Enchanted Lake Residents Association Board of Directors Zoom Meeting Minutes, Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Conducted via Zoom: Present: D. Young, M. Novack, J. Bean, M. Compton, J. Fernie, S. Harding, D. Kroll, D. Medeiros, C. Turner, and M. Spencer (Administrative Assistant).
Guests: Cheryl Inouye, Principal Kaelepulu Elementary School; Kaleo Wong, Kauluakalana; Wes Masuda, 6th Grade Teacher, Kaelepulu Elementary School are guests of D. Medeiros.
Absent: A. Richardson, G. Gustavson, L. Jenks, R. Castanha, and G. Colbert.
The meeting was called to order by D. Young at 7:07 pm. A quorum was declared.
Following the call to order, D. Medeiros introduced Cheryl Inouye who then introduced her colleagues, Kaleo Wong, and Wes Masuda. K. Wong is representing Kauluakalana (https://www.kauluakalana.org), a community-based, non-profit 501(c)3 organization that was founded in 2019 to lead people committed to ʻāina restoration, education, and cultural revitalization. W. Masuda is guiding the 6th grade which will conduct scientific activities related to Genki Balls. K. Wong would assist.
- Masuda described the efforts he had made to demonstrate the benefits of Genki Balls in the water that was flowing past the school. This, in fact, is one of the many drainage ditches that channel water from the surrounding hills into Enchanted Lake.
Kaelepulu Elementary School requests ELRA approval to allow some of the sixth-grade students to design an experiment intended to show how Genki Balls could clean up Enchanted Lake. They believe they could access the lake through the Kamehameha Schools Property. There were many questions about how the experiment could/would be conducted and what might make Genki Balls beneficial.
- Inouye agreed to send more information about the properties of Genki Balls to the Board for their review.
3-1 TASK: Write TY Letter to Inouye ** D. Young. COMPLETE
Following their departure, the formal portion of the meeting began.
Minutes: Minutes for the February Meeting had been circulated via email. J. Fernie moved and S. Harding seconded the motion that the February 2021 Minutes be approved. They were approved unanimously.
Finance: Prior to the meeting, G. Gustavson had sent the following message via email:
“Alan Richardson is off-island until March 19th so there is not a spreadsheet for Actual versus Budget available now.
There have been no significant expenses in February, and we continue to track with the budget for this FY.
The balance in the Qualified Settlement Fund account is $532,362. There is an outstanding invoice from Oceanit for dredging and engineering planning of $22,950. This will be paid from the Qualified Settlement Fund on March 20th.”
Administration:
Correspondence: D. Young had shared his Communications Log prior to the Meeting.
Report from the Kailua Neighborhood Board (KNB): L. Jenks was unable to attend the Board Meeting. D. Young encouraged Board Members to pay close attention to the KNB Minutes which will be issued just prior to the April Meeting. The next meeting will be 8 April. D. Medeiros is scheduled to attend.
Encroachment Agreements: Prior to the meeting M. Novack sent an informational paper describing the Board’s responsibilities and history with encroachments. The Board agreed that this was an important topic that deserved more attention. There are some decisions that need to be considered, but the Board determined it best to take this up at the next meeting due to the complexity of the issue. The topic was tabled until the April Meeting.
ELRA Common Narrative: D. Young thanked S. Harding and C. Turner for their efforts in creating and refining a series of narratives that describe the efforts of ELRA to maintain the health of Enchanted Lake, in ever-increasing levels of detail, D. Young recommends each Board Member keep these narratives in mind when they are asked what ELRA is doing for the lake.
- Compton, who originally suggested the benefit to having the common narrative, was very complimentary of the effort and suggested that one more step should be taken. He suggested that ELRA also needs a short “Mission Statement.” Perhaps one that is a sentence long to be used on stationary, briefing slides, and business cards. There was general agreement that this was a good idea, and the Board would work on it.
3-2 TASK: M. Novack requested the “Elevator Talk” version of the narrative be posted at the beginning of ELRA Website ** C. Turner. COMPLETE
Electronic File Storage: Consistent with Goal 4: Improve Association Administration, ELRA is transitioning from the use of paper files to the use of electronic media. Prior to the Board Meeting, M. Novack sent an informational paper describing progress to the Board for their review. There were no questions on this topic.
Committee Reports:
Dredging Committee: Oceanit continues to work on an MOA between the HYCF and ELRA that will delineate responsibilities. American Marine continues to review the plans. The last permit that is required is the Noise Permit, related to truck and operational noise. Right now, it continues to appear that the target date to start actual dredging is mid to late summer 2021.
Membership Committee: M. Compton announced that the Associate Membership Form will be used this month for the first time. The candidate family appears to be well qualified.
Operations Committee: M. Compton stated that the repaired Security Boat was working well. He indicates that he stopped one boat that appeared to have several guests who were all fishing. He believes this to be an individual who lives on the Canal and who wished to be considered for associate membership. This applicant wanted to bring a powerboat on the lake, which is not approved for associates.
Compton observed that there were much small dead fish out on the lake. There was a discussion about whether the variable salinity could be the cause. It was suggested that there may be an underlying disease that is affecting only the tilapia.
Boat stickers will be ordered soon. It was agreed that one-man craft will require a sticker, whereas Stand-up Paddle Board (SUPs) will not. The management of the stickers will fall under the Administrative element of the Board, whereas the definitions for the various levels will remain with the Operations Committee.
Environment Committee: D. Kroll provides the following report via email:
It was wonderful to see all of us out there digging deep into the berm to try to get some water in the lake. We did get some water in the lake and Hugo said it bumped up the salinity a little bit. Anyway, I want to commend all of us for our deep dedication to the lake.
This past month I’ve had increasing concerns that it’s been quite a while in my area that I’ve seen any crabs in the water. Our group started monitoring this more this past month. There have been some spotted at the canal portion of the lake.
Towards the end of the month, there was a little less clarity to the water and limited activity of tilapia schools. The last posting of the group for March 1 still no observation of crabs. I presuming it to be part of the low salinity level.
All our commuter has had some challenges with logging in to the Dropbox application.
Next Meeting Date: The next Board meeting will take place by Zoom on Tuesday, April 13th, 2021 at 7 pm. The next KNB meeting will be on 8 April. D. Medeiros is scheduled to attend this meeting.
Adjournment: S. Harding moved adjournment, which was seconded by D. Kroll. The affirmative vote was unanimous. The meeting adjourned at 9:08 pm.
Respectfully submitted
M. Novack
Tasks from previous months still needing to be completed.
1-2 TASK: Write TY letter to KS (Todd Gray) for their willingness to work with us. ** D. Kroll.
1-3 TASK: Create a newsletter going to all ELRA households identifying what mangrove seeds and plants look like, and requesting they clean their waterfronts of the mangrove and floating coconuts. ** C. Turner