Upcoming AGENDA & Past (ABBREVIATED MINUTES)

 Crooked Lake Association Board of Directors

June 18, 2026 @ 6:30 PM

Thorncreek Township Fire Station

Agenda

Quorum: Need 51% (5/9) of directors present to conduct business

Need 67% (6/9) of directors present to approve Bylaws changes

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Minutes and Financial Reports—

     a. Review/Approval of Board Minutes of May 21, 2026 (Minutes emailed 6/9/26)

     b. Finance -Treasurer’s Report –Bob Remaly

        i. Cash Flow Report and Transactions Report for Feb-March 2025

        ii. Dues & survey progress

3. Lake Health -

     a. Sediment Testing Proposal -Ecosystems Connections Institute (Proposal

Questions and Answers, Sampling Details emailed 6/17/26)

     b. Project priorities and use of excess FDP funds-Lake Enhancement Priorities

Committee Report (Priorities List and Map emailed 6/17/26)

     c. Hoosier Riverwatch testing – Is Denise interested in continuing?

4. CLA Operations—

     a. Annual Election of Officers

     b. Recruitment

        i. Discuss approval process for interim director position. (See Due

Diligence Document emailed from Francie 6/17/26)

        ii. Motion to approve Tracy Hamilton as interim director

     c. Executive Committee Meeting - Phil

        i. Chuck Farris stepping down from lake responsibilities

        ii. Dues and Survey results so far

       iii. Swan Monitoring update for the board (Emailed 6/17/26)

5. Communications--

     a. Crooked Lake Social Club –

     b. Pancakes on the Lake/ Blazing Paddles July 4-

     c. Educational Event- committee Zoom meeting 6/19

     d. Web Page- Todd

     6. Projects and tributaries update

     7. Adjourn meeting

Next Board Meeting Thursday July 16, 2026

 Crooked Lake Association Board of Directors

May 21, 2026 @ 6:30 PM

Thorncreek Township Fire Station

Minutes

Quorum: Need 51% (5/8) of directors present to conduct business

Need 67% (6/8) of directors present to approve Bylaws changes

Call to Order at 6:40 PM

Attendance: CLA board members: Phil Walker, Tony Flesch, Bob Remaly, George

Banta, Joe Cochran, Francie Hill, and Denise McCann by Zoom.

Past President John Meier

CLA Operations

Review/Approval of Board Minutes of April 16, 2026

Approval of the minutes as written was moved by Francie Hill seconded by George

Banta. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote.

Finance -Treasurer’s Report

Cash Flow Report and Transactions Report for Apr-May 2026 and Balance Sheet

as of May 19, 2026.

Discussion-- The major expenditure of $151,250 is the payment to the Stanger group to

complete the Farm Ditch II project. The liability of $63,575 reflects the payment that will

be owed on completion of the dredging of the Crow retention pond.

Stanger Group cut and removed some trees as part of the Farm Ditch project, parts

of which have subsequently fallen into the ditch and formed log jams. Stanger is expected

to remove most of these trees or debris.

     Approval of the Treasurers Report moved by Joe Cochran seconded by Tony Flesch.

Motion carried unanimously by voice vote

     Dues Statement & survey progress—Bob reported that 11 members have sent in

their dues for ’26-’27 and filled out the included survey. Results of the survey will be

compiled over the next month and will be reported at a later date.

Executive Committee Meeting Report (full report distributed to directors and will be

archived)

     The TWF Lake Leaders Meeting was attended by Phil Walker and Bob Remaly.

TWF is holding a fundraising campaign and, as in past years, is asking each lake

association to donate a gift to be used as matching funds which are expected to

encourage individual donations to TWF. For the past several years, CLA has donated

$500 to TWF for this fundraiser.

     It was moved by Tony Flesch and seconded by Bob Remaly that CLA donate $500 to

TWF for their campaign. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Annual Meeting Planning – Date: 5/30/26

     A proposed Agenda was emailed to all directors and discussed during the meeting.

The focus will be on the nearly completed Farm Ditch construction and a theme of

“Clean Water Creates a Community that Safeguards Clean Water.” It was decided that a

brief, low-key recognition of our challenges (mute swan control and wake boats) last year

would be appropriate both during the meeting and in the CLA Directors Annual Report.

     Handout information will be made available at the meeting, and all will be posted

on the website:

          • July 4th Activities (hardcopy & digital display)

          • Things to do on the Lake This Summer (hardcopy & digital display)

          • 2025-26 CLA Annual Report (hardcopy)

          • CLA 5/19/26 Balance Sheet (hardcopy & digital display)

          • CLA Website Address with navigation information (digital display)

          • Tax Exempt Contributions Information (digital display)

     Set-up for the Annual Meeting including table & chair and audio equipment setup

will be Friday, 5/29 @ 5:30 PM per Pastor Mike Hall’s request. All available board

members are requested to be present for the set up. Coffee making and food

preparations will start about 6:30 AM on Saturday, May 30.

     Table with Dues and Lake Information. Bob and Tony will sit at a table in the entry

way so people can pay their dues and fill out the NWAC survey form. Bob will have extra

copies of the dues statement/survey and member lists to check off.

     Invited speakers are Mariah Roberts and Scott Ziegler with TWF and they will

present the Farm Ditch Project from conception to completion. Phil will confirm with

speakers their need for a laptop.

     Progress of other projects completed in the past year at Crooked Lake will be

presented by Francie Hill and Denise McCann who will talk about exciting changes at the

Crooked Lake Nature Preserve.

     The Lake water quality report will be presented by Bob Remaly, Denise McCann

and Todd Putman.

     Wake Boat Legislation will be presented by Todd Putman.

     Recruiting for the board of directors and a new Director and Officers Policy will

be explained by Francie Hill.

     Summer Newsletter will be announced by Francie Hill.

     CLA Website will be discussed by Todd Putman.

     Summer Activities and Fundraisers will be presented by a team including Chuck

Farris, Francie Hill, Denise McCann and Bob Remaly.

New Residents—will be personally invited to attend the Annual Meeting.

Communications

     Pancakes on the Lake/ Blazing Paddles July 4 – a one-page flyer put together by

Chuck Farris was discussed. The board decided that it should be one of the handouts at

the annual meeting.

     Quarterly newsletter. Francie Hill reported that the newsletter will be modeled after

the Loon Lake letter and include a wide variety of information, including summer events,

water testing information, director and officer profiles and some of the history of the lake.

She suggested board members look at the Loon Lake website for ideas by Googling

Loon Lake.

     Educational Event—Francie explained that it is planned for August 11, 5:30 to 7:00

PM at the Community Room of the Peabody Public Library in Columbia City. Expenses

(primarily light sandwiches and handouts) are expected to be around $275 and TWF,

Loon Lake and CLA will co-sponsor the event. The program speakers will be local Fish

and Wildlife Biologist DNR officer Tyler Delauter speaking on Fish (varieties in our lakes,

habitats, concerns/harms, annual testing/surveys) and Lyn Creigton will speak on

understanding the watershed. Programming will also include the Crooked Lake Nature

Preserve.

     Francie Hill made a motion and Bob Remaly seconded that CLA will pay up to $100

and co-sponsor the event with TWF and Loon Lake. Motion carried unanimously on

voice vote.

     CLA Website—Francie also discussed working with Todd on a reorganization of

the website to enhance the user’s experience.

Lake Health

Sediment Testing Proposal -Ecosystems Connections Institute. Jerry Sweeten,

who presented a program last year at the July board meeting on water testing and

Phosphorous remediation that his company is providing, worked up a proposal for a

scaled-down testing program for Crooked Lake (about $14,000). The proposal is for

sediment testing which is the first step in a comprehensive assessment program. The

purpose of the sediment testing program is to quantify the legacy Phosphorous in lake

sediments. The board did not come to a consensus mostly due to questions about

funding, sampling locations and uncertainty about information that the testing would

provide. The following questions were raised:

     • What is the state of the science that can inform us from the sediment testing

        how to treat/bind the phosphorous?

     • Will the sediment testing release the phosphorous in a harmful way?

     • Are there adequate level II testing sites in Little Crooked and can

        remediation be successful in both basins of the lake?

     • What is the status of the 3 million dollar Indiana grants to remediate

        phosphorous in Sylvan and Bruce Lakes?

     • What is the status of Lake Wawasee’s phosphorous remediation plans?

     • What position has the DNR taken on sediment testing and phosphorous

        remediation?

     • What is the likelihood and timeline to apply for a LARE grant for this

        sediment testing?

     • Is $250,000 a reasonable estimate for phosphorous remediation in Crooked

        Lake, and what is a potential plan for fundraising that amount?

     • Explain in layman’s terms the science of remediating phosphorous?

     • How will the remediation of phosphorous impact or avoid the ongoing and

        natural “fill-in” process of lake eutrophication?

     Francie will draft questions for Dr. Sweeten’s response and will share his answers

with the board.

     Future of the Osprey Nest. Bob Remaly enlightened the board on the status of the

Osprey cameras which have not been working since about 15 minutes after they were

installed in late winter. John Meier contacted a Fort Wayne arborist who has done work

on Crooked Lake with a lift that can reach 80’ which is not nearly as heavy as REMC’s

truck. He can bring in his lift when conditions are not ideal for the REMC truck and cross

the Dygert property without damaging the turf. Wednesday of this week the arborist

looked at the site and said he would bring his lift the next day and help run new cable

from the cameras to the base of the pole. And he would do it for no charge since it is for

a community organization. Thursday Tim Dygert, who has been the technical monitor for

the Osprey broadcast, tested a switch near the base of the pole and found that it was not

working so they postponed having the arborist bring his lift to the site. When Tim

receives the ordered replacement switch, he will install it and find out if that was the

problem all along.

Project updates. Nothing to report-tabled to next board meeting.

Adjourn meeting at 8:35 PM

Next Board Meeting Thursday June 18, 2026

 Crooked Lake Association Board of Directors

April 16, 2026 @ 6:30 PM

Thorncreek Township Fire Station

Quorum: Need 51% (5/8) of directors present to conduct business

Need 67% (6/8) of directors present to approve Bylaws changes

Call to Order at 6:33 PM

Attendance: CLA board members: Phil Walker, Todd Putman, Bob Remaly, Francie Hill, Denise McCann, Joe Cochran. Past President John Meier Zoom meeting was active but no attendees by Zoom.

CLA Operations

Review/Approval of Board Minutes of March 19, 2026

Approval of the minutes as written was moved by Joe Cochran and seconded by Bob Remaly. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote.

Finance -Treasurer’s Report

Bob Remaly reported that the monthly CLA Transaction Report showed inflows of $259,560.79 and outflows of $153,937.97.

Bob contacted the tax preparer, Duffit & Associates, to find out the status of the CLA tax returns and learned that because of the death of Jay Starr in December and being short-handed, they had to file an extension. It is unknown if there will be penalty due to this but comments suggested that a penalty should be relatively small.

January 1 to March 31, 2026, Statement of Activity from the Community Foundation of Whitley County showed disbursements to the CLA from The Crooked Lake Conservation Fund est by John and Aileen Meier Fund as $5,516.60 for this period representing disbursements for 2025 & 2026. The report also showed $172.94 in administration fees and $66.26 in money manager and bank fees.

Approval of the finance report was moved by Francie Hill and seconded by Todd Putman. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote.

Executive Committee Meeting – No meeting last month

Nominating Committee

Francie Hill reported that Hannah Geiger has decided not to seek a director position but remains interested in social activities for the lake. Discussion held on possible new Directors. A list of association members will be considered, and appropriate contacts will be made by Directors.

It was suggested that initial contact just be an “interest request” and if interested the board member will follow up with information /discussion on the Board of Directors and list of director responsibilities, which generally include the following: meeting attendance, pre-meeting review of documents, and one committee assignment. Francie will discuss possible candidates on Northshore with past board member Dave Nelson.

June 6 Annual Meeting Preparation.

Denise McCann will talk to pastor Mike Hall of Big Lake Church of God to confirm the church is available for the date, discuss pastor’s availability to help with sound system, recommend whether the meeting should be conducted in the Sanctuary or large room as traditionally used, and clarify Church position on eating and drinking in Sanctuary. Francie Hill will make a draft agenda for the Annual Meeting, coordinate notice to membership through Todd Putman, arrange for Coffee and donuts, coordinate with Chuck and Sue Farris for the supplies and coffee makers, and provide necessary kitchen helpers. Discussion was held on programming, and the following suggestions were made: Scott Ziegler or Stanger Group on Farm Ditch II progress/completion.-Phil will contact to confirm one of these speakers. Phil will prepare an Annual Report, appropriate handouts and determine what assistance he needs. There was also discussion about speakers on Weed Control, the Crooked Lake Preserve, Jordan Bohlander or the Master Gardeners but since the major theme of the Annual Meeting will be the completion of the Farm Ditch project, there was no need for additional presentations.

Nuisance Wild Animal Control (NWAC) Policy

Board members were given copies of Policy Draft 8.01 along with written comments by Francie Hill. Detailed discussion was held. Phil reviewed how the draft policy addresses the following concerns raised by the membership: (1) Why the CLA needs to control mute swans, (2) Board approval of the control options, (3) Member input, (4) Resident safety, and (5) Federal and State government authority. Phil Walker noted the intention of the NAWC Committee to include a survey question on mute swans in the next billing statement sent to all CLA members. Minor changes were made in the language of the draft. It was agreed to reformat the policy with Roman Numerals and Alphabetical/number divisions to separate the following: general provisions of the NWAC Policy applicable to all nuisance wild animals; specific provisions only for mute swans; and provisions specific to Canada Geese.

The following motion was made by Denise McCann, seconded by Todd Putman:

Motion that the Board of Directors approve draft 8.01 as specifically and orally modified in this meeting, as the Nuisance Wild Animal Control Policy of the Crooked Lake Association. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote.

The following motion was made by Joe Cochran, seconded by Bob Remaly:

Motion that the Board of Directors approves the control options allowed by the Nuisance Wild Animal Control (NAWC) Permit issued by the State of Indiana, only when warranted by and in compliance with the Crooked Lake Association NAWC Policy. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote.

Phil noted that the Board approved a motion to apply for a NWAC Permit with the Indiana DNR at the February board meeting. The permit states the control options for mute swans and would allow USDA involvement as warranted by this policy. Phil will file the necessary application including USDA wildlife biologists as assistants. A NWAC permit is valid until Dec 31 of the year in which it is obtained.

Director and Officer Policy (DOP) Task Force Report

The Committee members of Francie Hill, Denise McCann, and Phil Walker, ex officio, met on April 9. Changes to the draft were made based on the discussion and were issued to the committee for consideration at a meeting scheduled for Sunday, April 19 at 4:00 p.m.

Communications

Committee consists of Todd Putman, Denise McCann and Francie Hill.

Quarterly newsletter.

Francie Hill reported that she has drafted a Summer newsletter she hopes to be ready by June 1 before the Annual Meeting. It will have articles on the new trail at the Crooked Lake Nature Preserve, an interview with Adam Balzar, details on 4th of July programming, director recruitment, and the passage of Mute Swan Policy. Francie requests that the following will prepare brief additional articles: Phil Walker – Farm Ditch update; George Banta – Wake Board Legislation; Todd Putman – Water Quality documents and chart posted on the CLA web site. Phil suggested we include articles on Crooked Lake Old timers. Phil will forward an article to Francie written by Woodstrail long time lake family. Francie will look for the article she wrote on her parents that she never submitted to Todd for the web site.

Educational Event

Francie confirmed communication with Lyn Creighton for help with summer educational meeting possibly entitled “Meet Your DNR”. Francie will seek venue and follow-up with Lyn and DNR on possible panel speakers. Francie will confirm that Adam Balzar can speak.

4th of July Pancakes on the Lake/ Blazing Paddles.

Francie Hill will follow-up with Chuck Farris for event details. Date remains set for Saturday July 4th with rain date of Sunday July 5th.

Lake Health --Project updates

Farm Ditch Update

Phil reported minor damage to the retention pond dam from the March 31-April 2 rainstorms. Hopefully the dam will be reinforced by material dredged from the pond. Dredging of the retention pond, finishing, cleanup and grass seeding is all that remains to complete the contracted Farm Ditch work. Stanger Group has been paid for their work so far.

Effect of recent flooding on existing water quality structures

Recent rainy weather has caused some damage to the WASCOB along Morsches Road on the Bishop property. On two different occasions, excess water flowed out the overflow to the west of the WASCOB and cut a small channel and flowed over the road across from Knipsel’s. Also, the structure could not handle the excess water quickly enough and damaged some of the drainage tile. This created a hole in the sand bed allowing water to freely flow down to the outlet. Scott Ziegler has looked at it and said he would have to contact someone to help make repairs when he gets home from travelling.

Other structures installed in the past few years seemed to hold up well during the heavy rainfall. With the amount of rain that fell in a short time, muddy water was not unexpected. Brown water seen flowing through the check dams at Morsches and Woodstrail but cleared up quickly after the rains. No damage was seen at the check dam structures feeding into the Farm Ditch.

Spear Road (Bishop wetland)

Several directors reported that CL Nature Preserve work on the “pond leveler” at the Bishop wetland next to Spear Road is well underway. It involves complete removal of the buried drainpipe, which was plugged by beavers and un-repairable. Project design called for the pipe’s replacement by an open ditch that empties into the ravine along the SW boundary of the Gatesworth addition. The parking area was also cleared and enlarged.

Pumpkin Project at the Johnson Farm

Bob reported that he has purchased all of the pumpkin seed needed for this annual fundraising project. Todd indicated that Johnson’s would have a spot for the pumpkin patch and will till the ground for us. Planting should be around May 10-30th.

Potential Funding Source

Denise mentioned that she found a notice on the Indiana Department of Environmental Management website about funding opportunities for water quality improvement. It is the Clean Water Act Section 319 Grants. She will contact Lyn Creighton to learn more about applying for this grant for Crooked Lake.

Encouraging DNR to Move on CL Nature Preserve Issues

Brief comments by Denise MaCann. Phil provided copies of past communication from/to Andrew Rueter and Adam Balzar to Francie Hill and Denise McCann. The board encouraged Denise’s efforts to re-open communications/begin pressing on this issue.

Adjourn meeting at 8:58PM

Next Board Meeting Thursday May 21, 2026

Crooked Lake Association Board of Directors

March 19, 2026 @ 6:30 PM

Thorncreek Township Fire Station

Quorum: Need 51% (5/8) of directors present to conduct business

Need 67% (6/8) of directors present to approve Bylaws changes

Call to Order at 6:28 PM

Attendance: CLA board members: Phil Walker, Todd Putman, George Banta, Bob Remaly, Francie Hill. By Zoom: Tony Flesch and Denise McCann. Past President Chuck Farris. 20 visitors from 11 area lake associations and Jordan Bohlander USDA

Guest Visitor- Jordan Bohlander, USDA Wildlife Biologist

Mr. Bohlander gave a presentation on USDA’s mute swan control program. He is a Staff Wildlife Biologist for the USDA APHIS/ Wildlife Services housed at Purdue University. The role and authority of the USDA regarding mute swans is part of the Great Lake Restoration Initiative funded and administered by the EPA. The USDA carries out control of invasive species.

The following is a summary of Mr. Bohlander’s remarks. Because of the possibility that the message could get misconstrued without the context of a presenter the USDA cannot make the digital presentation available.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was launched in 2010 to stop pollution and restore native habitat and species in states bordering the Great Lakes. The Initiative targets mute swans as invasive species and works to control their expansion. 

The term “invasive” means that a species is not native to America, destroys native habitats, usurps food sources needed by native species, and increases quickly in population because it has no natural predators. These are the major harms of mute swans, along with the risk to human safety.

The damage caused by mute swans is not always visible. Mute swans eat 4 to 8 lbs. of vegetation a day, wasting as much as they consume. This disruptive foraging damages the fragile ecosystem above and below the water level. Some studies show extensive damage by mute swans to submerged native habitat and consequent loss of food sources for fish and waterfowl that feed in the shallows. The population explosion of mute swans is serious: a single pair of mute swans released in Michigan grew in numbers to 15,000 mute swans by 2010. Mute swans lay 5 to 7 eggs from each gestation, but it can be as many as 12 eggs.

Recently the USDA culled hundreds of mute swans from the St. Joseph River because of excessive interference with recreational use, destruction of habitat, and risk to human safety.

Mute swan management, and removal when it is needed, is supported by the United States Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Audubon Society, Ducks Unlimited, American Bird Conservatory, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

The critical periods for mute swan control are during nesting and egg production beginning in March, and during the molting period from July through September when control efforts are most effective.

Mr. Bohlander encouraged each lake association to obtain a Nuisance Animal Wildlife Control Permit from the Indiana DNR for nest destruction, egg oiling, and USDA removal of swans when necessary.

Mr. Bohlander advised the lake associations present to use nest destruction and egg oiling when feasible but clearly stated that if the USDA is included in the Nuisance Permit, the USDA would utilize its own team of professionals to plan and complete swan removal if needed for the health and safety of the lake. The team would comply with all gun and safety laws, carcass removal, and notifications to the Department of Natural Resources. Any USDA removal of mute swans would occur at night with specialized equipment within a reasonable period of time. Specific dates and times would not be advertised because such notice could jeopardize the effectiveness of the operation.

Representatives of area lake associations in attendance expressed agreement with the presentation and a questions and answer session followed. There were no objections stated to mute swan control or removal if necessary. The lake associations generally indicated they were obtaining Nuisance Wild Animal Control Permits from the IN DNR Fish & Wildlife Division and some would utilize USDA services if removal was warranted.

The CLA and other lake associations agreed to maintain data on mute swans on each lake, as coordinated by The Watershed Foundation (TWF). Sharing and coordinating this information between lakes will help assess the number of nesting pairs and numbers of swans staying on a particular lake or possibly “day tripping” between lakes. The data and USDA assessment of the severity of the mute swan threat would be helpful to the CLA board of directors in our attempts at reducing mute swan population on Crooked Lake. At the February board meeting, the CLA board of directors discussed and approved a motion to apply for a Nuisance Wild Animal Control Permit that would allow for USDA involvement with mute swan control.

After the questions and answer session, attendees were invited to stay for our business meeting. All declined the invitation. CLA board members then began our regular board meeting.

CLA Operations

Review/Approval of Board Minutes of February 19, 2026

Approval of the minutes as written was moved by Bob Remaly and seconded by Tony Flesch. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote.

Finance -Treasurer’s Report

Bob Remaly reported on the current Balance Sheet showing the pending Stanger Group invoice and expected tax due as liabilities and the pending receipts of the LARE Grant, dedicated funds and donations held by TWF as assets. The Cash Flow Report and Transactions Report showed only one transaction for Feb-March 2026 and this was to reimburse Todd Putman $132.84 for an upgrade to the GoDaddy subscription which added mass-email capability to the website services they provide.

Approval of the financial report was moved by Francie Hill and seconded by Todd Putman. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote. 

The two CD’s at Star Bank will be maturing on 3/20 ($50,000) and 3/26/26 ($100,000) and that money (including interest earned) along with the expected receipt of the $100,000 LARE Grant will be available to satisfy the invoice from Stanger Group ($151,250) which is due April 10. 

At the last board meeting, a suggestion that CLA make a donation to TWF in appreciation of all the work Lyn and the TWF staff did in helping move HB1062, the Wake Boat bill, through the Indiana Legislature. It will be signed into law by the governor, effective July 1, 2026. A brief discussion followed and a motion to donate $500 to TWF was made by George Banta and seconded by Francie Hill. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote.

Executive Committee Meeting – 

Phil will call a committee meeting before the next board meeting.

Nuisance Wild Animal Control Policy

The NWAC policy committee considered member and director comments and suggestions and reviewed the policy line-by-line.

As written, the policy is not yet considered workable by the board. After review, it was decided to return the policy to committee for further refinement before submitting it to the board of directors for approval. The committee also plans to send out a survey about mute swans with the association dues statement. Any proposed survey will first be distributed to the board of directors for review and approval.

Director and Officer Policy Task Force Report

Francie has called a meeting of the committee for April 9 at 6:00 PM at Francie’s house and by Zoom.

Communications

Committee consists of Todd Putman, Denise McCann and Francie Hill with technical assistance from Tracy Hamilton

Quarterly newsletter 

Francie is gathering information suitable for the newsletter. Suggestions from the board include Farm Ditch progress, Wake Boat legislation passed, July 4th events planned, possibly a summary of today’s presentation on mute swans by Jason Bohlander including a mention of area lake associations working together to collect mute swan data.

Educational Event

Francie spoke to Lyn Creighton about a potential educational event. She will communicate ideas. One possibility that Francie will broach with Lyn is a “Meet Your DNR” – this could be a takeoff on a TWF educational program last fall in Warsaw in which 5 DNR employees explained what they did and also discussed LARE grants and projects DNR has completed. It was well attended – and many of those same DNR folks work with Crooked Lake. Maybe this could also include the head of Nature Preserves or Adam or both?

Web Page- Todd Putman

The CLA website had 400 visitors in past 30 days. There were 19 contact messages received last month in response to our request for comments on the NWAC policy. Also, Todd has spent a lot of time updating water quality information on the website including graphs and data from several years of testing.

Pancakes on the Lake/ Blazing Paddles – 

Phil commented that Chuck Farris wants to get started on planning for POTL and asked that the board set a date for the event. The board has decided on Saturday, July 4 with Sunday, July 5 as a rain date.

Lake Health --Project updates

Farm Ditch Project

Stanger moved in during the second week of January, and construction began on February 2. Projects 1, 2 & 3 were essentially completed by the last week of February Bob Remaly & Phil Walker visited the site on March 16 and the work completed so far seems to be reducing sediment flow as expected.

An invoice for projects 1-3 was received and is due April 10. LARE has begun the reimbursement process and funds should be received in plenty of time for timely payment of the invoice.

Dredging of the retention pond is delayed until the soil firms up enough to support heavy equipment. We expect this final part of the FDP to be completed by the end of April.

Encouraging DNR to Move on CL Nature Preserve Issues

With the completion of the Farm Ditch, Denise suggested that CLA should renew its discussions with DNR about the need for a Nature Preserve Ravine engineering feasibility study dealing with the eroding condition of the Nature Preserve Ravine. The board supported Denise’s efforts to re-open communications/begin pressing on this issue.

Adjourn meeting at 8:55 PM

Next Board Meeting Thursday April 16, 2026

Crooked Lake Association Board of Directors

February 19, 2026 @ 6:30 PM

Thorncreek Township Fire Station Minutes

Quorum requirement was satisfied with 7 directors in attendance. (A Quorum is 51% or 5 of 8 current directors present to conduct business)

Call to Order at 6:42 PM

Attendance: Phil Walker, Todd Putman, George Banta, Joe Cochran, Bob Remaly, Francie Hill, Tony Flesch by phone, and John Meier, consultant.

CLA Operations

Approval of Minutes of last board meeting

Upon review of the CLA Board Minutes of November 20, 2025, a motion for approval was made by Joe Cochran and seconded by George Banta. The motion carried by voice vote.

Finance -Treasurer’s Report –Bob Remaly

Cash Flow Report and Transactions Report for Dec-Jan 2025.

A motion for approval of the Treasurers Report was made by Francie Hill and seconded by Todd Putman. The motion carried by voice vote.

Community Foundation of Whitley County (CFWC) Conservation Fund (Meier) – available funds ($2,740.43) have been received and deposited in the CLA account.

Lake Resident donations to the Farm Ditch Project held by The Watershed Foundation (TWF) in the amount of $3,122.50 will be released upon presentation of an invoice showing that sufficient work has been completed and paid on the project.

The contractor of the FDP, Stanger Group, considers the Farm Ditch work to be a small project and plans to hold back invoicing until the job is complete. Treasurer Remaly expressed his concern that handling the entire project cost could be very difficult for CLA because the total cost is estimated at $205k and we have limited funds immediately available (most of the Farm Ditch contributions are earning interest in CD’s which don’t mature until late March [see Executive Committee Report 1/15/26]). Also a $100k LARE grant will be paid to CLA only after we pay the contractor from our available funds. Phil will contact Stanger Group to see if multiple, smaller invoices could be arranged.

Nominating Committee Report – Francie

Francie conducted an interview with Hannah Geiger who has expressed interest in becoming a director. Hannah was invited to the board meeting but could not attend. She plans to attend the March 19 board meeting.

Directors were encouraged to think of other association members who might be good candidates for the board and be prepared to discuss at each board meeting.

Executive Committee Meeting Reports (12/8/25 & 1/15/26)

A brief summary of the reports was offered by Phil with discussion following. The complete written reports were provided as supplemental information sent out to all directors prior to the meeting.

Annual Meeting Planning is underway. A discussion by board members focused on the question of holding the meeting in the gym vs in the sanctuary. This resulted in a consensus that if a good sound/video system is not available for the gym, the meeting should be held in the sanctuary allowing time for socializing with refreshments in the Narthex prior to the meeting. It was also suggested that we inquire about the possibility of broadcasting the meeting on the church’s YouTube feed.

Phil reported that the committee discussed a number of needed Bylaws changes exposed by the policy work that is currently underway- Not For Profit, Nuisance Wild Animal Control and the Directors and Officers policies all revealed need for revisions in the Bylaws.

Board members present were asked if there were any questions or disagreements with the actions of the executive committee and there were none. It has been suggested that this question be asked at each board meeting for the purpose of evaluating whether actions of the executive committee are in line with the wishes of the entire board of directors.

Nuisance Wild Animal Control Policy—Francie, Phil

A draft of this proposed policy was submitted to directors and lake residents (seeking their comments) 30 days prior to the February board of directors meeting. Lake residents were invited to attend the board meeting (regular CLA board meetings are always public) but no one other than board members and one past officer were in attendance.

All written comments (from lake residents and directors) received by the board were discussed. The NWAC committee will consider these and future comments and suggestions in the development of this policy.

The board discussed the authority and limits of a shooter, the disruptive effect of continually reopening the swan discussion for lake residents through notices of swan committee actions, whether there should be data or specific requirements related to lethality, and related issues in the draft policy. Comments were noted that there are patterns of movement by 6 to 8 mute swans on Crooked Lake over the past few months/weeks indicating the likelihood that they are mating pairs and expected to begin nesting. Mating pairs are factors that trigger nest destruction and egg oiling, and more aggressive action if those options are not safe or successful. There was general agreement about the policy, with the exception of notice provisions, the type of data to be collected for decision-making and determining factors for lethality. It was recommended that the NWAC committee should give notice to the DNR and USDA when there is evidence of nesting or eggs.

No motion to approve the draft was submitted at this time and the proposed policy was returned to the committee (George Banta, Todd Putman, Bob Remaly & Phil Walker) as more discussion and refinement is needed.

Motion to renew NWAC Permit with IDNR Fish & Wildlife Division was made by Bob Remaly and seconded by George Banta:

It is moved that the Crooked Lake Association, Inc. file an application for a Nuisance Wild Animal Control Permit for mute swans with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife (IDNR F&W) for the calendar year of 2026. The Permit may include the control options of nest destruction, egg oiling, and lethality, and will allow the United States Department of Agriculture and its staff to provide assistance.

It is also moved that the least invasive methods of control under the Permit shall be used, except when inconsistent with human safety, the extent of threat or damage, or the recommendation of the Indiana DNR and the USDA.

The motion carried by voice vote.

Director and Officer Policy (DOP) Task Force Report –Francie. 

A draft of the proposed policy with comments from John Meister, Francie and Phil will be sent out to committee members Tony F. and Denise for input, and a committee meeting will be scheduled to refine the draft.

Communications

Committee Report -- Web Page/ Mass Email Status- discussion tabled

Crooked Lake Primer Revision Subcommittee Report – discussion tabled

Spring Newsletter – discussion tabled

Educational Program – discussion tabled.

Lake Health

Wake/Surf Boat Task Force-

Progress of HB1062, the Wake/Surf Boat bill.

Indiana House committee hearing on HB1062 held January 14, passed out of committee. Subsequent House action: voted and passed.

Indiana Senate committee hearing on HB1062 held February 9, passed out of committee.

Todd and Bob reported that the IN Senate approved HB1062 this afternoon, February 19. Good work everyone! Especially Lyn Creighton and TWF. To find out more about the legislation go to:

https://thecrookedlakenoblewhitleycoindiana.com/wake-boating Then scroll about halfway through the wake boating section to: Original Article Posted by Hannah Godfrey (TWF)

A suggestion was made for the Association to make a donation to TWF in appreciation of all the work they did to promote passage of this bill.

Project updates

Farm Ditch Project on Crow property— the following is submitted for the record although it was not discussed by the board: The Stanger Group (project contractor) moved in during the second week of January, and construction began on February 2. Projects 1 (at-grade crossing/stilling pool) and 2 (one-sided two-stage ditch, stone toe and cross-vane structure) were well underway by February 5. As of February 19, warm weather has delayed progress on dredging of the retention pond and on Project 3 (dam, outlet, and downstream streambank stabilization).

Pressler/ Fry Road --Gaerte Bioswale—discussion tabled

Adjourn meeting at 8:42 PM

Next Board Meeting Thursday March 19, 2026