It's good to know at least 2 or 3 people visit the website regularly. I received a couple of emails about the website being down. I took the opportunity to clean up old material and try to consolidate what I've got left. Weebly is a nice web editor but it has it's limits and as they put out new tools it takes some time to read up on them. I've got to do a little more homework and may take the site down again for a short period of time.
What gets repetitive is trying to put the same information on the website AND Facebook. There's a feature in here that is supposed to let me post something here and then it automatically posts it to a Facebook page as long as you have the relationship set up. So far I can only set up a relationship with my personal Facebook page and not the LOTO Facebook page. Once I accomplish that it will make posting so much easier. I know a few people (Sr. Pendejo) that don't do Facebook. I want to keep those folks up to date as well. I'm going to keep working on it this week and we'll see what happens. The Labor Day weekend events will take place on September 5th. There is a carry-in dinner starting at 5:00 pm at the clubhouse. Please bring a favorite dish or dessert to share. Bill Davis will be preparing barbeque pork, always a favorite. A raffle will be held and you are invited to bring donations for the raffle as well.The hot dog cookout at the beach is going to be moved from Sunday to Saturday due to the weather forecast. It will now be on Saturday, May 23rd, at 1 pm. Free hot dogs, chips, and a drink. Please pass the word to those that may not be on Facebook or see the website? Hope to see you there.
This would be a great solution for those who can't get to their place often enough. Or maybe you would like to relax as soon as you get there for the weekend and don't want to have to start on the chore list immediately.
The benefit will be held at the elementary school in Navoo. Opens at 4 pm and the auction starts at 5:30. Thanks to Jae Powell for sending me the newspaper notice!
I ran into Bob last weekend and asked him if it was about time to get the boat and rods out. He said "Probably next weekend". Here's the email I got from him this weekend.
-First bite of the year- 5 lbs 8 oz -Second bite - 3 lbs 2 oz -And then this one about 3 hits later - 6 lbs 10 oz I think he had a good day on Saturday. As it warmed up on Saturday there was lots of water on top of the ice. Then as the afternoon progressed, the water began freezing again. I guess these holes form as the water comes through the ice. Either that or there was an international ice fishing competition here recently.
I received our notice for the annual association dues this past week. What!!!! $240!!!! I better come us with a way to rationalize this to Maria. So, I've got two lots on the water, maintained gravel roads, access to a new clubhouse (even for personal use), a nice beach for us and our visitors, garbage service, miles of roads to hike, common areas maintained, great friends and fellow association owners, and it's costing me $240 per year. I live in an older subdivision in Pekin and my garbage collection alone is $63.50 per quarter. That's $254 per year.
This dues notice is for 2015 annual dues. And I know that in 2014 we ran a budget deficit as an organization. With the new dues structure, that won't take effect until the 2016 assessment, I'll have to pay $335 per year ($275 per owner and $30 per lot). Here's what I'm doing. I'm making my 2015 assessment check out for what the new dues will be in 2016. Why would I do that? Because our association needs it and I enjoy the standards we have set for our lake as an association. I'd like to say it's only because I'm independently wealthy and am tired of burning the cash in the fireplace, but that's not the case. It's not easy but I can argue with the return on that money. At $335 a year it's still a steal. I think of how fast I can go through that amount just in restaurants, movies, entertainment, and the enjoyment I get out of that doesn't come close to what I get out of our lake association. I'm going to encourage everyone I know at the lake to give more than they are assessed this year when paying dues. Even if you don't go up to the 2016 amount, it would help out the association as a whole. That's a personal effort on my part and of course our board would never ask that for. But I also know I'm going to request a load of sand for the beach this spring and those are the types of upkeep I would expect from our association. You can check out the February newsletter at this link.
As you know, the ballots were collected in December for the proposed dues increase, and the needed changes to the By-Laws and Covenants. I, for one, am happy that they passed and we had a very good participation rate. No one likes to absorb an increase in dues but even with this increase, LOTO is by far a great deal for our owners. If you would not have passed it, we would all see the beginning decline in our quality of life at the lake and the services offered.
Results of the balloting: 73 ballots submitted from the 117 eligible-to-vote property owners (a 62.4% participation rate). Per the CCERs and By-Laws successful passage of any amendments to either document requires a 2/3 approval of those members who cast ballots. To that end with 73 ballots cast passage would require a minimum of 48.6 (=49) YES votes. Re: the CCER proposed amendment: 52 YES 21 NO for a 71.2% approval AMENDMENT PASSES Re: the By-Law proposed amendment: 51 YES 22 NO for a 69.9% approval AMENDMENT PASSES To all LOTO owners,
This is a personal op-ed. Since the FB page and website are unofficial and operated/funded by me, I’m taking this opportunity to voice my opinion on the proposed dues/fee increases, in order to get the word out. There was an informational meeting yesterday at the clubhouse, attended by a dozen or so owners. As of yesterday about 16 ballots for the proposed increase had been received. They are not opened yet and won’t be until a later time after the deadline I assume. Overall there seems to be little, if any, objection to the increase. People seem to “get it” even if they don't like it. For anyone that’s on the fence, I’d like to impress upon you that the homeowners association needs your support. In order to maintain the level of maintenance and upkeep we enjoy, it will take more money. It would take even more if we didn’t have the many volunteers who put in unlimited hours doing what needs to be done. We need to continually invest in the association to maintain our standards because we don’t live in a bubble. Expenses go up everywhere and LOTO is no exception. If you were to compare our dues/fees to any other homeowner association with the amenities we have, it would tell you a story of what a deal we are getting. I have checked other organizations similar in size and it is obvious. We get a lot of value out of our dues/fees because we have, and have had, a board that does a lot with a little. Their sense of duty to being financial responsible cannot be questioned. In fact, many of them use funds out of their own pocket here and there in order to cover small expenses. Many of our homeowners do the same for the association. We are a lucky community. So please don’t assume it will pass and you don’t need to send in your ballot. A “yes” ballot will not only insure the board has the tools to operate responsibly, but it also shows your support for what’s in the best interest of everyone as a whole. The ballots must be postmarked by December 19th to be valid, please remember that. Thanks for allowing me to give my two cents. Tom If you are on Facebook you can see these updates more often. Just search "Lake of the Oaks" on Facebook and "like" the page.
Don't forget the meeting this coming Sunday at the clubhouse. This is the informational meeting on the proposed membership fee increases that you read about in the newsletter last month. If you have any questions or would just like to hear more, please stop by.
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February 2022
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