2011-08-18_Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Member Westerberg opined that the Yousef study as previously referenced was well -done; and even though that was taken into consideration, he believed that the GLWMO Board needed to pursue an educational component and talk about enforcement. Member Westerberg noted that Mr. Ferrington had addressed enforcement as a relative element in his a -mails to the GLWMO Board. Mr. Ferrington noted that his e -mail had been compiled to express his concern about the lack of enforcement of the current no -wake ordinance; and opined that the violations were not from residents residing on Lake Owasso as they had enough peer pressure to maintain wakes at reasonable levels. However, Mr. Ferrington opined that, living on the NE bay of Lake Owasso, he observed boats accessing the lake, many of which were over - powered for Lake Owasso; and those were the ones creating the problem in the east bay with their large wakes near the east side of the bay. Mr. Ferrington noted that, unfortunately, this was an area with little in terms of BMP that could protect or control shoreland erosion; and opined that it may be beneficial to have an educational program to focus on those coming onto the lake for skiing and not having a good sense of their obligations. Mr. Ferrington opined that lake residents were fairly responsible and aware of erosions concerns. Member Westerberg opined that there should be a water quality component to that educational program as well. Member Von De Linde questioned if it was possible to limit the size of motors on a lake of Lake Owasso's size. Mr. Ferrington advised that he had spoken to many knowledgeable people, including Mr. Tom Wilson, former Mayor of the City of Shoreview; and in areas where "no wake zones" were expanded, it did not diminish boating pressures, and since it was then constrained to a smaller area, it created the potential for more accidents. Chair Eckman refaced the Board to the issue before it of how to best respond to the issue, even though that decision didn't need to be made immediately. Chair Eckman encouraged individual GLWMO Board members to do as much due diligence on their own; and even though testing of a limited no -wake zone may not occur until year 7 or 8 of the Ten Year Plan and being contingent upon what occurred in the WMO with water quality and other issues in the meantime, it was apparent that the GLWMO Board needed to learn more before such testing would occur. Chair Eckman suggested that the new GLWMO Advisory Committee could be a good resource with this issue; and the Board's response to the comment could provide an opportunity to talk about enforcement of the existing rules in the Third Generation Plan, including additional educational forums. Chair Eckman opined that, while thinking she maintained an open mind, she had consulted with a realtor acquaintance who felt strongly that lake restrictions for wakes made a difference to some people, and also affected the values of homes on those lakes. Member Miller opined there were many facets to consider in this issue and recognized that while he had seen enough studies to be confident that there was science supporting the effwects of motor boats on water quality, the GLWMO Board also needed to strongly consider and be sensitive to the recreational use of the lakes. Member Miller noted that one comment specifically addressed water skiing addressed in the Third Generation Plan; and for the sake of consistency throughout the Plan, suggested that any references to water skiing be revised to read, "motorized recreation." GLWMO Board members concurred with Member Miller's suggestion on language consistency. Chair Eckman polled Board members on whether an educational event should be considered even before the Plan was adopted. 19