On Wednesday, October 12, the Candlewood Lake Authority ( CLA) met to discuss the season’s end and hear a v ariety of updates. Most pressing was Director of Ecology Neil Stalter’s news that First Light needs to complete a deep drawdown for a dam repair this winter. This is not what the CLA was originally hoping for given the odd year with a lack of plant life. However, Stalter pointed out that “the plant situation is the least of our worries if the dam fails.” He does see a possible silver lining in potentially increased management of any zebra mussels that might be present in that area. Though the drawdown and repair are scheduled to occur in December, it is difficult to predict the exact timing. The need for broad public awareness about the drawdown was acknowledged, as many lake homeowners have become less concerned about their docks in recent years.

Stalter also explained that the lake steward program is in its last month of water-quality monitoring. He plans to complete a final report on water qu ality for the board by the start of the year. When asked, Stalter said that weed maps were completed for this year and the report will be ready in the next m onth. He said there were pockets of plant life mapped. He also said that he is developing an experimental design for exclosures for next year—areas that would keep fish out to allow plant life to flourish. The weed maps will help with possible placement locations.

It was noted that the CLA’s budget is on track for expenses and there are line items that are under budget. The group unanimously approved an annual transfer of funds to the Capital Project Fund earlier than in the past. The search for a new bookkeeper has been narrowed down to two contenders—both are recommendations from the board and the CLA’s auditors. The prices for both are competitive with the fees that the group has paid in recent years.

The CLA thanked Chief Nick Mellas for another great, albeit extremely challe nging, year of work on the lake. While the patrol season is wrapping up, Mellas said that there is work to complete over the winter on rewording some policies and creating new ones. He said that all staff members are excited to collaborate and improve, “I think next year will be even better.” The CLA will receive an end-of-season report from Mellas in late October and the Public Safety Committee plans to use his findings in a document that illustrates the value of the CLA and the marine patrol and will be given to stakeholders.

Committee members are busy handling late season equipment repairs and will wait until the weather turns cooler before removing the buoys and the boats. Given that there are still warm days happening, there is a large amount of traffic still present on the lake. They have started winterizing the jet skis.

The next regular Ca ndlewood Lake Authority meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 9, 7:00 p.m.

By Sarah Opdahl