Meeting Minutes

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Meeting Minutes for ALIC Annual Member meeting, May 19, 2026 Tacoma Country and Golf Club

Meeting called to order by Kurt Spingath, chair, 7pm.

Business:

Outgoing members Givin Chase (treasurer) and Geoff Doll, member at large, were thanked for their service and support. Geoff had served several times on the Board since the 1990’s. He was the vice-president. The Board nominated Rachel Nguyen as incoming treasurer and Brandon Arenas as incoming member at large. Kurt asked for nominations from the floor and Stan Kovar was nominated. Rachel Nguyen was unanimously confirmed by voice vote. Stan Kovar was confirmed by ballot. Jesse Poplawski was unanimously re-elected as member at large and confirmed as vice-president by voice vote.

Givin Chase gave the treasurer’s report.  As of 12/31/2-25, 67 members had paid their dues. The expenses for the year amounted to $2,437.24. The remaining balance was $6,282.60. The question was asked if we have a budget. The answer is no, but that is something the Board can work on.

Kurt discussed the Board was increasing the annual dues from $25 to $40. At the past meeting, the subject was brought up. Costs for running the ALIC have increased due to the addition of a Zoom account and a website. The mailings still cost around $800 per year. Buoys need to be repaired and replaced. Each one costs approximately $500 for the buoy, that does not include the cost of anchors and cables. The dues increase was approved unanimously by voice vote.

Club News:

              Kurt gave an update on the level of the lake. He mentioned Pierce County has determined it has no responsibility for managing the wooden fish weir at the end of the lake that controls the lake level. Because the County had been mis-managing the weir, the level was so low that it was causing property damage. People could not get their boats in or out of the water. It was very difficult to launch boats. Stan Kovar reported earlier to the Board that the WDFW has no record of the weir, so it is also not responsible for maintaining it. The Board has decided to encourage volunteers to periodically check that no boards have been removed or added. If the volunteers discover there is an issue they will contact the ALIC president. It may be the issue can be easily repaired by volunteers with funding from ALIC. Those volunteers have formed a group and their reports about the weir will be available on the website.

              Jesse Poplawski reported on the fish stocking of the lake. Tens of thousands of trout and kokanee are stocked each year. Several fishing derbies and local bass tournaments are held here every summer. The lake continues to be one of the best fishing lakes in Pierce county.

              Brian Ford reported from the Buoy Committee. Seven buoys are ready to be put out. If people find broken buoys or ones that need replacing, let Brian know through the website. There is a possibility for shoreline owners to sponsor buoys. These can be put in front of their own beaches. It is allowable for them to advertise their own businesses on them. Every year Brian and his father Eric set buoys out 200 feet from shore.

              Janet Spingath demonstrated content on the new website located at amlakeimprovementclub.com. There people can link to water quantity, water quality, recreational safety and the Lake Management District. Members can pay dues, read meeting minutes and by-laws, learn about upcoming events and follow the progress of lake management, among other things. Janet also reported the ALIC will be sponsoring an educational forum every quarter as a support to the LMD which has an obligation to provide education about the lake for the lake tax payers. There will be a 4th of July boat parade and Paddle, Poker run party. All details can be found on the website.

              Roxanne Miles, Lakewood Parks director spoke about the acquisition of the management of the WDFW boat launch next to Camp Murray. There will be agreements about how the Federal, State and City will interact at this location. A steering committee is meeting soon to begin drafting a management plan. It will follow the Lakewood Legacy plan that promises city residents access to clean lakes. The process will take a couple of years. There will be opportunity for public input once the first draft is constructed.

              Sgt John Fraser, Lakewood Police Department marine unit, addressed the buoys. He mentioned that the buoys must still look like safety items. They should not have advertising or other decorative parts that interfere with their identity as safety markers. He emphasized the boating rules of not operating a boat or jet ski under the influence of cannabis or alcohol. Discussion followed about the safety of swimmers in the Silcox Channel. Officer Fraser commented that without life guards on our beaches, the parks had become much more dangerous for swimmers.

              Katie Foster engineering technician from City of Lakewood gave a report from the LMD. Eighty-eight acres were treated. The cost of treatment last year was partially subsidized by a grant of $75K from the Dept of Ecology. The cost was nearly $80K. With the expected revenue of about $24K this year and the remainder of the grant from last year, the cost will still fall short of the amount needed to fund the milfoil and we can expect more growth from this invasive plant the following year.

              Joel Vranna, Eagle Point HOA president, addressed the shoreline resident petition initiative that he presented to the City Council. An explanation of the petition is included on this website. There are approximately 9 beaches at the HOA that are so heavily covered with filamentous green algae that they become covered in deep, rotting, smelly muck. The recreational potential for those beaches is non-existent. Property values are severely impacted. Although residents would gladly pay for treatment themselves, and the treatments are legal under the DOE permit the City holds, the rules governing the current LMD preclude the residents from hiring anyone to do the work. Members were sympathetic and about a dozen signed up to attend and/or speak at the next LMD public meeting, to encourage changes so the LMD can be more effective.

              Door prizes of coffee and car washes were awarded. Meeting adjourned at 8:40.

              Next meeting March 16, 2027 (note: annual meeting will be held far in advance of the summer activities on a trial basis before it can be adopted into the by-laws.)