LTPOA Meeting Minutes - November 9, 2004

[These minutes have not yet been formally approved by the LTPOA BoD — jmh]

The meeting opened at 7:05 p.m. with the following board members present: Linda Fulford, Pat Harting, Matt Holloran, Ray Lauer and Ron Sansone. 27 lot owners were present.

The minutes of the September meeting had 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 Matt Holloran, seconded by Ray Lauer, motion passed unanimously.

Presidents Report

Ron stated that the school bus shelter had been moved further back from the road. The shelter would be decorated and a walkway would be installed for access.

Treasurers Report

Linda Fulford reported on the income statement for the past month.

Linda reiterated that assessments not paid on time incur late fees, interest, lien fees as well as court and legal fees. This is very costly for both the lake and the homeowner. Anyone wishing to make payment arrangements, please contact Linda at 274-1985. The following checks were approved unanimously for payment: Matt Holloran $2,000, Legal Fees $2,200 (Assessment recovery thru second quarter), Will Electronics $466.73 (Repair to the gate)

Ray Lauer made a motion to accept the Treasurer's report seconded by Matt Holloran. Motion passed.

Security Director

Ray Lauer read his report. attached.

Please fill in the registration form printed in the last newsletter. This information is needed to update the records. As of December 31^st, all cards issued to people who no longer live at the lake, or have lost or misused their cards, will be removed from the system. It is therefore very important for all lake residents to complete the form and return it to Ray. Ron thanked Ray and Roger for their work on the gate.

Building Director

Becky Harper was not present. This item was tabled until later in the meeting.

Maintenance Director

Matt reported that the snow equipment is almost completely repaired. A broken brake line was repaired on one of the trucks and the salt spreader has also been repaired. Approximately $200 has been spent on maintenance. However, Matt reported that we still do not have an operator for the snow removal equipment. If volunteers are not forthcoming a decision will have to be made regarding how much we will pay for outside help. The guard has said he could help and a resident's son who lives nearby has offered to help. Mr. Donaway said he leaves for work at 4 a.m. and he would be willing to help. Henry Brym volunteered to help maintain the equipment and Matt thanked him for this. Matt said that he was waiting to purchase salt until snow is imminent. Currently there is enough salt for one or two ice storms. Matt thanked not only the volunteers but also all residents for burning their leaves.

Finance Committee

Janet Hirsch reported that they had not had a meeting in the last month, but they were available to help the board as and when necessary. Ron thanked them and went on to say that thanks to Linda the assessment payments were now manageable. He said that we should keep after the people who had not paid because it becomes a hassle and is very expensive when handed over to the attorneys, even though it was inevitable that some would have to be.

President Sansone then reported that he had been investigating using another attorney on a trial basis. He did not propose removing the cases that were currently with Attorney Tesreau. However, he said it was possible to file liens on delinquent property owners ourselves. This was a fairly complex procedure, especially in the follow up and someone had to be in court when the case came to trial or the case was lost.

President Sansone then brought up the progress of the Sewer Committee. He said that the first step was to say that we wanted a sewer district and the county would then produce the figures on the costs involved. We are working on this with our Commissioner and will produce the letter to him saying that we are interested. The next date for the Sewer Committee will be printed in the upcoming newsletter.

Website

Janet Hirsch reported that the web site is now two years old and she thanked all those who had been involved. She reported that the newsletter had been mailed on October 23^rd and the deadline for the next newsletter is December 19^th. [The deadline has been changed to Dec 12. --jmh]

Old Business

Matt Holloran introduced Mr. William Donaway who had attended the pre-board meeting on November 3rd. Mr. Donaway had a situation which he wanted to inform the lake about. He is building a new house on lots D58-62. He wanted to inform the lake that he and his wife were not the tyrants reported in previous minutes. As far as he was aware, he had conformed to all the requirements of the Jefferson county building department and had brought all the relevant paperwork for the board's inspection. He stated that although he was a builder and a contractor he was not building a spec house. He was building a house for his family to live in. He said that he had not been contacted by the building director as stated. The only people he had spoken to were Matt Holloran and Linda Fulford. He said that he had no problem from the board at the pre-board meeting but his problem lay with the building director who apparently had not been able to produce a list of questionable items. He said that he had contacted his contractor with regards to the problem of mud on the road and the homeowners across the road had also been in contact with contractor and the issue had been resolved. Mr. Donaway said that he realized that mud on the road had been very bad when construction commenced but they had tried to resolve that issue. Mr. Donaway then said that he got the impression that certain members of the board were not acting as board members but rather as "this is my friend" etc. He said that this was not what he expected and he was not aware of the extent of the building director's building experience. He said that Chris Townsend had suggested that the board hire an attorney to stop construction and that the building director had gone, unbeknownst to the board, to the Jefferson County building department to get the a stop work order on his property. Mr. Donaway concluded by saying that he felt that the younger members of the community would not be dictated to like this. He appreciated the fact that we listened to him and he hoped that the problem could be resolved but he had heard that many people had had a problem with the building director.

Following Mr. Donaway's statement, a comment from the floor suggested that the board had a problem with the building director. In response, President Sansone said that the bylaws did not state that the building director had to be a member of the board and at this time, he would like to recommend entertaining a motion to suspend the building director at this time and look into appointing another party. He said that Becky Harper had missed numerous board meeting and pre-board meetings and had caused much embarrassment at the meetings she had attended by her decisions, which had not been shared with the board members at large. On a question from the floor, President Sansone said that she was not being removed from the Board, just from the building director position. A discussion then followed on the issue of getting people to volunteer for the board and their qualifications for the various positions. President Sansone then asked for a motion that she be totally suspended from the building department, motion made by Matt Holloran seconded by Ray Lauer, motion passed unanimously. Following this, Bev Jost was appointed as the new building director. She will be assisted in this position by Ken Marschuetz and a committee of volunteers. Matt Holloran said that this new group would have to be diligent in informing the board on their activities, e.g. who they called and when they returned the phone calls, so that the building permits could be voted upon in a timely manner. It was suggested that a form be developed for people to fill in and send to the board before the pre-board meeting for any type of building permit.

New Business

President Sansone suggested that we hold a dinner auction. He said that items such as a weekend in the Ozarks or a champagne ride around the lake etc. are donated and these are sold at auction. All monies raised would go to help pay off the loan. Because of the amount of time needed to organize this it would very likely be in March/April. Stan Schweiss said that he would provide a roast pig for the dinner. Numerous ideas were suggested. The LTIA would need to be contacted to ensure no conflicts. This will be put in the newsletter for suggestions.

Ray Lauer wanted to remind everyone to return the update sheets for cars and boats as soon as possible. This form was printed in the last newsletter.

Jerry Uhlenbrock reported on various items around the lake that needed consideration. President Sansone said that letters needed to be sent to the lot owners in question and we would then subsequently speak to them. Jerry said that there were at least three homes where the lakefront erosion was very bad and it was encroaching on their septic fields. He also said that two of the three were getting ready to sell their property. He said that when the property is sold it should be stipulated that the erosion should be replaced by the new owners. He also said that there were three homes where trees had fallen into the lake and the homeowners should be required to remove them. He said that the lake was not responsible for maintenance of the lots. A derelict pontoon boat would be picked up within the week. He produced an item for insertion in the newsletter entitled "My first septic tank" advising homeowners on the care of the tank. Jerry also had a form from Jefferson County for residents to fill out if they notice any bad septic systems, They will come out and check them out. This form is also available on their website.

Jerry said that he received a report of a very large amount of E. coli upstream. This was eventually traced to a property on Hillsboro/House Springs Road. The pipe goes directly into the creek that feeds the lake. The property owner will be notified by the Jefferson County department. Only two coves now show any amounts of E. coli. Jerry had dated pictures for board review so that these could be monitored. Jefferson County will be monitoring the lake for us free of charge for at least another year. Discussion then followed on the trees in the lake. The fishermen said that trees were put in for fish protection. However, it was generally Christmas trees that were sunk. Jerry was talking about trees that had fallen into the lake due to erosion and these could not be left there, as they were an obstruction for the boaters. Matt or Ron would call those lot owners in violation. The question of how many unsightly tires you could have on a dock was also brought up.

There being no further business, Ray Lauer made a motion, seconded by Matt Holloran to adjourn.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:59 p.m.

Respectfully submitted

Pat Harting

Secretary