March 2026 Minutes
Dead Lake Association Board Meeting
Larry’s House
3:30 P.M.
March 23, 2026
Board Members: Larry Ewer, Stephanie Johnson, Carolyn Reynolds, Nicole Binczik, Trent Strandburg, Patty Matual, Mark (Guido) Matual, Lauri Thisius, Ernie West, Sharon Trudell
Present: Larry Ewer, Nicole Binczik, Ernie West, Guido Matual, Sharon Trudell, Stephanie Johnson, Patty Matual, Lauri Thisius, Trent Strandburg
Absent: Carolyn Reynolds
Guests: Doug Martin, Don Janes, Denny Trudell
Called to order at 3:45 by Larry Ewer
REPORTS
Minutes:
Motion to accept February 23, 2026 minutes made by Sharon seconded by Guido. Motion carried.
Membership Committee
Ice Cream Social June 7 (Back up June 14). Don will ask the DNR to come talk on weeds and wild rice.
Membership mailings have been sent.
Stephanie and Ernie have turned in address changes to Guido. Guido will add a “secondary address” to his file.
Note for next year. Send membership mailings in February.
Treasurer’s Report
Lauri sent spreadsheet:
Beginning Balance: $22,447.25
Deposits: $0.87
Expenses: $99.25
Ending Balance: $22,348.87
Motion to accept the treasurer’s report made by Stephanie, seconded by Guido. Motion carried.
Guido has started a spreadsheet. He has also received a few membership checks and Guido will deposit them.
Finance Committee
Trent and Sharon have been added to the UCB account.
OLD BUSINESS
Vanguard Funds
UCB attached to Vanguard? Not yet.
Paperwork was sent in and has been received and entered. The accounts have been transitioned into brokerage accounts. We now need to file another application to remove brokerage restrictions. Doug will bring applications around for signatures once he returns in April.
Per Doug, Lauri and Trent will need to make online profiles with Vanguard. Doug is willing to help.
Newsletter – Next one March/April
Don Janes is working on. Don will get it sent out.
Ernie has a couple of articles that Larry will send to Don for future newsletters.
Motion to mail newsletters only to members made by Guido, seconded by Lauri. Motion carried.
MAISRC, RMB, COLA – Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Coalition,
Meeting at Thumper Pond May 16 at 8am.
Don will reach out to COLA to determine if we get a letter when membership is due.
Weed removal
Defer for later in the season
Loon Tour Viewing
Carolyn – rules regarding liability for people taking others on loon tours? Carolyn Absent
Next year annual meeting – August 22, 2026
Stephanie has double checked. We do not have a contract. She will look into.
Don has talked to the DNR about weeds and wild rice. They have volunteered to come to our annual meeting to speak on these issues.
Don has an idea to separate the annual meeting from the fundraiser and dinner.
Website
Nicki to send Guido access again.
Shoreline Booklets
Stephanie has them. We still have a large box of them. We will continue to take them to Dead Lake events and any other locations we visit.
Idea to bring Shoreline booklets, newsletter, and membership form to any new residents.
Weed Rakes
Trent has given one to Guido. One will go to Sharon and Don will pick up from Trent.
AIS Detectors
No update.
NEW BUSINESS
Wild Rice
Need a permit to remove per DNR.
Directory
Does Guido have information needed to make a new one? Nothing to report.
Guido will start looking into.
Insurance
We currently have a liability policy. Lauri has the details. She will send the contact information and Larry will reach out.
Zoom
Patty has purchased Zoom for the year. She will email Lauri the bill for reimbursement.
Guido has been looking into a microphone. Looks like it will be around $50 – $100.
Motion made by Ernie and seconded by Sharon to purchase a microphone. Motion carried.
Water Samples
Samplers are Roger Cullin, Jim Hatlevig, and Denny Trudell.
Water samples are completed in 4 areas of the lake. They are completed 5 times during the summer. Usually done on a Sunday afternoon (3rd Sunday?). They are time specific. Samples are sent to R&B labs.
Tests are for phosphorus, chlorophyll and clarity.
Idea to have some backups. Other people trained. Photos for social media.
Larry to look into how we know when sampling kits are available and when/where we are to bring them for 2026.
Adjourn:
Motion to adjourn made by Sharon, seconded by Stephanie. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 5:13pm.
Next meeting is April 20 at 3:30pm.