The Albert Lea Lakes Foundation will likely elect a new president at its next meeting after its current president moved out of state.

Brian Hensley, president of the Lakes Foundation who typically presents updates at the Shell Rock River Watershed District meeting, moved to Florida, said Lakes Foundation member and Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Susie Petersen.

He thanked the Lakes Foundation, as well as the staff at the Shell Rock River Watershed District and other volunteers and partner organizations, for the hard work they put in for area lakes, Petersen read in an email from Hensley. He said he was sad he would not see the dredging completed, but thrilled to have been involved in the process’s start.

Courtney Phillips, program/project manager for the Watershed District who stood in for Administrator Andy Henschel at the meeting as Henschel was gone, said they wish Hensley well.

Also at the meeting:

• The Watershed District approved its 2018 audit, which Financial Technician Carmen Christensen said was a clean audit with no findings.

“I was happy with the results,” board treasurer Al Bakken said.

The audit is on the Shell Rock River Watershed District website for anyone to view.

• The Watershed District approved a purchase of approximately 22 acres of land off 755th Avenue for streambank restoration and native planting. The creek that goes through there is natural, board manager Mick Delger said. The area is the only native portion of the county ditch and is not included in the ditch system itself.

“It’s just kind of a little piece of heaven that we’d like to keep natural and put back into natives,” Phillips said.

The Watershed District appointed its members to its various subcommittees.

• The board approved out-of-state travel for Technical Specialist Scott Christenson, who will travel to Iowa with design and consulting firm WSB & Associates to look at carp exclusion projects being done with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

• Approved a request for quotes for a wetland restoration along the northwest edge of Pickerel Lake. Substantial completion would be June 2020.

• The One Watershed, One Plan committee will host a public kickoff in an effort to get public input on what priorities should be for the next round of comprehensive watershed planning, Phillips said. The event is from 4 to 7 p.m. Aug. 21 at Edgewater Bay Pavilion.

• Approved a cost-share request, after recognizing a conflict of interest, from board manager Brad Kramer. With the help of Minnesota GreenCorps member Claire Kretchman-Grande, Kramer had a rain garden installed on his property, which Phillips said is close to the lake and a high-traffic location that was a good spot for a rain garden. Kramer abstained from the vote that approved reimbursing him for 75% of the cost — $469.51.