1. Because of changes in MPOA office staffing, and to accommodate the scheduled availability of new workers for the decal sales, the MPOA office hours have been changed. The new Summer hours for the MPOA office are from Tuesday through Friday from the hours of 10 am to 2 pm. Saturday hours are from 8 am to 1 pm.

2. As we have new office staff handling the decal transactions, in advance we ask for your patience and cooperation, and offer the following suggestions:

• Whenever you come in, please make sure you have all the required, up-to-date paperwork (Registration, Proof of Insurance, etc.) with you. If your paperwork is not complete when you come into the office, there will be delays in processing your decal(s).

• If at all possible, please try to avoid the usual Saturday morning crowds, and come into the MPOA office on Tuesday – Friday. • If you do need to come in on a Saturday morning, please be patient, as there will be a line of people.

• If you have all of your registration documents in order, you may mail them to the MPOA office, along with the appropriate fee in the form of a check made out to the MPOA, and your 2015 decal(s) will be mailed back to you.

3. The MPOA will be resuming the sale of IDNR “Paddle Passes” (for kayaks, canoes, etc.) and IDNR fishing licenses shortly. When resumed, all IDNR transactions will be “cash-only”.

4. On January 1, 2015, a new boating regulation was established. Senate Bill 2731 mandates that the operator of any watercraft that is towing a person, such as a water skier or tuber, must display a bright orange flag measuring not less than 12 inches per side. The flag must be displayed from the time the person to be towed leaves the boat until that person returns to the boat at the conclusion of the activity. The MPOA office will have a limited number of these flags available for sale at $10 each.

5. The Wonder Lake Sportsman’s Club conducted their annual Lake Clean Up on Saturday, April 18th. As part of that activity, they also installed the “Aquatic Invaders” signs at subdivision boat ramps around the lake. Many thanks to the WLSC for their active participation in keeping the lake clean.

6. The “Preliminary Dredging Sequence and Timeline” is being posted / updated on the MPOA website. It is fully recognized that the sequence and timeline will likely shift as dredging continues, based on equipment issues, temperatures, flood events, and other unforeseen circumstances. Those already on the MPOA e-mail mailing list will be notified when dredging updates are posted to the MPOA website. If you are not on the mailing list, contact Lance at the MPOA office to be added at: office@wlmpoa.org.

7. As previously discussed, the dredging contractor is being paid on the basis of the “volume” of sediment dredged; not on any kind of hourly or daily rate. The volume of sediment dredged is being tracked by GPS, and will be re-verified by a land surveyor to help ensure that all areas targeted for dredging are completed.

8. As spring slowly arrives, the MPOA has been working with our consultant and dredging contractor to update the plan and schedule for the 2015 dredging season. The primary goals of this plan are to minimize lake-user conflicts in the 2015 dredging season, and to allow the contractor to work as efficiently as possible.

9. The dredging contractor remobilized and resumed dredging in mid-April, 2015, first deepening very shallow areas of West Bay needed to allow the dredge pipeline to float freely.

10. However, the recent spell of cold weather has prevented them from moving to White Oaks Bay and Lookout Point, as the dredge pipeline, with one inch thick sidewalls, has less flexibility when water temperatures are below 55 degrees. Any attempt to re-locate the pipeline while water temperatures are below 55 degrees increases the chances of cracks developing.

11. As a result, for the present, the dredging contractor will continue to work in the portions of West Bay under contract to be dredged until water temperatures rise.

12. They are then proposing to first work on Lookout Point and then White Oaks Bay Coves, tentatively completing that work by the second week of June.

13. The contractor would then move up the lake to work on O’Brien Shoals and Wickline Island, hopefully completing that work by mid-July.

14. The contractor will then move back into West Bay / Nippersink inlet, so that the main body of the lake will be “pipeline-free” for the remainder of the boating season.

15. Upon completing West Bay, they will then work on South Bay until the project is complete, hopefully by late Fall, 2015.

16. Marked “boat crossings” will be created by the contractor in each of these dredging phases, to allow boat traffic to safely cross the dredge pipeline.

17. In all areas proposed for dredging (with the exception of the Nippersink Creek inlet), the proposed dredging will come no closer than within twenty (20) feet of the shoreline. If your pier is shorter than 20 feet in length, you will likely NOT have to move your pier to allow dredging to occur. In the narrower portions of the Nippersink Creek inlet, the dredging will come no closer than ten (10) feet of the shoreline. Where possible, lakefront landowners / subdivisions in areas to be dredged should avoid installing their piers until after dredging in their area is completed, particularly if they are more than 20 feet long. Any piers extending into areas slated to be dredged will need to be removed before dredging starts, or the amount of dredging conducted in those areas will be reduced. Information on when piers would need to be temporarily removed in those areas will be provided to affected landowners as the dredging timeline is updated.

18. It is fully recognized that the sequence and timeline will likely shift as dredging resumes, based on equipment issues, flood events, and other unforeseen circumstances. As updates become available, information will be posted to the MPOA website. www.wlmpoa.org

19. No matter how the contractor proposes to schedule the work, there will be those who feel they are being inconvenienced. All we can do is ask for folks to look at the big picture (a cleaner, deeper lake), and be patient.