HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, October 22, 2020 7:00 PM
Unapproved
Board Members, Committee Chairs, Club Representatives, employees, and a limited number
of residents were in attendance.
Board of Directors Members Present: Scott Giska, Dave Hafner, Patricia Hawkins, Robert Starks, and Donna Yetzer
Board of Directors Members Absent: None
Community Manager Present: Dave Wismann
October 22, 2020 Motions:
- Approval of September 2020 Minutes — Board Secretary
- Approval of Performance Bond Returns—Architecture Committee
- Approval of Lot Split—Architecture Committee
- Approval of September 2020 Financial Statements
- Approval of 2021 Budget
Call to Order: Patricia Hawkins
President Patricia Hawkins called the Board of Director Meeting to order at 7:00pm
Pledge of Allegiance:
The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance.
President’s Report: Pat Hawkins
I know you all join me in welcoming Dave Wismann to his first board meeting as our community manager. While he has attended our meetings for many months, his accountability at our meetings, as well as his on-going responsibilities, have increased dramatically. I will loosely quote Shakespeare here “heavy is the head that wears the crown”. While Dave’s burden may be greater, we are confident in his abilities and look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead.
On October 21, Dearborn County received a most unwanted designation – the status of being a COVID “red” county. This means that the coronavirus is spreading at a high level here. County health officials are encouraging residents to be more vigilant with social distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing. Given this designation, we contacted the Health Department and asked specifically about events such as the Halloween Walk and this weekend’s soccer tournament on our fields. We were advised that these events can take place. We also plan to have traditional trick-or-treating on Halloween. We will notify you if any of this needs to change.
Our bylaws require that we hold an annual POA meeting and, most recently; these meetings have taken place in April. COVID shutdowns were in full swing in April of 2020 and the board chose to delay the meeting. We have agreed on the need to have one, and plan to host it on December 3 which would be the date of our scheduled November/December meeting. At this meeting, we will present the 2020 Doerflein Award and ask committee and club chairs to report briefly (five minutes or less) on 2020 activity in their respective groups. We will advise the community of the location of the meeting given our desire to maximize attendance while respecting necessary COVID precautions.
Treasurer’s Report: Robert Starks
All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
Financial Position as of the end of September 2020:
Our Cash Position on September 1, 2020, $1,257,073.00
Ending Cash on September 30, 2020, $736,597.00
Notes:
- The Finance Committee has completed work on the 2021 budget.
- All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
- HVL POA plans annually for a balanced budget. (i.e., anticipated annual expenses are planned to not exceed anticipated annual income).
- 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. 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.
- All financials are audited by an outside auditor annually.
Secretary’s Report: Scott Giska
- Approval of September 2020 Minutes
Motion made by Donna Yetzer and seconded by Dave Hafner to approve the September 2020 meeting minutes. Motion passed 5-0.
Community Manager’s Report: Dave Wismann
Crystal Lake
We began dredging operations at Crystal Lake due to issues getting equipment in and out of the main lake. Maintenance is working with the dredgers to create a more efficient plan which will be implemented after the normal opening of the sluice gate on November 2. It is likely we will need to keep the sluice gate closed for a few weeks after November 2 to finish the project to allow the dredging equipment enough water to move around.
I just received certification paperwork for the dam and a letter from the engineer stating he has sent it in to the Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources.
Pool Task Force
Members met on Wednesday, October 14 for the final time this year and plan to meet again in February.
COVID-19
We continue to adjust operations considering COVID-19 and, again this week, were challenged to find solutions to yet another issue when the county was declared Code Red. We make every effort to follow the response system implemented by the State of Indiana and the Dearborn County Health Department.
Maintenance
Our maintenance crew continues to catch up on smaller projects and repairs that are long overdue. They will be assisting the dredging operation as needed. We are also preparing for winter, staging equipment and receiving salt deliveries for, yes…snow removal.
Deputies
We had a huge turnover this year and now have a full staff of deputies. They are in various stages of training.
Julie Mason, Lot 2224, Julie thought it would be a good idea to introduce the new deputies to the community. Rich will be introducing the deputies in the Echoes over the next few months. Julie also mentioned that she loved the pool being opened that extra month and took advantage of the adult swim.
COMMITTEE AND CLUB REPORTS:
Architecture Committee Report: Tom Cross
- Performance Bonds for Return 10/22/2020
Lot # 2237H Jennifer Sieble & Thad Hare
Property Address 1552 Sandamont Bond Amount $500.00
City, State, Zip Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Dues Owed $0
Fine/Fees Owed $0
Lot # 1785H Richard & Susan Ratto
Property Address 1341 Heidi Haven Drive Bond Amount $500.00
City, State, Zip Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Dues Owed $0
Fine/Fees Owed $0
Lot # 2380H Ryan & Ashley King
Property Address 1354 Golfview Court Bond Amount $2000.00
City, State, Zip Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Dues Owed $0
Fine/Fees Owed $0
Lot # 1165H Sarah & Michael Thompson
Property Address 21022 Zurich Trail Bond Amount $500.00
City, State, Zip Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Dues Owed $0
Fine/Fees Owed $0
Lot # 2982H Gordon & Tammy Weis
Property Address 21323 Fox Ridge Road Bond Amount $2000.00
City, State, Zip Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Dues Owed $0
Fine/Fees Owed $0
Lot # 2870H Randall Dozier
Property Address 21132 Sunnyridge Drive Bond Amount $500.00
City, State, Zip Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Dues Owed $0
Fine/Fees Owed $0
Motion made by Robert Starks and seconded by Scott Giska to approve the Performance Bond Returns. Motion passed 5-0.
The bond return documents were signed by Tom Cross, Jesse Jones, Dave Wismann, Bob Maudlin, Frank Goodrich, and Dan Tester.
- Lot Split Request
Ronald & Rebecca Hamblin
Lot # 669 (sits on Edelweiss Lane)
1484 Echo Trail
Lawrenceburg, IN 47025
Motion made by Dave Hafner and seconded by Scott Giska to approve the Lot Split. Motion passed 5-0.
Dave Patterson, Lot # 1533H, asked that we remove the letter “H” after a lot number? Dave said that the “H” is not legal when recording and should be removed. This is something that the POA office did to represent the lot with a house. Dave Wismann will discuss this with the POA office.
Finance Committee Report: Kyle Packer
- Approve September 2020 Financial Statements
Motion made by Robert Starks and seconded by Scott Giska to approve the September 2020 Financial Statements. Motion passed 5-0.
- Approve of 2021 Budget
Motion made by Robert Starks and seconded by Scott Giska to approve the 2021 Budget. Motion passed 5-0.
- Approve of the 2021 HVL Golf Course Budget
Motion made by Robert Starks and seconded by Dave Hafner to approve the 2021 Golf Course Budget. Motion passed 5-0.
Judicial Panel: Bruce Plashko
No report
Future Planning Committee: George Lortz
No report
Lakes & Parks Committee Report: Dave Patterson
Jack Sutton was present as a representative of One Dearborn and gave an abbreviated presentation on the Dearborn County Trails project and how they might incorporate or connect with HVL trails.
David Wright was present to report on his progress with the Frisbee golf project. Wayne commented that he thought the Lauren Hill Memorial Park off Fairway was planning on having a Frisbee golf course included with the park. We asked David for a layout of his proposed course within Hidden Valley and suggested that he find out more about the Greendale effort to put in a Frisbee course.
Fish & Game
Ken Horn reported that the golf scramble was held at HVL Golf Course and was a huge success. They are about done with outings and are winding down activities for the season.
Lake Patrol
Paul had been off for two weeks due to medical issues. The lake patrol will be on the lake through the end of October. The sluice gate opening is tentatively scheduled for Monday, November 2.
Lake Statistics
Lake continues to be in excellent shape with oxygen at or greater than 5 ppm down to 21 ft. which is very good. All readings were normal and within the ranges reported over the past years.
Small Lake Maintenance
Crystal Lake emergency spillway is complete. Dredging should be starting soon.
Current/Active Business
Ken Horn requested we discuss the number of limits on fish and how we can better enforce the limit rules. He is concerned that there are a few individuals regularly taking more fish, especially pan fish, from the lake than they should. There was a discussion of limits per boat. From the rules in the POA Handbook, there will be only 1 limit per day per POA member with a maximum of 2 limits per boat per day. If anyone suspects a violation, contact the Lake Patrol or the HVL Deputies.
Covered Boat lifts and shore screens – This topic was covered completely in last month’s report. We feel that it is now in the purview of the Architecture Committee. Jill and I are available to present this to the Architecture Committee if desired. Once it is out of the Architecture Committee, then we need to solicit input from the community.
Marina Dock Replacement – Still need to install the boards to prevent the pontoon tips from gouging the cubes. This will be dealt with once the season is over and the lake is at winter pool.
Task Force Updates
Walking trail improvements – John Getzendanner will be getting his team back together. Their first area to pursue needs to be Crystal Lake, and then the unpaved trails in the 77 acres.
Prohibiting Fishing from All POA Docks – The committee discussed this at length and in the end decided not to pursue prohibiting fishing from all POA docks at this time.
High Wave Task Force – Dave will be contacting Rich Gannon for assistance in requesting help/members for the task force from the community.
Lake access from the Cedar Cliff and Cravenhurst cove – There is potential for docks being built in the cove and will need the Architecture Committee involved.
Chris Lorentz, Ph. D., Professor of Biological Sciences and Director, Biology Field Station, from Thomas More College presented his proposal on dredging and taking care of the lakes. We need to see the full proposal, but what we have heard, it is an exceptional opportunity for HVL.
Mechanical Harvesting of Weeds – Dave will be picking up this project. He has all the information that Bruce had obtained.
Julie Mason, Lot 2224, has interest in the trails. She wanted to know if Dearborn County was connecting the trails and if the trails would accommodate a golf cart. Dave suggested that she visit Dearborn County’s website for more information on the trails.
Julie also asked about fishing off the docks and wanted to know if a small dock on the damn was still being considered. Dave said this was no longer necessary due to everyone being able to fish off the docks.
Safety and Elections Committee Report: Bonnie Starks
We had guests at our meeting that were concerned with speeding accidents on Morningside coming off Georgetown. We suggested that a speeding sign go up immediately and possibly a speed table next year for both entrances from Stateline and Georgetown Roads.
- Approve the POA Election procedures.
Motion made by Donna Yetzer and seconded by Scott Giska to accept this for discussion. Motion passed 5-0
This is a first reading of our nomination changes for the Board elections.
1-3-6. HVL POA Board of Directors Election Procedures
a. The nomination forms for the HVL POA Board of Directors shall be made available on-line at the HVL web site or at the POA office. A notice of the registration deadline will be made public via the following methods when possible, starting in November thru the application deadline.
a. Home page banner on HVL webpage
b. Minimum quarter page ad in the Echoes
c. Monthly Listserv message
d. Announced at all board meetings
e. Election notice placed in first billing of each year which goes out in January
f. Posted on exit signs
b. Nominations shall be closed, and forms received in the HVL POA Office by the deadline, which will be the Noon on the first Friday in February. In order to be valid, a current photo, résumé of the nominee, and the Candidate Résumé Outline must accompany the Nomination Form. The above four items shall be submitted to the HVL POA Office by the candidate or a representative of the candidate if the candidate is unable to submit them in person.
c. After the nominations are closed, candidate nominations shall be validated at the HVL POA Office to assure that each candidate is qualified to run for election. The candidate’s bios and photo will be placed in the February and March echoes.
d. A ballot, ballot return envelope, and candidate résumé shall be mailed to all HVL POA members by the 3rd Monday in March. All ballots in their signed and sealed ballot return envelopes shall be returned by mail or in person to the HVL POA Office by the 3rd Monday in April.
Ken Horn, Lot 2790, asked if this is for POA Board voting. He also wanted to know how many seats were up. There will be two seats up in 2021. The two seats for 2021 will be for Donna Yetzer and Scott Giska.
Civic Club Report:Kevin Grosse
The next event is the Halloween Bash this Saturday, October 24, 7-Midnight at the Golf Club.
Jessica Howe Mueller is stepping down as the President of the Civic Club. Denice Siereveld will be the president.
- Approve Denice Siereveld as President of the Civic Club
Motion made by Donna Yetzer and seconded by Dave Hafner to accept Denice Siereveld as the President of the Civic Club. Motion passed 5-0
Old Business:
None
New Business:
Julie Mason, Lot 2224, mentioned that the residents are very confused on the voting locations and felt that the POA should send out information on this.
Rich Gannon has this information posted in the Echoes, Facebook, at the POA office and on the List Serve.
Adjournment: 7:50pm
Motion to adjourn made by Donna Yetzer and seconded by Dave Hafner.
Minutes Prepared by Gina
Minutes published in this paper are abbreviated and a full account can be heard online at www.hiddenvalleylakeindiana.com.