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 December 2016
Publication Date: December 7, 2016
www.golakecarroll.com
Vol. 44 No. 12
What’s Inside
LCWC Blanket Project make donations. Page 14B
Information regarding the
Annual Lake Draw-Down Photo Club visits Stoned Art Studio. Page 15A
OFFICE CLOSURES: Dec 23-26 – Christmas Dec 30-Jan 2 – New Year’s CLUBHOUSE CLOSURES: Dec 24 & 25 – Christmas Dec 31 – Open for New Year Eve Party Attendees ONLY Jan 1 – New Year’s Day AQUATIC COMPLEX: Dec 24 – Close at 10:30am Dec 25 – Christmas Dec 31 – Close at 4pm NewYear Eve BOARD MEETING SCHEDULE: Annual Mtg & BOD Mtg Dec 4, Dec 16 if needed, Jan 27, Feb 24, Mar 24, Apr 28
f 2017 DUES f You can expect your 2017 Annual Dues Packet sometime in December. 1. READ thoroughly! 2. UPDATE as needed! 3. Provide current proof of insurance and registrations as indicated. 4. Return your 2017 Information Sheet with your payment and updated documents. See page 3A.
NO T I CE :
CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED FOR DUES PAYMENTS AT ADMIN OFFICE
Beginning December 1, 2016, credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and Discover) will once again be accepted for dues payments at the Admin Office. We will continue accepting credit cards for other fees and product purchases. All credit card purchases at the Admin Office will be accessed a surcharge at the rate of 3.25%. LCA Administration
During the first week of November, Lake Carroll conducts an annual drawdown (lowering) of the lake. The lake is level is lowered to a level of 737’ above sea level or, 3 feet below normal pool level. There are four reasons for doing this; 1.) It gives us the opportunity to evaluate the shoreline rip-rap, 2.)It provides Lakefront Property Owners an opportunity to repair their shorelines, Mike Schmieder General Manager 3.)It reduces the potential for damage to rip-rap by shifting ice and last, it aids in the freeze out of weeds in the shallow areas of the lake. Historically, Lake Carroll has performed only one drawdown per year. Last year, the draw-down was performed as scheduled, however heavy rains shortly after the draw-down filled the lake back to pool level by Thanksgiving. Because of this, many Property Owners were unable to complete the required rip-rap repairs and with the mild winter, we did not see the weed freeze out we have seen in previous years. At the October Board Meeting, the Lake Committee advanced a recommendation to the Board to consider additional lake draw-downs if this anomaly occurs again in the future. The following motion was approved last Friday night.
“Move to adopt policy to allow for additional lake draw-downs after the initial draw-down in early November. Subsequent draw-downs would be completed at Management’s discretion if the lake level rises to 737’ or higher prior to December 15. Additional draw-downs would enable lakefront property owners to complete scheduled rip-rap repairs and aid in the freeze out of weeds in shallow areas of the lake.” A few Property Owners voiced a concern that multiple drawdowns may lead to low lake levels next spring if the spring rains don’t bring our Lake back up to pool level. Their concerns are valid and although it’s been many years since the lake hadn’t come back up to pool level the following spring, it could happen. It is however very unlikely. As mentioned above, we dropped the lake by 3’ last November it the lake came back to pool within a few weeks. Since the dam has been grouted, the dam continues to hold water better than it has in a decade. Though we would like to have the opportunity to do an additional drawdown if needed, a second draw-down would only be performed to lower the lake to the preferred winter elevation of 737’ and no lower. Furthermore, additional draw-downs would only be performed until December 15th, about the time the lake starts to freeze. If you have any questions regarding the Lake and the new Lake Draw-Down policy, please feel free to contact our Lake Manager Joe Rush or myself.
LC Implements New Membership System - iMis
New Membership System Implementation The current custom built Membership system used by our Administration Office to house all of your pertinent data, including billing, property information, and personal-related information, has serviced us well, but has been having stability issues that require it to be replaced. Staff has been working diligently, as the product chosen to replace our current system is not a custom built application, but was chosen because of its versatility, flexibility, and functionality. iMIS, our new membership system, is the market leading software solution for membership/association industries with more than 17 years’ experience. iMIS provides the core functionality needed in a single database and allows additional support for other user specific data. iMIS is a 100% upgradeable software solution supported by a nationwide team of professionals, including programmers who are consistently Deb Stagno updating with new functionalities and abilities. iMIS is able to accommodate all of our current needs, as Technology Director well as create the backbone for our future development Association-wide. November 7th, 2016 was our official date of conversion to the new system. The conversion went smoothly thanks to the efforts of our dedicated Amin staff. Many hours of meetings, trainings, trials, and report writing have gone into this transition. I say “Thank You!” to those involved. What does this mean to you? Your 2017 billing and annual packet will have all of the same documents you have grown accustom to. As we migrate into the new system, you will notice new invoice and statement styles. We also will be processing through two systems in the beginning. This may take us a few extra minutes to process your requests, but is viable to a smooth transition. Thank you, in advance, for your patience during this time. We will keep the membership informed as new functionality becomes available. Editor’s Note: No one has put more time into the training and implementation of iMis than our Information Technology Director, Deb Stagno. Thank you for all you do! Donna Beyer and the Admin Staff