The 4th of July was another beautiful day on Green Lake.  We had a little smaller turn out this year for participants but all the boats and pontoons were decorated beautifully.   Groov’en on Green took first place, Mardi Gras on Green took second place, and Rednecks of Green took third place.  The boat parade is always a lot of fun and we hope to do it again next year.  Thank you too all who participated and helped out with the parade.

Pam Standish
Secretary

The GLA Fall Festival was held Sat. Oct. 26 at the Community Center.  We had a little smaller turn out but everyone seemed to have a good time.  Our silent auction was down sized this year but still proved to be a popular event.  The meat raffle was also a huge success.  Dan did a great job calling the bingo.  We appreciate the support of our community at our GLA functions. We would also like to thank everyone who donated to the silent auction and volunteered to help with the Fall Festival.

Pam Standish
Secretary

The GLA Member Appreciation Picnic was held on Sat. Aug. 15 at the Standish’s.  It was a windy day so most people came by car this year.  We had a small turn out but still met some new faces.  Jeff and Phil came to cook and as always did a great job.  There was lots of good food to eat and good conversation.  Thanks to Bob Milan who provided the door prizes we gave out.  Again we thank every one who came to the picnic.  This is a great way to meet our neighbors on the lake.

Pam Standish
Secretary

The GLA annual meeting will be held Thursday November 5th at 7 pm at the Community Center.  Dan Standish, our president will recap the GLA season.  There will be guest speakers representing the Minnesota Bow Fishermen and the Lake Improvement District. We also hope to have an update on Camp Ojakita.  This is the time to vote in new board members.  All positions will be open.  Please attend and support the Green Lake Association.  This meeting is open to the public.  Come and be a part of the Green Lake Organization.

Pam Standish
Secretary

What beautiful weather for the Ki-Chi- Saga Days celebration!  We set up our GLA booth in the park on Sat.  We had information on what we do and how everyone can help keep our lakes clean.  We also gave out free nonleaded fishing tackle and had GLA items for sale.  Debbie Legan of Shorview was the winner of a hooded sweatshirt in our free  drawing.

On Sunday we had our GLA pontoon in the parade.  Again, what a beautiful day!  We passed out candy and enjoyed seeing everyone come out for this event.  Thank you too all the volunteers that helped with these events.

Pam Standish
Secretary

A resolution to the channel issues between Big and Little Green has been a long time coming but is finally here. For those who are not aware a new channel has been dredged
to the east side of the old one. Dredging of the new channel was done via barge and back hoe the week of Aug 10th. The work was done by BVF Inc out of Cambridge
and funded by the Lake Improvement District. Also a few of the GLA members contributed extra funds in their annual membership fee to be used for the channel project.
These funds have been sent to the LID with there purpose noted. The old channel will remain as a spawning area for walleye. Due to the new channel location it is hoped that the sand bottom rather than rock will help keep the channel markers in place. This has been a major problem for years. The GLA would personally like to thank Rick Ekstrand for representing the association in this endeavor and spearheading getting the project started. This project may not have happened without his involvement. Thanks Rick!. For all of us who live on the lake and visitors that have sought safe passage between Big and Little Green we know what a fantastic accomplishment this is. As a final note, in the construction of the new channel rocks have been added to each side of the marked opening for fish spawning and structural support. If you observer the channel markers you will have no issues. If you stray out side the markers you will be replacing your prop. Enjoy the new access.

This spring and summer has been interesting to say the least. Many temperature ups and downs and a sever moisture deficit. Because of this the summer season seems to have been very short.

We have enjoyed some benefits of the weather along with some frustrations. On the positive side the lack of runoff due to low rain fall has minimized algae blooms. Because of this, water clarity has been the best I have seen in some time. There are a few heavy weed pockets in Big and Little Green but the overall condition of the lakes in respect to Curly Leaf and Milfoil is good.

On the negative side the low water level has played havoc with docks and boat lifts. I am sure anyone with this equipment has had to move to deeper water one or two times. Also getting from Big to Little Green has been more of a challenge than normal. All this said we can be thankful it has been a relatively severe weather free season and I’m sure everyone has taken advantage of the few summer like days we have had. The GLA is working hard to continue being stewards of our lake. This has become a difficult task do to lack of volunteers and financial support. I personally want to see this organization continue to treat for invasive species in Green Lake and other special activities the association becomes involved in. Sorry to say we are approaching a cross roads on whether The GLA can continue in the same capacity as in the past.

Without volunteers the Green Lake Association will cease to exist. The current board members have served multiple terms and several committee members commitments have ended. We are in need of new faces to replenish our committee member ranks and individuals who would consider taking on the following board positions: President, Secretary and Treasure. Filling of board member positions will not be an overnight expectation. Anyone interested in any of these positions will have ample time to work with the current position holder to get comfortable. These positions do require a small commitment but a commitment never the less. As in any volunteer organization the more individuals that are involved the less is required by any one person.

From its resurrection almost ten years ago the GLA has made great strides forward in the treatment of invasive weeds in Green Lake. Given the ability to chemically treat for Curly Leaf and Milfoil using our own association treatment boat and expertise saves the lake shore property owners thousands of dollars per season over hiring a private company to do the treatments. The GLA is of great importance in helping to maintain the general health of Green Lake. Be aware without your lake association there is no one else who will be stepping forward to watch out for the well being of the lake. I will end my article with a plea for volunteers who care about the quality of the lake they live on and are willing to commit some of their time to preserve this special resource. The GLA will monitor the responses to this request and the results will dictate what the association will be capable of in 2010. Please consider becoming involved and preserving the Green Lake Association and the valuable work it does. Contact me or any of the board members listed in the contacts section of the news letter. I wish you all a safe and fun remainder of the summer and a great future for the GLA.

Dan Standish
GLA President

Time to enjoy the beautiful colors and reflect on memories of this past summer.

As I’m preparing to review this past year financial, our organization has experienced highs and lows.  Our “highs” for this year: an awesome turnout for the Spring bingo, Silent Auction and Meat Raffle.  The “lows”: GLA memberships are down, drop in price per pound on our can recycling bin and the loss of financial support from Chisago City. This resulted in GLA not meeting our budget for 2009.

Final financial numbers will be published at the Annual Meeting on November 5, 2009.

Julie Vick – Treasurer