Thanks to everyone that attended our annual meeting on Monday night.  We had an outstanding turnout, and it was great to get together and socialize with neighbors in person.  For those of you unable to attend, below is a summary of key topics.  The slides from the meeting are also attached for reference.  Please feel free to reach out with any questions or comments.
 

• THANK YOU to our Officers and Volunteers

A big shout out to Bryan Maloney, Dave Vogel, and Chad Henfling for serving as our officers over the last year, and to our key volunteers Jake Petersen and Greg Hastings for their contributions.  Your willingness to donate your time to help our small but impactful association function is very much appreciated.  
 

• New Officers

Scott Bryan was elected as the new President and John Richardson as the new Vice President of the LRIA.  Thank you Scott and John for volunteering to serve in these roles and congrats on being elected!
 

• Association Business
  The following additional actions were approved by the voting members at the meeting:
  • Approved minutes from 2022 Annual Meeting
  • Approved Treasurer’s Report and 2023 Budget
  • Authorized Board to donate up to $750 from General Fund to Fish Fund in 2023

 

• Guest Speaker:  Terry Jeffery, District Administrator, Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District

This year we were privileged to have Terry Jeffery, District Administrator from the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District, as our guest speaker.  Terry overviewed the water quality and project plan for the entire Riley Creek Watershed, which includes Lake Lucy, Lake Ann, Lake Susan, Rice Marsh Lake, as well as the streams that connect these lakes and ultimately flow into Lake Riley.  The health of these upstream waterways all play a vital role in the health of the entire Riley Creek, and ultimately what flows into Lake Riley.  Lake Riley currently does not have any impairments not meeting water quality standards and boasts the best water quality in the watershed district.  Terry also overviewed AIS monitoring and treatments.  AIS on Lake Riley currently include zebra mussels, eurasian watermilfoil and curlyleaf pondweed.  Herbicide treatment for curlyleaf pondweed in 2023 is planned and for Eurasian watermilfoil is yet to be determined and will be based on surveys as we get into the summer.  Terry’s slides are attached to this email.  If anyone would like to get in touch with Terry, his contact info is: 
              
              Terry Jeffery 
              District Administrator
              Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District
              952.607.6512
              [email protected]
 

• Lori Haak, Water Resources Coordinator, City of Eden Prairie

Lori Haak, the new Water Resources Coordinator for the City of Eden Prairie, also joined us at the meeting and introduced herself.  She spoke about her responsibilities, which include overseeing the boat ramp AIS inspection program.  She reminded us to please provide her with any feedback on the program and to give the inspectors positive reinforcement as it can be a difficult job.  If you have any questions or concerns for Lori, her contact info is:
 
              Lori Haak
Water Resources Coordinator
City of Eden Prairie
952.949.8327
[email protected]
 

• Fish Surveys

Thank you to John Roemer for obtaining and sharing key data from the 2021 Lake Riley fishing survey.  I will forward this information to the general membership in a separate email.  It was encouraging to hear that the LRIA’s walleye fish stocking program is working, with a variety of lengths measured in the survey.  The membership discussed concerns about the quality of the fishery declining over the past few years and potential mitigations.
 

• Adopt-A-Dock

The Watershed will once again be organizing zebra mussel monitoring via its Adopt-a-Dock program.  This involves hanging a set of plates off the end of your dock into the water and every few weeks pulling it up out of the water, taking a picture, and submitting an online form.  If you have an interest in participating in this program this year, please reply to this message and let me know or reach out directly to Eleanor Mahon <[email protected]> at the Watershed.  Our goal is to get a representative sample from multiple parts of the lake so the Watershed can more accurately track and trend the zebra mussel population.
 

• Adopt-A-Drain

The City of Chanhassen and City of Eden Prairie are both participating in and promoting the “Adopt A Drain” program.  The idea here is to prevent trash and debris from area roads reaching Lake Riley and other waterways through the storm sewer and holding ponds.  There is a slick online map where you can view neighborhood drains and sign up to “adopt” one or more.  It doesn’t need to be next to your property, you can pick one anywhere in the area.  Consider adopting one in a park or somewhere you like to walk.  Drains can be adopted by individuals and families, but also businesses, book clubs, scout troops or other groups that would like to contribute positively to the neighborhood.  The website will send reminders periodically to check and clear the drain:  Adopt A Drain.  Please consider “adopting” an area drain, and let’s turn this map from orange to purple.   Also, here are some drain cleaning tips:  Drain Clearing Tips.   Thanks in advance for your help with this!
 

• Boat Launch Inspection

The AIS boat launch inspection program at the public access remained robust in 2022, with 4,302 inspections performed over 1,957 of staffed hours.  We have continued to stay connected with the City of Eden Prairie and Watershed on this program, and are pleased that the program has operated well over the past few years.  The City of Eden Prairie plans to staff the boat ramp inspection program for similar hours in 2023 as was done in 2022.
 
Mid May to Labor Day:  Sa-Su from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm
Memorial Day to Labor Day:  M-Th from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm; Fr-Su from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm
Labor Day to Late Oct:  Sa-Su from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm
 
As a reminder, we are committed to a “neighborhood watch” of the boat ramp inspection.  Please alert the LRIA officers via the website (www.lakeriley.org) if you observe the boat ramp not being staffed or operating properly during these hours.
 

• AIS Prevention

Please remember that in addition to the boat ramp inspection program for the public access, there are additional ways we can all help mitigate the spread of AIS.  These include controlling equipment / watercraft that enter Lake Riley from private shorelines and carefully choosing Lake Service Providers and ensure they are following best practices.   
 

• LakePledge.com

As we gear up for the summer season, a reminder that you can refresh your knowledge of AIS vigilance through the Hennepin County AIS Prevention office’s short (1-2 minute) educational videos at www.lakepledge.com.  Every person who identifies as being from Lake Riley helps improve our stats on the site, which helps demonstrate lakeshore owner vigilance to prevent AIS and reinforces the value of the investment to fund the boat launch inspection program.  Please invest 15 minutes to go on the website and “take the pledge”.  Also, please forward the link to family and friends.  The more people in our area who are educated on the simple practices we can all follow to limit spread of AIS, the better!
 

• Financial Summary

The association ended 2022 with $7,615 in the General Fund and $827 in the Fish Fund.  2022 spending was “flat” with the combined totals in these accounts landing within $5 from where we started the year.  Key expenditures were for walleye stocking, purchasing replacement shallow water marker buoys, and the social events.  There were 55 households that contributed an annual membership in 2022, which is our highest participation since 2018.  Full financials are included in slide 8 of attached deck.
 

• Membership and Fish Fund Donations

If you haven’t done so already, please pay your Annual Membership and make your Fish Fund donation at this time.  This can be done via Zelle (preferred), cash or check.  Zelle is super easy to use and available at every bank we’re aware of (https://www.zellepay.com/get-started).  Simply go onto your bank’s app, find where you can send money via Zelle, and send to the email:  [email protected].  If paying by cash or check, please mail or drop in the mailbox of our Treasurer, Chad Henfling (9247 Lake Riley Blvd, Chanhassen, MN 55317).  Please include a note to state how you would like the funds to be allocated between Membership ($20), Fish Fund Donations, and General Donations.
 

• 4th of July Boat Parade

Mark your calendars for the annual 4th of July Boat Parade, planned for Tuesday, July 4, 2023 at 12:00 pm.  Time to start thinking about patriotic and/or creative themes for your boat and crew.  We will once again have judging and awards for Most Creative, Most Patriotic and Fan Favorite.  Dave Vogel will be leading the Parade Planning, please reach out to him if you’re able to help ([email protected]).  We need a few folks to volunteer to be judges, be the lead parade boat, etc. 
 

• Annual Party

Due to an outstanding turnout the last few years, we will once again do the Annual Party on a Sunday afternoon in August at the Riley Lake Park Pavilion.  This year it will be on Sunday, August 27, 2023 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm.  Please mark your calendars!  Bryan Maloney will be leading the Annual Party Planning, please reach out to him if you’re able to help ([email protected]) .  We need a few folks to volunteer to bring drinks, coolers, etc.  There will also be a sign-up closer to the event date to bring side dishes and desserts.  
 

• T-Shirts

Jake will be reaching out soon with ordering instructions for the new Lake Riley t-shirt.  Looking forward to seeing the new design!
 

• Website and Email Group

As always, keep an eye on our website (www.lakeriley.org) throughout the year for updates on LRIA happenings.  We will also continue to use email as a primary form of communication with members.  Members should feel free to use the email group ([email protected]) as a community forum for questions or information pertaining to LRIA members. 
 
See you on the lake.
Ryan

As we've discussed in the past, calling the ice-in and ice-out is not a science. There is the technical aspect of the presence or absence of ice. But today is the perfect illustration of the PRACTICAL aspect of calling ice-out.

I can see that there is still some dark ice floating in the north bay and along the north shore, but with the loons back and calling to each other and then a fishing boat motoring from the launch all the way across the lake, it's game over! I call ice-out today, April 14, 2023. Scott Bryan wins! Ed Goff (guessed 4/13) and Norm Kruse (guessed 4/15) just missed out. I suspect that what little ice there is left will be gone by the end of the day.

Star Tribune's Tony Kennedy wrote in an article yesterday about MN lake ice-outs, "Minnesota's long, snowy winter has delayed the onset of spring, but this week's blowtorch of warmth has eased some anxiety felt by anglers and resort owners who count on northern lakes to be open in time for the state fishing opener." 

Wow, wasn't it a blowtorch of warmth? That is the perfect description. No question it sped up the Lake Riley ice melt.

The latest ice-out on record was on May 1st, 2018. The earliest was on March 8th, 2000. 1997 is the only other year it went out on April 14th. 

Enjoy the lake, everyone!

Anne Florenzano