As many of you have read, the fundraising campaign for the Lake Renovation project has gone extremely well.  June 30^th was a big Milestone date for the effort.  Last week was the cutoff date to signal if the effort could move forward, based on the amount of money donated and pledged.   There is still a risk, as not all pledged funds have been collected, and the assumption is that all funds pledged for 2022 & 2023 will be collected as promised.   However, we feel that it is time to begin the next phase of the project.

With the fish kill this past weekend, and the elevated HAB water test results we have seen, people have begun to ask questions about when will the project get started.  The answer to that question is….

The project is well underway, as the planning, research, communication, and fund-raising portion have been a huge undertaking.  Many of the pieces are in place.  Contracts and commitments could not be made until we were confident that the funds would be available.  We ask that you please have patience but be assured that the next steps are being taken to move into the implementation phase of the project.

Next 30 days….

• Sign the contract with Restorative Lake Sciences (https://restorativelakesciences.com) 
  • Dr. Jennifer Jermalowicz-Jones, Principal Limnologist and Owner will be acting on Indian Hills behalf to oversee the project with SISBio, and ensure results are being obtained.
• Continue testing water every two weeks, providing additional data, and monitoring for any increases in HAB activity
• Schedule an on-site evaluation with Restorative Lake Sciences
  • Establish base line measurements and officially kickoff the project
• Finalize negotiations with SISBio once we have Dr. Jemalowicz-Jones under contract.  Scope and plans have already been laid out. 

Timing on the installation of the aerators and beginning treatments are dependent on the above steps being completed.   The Lake Restoration committee is committed to keeping you informed throughout the process and is committed to moving as quickly as possible now that funding has been secured.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out via email, lakerestore@ilpoa.org, or contact any of the Lake Restoration Committee Members.

Ed Weston, Mike Schwartz, Scott Rockafellow, Mary Beth Huffman, Joe Mischik, Chris Pinaire, and John Richmond