debris was placed in the dumpsters. No issues were reported. Great River Road House 50/50 Donation – The board had approved the program offered by Josh Petzel that a pizza of the month was being offered for the month of May and 50% of the sales would be shared with the FOP9. Other Items – - 2021 Spring Newsletter – John will head up the newsletter production and will be produced in June. - Fish Days – Lansing Fish days are planned for August 13,14,15. John will contact Iowa DNR for the fish trailer exhibit and Sue will arrange for volunteers to sell clothing. Board member help will be needed for setting up the stand. FOP9 activities are only planned for the 14th. - Porta Potties – Potties were delivered on May 1 at Lynxville, De Soto, Winneshiek, Big Slough and Army Road. Larry will set up the donation box at Big Slough. NEXT BOARD MEETING – The Board scheduled the next meeting for Tuesday, July 13 2021. ADJOURN – On motion by Bob, second by Kevin, the meeting adjourned at 8:20pm. Larry Quamme, Secretary

Board of Directors Meeting March 16, 2021 - 7:00PM Driftless Education & Visitor Center The Friends of Pool 9 (FOP9) Board of Directors met at the Driftless Area Education & Visitor Center. President John V. called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Directors in attendance were, Larry Quamme, Jerry Boardman, John Verdon, Bruce ReVoir, Alex Galema, Lisa Welsh, Bob Henkel, Mike Conway and Joe Mazanec. Also attending Wendy Woyczik & Jeff Butler from USFWS. John welcomed new Board Member Mike Conway & Wendy introduced Jeff Butler the Audubon Forest Ecologist working with the USFWS. Approve Minutes – 10/13/20 & 11/17/20 – On motion by Jerry, second by Joe, the minutes were approved as written. Financial Report – Larry presented the financial report for year 2020. Income totaled $21,164.33; expenses totaled $14,172.56. Cash as of 12/31/2020 was $63,551.22. He also presented the report from 1/1/21 to 3/15/21 with income of $1,083.02 and expenses of $776.00. Cash as of 3/15/21 was $63,858.24 which includes $11,486.60 donated for the Refuge Centennial Project. On motion by Bob, second by Joe, the reports were approved. Officer Nominating Committee & Election – ( Members Bruce & Jerry) Bruce moved to nominate Alex as President, John V. as Vice-President, & Larry, Secretary/Treasurer. Jerry offered the second, and the motion was approved. Alex replaced John to chair the remainder of the meeting. Discuss Reno Bottoms ACOE Project – Wendy provided information on the proposed project and provided maps of the area. She indicated that ideas and input was being welcomed as there are different proposals being offered. The project is moving forward due to the huge number of tree fatalities caused by flooding during the past 4-5 years. Ideas were discussed and a map will be taken to Brent Darling and also Al Wuennecke who are very familiar with the area and comments will be given back to Wendy. USFWS Information – Wendy has been named Acting District Manager pending the departure of Brandon Jones to a Texas assignment. Recruitment for the position will be starting soon. Wendy indicated that no additional information had been provided on the friend’s groups audit. Some amendments to the Friend’s Agreement will be needed otherwise it appears the FOP9 financial records (Larry’s opinion) will meet requirements. Hwy 82 Tree Cutting & Kids Fishing Event – Jerry indicated that he and Bruce cut some trees blocking passage and a few more need cutting. He will consult with Wendy with any plans. Jerry indicated that ice fishing with several De Soto school students was very successful. The board had previously approved a payment of $75.00 for busing. On motion by John V., second by Mike, the Board approved the making of 20 tip downs by Jerry for future use. The cost is expected to be between $400 & $500. Scholarship Up-Dates – Lisa indicated that she had been advised that Kee High had candidates for all 3 scholarship categories. Based on prior experience, it is assumed De Soto High School will have candidates also. River Clean-Up – The Board indicated the date has been set for April 24, 2021. John provided prior year information and all the contacts data. He will prepare a news release. Lisa will handle Facebook publication & Larry will handle digital notice & website notice. People will be directed to Board members assigned to each of the sites. It was decided that NO LUNCH’s & NO T-SHIRTS will be provided due to not having a gathering due to the pandemic. Calls for dumpsters and other arrangements were assigned to board members. Copies of the Volunteer Agreement will be distributed to Board Members by Larry. Lansing “No Wake Zone” – The Iowa DNR approved the zone effective 11/11/2020. Plans are underway to place the buoys obtained by Blake. Alex indicated that discussion is occurring in regard to anchors for the buoys. Bob indicated that Mike Verdon had offered to construct 2 signs and Bob will follow-up with him. Bruce will determine what needs to be done to satisfy City of Lansing requirements. Annual Eagle Nest Survey – Jerry is handling the project and he will be working with 3 teams who will divide the work in future years. He will train the teams on the GPS use and coordination with the USFWS. 2021 Spring Newsletter – John will head up the newsletter production and the Board decided to produce the newsletter after the river clean-up. 2021 Committee Project Assignments – The assignment sheet is attached to these minutes. NEXT BOARD MEETING – The Board scheduled the next meeting for Tuesday, May 11, 2021. ADJOURN – On motion by Mike, second by Joe, the meeting adjourned at 8:35pm. Larry Quamme, Secretary

October 13, 2020 - 7:00PM Driftless Education & Visitor Center The Friends of Pool 9 (FOP9) Board of Directors met at the Driftless Area Education & Visitor Center. President John V. called the meeting to order at 7:20 PM. Directors in attendance were, Larry Quamme, Jerry Boardman, John Verdon, Darus Spingler, Bruce ReVoir, Alex Galema, Blake Schoh, Sue English and Lisa Welsh. Approve Minutes – 03/09/20 – On motion by Jerry, second by Sue, the minutes were approved as written. Financial Report – Larry presented the financial report from 1/1/2020 to 10/08/2020. Income totaled $13,567.25; expenses totaled $7,500.36. Cash as of 10/08/2020 was $62,626.34. On motion by Bruce, second by Darus, the report was approved as presented. USFWS Information – Larry expanded on the news that the Inspector General completed an audit of the FWS and their relationship with the Friends Groups across the country. The audit was critical of the FWS over sight of the Friends groups and in particular their expenditure of funds. The National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) responded with a letter that the audit failed to recognize a number of factors and friends group funding raised on and/or off the refuge lands. The NWRA is crafting a more complete response with friends’ groups will have the opportunity to sign onto. More information will be coming out on the matter. 2020 Raffle – Almost all of the 1,000 raffle tickets have been sold. Jerry indicated that he had some new sellers that did great work selling the tickets. All tickets will be sold soon. As of 10/13/20 $5,200 in sales have been turned in. Raffle Drawing – The drawing will be held at the Driftless Center on October 29, 2020 at 4pm. Some Board Members will be present and Lisa will record the drawing for the FaceBook page. Board Member Election – The nominations committee (Sue, Darus, and Marty Halverson) submitted candidates Jerry Boardman, Bruce ReVoir, John Verdon, Kevin Quillin, and Blake Schoh for re-election, Bob Seeley declined to run again. Two new candidates Christa Hall and Mike Conway were also nominated. Therefore 7 candidates will be running for 6 openings. The board considered several options being that the usual election is held at the annual meeting which was cancelled. After discussion Jerry moved, Lisa made the second, that a “Ballot Post Card” be mailed to all members. Members will be asked to vote for 6 and mail the ballot back to our PO Box. Candidates will be offered an opportunity to submit information to the FOP9 FaceBook page and the ballot will mention same. The candidates receiving the most votes for 6 positions will be appointed. The motion carried. Nominations Committee for Board Officers – The Bylaws state that the President nominate 2 current board members be appointed by the President and be approved by the board. The committee will submit officer candidates by the end of the year. John appointed Bruce and Jerry and on motion by Larry, second by, Darus, approval was given. The Board will use email to elect the officers for 2021. Consider Year-End Clothing sale – Lisa and Sue will handle an “Inventory Reduction sale”. Sue requested approval to place an ad in the paper for $40.00. The FaceBook will be the medium used to list the inventory, pricing, and order instructions. They will handle delivery of orders by mail or in person when possible, Lisa moved approval and on second by Bruce, the motion was approved. Lansing “No Wake Zone” – Blake indicated that the Iowa DNR approved the zone effective 11/11/2020. Plans will commence to place the buoys in the spring of 2021 and sign options/approvals will be on going over the winter months. Blake has purchased the buoys and will submit an invoice to the FOP9 for reimbursement. Chains, anchors and signs will need to be purchased. On motion by John, second by Alex, the motion was approved. 2021 Plans & Events – Following the officer’s elections, the President will lay out plans and appoint committee chairs for board consideration either by meeting or by email. Gift Card Purchases – The board had approved board members purchasing gift cards from area business people to support them during the corona virus pandemic and as a fund raiser at the annual meeting. Some members purchased cards some have not. The matter was tabled for discussion at a future meeting. Other – John read a letter, which was passed on by the IDNR, thanking us for helping to make the handicap dock to be installed at the Village Creek Landing. An article will be developed for inclusion in the next newsletter. ADJOURN – On motion by Lisa, second by Blake. the meeting adjourned at 8:55pm. Larry Quamme, Secretary