Hidden Valley Lake POA Board Minutes: March 23, 2017

Hidden Valley Lake Property Owners Association
Board of Directors Meeting
March 23, 2017
Unapproved

Board of Directors Present: Pat Hawkins, Tom Hamilton, Bill Minnery, and Robert Starks

Board of Directors absent: Donna Yetzer

Community Manager Present: Bruce Keller

Guests: None

President Pat Hawkins called the March 23, 2017 Board of Directors Meeting to order at 7 p.m. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance.

President’s Report: Pat Hawkins

We begin tonight by noting Don Yetzer’s passing. A one-time employee at Hidden Valley Lake, Don was a special mentor and friend to many on the board and was, until his health made it too difficult, a tireless volunteer for both Hidden Valley and Valley Rural Utility. In his volunteer roles, Don blended technical expertise with deft humor – a mix that ensured that he handled issues positively and successfully. We extend our deepest sympathy to his widow, and our fellow board member, Donna. We will miss him very much.

At the February board meeting, I advised that the board had a contract to purchase approximately 20 acres of land between our golf course and Georgetown Road. We have just completed the required inspections and there are no barriers to the purchase of this land. The closing will take place tomorrow morning, March 24.

At our annual meeting in April, we are going to start the conversation with you about what we should do with this land, as well as with the acreage we purchased on Stateline Road, and several out parcels that came with the golf course. This board has always believed that we should make major decisions with the input of property owners, and the April meeting will kick-off the process of determining what, if anything, will be put on that land.

Respectfully submitted,
Patricia Hawkins

Treasurer’s Report: Robert Starks

Please note that our financial audit for 2016 has been completed.

Treasurers Report, January 2017

Beginning Cash on January 1, 2017, $672,300.00
Ending Cash on January 31, 2017, $1,246,035.00
Financial Position as of the end of February, 2017
Beginning Cash on February 1, 2017, $1,246,035.00
Ending Cash on February 28, 2017, $1,220,143.00

Income as Budgeted           Income Actual
Month $189,322.00                 Month $199,200.00
YTD   $358,619.00                    YTD   $372,998.00

Expenses as Budgeted        Expenses Actual
Month $147,665.00                   Month $139,356.00
YTD   $289,143.00                     YTD   $271,586.00

Secretary’s Report: Robert Starks

  • Request approval of the February 23, 2017 Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Motion made by Tom Hamilton and seconded by Bill Minnery to approve February 23, 2017 Meeting Minutes. Motion passed unanimously.

Community Manager’s Report: Bruce Keller

Annual Board Meeting will be held at the HVL Golf Club on Thursday, April 27, 2017. Finger food and drinks will be served at 6:00pm. Board Meeting will begin at 7:00pm. No election announcements needed. There were two positions opened and two people ran for those positions. Bruce congratulated Robert Starks and Pat Hawkins on filling those positions.

Golf Course Managers Report: Pat Sullivan

Recently there were a couple functions at the Golf Club. Pat reminded everyone that the Golf Club is available to rent for parties.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Architecture Committee Report: Bruce Keller

  • Request approval of performance bond returns

Performance Bonds for Return 3/23/17

Michael & Nancy Maly, Lot # 2735HH
20552 Alpine Dr., Lawrenceburg, IN 47025
Bond Amount $500.00, Dues Owed $0, Fine/Fees Owed $0
Signed by Jason Craig, Jesse Jones, Mike Chenault, Bruce Keller

Motion for the return of the above Performance Bonds made by Robert Starks and seconded by Tom Hamilton. Motion passed unanimously.

  • Appeal: Mr. Gordon Weis, lots 2537 and 2538A, is appealing the decision of the Architectural Committee to deny a seawall. The reason for the denial is that he is not a lake front property. We also have a letter from VRUC in which they requested more information before they would approve.

Gordon Weis did not show.

Lakes Committee Report: Eric Fox

  • Appeal: Ms. Michele Kenton, Lot 2569, is appealing Lakes and Parks denial of her request for a second dock on Green Space. The property is a Lake Front property. The HVL Board has approved a POA rental dock for the owner to use and rent, not to exceed 120 square feet.

Appeal has been dropped and offer made by the board has been accepted by Michele Kenton. Pat Hawkins and Bruce Keller met with Michele Kenton and offered a smaller size dock of 12’ x 10’ on the green space. There was much discussion among HVL residents on this dock placement and approval.

Lakes had two guests at their March meeting:
Jenna Bumgartner was present to request an update on the sluice gate bridge widening and the possibility of a dog park in HVL. Dave gave her an update on the sluice gate bridge. Casey Kennedy is donating his time and some materials to assist. We hope to have it completed this summer.

Jenna also wanted information on the status of a dog park in or near HVL. This is a project that has been smoldering for many years. The most often mentioned location is by the Fairway entrance, often referred to as the Greendale Dump. It is not a dead idea at all.

Tim Maupin was present to discuss the rationale behind the current boat length limits and whether or not we should re-evaluate the current regulations. He had an extensive power point style presentation based on significant research on his part. He has many years of experience in the field. The information presented was excellent, and the committee will be reviewing it and discussing it extensively over the next several months. We will not be making a change to the length rules without significant study. IF a change were to be recommended, the implementation and transition would be key elements of any proposal. Measuring process will still go forward.

The Little Free Library is a project whereby individuals can use special containers to drop off books they have read and/or no longer want, and can pick up a book that someone else has left in the box. More information is available at www.littlefreelibrary.org. The cost for a box is between $295 and $600. Jenna said her husband could build one for the cost of materials, around $150.00. The box would have to be registered and have a plaque added. The cost of that is $42.50. We were thinking about sponsoring 2 locations, one by the shelter on the 77 acres and another one at a site yet to be confirmed, possibly the POA office or the pool area. They can be outdoors and freestanding. The committee voted unanimously to support this project. Funding could possibly come from the Lakes and Parks budget or from the board.

Tom Derrick and Dave Ryberg from the Fish & Game Club were present. The club has voted to put $800 to $1000 worth of fathead minnows into the main lake to enhance the food chain for the bass. They requested additional financial assistance from the Lakes & Parks Committee. This request was denied by the committee.

They are going to attempt another slot limit tournament and possibly open it up to the community. The committee stated they would much prefer to support that than the addition of minnows.

No report on Lake Patrol until Paul returns. Lake Patrol is fully staffed this year.

No report on Lake Statistics.

Small Lake Maintenance Report: The overflow that needs to be built at Crystal Lake has been approved by the Army Corps., but still waiting on the DNR.

When Paul returns he and Bill Cox will be putting together a short course on boat safety for new boaters in Hidden Valley.

Floating Docks at the marina: Peter Soltys has agreed to re-design the docks in the marina to come up with a new layout that might give us a couple of additional docks. Bruce has found a new material that can be used to replace our existing wooden docks and eventually our existing floating docks. They are a plastic type and are air filled and practically indestructible. If a piece is damaged, it can be replaced easily. A cut out section was displayed at the meeting.

Safety, Security & Elections Committee Report: Bonnie Starks

  • Discussion concerning the newly installed stop signs on Alpine Drive.

There have been several complaints about the stop signs on Alpine Drive. These signs are designed to slow down traffic. Bruce invited the Dearborn County Traffic Engineer, Todd Listerman to ride with him around Hidden Valley. The purpose of this was to get recommendations from Todd on slowing down speeders. Todd suggested putting up the stop signs and the placement of the signs. It seems that the signs are working and have slowed down speeders.mThere was much discussion on the new stop signs.

Welcome Don Norris and Tom Carrel, newest member of the Safety, Security and Elections Committee.

Tom Carrell took the lead on the Neighborhood Watch program. Don Norris is the Dearborn County Emergency Management lead contact for the emergency ham radio broadcast system. We are very fortunate to have Don and Tom on our Committee.

Bruce Keller, Bob Starks and the Safety Committee had a very informative tour of the Dearborn County Emergency Management Services (EMS) facility. Jason Sullivan, Director of Dearborn County Emergency Management showed them around the area. The EMS is well prepared for any emergency.

The next Safety, Security & Elections meeting will be Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 6:30pm in the POA Office.

Future Planning Committee Report: Tom Hamilton

No Report

Finance Committee: John Reiniger

  • Request approval for the October, 2016, November, 2016, December, 2016, January, 2017 and the February 2017 Financial Statements.

Motion to approve the October, 2016, November, 2016, December, 2016, January, 2017 and the February 2017 Financial Statements made by Robert Starks and seconded by Bill Minnery. Motion passed unanimously.

  • Request approval for the 2016 Audit performed by William Donlin.

Motion to approve the 2016 Audit made by Robert Starks and seconded by Bill Minnery. Motion passed unanimously.

Civic Club: Kevin Grosse

  • Request approval for appointments for the officers for the Civic Club.
  • President: Karen Plogsted
  • Vice President: Kevin Grosse
  • Secretary: Jessica Mueller
  • Treasurer: Cindy Foley

Motion to approve appointment of Civic Club Officers made by Bill Minnery and seconded by Tom Hamilton. Motion passed unanimously.

Civic Club upcoming planned events:

  1. “Know your Neighbor’s Business” event. HVL Business owner will present their services to HVL residents to be held in the next couple months at the Community Center.
  2. Luau: Saturday, August 5, 2017
  3. Civic Club members will deliver welcome gift to HVL new homeowners on a monthly basis. Bruce will provide a list of the new residents each month.
  4. Civic Club will continue to promote the semi-annual HVL Garage Sale held the first Saturday in April and October
  5. Civic Club will re-start monthly card nights effective October, 2017. Card Night will be the 3rd Saturday of each month.
  6. Civic Club will continue to meet the last Tuesday of every month at Willie’s 

Old Business:

None

New Business:

Phil Hatfield, Lot # 621, Slip # 93. A boat has been parked in his boat slip all winter. This boat does not belong to Phil. Phil and other HVL residents had a discussion on this boat being removed. There is no rule that boats cannot remain on the lake over the winter months but there is a rule about squatters being in someone else’s dock. Bruce will be looking into this and contact the owner of the boat.

There was much discussion on boat docks and green space.

Motion to adjourn by Robert Starks and seconded by Bill Minnery. Motion passed unanimously. 

Adjournment: 8:21 pm

Minutes Prepared by Gina

Minutes published in this post are abbreviated. Listen to the full meeting audio.