Board of Director’s Meeting Minutes 9-26-21

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

Thursday, August 26, 2021 

MEETING MINUTES

Board Members Present:  Jeff Fuell, Scott Giska, Dave Hafner, Patricia Hawkins, Steve Siereveld

August Motions:

  • Approval of Financial Statement—Treasurer
  • Approval of July 2021 Minutes—Board Secretary
  • Approval of Performance Bonds for Return 08/26/2021—Architectural Committee
  • Second Reading for Proposed Changes to Rental Rules—Board Secretary

Call to Order:  Scott Giska

President Scott Giska called the Board of Directors Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance:

The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance.

President’s Report:  Scott Giska

Good evening everyone, and thank you so much for joining us. 

I trust you have all had a great summer enjoying all the amenities that make HVL the very special home it is for us!

  • ïI want to thank Paul Rolfes and his team for keeping us safe on the lake. The board continues to believe there is a place for all of us on the lake, regardless of your desired activity or definition of recreation. We need to get better in how we manage various activities, and we will use this fall and winter to review our plans for lake management next year. To help us all work together better with various interests and perspectives, we are also developing a code of conduct we will all follow across our volunteer positions that include clubs, committees and board positions. No one will be granted special status, including all five of us that face you tonight. On this topic, I will leave you with this…”Volunteerism is a privilege in our community, it’s not a right!” We will all be held to a much higher standard to serve each other.
  • ïThank you Miranda Wintz and her team at the pool and beach for making those experiences delightful and safe, as well!
  • ïJason Craig and his maintenance team for helping us every day to better polish our community and repair issues most never see. It never stops for this team!
  • ïOur golf course is booming and profitable, so thank you to Brian Krinsky and his team that are making it happen. We will next turn our attention to longer-investments needed to retain our membership that is now over 280 members and growing!
  • ïAll of our clubs are so active, so thank you to all members that make these events possible. If you attended any recent events, you know how well they are ALL delivered!
  • ïLast, but not least, David Wismann has a talented and dedicated staff that make so much happen for all of us. Please take time when you can to sincerely thank them!

I’ve been talking about improved planning and budgeting for our calendar year ’22. Let me provide you a flavor on what’s coming:

  • Leadership in HVL extends beyond a board member, community manager or committee chair. We have leaders everywhere, and we want to listen more, and thoughtfully engage more with these key leaders in planning next year and into our future. Tonight, I’m announcing the formation of the HVL Leadership and Planning Council. Your Board will select those members, that include the board starting with the chairs of key committees, clubs, and extending to other homeowners and staff who have exhibited key leadership attributes over the last several years. 
  • Our mission is challenging, but very straightforward. We will establish project priorities and next year’s budget with the main goals being threefold:
  1. Maintaining and improving or greatest assets under the strategy of “take better care of what we have”,
  2. prioritizing funded projects that will get us to our lofty goals and standards we can all be proud of, and
  3. helping us understand, with your voice, what we want in HVL for the future. There will be no more new amenities until we get our arms, energy, and budgets around what currently needs more attention.

Watch for updates and town halls this fall to share our plans with you. By Thanksgiving, we want our 2022 plans finalized, so we can focus on month by month execution starting on January 1st. Enjoy the rest of our meeting!

Treasurer’s Report:  Jeff Fuell

Financial Position for the month of July 2021:

Our Cash Position on July 1, 2021—$413,132.00

Ending Cash on July 31, 2021—$819,013.00

Note:

  1. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
  2. HVL POA plans annually for a balanced budget. (i.e., anticipated annual expenses are planned to not exceed anticipated annual income) 
  3. Some infrequent expenses are predictable such as replacement of vehicles, maintenance of our roads, the many lake dams, swimming pool liner, lake dredging etc.  Funds are escrowed each year to cover those future expenses and are included in the totals. 
  4. Projected cash at year end is generally equal to zero dollars plus escrowed funds for above mentioned expenses as well as necessary reserves.  Reserves include two months of operating capital, capital for asset purchases, and Architecture bond payments to be refunded.
  5. All financials will be audited by an outside auditor annually.
  • Approval of Financial Statements

Motion made by Dave Hafner and seconded by Steve Siereveld.  Motion passed 5-0.

Golf Course Report:  Dave Hafner

  • 7/31/21 month end cash position was $350,000.00.
  • HVLGC was awarded a $10,000.00 grant from SEI Chamber of Commerce.
  • Membership update:  Seven new members signed up in August– total membership 279.
  • August and September have eight outings scheduled.
  • Monday and Thursday night leagues started the fall sessions on August 2nd.
  • Total Revenue Jan 1st thru July 31st was $627,000.00.

Board Secretary Report:  Patricia Hawkins

  • Approval of July 2021 Minutes

Motion made by Jeff Fuell and seconded by Steve Siereveld.  Motion passed 5-0.

Community Manager’s Report

 Dave Wismann’s report was presented by Scott Giska.

We had to close the office for two days last week due to COVID 19 concerns. When I tested positive, the staff was expected to test as well, since we are in daily contact, and they could not come in until those results came back. The offices were cleaned in the meantime, and we were able to allow activities to resume without interruption in the rest of the building. 

Maintenance

  • Thank you for allowing us to clean up the emergency yard waste area by placing yard waste in the appropriate container.
  • The maintenance team has continued working on some larger projects, taking advantage of the dry weather. 

Golf Course

  • We continue to enjoy great attendance and the weather has been great!
  • The HVL Riders have their outing this Friday, August 27. There may be a couple of openings for teams if you are interested in supporting this fine organization.
  • September outings:
  1. 10th Chamber of Commerce 
  2. 18th Fish and Game 
  3. 27th Lawrenceburg High School

COMMITTEE AND CLUB REPORTS:

Architecture Committee Report:  Tom Cross

Bond previously approved by the Board of Directors on 7/28/2021 via email: 

Lot # 1372H Brandon Shumate

Property Address 20584 Longview Drive Bond Amount-$500.00

City, State, Zip Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Dues Owed-$0

Fine/Fees Owed-$0

Approval of Performance Bonds for Return 08/26/202:

Lot # 322H Daniel Bihn

Property Address 19876 Overlook Circle Bond Amount-$2000.00

City, State, Zip Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Dues Owed-$0

Fine/Fees Owed-$0

Lot # 802H Edward Brueggeman

Property Address 20848 Lakeview Drive Bond Amount-$500.00

City, State, Zip Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Dues Owed-$0

Fine/Fees Owed-$0

Lot # 2819H Steven Fryer

Property Address 1742 Ridgewood Circle Bond Amount-$500.00

City, State, Zip Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Dues Owed-$0

Fine/Fees Owed-$0

Lot # 278H Brad & Carl Trauth

Property Address 423 Hickory Road Bond Amount-$2000.00

City, State, Zip Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Dues Owed-$0

Fine/Fees Owed-$0

Lot # 1140H Thomas Lindeman

Property Address 20343 Meercham Way Bond Amount-$500.00

City, State, Zip Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Dues Owed-$0

Fine/Fees Owed-$0

Lot # 1328H Marvin Roberts

Property Address 20463 Longview Drive Bond Amount-$500.00

City, State, Zip Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Dues Owed-$0

Fine/Fees Owed-$0

Motion to approve made by Jeff Fuell and seconded by Patricia Hawkins.  Motion passed 5-0.

Finance Committee Report

Kyle Packer’s report was presented by Jeff Fuell.  Finance is asking for approval of the May and June financials for the POA and the golf course.

Motion made by Dave Hafner and seconded by Steve Siereveld.  Motion passed 5-0.

Future Planning Committee:  George Lortz

No report

Lakes Committee:  Dave Patterson

  • There will be no further discussion of high waves or dangerous wakes, etc. due to several on-going related activities.  The rule will remain unchanged.  We will concentrate on better enforcement. The board fully supports this.
  • Maintenance is working to get the lake status lights working the way they were originally designed and installed, and they anticipate that they would be fixed yet this week. 
  • We’re also working with Rich Gannon to improve communication from committees and the board to the community.
  • The budget will include the funding for the bait fish, which I believe was $6,500. 
  • It will also include the funds for the annual Kids Fishing Derby, $750.

Fish & Game Club Report

  • The club’s annual golf outing is scheduled for September 18th at the Hidden Valley Golf Club.
  • The lakes signs are scheduled to be replaced this summer with correct and up-to-date information.

Lake Patrol Report

  • Seven citations since the last meeting. One was for two on a tube, then the same person received another citation within two weeks for five on a tube.
  • The Luau was a success again thanks to the efforts of Lake Patrol and the deputies.

Lake Statistics Report

  • Gerald Youngreported that the water quality measurements were good and typical for this time of year.

Small Lakes Maintenance Report

  • Someone reported that the aerators on Kathy and Paradise weren’t working.  Maintenance is addressing this issue. 

Dredging

  • The dredging is over for this year.  They estimated that they still had about five weeks of work on the Sandamont Cove and then needed to get to Crystal Lake.  Timing of this and other dredging work will depend on funding available.  Dredging can’t be the only tool to keep our lake from silting in.  We need to monitor the creeks feeding the lake and find other ways of preventing the silt from entering the lake.  This will be an on-going discussion.  We would like to see some reporting regarding how much material was removed, and how deep the water was before and after the dredging.

Adding Extension to the Handicapped/Kayak Launching Dock

  • The maintenance crew had requested that this project be addressed once the lake is at winter pool.

Lake Studies

  • School will be starting soon, so Dr. Lorentz will then be able to reschedule for the students.

Eco-Harvester Update

  • No report

Future Planning

  • We would like to continue escrowing funds for additional dredging in the future.  We also need to continue escrowing for Willie’s dock replacement and for silt containment.  The low-level lighting for the walkway from Willies to the docks was to have been done this summer in conjunction with other projects, but the cost turned out to be greater than originally anticipated, so it was delayed. 

Educating Property Owners on What Lawn Chemicals to Use

  • Linda Hartmann was working on this.  It was suggested that we look into licensing or permitting the lawn treatment companies that operate here and educating them as to what they are and aren’t allowed to use.  This would not, however, address individual property owners who treat their own lawns.  This is an issue for everyone, not just lakefront property owners as the watershed that feeds the lake is somewhere in the 1600-acre range, which includes a very large portion of the Hidden Valley Lake community.  

Parks and Recreation Committee Report:  Amy Ayers-Wilson

Pool and Beach

  • Pool will continue to have lifeguards.  However, given the decreasing lifeguard staff, the beach will be “swim at your own risk”.  Resident passes will continue to be monitored.
  • Pool income for July guest fees – $1,027 ($1,200 in June)

Nature Trail Task Force

  • Meeting with Jeff Dickman on Monday, August 23, 2021 to work on adding trails to the master map.
  • Finalized design for signage–meeting with Marty Reynolds at the Sign Store in Lawrenceburg. 
  • Due to the recent storms, most of the trails are a mess due to the dead ash trees falling.

Safety and Elections Committee Report:  Don Morris

No report

Civic Club Report:  Denice Siereveld

The Labor Day Bash will be held on Sunday, September 5th from noon until midnight.  Key events include:

  • “Touch a Truck”
  • 9/11 Steel Memorial
  • Pet Zone/Parade
  • Corn Hole Tournament
  • Bands Last Call and Flipside
  • And so much more!

Judicial Panel:  Bruce Plashko

No report

Old Business:

  • Approval of Second Reading for Proposed Changes to Rental Rules

Patricia Hawkins presented details on why this rule was necessary and noted that some clarifying changes were added to the text.  The proposed rule now reads:

3-3-1. Rental Properties

a. Property owners/landlords renting properties in Hidden Valley Lake must submit a completed HVL Rental Property Registration Form to the POA Office for each property rented.  (This agreement is located in Appendix A of these bylaws.)

b. Property owners/landlords must pay the POA a $1,000 registration fee and an annual $5,000 fee for each rental property.  There is a minimum $10,000 assessment for failure to register a property or pay the annual fee.

c. Any property owner who is currently (as of 9/1/21) leasing their property is eligible to apply to the Board of Directors for a variance on the registration fee and annual fee.  Property owners who choose to rent their homes after 9/1/21 may also apply for this variance.  Only one variance can be granted for each POA membership.

d. All fees are waived for property owners granted a variance, except for a one-time $100 processing fee.

e. Renters must sign and adhere to the guidelines contained in this HVL POA Renters Agreement and submit the fully executed document to the HVL POA Office (The HVL POA Renters Agreement is located in Appendix A of these bylaws).

f. Property rental periods may not be less than six months and all renters must be registered with the HVL POA.

13-3-2.  Renter’s Assessment to Use Amenities

Renters of property at Hidden Valley Lake Subdivision must pay an annual Renter Amenities Assessment in order to use the amenities provided by the HVL POA.  The assessment for a renter and their immediate family to use the amenities at HVL is $300.

Several guests in attendance had questions about the proposed new rule, and Ms. Hawkins answered them.  After all were addressed, Dave Hafner made a motion to approve the changes.  Steve Siereveld seconded the motion.  It passed 5-0.

New Business

There was no new business. 

Adjournment:

Dave Hafner made the motion to adjourn and Jeff Fuell seconded it.  All voted in favor.  

Minutes published in this paper are abbreviated.  A full account can be heard online at www.hiddenvalleylakeindiana.com.