Annual Meeting Summary
Thank you to everyone that attended the SCRLA Annual Meeting yesterday! We had a great turnout with over 90 people in attendance, in addition to our special guests:
Jeff Bertram, Stearns County Commissioner, District 3
Amy Kay, Principal Steward, AKA Collaborative
Abi Borgerding & Kory Klebe, Sauk River Watershed District
John Schmitz & Randy Schackmann, Richmond Fire Department (on behalf of Catfish Fest)
After thanking all of our volunteers that work so hard with charitable gambling, water sampling and roadside cleanup, SRCLA president Richard Gallea reviewed some of the highlights over the past year. WOW! A lot of great work has been done!
Treasurer Jeremy Schnieder presented a financial overview. The full report is here.
Richard then introduced Amy Kay of AKA Collaborative, who led us through a great presentation of how AKA has been working with the AIS team to develop a Lake Management Framework, "Managing for Today, Planning for Tomorrow'. Really great work has already been done, and there is much more to come! Her presentation can be found here. Thank you all for your thoughtful questions and your passion for maintaining the integrity of our Chain.
Richard then moved on to the formal board member election process, first thanking the outgoing members who are rolling off the board: Candy Burns, Brenda Herubin and Steve Reid. We thank them for their years of dedication and tireless work! Richard then introduced three new candidates, Mike Hidding, Dylan McIntosh and Earl Von Ende. Since there were six open spots and six candidates (three incumbents, three new), a motion was made to accept the six candidates, the motion was seconded, and all present voted 'AYE'.
Once the election was complete, Richard opened the floor for additional questions. There was a question about the feasibility study to replace the Cold Spring dam with rock arched rapids. Indeed the study is going forward, funded by state monies. There was a discussion about stopping the phosphorus from getting into the Chain, with a great response from our partners at the Sauk River Watershed District about ongoing efforts within the watershed, as well as what individual shoreline owners can do to prevent phosphorus from draining into their own shoreline.
After a motion to adjourn, the motion was seconded, and we closed the 2026 Annual Member meeting. Seven people took the opportunity to buy a 2026 membership. Have you ordered yours yet? https://www.srcl.org/become-a-member
