Board of Directors Meeting Minutes February 23, 2026

TURTLE FLAMBEAU FLOWAGE – TRUDE LAKE
PROPERTY OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION
February 23, 2026¬ – 6:00 pm via MEET HOUR Courtesy of Roger Nelson

6:03 PM- Meeting Called to Order: Todd Jirous, Secretary

Present:  Randy Payne, Vice President; Roger Nelson, Treasurer; Todd Jirous, Secretary. Directors: Tony Utrie, Troy Tipton, Jeff Wilson, Terry Daulton, Millard Johnson. Randy Schubert joined at 6:14.

Secretary’s Report– The meeting minutes for January 19th were submitted to the group via email. A motion was made to approve the meeting minutes, the motion was seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report– Roger reported that there isn’t much activity in the first quarter, and seven members  have paid their dues so far. Roger reported that we do have just under $13,000 in cash, and recommending that we invest in a 16 month CD at 3.93%, with the minimum investment being $5,000. We had discussion around our needs this year and how much do we want to carry in reserve? The membership year starts July 1st, so that’s when we’ll see the income. Table the thought until Randy S. joins the meeting

Water Level Committee- Millard-No update, but we’re coming into a very important part of the year with the Spring thaw and reaching full pool.

Water Quality- Nothing new to report. There hasn’t been anything official yet, but we may be mailing our samples using a different service. We have always used USPS in the past, but had a number of samples be received outside of the temperature range that’s acceptable…possibly due to delayed deliveries to the State Lab. More to come when we know for sure.

Randy S joined the meeting and led the discussion going forward.

Invasive Species- Randy shared that he contacted Kevin G. from the DNR, who has referred him along to Jamie V. to talk about the netting idea on the Turtle River for Turions. The Burke Center report is due out very soon.

Membership Committee– Roger shared that he plans to send a postcard to those folks within the Turtle Flambeau Flowage target area…similar to last year. Roger has also set it up so that you can pay your membership via credit card (not just Pay Pal). We’re really trying to get away from using the mail.

Communications Committee- Troy reported that articles will be due in April with the intention to mail the next Driftwood in June, before the annual meeting.

Old Business:

Wake Surfing- Millard and Terry have sent out updates via email

  • Jeff updated the group on where we’re at with the Towns of Mercer and Sherman. Jeff and Terry have a meeting with Fritz next Monday (March 2nd) at his office to go over documents before sending them into the DNR…sending both Border Lakes documents in one envelope
  • We are intentionally focusing on just the Flowage and Trude Lake, and not trying to exclude other Town of Mercer Lakes (or Sherman), but rather focusing on getting these done which will provide the roadmap for other lakes to use more easily.
  • Trude Lake is already on the 60 day clock…we need to keep track of that. The 60 day clock starts from the time that we hear back from the DNR

Friends of the Flowage, and TL– Randy reached out to Casey and he is very interested in developing a relationship. Randy would like to invite Casey to a board meeting, and talk about how we can collaborate and help each other. Jeff Wilson shared that we did something very similar with Beth F several years ago, and after much discussion and reflection, we decided to not pursue the Friends opportunity…but let’s see where this goes, things could have changed.

New Business:

Kayak Launch– Casey has requested a letter from the POA regarding the placement of a kayak launch at the Springstead landing, and our support of said launch. A grant has already been written to fund the kayak launch. Randy S. will craft and send a letter in support.

Summer Picnic– Millard is working on finding a good date and location

CD Purchase– we circled back to the dialog on purchasing a CD. Jeff Wilson made a motion to move $6,000 into a CD at 3.93% for 16 months. The motion was seconded, and carried unanimously.

Suggestion- would it be good for us to do an article/interview on Last Wilderness Alliance (LWA), and all the effort they have put into helping Lake Associations and Towns develop ordinances to protect our precious waters? We are doing a donation as a Lake Association, and perhaps we can provide the necessary information if an individual chooses to donate to their cause.

January 20th Flat Boat House Roof– Jeff Wilson reported that no one showed at the listening session, and our letter back to Iron County was received and carried weight in the decision to NOT change the current zoning…a roof with a 4/12 to 12/12 pitch is still required on a boat house.

Consideration for our Tax Exempt status of 501 C4 versus being a 501C3…what are the Pros and Cons of one versus the other?

Meeting adjourned at 7:34 pm

Respectfully submitted,
Todd Jirous
Secretary