Minutes of the Oak Terrace Improvement Association Board Meeting-August 7, 2019
Board members present: Kevin Shifley, Ken Hohs, Rich Rieck, Nancy Krejsa, Tracy Kleinschmidt, Katie Eamon, Greg Denny, William Yarbrough, Ramona Triebold, and Colleen Hodges.
Members at large present: James Harms and Karen Marquardt.
The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm by President Tracy Kleinschmidt.
The minutes were distributed to Board members prior to the meeting and a motion was made by Ramona Triebold to accept the minutes as reported. Ken Hohs seconded and the motion passed.
Beach Park-There was some concern about the new buoys not being installed at the beach. Dave Gnadt, the member that installs the buoys for us, is on vacation. We will reach out when he returns. Currently, the new buoys are being safely stored in Dave’s garage.
Lakeview Park-The willow tree at Lakeview Park has fallen. Following a discussion on the best way to handle this situation, it was decided that we would have some of the larger branches removed and allow the remainder of the tree to become a natural breakwater in the lake. Rich will meet with the companies contacted for removal and explain the scope of the project. A decision will be made when the bids come in as to which company will get the contract.
Communications-Katie Eamon shared that the USPS has asked that she stop distributing The Acorn in mailboxes. Going forward, The Acorn will be mailed along with any other pertinent information for our members. These correspondences may include billing statements, social information, updates on projects in the subdivision, or any other matter concerning our members. Katie asks that anything other than The Acorn that needs to be distributed get to her no later than the last full week of the month as she sends the acorn at the beginning of each month. Ken suggested that we add the title, “Current Resident”, to homes that are rental units so that those residents may receive the information important to Oak Terrace. It was suggested we try going door to door to collect email addresses so that in the future we will be able to avoid the cost of these mailings. William is currently trying to merge two master lists so that Katie and Nancy Krejsa can put together a cohesive member list. They are in the process of trying to verify valid names and addresses. Nancy is trying to put together a directory and would like to know if she should include phone numbers. No decision was made at this time.
The question of how new residents learn about the association was raised. William shared the process of a home sale in Oak Terrace. He explained that when a house is ready to close, we are contacted usually by the seller’s lawyer, for a letter of clear title. He must check to see if the seller is up-to-date on all fees and dues, then he issues the letter. This is the only way we know when there is a new member. If the home is rented, we have no way of knowing other than neighbors sharing this information with us. Ramona mentioned she had collected a number of pieces of information that could be included in a new members packet. More discussion is needed to see how this would work.
Elections-We will need to have the ballot sent out to members by the first of October in order to meet our obligation of thirty day notice. Board members whose terms are ending in November include:
Jill Bates
Greg Denny
Katie Eamon
Colleen Hodges
Tracy Kleinschmidt
All members in good standing are encouraged to run for the Board. Colleen Hodges will assemble a ballot for distribution in the October mailing.
Treasurer’s Report- William Yarbrough reported that there is $50,626.83 currently in all accounts. We also have $16,782.06 in accounts receivable, bringing our total assets to $67,408.89. At the time of reporting, we have 15 accounts in collections, 10 are resolved, 3 are on payment plans and are current, and 2 remain unresolved. Presently, we are operating at an approximate 16% delinquency rate which is an improvement over previous years. We have 28 accounts with a balance, about ½ of these are for this year’s dues and the other half are for multiple years. It was suggested that a letter detailing what happens when we go into collections be written and sent to the residents to help explain the much greater cost to them if we go to litigation. William will work on this correspondence. Greg Denny made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report and Nancy Krejsa seconded. The motion passed.
Kevin Shifley reported on the Adopt a Highway project. He shared that the stretch of highway we are interested in adopting, Route 60/83 between Oak Shores and Maple, is not currently available. He also suggested we consider Diamond Lake Road by Hansen Park as an alternative. If we are able to adopt one of these areas, it would be our duty to do an organized cleanup twice a year and a sign would be installed letting others know that the Oak Terrace Improvement Association is responsible for those sections.
Kevin also reported on the single waste hauler meeting he attended at Fremont Township offices. Fremont Township Supervisor, Diana O’Kelly, is facilitating this project. The goal is to contract a firm as the waste hauler for all unincorporated areas of Fremont Township, which includes Oak Terrace. This was the second meeting of representatives from all the unincorporated areas to discuss the advantages of this program. The companies present and preparing bids include: Groot, Prairie Land, and Avon and Shields. This would cover approximately 18,000 residences and would likely be a 5 year commitment. Several options are being discussed including garbage, recycling, and yard waste removal. It is thought that leaf burning will be banned throughout the county soon and yard waste removal will be come even more important to residents. The hope is that we will get better service at a lower price and reduce the number of trucks on our roads in the future. The next meeting is set for August 22 and Ken Hohs is planning to attend to represent Oak Terrace.
A new sign at Beach Park will be installed that will include information about the care of the lake. This is a part of the Indian Creek Watershed Project and Tori Trauscht will be arranging for the installation.
A budget meeting has been set for Tuesday, September 3, 2019 to prepare a proposed budget for 2020. This proposed budget will be included in the October mailing for members to review before voting to accept takes place at the Annual General Meeting on November 6th. The budget meeting is set for 7:oopm and will be held at the Kleinschmidt residence. This meeting is only open to current Board members.
There being no further business before the Board, William make a motion to adjourn. Ramona seconded and the motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 7:57pm.
Respectfully submitted-Colleen Hodges, OTIA Secretary
