2026.07.14 PITLC Minutes

Monthly Meeting Presque Isle Town Lakes Committee Aquatic Invasive Species Date: July 14, 2026 Time: 7:00pm Location ZOOM ONLY Next Meeting Date/Time: August 11, 2026 7:00pm Conducted by: Nick Williams Recorded by: Jorja Burke, Secretary ATTENDEE INFORMATION Attended Name Lake Attended via Zoom or CC Behr, Fritz Lynx Benn, Eric Armour x Boyce, Joan Horsehead x Burke, Jeff Van Vliet Zoom x Burke, Jorja Van Vliet Zoom x Cole, Becky Papoose Zoom x Eschenbauch, Al Town Board Liaison Zoom x Giuliani, Greg Oxbow (Interim) Zoom x Heilman, Bob Annabelle Zoom Higley, Catherine V.C. Invas. Spec. Coord. x Horswill, Bob Armour Lake x Kemnitz, Joe Crab Zoom x Lewandoski, Paul Rosalind/Papoose Zoom Logan, Richard Vilas Cty Supervisor x Mawicke, Ann Natural Lakes Zoom Meessmann, Jeff Natural Lakes x Phillips, Carol Wildcat Zoom x Phillips, Richard Wildcat Zoom (partial) Pire, Tim Presque Isle x Plouff, Gary Frontier Lakes Zoom Preston, Tom Katinka Ruch, Bob Carlin Ruch, Judy Carlin x Searle, Clark Carlin Zoom Sisbach, Sarah Presque Isle x Vogt, Dave Annabelle x Walters, Lorine Horsehead Zoom x Weber, Cathy Logan Annabelle/Town Supv. Zoom x Wierzba, Tom Big Zoom x Williams, Nick Crab Zoom MEETING MINUTES Topic/Subject Discussion Items Call to Order By Nick Williams @ approximately 7:03pm Pledge of Allegiance Deferred — Zoom-only meeting. Secretary's Minutes Minutes of June 9, 2026, approved as submitted. No changes or corrections noted. Changes/additions to agenda None noted. Intro of new members/guests Greg Giuliani, temporarily representing Oxbow Lake. Treasurer's Report/Budget No money sent or received from the DNR since the June meeting; financial position unchanged. Paul Lewandoski reported he was reimbursed $373 by the Town of Presque Isle for O2 meter supplies. Funds originated from the PI Town Lakes Committee account. Correspondence None noted. 6. Old Business a. Grant Status 2024 Grants — Annabelle, Armour, Crab, Horsehead, Little Horsehead, Oxbow: DNR-approved reports are in order. Nick Williams and Ann Mawicke are working on final reimbursement forms. Final piece is volunteer hour documentation. Nick and Ann will work with the pertinent lake representatives to document any information required by the DNR. 2025 Grants — Carlin, Little Presque Isle, Lynx, Round, Wildcat: Whitewater Associates is working on analysis and reporting. Billing from White Water for reporting work expected in December. 2026 Grants — Big, Papoose, Presque Isle, Van Vliet: Underway. Tom Wierzba noted that Whitewater Associates postponed Big Lake point intercept sampling from July 7–9 to August 26–28. Individual bills for each lake expected sometime in August or September. No matching grant funds will be requested from lake associations until Q1 2027. b. Presque Isle Days — Results PITLC representatives staffed the PI booth all day. Public participation was low even though the event was busy. May need to plan more interactive activities next year. c. Yellow Iris Nick Williams thanked those who submitted yellow iris volunteer hours or emailed to confirm no yellow iris present on their lake. This data will be valuable for DNR grant reporting if detailed volunteer worksheets are required. 7. New Business a. PI Town 2027 Budget Planning / Lakes Without Public Landings Nick Williams reviewed the agenda attachment which listed lakes without public landings. The DNR has historically not funded grants for such lakes. The group discussed the challenge of doing surveys for lakes without public landings. One idea would be to partner with the research project efforts at Trout Lake station. Trout Lake Station hosts annually about 50 graduate and undergraduate research students each summer. Current hosting cost: $7,200/student, fundable through UW Center for Limnology grants and private benefactors. Student job postings occur February–March. Groups create a project; Trout Lake provides supervision, boats, and equipment. A potential model for PITLC to benefit would be for a lake association contribution to combine with Trout Station funding and potentially a Town contribution. One idea might be a comparative research concept: study plant diversity in a lake without a public landing vs. a nearby lake with a public landing. This could generate scientific data on lakes without public landings while leveraging DNR interest in public-landing lakes. Trout Lake Station Open House: July 31, 2026, 1:00–5:00 PM at the Trout Lake Station, south end of Trout Lake. Students present research projects. Nick raised whether the Town Board would consider funding a portion of surveys for lakes without public landings. Ann confirmed the Town will approach all committees in August–September with 2027 budget requests. Ann asked all members to bring specific budget line items to the August meeting (e.g., O2 meter supplies — Paul Lewandoski noted this is a biennial cost; the line item may be $0 in off years). The concept of pursuing Trout Lake student research projects was well-received. Ann will continue discussions with the DNR and report back. The DNR grant structure caps awards at $50,000 / 5 grants at $10,000 each; this approach could open a separate funding avenue outside that cap. b. Subcommittee Updates Outreach / Communications: Presque Isle Days results and booth discussion covered under Old Business. Bob Heilman was thanked for his setup and takedown efforts. No other subcommittee updates reported. c. Lake Apparel / Merchandise Ann Mawicke presented a merchandise opportunity through a member of Natural Lakes. Products available: T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, long-sleeve T-shirts, hats, water bottles, and thermoses. Items are customizable with individual lake logos or names; quality is high. Business model: Print-on-demand — no inventory purchased by the lake association. A percentage of each sale is returned to the lake association as donated funds. Ann will distribute PDF catalog and business card to the full PITLC mailing list. 8. Next PITLC Regular Mtg August 11, 2026, 7:00pm via Zoom 9. Other Business Cathy Logan Weber reminded the group that town budget notifications are forthcoming; encouraged the committee to prepare budget materials. Carol Phillips: Mentioned the Presque Isle Fireman’s Picnic on August 1, 2026, 5 to 9 PM. Good fundraiser for the Presque Isle Fire Department. 10. Adjourn Meeting adjourned by Nick Williams @ 7:50pm. Unapproved minutes WILL BE APPROVED AT THE NEXT MEETING. Attachment 1 – Grant Status Lake Last Grant Award 2024 Grants in Process 2025 Grants in Process 2026 Grants In Process Notes Annabelle 2024 X Anne 2018 Armour 2024 X Averill 2018 Beaver 2017 Big 2026 X Carlin 2025 X Crab, Little Crab, N.Crab 2024 X Dunn 2017 Horsehead 2024 X Katinka 2009 Little Horsehead 2024 X Little Presque Isle 2025 X Lone Pine 2009 Lynx 2025 X Mabel 2016 McCullough 2017 Morton 2017 Oxbow 2024 X Papoose 2026 X Presque Isle 2026 X Red Bass 2018 Rice Creek 2015 Round 2025 X Rudolph 2009 South Branch PI River 2017 Stateline 2017 Twin Island 2017 Van Vliet 2026 X Wildcat 2025 X