July 2024 Board Meeting Recap

The RomeRock Association held their July Meeting on Saturday, July 20, 2024 at the clubhouse with the following directors present, Scott Soble, Mark Dougherty, Nadine Pope, Bob McClintock, Marie Kaufman and Rick Brothers.

President, Bob McClintock called the meeting to order at 10 a.m. and Wendy Carley gave the invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. After the Roll Call, both the February 3, 2024 meeting minutes and the first and second quarter Treasurer’s Reports were approved.

Standing Committee Reports followed Bob’s explanation of the Treasurer’s Report. He reminded everyone that although 95% of our annual funds are collected during the first half of the year, many of our larger expenditures, such as road projects, are not reflected in the current report.

Administration: Scott reported that there are no pending legal issues. He also reported that we have had difficulty finding and keeping seasonal maintenance workers. It has been a challenge for our maintenance department to keep up with the necessary tasks this time of year. Bob noted, we will no longer be installing culverts once the previously contracted ones are completed. It will be up to the resident or builder t to find independent contractors. We will provide specifications and continue to inspect the work. Nadine reported that the office will be advertising for a part time office assistant to work up to 24 hours a week due to one office employee’s resignation. She also reported that the new computer system has proven effective with the collection of past due accounts. Letters are automatically sent when accounts are past due two weeks, 45 days and 90 days. At the 90 day mark, residents are given 10 days to pay the delinquent amount before being sent to collection and we contact our legal counsel to begin proceedings to place a lien on their property. We are also charging the late fees (interest charges) in increments. We charge 2% after two weeks, 5% after 45 days and an additional 5% at 90 days, for a total of 12%. To date, our new system has enabled us to collect nearly $37,000 in delinquent funds this year.

Board of Review: Mike Petersen advised us that the Board of Review just received a citation that has been challenged.

Building and Maintenance: The BMC is continuing to work on a plan for building guidelines and will hopefully have this portion ready for review in the near future. The second half of their project is to develop guidelines regarding property maintenance.

Facilities: Marie and Mark have been driving around our community and noting areas that need attention, with safety issues being a top priority to be addressed. Local architect, Peter Bolek, has volunteered to help us with a design plan for updating the areas around beach 1 and beach 2. Hopefully work on this project can begin this fall.

Lake Safety: Nadine reported that to date, 11 warnings and 4 citations have been issued. Two citations have been paid, one dismissed, and one sent to the Board of Review. Rick reported that the committee will be organizing boat inspections for 2025 to be sure boaters have all required equipment on board before going out on the lake. We are going to start having safety reminders in our weekly eblasts and are investigating placing marker buoys at strategic points along the lake to make boaters more aware of where 75 feet from shore is.

Lake Management: Dave Ernes explained that one copper treatment was done on the south end of the lake in late June. There are no current plans to treat the north end unless there is an issue with toxic blue-green algae blooms. We have a group of volunteers who are using a probe sensor to evaluate the level of algae at eleven sites on the lake. Dave is going to coordinate them to all take the samples at the same time of day so we will have more consistent conditions when they are taken and the readings will be more accurate. The ultrasonic buoys are being tested this season, but the data taken so far is not yet clear as to their effectiveness.

Village Liaison: Bob read a message from Steve Kaufman that the village voted to suspend late charges for water in the last billing cycle due to delays caused by the postal system. The village is looking into an e- billing and payment system that would not involve a fee for use. There will be a public hearing regarding our sewer infrastructure system on August 20 at 6 p.m. at the village hall and community members are urged to attend. The village has hired a new Administrator, Mark Reed, who will start on August 1.

Club Reports: Barb Buckley reported for STARS that this year’s fireworks were a great success. Everyone has commented that the new company did an amazing job. The club will be hosting this year’s Rib Cook-Off on August 31. Information will be in the e-blast. Bree Bodish let us know that the Polar Bear Club will hold their annual Clam Bake on September 21 and there will once again be a basket auction. More information to follow soon. Marie reported that the Golf Leagues meet on Thursdays at Hemlock Springs at 9:30 a.m. for women and 4:30 p.m. for men. All skill levels are welcome. The Pickleball Club continues to be extremely popular in the shores. Times are available for beginners and the more advanced players. Contact Marie Kaufman for details. Water Exercise is held at Beach 2 at 9 a.m. weekdays, rain or shine.

Under New Business: Nadine read in entirety two proposed changes to the Bylaws. The changes are to the impact fee for new members ($1000 raised to $1500) and the required meeting attendance for members wishing to run for the board of directors. It changed from 3 meetings to ¼ of the meetings held or 3 meetings within twelve months. This was the first of three readings necessary before the changes are voted on in January 2025.

The meeting adjourned at 11 a.m.

Nadine Pope, Secretary