Lake James Property Owners Association, Inc.

2009 Annual Meeting Minutes
(Draft)

Call to Order:
LJPOA Board Meeting was called to order at 10:02 a.m. by Larry Bittner, President. The meeting took place at the Houghton Lake Senior Center.

Larry Bittner welcomed property owners in attendance and asked if there were any new property owners to the association. No new property owners were in attendance.

Larry asked all those who had volunteered on any and all of the projects throughout the year to stand and be acknowledged for all that they had done.

Larry proceeded to explain the agenda, the meeting format, utilizing the microphone and the fact that the meeting would be audio-taped so that accurate minutes would be documented. Larry also indicated that there was a lot of take-home information on the various tables for the owners' benefit.

Larry explained the procedure of the 50/50 raffle as well as the door prizes. The LJPOA logo items were also offered for sale before and after the meeting.

Larry Bittner introduced to our meeting the Roscommon Marine Patrol Officer, Donielle Bannon. Donielle reported that there was one incidence on our lake that required attention from the Marine Patrol Division of LJPOA. After the initial contact was made to the Marine Patrol representative on our lake, she was happy to report that all turned out well. She gave high praise to our LJPOA Marine Patrol and said that they made her job easier.

Minutes:
In Jim Van Vonderon's absence, Larry submitted the minutes from the 2008 LJPOA Annual Meeting for review and approval. After a brief review by the Property Owners, a motion was entertained:

• Motion made by Leon Sycle to accept the 2008 LJPOA Annual Meeting minutes as written and presented.
• Motion second by LJPO - Stan Watkins
• Motion Vote: I's All Nay's -0-

Treasurer/Finance:
Dorothy Yakes presented the annual financial report consisting of:

• Motion by LJPOA Mary Hughes to accept the Treasurer's Report as written and presented.
• Motion second by LJPO - Don Adams
• Motion Vote: I's All Nay's -0-

Presentation of Fourth of July Traveling Award
Larry acknowledged the fact that Stephen Vat donated the top of the trophy signifying a pontoon boat and that Frank Yakes completed the finishing touches to the trophy. Unfortunately, Stephen was not present at the meeting so that the board and the membership could show their appreciation for his hard work. Larry asked if the "Hickory Nuts" were present to accept their award as the "Viking Ship" and first place winners of the 4th Annual Fourth of July Parade. Kathy Timberlake and her husband were present to accept the trophy from Larry and Jane Tomaszewski, Events Chairperson. Jane explained that the trophy would be our own version of the "Stanley Cup", meaning that it would travel from winner to winner each year. Second place honors went to Phil and Ben Rzotkiewicz for their entry -"The Tank". Third place honors were presented to Mike and Patty Gruber for "Volcano Island".

A question came up as to why the parade did not go into all of the channels of the lake. Frank Yakes, Marine Patrol Representative, reported that the parade did not go into all of the channels because of depth and time restraints. Not all are wide enough to accommodate both the entrance and departure of the boats nor are all channels deep enough for the boats. Time was also a consideration. It was noted that the parade was no longer than an hour for those participating

Thank you to departing board members
Dorothy Yakes recognized and offered sincere thanks to our outgoing LJPOA board members Dan Nelson and Jim Van Vonderon. Dan was in charge of our weed program for the three years he was on the board and also instrumental in obtaining our new signage boards at the three entrances to the lake plus the purchase of the playscape on Hazelwood Park. Jim was the recording secretary for three years and was also in charge of getting our information onto the internet.

Review of voting process and ballot handout
Dorothy Yakes reviewed the voting process and introduced the candidates running for the board. The submitted candidates were: Rocco Daversa, Mary Gast, Pat Murray, and Dorothy Yakes. Gene D'Andrea was nominated from the floor by Al Walker.

• A motion was made by Leon Sycle to unanimously accept the five members as presented.
• Motion second by LJPO Pat Hagle
• Motion Vote I's All Nays - 0

Board Reports

Fish Management:
Pat Murray reported that 550 Bluegill, 550 Crappie and 20 gallon of Feed Minnows were deposited into the lake on May 21, 2009. Also deposited on October 11, 2008 were 400 Bluegill, 200 L/M bass and 27 gallon of Feed Minnows

Dam Management:
Our dam is due for a safety inspection this Fall. This inspection will be done by Gary F Croskey, P.E., Dam Safety Consultant. some time after September 1, 2009.

Weed Management:
Rocco Daversa reported that a lot of our problems in the lake stem to the weed problem in Shadow Lake which in turn come from the waters upstream. He currently is checking with the State of Michigan on various grant money to see whether there is help with our problems in weed control. The final application for milfoil will be completed in September.

Events:
Jane Tomaszewski reported on the positive turnout at both our January picnic and Fourth of July Parade. We now have a logo contest underway. As of this date, three entrees have been submitted. We will run this contest for another year and all voting will take place at our annual meeting in 2010. She also raised the question as to whether or not our 4th of July parade should have a theme. All comments are welcome to her directly or at her e-mail address noted on the website.

Parks Management:
Because of family commitments, Jim Preczewski was not able to be present at the meeting but Larry Bittner gave his report. A thank-you was again given to all those who volunteered at the Spring clean-up and the volunteers who mow the grass at the various parks. A playscape was erected at Hazelwood Park and he wished to thank the men who helped with this undertaking. Because of several requests, the bridge leading to the swim park now has a handicap accessible ramp leading to the park. Also, a retaining wall was installed at the swim park to avoid further erosion. A lot of this work could not have been done had it not been for the volunteers from our membership.

Collections:
Rodger Shutter reported that we still have $1,800.00 in outstanding dues for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. All of the delinquent members are in some stage within the collection process with the Roscommon Court. The collection process is on-going and he thanked Al Walker for all his help in this undertaking.

A Question and Answer period by the Association membership followed the board reports. All questions were positive and the board will strive to follow through with their concerns. Some of these concerns are listed:

1. The possibility of perhaps a stop sign at the corner of Springwood and Matchwood. Trees are blocking oncoming traffic and could be the site of a future accident. Others expressed their concern that there are many areas around the lake that pose the same problem.
2. It was suggested that the signs indicating when the lake was to be sprayed could be posted earlier than a day or two before.
3. Could the lake be drained so that everyone could clean their area of weeds and 'muck'? It was noted that the lake had been drained once before but that was due to the fact that the dam needed to be repaired.
4. Could the board check into what can be done to curtail the goose population. Suggestions were made to take the real eggs and replace them with plastic ones. Al Walker suggested checking into "Goose Busters".

• With no further questions or comments, a motion was made by Pat Hagle to adjourn the meeting.
• Motion second by LJPO Leon Sycle
• Motion Vote I's All Nays - 0

Meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m. by Larry Bittner.

Revised Saturday September 26, 2009 4:38 PM