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American Lake shoreline group raises funding concerns for milfoil treatment and blames county board removals for low lake levels
Summary
Representatives of the American Lake Improvement Club told council they are concerned about planned increases to per-foot treatment costs for milfoil, the limited shoreline-owner funding window, and falling lake levels they attribute in part to Pierce County removing boards from a fish weir.
Kurt Spingath, president of the American Lake Improvement Club, used the Aug. 4 public comment period to press the council on two related lake issues: the cost and reach of aquatic weed (milfoil) treatment this year and a multi-year decline in American Lake water levels.
Spingath said shoreline owners pay a fixed per-foot amount for milfoil treatment under a 10-year assessment that is now entering its seventh year. He said the group secured an additional $75,000 state grant for this year's work and that the association is conserving funds for future applications, but warned that raising the cost-per-acre would reduce the total acreage that can be treated. "If we spend more money per acre, that's less acres than we can do," he said.
The council had on its consent agenda motion 2025-50, described as authorizing an extension to the agreement with AquaTexnex for the 2025 American Lake Management milfoil treatment; that consent agenda was adopted earlier in the meeting.
Spingath also described a long-term decline in inflow and said American Lake lost roughly two feet of retained water after Pierce County removed two boards from a fish weir. He asked the city and mayor to press Pierce County to restore boards when appropriate and to avoid drawing boards preemptively. "I would like the city council and the mayor to have more voice with Pierce County," he said, adding that local stakeholders have not been satisfied with the county's approach.
Outcome and next steps: The council adopted the contract extension with AquaTexnex (motion 2025-50) as part of the consent agenda. Spingath asked the council to advocate with Pierce County on weir operations and lake-level decisions; staff acknowledged the request and said staff would follow up with the relevant county and water districts.
Discussion-only points: The public comment distinguished near-term operational funding for milfoil treatment (grant and shoreline-owner assessments) from broader questions about lake hydrology and county-operated weir management.
