Board Meeting Apr 2018
Minutes of Deer Lake Property Owners’ Association Board Meeting April 12, 2018
Proper notice having been given, President Skip Wells called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Attendance: 28
The March minutes were accepted after correction of the days of the week in the Fourth of July Activities paragraph on the second page. The boat parade is on a Tuesday (July 3rd); fireworks show is on a Tuesday (July 3rd) and the community parade is on a Wednesday (July 4th).
Treasurer’s report: Given by Mike Egan and accepted. $59,450.67 in checking; $44,193.67 in cd’s; dues paid $5,660; fireworks donations $5,649; and general donations $2,984. Payments were made to Avista for area lights, $20.34; BiMart for ink cartridges, $59.48; Prestige Impressions for Deer Lake apparel, $22.03; Pyro Spectacular North for fireworks display deposit, $4000; Red Shield Insurance for commercial liability coverage (May 14, 2018 to May 14, 2019), $673; Great American Insurance Company for directors’ and officers’ general liability coverage (May 14, 2018 to May 14, 2019), $904.
Committee reports:
Bob Schwartz, Next Door Deer Lake and Deer Lake Apparel: There are currently 456 Next Door members. There has been no change in apparel sales for this report. Cheryl is working on choosing a 2018 shirt design.
Ken Santora, Membership and Fish Pens: 288 paid members; 73 Big Buck Club members. The rainbow fish in the pen are about 8 – 10” long and look good. They may be released soon. The otters have been persistent.
Shawn O’Neill, Website, Dock Demolition, Signatures for Bylaw Changes: Only 3 docks are currently signed up for demolition despite more derelict docks on the lake. Conversation about education of dock demolition at the pancake feed, newsletter, etc. was discussed. Shawn is still soliciting ideas for the new website and one idea was to enable DLPOA members to be able to update their membership data on the website. Bylaw change signatures are still needed from some Board members.
Jerry Rasley, Roadside Clean-up: It will be May 19, 8am – 10 or 11. Hot dogs and chili will be served afterwards at the fire station. Banners will be going up and posts on Next Door and our website.
Greg Presley, Big Bucks Club, Children’s Independence Day Parade, Veterans’ Fishing Days:
June 28, July 19 and August 16 are the dates set to host our Veterans for a day of fishing at Deer Lake. More boats are needed. Not sure yet if DLPOA is sponsoring all 3 days. A motion was made and carried for Greg to spend up to $150 for thank-you cards for any DLPOA event. There are still Big Buck Club flags to sell. Letters to previous parade donors will be sent out soon. Ken Scott is our Grand Marshall this year.
Mike Phillips, Water Quality, Roadside Clean-up and Turkey Talk: The same milfoil treatments will be implemented again this year. Kevin Schroeder will be applying weed killer to the first sprouts that appear. There will be an LMD meeting after the DLPOA Board meeting next month (May 10). The water level is going down the culvert now. With the current runoff, the lake level went up about 1” in 4 days. Whatever gets in the lake is retained in the lake for approximately 9 years until it’s flushed out. Please keep your actions in mind for the preservation of our water. A replacement for Mike on the roadside clean-up (west side of the lake) is needed beginning fall 2018. Mike attended the Fish and Wildlife talk about turkeys in Loon Lake. Feeding the turkeys is discouraged. They will be increasing hunt seasons, bag limits and maybe lowering the tag price in order to reduce the number of turkeys. White turkeys in fenced areas will keep the wild turkeys away. Sometimes Fish and Game traps the turkeys, but they don’t really have anywhere to take them anymore. The Department is taking all citizen comments to Olympia.
Mike Egan, 2018 Fireworks Display: Pyro Spectacular has given their proposal for this year. Cost is up to $8,000, but there will be more mortar shells set off (283 in 2017 and 470 this year). Half of this cost has been paid. The display will be on Tuesday, July 3rd at dark.
Skip Wells, Water Safety: There will be informational signs made to post at the public boat launch parking lot to inform about water safety and buoys, etc. Bob Schwartz and Skip are in charge of this.
Old Business:
Newsletter Deadline: Articles for the next newsletter are due to Cheryl Ring on May 10.
Update on Lake/Sheriff Boat Weekend Patrols, Bob Schwartz: The Sheriff’s department is still looking into our request for holiday lake patrols.
Southwood Shores Road Status Report, Mike Larson: Mike met with Al French, Spokane County Commissioner and member of CRAB (County Roads Administration Bureau) with regards to the dust problem on Southwood Shores Road. Al offered a positive and possible solution to form a Road Improvement District. The Stevens County Commissioner and Public Works Director start this process by mailing a petition to all legal property owners on Southwood Shores. Fifty percent plus one signatures are needed to proceed. The project is priced and the cost is spread between the County (20%) and property owners (80%). The County can also apply for grant money to help with the 80% portion. Estimated yearly cost to each property owner could be $100 per year for 10 – 15 years. (This is based on comparable road projects). Once the exact cost is known, another vote from the property owners is needed to continue. Then bonds are sold to start the process. Mike is eager to meet with the Stevens County Commissioner and Public Works Director asap. Skip agreed to initiate this special meeting, possibly in May. The meeting will be open to everyone. This process could potentially be applied to any other unpaved roads around the lake to benefit the health of everyone at the lake and the lake itself.
New Business:
Deer Lake Real Estate Report, Steve Hinand: 2017 was an unusual year for sales. There were no waterfront closings until August of last year. There were 11 waterfront homes sold in 2017 for a total of $4,567,950, which included 3 homes over $500k. The average waterfront footage value for 2017 was $2,910. There has already been one closing this year in Southwood Shores for $500k with a waterfront footage value of $6,600. The April inventory is ok.
EMS Transport Problems Meeting, Skip Wells: Fire Chief Mike Bucy is organizing a public informational meeting to include Clayton, Springdale and Loon Lake about emergency medical services, transport (ambulances), potential problems, renewal of the EMS levy, etc. He wants community input. The new fire station construction project has a bay that could house an ambulance, but the fire department does not provide transport services. The Chief wishes community input for the direction of the fire district. The date and location of the meeting is to be announced.
State DNR Fire Protection Strategic Plan Stakeholder Process, Skip Wells: Skip had a telephone meeting with the Department of Natural Resources and will be participating in raw data gathering of what’s wrong, what’s working, and where to go in the future with regards to our fire protection. DNR is aware of our risk due to surrounding forests and the need for fuel reduction around homes. Skip will keep us advised.
Mike Tyner, Spectrum Internet: Mike and his wife, Marie, are the charter dealers for this area offering Internet, voice and tv service. The cable is run on poles and underground. Spectrum is looking to expand their network in this area.
The Board meeting adjourned at about 8:36 p.m.
In accordance with the bylaws, notice is given that the next Board meeting is Thursday, May 10, 2018 at the Pinelow office, at 6 p.m.