The minutes of the November meeting having been posted on the website, inserted in the newsletter and passed out at the meeting, President Sansone asked for a motion to accept the minutes, motion made by Larry Kimmel, seconded by Matt Holloran, motion passed unanimously.
President Sansone reported on the installation of the new seawall. He wanted to thank all of the volunteers who had helped as this had helped with keeping the costs so low. He said that approximately $20,000 has been spent to date on the installation of the new seawall. He said that over 400 ft. of new seawall had been installed and 16 yds of concrete had been put in the new boat ramp. He said that this amounted to less than $50 per foot. Approximately 1/3 of the volcano had been removed and used for backfill. He said that all the old concrete had been removed and used as backfill also and the new ramp is 68 ft. long and 25ft. wide. The culverts on either side of the bridge were cleaned out All of this work was performed in 6 days. There are still a few things that need to be finished e.g. the parking lot and a small portion of the wall and get rid of the remainder of the volcano. President Sansone also expressed gratitude to G cove who at their own expense removed 224 loads of silt and taken to the junk yard at the entrance of the lake. This at approximately $3,000 per lot owner.
Cash Inflow:
Regular Assessment 2005-06 915.00Cash Outflow
Loan 4,489.55Checking account balance 58,744.98
Loan balance 2-28-06 128,373.29
Outstanding:
Special Assessments 2004-05 50.00The board had already approved the following invoices:
Central Stone 1,862.22Larry Kimmel made a motion, seconded by Matt Holloran to accept the treasurer's report and pay the bills. Motion carried.
On being questioned concerning the amount of the election charge, Treasurer Meyer replied that it had been thought this would be in the region of $5,000. Fortunately this figure was only $166.33. There will be an additional charge however when the result of the election is published in the Jefferson County Watchman.
Janet Hirsch distributed the latest year-to-date financial statement.
Ray Lauer was not present at the meeting and his report was read by Pat Harting. Kathy Hopfer said that Phil Dodge is no longer living with his daughter but has been moved to a nursing home. A copy of the report is attached. Security Report
Gate Report. Rich Hirsch read the first report of the new gate committee. The following are the committee members and their respective phone numbers:
Jason Covington 636-285-0527A copy of the report is attached.
Larry Kimmel reported on the following:
Steve Fuller K-25 Deck resurface
This was approved at the last meeting but since then Steve has decided to change his plans from wood decking and stay with the original concrete. The footprint of the dock remains unchanged.
Bill Reininger D35 & 36 Retaining wall replacement
Replacing old railroad ties with a new retaining wall. He will put in approximately 40 ft. of rip-rap along his existing seawall. There is no conflict with any other property.
Motion made by Matt Holloran, seconded by Marilyn Meyer to approve. Motion carried.
Maintenance Director
Matt gave the names of two very reputable asphalt contractors who would be willing to undertake repairs and paving the first 20ft of any unfinished driveways. Matt went on to explain that in order to preserve the new roads, homeowners who do not have paved driveways will be contacted and requested to pave the first 20 ft. so that rocks and debris does not end up on the roads after a rainstorm. This past storm was particularly bad. Secondly he said that culvert pipes and ditches also need to be cleaned because water is not going thru the pipes and instead is going over the roads and bringing debris with it. He requested homeowners who have clogged ditches clean them out. He said that Ken Marschuetz has been requested to repair the damage done to the Forest road by one of his contractors. He then went on to say that there is a leak in the dam. Due to the temperature of the water, 44 degrees, it was determined that it was not spring water because spring water is always 57 degrees. A leak expert will be coming to inspect the leak and Matt has asked Henry Brim and Rich Hirsch to go with him so that we can determine what steps need to be taken to repair the leak.
Kenny Lanning was thanked for his single handed effort after the storm to clean the roads of debris.
Janet reported that 361 copies of the newsletter were sent out on February 22 and that the deadline for the next edition is April 20. The newsletter is now posted on the web site. Photographs of the silt removal operation from G and H coves are also posted there.
Rich Hirsch said that the volunteers would be meeting this coming Saturday at 9 a.m. Their main task would be to remove the blockage from the pipe running under the bridge.
Concern was expressed at the amount of rocks and debris that came from the ditches during the rainstorm making some parts of the roads dangerous. The question was asked, could you clean out ditches and culverts from in front of neighbors lots. Matt said that this should really be the responsibility of every homeowner but if it is affecting your property then you can do it as there is a 10ft easement on each side of the road.
It was also reported that a dock had been washed up from F cove. The owner had been contact and this will be taken care of.
Kenny Lanning asked if we can suggest a place where leaves can be disposed of. President Sanson suggested that an article be put in the next newsletter regarding the problem of the leaves, especially the practice of racking them into the culverts.
Hilda Schryver asked if the culvert broken by Dave Coucher can be added to the list of repairs. Matt has driven the roads to ascertain where the problems are and to see how much money is available for road repair.
Janet reported that they had met on March 13 with a representative of the Midwest Assistance Program to finalize plans for the income survey. She said that if we can demonstrate economic need that we can qualify for federal grant money to help with the sewer project. The survey will be sent to all houses around the lake that the sewer will service. Areas that are too far away such as Lake Bono Del will not be sent the survey. Janet said that it is very important that everyone complete and return the survey as soon as possible. She stressed that it will be completely confidential, self-reporting and non-verifiable. Mary Leiweke will be in charge of the volunteers who will be calling asking everyone to vote. An 80% response is needed for the survey and everyone who owns property at the lake will be included. As it is the median income, not the average, which will determine whether we obtain federal grants, everyone should respond. A figure of $39,500 is the determining amount.
President Sansone again explained that the April 4 election is simply to establish ourselves as our own water and sewer district. We cannot proceed with any sewer project until this step is taken.
A discussion from the floor ensued. President Sansone was asked why the "water shed" map had been made smaller with respect to the number of homes being serviced. He replied that on the advice of the engineer it had been made smaller because although more homes would have reduced the cost, servicing these homes which were a long way from the lake was not economically feasible, it would cost more to service them than we would have gained from their fees. It will be mandatory to hook up to the new system. At this point the only anticipated cost to the homeowner will be the connection of the pump to the electricity. There will be a monthly fee for the service but it is too soon to determine what this will be. There was concern that the cost of "filling" in the septic tanks would be on an individual basis. Marilyn said that as we had not yet decided on the type of system we would have this was not an issue. If we decided on the step system, then the tanks would be needed and the sewer system would pay to replace the tanks that were not good enough for the new system. The grinder system would require the tanks be disengaged and filled in but we will not know this until the State approves our engineering plans and we have to submit several plans to them. President Sansone again stressed the importance of voting on April 4 to become our own district. He said that once we have that established we can then go ahead with the engineering plans for the sewer project. If we get federal grants to help with the cost, the federal government will determine what the cost to us the homeowner will be. We will then voted on the bond issue for the remainder of the costs in November and by then we will have all the information on which system the government says we will have and how much it will cost. In response to the question if how much money had we spent to date on the sewer project, Marilyn replied $166 filing fee for the April election. This money will be returned to the lake by the sewer district once it is formed. There will also be a small fee to pay for advertising the formation of the district in the Jefferson County Watchman. She explained that legal actions have to be advertised. The engineer and the attorney will NOT be paid unless we become a sewer district. We have spent zero with them to date. They are confident that we will get enough votes to become our own district and that is when they will get paid. If it does not pass, they will not be paid.
It was again stated that there will be no cost to the homeowner to be hooked up to the new sewer system. However, new construction will have to pay a fee to be hooked up. IF the system gets enlarged in the future any new subscribers would have to pay a fee to be hooked up at that time.
Concern was expressed that with the new sewer system it will be possible to build a house on a single lot at the lake. This is not correct, the board has looked into this and until water is also brought in you need 40,000 sq.ft. for sewer only and 20,000 sq.ft. with potable water. Water is not being considered at this time.
In closing President Sansone said that he hoped everyone would vote yes to become our own sewer district. He said that the sewer committee had been working on this for the past three years and have moved it off square one and the lake would be foolish not to proceed. He said that this was important to our financial future and for the improvement of the lake.
It was asked if pre-board meetings are held and who can come. Yes, the board still has pre-board meetings but these are not advertised and are held when enough members of the board can attend due to their various commitments. The purpose of these meetings is to ensure that the board has all the facts before presenting items at the regular board meetings. No minutes are taken at this meeting.
In connection with the Belew water shed, this coming Saturday, we will be walking our creek at 1 p.m. to find out about the sand and silt that is coming into our lake.
The question of the grass water willow being introduced into the lake by the anglers association was discussed as was the placing of old Christmas trees. The board will meet with the anglers on April 12th to examine the whole issue. The board is responsible for the lake as a whole and has to ensure that fishing, boating and swimming is safe and can be enjoyed by all the lake residents.
The problem of fishing off the dam was discussed and also of people who do not have lot owners with them. The anglers association can approach these people or you can call the anglers if you see people fishing illegally.
There being no further business, Marilyn made a motion, seconded by Matt Holloran to adjourn. The meeting ended at 8:18 p.m.
Respectfully submitted
Pat Harting
Secretary