A Message From the President of the Lake

Post date: Aug 10, 2020 3:15:44 PM

TO THE LAKE JAMES COMMUNITY.

Recently there have been a lot of opinions, which everyone is entitled to, but there also

have been a lot of misconceptions, out right lies and so on... So I will try and clear some of this up... One of the main things is, I do not conduct business like what was going on—on social media, especially next door... Which started out as an informational site, but has turned into totally something else...

As for the cancellation of the annual meeting, like I said before, we (the board) waited until the last minute to see if anything changed, but then due to the Governors orders on the covid-19 and for the health of the people in our community, we decided to cancel... We definitely could not have held an inside meeting... I’ve talked to a lot of people about zoom and have been told to stay away from it, because it’s a nightmare, especially with big crowds, and a lot of our members in this community do not have it or have the set up for it, etc... If we tried to have an outside meeting, there again your limited to the amount of people that could attend, would have to be spaced at least 6’ft., apart and wear masks... So not knowing how many would attend and with all the other regulations and weather and other things, that option was also eliminated... While there are a lot of people who look forward to the annual meeting, this is an absolute unusual situation...

Who would have ever thought you would have been mandated to stay in your home for two or more months or wear masks when in public or could not associate with other’s or go to a second home or go boating, etc.?

I think most people understand why we cancelled the meeting... The real problem is you have a couple of people who have their own agenda and planned on springing it on us at the annual meeting (this basically came to light recently)... One says she talked to me, well she did call and we talked, the just of her plan is she wants to turn our association over to a land management company and demanded a meeting and when I told her several times that the meeting had been cancelled, she became irritated and said she would go to next door and that I could deal with the blow back. Then she went on next door and proceeded to lie like hell, twist and turn words etc., anyone who knows me, knows I would not say the stuff she claimed I said. Basically she’s working in co-hoots with another person and anyone following the conversations on there, should be able to figure it out... For those who think we pay to much in dues and for those who would like to pay a lot more in dues, just bring in a land management company and see how much you will pay in dues just for their fees, and that’s not even considering the massive mess you will have, they do not live here and really could care less about what you think or want... Remember one thing, all the current board members have places on the lake and experience the same things you do, if the water is low, it’s low for us to, if there’s weeds—we also have weeds and so on. Mother Nature has a lot to do with our lake...

As for the dues... I’ve read that we raised the dues, some are saying to build the community center... But the truth is, the dues are raised (per the by-laws) by the CPI (consumer price index) each year and rounded up to the next dollar... So this year the CPI was 2.3 percent, so you take 2.3 X $97.00 =$2.23 rounded up that brings our dues to $100.00 per lot/parcel for the 2020 dues year... Also, this is based on the fact that on June 30th of the year, we do not have $65,000.00 in our bank accounts or more, excluding special set aside accounts like the dam fund...

Per the by-laws we (the board) just can’t raise your dues without a vote of the people...

As for the community center, I said, NO PLANS on using dues money or to ask for an assessment... I said, we would do it by donations, fund raisers, auctions, etc... The form sent out is not a vote, it’s just a survey to see if the community was interested in the idea... Most HOA's have one and I wanted to see if there was any interest here, as this is about the last parcel big enough to do a project that big...

Then there are some people that seem to think that the boat ramp keys are automatic, because you have bought a lot and are paying dues... That is not true, there is a charge for keys to the boat ramp and I’ve been here since 1975 and had to buy my first key and a key every time they changed the lock/tumbler ever since... Note: We have a lot of people that pay dues and do not have a key...

As for the other things mentioned: Geese, dredging, etc., there again all have and are being discussed... As for the geese, Rocky has a notice and a vote going on for goose busters. Check this site for his notice and how to vote for it, he has an e-mail in his notice for you to vote on... There is no magic way of getting rid of geese, almost all or all other lakes have problems with ducks and geese... Rocky has to get 50% of property owners to vote yes per the DNR, before the DNR will issue the permit for goose busters to remove the geese...

Then the weeds, Savin was not even sure he was going to be able to spray this year because of covid-19 restrictions, then he finally received the ok and sprayed sometime in the second week of June, sprayed in July and will be spraying again in August...

As for dredging, we are looking at some things, but it’s a costly endeavor and it will be done in small increments, if and when we can get the permits... Also, we are not the only lake that is having problems with low water... I was told that complaints have been made in the Houghton Lake Resorter, about Houghton Lake and Higgins Lake among some...

There are a lot of hoops that we have to jump through to get permits to do almost anything to the lake. A lot of people do not understand how hard it is to get the proper permits. We have to work with the DNR (department of natural resources), NREPA(natural resources and environmental protection act), DEGLE (department of environment, Great Lakes, and energy). At times the health department, etc., it’s not as easy as just go do it... It doesn’t work that way...

As for by-laws and restrictions... Used to be that closing companies gave you a copy when they did a title insurance check, because they are recorded at the court and should show up... But you can go to: lakejamesmi.com and find them there, along with announcements, board member info and other things...

Also if you want to talk to a certain board member about something within their preview, send an e-mail to our website: lakejamesmiNEWS@aol.com...

Or call the board member...

Have fun of what’s left of your summer and stay safe.

Sincerely,

Arnold Chema

President—LJPOA