President’s Comments
March Board Meeting
March 1, 2018
By: Tom Sopko

Board Actions in the Past Month:

1. The Board voted to do a Ballot type Survey. Including the following issues:

1. 1. Whether food and beverages should be allowed inside the pool areas.
   2. What is the interest in other amenities. And how to pay for them.
   3. The Board asks that Members make suggestions.
      The Survey is expected to follow the Director Ballot and not overlap or be at the same time
2. The Board voted to provide WiFi at the Clubhouse area. It is now in service and will be in service year-round.
3. The Board voted to study monthly dues payments in an effort to implement monthly payments. Many Members have commented that they can afford $75/month and cannot afford $750 all at once. It was a suggestion brought to us by Ed Baitt based on Member feedback. The Board is targeting to begin this in June of 2018, for the 2019 season.

Board Actions Tonight:

1. John Martin has resigned from the Board. His resignation needs to be accepted. John’s remaining term is 1 year and two months.
2. A new Board Member will be seated. The Board will be at full strength which is seven.
3. Candidates for the upcoming Board election have to attend three regular Board meetings in the past year. The policy for monitoring Board Meeting attendance has been by signing in, however, it is not in the bylaws. Two Nominations are in question. The Board will decide if and how these Nominations are accepted.

Commentary:

What is Indemnification and Why Do We Have It? Indemnification which includes Directors and Officer Insurance protects volunteer Board Members from the costs of lawsuits and other legal claims whether criminal or civil. Indemnification should encourage Members to be on the Board because their personal assets are protected. Indemnification is now in question and under attack. Personally, I would not risk my retirement which took 40 years to build, to be on this Board if it were not for Indemnification. Put yourself in this position, would you risk your home or all your assets to manage this Association? Understanding Indemnification was my primary focus before deciding to join the Board. I used a third party law firm to help in that evaluation. No volunteer Director should be personally sued, imprisoned, accused of a felony, or have his/her life destroyed especially by another Member. These lawsuits and legal claims are the true money wasters of the Association and Community. Association Members need to step-up and question the accusers, as Members now question the defense decisions of the Association. Remember the Association Board of Directors represents you the Member. These actions could be handled internally by the Community if we were truly “working together”. These accusations are designed to intimidate the Board and to make the Board look bad, nothing else.

Director Election: For the upcoming Director election, it is my recommendation that you ask questions to understand the intentions of candidates. Vote for candidates who are truly interested in the long term direction of the Community, representing the entire Active Membership.

Presidents Comments
Board of Directors Meeting
February 1, 2018
By Tom Sopko

Due to bad weather, the January 2018 Board Meeting was cancelled.

The following actions were taken by the Board during January at a special Board meeting:

Maintenance work priorities were established for the Association. These priorities are:

1. Safety
2. Road Maintenance
3. Summer Amenities, such as pools
4. Building Maintenance
5. Dredging

The Board reviewed the boat regulations and made no changes.  (Note: Since that meeting there was one request to grant a variance on boat length. There was no variance granted or rule change.)

Upcoming important happenings and dates are summarized here.  The details of the candidate requirements, election rules and procedures are in the Bylaws:

This year is the election for two Board Members.  Dave Emick and myself, Tom Sopko, come to the end of their terms.  The first important date is February 27, 2018, 1pm.  Those interested in running for the two vacated Board seats need to declare their interest by this date and time.  This intent to run should be a letter that bares the candidate’s original signature along with the Candidate Form.

Ballots with the candidate names will be mailed to the Members by the Office on March 28th before 1pm.

Ballots must be received via US Mail no later than April 25^th, 1pm at David King’s office. Ballot delivered to the Office will not be included.

The newly elected and the existing Board Members (Directors) assume their positions after the annual meeting on April 28.

Lastly, the annual meeting is April 28, 2018, 1pm at the Clubhouse.  Following the annual meeting is a social for Members to meet their neighbors and the Board.  After the social, there is a meeting of the Board for the election of Officers and the election of Standing Committees for the subsequent Association year.  The Association year is May 2018 thru April 2019.

Presidents Comments
Board of Directors Meeting
January 4, 2018
By Tom Sopko

Due to bad weather, the January meeting was cancelled.

Let’s begin the New Year by reviewing the Status of your Association.

There are a new set of Membership Rules which eliminates the Guest Status and with this elimination, it is expected to make access to amenities easier.

Besides making access to the amenities easier, the Board is also in a pilot program to allow the use of Membership Card pictures on electronic devises like a smartphone. These legible pictures will be considered the equivalent to the original Membership Card. Members need to remember that they are responsible for taking and saving the Membership Card pictures, which must be legible.

Your Association is Financially Solvent.

The budget has been balanced for the past year 2016-2017.

$50,000 has been put into a Reserve Fund. What are Reserves? Reserves: “an amount adequate to repair and replace major capital items in the normal course of operations without the necessity of special assessments.” In addition, $10,000 from the 2018 budget is targeted to the Reserve Fund.

$25,000 has been put against the principal of the Office Loan. The Board will consider an additional amount to pay down the Office Loan based upon a cash flow study.

Dues and Assessments have not increased since 2011.
The Office was built with no increase in dues/assessments to the members. The Board demonstrated and published that it was cheaper to buy than rent a new Office. The Board committed to paying down the loan ASAP. The Board voted to apply $25,000 toward the principal to pay down quicker.

Dredging has been done at no additional cost to the Members, and no additional increase in dues or assessments.

Major Management Positions changes in the Association:

For Officers: we have a new Treasurer, Jack McMillin.

For Village Liaison, a Standing Committee, Shawn Morris is now the representative.

For the Amenities Committee, a Standing Committee, the committee is now active with Pat Swartz as Chairperson.

As always, I hope you are convinced we are managing your money and your Association in a prudent manner.

The Board is looking forward to working with the new management of the Village Council.

The Association and the Board of Directors wish every Member a Happy New Year. Here’s looking forward to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2018 for all of us.

Board of Directors Meeting
December 7, 2017
By Tom Sopko

At a Special Meeting of the Board of Directors, the Directors voted on several items:

To have the Interim Treasurer, to be the permanent Treasurer.  Jack McMillin has been voted to be the permanent Treasurer.

Made changes to the Standing Committees.  Shawn Morris will be the Village Liaison.  Pat Swartz and Dave Emick will manage the Amenities Committee, Pat is the Chairperson.  There are other minor changes to the other Standing Committees.

To accept the New Membership rules.  Jen Addair has reviewed and proposed a new set of Membership rules that the Board has accepted.

To accept the use of electronic media, examples: cell phones or tablets, as a back up to the Membership Card system.  Members must take their own pictures.

Note: The new card rules and the use of electronic media are a one year pilot project.  Assuming it works ok, the Association plans to continue.

To put $25,000 against the principal of the Office Loan.  To consider an additional amount to pay down the Office Loan based upon a cash flow study.

Tonight will be the third and final consideration of the Sexual Predator Amendment to the Bylaws.  There is a slight change in the wording to include “weekenders” who may be tier 3 sex offenders.  Before the Board votes on this again tonight, the minor wording change will be reviewed. 

Reminder:  Your Association is financially solvent.

$50,000 has been put into a Reserve Fund.  What are Reserves?  Reserves: “an amount adequate to repair and replace major capital items in the normal course of operations without the necessity of special assessments.”  In addition, $10,000 from the 2018 budget is targeted to the Reserve Fund. 

Despite the constant Social Media pokes about the insolvency and supposed constant dues increases by the Association, due/assessments have not increased since 2011 and the Association is solvent. 

The Office was built with no increase in dues/assessment to the members.

Dredging has been done at no additional cost to the Members.

Interest payments have decreased about $4000 per month despite adding a new loan for the Office. 

The valve on the dam has failed in the open position.  The Association is aware of the situation and is working with the Village to remedy the problem.  (Note: The valve has been repaired.)

The Association and the Board have been criticized for not responding to Social Media comments.  Please remember that some of the social media commenters may not be Members, or may not be Active Members meaning that they are not paying dues/assessments.  Some of the names and accounts could be fake.  One of the problems of social media is that anyone can write anything without providing any documentation.  You should make yourself aware of who is a Member, if they are a Member are they a paying Member, who is not a Member, and is it a real name, a real person?  And then be asking for documentation before accepting what is written on social media as true. 

The Association (the Operations Manager-Dan Mullins, Pat Sowery, Jen Addair, and the maintenance staff); and the Board of Directors wish every Member a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year.  Here’s looking forward to a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year for all of us.  We will see you in 2018. 

By Tom Sopko

The Board voted to have an Interim Treasurer.  For our Interim Treasurer, the Board has elected Jack McMillin.  Should Jack McMillin be voted onto the Village Council, as he is a candidate, and he chooses to resign from the Association, another Interim Treasurer will be chosen to start in January.

Tonight will be the second consideration of the Sexual Predator Amendment to the Bylaws.  There is a slight change in the wording to include “weekenders” who may be tier 3 sex offenders.  Before the Board votes on this again tonight, the minor wording change will be reviewed.

The Board approved a 2018 budget.  As always, it is a balanced budget.  Thanks to the fine work done by our Office staff getting more Members to pay, it appears that we may have up to $90,000 more to spend in 2018.  As you may recall, it has been a goal of the Board to reduce the number of Members in arrears.

The Board also addressed Reserves.  What are Reserves?  Reserves: “an amount adequate to repair and replace major capital items in the normal course of operations without the necessity of special assessments.”  We are one of the few HOA’s that has the right to pledge property toward a loan.  However, based on the fact that Reserves continues to be brought up, based on the fact that in the future banks or lenders may not take property for collateral, it has been decided to dedicate money to a Reserve Fund, and to do a reserve study.  Therefore the Board voted to move $50,000 from the $198,000 we have in savings to a Reserve Fund.  In addition, $10,000 from the 2018 budget is targeted to the Reserve Fund.  In addition to starting a Reserve Fund, a Reserve study will be done to determine how much should be in the Reserve Fund.  As part of approving the new Budget, the Board voted to leave the dues/assessments and any late fees the same.

A new Employee Handbook has been approved by the Board.  Copies will be available online or a copy can be picked up at the Office.

Jen Addair, of the Office, has suggested to the Board a new Membership Card hierarchy.  Her suggestions have been approved by the Board.  It does streamline the card system by eliminating the “Guest System”.  Separate from the Card hierarchy, a backup will be allowed.  The backup system is that pictures of Membership cards will be allowed to be on phones.  This means that if you want a backup to your card or your family’s cards on your phone, you will need to take a picture of your card, and any family or household members and copy it to your phone.  This will be your backup.  This new system is a one year pilot program for 2018.

Jen Addair has summarized the real estate tax meeting with Roger Corlett and Dennis DiCamillo.  The summary is on the RRA website and can be found in the email blasts.  One of the most important outcomes is that if you want an informal meeting with the County Auditor concerning your property appraisal, it is recommended that you do it immediately.  This will allow you to have an informal  meeting as opposed to a formal request for real estate re-evaluation.

The Board has discussed applying up to $50,000 from savings toward paying down the Office Loan.  As we announced at the time of the decision to build rather than rent, we would seek to pay down the Office Loan as quickly as possible.  We, the Association, have two outstanding loans, the pool & roads loan and the Office loan.  We are looking to vote to put the money toward the highest interest rate loan, the Office. 

October 5, 2017
By Tom Sopko

Board has voted to review how membership cards are used and required.  It doesn’t mean that any changes will be made.  What this does mean is that the Office has been asked to review membership cards.  The Board has asked that any proposed changes be made by January so as to allow time for communication and implementation. 

The Board was represented at the Ohio Lake Communities Association (OLCA) meeting at Lake Holiday in Willard OH.  As you may recall the OLCA is comprised of 22 lake communities like the RomeRock Association.  These OLCA meetings are a way for the Board to gauge how we compare versus other lake communities, and it’s an opportunity to share solutions to common problems.  Based on comparing your Lake Roaming Rock to Lake Holiday, we are in great shape.  Lake Holiday was very similar to the RRA. 

The Board and Dan Mullins met with Roger Corlett, the Ashtabula County Auditor on April 22, 2017.  Three important points that came out of the Meeting:  (1) no one in the Association is paying a Road Tax, (2) everyone pays about the same property tax rate regardless of whether you live on a Village, Township, County, or Association owned road.  (3) The Road Assessment paid to the Association is by virtue of each Association Member buying into the Homeowners Association.  Mr. Corlett will meet with the Members on Saturday, October 21, 2017, Clubhouse, 10:00am to 11:30am. Private meetings about your own real estate tax situation can be setup with Mr. Corlett.       

The Impact Fee.  The Impact fee of $1000, is a fee charged new property owners of the Association at the time of their purchase into the Association.  An Impact fee is intended to cover the cost to the Association that are directly or indirectly related to the transfer of ownership, including, without limitation, administrative expenses and contribution toward amenities that have been bought and paid for by monies collected from previous Members.  The impact fee available from 2016 property sales was $72,000, for 2017 it is estimated to be $90,000+.  Money from the impact fee goes to the Road Assessment, Amenities and the General Assessment Fund.  It has been suggested to eliminate that fee.  It is the Board’s suggestion that if you decide to eliminate the Impact fee, you also decide what you  are going to cut out or reduce, examples: pool maintenance, road maintenance, dredging, or snow plowing (examples).  Or do you want to increase dues/assessment about $70 to $80 per year to maintain what we currently have because that is what will be needed to maintain a balanced budget.

Our Financials are in terrific shape.  Although you just heard the financials, let me summarize them again.  We have approximately $198,000 in savings for which we are considering spending $50,000 on another barge to be used in the dredging.  Then we have another $233,000 available for maintenance and capital improvements for the balance of the year 2017.  The actual interest charge on existing loans has decreased through negotiating the refinance of existing loans, and the payoff period is the same.  The Board demonstrated in several publications that it was in the Association’s best interest, and the Association is you, to build an Office as opposed to renting.  Your Association Financials are in very sound shape. 

Public versus Private.  Most or all of us bought property in the Association either with knowledge of becoming and/or because we wanted to become part of a private lake community.  There are now people, some of whom are paying Members and some of whom are not members, claiming that we can maintain privacy even if all of the current private facilities and amenities were to come under the ownership and control of the Village, a public body.  The co-existence of a Village and an Association has been highly praised by other members of OLCA.  Other OLCA member communities have expressed their desire to have both a public Village and a private Association.  As an example: Hide Away Hills did away with their Dam Insurance because of the cost; each Member is now paying $4000 to pay for a $2.5million dam repair because of a Dam failure; this is because Hide Away Hills did not have a Village to help with the Dam insurance.  The Roaming Shores Village has served a valuable role in maintaining for the Community certain services that are typically provided by local government, including the Utilities, water and sewer, and the Police Force.  The Association has its role in the maintenance of its amenities and its facilities that are for the enjoyment of the members only as opposed to the public in general, including providing a venue for clubs and social activities. While it is easy to speak and write about eliminating the Association and turning everything over to the Village to be publicly owned and operated, the process to do so is a monumental complicated task.  While it always has been and remains the Board’s position that there is no good reason to eliminate the dual entities, those that call for abolishing the Association and turning everything over to the Village appear to have failed to think this process through or consider applicable Ohio law.  In order to sell or transfer all of the common properties owned by the Association for the private benefit of its members, the Board would require the approval of “75% of the voting power of the owners association.”  Even if the approval of 75% of the Members was not an insurmountable obstacle, the Board would not seek to eliminate the very association that was formed and has been maintained for the particular benefit of its Members. 

Lastly, there is no “free lunch”.  If an Impact Fee is not collected, either dues/assessments need to be raised or some amenity needs to be cut out or reduced.  If you think you want the Village as your sole management organization, then even assuming you can somehow garner the 75% approval to abolish the Association, you should first inquire extensively as to whether and how the Village can both raise the money necessary to maintain and acquire the facilities and amenities to which you have grown accustomed and maintain their privacy and exclude their use by non-residents.   If you want only the Association to operate without assistance from the Village, it may be necessary to increase dues/assessments to cover certain expenses such as the Dam insurance. 

Your Association has frugally and judicially used your money.  You can push to eliminate the Impact Fee and/or move to a single management organization, but you need to first fully understand the consequences and difficulties in doing so.  Just remember, there are things you get now that need to be paid for by either the Village or the Association.  There is “no free lunch”.   

A goal of this Board has been to improve dues and assessment collections.  An action item of the Collections Policy developed by our Attorney is to assign a Board Member for our Attorney to work with.  John Martin, our Treasurer, has been assigned.   

The Board is reviewing a new Employee Handbook.  It is anticipated that by the next Board Meeting the Association will have a new Employee Handbook.

Water Quality.  As you probably noticed, there were warning signs about a high level of algae toxins with the State’s recommendation that there be no contact with the water.  This was based on the sampling that we agreed to earlier in the year.  The Association will report the data, however, the Association will not make a recommendation.  The Association is providing as much information as possible so that each Member can make their own decision.  Additional sampling has been proposed by Lake Management and it has been agreed to by the Board to see if we can predict a situation like this again.

The meeting with our County Auditor, Roger Corlett, will be October 21, 2017, 10:00am at the Clubhouse.  Mr. Corlett will compare tax rates around the Association and Village, and address the Road Tax.  This is not a meeting to discuss your personal property tax.  Mr. Corlett invites you to set up a private appointment should you desire to discuss you own property tax.

Subcommittees for both the Association and the Village are meeting to work out the differences between the Village and the Association.  The immediate goal for this group is to negotiate maintenance of the roads which includes snowplowing, lawn mowing, culvert installation and all the associated activities.  The second goal is to re-negotiate the Dam Contract.  The first meeting was Thursday, July 13, 2017, the second meeting August 16, 2017, and the next meeting is scheduled for September 27, 2017.  Thus far, the Association has become a registered contractor to the Village and the Association has provided individual prices for snow plowing, grass cutting and culvert maintenance.  

In the September 2017 Roaming Shores Newspaper, it is reported that the “Board agrees to not buy back unwanted property lots.”  Just to be clear, this was not a recent decision.  The Association, at the direction of the Board, has not taken back lots in over 10 years; several Boards over the years have taken this same policy.  Financially, the Association cannot afford to take back property that an owner no longer wants.  The Association, and you are the Association, cannot afford to be responsible for the taxes and utility fees.

Lastly, the Association Operations Manager and Staff have done a fine job of maintaining and improving the facilities.  The Board hopes that you, the Members, enjoyed the Association amenities and that you continue to use the facilities remaining open after Labor Day, and that you continue to support the Club activities. 

By: Tom Sopko, President

The Annual Meeting was held on Saturday, April 29, 2017.  About eighty were in attendance.  They learned that the Association is solvent; 2016 was operated within a balanced budget; the Association was in their new Office; there are no dues or assessment increases; improvements that have been made to the amenities; status of the Clubs; and the Association’s future plans.  Important items to the Members were being able to recycle trash, the condition of properties, safety on the water, and Member in arrears for dues and assessments.  Following the Meeting there was a reception with the Board and the Members.  Then there were tours of the new Office.

Following the Annual Meeting and tours of the new Office, the Board met for their annual reorganizational meeting.  The Board Officer positions and the Standing Committees remain the same for 2017 as they were in 2016.

The Board and the Association Manager met with Roger Corlett, the Ashtabula County Auditor on April 22, 2017.  Three important points that came out of the Meeting is that (1) no one in the Association is paying a Road Tax, (2) everyone pays about the same property tax rate regardless of whether you live on a Village, Township, County, or Association owned road.  (3) The Road Assessment to the Association is by virtue of each Association Member buying into the Homeowners Association.  Mr Corlett will hold a follow up meeting with the Members in September, target date September 23.

The RomeRock Association is a Homeowners Association (HOA).  It means that we collectively pay for the operation and the amenities.  Roads, pools, pavilions, volley ball court, tennis court, RL lots etc. are common amenities.  If this is a concept that you cannot embrace, then maybe, it’s time you look elsewhere for another Community to live in.  You bought into this HOA concept when you bought your property.  It is not a new concept instituted by this Board or past Boards.  It was instituted by the Developer in the 1960s before turning the property over to the Association.  The HOA has been in place going on 51 years.  HOA’s are a very common practice by this Lake Community, the RRA, as well as other lake communities.  It is also a very common practice for condo associations, and groups of homes.  This Board is not going to move to an a la carte system of paying for roads, pools and other amenities; it would be an impossible task.

I want to thank Jim Swartz for filling in for me tonight.  I have some out-of-state family commitments today.

As you already notice, we are having our April Board Meeting and subsequent Board Meetings at the Clubhouse.  Following these meetings will be a social reception for Members the Board.  The Board is hoping that this will promote a sense of Community.  This is to be an opportunity for the Membership to meet other Members and the Board.  Sorry I am missing the first one.

As a reminder, there were only two Candidates for the two open Board Seats.  According to the Bylaws, when the number of candidates equal or are less than the number of open Seats, the Board can suspend the Election by confirming the candidates.  We confirmed the candidates at the March Board Meeting.  The two new Board Members for the 2017 to 2020 period are Jim Swartz and Ron Morris.

Our new business Office is complete and at the old location.  The new Office is in use. A special thanks to Dan Mullins, our Association Operations Manager, and Jim Swartz, our Vice President of the Board for navigating the construction process.  And a further thanks to Dan and Jim along with our office staff, Pat Sowry and Jen Addair, and our Maintenance staff for the transition back to Route 6.

The Annual Meeting will be held on April 29, 2017, 1pm right here at the Clubhouse.  Following the meeting will be a social with other Members and the Board, and then a tour of the new Office for those making the trip to Route 6.

The Board cancelled out of the joint Village-Association meeting in March for what turned out to be a record snow for the area.  We will reschedule after the Board has an opportunity to agree upon potential dates which will be provide to the Village.  In addition the Board will address the Mayor’s suggestion that we have a few representatives rather than the entire Board.

Volunteerism:  I want to thank all the Volunteers that it took to put on several activities over the past several weeks.  The Polar Bear Plunge, Dog Training, Winter Fest,  Friends and Neighbors Dinner, Shores Hold ém, Quilting, and the Fishing Club.  If I missed any I apologize to that group. Hopefully, these activities will continue to increase and our Members will create and/or find activities that interest them.  It is no small task to put on these events and the Board is greatly appreciative of these events for the development of our Community.

At the February 2017 Board Meeting, questions arose over the Impact Fee.  The Impact Fee is charged at each property transfer, except in the death of an owner passing his property on to family heirs.  The current Impact Fee is $1,000.   The amount collected in 2016 was $76,000.  The purpose of the Impact Fee is to have new property owners contribute to the roads, general fund and amenities which is how the Impact Fee is allocated.  The Board subsequently discussed the Impact Fee and decided to make no changes to how the Impact Fee is administered or to the amount.

As we discussed at the December and February meetings, the Association will host Roger Corlett, the Ashtabula County Auditor.  Mr. Corlett will discuss how real estate taxes are accessed, collected, and dispersed.  At Mr Corlett’s request, this first meeting will be with the Board, and the Association Operations Manager.  A subsequent meeting will then be planned with the Membership.

Important Item:  The next several Board Meetings, including the April 6^th meeting, will be held at the Clubhouse followed by a Members reception. Light refreshments will be provided as an opportunity to interact with the Board, Club Presidents, and one another.

Last Saturday, the Winterfest, a planned outdoor activity, was held indoors at the Clubhouse, due to the lack of winter weather.  There were games, crafts, movies, and treats for all.  The event was Free.  The Board wishes to thank Office Employee, Jen Addair, Association Maintenance and Board Member/President of STARS, Jack McMillin, and their throng of STARS Club volunteers for a fun day.  Everyone that attended would have to agree that the kids had a good time and the adults had a good time watching them have a good time.  The Board hopes that STARS does this again.

The nominations to the Board for the 2017 Election closed on February 28, 2017 at 1:00pm.  There are two seats open for the next three years.  The qualified candidates are incumbents:  Jim Swartz, and Ron Morris.  Update: Based on the By-Laws, being the same number of candidates as positions available, the Board can vote to eliminate the Ballot which was done at the March Board Meeting.  Therefore, there will be no Ballot.  There is an out-of-pocket savings as well as a considerable time savings.

The Annual Meeting will be held at the Clubhouse on Saturday April 29, 2017, 1pm.  A summary of the previous year will be covered.  Refreshments will be served at the end.  And this year the Board will host a tour of the new Office following the refreshments at the Clubhouse.