The Official Newsletter of the Lake of the Woods Association, Inc. Vol. 15, No 11
540.972.2237
LOWA.org
Please Join Us at the Clubhouse for the
Member Holiday Party Sunday, December 3 1 PM - 4 PM
Dinner with Santa at the Clubhouse December 10, 2017 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Children’s Buffet $6.95
Adult Buffet $13.95
Plus tax and Gratuity
Plus tax and Gratuity
Chicken Tenders with sauces
Garden Salad with dressing
Hot Dogs Pasta with Tomato Sauce
Clubhouse Fresh Fried Chicken
Mac and Cheese
Pasta and potato salads
Tater Tots
Cole slaw Baked beans
Cookies and Brownies for dessert Call the Clubhouse for reservations 540-972-2221
President's Letter 2 Agenda 2 Association News 2-11 Board Minutes 3 General Manager's Column 3 Financials 5-6 Calendar 9-10 Viewpoints 16 Orange County News 21 Classifieds 21-23
November 23-25 LOWA Offices Closed November 25 8 AM, Turkey Trot at Woods Center November 29 LOWA Special Board Meeting 3 PM, CC
/LOWAssociation
November 24, 2017
Treasurer’s Report by Bob Hoh, Treasurer, LOWA Board of Directors
This is my first LOWA Treasurer’s Report and I would like to start by introducing myself to my fellow members. I am privileged to serve as your treasurer and I am committed to fulfilling my responsibilities with professionalism and concern for the overall good of our members and association. I feel well prepared for my duties. In addition to my current term on the Board of Directors, I have served on several other boards as president, vice president or treasurer. My goal is to help make a great association even better by ensuring the financial condition of LOWA remains strong through oversight of our operating and capital budgets, reserve accounts and investments, and ensuring safeguards and internal controls are in place to protect members’ net equity. Our October mid-year financial statements are included in this Lake Currents issue and I encourage you to read them. Roy Mayberry, our Director of Finance, produces monthly financial statements for the members, BoD, GM and staff. Here are a few highlights at the six month point (as of October 31, 2017): • Operating Cash Accounts: $1,641,370 (good position; used for current operating expenses) • Reserve Accounts: $2,298,949 (good position; down slightly from last year at this point) • Assessment Status: 88.2 percent collected (good position; delinquencies up slightly from last year at this point) Roy or I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have related to the financial statements. (Roy – rmayberry@LOWA.org; Bob - ops-acq@comcast.net) As most of you are aware from previous Lake Currents articles and committee activities, we are well into our budget preparation cycle for next year. Last week the General Manager sent his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2018-2019 to the Board. This will be presented to and reviewed by the Finance and Planning Committees as well as the Board of Directors in December, with further reviews by association members and the board in January, before being formally presented to the board in February for approval. Several significant factors will impact this budget. One is the update to our Replacement Reserve Study, completed this summer by Miller-Dodson Associates. This study estimates how much we must collect and set aside each year to prepare for the replacement of association-owned items, from maintenance vehicles to buildings, and includes updated inflation projections. This directly affects the regular annual assessment. The second is the proposed initiative to replace, and bring up to current design standards, the Clubhouse Area Recreation Complex to meet our future needs. This will be treated as a separate item in the budget. In addition to some funds from our reserve accounts, members will have several options to pay their share of the cost ranging from a one-time payment to term payments for a loan covering the balance of the cost. The board and management recognize this will impact all our personal finances and we are trying to provide options to minimize the effect. I encourage all members to be involved in our budget process. Our financial objective is to support the best possible living environment for association members now and for our changing demographics in the future – the annual budget is at the core of achieving this aim.
November 30 Meet the Management 9-11 AM, Reading Room
December 3 LOWA Holiday Party 1-4 PM, Clubhouse
December 2 Tree Lighting Ceremony 5-6:30 PM, Clubhouse area
December 13 LOWA Regular Board Meeting 2 PM, Community Center
Christkindlmarkt 9 AM-3 PM, Community Center
Members: Lake Currents can be read online at: LOWA.ORG/LAKECURRENTS