Asylum Lake Policy and Management Council
Meeting Minutes
3723 Wood Hall
Western Michigan University
February 10, 2005

" The recorded comments below are expressions of council members
and are not approved policy until voted on. The statements were not
recorded verbatim and cannot be used as quotes. "

AGENDA:

I. Call to Order

II. Roll Call

a. Sign In Roster
Council Members Present: Michael Nassaney, Steve Kohler, Charles Ide, Paul MacNellis, Todd Kesselring, Bob Nagler, Tim Holysz, Mary Hosley, Ken Devries, Duane Hampton
Guests Present: Kay Chase, Chad Avery, Cal Mastin (alternate for Mark Hoffman), Cari DeLong

III. Adoption of Agenda

• Micheal Nassaney moved to approve the agenda. Charles Ide seconded. All in favor. None opposed.

IV. Approval of 01/12/05 Meeting Minutes

• Ken Devries moved to approve the 01/12/05 meeting minutes. Tim Holysz seconded. All in favor. None opposed.

V. Old Business

a. By-Laws

• Under Article 7 - Indemnification. The reference to "Asylum Lake Council" will be changed to "Asylum Lake Policy and Management Council".
• Section 3.10 - The points are redundant. Point 3 will be deleted. Point 4 will stay but the phrase "at which a vote is scheduled" will be deleted.
• Term lengths for the Committee Members (which had not been previously determined), were added. The term for both the Research & Education Committee and also the Operations Committee was stated as "The members shall serve a one-year term and may be reappointed indefinitely."
• There were no oppositions to the addition of terms for Committee Members.
• There was question as to whether there was anything in the by-laws about amending the by-laws in the future. Section 10.02 of the by-laws addresses changes that need to be made to the by-laws.
• Mike Nassaney moved to accept the By-laws of the Policy and Management Council of the Asylum Lake Preserve. Tim Holysz seconded. All in favor. None opposed.

VI. New Business

None.

VII. Project/Special Committee Reports

The Operations Committee:

• The Operations Committee raised concern over the practice of well drilling by Geosciences.
• There was question as to how the well drilling on the Asylum Lake property, advances the ideals of the Declaration of Conservation Restrictions.
• There was comment that the Committees should be encouraged to give input to the Council. Decision making about activities on property are not the problems of the Committees but of the Council with input from the Committees.
• Duane Hampton addressed the concern for the well drilling:
• Duane explained that work was started in the 1980s to define a relationship between the lake and its surroundings.
• A few of the wells were drilled to measure changes in water quality after the city of Kalamazoo placed leaves on the property for composting. There were measurable changes in the water quality.
• Wells have lifetimes and if they are not used for several years they become useless.
• Some of the wells on the property are used and maintained; however some are not.
• Wells on the west side of the property are used the most. In the middle of the property wells are used sometimes. On the east, the wells are not used.
• There was question as to how deep the wells are. Near the lake the wells are 5-10 feet deep. On the west side toward Drake they are 70-100 feet deep. A few wells are over 200 feet deep.
• US Geological survey uses one well to look for long term regional fluctuations.
• It was determined from the monitoring of the wells that west side groundwater feeds the lake and the lake feeds the groundwater on the east side.
• A procedural question was raised - If the Council decides certain wells need to be removed what is the procedure for doing so?
• It was decided there needs to be a protocol that will be looked at by the involved committee and then brought before the Council.
• There was question as to the roles of the Review Panel and the Research and Education Committee. The purpose of the Review Panel is to look over proposals asking for money, whereas the Research & Education Committee reviews the unfunded proposals.
• Research and activities that have been approved should be allowed to continue, however they should be reviewed by the Council. The Council should be allowed to take away the remains of previous experiments that are no longer being used. This should be done without going through protocols to save time and the environment.
• Duane Hampton was asked to represent the Geosciences Department. Duane agreed. He will be giving a presentation on this subject at the next meeting.
• It was agreed that there needs to be a formal document with a description of the activities and protocols, an assessment of the existing wells, the steps that will be taken to make to wells more transparent, a protocol for the input of wells in the future, and also timelines for the drilling of wells.
• It was also agreed that abandoned wells should be removed in a timely and environmentally friendly manner according to the protocols of the DEQ. The unused wells are an eye sore and may have a negative environmental impact.
• There is currently a field course scheduled for this summer and will contain around 18 students.
• There were comments that the Council should not discourage research. Asylum Lake should be available to students. This is a feature that will keep Asylum Lake tied to Western.
• In defense of the wells several points were brought up. The monitoring of these wells made it possible to look at the water quality of the property. The only long term data for the property has come from these wells. In that respect it fits into the Declaration of Conservation Restrictions.
• The Archeological Assessment, which was given to the Council to review, was suggested as an example document for the Geosciences in forming their documents.
• In order properly cap unused wells. Geosciences would have to ask for money from the Council. Students could be hired to provide a learning experience and keep costs down.

Research and Education Committee:

• Chuck Ide of the Research and Education Committee reported that Bob Beam had placed money in an Environmental Institute account to be used for the Asylum Lake property. Chuck had waited to spend the money for the Council to be formed. He had been informed the money is no longer available.
• Chuck will talk to Bob Beam about whether or not the money is gone forever.

VIII. Public Comments

None.

IX. Council/Staff Comments

• The question of Council fundraising was brought up.
• There was question as to whether gifts can go into the moneys drawn off of the endowment. May require it goes to the endowment only. This should be discussed later.
• The endowment fund at KCF - every year 5% is available to be used. Broad guideline of what it can be spent on. If there is a gift to this fund must it go to the endowment principle? Because of this money from the earnings can be spent, not the amount of the gift.
• The procedure for requesting money: Committee submits to the Council. Council has to submit a proposal to Bob Beam, and then he submits it to the KCF.
• The money is market sensitive.
• Paul offered to contact a KCF rep to talk to the Council about monies at a later meeting.
• Cal Mastin (president of ALPA) mentioned ALPA would like to build a walkway on the Asylum Lake property in cooperation with Council. ALPA will be requesting financial support for the project. Mark Hoffman will give a presentation on the walkway at the next meeting.
• ALPA has funded a memorial plaque commemorating Monty and Renay Piercey. ALPA would like the approval of the Council. This will be discussed at the next meeting.

X Adjournment

Meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM.

 

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