Minutes of the First Formal Meeting of the Belle Isle Neighborhood Association

February 23, 2005, 6:30pm at the Monona Library

The meeting was called to order by President Pro tem Larry Miller; 24 people were present.

Four candidates for City Council Alderman, Doug Wood, Mike Meuleumans, Dale Suslick and Jeff Wiswell (who spoke at the end of the meeting) made brief statements about their qualifications and goals.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the tentative charter created by the steering committee (Larry Miller, Susan Manning, Moe Schlimgen, Stu Brandes and Dale Suslick). Discussion ensued about the tentative name, Lake Monona Neighborhood Association, which was thought by several people to be too broad. Alternate possibilities were Belle Isle Association, Monona Lake Association, Monona Community Lake Association, and Belle Isle Neighborhood Association. It was decided to take the latter name Belle Isle Neighborhood Association and to elect officers and board members, but to table the charter until boundaries could be worked out by the Board of Directors.

A motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed to recognize the Belle Isle Neighborhood Association as a permanent entity. The following officers and board members were nominated and unanimously elected:

First Board of Directors

President: Larry Miller, 1110 Nishishin Trail NE

Vice President: Stu Brandes, 1112 Pocahontas Dr.

Secretary: Nancy Miller, 1110 Nishishin Trail NE

Treasurer: Dan Schultz, 1208 Pocahontas Dr.

Director1: Susan Manning, 1108 Nishishin Trail NE

Director2: Sam Rasmussen, 1405 Nishishin Trail

Director3: Tom Kirschbaum, 1124 Pocahontas Dr.

Larry Miller summarized what has been done by the Steering Committee since the last informal meeting. The Steering Committee has:

1. Obtained the attention of the Monona City Council and gained five seats (out of seven) on the Ad Hoc Flood Mitigation Committee.
2. Worked on a proposal to dredge the channels.
3. Appeared before the Dane County Board and spoke against the Dane County Flood Mitigation Plan because it did not adequately address our concerns.
4. Worked on a street flooding project with the outcome that pumping stations will be placed on Nishishin Trail NE and Pocahontas.

Stu Brandes passed around a petition to make Squaw Bay a permanent no wake zone. At the end of the meeting he made a motion that the Belle Isle Neighborhood Association surpport the petition. Discussion ensued. Stu’s arguments for no wake are:

1. Safety issue: the power boats are sometimes reckless.
2. Paddle boat issue: it’s desirable to preserve Squaw Bay as a place for kayaking and canoeing
3. Environment issues: propeller wash creates undesirable turbidity, noise pollution and shoreline erosion.
4. Fairness issue: the west side of the lake has a place for water skiing.

Opposing arguments: Dale Suslick noted that Squaw Bay is protected and provides the best place for water skiing on the lake, if the weeds are properly cut.

Others noted that the area around the opening to the Yahara River gets very congested with boats when traffic is slow. Could the marker buoys be moved closer to the river mouth to reduce the area of the no wake zone?

The vote was called and the motion (to support the petition to make Squaw Bay a no wake zone) passed: 14 for, 3 against.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 when the library closed.

[Ed 03/22/05] Corrected word "Island" to "Isle" throughout this report