Boating Ordinance Ad Hoc Committee — Minutes

Town of Spider Lake Boating Ordinance Ad Hoc Committee (BOAHC) Minutes Town Hall, 10896W Town Hall Road & via ZOOM December 17th, 2024 20241217-BOAHC_Minutes_Final 17-Jan-25 Page 1 of 2 MINUTES 1. Chair Berkopec called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm (Chair Berkopec attended via Zoom) PRESENT: Bob Berkopec (Chair), Michelle Keil (Clerk) Members: Ray Langer, Dave Mickelson, Tony Mornar, Tom Oatman, Craig Pagenkopf, and John Trombello ABSENT: Dave Thearin (absent due to illness) 2. Chair Berkopec reiterated the following points: • Anything referred to as a “recommendation” by the sub-teams at this stage is preliminary. The full committee still must discuss each proposal and arrive at consensus before “final” recommendations may be made. • Each sub-team must summarize their findings before the final readout to the Town Board and the public in February. • There will likely be some overlaps of facts, data and information gathered by the various sub- teams, so streamlining for the sake of time and clarity will be necessary. 3. Clerk Keil covered committee “housekeeping” details, including: • Review of Minutes from the November 19, 2024 (second review), and December 5, 2024, meetings. Both sets of Minutes were approved unanimously. • Committee discussed upcoming BOAHC meetings and events (Listening Session and public informational session) in some detail. The committee settled on a date for the Listening Session of Jan 14th, and expressed support for conducting the Listening Session in essentially the same fashion as the Town conducted the May 2024 Public Hearing for the current boating ordinance. Consensus of the committee is that given we will be holding the public Listening Session in January, there is no need to solicit public comments following the final readout/informational meeting in February wherein it will deliver recommendations and rationale behind them. • The Committee agrees that it will be good to extend a “courtesy invitation” to the Listening Session to the the Town Board and PRC members. Clerk Keil will do this. • Chair Berkopec and Clerk Keil will approach Town Chair Sheldon for more information on exactly how the previous Public Hearing for the boating ordinance was structured and conducted. They will also discuss with Chair Sheldon the timing of the public readout/informational meeting in February and what the meeting should be called. Town of Spider Lake Boating Ordinance Ad Hoc Committee (BOAHC) Minutes Town Hall, 10896W Town Hall Road & via ZOOM December 17th, 2024 20241217-BOAHC_Minutes_Final 17-Jan-25 Page 2 of 2 4. Committee sub-team reports: • Environmental Impacts – Clerk Keil provided supplementary information answering questions that were raised during the December 5th meeting, specifically: ▪ Information comparing wind wave energy (relevant to TOSL wind and fetch/lake characteristics) to boat wake energy. The committee asked that she keep distilling this information into a less technical format. ▪ Research results examining sediment resuspension from wake boat activities ▪ Research results showing impact of boat travel at “transition speeds” on sediment resuspension at water depths up to ~15 feet (relevant for Speed Limit considerations) o Some discussion ensued regarding speed limits in light of the above data, but no clear consensus was reached. • Speed Limits – the Speed Limit sub-team gave their “executive summary” of findings and considerations. They provided their sub-team proposal for recommendations, i.e. keep the 10MPH limit as-is in its scope and application according to the current ordinance. Rationale cited included: ▪ Historical perspective ▪ Safety & health considerations ▪ Environmental impacts ▪ TOSL survey data ▪ Legal considerations involved with changing the limit o Discussion ensued on the topic and Chair Berkopec offered his opinion that we need to continue to think about boats getting to plane and summarize the factors for/against raising the limit to allow for the majority of the most commonly used boats on TOSL lakes to get to planing speeds. o Increased PWC activity was highlighted by several committee members as a significant consideration relative to any increase in speed limit. • Ghost Lake – Dave M. provided lake demographic information and a debrief of his discussions with resort owners on the lake. Lake characteristics (bathymetric maps, hazards, etc.) were noted relative to some of the environmental impacts of water sport activities on the lake. Also noted is the fact that the resort owners agree that they do not want water sport activities on Ghost, preferring it to be included as one of the Quiet Lakes. Chair Berkopec raised the topic of other lakes in TOSL (eg. Lower Clam) and questions whether those should be considered as well. Clerk Keil will provide bathymetric maps for Ghost and Lower Clam Lakes. • The committee ran out of time for the Enforcement, Water Sports Hours and Wake Boat Activity sub-team reports. Those will continue at the January 14, 2025. 5. Chair Berkopec adjourned the meeting at approximately 7:10pm Respectfully submitted, Michelle Keil, Clerk, BOAHC