LTPOA Meeting Minutes, December 14 2004

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

The meeting opened at 7:05 p.m. The following board members were present for the meeting: Linda Fulford, Pat Harting, Matt Holloran, Ray Lauer, Ron Sansone and Chris Townsend. 24 lot owners were present.

The minutes of the November meeting having been posted on the website, President Sansone asked for a motion to accept the minutes, motion made by Matt Holloran, seconded by Ray Lauer, motion passed unanimously.

Presidents Report

President Sansone reported on the E. coli problem in the lake. A letter had been sent to the reported violator on the Hillsboro/House Springs Road, where the septic tank was running directly into the creek. A violation letter had been sent on November 29 with a December 29 deadline for the problem to be fixed. The county will inspect the violation in 60 days.

With respect to the various violations of derelict docks around the lake, a letter would be sent to the owners requesting they respond within a specified period of time as to when the problem would be resolved.

Treasurers Report

Linda Fulford presented the income statements for the months of October and November. As of November 30, the checking account balance stood at $95,788. The money market account at $1,016. The loan balance was approximately $314,149 and approximately $16,000 was owed for outstanding assessments. $4,871.84 had been paid so far in December for outstanding assessments. Linda said that if anyone wanted to make arrangements to pay their outstanding assessments to please contact her.

Invoices for the following were approved:

Columbia Insurance - $891.50 - auto policy

Columbia Insurance - $2,500.25 - comm. pkg policy.

Jefferson County personal property taxes - $2,713.56.

Legal fees, Tesreau - $1,385.00.

Motion made to accept the above, seconded and unanimously approved.

Linda stated that going forward, monthly financial information would be put onto a CD for backup.

The Sheriff's sale on January 20^th at Noon was discussed in detail. Lots D50 thru 55 will be auctioned off at noon on the Court House steps. As assessments for these lots have not been paid for the past couple of years, it is important that a Lake representative is present at this sale. Tesreau should be called to ensure accuracy of this information.

[my understanding is that a rep from LT must be present at the auction so the lots do not sell for less than the assessment that is owed the lake. Otherwise, the Lake will not be able to collect the assessment on these lots. -- jmh]

Linda reported that she did not have a working key for the sales office, but she was working with Matt to resolve this. Linda ended her report with reminding that we should treat everybody with respect and dignity, as everybody is a volunteer and a property owner.

President Sansone brought up the question of the lake trucks. He said that it was imperative that a truck was in working order for the winter weather. Matt Holloran had taken the one-ton salt truck to McHenry Truck Equipment for an estimate on repairs. They estimated a total of $2,389.90. Matt also had $1,0978.46 in [emergency] repairs for the same truck. The emergency repairs on the truck had been approved at the preboard meeting. President Sansone asked for a motion for the repairs to be paid. Motion made by Ray Lauer and seconded by Linda Fulford.

Security Director

Ray Lauer read his report, attached.

President Sansone will contact the new trash removal company to see if we can have the trash from the club house picked up at no charge as in the past. If this is not possible, we will ask them to send us an invoice for the trash removal. Ron said that next year he would look into using another trash removal company. Presently there is a difference in the amount being charged to residents who use Waste Management and Ron has been talking to a company who would only charge $15 per month if they had the whole lake.

Ray also stated that he had spoken with the repairmen from Ameren UE who said that there was a 6-month waiting list for tree trimming around their lines but Ameren is not responsible for limbs around telephone wires.

The "dangerous curve" sign has been taken down repeatedly by vandals. If anyone knows who is doing this please contact Ray.

There was discussion on the gate being out of service for a few days and the fact that the gate arm had to be removed. There also appears to be problem with the screen being unreadable at times. Roger Hovis will be contacted to see if he can find out why.

Charlie Lents reported that there was a blue and white paddleboat drifting down by the dam. Linda Fulford also reported a stray paddleboat in her cove. There are no markings on the boats to ascertain who they belong to.

Ray said that he was aware of the abandoned car in the parking lot and he had spoken to the owner who said that they would collect it as soon as possible.

Building Director

Bev Jost had been appointed as the new building director at the Nov. LTPOA meeting. Upon questions from the floor, President Sansone stated that the position of building director did not have to be held by a board member. Becky Harper is still on the board but has no committee responsibility at the moment.

Bev reported that she had been contacted by Mr. Schaab, H4, 5 & 6 with respect to how he should proceed with the addition of a family room. She advised him to check the website for the information posted there and to give her a call if he had any further questions.

Maintenance Director

Matt reported that together with the items reported earlier by Ron, the brakes on the salt truck/snow plow had been repaired together with the transmission and oil changed. The rotors and the chain on the salt spreader were also repaired. Matt said that when he drove around the roads he was taking note of the spots that would require maintenance in the spring. After the snow season he would get bids on repairing them. At the present time we do not have anyone locked into snow plowing for us, but Matt is working on this and hopefully will have someone soon. If not we would have to rely on volunteers as their schedules permit, so if you know anyone who is interested please have them contact Matt. On comments from the floor regarding maintenance of the trucks, Matt responded that the truck had not been properly maintained in the past as stated. Once again, we go back to previous boards who spent money that we did not have and this problem will not be solved in the next couple of years but will be with us for quite a few years to come. Ron remarked that we had been lulled into a false belief that we had unlimited money and now we have to tighten our belts. We are now working on a very tight budget with no monies actually budgeted for a bad winter this year. Previous boards had been borrowing against the loan for necessary items and so we now find ourselves in a very tight situation which we have to work through and it was requested that the lake residents bear with the board as it tries to solve the present financial situation. Ron reminded them that the 55 cents that was the initial assessment would now be over $4 taking into account inflation.

Barb Rohm asked if all gravel driveways would need to be paved. Matt replied that they would prefer that people did this without having to be told but that at the next election it would be put to a vote. The rock is damaging the road. Matt said that this would be for all driveways on the first and second tier and the first 20ft from the road would be required to be paved. If this passed, Ron would look into getting a reputable contractor to do them all at once at a special price.

LTIA

Gail Lents was introduced as the new president of the LTIA for 2005. Gail announced that there would be Christmas caroling this coming Saturday. Donations of money and food would be collected for the Hillsboro food pantry. A get together after the caroling would be held. Sunday is the children's Christmas party from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Santa will be coming for the children. On New Years Eve, there will be a party in the Community House. Bring your own snacks and drinks. The LTIA has recently purchased a new karaoke machine. Everyone is invited at no charge. The LTIA has also purchased a cordless mike for use in the building.

Finance Committee

The finance committee has not met recently but Janet Hirsch said that the committee was still ready to help the treasurer whenever needed. Linda mentioned that she was looking into doing a three to five year projection for the lake as the loan will be paid off by then. Janet said that the committee would be happy to assist in long term planning. The first meeting has been set for 6 p.m. on January 5^th.

Website

Janet Hirsch announced that the newsletter will be assembled Friday evening and be mailed Saturday morning. The sewage complaint form has now been posted to the website.

Old Business

The derelict dock belonging to C75 was discussed. The dock is located in front of Jason Covington's home. Jason has volunteered to repair the dock, since the owners seem to be unwilling to repair it. The dock is now a hazard and Jason wishes to have the dock removed. Chris Townsend said that the board would send a certified letter to the dock owner stating that he had to comply with repairing the dock and if he failed to make an effort to repair it within 30 days, then the board had the right to remove the dock. In July, Jerry Uhlenbrock had identified all hazardous docks with a yellow sticker for identification purposes.

Ron Sansone said that the dredge should be removed from the water so that it can be maintained. This will be an expensive proposition as a crane is needed to remove it from the water. Chris Townsend asked if it was possible to use rollers and have the dredge lift itself out of the water. Matt said that it was possible with all the equipment here at the lake that we could possibly remove it ourselves but there was always the question of who would be responsible if it got damaged. Ron asked if anybody had any papers or the title for the dredge to let him know. These were needed so that proper identification could be made. He said that he would like to advertise the dredge in a magazine to see if there was any interest on purchasing it and the dredge would need to be in running condition. Part of the reason it had been left in the water was that potential buyers would need to see it running. The question of whether the dredge had been winterized was discussed. Chris Townsend said that the disposition of the dredge would be discussed by the newly formed Silt Committee and as the dredge had been purchased by a vote, it would also require a vote to sell it.

New Business

The question of approval for a topographical study for sewers was brought up. Ron said that at the moment no money had been spent he had been in discussion with Ed Kemp and Bill Brunges. These two gentlemen know our situation at the lake and also know the order that things needed to be done. The first item was that we had to be designated as a sewer district. President Sansone then described the mechanism for becoming a sewer district and the interaction between Ed Kemp, Bill Brunges and the County Commission. The letter which would be sent to the Jefferson County Commission was read. Ron also explained the financing for the sewers and the cost to the lot owners. Hopefully Federal monies would be available for part of the expense. He said that sewers would considerably increase the value of the homes at the lake. President Sansone then asked for a motion to look into becoming a sewer district. Chris Townsend made the motion, seconded by Matt Holloran. Motion passed unanimously. Chris Townsend said that Ed Kemp had said that a Council would also have to be formed. This Council would be responsible for ensuring that everything would be done by the book. Based on all the information given to Mr. Brunges, it will be possible to come up with very accurate figures on the costs involved and this is overseen by the Council. No monies will be spent by the lake to determine whether or not we become and sewer district and eventually put in sewers. This would then have to put to a vote and it would require 66% of property owners to put in the sewers. The location of the sewer system obviously has not yet been determined but would very likely be placed behind the dam. If there is not enough land, the Government might take the necessary land by eminent domain. Chris Townsend said that in 1962 Government passed the clean water bill. Lake Tishomingo was mentioned in this as a possible sewer district.

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

The meeting ended at 8:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted

Pat Harting

Secretary