The meeting started at 7:30 p.m.. All members were present except for Rick Hannick, President, and Ed Mitchell, Maintenance. Chris Townsend, Vice-President and Secretary, opened the meeting with the following comments:
"I want to welcome everybody here on this nice cool evening of August 13th, 2002. I want to let everyone who doesn't already know that my name is Chris Townsend, Secretary and Vice-President of the Board. I'm serving for Mr. Hannick while he is on vacation in Las Vegas hopefully winning lots of money. I want to keep the meeting short, simple and to the point. Furthermore, if anyone has any objections, questions, or anything to definitely raise your hand, be acknowledged, and state your lot number so I can hear it on the recorder."
MINUTES (Chris Townsend)
Chris read the minutes of the July 9, 2002 meting. Dale Farwig made a motion to accept the minutes as read. Kathy Hopfer seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
TREASURER'S REPORT (Dale Farwig)
Dale Farwig, Treasurer, read the Treasurer's report. Kathy Hopfer made a motion to accept the report as read. Carol Kline seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
DIRECTORS REPORTS
SECURITY (Gary Ryan)
Gary read the following:
Lake incidents: On July 15th, 2002, Mike Higgins called police on two men and a woman, who were not lot owners, caught fishing, and keeping everything they caught. The police stated they could not make the people leave, because he could only enforce County Laws, not lake laws. One of the individuals had a gate pass from a previous lot owner, and Gary deleted that pass's access to the system.
It was discovered that the bulletin about a Security Guard job submitted to Sheriff, Oliver "Glenn" Boyer turned up nothing. This was due to the fact that a Jefferson County police officer cannot have another job in the same county.
Gary stated that he placed an ad in the Jefferson County Leader, and is now evaluating resumes he has received. Interviews of these applicants will be conducted within the next two days.
Gary stated that he brought up a concern of Jerry Uhelnbrock's G-06-08 with Patricia Mayer G-05. The concern was about people using the boat and lot while the Mayer's were not present. The two men in the White GMC Jimmy are the stepchildren of Mrs. Mayer. Their names are Keith and Kurt Rapp, and she said to let her know if they are causing any problems.
Deputy Smith called Gary concerning the criminal charges against the three men. Deputy Smith stated to Gary that the District Attorney's office is approximately one and a half months behind on the reports, and that he had to re-file the reports because of a mistake made by the District Attorney's office. This was due to the fact that they had left of Josh Sparkman's name on the report.
Gary asked if Mr. Plaszczyk was present. No response was acknowledged. Gary mentioned that he had written him a letter asking him to either write to the LTPOA Board or be present at the August 13th, 2002 meeting, concerning the situation, which happened on June 22nd, 2002. From this situation, Gary read the following letter dated July 1st, 2002: "Mr. Plaszczyk, my name is Gary Ryan, and I'm Security Director of Lake Tishomingo, and it has been brought to my attention that on the evening of June 22nd, 2002, that at approximately 9:00 p.m., your boat, identified with block H-22 was speeding down the Lake from the Beach area in the dark with no lights on. I witnessed that activity myself since I was swimming at the mouth of my cove with my nine year old child as it sped by. If we were in its path we couldn't have seen it in time and vice versa. I hope you realize this danger. It has also been reported that when being confronted by Lake residents of the violations that evening, one of the three occupants of your boat was verbally abusive, and exposed himself to Lake residents, one of which was a woman. He made the statement that, "it was his 40th birthday, he lives here, and he'll do whatever he wants". Mr. Plaszczyk, I don't know weather you were in the boat or not. If you were, I would think that you would have intervened. If you weren't in the boat then you need to know what transpired, and that you are responsible for your guests' actions. Additionally, if you were not in the boat you are in violation of Lake Rules, which state that you must be in the boat with Lake guests'. Please respond to this letter by mail, or attend the next Board meeting in August to address this matter."
Pat Griffero, G-14, asked Gary questions concerning the gate arms multiple replacements, restitution, and prosecution of offenders. Gary indicated that those person(s) who have deliberately broken the gate have been served papers for restitution, and prosecution. Furthermore, those who have accidentally broke the arm due to bad judgment have simply paid restitution.
Gary indicated that there would be a sign placed by the gate stating that breaking the gate will result in a $250.00 dollar fine versus the current $80.00 dollars.
John Hunnicutt, H-25-27, asked if it was stated in our Rules a provision concerning swimming in our Lake at night. It was noted that there are rules concerning swimming; however, not anything specifying at night.
Joan Kreilick, G-27 & 28, stated that there is a bad case of people swimming wherever they want e.g. in the middle of the lake off their Pontoon Boat. Ed Melchior, C-19, stated that she should call one of the other property owners to investigate and handle the situation if she didn't feel safe doing so.
Jan Hunnicutt, H-25-27, stated that on several occasions she has seen different boats being placed in the Lake that do not meet our requirements, and whom should she call.
Gary indicated to call someone on boat Patrol. (Tim Schryver 636-285-7474).
Chris stated that we all live here and know or should know the rules of the Lake. Those seen in violation of these rules should be addressed immediately by the other owner or owners seeing this violation. Furthermore, he felt that by addressing it immediately should procure some type of momentum of adherence to the rules and they should stop. The action should be handled legally and ethically, but it is every owners right to protect their interests' not just the Board's.
Hilda Schryver, B-17-19, asked what is the maximum number of persons allowed on a Pontoon Boat. Gary indicated that it should be labeled on the boat. Hilda stated that she felt she had seen a Pontoon that must have been exceeding whatever their allotted persons were. Dale indicated that he did see this and addressed this with this individual, the person apologized and drove the boat immediately home.
Marco Griffero, G-14, asked if there was a way to have some type of auxiliary Boat Patrol, and have this indicated on their Boat to ensure compliance and enforcement of the Water Rules. Tim Schryver, B-17-19, said absolutely, but he agreed with Chris that as owners they don't need a sign, just know the rules and set the momentum. Kathy reiterated that as a property owner you have the right to confront anyone in violation of LTPOA rules and regulations.
BUILDING REPORT (Carol Kline)
Carol read the following:
Discussion led the Committee to unanimously agree to propose a suspension of the current building regulations until the committee can present some in an acceptable form to all property owners for a simple majority vote. The reason is mostly to:
Avoid adding a layer of "government" on top of Jefferson County's existing structure.
We're all volunteers here. There isn't a budget for a policing agency in this tiny subdivision. And since we already have acceptable Jefferson County building codes and zoning ordinances in place, why get into confrontations among neighbors. We will be more effective if we inform and then allow Jefferson County to act on many of the issues our regulations try to make us responsible for. Many of our violation problems can be eliminated by calling on our County's enforcement agents. (An example: Mr. ABC clearly has a leaky septic tank. Instead of wasting our time discussing it or spending our money conferencing with our attorney, eventually taking a neighbor to court – only hoping to re-coup our court costs -…we report to Jefferson County. It seems that even the time it takes for one of us to monitor the follow-up procedures that the County performs, already, would be a more efficient use of our time.)
With any luck, what we will present the property owners with, will be a set of regulations that only apply to our unique situation, in a relatively lush natural environment, around a lake, which we want to remain healthy and provide us with recreation and enjoyment for years.
We hope that by involving the residents in approving its own rules, we will be holding everyone responsible for sticking with the "high grade" standard most people agreed to simply by their decision to purchase property here.
I don't know when the committee will present something to you. I hope it's very soon, but I don't want to commit to an unrealistic deadline. I want you to know that everyone on the building committee takes these matters very seriously and will think hard about proposing only the regulation that will be reasonable, enforceable, and will best reflect the spirit of lake Tishomingo property owners.
I welcome any suggestions, comments or volunteers who would like to participate in this work."
Carol stated that she would be calling another meeting of the Building Committee on Thursdays.
2 building permits were submitted via phone, due to work needing to be performed immediately: First was Gail Lents, A-12-13, who is simply replacing roof shingles. Which passed unanimously. Second submission was Mary Hoffman , D-17-19, for a patio replacement, which passed unanimously.
An application was submitted for decision by Joseph Rockladge, F-05, to repair and replace the cover of his screen porch. The permit number from Jefferson County was stated as 145184. Kathy Hopfer made a motion to accept the application. Dale Farwig seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
John & Julie Johnston, I-02, 47-50, to add a seawall and dock, submitted an application for decision. The dock application was formally approved but expired. Dale Farwig made a motion to accept. Gary Ryan seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Carol stated that she had a request in writing from Coleman Breece, C-28-30, to address an issue of two dilapidated docks adjacent to his property that he feels is hurting his sale.
Carol stated that she had written a letter in response to Mr. Breece's request. The letter is as follows: "Per your request regarding C-70 dock, an application had been submitted to re-deck the existing dock. Once permission to proceed is voted on in the August meeting, the owners will have 6 months to complete the work. Since the owner plans to use the same material to repair the dock, I see no reason why the Board would not approve its restoration. Regarding the other dock in question, we have to verify ownership, and contact this owner to ask them to repair it."
Carol stated that Bill Glasgow, C-66-67, 74-76, already has his application approved to repair his dock. Furthermore, a letter was sent to Darryl Wyatt, C-69-70, which stated: "Sir, as you know your dock is in disrepair and is a safety risk in need of immediate attention. This is in violation of the Restrictions of Lake Tishomingo, and must be addressed within 30 days to maintain Lake Tishomingo as a "high grade" subdivision. Enclosed you will find a Building Permit that you should complete with your intentions to restore the dock to acceptable standards. We trust that you will respond in a timely manner. "
Jefferson County's Sewer Board's representative Addie Corbet, would like to attend September's Board meeting to address the issue of sewers which will be on this November's ballot. Mrs. Corbet had asked Carol to lead a sewer committee for Lake Tishomingo. Carol stated that she had accepted this position. Furthermore, Carol asked for those interested to please see or contact her after the meeting.
Mr. Kalin, the son of Rita Kalin, A-17-18, addressed the board on a matter of a previous and executed approval for a driveway given to Richard Blaha, A-16. Apparently, Mr. Blaha had placed an edge to this driveway approximately 3-4 inches high, which has caused a diversion of water upon the Kalin lot. Carol addressed this as a civil issue.
MAINTENANCE
On Ed's behalf, Carol stated that she had written a letter to the property owners of 6621 N. Lakeshore drive about concrete in their culvert, and to clear their culvert of this.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
SILT (Becky Harper)
Many repairs were made this month. The exhaust and muffler on the dredge was in bad shape when the dredge was purchased, we knew the repair could be costly, so we operated until it became unusable from the soot that was being thrown around inside the engine area. We called Fabick and Mudcat for some pricing, the prices listed will reflect only the cost of the parts and labor:
| Fabick | Mudcat | Lake Operators | |
| Parts-- | $1200.00 | $1100.00 | $131.00 |
| Labor-- | $800.00 | do no repairs | $400.00 |
As you can tell, the savings for the Lake was approximately $1500.00, so please have some patience and consideration for the Operators that we have. They are doing everything they possibly can to save the lake money. Other repairs were hydraulic line, knives, impeller pump in plate adjusted, pump packing replaced, discharge elbow fittings, couplings on pipes and auger bering.
We are having the birm cleaned out again, the operators' pulled pipe and are staying with the operators of the equipment during the clean out operation. They have been monitoring the amount of loads being taken out as well as instructing them where the silt should be dumped. So far, we estimate 2,475 cubic yards have been removed from the birm and expect 2 to 3 times more to be taken out.
The Silt Committee met on July 16th to discuss putting on a 2nd shift. The committee decided we would not be putting on a 2nd shift. The noise, safety factor, and lack of operators were the reasons given. We also discussed our next possible site/sites for silt containment and the cleaning out of the birm.
A special thanks to Ken Lanning for cleaning out the pipes under the South side bridge, to Dale Farwig for his work in the gully on lot O, and to the dredge operators who have worked very hard to save the lake costly repairs.
Tim Schryver, B-17-19, asked how much progress of Silt removal has been made in the last month?
Dale Farwig stated that we have not been able to pump since July 18th, due to many major repairs, such as, the muffler, and elbow.
Tim asked if there was a way to set goals for this dredging process. Becky stated that Al and Butch are working diligently everyday as weather permits.
Dale stated that a time consumer is cabling, and that it takes nearly a half-day to do this. He also let it be known that the equipment is just too large to get up and around every dock. However, every effort will be made to get as close and as much silt as possible in the cove areas.
Dale addressed the need to put up and take down the fence around the Birm. The cost for this each time is $200.00 dollars. He had asked the Board to check with the Insurance agent to see if the Warning signs would suffice our liability.
John Hunnicutt, H-25-27, stated that from his property he has observed that people don't pay attention anyway.
ROADS
Gary stated that Dura Seal has been bringing in their equipment to complete the roads. Gary asked the Board that since we have more loan power now our chances of paving the cove roads as well. The difference of the cost would only be $50,000.00 dollars more, but all would be completed. Part of this agreement would be to simply repave the cove roads, not enlarge, or widen. Some such as Lakeview is only 13 feet, Circle is only 14 feet, and to widen this to 16 feet, all culverts would have to be rerouted. Kathy made a motion to accept the proposal. Gary seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Ken Lanning, too many to mention, asked about the paving of Tishomingo Forest. Gary stated that he would try and work something out.
BOAT PATROL
Tim Schryver, Chairman of Boat Patrol, stated that he feels that the help he has received is much appreciated. Likewise, he added that much mischief has been stopped, but he can't catch and do it all. Therefore, he asked anyone interested in helping out Boat Patrol by learning the rules, and enforcing them in a friendly manner to get with him.
Chris readdressed the question from last meeting on the whereabouts of the First Aid kit. Tim stated that we still don't have one. Chris and Dale advised him that next time he is out to pick one up, and the Board will reimburse him for that replacement.
Hilda Schryver asked if there was a way to get a stool or something to place in the boat since there is no seat. Gorden Kassen, M-14, stated that he had one and would be more than happy to give it to Boat Patrol.
OLD BUSINESS
Chris stated that Carol Kline, Building Director, has already addressed the Road bond and Building regulations previously.
NEW BUSINESS
Chris stated that Larry Ward of Dewitt Insurance Company advised him that our insurance does not expire on August 31st, but September 30th, 2002. Mr. Ward is still in the process of gathering a loss run history of the lake, so Chris can submit it to his broker for review.
Dale addressed our new bank loan, which we were able to obtain at 5% versus our old loan was at 8 or 8 1/2%. In addition we're up to $450,000.00 dollars. However, this figure that still seems quite large is just enough to get the roads and dredging done. In other words we cannot afford to have any major catastrophes.
The way the loan is set up Dale can buy down the loan September 30th, 2002 with the assessments. This way we can re-borrow it at later dates as needed.
Marco Griffero, G-14, asked the board that due to this tightness of money that was discussed, if a possible solution was to raise assessments. Dale and Kathy stated that we may have to, but assessment increases will have to be reviewed and determined if ultimately necessary.
Wilma Davis, O-46-48, asked if we had any Regulations that stipulated if an 18-wheeler truck could be allowed to enter the lake. Kathy stated no, but this is why we tried to incept Building Regulations and a Road Bond. Carol asked Wilma if she was able to get the vehicle license plate number or where the truck went. Wilma stated that there were two of these types of trucks, and they went to Ricotta's. Chris stated that this issue would be addressed at the pre-meeting.
Chris Townsend made a motion to adjourn. Kathy seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m..