Lake Tishomingo Property Owners Association
Board of Directors Meeting The meeting opened at 7:10 p.m. with the following board members present: Joe Hejnal, Larry Kimmel, Marilyn Meyer, Ron Sansone, Kevin Seelbach, Janet Hirsch and Pat Harting. 22 lot owners were present.
The minutes of the July meeting having been posted on the website and passed out at the meeting, President Sansone asked for a motion to accept the minutes, motion made by Janet Hirsch, seconded Larry Kimmel, motion passed unanimously.
President's Report
President Sansone began by commenting on the top sealing of the road. He said that this was being done by Arch Asphalt [we have since learned that Warbro, (314)909-7500 , is doing the sealing. Arch Asphalt repaired the roads -- Ed.] and he had been asked for their telephone number by those who wished to have their own driveways top sealed. He said their number is (314)962-6688. He said that they would be out at the lake on August 19 at 9 a.m. if anyone wished to talk to them.
Treasurer's Report
July 2006 Financial Report
Motion made by Larry Kimmel to accept the Treasurer's report, seconded by Kevin Seelbach, motion carried
Treasurer Meyer presented the following bills for payment:
Newsletters - May & July 462.39
Kevin Seelbach - Misc. screws & bolts 11.00
President Sansone said that Kevin had re-hung the lake sign after it had fallen down. Motion made by Larry Kimmel to pay the above bills, seconded by Joe Hejnal, motion carried.
Ron Clark, A32B, 33 & 34 requested a building permit to install a 14' x 30' in-ground swimming pool. The Board elected to table the granting of a permit pending further septic, property line and fence investigation.
Finance Committee
Janet Hirsch reported that the Finance Committee met on August 7 to prepare the year-to-date financial summaries. She said that we had ended the year with a $34,191 surplus. The committee did an excellent job at maintaining fiscal responsibility. The proposed budget for the coming year was set at $134,000.
Available funds will be $133,000. The lake is taking a very large financial hit from the $57,000 needed to top seal the roads. The top sealing is really a major project but it is being taken care of thru regular operations. Other projects were looked at which totaled approximately $49,000. After looking at these numbers it was recommended that we talk to the bank to change the loan payment schedule so that more money would be available for lake operations. The bank will allow us to pay interest only on the loan with no increase in loan payments, and the loan will be paid in full July 1, 2007 when the special assessment money becomes available. The bank requires a special directive from the lake to be able to do this and the Finance Committee asked for Board approval to change the loan schedule with the loan being paid on July 1, 2007. Motion made by Joe Hejnal, seconded by Larry Kimmel, motion passed unanimously.
Janet then asked for approval of the proposed budget for the next fiscal year. Motion made by Marilyn Meyer seconded by Kevin Seelbach. Motion passed unanimously.
It was noted that $6,000 had been put into the budget for snow removal for the upcoming winter.
Security Director
Larry Kimmel reported that on two occassions people had broken the gate arm. The Lake is pressing charges in both instances. He said that the Board was going to get serious about gate violations in the future and said that homeowners should tell their children/visitors to be very careful around the gate because we are following up on violations.
Larry then brought up the topic of animal control. He said that the County has regulations for impoundment of animals. He said this should be regarded as an "attention getter" for those who have animals which are allowed to run, or do not know about the regulations that the animal control is being contacted much more often to get this problem under control.
Communications
Janet Hirsch reported that she had received notification from Jefferson County that they will be holding meetings for Home Owners Associations and they have invited us to participate. Various members of the Board will be attending the meetings.
Janet then reported that the Lake used to have ATV rules. She said that she would put them on the website and asked that the Board re-approve and enforce them.
1. All riders must wear safety helmets
2. No more than 1 rider on an ATV - this was amended to 2 riders if the ATV was set up for 2 riders
3. ATVs must drive on the right hand side of the road and yield to other traffic
4. ATVs must obey the 20 mph speed limit
5. ATVs must remain off other people's property
6. No riding on dam or lakefront area allowed
7. NO ATVs from outside the lake are allowed on lake roads or property
8. ATVs must be registered and display lot numbers and sticker identification
9. No racing allowed on lake property
10. ATVs must have proper headlights & taillights to be run at night
11. ATVs not allowed on the lake if frozen.
These rules were attached to the water rules in 1999. It was suggested that these be rules in their own right.
President Sansone asked for a motion to accept the recommendation to reinstate the rules, motion made by Janet Hirsch, seconded by Marilyn Meyer, motion passed unanimously.
Janet also made three proposals for changes to the current building regulations:
1. Change item 12, "any property owner having a driveway will take whatever steps required to prevent gravel from getting onto the roads" to "All driveways should be paved for the first 20 ft." based on the results of last year's election.
2. Under the catagory of "permits must be obtained," add "boat lifts" so the entry reads "Docks and Boat Lifts - If the project is not in front of the applicant's property, proof of permission from the property owner whose lot it will be adjacent to..."
3. Under the entire category of "building permits must be obtained for the following," re-add "fences" to the list as our Restrictions do require that fences conform to certain rules.
4. Change item 16, the term of the building permits should be raised from 6 months to 1 year to conform to Jefferson County regulations.
A comment from the floor was that since 1976 boat ramps were not allowed, however this was not in the regulations.
President Sansone asked for a motion to accept the four changes. Motion made by Larry Kimmel, seconded by Janet Hirsch. Motion carried.
Janet also said that a Rules Committee was going to be established to look into past regulations that had fallen by the wayside. She was looking for volunteers for that committee.
Regulations concerning the footprint size of new construction was questioned. This will be looked into.
Janet said that the lake's regulations had been streamlined to conform to the Jefferson County regulations so as to avoid duplications.
The number to call for ATV violators is the Jefferson County Sheriff's office 797-9999. Larry Kimmel requested that we look into the perpetual violator to see exactly what and how we can enforce the regulations. As an example, boat violations: coming before the board for violations and 3 violations would mean not being able to use the lake for a period of time. He also said that there are lake communities which impose monetary fines which if they are not paid the fine is added to the assessments. The Board will look into this.
The deadline for the next newsletter is August 20th.
Building
Joe Hejnal reported:
1. The "stone house" on the southside has now been demolished.
2. A16 - request for a boat lift. The lift will be installed on the west side of the existing dock.
From the floor - Lots D58-62 needs a culvert installed to prevent mud from this property going over the road and into the neighbor's properties on the lake side of the road. The building committee will investigate.
Maintenance
Kevin Seelbach reported that the Lake Tishomingo sign at the lake entrance had been repaired as much as possible. The sign is now so old that it needs to be re-painted. A new sign would cost approximately $200. President Sansone said that we should investigate obtaining land closer to the four-way stop for a new sign. The current sign is too far into the lake and it presently looks as if we are Lake Bono Del.
Kevin reported that the road sealing is progressing very well and asked for cooperation in not driving over the newly sealed road. He also cautioned that the road would be slippery for a while when it first gets rain on it.
C&J Boat Dock & Lift is putting a package together for portable docks for the ramp and a courtesy dock for use of lake residents. It was questioned that floating docks were not permitted. This was not in the current regulations, however, Kevin pointed out that now the new docks are hinged to go up and down with the water.
When the lake goes down further in the fall, the boat ramp will be modified to better accomodate launching boats.
Lights for both sides of the ramp will be installed before fall.
In response to the question of putting in more dry hydrants, President Sansone said that it was not a problem to put them, but you had to ensure that the trucks had access to them. He suggested that it is put in the newsletter that we are looking for locations that they can be placed that the truck can have access to them and they will not run out of water if the lake gets too low.
There is not enough money in the budget to lower the lake this year. It was voted on at the last election and bids are being obtained but it will not happen this year due to lack of funds.
The Goldman Fire District needs to be notified if we lower the lake so that if they are called they will know to bring tankers.
The old dump truck and pick up truck are for sale. If anyone is interested please call Ron. He said that the board is beginning to clean up the maintenance yard. They are looking into put a new road into the maintenance area so that the present entrance could be cleaned up making the entrance to the lake more attractive.
Web Site
Janet Hirsch said changes were being instituted so that pictures could be uploaded so we can all share pictures. The deadline for the newsletter is August 20th, please let Janet know if you have anything that you wish included in it.
Dam Committee
Dam Report
Gate Committee
Gate Report
Rich Hirsch announced that Jason Covington has resigned from the Gate Committee. His place will be taken by Fred Steinmetz - 274-2853. Gate passes are available from the Gate Committee for $5. Applications can be downloaded from the web site. A few comments from the floor on the gate operation were
1. The screen is hard to read - unfortunately this is temperature sensitive and it is being worked on as best as can be.
2. Possibility of having a third lane for residents and one for guests, as it can be very irritating to be behind someone who cannot get access for whatever reason.
3. In the case of a power outage, the gate does have back up batteries.
4. There have been no intentional gate breakages in the last month.
LTIA
Gail Lippitt said that the August meeting would be a murder mystery. Eight lake residents would be in the cast. The meat dish is pulled pork so please bring complimentary side dishes.
There will be a golf tournament on September 23 beginning at 2 p.m. at House Springs Golf Course. More information will be forthcoming.
October 28 there is a Halloween Party at the Community Center from 8 p.m. to midnight. Double Take is the band.
Old Business
New Business
The lake is looking for an old air conditioner for the guard house. If anyone knows of one, please let Larry Kimmel know. Larry also asked for suggestions as to how we can enforce our regulations.
Kalin, A-18, reported that their neighbors had encroached on their property when they redid their dock. Larry said a letter had been sent to the board in December 2005 and at that time he looked at the dock in question. However, the fasteners on the dock did not look new. The residents now want it re-opened and Larry said he will look again.
There being no further business, Marilyn Meyer made a motion, seconded by Joe Hejnal to adjourn, motion passed.
The meeting ended at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted
Pat Harting
Secretary