Hidden Valley Lake Lakes and Parks Committee
Meeting Minutes
June 14, 2017
Meeting called to order by Dave Patterson at 7:30 p.m.
Members Present: Bill Cox, Tom Derrick, Eric Fox, Alan Kohlhaas, George Lortz, Dave Patterson, Dave Ryberg, Joe Stocker, Gerald Young
Members Absent: Dan Beckman, Jill King
Community Manager: Bruce Keller – Present
Board Liaison: Pat Hawkins – Present
Guests Present: Casey Kennedy
Minutes from the May meeting were presented by Dave Patterson. Corrections required: None.
Motion to accept by: Alan Kohlhaas; Seconded by Eric Fox.
Vote count: for 6, against 0, abstain 0.
Guest Issues: Casey was present to hear what is going on.
Chairman’s Report – This is a new item on the agenda to allow the chairman to bring up items that have been brought to him throughout the month by various residents.
- Request to allow volunteers to re-paint the letters on the front sign. Bruce said the maintenance crew would take care of that this fall.
- Clarification that the first name on a deed was officially the member, but anyone whose name appears on the deed as an owner may vote for that membership, but still only one vote per membership.
- In the boat measuring section, there is no reference to measuring to a “vertical surface”.
- The light at Willie’s needs to be turned so that it faces straight at the marina. As it is now, the status of the lake can’t be determined from the boat ramp. It was suggested that we change the light to use led lights and use a more cone shaped shield on the lights themselves.
- The fountain at Lake Holiday was looking great. Is it gone? Bruce said it was just off for some reason.
Board Meeting Report: Pat reported on the meeting. Bruce will be replacing the trash cans around the valley a few at a time. Cost is around $128.00 each.
Fish & Game Club Comments: Dave and Tom reported for the club.
- The Club will be sure that the fish that are brought in for weighing will be taken out to deeper water and not released into the marina.
- The Club planted a tree at the Lake Melody Shelter in memory of Jerry Neibling, a longtime member of the F&GC who passed away from cancer not too long ago.
- There was a question about mowing at the dam of Kathy Lake. It was actually addressing cutting the weeds around the lake. Bruce will take care of this.
- The Kids Fishing Derby is coming up this July. They asked if the Lakes Committee was going to help with the fish again this year? We said that it was in the budget and that we would support them again this year. Eric made a motion in this regard and Alan seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Lake Patrol Report: Paul reported that he is going in for knee replacement on July 17 and wouldn’t be available for Lake Patrol duty after that. Bruce said that he thought he might have someone who could be added to maintain 4 members on the Lake Patrol. Paul will be available for the Fourth of July and the Luau.
- Paul reported that the noise and behavior on the lake over the past few weekends has prompted several complaints from residents in the area. He said that he has seen behavior and heard levels of noise that were unacceptable.
- Alcohol use appears to have increased significantly so far this year, and boaters needed to be much more aware of their consumption levels and those of their guests/passengers.
- Those of us that have been on the lake this spring all agreed that that many boaters need to improve their overall lake etiquette.
- Paul also reported that they were having difficulty with reverse on the new motor. Mercury has been contacted and they have said they will get someone out to check on it. So far no one has shown up.
- We all emphasized that it remains our policy for the lake to first educate possible offenders, then warn them and after those steps have been taken a citation will be issued if the specific behavior continues.
Lake Statistics Report: Gerry Young – Gerry presented the Water Quality Report for June, a copy of which is attached. For the most part, the readings are normal for this time of year, other than the surface water temperature, which was a bit cooler than previous years.
Small Lake Maintenance report: Bruce Keller – The work on Crystal Lake is still waiting on the brown bats to leave, which probably won’t be until the fall. Work on that project will resume as soon as they depart.
Parks and Rec. Subcommittee / Task Force Reports – George Lortz –
- George was also wearing his Future Planning hat and reminded us that they were still working on the survey so determine what amenities the residents wanted and how to prioritize them. He is looking for input from each of the committees. Lakes and Parks committee members can send their thoughts to me and I will consolidate them and forward them on to George.
- In addition to the Survey, they are also going over rules changes as a part of the codification project, and they are looking for ways to educate new residents into the Valley on what they can expect and what is expected of them.
- Also, George noted that we, Hidden Valley, wanted to put up a memorial of some sort in remembrance of Josephine Ohlhaut. Pat commented that the project had already been started and that the family wasn’t ready yet to make any firm decision on what it was that they would like. We will wait until they are ready.
- George will contact Pat Sullivan to see if he might be available for our next meeting to share with us the concept/project of putting on a Poker Golf outing to benefit the Marina Shelter Project.
Current/Active Business Updates –
- Sluice Gate Bridge Update – Jamie Mormon reported on the project at the last board meeting. The Board approved moving forward with the project and getting a design for the Lakes and Architecture committees to review. The most significant change that appears to be happening is that the bridge will be lowered so that the steps on the parking lot side won’t be necessary and the ramp on the dam side would be shortened significantly.
- Boat length regulations. – Dave has spoken with Tim Maupin and he has agreed to participate in the task force to review this. The group will meet as we approach the fall. Pat suggested that the actual measurement procedures be taken out of the rules section and put in a Procedures section. That way any change to the procedure doesn’t require the same process as a rules change.
- Boat safety session – Bruce is going to contact the new boat owners and have them meet Paul and Bill Cox at the marina at 9 a.m. on a Saturday and Paul and Bill will take them out on the lake and go over the important safety procedures.
- The concern over boat stickers being issued to short term renters/tenants has been removed by other steps being taken by Bruce and the board.
- Marina layout – Peter Soltys will be here on July 17 and Bruce and I and other members of the committee will try to meet with him at that time and go over thoughts that we have about his proposed layout. It was suggested that perhaps we could get him to come to a meeting to address the committee, entertaining questions and suggestions at that time. Bruce said that he will work on that.
New Business:
Fourth of July – The Lake will be put at no wake at 6 p.m. on Tuesday the fourth for the parade and fireworks. Paul will be keeping boats at least 300 feet from the dam. We need to get the word out to the residents that they need to stay in their boats prior to, during, and after the fireworks display. Swimming at that time of night with that many boats moving around in the dark is a very dangerous thing. Kayaks and canoes and paddle boards also need to be sure they have appropriate lights so they can be seen. Bruce will be issuing List Serve notices to this effect.
Community Manager’s Report:
- The new docks for Timberline will be arriving at the marina this week. They will be partially assembled there and then floated out to the site for installation.
- New, huge (approx. 18’) umbrellas will be purchased for the pool and beach this summer to provide shade and shelter for residents using the facilities.
All other issues here were covered earlier.
Motion to adjourn by Dave Ryberg; seconded by Alan Kohlhaas. The motion passed unanimously.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:22 p.m. Thanks to all for their time and dedication.
Respectfully submitted by Dave Patterson, Chairman