The Official Newsletter of the Lake of the Woods Association, Inc. Vol. 18, No. 20
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540.972.2237
LOWA.org
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Early Amenity Registration Starts March 15 New Members, Sign Up Now & Save Take advantage of our Early Amenity Registration Period and get a free bonus month of amenity use. • Fitness Center Annual • Boat & Watercraft Memberships Registration • Pickleball / Tennis Annual • Golf Annual Memberships Memberships (register at the Pro Shop) Visit www.LOWA.org/Forms to download applications and to view the 2021-2022 Fee Schedule. To register bring your completed applications to Member Services at the Holcomb Building. Hours Monday-Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM, Saturdays 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM 540-972-2237 frontdesk@LOWA.org
/LOWAssociation
February 26, 2021
Treasurer’s Letter by Walt Diercks
It has been a very busy and productive three months in the financial life of LOWA. Here are the highlights: The results for the first nine months of our current fiscal year, which ends April 30, are in. Our amenities as a group – the Fitness Center, the Clubhouse and Fareways - continue to experience substantial negative variances from the budget due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 restrictions. Despite these budget variances, LOWA’s overall financial position is solid. This is due to very careful management of expenses, over $837,000 received from COVID-19 relief programs, and greater than budgeted New Construction and Renovation fees received from Member home construction projects. The Board voted final approval of the fiscal year 2021-22 budget at its Feb. 17 meeting. The approved budget met the Board goal set last September of keeping the assessment increase under 3 percent at a time filled with COVID-19 challenges. This year there were only two minor budget amendments offered by directors, both of which were adopted unanimously. In comparison, two years ago there were 21 amendments offered by directors. Many thanks to the LOWA staff, committees, and the Board for all their hard work which got us to a final budget without a lot of drama this year. In January, the Small Business Administration forgave all the principal and interest, totaling over $780,000, from LOWA’s Paycheck Protection Program loan. This infusion of PPP cash, together with over $55,000 in funding from the CARES Act, and very prudent cash management and spending, has enabled us to overcome the severe amenity operations revenue shortfalls and financial challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to partially fund our operations in the upcoming fiscal year, during which we expect significant lingering adverse effects from the pandemic. While it may have looked like LOWA has effortlessly navigated the operational and financial COVID-19 storm, it has taken a huge effort (and some sleepless nights) to get us to where we are today. The proceeds from the waived PPP loan are shown separately on the Statement of Revenue and Expense (Page 8) in the section entitled Operations Center Revenue – Other Income.
See Treasurer's Letter on p. 3
TENNIS
LOWA Sets Sept. 4 for Annual Fireworks Show LOWA will host the annual fireworks show from Veterans Dam on Saturday, Sept. 4, during the 2021 Labor Day Weekend. This is a change from the tradition of having fireworks in July on the Saturday nearest Independence Day. The deciding factor was the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine. Waiting until September gives the community longer to get the vaccine so that we can have a large community gathering. If we are unable to host the show in September, we will postpone to 2022. Perhaps then we can return to our traditional fireworks show in July. American Fireworks puts on an excellent show enjoyed by thousands of members and their guests. We are cautiously optimistic we can come together as a community in September to observe Patriot’s Day and the last days of the pandemic.
Treasurer's Letter 1 President's Letter 2 Agenda 2 Association News 2-7 Board Minutes 3 General Manager's Column 3 Calendar 5, 6 Financials 8, 9 Viewpoints 12 Orange County 13 Classifieds 14-15
Saturday, March 6 LOWA Regular Board Meeting 10 AM, Community Center, Zoom
Monday, March 15 Early Amenity Registration Begins Including Boat & Watercraft
Sunday, March 14 Daylight Saving Time Begins
Wednesday, March 17 LOWA Regular Board Meeting 2 PM, Community Center, Zoom
Stay tuned for the Annual LOWA Budget in Brief coming March 12!
LOWA Website Links TEKControl (Visitor Management) LOWA.ORG/TEKCONTROL Vote in the ECC Referendum www.LOWA.org/ECCReferendum support@vote-now.com https://vtnw.com/go/LOWAResend/ LOWA Phase 3 Coronavirus Information www.LOWA.org/CoronavirusPrevention