Lake Carroll News, November 2015
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Lake Carroll News A publication of the Lake Carroll Association and its Members The Lake Carroll News is online! www.golakecarroll.com News & Events>Newspaper November 2015
What’s Inside
A second fish survey was performed by the Lake Manager and LC Fishing Club. See Page 4B
www.golakecarroll.com
Vol. 43 No. 11
2015 Annual Meeting In accordance with the By-Laws, Article IV, notice is hereby given of the Annual Meeting of the Lake Carroll Association. General business of the Association for the 2015 year will be the topic of order. You will receive your Annual Packet containing the BOD Candidate Ballot, Voting Proxy Card, and all pertinent materials in early November. Review all information and instructions carefully to ensure your ballot and proxy are properly validated. Only members in good standing are eligible to vote. Vote! Your opinion is important. This is your opportunity to be heard. REMINDERS: The Annual Meeting mailing is scheduled for an approximate mailing date of November 7, 2015. The mailing will be sent in 4” x 9” black & white Lake Carroll envelopes. All delinquent dues &
Association fees (mowing, marina concession charges, citations, chlorine bills, etc.) must be paid in full to exercise your voting privileges concerning the BOD election, the 2016 Budget, and the ByLaw amendments at the 2015 Annual Meeting. If you were paying your dues on a quarterly basis, the final quarterly payment was due October 31, 2015. As of November 1, 2015, $100.00 late fees have been added to all unpaid quarterly accounts. Late fees were also added to unpaid 2015 August mowings. Ballots for the BOD election must be received by November 30, 2015. They are to be mailed in the envelopes provided with our mailing. Please read the instructions carefully. Proxies for the 2015 Annual Meeting may be returned to the Association Office any time prior to the meeting on December 6, 2015. Once again, Please read the directions included in your Annual Meeting packet, which you should receive the week of November 9, 2015.
Things to Remember... • The Annual Meeting Mailing documents are available on www.golakecarroll.com. Go to •
December 6 & 13 9am-12pm
at the Lake Carroll Clubhouse
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Kids get your photo taken with Santa!
2015 ANNUAL MEETING Sunday, December 6, 2015 Lake Carroll Clubhouse Lower Level 11:30am Registration 12:30pm Meeting BOARD MEETING SCHEDULE: Nov 20, Annual Mtg Dec 6, Jan 22, Feb 26 THANKSGIVING CLOSURES: Admin Office: Nov 26, 27, & 28 Clubhouse: Nov 26 Aquatic Complex: Nov 26 CHRISTMAS/NEW YEAR’S CLOSURES: Office: Dec 24, 25, 26, & 31; Jan 1 & 2 Clubhouse: Dec 24, 25, 31 (open to party attendees only); Jan 1 Aquatic Complex: Closes 10:30am Dec 24; Closed Dec 25; Closes 4pm Dec 31
NOTICE: A Variance Hearing will be held on Friday, November 6, 2015 at 8am in the LCA Conference Center. JCWIFI is requesting a variance to add 20 feet of tower to the tower located at 31-34 Lake Carroll Blvd making the total height 50 feet. This will allow for much better Internet coverage of the area. Do you have a driveway on a cul-de-sac in Lake Carroll? Will you be gone or not visit your LC home all winter season? If the answer to these two questions is “Yes,” then please let the LC Maintenance Department know at snordlie@golakecarroll.com. Read more in “Facilities Update” on page 2B.
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Resources>Doc Library>2015 Annual Mtg
Ballots allowing for three (3) votes must be received by December 2, 2015 according to the instructions provided. Your Proxy can be turned into the Admin Office Staff anytime up to the start of the meeting on Dec 6, 12:30PM. You must be a “Member in Good Standing” to be eligible to vote. Please read the instructions carefully. Incomplete or incorrectly completed Ballots or Proxies will be void.
General Manager’s Report
After months of work by the Finance and Steering Committees, dozens of volunteers, and the Administrative Staff, the 2016 Proposed Budget was approved by the Board of Directors at the October 23, 2015 Board Meeting. What this means is that the Board has recommended this Budget to be forwarded to the Membership for approval at the Annual Meeting on Mike Schmieder General Manager December 6th at the Lake Carroll Clubhouse. As you know a large percentage of the Fixed Asset dollars for 2015 were spent on the Dam Grouting Project, which I am glad to report was a huge success. In fact, for the first time since my arrival in late 2010, the lake maintained “pool” level and we had water flowing over the spillway as late as mid-October. The 2016 Fixed Asset Budget will allow us the opportunity to make some of the repairs and improvements to other areas which need attention. With the exception of last year’s grouting project, our largest single Fixed Asset Budget expenditure is usually the work which goes towards maintaining our roads. In 2016, the roads here at Lake Carroll will remain the largest Fixed Asset expense. While there are numerous items proposed in the 2016 Fixed Asset Budget, one item that I’m particularly excited about is one that our Safety Committee has been working on, which is the installation of Tornado Sirens within the Lake Carroll Community. This project is budgeted at $80,000 and could very well save lives in the event of severe weather. A great deal of time was invested by all of the committees to consider all of the requests. Although we could never complete all of them, our Steering Committee did a fine job of prioritizing which projects should be addressed in 2016. The Operating Budget also presented us with many challenges. The biggest cost increases we face heading into 2016 is the rising cost of healthcare for our staff and the drop
in Dues-Paying Members. Our healthcare premiums will increase by nearly $52,000, or 22%, beginning January 1st. The shortfall in Dues during 2015 is approximately $46,000 and this liability unfortunately has to be shouldered by the remaining Property Owners. Dues increases are never going to be popular and those who assisted in creating this budget are, and have been, very mindful of that fact. Sometimes however, as with this budget, making decisions based solely on keeping dues increases to a minimum may be popular during the budget process, but can create a budget that compromises our ability to maintain the standards which are expected by the Membership. From an operations standpoint, our goal is to continue to maintain and enhance our Community. This objective can only be accomplished by adequate funding and the Board and the Committees feel strongly that the proposed budget will keep Lake Carroll one of, if not the finest, Four-Season Recreational Community in Northern Illinois. The 2016 Budget calls for a $60.00 increase in annual dues, an increase of less than 4%. Of that increase, $48 will go towards the Operations Budget; $11 will go to the Fixed Asset Budget and $1 for debt repayment. It isn’t possible to inform you of all aspects of the 2016 budget in this article, but I will ask the Membership to consider the entire budget when voting on it. In early November you will be receiving the annual information packet regarding the proposed budget. The packet will include detailed information on the budget including the projects and expenses which will be funded in this budget, and which ones have been eliminated or deferred. I am glad to report that this budget includes the funds needed to make our last payment on the Pool Loan which originated in 2004. Originally, this loan would not have been retired until 2022, but with the accelerated pay-down, which the Membership approved over the past four years, the final payment will be made in February 2016. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I look forward to seeing you On December 6th at the Annual Meeting.