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Board of Directors Minutes, May 27, 2021

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES

Thursday, May 27, 2021 

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

Board Members Absent:  None

Community Manager David Wismann:  Present

May Motions:

  • Approval of March and April 2021 Minutes—Board Secretary
  • Approval of Bond Returns—Architecture Committee
  • Request approval of motion for second reading of a proposed change to the bylaws 4-25-11—Not Following Approved Plans Assessment—Architecture Committee
  • Approval of 10-foot front variance for Lot Number 1142—Architecture Committee
  • Appeal of denied permit request for Lot Numbers 181/182—Architecture Committee
  • Approval of the April Finance Committee Financial Statements—Finance Committee
  • Request approval of motion for first reading – Change the first sentence of 13-7-1. Collection Procedures for a Home, to read: “…shall be assessed a late fee, on a monthly basis, of 2%.”—Finance Committee
  • Request approval of motion for first reading – Change the first sentence of 13-7-2. Collection Procedures for a Vacant Lot, to read: “…shall be assessed a late fee, on a monthly basis, of 2%.”—Finance Committee
  • Request approval of motion for first reading of proposal for ShoreStation  boat lift canopy frame and cover—Lakes Committee
  • First reading to add restrictions on political and issue signs outside of elections—Safety, Security, & Elections

Call to Order:

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

Pledge of Allegiance:

The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance.

President’s Report:  Scott Giska

I’m filling some pretty big shoes, and I’m honored to do that.  I thank everybody for their support.  Pat’s been in the president’s role for nine years.  She tells the story about Bill Acra who was the president at the time.  He said, “Pat I think you need to be president, and it kind of needs to start tomorrow.”  Off he went-no preparation, no documents, nothing!  So, she was kind enough to make sure that didn’t happen again.  She literally provided me a twelve-month calendar on everything that she does every single month.  My reaction was, “Oh, my, we had no idea.”,  so for everybody in the community that’s been here a long time and those that have not been here very long, we probably don’t appreciate over that nine year period of time what she’s done.  We owe her a tremendous amount of gratitude.  She operates with a ton of grace.  One of my favorite stories is when she was at Procter & Gamble her nickname was the velvet hammer.  She balances grace and that velvet hammer.  I’ve spent three years learning a lot from her, lots of phone calls, lots of conversations.  Why are we doing this, why are we doing that, what if we did this?  She was always gracious to take those calls, so I thought it would be appropriate with this nice crowd to all join me in a standing ovation.

Good evening everyone as we move into summer sunsets. We welcome everyone in person and those joining online! Post-COVID, we will continue to use Zoom to bring our meetings to those that can’t attend in person. 

I know everyone must be thrilled for an HVL Memorial Weekend with far less COVID restrictions hanging over our heads.  I want to do a special shout-out and sincere thank you to all of our HVL caregivers, educators and parents that worked through a very, very challenging year. Surely, it’s time for summer for everyone!

We have some new faces on our board providing new ideas, maintaining proven ideas that have worked before, and loads of new energy and passion that I’d like to introduce you to. For all of us moving forward, let’s collaborate and work together with positive intent. There is no THEY in HVL.  This is your POA and community.

Steve Siereveld was newly elected and is serving his first term. He is our Member-At-Large. Steve’s Board liaison responsibility is the Safety, Security, & Elections Committee and the newly formed Parks & Recreation Committee. He is also shadowing Dave Hafner with our golf course efforts and learning the Architecture processes and workload. We all know Steve from the Civic Club and will welcome the energy he brings every day.

Jeff Fuell who many know and is a new face to others! He was named to the board based on the election vote count. Jeff moved away from the valley and has returned to continue his long proud legacy of serving our community. Jeff was a previous Board President. Note, he is a rabid Elder Panther employee and fan. You know it’s a Jeff email when you see the purple font come across your screen! Jeff will serve as our Treasurer and has liaison responsibility to Kyle Packer’s Finance Committee. With the importance of maintaining a strong financial position, expect the entire board to interface more directly with Kyle and his team.

I would be remiss to not have you join me in thanking our departing board members, Donna Yetzer and Bob Starks who have served us with many years of dedication, a strong fiscal responsibility focus, and genuine passion and caring for every homeowner and all that is HVL.

In the spirit of time, and keeping you informed, allow me to share a few thoughts and action items:

This new board is transitioning and aligning very quickly and will continue its focus on some key areas:

  • ïUnder the hands-on board leadership of Dave Hafner, we are continuing to improve the profitability and golf customer experience for our course customers both residents and non-residents.  We hope to be back in front of you this fall to present a future look at an updated vision, business plan and investment needs of this important asset moving forward into 2022.
  • ïWe are forming a roads task force to help support our Community Manager in annual planning and budgeted improvements that are needed in the valley especially in problem areas on Alpine. 
  • ïWe will continue our focus on taking better care of what we have with high standards and with smart improvements made where necessary. The ongoing goal is to do things right the first time with community input when needed and within approved budgets!  I hope everyone has noticed the added trees at the Willie’s parking lot providing an attractive buffer for homes.
  • ïEvery new day presents challenges.  We know there are concerns, and we share them, about Rumpke’s trash site not far from us in Ohio.  We have met with Rumpke’s ownership and key leadership to express our concerns and understand what can be done to protect the interests of HVL. We will detail our efforts in upcoming communications but will encourage a Neighborhood Watch Group to help us manage the future. 

In closing, your board and David Wismann are working hard to onboard our new members and get to know each other’s strengths, share ideas for HVL, and align quickly on a documented operations plan based on community feedback.  As you would expect, we certainly will use our own eyes and ears as well! We will share more in future board meetings as we set an aggressive and prudent course for the next year and beyond. Thank you.  Have a great holiday weekend with your friends and families!

Treasurer’s Report:  Jeff Fuell

All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.

Financial Position for the month of April 2021:

Our Cash Position on March 1, 2021—$886,905.00

Ending Cash on April 31, 2021—$783,014.77

Notes:

  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.

Resident Bill Blantz had questions regarding differences between the income statement and the equity section.  Treasurer Jeff Fuell will look into it and let him know.

Golf Club Report:  Dave Hafner

I’d like to begin with an update on our mortgage for the purchase of the property.  Beginning in January 2015, we had a principal balance of $1,650,000.00.  Since that day, we’ve paid down almost $700,000 in principal on the mortgage.  I’m happy to report that we were able to strike a deal with Civista Bank several months ago to lower our rate 4.5% down to 3.55% fixed for five years.  There are eight and a half years left on the note.  There is a one-time possible adjustment on the rate that we were able to negotiate for a ceiling of 4.5%.  If interest rates increase over the next four or five years, we can’t pay more than 4.5% which is where we currently are.  This board has decided to put the extra savings from the lower rate against principal each month keeping the payment basically the same.  We believe it’ll reduce our payments by about four or five months.

On April 30, 2021, we had a cash balance of $285,000.  Budget for 2021 shows a $110,000 gain.  In 2019, we had 170 members at the golf club.  Right now, we’re closing in on 270 members, and I want to conclude with a little bit of a membership by age range.  One of the staff members put this together and of our 270 members, 14% of those members are in their 30s, 13% are in their 40s, 23% are in their 50s, and 28% are in their 60s.

Bill Blantz had some questions regarding the golf course finances and requested they be reported in Echoes.

Secretary’s Report:  Patricia Hawkins

  • Approval of March 2021 Board Meeting and April 2021 Annual Meeting Minutes

Patricia Hawkins made a motion to approve the minutes from our March board meeting and the April annual meeting.  Something interesting to note on this is that we do not have a quorum to vote on them.  There was only one other current board member present with her at these two meetings (Dave Hafner).

We are in favor of accepting these minutes and ask that they be accepted as the official record of both meetings.

Motion to approve the March 2021 Board Meeting and the April 2021 Annual Meeting minutes was made by Patricia Hawkins and seconded by Dave Hafner.  Motion passed 2-0.

Community Manager’s Report:  Dave Wismann

Office

The office will be open Saturday, May 29th from 8 am until noon.

The office will be closed on Monday, May 31st, in observance of Memorial Day.

Lake Study

Dr. Lorentz was here on May 25th with three students from Thomas More University.  Unfortunately, he was unable to complete the study.  His boat is too large to access the smaller lakes.  He is searching for other options, and residents have offered the use of their boats.  At worst, he will come back in the fall and study the main lake.

Dredging

Dredging continues in the main lake. They are currently in the Cravenhurst and Cedar Cliff area.  They had a small hiccup in operations when one of the barges sank.  It was recovered within days and has been taken out of commission.  Dredging resumed Monday, May 24th and they have made very good progress.

Maintenance

Our maintenance team has completed some of the larger projects we had on the shelf for a while as well as routine day-to-day operations.  We will soon be making some minor repairs to the front entrance sign and re-staining the gazebo.

The materials have been purchased to build four more kayak racks.

Golf Course

We continue to have a robust spring at the golf course.  Membership has increased to 274 members and rounds are up in May compared to last year.

Leagues 

Mondays–“Monday Night Men’s League” 

Wednesdays–“Ladies 9-Hole League” 

Thursdays–“Eagles Men’s League” 

June Golf Outings

We have completed three major golf outings:  Knights of Columbus, Bright Area Business Association, and a new Police/Fire Outing, all with great attendance.  June outings are as follows:

6/4 Elder 

6/14 Lawrenceburg Kiwanis

6/21 Infiniti Jewelers Wounded Warriors

6/28 Lawrenceburg Athletics

There are seven other outings scheduled for the summer and the staff is finalizing some outings for 

July.

Friday Night Mixed Couples

“Friday Night Mixed Couples” 

COMMITTEE AND CLUB REPORTS:

Architecture Committee:  Tom Cross

The following bylaw changes are being presented for a second reading:

a. If a person or his/her agent does not follow the plans approved by the Architecture Committee, including but not limited to following the dimensions and locations as approved, then the following assessment will be levied:  $500-$2000 plus Stop Work Order

b. If a person fails to obtain permission from the Architecture Committee to construct an improvement requiring Architecture Committee approval within these bylaws, the HVL POA may:

    1. Demand the removal of the improvement;

    2. Levy an assessment of $100-$1000 per month, until the improvement is removed or

        permission is granted; or

    3. May both assess the monthly fee stated above and demand removal.

Motion to approve was made by Dave Hafner and seconded by Jeff Fuell.  The motion passed 5-0.

  • Bond Returns

Lot # 0170H James & Aimee Jackson

Property Address 987 Hickory Road Bond Amount $500.00

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

Fine/Fees Owed $0

Lot # 2789H Devin Steele

Property Address 1791 Ridgewood Circle Bond Amount $2000.00

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

Fine/Fees Owed $0

Lot # 1881H/1880B Jean & Randy Rademacher

Property Address 1502 Aqua Vista Drive Bond Amount $2000.00

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

Fine/Fees Owed $0

Motion to approve was made by Patricia Hawkins and seconded by Steve Siereveld.  It passed 5-0.

  • Michelle & Mark Scott, Lot # 1142H, 20363 Meercham Way, request a 10’ variance to place a garage on the front elevation of the property.

The variance procedure was followed and the neighbors had no objections.  The Architecture Committee supports this variance.  The board voted 5-0 to grant the variance. 

  • Appeal of denied permit request for Stephen & Melissa Gulasy, Lots # 181/182H, 19967 Elm Drive

On April 21, Stephen and Melissa Gulasy came before Architecture asking to place a parking pad measuring 10’ x 21’ on their property.  The Gulasys already have an existing parking pad of 354 square feet located on the property.  Therefore, by using the bylaws as guidance, the committee denied that request.  

The Gulasys attended the meeting and explained their reasons for asking for this parking pad.  Their current driveway configuration (including a culvert) makes it difficult to manage the logistics of moving several cars and they need space to park an RV.   Much discussion followed with resident Julie Mason expressing support for their request and Phil Heitz, Lot #27, asking several questions.

Scott Giska asked for a motion to table the request until board members could visit the property.  Patricia Hawkins made the motion which was seconded by Steve Siereveld.  Motion passed 5-0.  

Finance Committee:  Bonnie Starks 

  • Request for approval of the April Finance Committee Financial Statements

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

  • Request approval of motion for first reading – Change the first sentence of 13-7-1. Collection Procedures for a Home, to read: “…shall be assessed a late fee, on a monthly basis, of 2%.”
  • Request approval of motion for first reading – Change the first sentence of 13-7-2. Collection Procedures for a Vacant Lot, to read: “…shall be assessed a late fee, on a monthly basis, of 2%.”

The board voted 5-0 to accept both motions for a first reading.  There was no discussion.

Future Planning Committee:  

  • No report or request

Lakes Committee:  Dave Patterson 

  • Motion for first reading of Proposal for ShoreStation boat lift canopy frame and cover
  1. A Change would need to be made to:  4-12-6 No Covers on Docks or Boat lifts

Current rule –

4-12-6.  No Covers on Docks or Boat Lifts

A dock and a boat lift may not have covers.

Proposed rule –

4-12-6.  Covers on Docks or Boat Lifts

  1. A dock may not have covers;
  2. A boat lift may have a ShoreStation Revolution frame and ShoreStation Revolution canopy cover as recommended and approved by the Architecture Committee.

Motion to accept for a first reading was made by Jeff Fuell and seconded by Dave Hafner.  Motion passed 5-0.

There was much discussion about the canopies.  Dave Patterson noted that a survey had been sent out on the subject and that the majority of property owners approved of the canopies.  Tom Cross, Architecture Committee Chair, asked for specific numbers.  There were 326 responses – 55% approved, 37% disapproved, and 8% had no opinion.  Mr. Cross also asked about the length that might protrude into the lake.  Mr. Patterson responded that each had to be approved by Architecture and that ShoreStation was specified so there would be uniformity and that he looked forward to working on the project with Architecture.  

Mr. Patterson thanked Eric Fox for chairing the last Lakes’ meeting and for representing them at the Annual Meeting.  He also noted that an extension has been added to the dock closest to the dam and spillway to facilitate drop-off and pick-up.  The committee has discussed an ECO Harvester as an alternative to chemicals in the lake. Ken Horn will put together the Project Request Form.

Fish & Game

As of this meeting, they have had three tournaments.  Fish were scarce due to the weather.  We have stocked the lake with 100 pounds of golden shiners in the four to five-inch range and 600 pounds of golden shiners in the two to three-inch range.  These are bait fish to help the size of the bass improve.

Lake Patrol

Paul Rolfes advised Lakes that no citations have been issued to date.  Several boats were not allowed on the lake the first week in May due to their lack of a sticker.  Lake Patrol is still looking for new members. 

Kayak Rentals

Four new racks have been approved and will be installed. 

High Wave Task Force

The committee continues to work on this issue looking to possibly modify the existing rule about high waves.  A committee member, Jon Dutton, drafted alternative language which was not acceptable in totality to the committee.  The committee will continue to work this issue. 

Parks & Recreation Committee:  Amy Ayers-Wilson

Pool opening day is Saturday.  The pool will open at noon and close at 8:00 p.m.  All the COVID restrictions will be lifted, but chairs will still be social distanced.  We purchased approximately 40 new chairs.  Guests will be allowed this year.  You will be allowed to bring in six guests for free through the season.  Your free passes are pre-loaded on your Hidden Valley Lake identification card.  Tom Cross asked about pool cleanliness.  Ms. Ayers-Wilson advised that the vacuuming system is broken and that employees clean manually.

We have a new guard hut at the beach for the guards to sit there for check-in.

Nature Trails Task Force

The next meeting will be held on Monday, June 21st at 7:00 p.m.  Volunteers should meet John Getzendanner at the ball field shelter.  The group will move on to a couple of trails at the top that are being cleaned out.  A goal is the installation of a sign at the ball fields, easily modified, that gives visitors a detailed plan of the trails.  

Finally, the group will go to Crystal Lake to clean up some downed trees.  This is a possible site for another trail.

Safety, Security & Elections Committee:   Don Norris

Don Norris introduced himself as the new committee chair.  They are looking for new members as they have recently lost several people.  Please contact Mr. Norris if interested.  They meet every other month.

The committee has researched applicable Indiana law regarding fireworks and has shared this information in Echoes.  This is in response to property owners’ complaints about fireworks usage in Hidden Valley Lake.

  • First Reading to add restrictions on political and issue signs outside of elections.

The committee would like to add language specifying that signs not associated with the current election are not permitted.  The board voted 5-0 to accept this for discussion.  Jeff Fuell made the motion and Dave Hafner seconded.  

Judicial Panel:

There was no report.

Civic Club:  Denise Siereveld

June 12th will be our first adult swim party.  It will start at 8:00 p.m. and end at midnight.  Hopefully, the weather is better.  July 17th will be our Annual Lake Float which will start at 3:00 p.m.  We need volunteers for our Labor Day Bash.

Old Business:  

There was no old business.

New Business: 

Phil Heitz had heard that some developers, working on low budgets, are buying lots and constructing houses 

that will be rental properties only.  He is concerned that this might have a detrimental effect on the community.

Scott Giska advised that the board is aware and is investigating.

Adjournment:

The Motion to Adjourn was made by Patricia Hawkins and seconded by Dave Hafner.  Motion passed 5-0. 

Please note that an audio recording of the entire meeting is on our website.