Annual Lakewood Meeting, May 4, 2019 10 am, Northern Bay Resort
President Eric Koppa called the meeting to order at 10:09 am. Eric gave everyone 3 minutes to read over the meeting minutes from 2018 Annual Property Owners Meeting.
Reading of the Agenda:
- Determination of a Quorum E. 2018 Budget and Results Review
- Introductions of the Board of Directors F. Communications
- Approval of 2018 Annual Meeting Minutes G. Old Business
- Elections H. New Business
- Adjournment
Determination of a Quorum . At least 10% of membership or 38 lots must be represented for legal meeting.
Secretary Maureen Bain confirmed that there were 76 lots represented in person or by proxy so the quorum was established.
President Eric Koppa’s introduction of the Board of Directors and opening remarks . Present: Eric Koppa,
President; Steve Hensen, Vice President; Maureen Bain, Secretary; Kelly Bain, Treasurer; Terry Anderson, Director;
Kathleen Pugh, Director. Eric also commented on Lakewood’s relationship with Northern Bay and how they have been a good neighbor to Lakewood in many ways and they of course also provide our lakefront care.
Approval of 2018 Annual Meeting Minutes . Secretary Maureen asked for questions about the 2018 Annual Meeting Minutes. Jeff Levernier, Lot 236, commented that the minutes should include discussion of the Bylaws changes. There should be clear communication to membership. He stated that he would like to know what is discussed in meetings moving forward. Eric stated that the revisions/updates being discussed were displayed on the wall and that Board has made an effort to be transparent with the discussions through the meeting minutes that are posted on the website. He also mentioned that we just received final edits from the attorney and that Board will be sharing them with everyone and homeowners will have to vote on the changes. Eric made a motion to approve.
Updates will be shared via minutes on the website. All approved, none opposed. Motion carried.
Election. The Board of Directors currently consists of 6 people with staggering terms. 7 total available. Secretary
Maureen Bain and Treasurer Kelly Bain are in the rotation and have decided not to run for reelection. They have been on the Board since 2013. Vice President Steve Hensen is up for reelection. We received resumes from homeowners, Stephanie Anderson-Janecek and Amy Volkmann. All 3 won in an uncontested election. Thanks to Barb, Michol and Diane for helping out with counting votes.
Secretary’s Report.
Maureen stated that we had a lot going on in 2018 and forward progress.
- New Homeowners: We had over 15 properties sell in Lakewood.
- At the lakefront: VP Steve and his crew fixed up the swim area with new noodles. Algae bloom closed the beach for a couple of weeks but our landscaping crew from Northern Bay did what they could to clean up the beach and remove the seaweed and debris as well as a tree that came down in a storm. Betty Anderson planted perennials at the lakefront entrance. Chuck Roberts Landscaping was hired to grade the lakefront driveway and clear the circle drive in preparation for the gate. He also removed stumps in the volleyball court and near the pavilion.
- Collections: As discussed at our annual meetings in 2017 and 2018, we started a process with an area collection agency to collect past due liens. Kelly will elaborate in Treasurer’s report.
- The Annual Summer Picnic was a success although it was very hot. 50 no-shows which was half of
RSVPs. Kelly grilled burgers and hot dogs and provided bottled water. The Board solicited/collected donations from businesses including gift certificates, river tubing with cooler. Homeowners donated Lakewood signs, VISA cards and much more. The grand prize was 18 holes of golf including cart. Thank you to all homeowners for their generous contributions. Musician Derek Buckley provided the entertainment.
- Movie Nite Under the Stars: After last year’s annual meeting. 2nd time. We had a fire, popcorn, mini candy bars, bottled water. Raffle for $10 Northern Bay went to Kelly Bain but she offered it back and it went to Kathleen Pugh.
- Emails, Address Changes and Facebook: Emails and phone numbers are important for our communication with homeowner. We have 295 owners to keep track of so if you move or change your contact information, please let us know on talktous@lakewoodpoa.org . We do not share homeowner information with anyone but use for Association communication and emergency purposes only. Please join the Facebook group if you haven’t already. It is a closed group and it provides a lot of information for members.
- Compliancy Letters: Board has sent out letters to handful of homeowners concerning issues that our
Beautification Committee of 2016 had outlined. This has been a mostly positive and effective effort.
- Bylaws and Covenants Revisions/Updates: As stated at last year’s meeting, money was budgeted to hire an attorney to help us update our antiquated Bylaws and Covenants. More information on that in New Business.
- The Gate: Planning for this since 2013. In September, the work began. Driveway cleared and graded and new exit prepped. More to come in Old Business.
Maureen turned the floor over to Treasurer Kelly Bain for the Treasurer’s Report.
Treasurer’s Report.
Kelly reported:
Liens. In 2018, continued to collect liens. $4500 collected in liens and 17 liens released. Annual meetings in 2017 and 2018, we would be sending liens to a collection company. We have started that process in 2018 with a collection agency to 4 homeowners who have liens totalling $5400. Goal is to be lien-free. When Kelly became treasurer, she asked Adams County Clerk to provide list of past liens for Lakewood. The result was 12 pages of unreleased liens totally about $22,000. Kelly has sent out many letters to homeowners to pay outstanding liens. There are some that sold without Lakewood knowing and we have lost out on about $6200 with those. In the last 3 years, she has collected $8000 and released 40 liens. Maureen helped with those collections, communicating with the title companies and identifying delinquent owners before they sold.
2018/2019. Collected $21,021.21. Above projection. For 2019, projecting $21,713.04. Liens collected $4500.
Maureen sold Advertising for total of $1250. 50/50 at picnic and meeting plus $100 donated by Terry Lipchow went to gate fund. T-shirt sales also. Total revenue $27,499.55.
Kelly discussed line items- annual meeting, officer salaries, bank fees, safety deposit box, non-stock,po box, stamps and printing, lien filing fees higher because more releases in 2018. office supplies came in way under budgeted. Lawn care/beach clean up Northern Bay has held price on that. Porta potty kept a few weeks longer so it cost a little more. Insurance went down in 2018. Kelly added a little in budget for insurance for 2019 because of the electric gate. Picnic budgeted less, people didn’t show up last year so we have paper products left. Budgeted $2000 for attorney to update bylaws and covenants, $3000 budgeted for 2019 to finish process. Lakefront needs, we came in under. CPA came in under. Website, hosting and domain fees stayed the same. PP came in over. Savings $14601.03; General account $3738.54; Gate Fund currently has $8691.81 but we still have to pay the remainder of the electrician cost. Maintenance and cards will come out of that fund in the future.
Questions from homeowners regarding budget:
Michelle Carter, Lot 47. 2019 lakefront insurance is projected to be $4300 in 2019. Is the correct? Kelly was quoted that amount by State Farm with the extra coverage of the gate.
Jim Walsh Lot 33, Lakefront needs have gone up. Eric stated that we need a new pavilion roof, fence repair, dredging of sand pulled back onto beach so we can launch small boats and jetskis. Extra funds for preventative care.
Barb Berken approve budget.
Scot Geiger Lot 168. CPA and insurance. Have we gotten other quotes. $250 is very inexpensive for CPA. Kelly stated that CPA has done taxes for last 3 years. That includes an audit of books. Nice to stay with CPA because they get to know your business. We have not really shopped around for insurance. We have had Rosemary Pittsley State Farm for a long time. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to get other quotes. Insurance did go down in 2018. Eric stated that there was no coverage for some time. It is a relatively new policy. From time to time you can ask for rewrite policy but we are young in policy. We can look into it.
Jeff Levernier Lot 236 Does insurance cover Director?. Yes, it does.
Dick Wieland Lot 21 Vote on 2018 Minutes and 2019 Budget.
Eric made a motion to approve 2018 minutes, seconded by Jim Walsh. All approved. None opposed. Motion carried..
Eric made a motion to adopt 2019 budget, seconded by Barb Berken Lot 82. All approved. None opposed. Motion carried.
Communications.
Maureen reported there are several items of communication:
- Swim area. The past 2 years we have installed new noodles due to dirty lake and we need hardware replaced. Swim area should be in around Memorial Day.
- Docking Solutions is behind due to high water levels and flooding. Docking Solutions, who stores, installs and takes out our pier has said they are currently behind in pier installation due to flooding and high water level. The past couple of years they weren’t able to get the pier in until about the 3rd week in June because of the lake being so high…..I would assume that may also be the case this year. We’ve investigated other pier systems like Pier d Nort that would be more do it yourself so we could well….do it ourselves, whenever we want. Steve actually saw a demonstration when he visited them in St Germaine and he was amazed. I’m sure the search for a good pier solution will continue in the future.
- Flowers – Betty planted flowers at the entrance last year and we have allotted to plant at the pavilion this year.
- Meet your Neighbors – Kelly started MYN feature on the website so we can introduce new owners to the community. It is for everyone so if you are interested in being featured, fill out form under Meet Your
Neighbors tab on website or email talktous@lakewoodpoa.org .
- Picnic – Eric stated that family dynamics have changed a little and participation has diminished. Board has decided to postpone picnic and looking at new events like Movie Nights or Ice Cream Social. Looking for suggestions for events we can have. Email talktous with your ideas.
Old Business.
Maureen reported that the electric gate is finally in. We have been actively talking about this since 2013. The Board, especially Kelly and Maureen, worked hard to generate and save money to make this happen. It’s a great investment for Lakewood and it increases our property values and secures our lakefront. The circular driveway was installed in
September and the gate was installed in October. Electric was just hooked up in the last few weeks and Steve and
Eric will be handing out gate cards at the pavilion from 1:30 to 3 today. Stop down there during this time to pick up your card. The rest will be mailed in the next couple of weeks. If you have any questions in the future about this gate you will most likely find a quick answer on the membership tab of our website under Gate FAQ’s or email talktous.
New Business.
Maureen reported that we have a couple of items to discuss.
- Lakefront Needs – The Board is thinking ahead to the future and is investigating a new roof for the pavilion.
We will be replacing sections of the split rail fence as needed in the next few years. As a reminder, please stay off the fence as it wasn’t made to bear the weight of a person to sit on or climb over.
- We hired a Attorneys Husch Blackwell to help us with our bylaws and covenants/restriction, which are outdated as they were written in the 1980. We have budgeted money for 2019 to counsel with a property owners association attorney that specializes in HOA/POA law. As a Board, we feel this is in the best interest of all Lakewood property owners to have an assessment by legal professionals to make any recommendations that would be pertinent to our association moving into the future. Current Bylaws and Covenants & Restrictions are on our website. They are 35 years old. There have been amendments, most notably the 6th Amendment pretty recently. The updating really involves cleaning up the language and making it more specific. Proposed areas we are updating include: Definition of a Single Dwelling, Prohibited and Temporary Structures and Building Guidelines, Rentals/Leasing and Rules of Enforcement.
President’s Wrap Up.
Eric stated 2018 was another great year to put in the Lakewood books. Most notably the installation of our long awaited electric gate last Fall. He and Steve will be down at the lakefront from 1:30 – 3:00, handing out gate cards.
Homeowners can get up to 3 cards, 1st one free, $30 each (plus $4 if they are mailed) for additional. Instructions are on the website. Maureen and Kelly worked hard to make the gate happen. Maureen, a professional advertising salesperson, has offered to continue selling the advertising for a commission. If homeowners have ideas for businesses to advertise, contact talktous. Keeping up website is very important. We have plans in the future to potentially get a camera to stream live view of lakefront and security for lakefront and gate. Not raising dues this year but possibly next year. Expenditures at lake. Reserve is $14,000. Eric would like to build that fund up to a year of budget ($22,000-23,000) without special assessments. Eric wants to conscript everyone to be participate involved with the Bylaws and Covenants changes. Biggest challenge we’ve taken on. Reinforce our home values. Bring us into
21st Century. There are a lot of different interpretations of what is acceptable around the neighborhood. 75% has to approve changes. We will roll out communications on bylaws changes and voting process on our website.
We will miss Maureen and Kelly who were instrumental in so many things – the website, gate, picnic, etc.
Welcome to Amy Volkmann and Stephanie Janecek, new Board members. Encourage people to get involved and be active. 50/50 Raffle- $139 total $70 to winner Harvey (Amy Volkmann) Lot 157. Two winners for Northern Bay Gift Cards – Robert Bezemec Lot 341 and Jackie Barnette Lot 152.
Member Comments.
Amy Volkmann Lot 157 Explain next steps/timeframe for Covenants Bylaws revisions. Eric said we have just received edits back from the attorney. We are limiting communications to them because we get charged for emails and calls to them. Suggested revisions will be going up on the website in the next two weeks. Mailings should go out in the next 4-6 weeks. Mid July or August. Probably 30 days to respond. Make sure you update us if you move or change address. Page on website dedicated to these changes is still in the works.
John Heighway Lot 329. 75% per individual change or for whole package? Do people have a chance to voice thoughts? Eric said we will certainly take homeowners’ suggestions into account. Email questions, concerns, thoughts to talktous@lakewoodpoa.org . Each change will be voted on, yes or no. Large amount of information but we will break in to separate items. 8-10 big changes. The changes are common in other POAs in Wisconsin and nationwide. Husch Blackwell is very prestigious law firm and experts in this field. Question 2 how does electric gate increase our property values? Eric said we have dealt with vandalism, people who were not members using our lakefront, other area properties telling their renters that they can use our lakefront. A lot of situations we have had to address over the years – trash dumped, broken picnic tables, stolen benches and tables, porta-potties tipped over, bushes stolen, abuse of docks, broken signs, etc. The expense of repairing comes out of homeowners’ pockets.
Mailing and printing beach passes expense will be gone. We will have security, cameras to protect our property. See our property value grow instead of spending money to fix things.
Michol Startup Lot 82 – Will there be a place on the website where we can see what everyone has asked or discussed? Eric responded that we want discourse and involvement and questions and concerns from homeowners.
We would tweak to gain 75% approval.
Tom Conway Lot 183 What happens if gate malfunctions and you are inside. Eric stated they will be getting trained on the gate but there will be a release. We don’t anticipate anyone getting stuck inside. Tom also asked what happens if there is an emergency vehicle that needs to gain access. Eric replied that there is a keypad for emergency. We can activate remotely.
Maria (Sachs) Lot 85/86 Q & A on website is good but wondering how to activate gate to open when you are a bicycle inside the gate, how to exit. Motion sensored and metal detector. Walk around gate.
Stephanie Janecek Lot Why is gate card so expensive for extra cards? Determination by the Board to set the $30 per card price since it was not too much but enough to discourage losing. Card cost is $10 each.
Amy Volkmann Lot 157 Can we give secret code to Emergency services. Eric said they will consider and discuss.
Scot Geiger Lot 168 Regarding boat launch. Attended Strongs Prairie meeting and got DNR contact name. Learned that it costs $303 for the permit plus cost to excavate. We are allowed to take certain amount from lake and put on beach. Last dredging was 2009. It has gotten shallow. Eric will get dredging on schedule to discuss. We will likely be raising dues in 2020 to take care of dredging and other things that need to be done at lakefront.
Adjournment.
Motion to adjourn made by Eric, seconded by Amy Volkmann. All approved. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 11:17 am
[After Adjournment, Eric announced that Terry Lipchow Lot 269 has volunteered to be “neighborhood watch security captain”. The Association will get him a sign for his car that says Lakewood Security. Note: This was not put to a vote or approved by the membership and was an announcement after the official adjournment].
Respecfully submitted,
Maureen Bain
Secretary, Lakewood Property Owners Association