Annual Lakewood Meeting, May 6, 2017 10 am, Northern Bay Resort
President Eric Koppa called the meeting to order at 10:00 am.
Reading of the Agenda:
- Determination of a Quorum
- Introductions of the Board of Directors
- Approval of 2016 Annual Meeting Minutes
- Elections
- 2016 Budget and Results Review
- Communications
- Old Business
- New Business
- Adjournment
Eric asked everyone to take 5 minutes to read through last year’s minutes.
Quorum Our Bylaws set forth the number to achieve a quorum, which is at least 10% of membership or 38 lots must be represented for legal meeting. Secretary Maureen Bain confirmed that there were 67 lots represented in person or by proxy so the quorum was established.
Introduction Eric’s introduced each member of the Board of Directors, who were all present.
President Eric Koppa, Vice President Steve Hensen, Secretary Maureen Bain, Treasurer Kelly
Bain, Interim Director Jim Walsh.
Eric thanked everyone for being there and mentioned that Lakewood really appreciates our relationship with Northern Bay and we thank them for making great arrangements for our meeting. 5% discount cards available for Lakewood owners this year.
2016 Annual Meeting Minutes Eric handed the floor to Maureen Bain for review of last year’s minutes. She called for questions or comments from the homeowners regarding those.
There were no questions so Maureen handed it back to Eric. A motion was made to approve the 2016 Annual Meeting Minutes. Motion carried with none opposed.
Elections Maureen Bain and Kelly Bain were up for reelection, Jim Walsh was interim director up for regular election and Betty Anderson was a new candidate for election. Volunteers Barb Berken and Scott Geiger tallied the votes and confirmed that all 4 candidates were elected in the uncontested races. Eric welcomed the newly elected members.
Eric mentioned that Lakewood Board members all have busy lives and there is room in the future to add members who want to get involved on the board to help. He encouraged anyone to get involved to understand how money is spent and decisions are made. If you have a passion for Lakewood, please get involved.It is rewarding to know that you are doing good for your community. We have 1 spot that is still are not filled. Eric thanked past board members in attendance who are still active.
Eric handed the floor to Secretary Maureen Bain for the Secretary’s report on 2016.
Accomplishments of 2016
- Advertising: Maureen and Kelly kicked off our advertising campaign a few months back with amailer to local businesses. Whitemarsh Real Estate is running a display ad on the website as a result. Northern Bay renewed their display ad for another year. We also got advertisers on the Business Directory which has contractors categorized. It’s only $75 a year per listing. This is a work in progress. Please use our advertisers.
- Website: this continues to be a great source of communication for our members. Calendar for pavilion reservations We write frequent blogs, it has many area resources and with the growing number of advertisers it will be an invaluable tool to our members for referencing things such as roofer, plumbers or tree cutters to name a few things.
- Contests/Prizes: on last year’s budget we allotted $100.00 to this, just as a way to provide camaraderie and have a little fun. This seemed successful and we have budgeted for it again this year. Please participate. We have a photo contest launching now as well. Picnic will be held on Saturday July 1. Once again Chef Kelly will fire up the grills, we’ll have the water balloon toss and bags tournament, 50/50 and prize raffles.
- The Electric Gate: it’s going strong. It’s being funded by picnic earnings, 50/50 raffles, unused officer salaries, income from advertising, all lien payments and t-shirt sales. We’ve worked really hard this past year to build this funding and successfully doubled the gate fund just since our last May meeting.
- Board Standards: Kelly and Maureen worked together to write in detail Board standards so that new people, board members and homeowners know what to expect from our Board of Directors. These standards outlines the responsibility and duties of each officer and director.
Things we are working on in 2017:
Instruction Manuals: Another thing that we are currently working on is an “instructional manual” for both the secretary and treasurer’s positions. Moving into the future, these booklets will contain
all of the pertinent operational information, phone numbers, contact names, proper forms for lien processing and releasing, writing agendas and recording meeting minutes, website maintenance as well as all lakefront tasks that need to be arranged in the spring and fall. Filing non-stock paperwork, attorney, accountant and insurance information along with post office and banking information will be included in this as well. These manuals along with the updated plat maps and member information that we worked on last year will prove to making future transitions of officers smooth and easy!!!
Archived newsletters: Vickie Weisner was nice enough to scan and email me all of her old newsletter dating back to I believe 1991.Those will be going up on the website as we are able to get them added.
Photos: Lastly, in putting up the old newsletters, Maureen thought it would be cool to also add some old nostalgic pictures of Lakewood from back when it all started or even the surrounding neighborhood like Melody Waves before Northern Bay was built. If anyone has any pictures they could scan and email to our talktous email address, that would be awesome.
Maureen Introduced Treasurer Kelly Bain for the 2016 Budget review.
Budget
Kelly We collected $21,902.43 dues. Campaign to collect 315.06 in 2016 liens 1272, $1250 in advertising. $233 picnic T-shirts $293 Total income for 2016 was $25,265.72, about $3200 over where we thought we’d be. Savings $14404.43 $6795.10 checking surplus. $14150.16 Gate Fund Dave Lindemann Lot 6 asked what the Gate Fund is. Kelly explained that to keep Lakewood our own and people who don’t belong out, we are saving for an electronic gate. Bob Helms Lot 8 asked about the difference between dues projection and actual. Dues projection based on average number of people who pay by due date less the typical 35 who don’t.
President Eric Koppa thanked Kelly for her hard work and for the “clearest the budget has ever been” in the time that he’s lived in his 10 years in Lakewood. He also thanked Maureen for working on the t-shirts and advertising and recognized that Kelly and Maureen both have been very active and spend a lot of time working behind the scenes on behalf of Lakewood.
Eric introduced Secretary Maureen to talk about Communication:
Communications
Picnic – Kelly If you reserve for picnic, please come. 120 RSVP, 20 no-shows. It’s a commitment
on our end to give up a day on the lake to put the picnic on and food is bought based on RSVPs. 50/50 raffle, t-shirt sales $516. Saturday July 1 this year. Water balloon toss, annual bags tournament with prized. Scott Geiger and his mom Judy donated several raffle items last year.
Lakefront Needs Swim Area, Piers, Driveway, Gate, Hill – Steve Hensen reported. New noodles for swim area, weights are newly poured, new volleyball net, new kid’s swing, dragged driveway to get rid of holes. Last summer, new communication box put up at information board for people without computer. Piers going in shortly. We will be painting the pier. Pier users- please leave outside spots open, 10 minutes max. If you are parking for a longer period of time, park at the interior spots. Downed trees cleared up last year. Landscaping, we will be addressing the hill by planting no-mow grass. Please stay off the hill after it’s been planted so it has a chance to grow. On track for the gate soon. Steve mentioned that he has gotten quotes for gate and and still needs to get electrical prices and other details. Century Fence quoted $14,000 or so.
Beach passes and towing: Eric explained that the no-mow grass will hopefully take care of eyesore that the hill is and make the hill safer. Eric stressed that property owners must display passes when you are at the beach. Every owner should be vigilant about the people down there who aren’t displaying passes. Northern Bay and other developments in the area make our lakefront property more attractive to people who don’t belong down there. We will be publicizing people who aren’t paying dues on our website. Currently 24 homeowners who haven’t paid this year. $58.08 is very affordable. The Association will place liens on non-payers and use other means to go after payment. We also will tow at the lakefront if there is a vehicle that isn’t deploying the beach pass. Eric encouraged homeowners to email talktous@lakewoodpoa.org with the description and license plate # and a board member will call the towing company if they see violators. We are all vested and should work together to make it happen.
Beautification: This has been an ongoing conversation for the Board. Maureen said that an advisory committee of homeowners was formed in October. They met to discuss upkeep and standards of Lakewood properties. She stated that the mission of the committee was to discuss how best to preserve the aesthetic integrity of Lakewood and and to maintain and even increase the value and the marketability of our homes and properties into the future. One goal was to take a look at Lakewood’s Bylaws and Covenants & Restrictions to bring them up to date and make them more relevant to the needs of Lakewood homeowners of today. Another goal is how can we clean up properties that have deteriorated. The advisory committee consisted of 5 homeowners plus Maureen and Kelly. Their recommendations were brought to the Board in January and there will be more discussion as we move forward with our action plan.
T-shirts: Maureen designed the Lakewood logo and we designed t-shirts to sell last year We made $293.
Raffles/Trivia Contests: Northern Bay gift cards given away for Facebook trivia contests and raffle prizes.
New Business:
Advertising: Maureen reported that she and Kelly had made a concerted effort to contact potential advertisers for the website. Maureen created a sales flyer for advertising on our website that was sent out to area businesses. There are display ads and business listings available for purchase. They made several phone calls and got responses from the mailing. Also homeowner Scott Geiger has referred businesses. We want to make our website a comprehensive resource for Lakewood homeowners who need a local contractor or business. If you know anyone who would like to advertise, please email lakewoodpoa.org. Also please use the advertisers on the website whenever possible.
Lakefront Needs: Kelly reiterated that we are having a low maintenance grass planted to hold the hillside together. Planting flowers, painting, updating information board going on. Northern Bay gave us a great proposal for lawn care and beach maintenance. Steve filled in pot holes, volley ball area will be groomed. Beach will be grated.
Eric mentioned that this will be the first year of our partnership with Northern Bay doing lawn and beach care. We’ like to hear comments from homeowners on Facebook or email. Let us know how they’re doing. Eric commended Kelly and Maureen on growing the gate fund to make it equal to our savings account. Kelly said that we want the gate to be self-sustaining and not come from homeowners’ dues. She said we have come up with creative ways to increase the gate fund including the 50/50 raffles at the picnic and annual meeting, door money at picnic, aggressive advertising campaign, t-shirt sales, liens and in the future collection of liens. We are on track to do this shortly. Advertising money will finance upkeep of gate in future.
Collections: There is $8700+ in liens going back to 2012 that we would like to collect. 7 of these property owners are chronic offenders. The easiest and most economical way for the Association to rectify the situation is to hire a collection agency. That will happen in the future and also liens will be continued to be placed. Eric thanked Maureen and Kelly for taking on the project of collecting past due monies.
Property Owners’ Questions and Comments:
Pier: Tom Weigel, Lot 28, asked when the pier will be in? It is scheduled for May 22.
Electric Gate: Mike Fountain, Lot 11, asked if $14,000 was a lot for a gate. Norm Hampson said it would be a deterrent to people who don’t belong. It won’t stop the people hiking in but will stop cars, etc. Eric mentioned that vandalism and theft has been a problem in the past. The gate won’t fix every problem but it will make a big statement and be protection for our private property.
Beach passes: Bob Quigley, Lot 280, asked if he gets more beach passes since he bought an additional lot. Eric said that with over 300 homeowners, with limited parking at the lakefront and limited beach passes, we hand out 2 per household. Also we don’t want them handed out to nonhomeowners and certainly not for commercial use.
Towing: Allen Field, Lot 221, asked if anyone can call the towing number to report cars without pass displayed. Eric mentioned that only board members are authorized to call the towing company. Please email talktous@lakewoodpoa.org. Call the sheriff if there is a problem with vandalism, criminal activity.
Drive: Scott Geiger, Lot 16, asked if Northern Bay will grate the drive as part of their service at the lakefront. No, Steve Hensen volunteered this year.
Beach Passes: Carin Tio Lot 3 Beach passes 2 for each household. Vacant lots don’t get 2
passes.
RE taxes: Rob Mason, Lot 81, asked if property owners pay real estate taxes for lakefront as part of dues. Eric answered that the Association pays insurance for lakefront. Taxes for lakefront are part of property taxes each homeowners pays. Association dues do not go for that.
Electric Gate: Allen Field asked what is the mode of operation of the proposed electric gate and who’s going to unlock it if it fails. Eric said each homeowner will have fob or card. It is typically very low maintenance. Board doesn’t anticipate any problems but we will deal with problems quickly if someone gets locked in.
Travel Trailers: Paul Paulsrud, Lot 172, stated that travel trailers sit parked and that isn’t allowed. Eric answered that if they are on their own properties and move occasionally and have current license/registration they are ok. You can’t use as a dwelling but they can be parked on your own private property as long as they are registered with the state. They cannot be parked in cul-de-sacs.
Picnic/Golf Carts: Dale Oberbeck, Lot 380, stated that Association dues are not to finance the picnic but the expenses of the lakefront property. He also went on to say that golf carts aren’t allowed on Lakewood streets or at the lakefront. The DNR will be giving out tickets this summer. Eric mentioned that ATVs and UTVs are allowed and must be properly registered and licensed.
Enforcement of 6th/Special Assessment: Norm Hampson, Lot 385/386, stated that 6th
Amendment doesn’t have any teeth. Maureen agreed and mentioned that the advisory committee had investigated how we can enforce the 6th Amendment. We are still working on enforcement. Norm also said the contractors don’t want to work at Lakewood. Board has right to special assessment. He believes that the gate will require a shed and cameras to record activity that might damage gate. Eric said the Board will be researching surveillance. Eric stated that the Board is not pursuing a special assessment for the gate. We are working very hard to fund the gate independent of dues or assessments. Norm mentioned that people who aren’t homeowners have an attitude when questioned or confronted at the lakefront, that they feel entitled to be there even though they are not owners. Norm also mentioned that budget needs to swing on its own without special efforts like advertising, etc. He feels that we need to increase the dues. In the past, he said the board didn’t raise dues. They stayed the same for 9 years. Eric mentioned there is a plan to increase the dues next year. Eric also stated that this Board is very active and dedicated.
Lakefront/Dues/Entertainment: Greg Duplaga, Lot 110, thanked the Board for fixing the potholes in the driveway and stated the wood signs need maintenance. He asked if the DNR allowed re-staining or painting the fence at the lakefront. Also the step on pier needs to be fixed. He asked about the possibility of getting garbage cans placed at the lakefront like we used to. Greg picks up garbage himself when he sees it. He wondered why we can’t try to have garbage cans again. As far as increasing dues, he was here when membership was fighting about a $6 per year increase. He thinks that is ridiculous when other associations charge $150 per month. Greg also mentioned that we lost something he really enjoyed, the Friday night music at the lakefront. Can we bring that back again on Friday or Saturday? Why did we stop? Kelly addressed his concerns: she said wood signs and other things are getting a facelift this year. Pier is being painted and fixed this year. The band was Judy Sachs’ son. We can approach them to see if they would want to do this again. Some of the things we did in the past have been lost when the picnics etc were cancelled, we lost people and there has been a lack of participation. Some of the money that was spent on entertainment now goes for beautification and other expenses. Also, if people aren’t going to show up for events. It’s a big commitment by certain board members. We are trying to get more participation through Facebook. We want more people to get involved and we want to move in that direction. Regarding the garbage cans, Kelly mentioned that people were stopping in off the lake to dump their garbage in our cans and others were abusing it. Plus someone has to empty those cans and it would be a board member since we don’t have a service. We need to all work together to keep our lakefront clean and if you see garbage, take it. Scott Geiger Lot wants smaller annual dues increases. As far as parties, people maybe would respond better at the end of the season like would it be better to have a Labor Day picnic too? Mike Fountain, Lot 11, dues are reasonable Board has done a good job. Don’t raise dues just to raise them. Just continue to do good work that you have been doing.
Entrance to Lakewood: Jane Young, Lot 131, Asked what electrical box was at Cypress Drive entrance. Who put that in? Several property owners said that it is high-speed internet. Greg Duplaga stated that the Board tried for years to get light at that entrance. Maybe now with electric there, we can get the light as well. Eric said we will approach the county/township about this again. Barb Berken, Lot 82, stated that, regarding the light that she would be concerned with a light shining in cabin all night for the people who live near the intersection. Maybe a smaller light would be better. Eric stated that the Board would investigate with the county/township what options we have available.
Lakewood Board: Terri Bullard, Lot 254, said she has been coming to Lakewood for 12 years. She wanted to thank the board for all they do and stated that she knew how much work it was and that it is kind of a thankless job.
Increasing dues: Kelly stated that she was opposed to it 2 years ago. Since she’s been Treasurer there is a $9400 surplus between the last 2 years. T-shirt sales, raffles, advertising revenue have added to that. All of that is 100% profit that is going into the gate fund. She ruminated that the next Treasurer may not be as big of a penny pincher as she is but for now we have surplus funds and don’t really need an increase. Scott Geiger stated that we should be prepared for repairs in the future. Eric stated Board will continue to investigate increasing our reserves. Kelly said that advertising alone brings in $1200 currently.
2017 Expenses: Rob Mason asked why there is budgeted expenses 2017 and no budgeted column for income. Kelly said she didn’t have that in but income will be the same as last year.
Approval of 2017 Budget: Eric called for motion to approve 2017 budget. Motion carried. None opposed.
Raffle: Eric thanked everyone for coming. 50/50 Raffle, $36 total $18 to winner Scott Geiger, who donated back to Association. Presto Griddle, Jane Young won. Eric also thanked Barb Berken and Scott Geiger for their help with counting proxies and ballots. Eric called for meeting to be adjourned. All in favor. None opposed.
Adjournment: Eric made a motion to adjourn the meeting. All in favor. None opposed. Meeting Adjourned at 11:44 am.
Respectively submitted,
Maureen Bain, Secretary