May 20,2026 CLA Board Minutes
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Crockery Lake Association Meeting
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
May 20, 2026 – Chester Township Hall
1. Annual Membership Drive
2. Meeting called to order at 7:00pm.
3. Roll Call: Betsy Ludwick, Greg Slater, Paula Humphrey, Bob Blauwkamp, Dan Atwood, Bill Marks and Blake Williams Absent: Dan Atwood
Audience: 19 people in attendance; sign in sheet on file.
4. Call to the Audience:
A. Allison Miedema, our Chester Township Commissioner for Ottawa County.
B. Joe Moss, also an Ottawa County Commissioner, currently running for State Representative on the August 4 ballot. He also invited everyone to a Meet & Greet at Grose Park on June 4, at 7pm.
C. Betsy acknowledged their support of the lake on our behalf.
5. Introduction of our Guest Speaker – Adam Reed
Adam is an Earth Science teacher at Spring Lake High School. He was able to use a power point presentation to explain our test results from RLS. He also passed out two sheets explaining our lake’s health. Those are available on file.
A. Adam told us that lake restoration would be multi-layered and that we would need to attack both the internal and external loading of the lake. He shared 4 Bullet Points
1) We need to install drain filters to filter out the nutrients.
2) He recommended a Deep-Water Oxygenation System.
3) Septic Maintenance.
4) Target invasive weed management.
B. Community Impact
1. Recreation Quality
2. Property Values
3. The cost of doing nothing will cost us more in the future.
Public Comment:
A. Susan McClure voiced her concerns of wake boats on the lake.
B. Greg Slater commented that we want to get rid of the Phosphates, so we have to control it.
C. Karen Elliott, fighting Eutrophication for years, we need lake riparians to work together.
D. New resident Alicia Joustra expressed concern about lake health.
A. Correspondence from Dr Jones with RLS. Dr. Jones explained that she is having difficulties getting
an appointment with EGLE for the pre-application process.
B. Betsy received a call from a person fishing on our lake. He was complaining about the number of docks, rafts & buoys around the lake that he catches when casting his line, and that he was going to report us to the DNR.
C. Betsy has received many contacts re: the invasive weeds and requests for weed treatment.
D. PLM is trying to work within our SAD to manage the overabundance of weeds this year.
E. Troy Goodno, Chester Township Supervisor also reached out to Betsy asking for us to keep him posted and that we have his support.
8. Secretary Report- Paula Humphrey
A. May 2025 Minutes: Those went through the approval process in May of 2025 and have already
been posted on the CLA Website.
B. April 2026 Minutes: Greg Slater moved to approve as submitted. Support came from Bob Blauwkamp. Motion carried, April minutes may now be posted on the CLA Website.
9. Treasurer’s Report – Greg Slater
A. 2025-2026 Year End Report. Last year we realized 63 members.
Our 2025-2026 Funds remaining balance: General $3,406.98
Fund-A-Fish 101.00
Alligator T-Shirt 1,940.92
Lake Clean-Up 3,314.70
2026 Fireworks 4,399.60
Total bank balance $13,163.20
B. January-April 2026 Report. We currently have 13 members, with an additional 4 tonight. 2026-27 Budget will need 68 members.
Motion from Bob Blauwkamp to approve the Treasurer’s Report as submitted, 2nd from Tyler Heitzman, motion carried. Thanks were expressed for the T-Shirt Fund Raiser.
C. Greg put out a plea for residents to become members.
10. July 3, 2026 Celebration
A. Fireworks: Bill Marks reported that everything was going according to plan.
B. Boat Parade: Jody Hyde agreed to be the starting point again this year for the annual boat parade. Once again we will let lake residents text in their votes for best entry. Only one vote per phone number.
It was suggested that we only consider one vote per address.
C. Decorated Yards: This is our country’s 250th Anniversary. We are expecting big things! Everyone
is encouraged to participate.
D. Ring of Fire: Bob Blauwkamp has candles available at $1.25 each. Reps will contact their riparians
for additional orders, or they can contact Bob directly.
11. Lake Remediation
A. The survey showed a mixed bag. We had such clear water (to 4’) at the end of last season, that the weeds are receiving sunlight and growing!
12. Resident Contact
A. Paula Humphrey is working on a CL Directory. If residents could please contact her with their address, email and cell numbers that would be appreciated. It was suggested that a map of the lake be included in the directory.
13. Nominations/Election of Board Members
A. Dan Atwood, Bill Marks, Blake Williams & Adam Reed have all agreed to be on the ballot. Ballots were passed. Nominations from the floor – none.
B. Election – all four nominees were voted into a 3-year term.
14. Call to the Audience: Susan McClure attended the Michigan Lakes & Streams Conference in May. One of her sessions was on goose control. It is highly recommended that riparian’s plant vegetation along the shore. Geese are afraid of what predators could be hiding in that vegetation. They also recommend a green laser to chase them away.
15. Around the Table
A. Greg Slater – Join! Everyone needs to be involved. He also announced that Sludge Hammer is willing to give lake residents a 10% discount on installation of their system. New microbes are added every year, and this system will eliminate the need to have your tanks pumped.
No other Board Members Commented.
16. Adjournment: 8:20pm,
Betsy thanked the audience for their attendance.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Paula Humphrey
Next meeting: To Follow - Restructuring Meeting/Election of Officers
Next Board Meeting: June 18, 2026, 7pm
Location: Chester Township Community Room
Restructuring/Post Annual Meeting
1. Election of Board Officers
President: Betsy Ludwick has agreed to serve as president for just one more year.
Secretary: Paula Humphrey agreed to continue in this position.
Treasurer: Greg Slater agreed to continue in this position.
Motion to accept Officers was made by Bill Marks, supported by Bob Blauwkamp and passed by the
members present.
2. Committees: One change, Lake Management and Education will include Betsy Ludwick as chair, along with new member Adam Reed.
Directory Discussion: Tyler Heitzman volunteered to generate a lake map.
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