November Board Recap

The RomeRock Board of Directors held their November board meeting on Thursday, November 5th at the clubhouse with all directors present. Both Pat Sowry and Treasurer, Scott Soble attended via zoom. Louise Lisac called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. The meeting was held meeting social distancing guidelines and was closed to the public due to COVID-19 meeting guidelines.

The meeting opened with Cheryl Fain giving the invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Minutes of the October meeting were approved. Treasurer, Scott Soble, reviewed the September financial statement. He again explained the importance of collection of past due accounts and their impact on our ability to meet our financial obligations. Nadine Pope advised the board that 20 registered letters were sent to delinquent property owners, as well as another group of letters sent regular mail as reminders to property owners who still have not paid their 2020 dues and assessments. Pat is compiling a list of delinquent accounts to forward to our legal counsel for review and recommendation as to our next step in securing collection of these accounts.

The board further discussed dues and assessments for 2021 and the cost for boat registration fees in 2021. This is all part of the budgeting process which is currently taking place. Our Maintenance Manager is compiling a list of potential equipment replacement and necessary repairs. We know these items will need to be prioritized over a period of time, but we are dealing with seriously aging equipment, some of which was already used when it was purchased. Another area of concern are our aging roadways, which haven’t been paved for 20 years.

Louise discussed plans to implement a new Strategic Planning Advisory Council to help the board plan for our lake community’s future. Several more residents came forward showing interest after last week’s article in the eblast.  We need a plan for the health of our lake, dredging, our pools, paving of our roads, equipment replacement and many other areas. Our community is too important to leave all of these details to chance and hope that they take care of themselves.  We have to plan for the future of our infrastructure and how to maintain and pay for it. Louise will be scheduling the first meeting in mid November.

Louise also advised the board that Maintenance Manager, Randy Ruebel has begun the interview process to add a new member to our maintenance team. He was very pleased with the response to our ad and hopes to have a decision very soon.

Lake Management – The committee has been extremely busy reviewing possible solutions for our lake’s battle with algae. They are looking at many natural remedies that will help filter unwanted toxins from entering our lake, such as buffer zones and RL lots not being mowed, especially along the waterfront, which will allow the grasses to help filter what enters the lake.  We have listened to many possible solutions for increasing the health of our lake, while controlling invasive weeds and algae. The most important thing is to be sure we do it right. Therefore, the board will be sending out Requests for Proposals to several companies to hire a Lake Advisor to help us sift through the possibilities and come up with the right solutions for us.

The response to the Aqua Doc survey was extremely positive and this too will be looked at as part of our overall plan.

The board is also planning to have a dredging planning meeting for 2021. Several questions have been asked as to how it is determined where and when to dredge each season. The board, along with the maintenance manager will be meeting to come up with a plan to share with our property owners.

Lake Safety – Rory Marshall reported that all citations issued this season were paid. The most important thing though is that the person committing the violation learns from the experience and does not repeat the same behavior. We all need to look out for each other on the lake. If you see something unsafe, say something. We are hoping to have police presence on the lake next summer. The continuing pandemic is still making our plans unclear but we will be meeting with Chief Roskos to come up with a plan that we hope will be viable for next boating season.

Fishing Club – The Fishing Club has pulled the fountain by the clubhouse for the winter. Thanks to Dave Emick for finding a way for the fountain to efficiently operate this summer. Josh Baitt won the award for largest Bass caught this season. It was 5.36 pounds and 21 inches long. Congratulations Josh!

Our next meeting will be held Saturday, December 12^th at 10 a.m. This meeting will be open for members to attend via zoom. Details for joining the meeting will be published in our eblast in the beginning of December.