Hide-Away-Hills/Pine Lake Summary

By Tom Sopko | RRA President

Hide Away Hills and Pine Lakes jointly sponsored the Spring 2016 Ohio Lakes Communities Association (OLCA) meeting held at Hide Away Hills.  We did not see any of Pine Lakes.  Jen Addair, one of our office employees, is a Board Member for OLCA.  RRA Board attendees were Dave Emick, Jim Swartz and myself.  Dan Mullins, our Association Manager attended.

1. Hide Away Hills (HAH) General Description
   1. Extremely rural, heavily wooded.
   2. Completely gated. 5 gates.  One main gate, manned 24/7.  Other gates operated by key fob like our lake boat ramp gate.
   3. Lot sizes about an acre.
   4. 710 Members
   5. Roads are very narrow and rough. Chip and tar on bare ground.
      1. Many places too narrow for two cars to pass, no pull offs, courtesy required.
      2. Buses are not permitted.
      3. Speed limit, 19MPH. Lucky to get up to that speed.
      4. 37 miles of roads.
   6. 40% occupancy, year around.
   7. Average property sale price with a home on it before dam failure (dam failure discussed later) $178K in 2012 and $161K in 2013. After dam failure about $136K, average price in 2015.  About 35 realtor sales per year from 2012 to 2015; private sales not tracked.
      1. Homes seemed very nice, well kept.
   8. Mail received in central locations, little buildings, not at a mailbox at each house.
   9. Off lake property with no home has little value, sometimes lots being given away.
   10. About 200 homes on lake and 500 homes off lake.
   11. Water supply is by individual well. Sewers by individual septic.

2. Hide-Away-Hills Lake
   1. 110 acre
   2. Clear water as described to us. From high up, it looked a little green. Close up it was clear enough to see a few feet down.  No floating material.
   3. Water shed includes no farmland, meaning no fertilizer runoff.
   4. Lake Speed limit 30mph
   5. Power boating not suggested on Lake in 2015. Not suggested for 2016.  Lake down about 2.5 feet due to dam failure. Water needs to be down about 8 feet to make repairs.

3. Hide-Away Hills Dam Failure
   1. Earthen dam slippage and failure noticed in November 2013
   2. ODNR required a new dam to be built, or the Lake to be drained
   3. Dam repair to cost about $2.5million, about $4000 per Member.
   4. Member vote required, 66-2/3% must approve to assess this amount.
      1. Actual vote was 85% in favor of doing Dam Repairs and assessing each member $4000.

4. Revenue Sources
   1. Bar & Brewery and Food Service in Clubhouse
      1. Bar & Brewery is profitable
      2. Food service is not profitable. However, pizza service is profitable.
   2. Dues, $1910/year per member
   3. Road Assessment, $200/year
   4. Impact or Amenity Fee, $4200 per property transfer

5. Amenities and Volunteerism
   1. Amenities are funded through Impact Fee. Fee is $4200 per property transfer. Allocation of this fee:
      1. 50% to amenities
      2. 40% to general fund
      3. 10% to other
   2. Amenity fund about $100K, fluctuates based on money in and out.
   3. Use of amenities was free to members
   4. 24 Committees, examples
      1. Sound system in Club House.
      2. Airstrip
      3. Golf course, 9 hole
      4. Shooting range
      5. Long range planning
      6. Nominating
      7. Tennis
      8. Swimming pool (one pool)
      9. Chapel
      10. Organic gardening
      11. Amphitheater, outdoor entertainment
      12. Many more
   5. Each committee must raise some of their own money, before being able to request money from the Amenity fund.
   6. Board did not allocate Amenity money, but had the final vote on installing an amenity.

6. Pine Lakes (PL) General Description (Pine Lakes was the co-host, but we did not get to see any of their facilities)
   1. 14 acre lake. This is not a typo, it is 14 acres.
      1. Electric motors only on lake
      2. 1 mi around lake
      3. 39 homeowners, all on lake
   2. Founded in 1964
   3. Major activities
      1. Golf cart poker run
      2. 4^th of July Fireworks

7. Pine Lake Revenue Sources
   1. Dues
      1. $600 per lot with a house
      2. $120 per vacant lot
   2. Selling Timber
      1. Last two years, $30K and $15K
   3. Restaurant and Bar
   4. Bingo cards.  $36K revenue last year after all expenses were paid including property taxes on the building and property used for ticket sales, and employee wages.  One person paid to operate Gambling.
   5. Associate Members for swimming, $50/couple/year
   6. Campground rental space, $840/year

8. Membership, three types
   1. Members, owning property
   2. Swim associate members
   3. RV Campers at the campground.

9. Amenities
   1. Playground
   2. Swimming pool
   3. Bar and grill