Dredging Lake Koshkonong TIMELINES

Here's where we're at on the experimental project:

Advertisement to bidders

Thanks Bill for the draft that you sent over.  We have added to it with material that we had on required process as well as a project description and schedule for bid document availability, pre-bid meeting and bid opening.  It’s attached as a Word document in case you have any specific edits. 

We've made several contacts to confirm the public advertisement requirements – RKLD has its street address (Brian's place) location in Rock County, and the project is in the Town of Sumner, Jefferson County.  We recommend that the advertisement to bidders be placed in the Jefferson County Daily Union and the Janesville Gazette.  Both of these newspapers are the "official" places for legal notices in the two counties.

If we get the advertisement to bidders to the newspapers on Monday, we can have it published by Thursday.  I know it's late in the day, but please get us any comments on the advertisement by Monday morning.

Proposed project schedule

·         Published advertisement to bidders: December 6 and December 13

·         Bid documents and bid form sent to Bill and Brian for review and comments: December 6

·         Bid documents available at Montgomery Associates: December 10

·         Pre-bid meeting: December 17

·         Bids due and bid opening: January 4

·         Recommendation to the RKLD Board and project award: January 8

·         Expected construction schedule: week of January 7 through February 1

I'd like to go faster, but I think the only way to do so would be to give the contractor's only a week or two to develop their bids, and have bids due either just before or just after Christmas.  I'm afraid that we may not get a good response if we do that, so I recommend that we have bids due January 4.

Lake Koshkonong Weather

Wisconsin on track to break heat record

You can put those mittens away - at least for now

Booked a holiday vacation somewhere warm like Hawaii or Florida? Might as well stay right here.
Wisconsin is on pace to break the hottest year on record, and the long-range forecast for December, at least for the first few weeks, likely will mean snowplow drivers in southern Wisconsin will have lots of time on their mittened hands. Actually, mittens probably won't be needed either, according to the National Weather Service.
By Saturday, a low pressure system is expected to track north of Wisconsin and usher in warm winds from the south with temperatures forecast in the high 40s, though the mercury could inch into the 50s, said Mark Gehring, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Sullivan.
"On the heels of that low pressure will be another area of low pressure moving east across southern Canada, which is well north of us, so we should get another round of mild, southerly winds in the first week of December," Gehring said Sunday.
The Climate Prediction Center's eight- to 14-day outlook calls for a high probability of above normal temperatures and an increased chance for above normal precipitation in southern Wisconsin.
"It would be nice if it did because we do need the rain," Gehring said.
For Dec. 1, Milwaukee averages a high of 38 and low of 25; in Madison, it's 36 and 21 degrees. The record high temperatures for that day are 63 in Milwaukee and 62 degrees in Madison, both set in 1970.
It's way too early to predict whether southern Wisconsin will have a white Christmas. But there's been nary a snowflake yet in these parts - good news for those who haven't dug out snow shovels and windshield scrapers yet, bad news for skiers, skaters and anyone who actually likes winter in Wisconsin.
Madison had only one day of measurable snow so far this season - 0.1 inch on election day, the minimum required. Milwaukee has had only trace amounts of snow.
Neither city is even close to breaking the record for latest measurable snow. That occurred on Dec. 26, 1888, when 0.1 inch fell; in Madison, it was even later - Jan. 1, 1914 - when 0.3 inch dropped.
And for weather nerds, here's another fascinating statistic: Through Sunday, Milwaukee had gone 266 days between measurable snows, with the last falling in early March. That's third place for the number of days between measurable snows, with first place grabbed in 1999 when 279 days between measurable snows ended on Dec. 13 that year. In 1908, there were 278 days between measurable snows.
"Looking at our forecast, we've got a great shot at breaking that record," said Gehring.
Eclipsing the hottest year record is no surprise considering the mild winter, super warm March and blisteringly hot and dry summer.
Through Nov. 24, the average temperature in Milwaukee was 54 degrees; 53.8 degrees for Madison. The current record-holding year is 1931. Through Nov. 24 of that year, the average temperature in Madison was 53.1 degrees and 53.8 degrees in Milwaukee.
"The jet stream is always the biggest key. It spent much of the year to our north, so that's going to keep you warm," Gehring said. "The drought also contributed. When you don't have moist soil conditions, the sunshine will push temperatures hotter, which is why we got up to 100 degrees this year."

Potential Lake Koshkonong Projects

Experimental project

Water levels continue to drop – that's a good thing.  Water levels usually stay low until toward the end of January or early February.  Duck hunting season ends December 2.  We are ready to go to create the construction drawings for the project.  We want to double check Lake bottom elevations in the area of dredging and wetland placement now that the lakebed is pretty much exposed.  We'll do that this week or early next.  We need to contact contractors and figure out how the project will be bid and how construction will be administered.  Have you had conversations with Tallgrass on this – or do you want us to contact them to figure out what makes the most sense for them to do?  I know that several contractors have contacted you directly about wanting to work on the project.  We want to make preliminary contact with contractors so that they know we are going to be looking for quotes in several weeks, and if you tell us the names of ones that have contacted you we will make sure to get hold of them.  I know that you had asked that we not include LMS (I think that was the name).

Doing a project on the south side of the Rock River entrance

We've had several conversations with the Corps of Engineers and DNR about permitting a possible project as we discussed to place a "Peninsula" angling to the South that would protect the DNR wetlands and provide a storage area for dredge spoils from Lake shore access dredging in the area of Vinie Ha Ha and to the South.  Although it's an outside possibility that we could have this project permitted by February if we began right away, this really strikes me as a project that should be considered for the winter of 2013 – 14.  I say this because it seems that some sort of local cost share funding should be defined to establish what RKLD would pay and what the local shoreline folks would pay.  I have some ideas on how this would come together, mainly along the lines of RKLD could sponsor an overall project and provide the "big" infrastructure – in this case the Peninsula angling South from the rock River entrance, and that the local homeowners would pay a fraction – maybe a large fraction – of the cost of dredging in front of their property.  It strikes me as something that should be defined as a policy that's approved maybe at the next annual meeting, and then projects can be implemented using that approach.  But it's certainly needs a discussion with you and the board.  Anyway – in order to proceed with permitting, we would need to conduct an archaeological survey and assemble the formal permit application.  Let's discuss.

Clearing the trash racks in front of the Wicket Gates at Indianford dam.

I've discussed this several times with Rob Davis.  He is agreed to expedite approval of berming off the area in front of the trash racks so the entire area can be inspected, accumulated sediment can be removed as necessary, and the trash racks can be cleaned.  I will get a letter out to him tomorrow on this.  I don't want to complete that work until the experimental project is complete, because I think we need all of the Indianford dam gate capacity to help keep the Lake at a low level, but as soon as we're finished, we can put the berm across in front of the trash racks and clean that area out.  Do you want us to contact a contractor about doing this work?  Will get the letter to Rob Davis and stand by to discuss this with you.

Other projects stemming from the annual meeting

The two big priorities that I remember from the annual meeting were:

·                     Removal of obstructions to navigation – snags and rocks that are known navigation hazards; and

·                     Working to improve the boat launch ramps.

Apart from Dahlman's Landing, the launch ramps certainly could use a lot of work.  I'm not sure what your impression of priorities is, but if you want to make progress on either of these items – or something else – we should start planning it now so that work can be completed or that we have at least permitted plans next spring.

The PAS project

Wendy from the Corps of Engineers in Rock Island has reviewed the draft report that we got out to everyone a month ago and we'll get us some comments.  We've heard nothing from DNR.  As I'd mentioned to you, we assembled and edited the PAS report and created all of the figures out of the material that was available as of this September, gratis, because we wanted to have a final product that would have some continuing use.  Wendy asked whether or not we were interested in extending the existing work so as to be a "Programmatic EA" or whether we should leave it simply as a report.  Our opinion is that it could take a lot of work to get the present report to the point of formal regulatory agency sign-off, and that it shouldn't be at RKLD's expense – RKLD has enough in this project already.  Let's discuss and we will send out a note to the Corps of Engineers and DNR regarding our expectations for their comments on the PAS report.

The Buckhorn Supper Club offers casual comfort and great food

From OnMilwaukee.com

In summer, when you can sit outside and watch the boats on the lake, bring the kids and splurge a bit.
The Buckhorn feels like a living, breathing experience from another age. It's a bit of a trek to get there, but the food is great and the atmosphere is fun, making it well worth the drive.

Lake Koshkonong Level

775.42 today

And going as low as we can get it.

Lake Koshkonong Drawing down quickly

Lake level is at 775.85