Tainter Lake Rehabilitation District approves proposed budget for annual meeting
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — The Tainter Lake Rehabilitation District Board of Commissioners has approved a budget for 2025 of $60,734 to present at the annual meeting on August 3.
The mill rate would $3.67 per $1,000 of property value or $36.67 per $100,000 of property value, said Al Brown, chair of the Board of Commissioners, at the Tainter Lake Rehabilitation District’s June 20 meeting.
The average value of property in the Lake District is $250,000, although people should keep in mind that some properties are valued at more and some are valued at less, he said.
On a $250,000 property, the tax impact for the Lake District would be $91, Brown said.
A property tax of about $100 per year on average is not too much to ask for the potential impact on Tainter Lake and for the improvement of property values, said Grant Peissig, a member of the Board of Commissioners.
The budget includes three projects for next year: $39,000 for weed removal; $7,000 for lake clarity; and $4,000 for slow/no wake zones and buoys.
Other items in the budget include $4,300 for communications; $1,734 for conferences; $10,374 for operations; $1,000 for dues and fees; $1,200 for legal; and $2,500 for insurance.
The Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the budget that will be presented at the Lake District’s annual meeting.
Weed removal
The Board of Commissioners will present a proposal for weed removal from Tainter Lake at the annual meeting.
The company that would be removing the weeds in the lake has submitted a proposal for $39,000 for weed removal in 2025, and that price would remain firm for next year, Brown said.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is planning a plant survey of Tainter Lake in July that will document the species and concentrations of plants and weeds and will indicate those locations and concentrations on a map, he said.
More information about the proposed weed removal was expected to be presented at the next meeting July 18.
Water clarity
The project for water clarity, with a budgeted amount of $7,000 for 2025, would include removing rough fish from the lake and planting blue gill, walleyed pike and northern pike in Tainter Lake.
Out of the proposed budget, a “rough fish” tournament would pay $2 per fish and would be expected to cost around $1,300, said Tom Bilse, a member of the Board of Commissioners.
Rough fish removed from the lake would include carp.
“Predator fish” that feed on the rough fish hatchlings would include blue gill at $2.50 to $2.85 each, he said.
The plan would include adding 1,000 walleye at $3 each for a total cost of $3,000 and 100 northern pike at a cost of $10 each for $1,000, Bilse said.
The number of blue gill that would be added has not yet been determined, he said.
A DNR fisheries biologist reported at a previous meeting of the Board of Commissioners that blue gill are excellent predators to help keep carp populations in control and that the blue gill in Tainter Lake grow at a faster rate than they do in other lakes that are similar to Tainter Lake.
Bottom feeders (rough fish) eat the zooplankton that help keep the cyanobacteria from growing, Bilse noted.
Rough fish also stir up the sediment at the bottom of the lake, which makes phosphorus more available to help the cyanobacteria grow.
Cyanobacteria is toxic and is responsible for turning Tainter Lake into a blue-green color during the summer.
When cyanobacteria is present in the lake, swimming is not recommended, and pets should not be allowed to drink water out of the lake.
The water quality project that would remove rough fish and would stock other fish may have to be repeated several times in subsequent years, Bilse said.
The rough fish tournament would be in the spring and fish stocking in the lake would take place in the fall, he said.
Tournament
While the exact rules and procedures for the rough fish tournament have not yet been determined, the Board of Commissioners does have a general idea of how the tournament could be run.
A previous rough fish tournament ran over three weekends, from Friday evening to Sunday, Bilse said.
The lake district would be able to get volunteers to staff the tournament, and many of the carp would be taken at night by bow and arrow. Volunteers would be needed in the early morning, he said.
After the last tournament, the rough fish were taken to the Five Star Dairy digester, and Five Start was glad to have them, Bilse said, adding that the last tournament removed 700 rough fish from Tainter Lake.
People participating in the tournament can take the rough fish by any legal means, Bilse and Brown noted.
The DNR is not looking for rough fish when the fish surveys are conducted, Peissig noted.
The Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the water clarity project to be on the agenda for the Tainter Lake Rehabilitation District’s annual meeting.
No wake ordinance
As of right now, there is no “no wake” ordinance to approve because the budget for the ordinance must be approved at the annual meeting, said Jim Zons, a member of the Board of Commissioners.
An ordinance would have to be approved before the 2025 boating season and would include buoys, he said.
The slow/no-wake committee held a public hearing on the proposed ordinance in May as is required by law, Zons said, noting that there was good discussion from members of the Lake District.
If the budget is approved, then there would be an on-going standing committee for slow/no-wake and buoys, he said.
The budget would be $4,000 for the first year, and $2,500 for subsequent years, Zons said.
Commissioner election
One of the items of business at the Lake District’s annual meeting will be the election of commissioners.
Pete Heimdahl, a member of the Board of Commissioners, has indicated that he is not seeking re-election.
The applicants for the Board of Commissioners include Adam Mucks, Tim Maves and Bob Batchelor.
The last day for people to submit applications for being included in the election for Board of Commissioners was June 20, Brown noted.
The Tainter Lake Rehabilitation District’s Board of Commissioners meets next on July 18.
The annual meeting on August 3 will be held at 10 a.m. at the Menomonie High School auditorium.
Registration for the Lake District annual meeting begins at 9 a.m.
