By Kathy Leslie-Whelan

          The meeting was called to order at 9:33 AM.  All board members were present.  General Manager Darryl Gamble and Assistant General Manager Nicole Clemens were also present. After the pledge of allegiance, Buz Whelan, President called for a motion to approve June’s open board meeting minutes. The motion was made by Bob Leon and seconded by Steve Kavanagh.  It passed unanimously after one correction was made.    Whelan opened his President’s message by stating that there were a few questions from the Membership at Meet the Candidates that were not asked so he was going to go through them.  1) Since septic systems affect lakes, how many Short Term Rentals (STR) are lake front?  Whelan stated that that information is unknown but Bob Leon offered to go through the STR listing and identify all lakefront homes and the lake that they are on.  Are there any cash transactions?  Answer is yes. 3) Are amenity passes sold to the public? Answer is no.  4) Can we control the bear population by eliminating garbage cans?  Answer: We do not control the bear population. It is the providence of the Fish and Game Commission.  5) Do you believe there are unaccounted funds? Answer: no.  All financials and the budget are available to the membership.  In addition, we are audited annually by an independent auditor.

Whelan continued with his message by stating that we are not the only community that is experiencing lake closures.  Geese may be part of the problem.  A hydrologist will be taking water samples at all lakes by homeowner properties.  In addition, heavy downpours stir up the lake bottom which could add to a heavy bacterial count.  On Pine Tree Lake the beach is in an area where water is slow moving so that also may contribute to the poor reading.  Whelan said that Chris Claude will be heading up an ad hoc committee to develop a septic policy.  Currently, septic policies of other communities and townships are being evaluated.

          Dave Borsos gave the Treasurer’s report for June.  The good news is that we are over budget on dues income, public safety income, bank interest and rental revenues by $83K.  Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) revenues are under budget by $7,562 due to high grass fines were turned into warnings.  Bar/Grill revenue is down by $3,631 due to stocking of alcohol and food for the soft opening that occurred on July 1^st.  On a whole total income is over budget by $75K year to date (YTD).  Under maintenance expenses we are over budget by $57K due to unanticipated repairs on mowers and other landscaping equipment.  In addition, two additional mowers and a closed trailer were purchased.  An open trailer will also be procured.   Our current cash assets are $1.3M.  Reserve funds are $666.5K.  A motion was made by Steve Kavanagh to accept the Treasurer’s report.  It was seconded by Bob Leon and passed unanimously. 

Under Old Business:

• The Annual meeting is scheduled for August 20^th and will be held at the Lodge, aka Community Center (CC). Whelan apologized for the two typos in the mailing and stated that a revised ballot was sent out to the membership.  He said that if anyone didn’t receive this second mailing they should call the office or they can vote in person at the meeting.  There will be a special newsletter prepared for the annual meeting so that the President and Managers message will be short.  Whelan hopes to see as many members as possible at the meeting and invited all to stop in to see the newly renovated Lodge.
• Since the bar and grill opened, the gross intake was $23K.  This figure includes the sale of amenity passes.  The 8 nights the bar and grill was opened brought in over $18K in revenue. Darryl Gamble is working on a graph that will identify expenses and income at the CC.  In addition, the pass through at the bar was busy.  Whelan stated that the onion rings were outstanding.
• Ad Hoc committee to develop a septic policy and will identify how often a home site needs to be pumped and inspected.  This policy will apply to all homes in the community.  See above for more details. 
• Beach closures/Water Testing – The hydrologist will be focusing on Pine Tree Lake.  94K gallons of water must be released daily to flow down the mountain.  As of today we have had 30 days of successful testing so the DEP will be called in to test for reopening.

Under New Business

• The recreation club is meeting next Saturday and will be discussing various options for replacing bingo.  All bingo licenses for HOAs were pulled by the Liquor Control Board. Currently CAI is working on getting an exception pass for all HOAs.

Committee Reports    

Appeals committee will meet on August 6^th.

Communications committee put out a newsletter on Friday the 29^th and it is available at the kiosks at the mailboxes as well as the CC and Administration building.

Kathy Whelan spoke on behalf of Finance and Planning.   The meeting was held on July 16th.  Whelan stated that for the first two months of this fiscal year this is a negative variance of $7.6K on dues income.  Total dues collected were $275K.  Credit card income which was just reinstated was $1,805.  We charge a 3% fee for credit card usage.  Whelan also stated that for this last month rental income was $33K, YTD income $247K; Code Enforcement violations were $22K YTD; Total income has a positive variance of $75K; public safety currently has 4 part time and a newly hired full time Chief of Public Safety.  An additional part time staff member will be hired; amenity repair has a negative variance of $38K YTD due to work at Pine Tree beach bath house; refuse collections is at $40.8K YTD and has a slight negative variance of $897; vehicle maintenance repair has a negative variance of $10K YTD due to work being done on an older vehicle; total maintenance expenses has a negative variance of $57K; overall total expenses has a negative variance of $25K  YTD, however, our actual income exceeds our total expenses YTD; $666.5K is in reserves; collections reported for June are $54K, where in-house collections were $45K.  YTD collections are $219.6.  The next scheduled meeting will be held on Friday, August 19th at the Administration building.

Director’s Comments

          Dave Borsos would like to see reserves moved to the front burner moving forward.

          Bob Leon would like to see parking lot striping at the Main Beach lots but was told that due to the configuration of the lots it makes it very difficult. We do not own any property by that beach so the lot cannot be expanded.     

Bob Leon stated that there are 30 homes for sale in Emerald Lakes.  They are:

1.          $359K listed for 1 day
2.          $199K listed for 1 days
3.          $299 listed for 6 days
4.          $265K listed for 8 days
5.          $449K listed for 11 days
6.          $449 listed for 11 days  
7.          $225K listed for 11 days
8.          $380K listed for 18 days (owner)
9.          $170K listed for 20 days
10. $350K listed for 21 days
11. $485K listed for 28 days
12. $320K listed for 28 days
13. $850K listed for 29 days
14. $415K listed for 31 days
15. $249K listed for 31 days
16. $550K listed for 37 days
17. $269K listed for 38 days
18. $450K listed for 39 days
19. $255K listed for 41 days
20. $1.3M listed for 41 days
21. $675K listed for 42 days
22. $419K listed for 49 days
23. $280K listed for 49 days
24. $300K listed for 56 days
25. $350K listed for 64 days
26. $378K listed for 65 days
27. $339K listed for 77 days
28. $388K listed for 78 days
29. $629K listed for 123 days
30. $288K listed for 214 days (Auction)

Chris Claude reminded everyone of the cornhole tournament being held later on that day.

Ange Noonan thanked all who supported her while she was on the board.  She is not rerunning for her seat but she is looking forward to exciting times ahead.  She stated that the board members volunteer their time, and it is time consuming and takes a lot of dedication.  It is time for her to pursue other ventures.  The rest of the board wished her well and thanked her for her service.

Bill Baehr gave a heartfelt thanks to Ange.  He stated that she loves this community and is also an animal lover who looks out for their welfare.

Public Comments

                    Annette attended her first meeting.  Her comment was that public safety doesn’t treat the young drivers with respect.  They should talk properly to them. She also questioned if everyone in the house was entitled to picture IDs.  She was told that each household in good standing was entitled to 10 IDs/passes.  In addition, she requested that the CC be opened on Sundays.

Mary Kavanagh stated that DJ Krazy Ken was a success but not enough tables were available for the crowd that attended.  She also suggested that we post a calendar to identify events.

Kathy Leslie Whelan asked if the CC will be available for rentals. She was told that it will happen soon.  They will not infringe on the pool hours and they are currently working on a pricing structure.

          Thirteen (13) new members were welcomed to the Community.

A motion was made by Steve Kavanagh to adjourn.  It was seconded by Ange Noonan.  Meeting adjourned at 10:50 AM.

Reporters Note: I write these reports based on notes taken during the meeting.  I get no special consideration or cooperation from the board.  I try my best to report accurately, but occasionally mistakes will be made.  I invite correction and have no desire to intentionally mischaracterize any comments or actions.