The meeting opened at 7:03 p.m. with the following board members present:
Janet Hirsch, Ron Sansone, Pat Harting, Marilyn Meyer, Larry Kimmel, and Kevin Seelbach. 19 lot owners were present.
With the minutes of the December meeting having been posted on the website, inserted in the newsletter and available at the meeting, President Sansone asked for a motion to accept the minutes, motion made by Janet Hirsch, seconded by Marilyn Meyer, motion passed unanimously.
President's Report
President Sansone commented on the condition of the entrance road to the lake from the four way stop. He said that the road would have to be redone within the next two years and last year an estimated cost had been obtained for $125,000. New bids would be sort. The road was patched last year for approximately $16,000 but these patches would not last much longer. He said that the Board had contacted the county to see if they would take over the road but they would not. He said that in order for them to do that, the road would have to be in perfect condition and also be wider.
Treasurers Report
Marilyn Meyer, Treasurer, Financial Report
Marilyn reported that there are 9 homeowners with overdue assessments for 06-07 which amounts to $1,325 for special assessments and $3,925 for regular assessments.
Marilyn presented the following bills for payment approval:
Atty Tesreau - quarterly 1,604.00
Safety Box Rental 25.00
Morton Salt 1,357.75
Motion made by Kevin Seelbach seconded by Larry Kimmel to accept the Treasurer's Report as read and for payment of the submitted bills. Motion passed.
Finance Committee
Janet Hirsch reported that a YTD spreadsheet had been prepared by the Finance Committee. She said that the lake was "in great shape"!
Security
Larry Kimmel said no major issues had been reported in the past month. He then went on to say that residents should be aware of the fact that he would be going around the lake gathering information on boats, cars, trailers, campers, ATVs etc. in order to begin the process of registering and re-stickering these items. He requested that residents help with this enormous task by going into the lake's web site and filling out the application, which is now online, and e-mailing it to him. If your car/boat etc. is already stickered, please insert the number of the sticker in your e-mailed application. He said that stickers which were on hand would be utilized and the date would be amended. Larry asked if the name of the security officer from 2000 was known. This will be looked up.
In connection with the individual who had torn up the parking lot, as the individual had not come forward, the matter was now being handed over to the sheriff's department for them to investigate. The license plate of the car in question (095 PTF) was published in the last issue of the newsletter. If anyone knows anything about this incident, please contact Larry.
Communication
Janet Hirsch reported that 350 copies of the newsletter had been sent out Jan 3. If you have not received a copy please contact Janet. The deadline for the next newsletter is February 20th.
Building Director
Joe Hejnal is out of town and in his absence Larry Kimmel made the report.
Larry reported on the following:
1. The issue of the complaint from O'Dell concerning a dock which he claims is in front of his property. We have not yet received any written evidence in the way of a survey or anything else from O'Dell concerning this matter. Larry said that before a prior board's approval for the dock is overturned concrete evidence has to be obtained. This has now been turned over to our attorney as O'Dell has threatened a law suit. Larry said that if in fact he does, the board will counter-sue for all court costs and legal fees.
2. G19 Whiteman - Request to put in a new interlocking block seawall. He said that everything looked in order.
Motion made by Marilyn Meyer, seconded by Janet Hirsch to grant permission, motion passed.
Maintenance
Kevin Seelbach reiterated President Sansone's comments on the state of the lake entrance road. He asked for permission to purchase bags of quick fix to patch some of the larger holes. He also requested permission to purchase a battery charger for the maintenance yard. He also said that 2" rock would be ordered to put along the side of the road by the sales office to stop erosion. He also expressed concern at the state of the maintenance building which is in imminent danger of collapsing. The building is not insured but the equipment housed in it is. He said that he had graded the parking lot again. It takes about 1 ½ hours to do this. He was asked to keep a track of the amount of time he has spent grading it so that this can be billed to the individual who tore it up.
Web Site
Janet Hirsch reported that a color version of the newsletter is now on the web site. Larry Kimmel said that there is a lot of fascinating information on our web site and recommended everyone to go to the site to look.
Dam Committee Dam Report
Larry Kimmel made a motion, seconded by Janet Hirsch to pay for the pvc pipe as requested.
LTIA
Lou Harting said that this coming Saturday (January 13) the LTIA would be having an oriental theme and serving Teriyaki Pork and egg rolls. He asked everyone to bring an "oriental" side dish. He also said that a vote would be taken at this meeting to change the by-laws and make the LTIA building a non-smoking facility for the betterment of all residents. He encouraged every member to attend. He then went on to say that a Super Bowl party was being organized with a big screen projection. Details of this would be forthcoming. Ron Sansone said that the new board had come up with a lot of good ideas for the LTIA this year. They were looking into painting the inside of the building and also renovating the bathrooms to make them more presentable and accessible for handicapped people and young families with small children. He said that we were fortunate as a community to have a beautiful building and we have a lot of good talent and hopefully we can get people to donate to make the building first class.
Old Business
Dry Hydrant Report. Clarue Holland reported that she and Fire Chief Peters had toured the south side of the lake in connection with the location and examination of the dry hydrants. The hydrant located by the LTIA building is in need of repair and it was discussed on how this would be accomplished and also the possibility of moving it closer to the parking lot. The owner for G36 had given permission for his site and access road to be used for the purpose of placing a dry hydrant. The fire chief explained that it is possible to draw water directly from the lake but it is quicker and more efficient from a dry hydrant. When there is a fire, the water is drawn from the hydrant by one tanker and it is then transferred to a waiting tanker on the road. It is important to have good access to the hydrant from the road. It is recommended that we have two on each side of the lake and one in the beach area. The tax credit program which paid back 50% up to $5,000 has unfortunately expired. Clarue has spoken to the Assistant Fire Marshall for the State of Missouri and it is hoped that this program will be reinstated. There is money available in the LTPOA budget for dry hydrants.
New Business
Algae problem in the lake.
Janet Hirsch reported on the algae problem in the lake. She said that a chocolate
brown powder had been spotted in the water and pictures and samples had been collected and sent to Russ Rhodes, an
algae expert at Missouri State University. It is a blue green algae known as
Oscillatoria rubescens. Some strains of this algae produce toxins which can be harmful to dogs and small mammals. Ultimately it can kill the fish in the lake. We
are not sure if the algae in the lake is toxic because not all strains do produce toxins. The algae however is now throughout the lake and it is
actually called an algae bloom. The pinkish color of the lake water is a potential problem and is
probably the result of leakage from septic tanks. The water from washing machines and gray water from showers etc. that
does not go into septic tanks but rather straight into the lake significantly contributes to this problem. The algae
grows based on the high phosphate level in the water. This will be monitored and analysis will be made. The lake
water inversion this year happened on a day when the temperature was 72 causing the algae at the lower levels to receive
more sunlight and produce oxygen. There are several ways to get rid of the algae.
Copper sulphate can be introduced into the water to kill the algae. Ultrasonic devices can be purchased to sonicate the algae but these would cost approximately $5,000. Alum can be introduced into the water to counter the phosphates. Adding chemicals to the lake was not considered to be a very good idea as this could produce even more problems. Or, a central sewer system can be installed. It is suspected that this has been happening over several years but now it has become very noticeable. The musty odor produced by the algae can ultimately be tasted when eating fish from the lake. Janet said that she had sent an email to the TAA regarding this and she had received a couple of replies saying that some of them had noticed a change in the fishing.
Ray Lauer asked what action could be taken with regards to the dilapidated condition of the house on B47. Larry Kimmel said that he would contact Jefferson County.
Kevin Seelbach said that he was contacting several contractors to get bids on having the grass areas around the sales office and the dam mowed. The contractors should be made aware that the back of the dam should be cut across not down. He will report back.
A culvert on the second tier near the Holloran home has become blocked by the roots from a huge sycamore tree. This will be looked into.
There being no further business, Larry Kimmel made a motion, seconded by Janet Hirsch to adjourn. Motion passed by voice vote. The meeting ended at 7:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted
Pat Harting
Secretary