Lake Waubeeka News

Which is a bigger obstruction to snowplowing…a garbage bin or a parked car? Would you believe the LWA board ordered me to remove my garbage bin from the street, despite my explanation that doing so would mean I would have to park a car in the road instead??

So, it’s been awhile since I had anything to rant about…which is a good thing. But I’m sorry, this is just too ridiculous to let it go.

The other day I got an informal email from one of the directors asking me to remove my garbage bin from the street…where it has been for 3+ years. I originally moved the trash bin to the street to accommodate a third car in our parking area, thinking that the garbage bin would be a much smaller obstruction in the road than a vehicle.

The email I received explained that the garbage bin was inconveniencing the maintenance crew from removing leaves (how exactly, I cannot understand) and would be an obstruction to snow removal in the winter.

So I responded to the email, and took the time to explain that if I moved the garbage off the street and into the off-street parking area, I would need to park a vehicle in the street. I further explained that the only reason the maintenance crew was complaining was so that they could continue to plow the dead end street (Marion Street) at 45 mph, because at lower speeds the trash bin would not be so difficult to navigate around.

I was replied to in a curt manner, and accused of being confrontational. I guess they forgot the facts: it was actually I that was confronted by the board member, and was simply replying in defense of my actions. The email reply also threatened that the community would remove my property if I didn’t comply.

Well, long story short, I responded again. I explained AGAIN that I would move the garbage bin if the board so ordered it (not simply a single director, but a VOTE of all directors) BUT that I would then have to park a vehicle on the street as a result.

Any idiot can see that a car parked on the street is a bigger obstruction to plowing and leaf removal than a 2′x4′ garbage bin. Right? Not to mention the potential liability of damage to a vehicle from maintenance activities vs. a garbage bin. Right?

Well, your board of directors sent me a notice to remove my garbage bin by Dec. 1st anyway. Apparently common sense eludes them, and exercising bully-like tactics on community members is preferable. They can’t admit that they are wrong, so they instead will threaten and abuse their power.

This is exactly the way the recent fence debacle got started…one or two fences that someone decided had to be removed, that ended up with 40+(?) people getting registered letters from LWA saying they needed to tear down their fences and retaining walls which had been in place for 40 years. (My wall is 14″ high and 40 years old and I received one such letter).

Have it your way ladies and gents. I’ll move the bin. Then I’ll park on the street. They have the power to force me to move a garbage bin from the roadway…but unless they are planning to outlaw ALL STREET PARKING (don’t laugh…knowing our board it COULD happen), I can’t imagine what they’ll do about the car in the road.

I guess maybe the snowplow will just have to slow down. The speed limit is 15mph…and last time I checked the LWA maintenance team is not exempt from the rules.

I am personally appalled at the way the board has neglected the lake this year (and in recent previous years), both in terms of budget and action. The harvester sits idle most days, except for what appears to be the occasional joy ride by a “volunteer”. Last night for example, just before it got dark, someone took the harvester out for about 30 minutes, doing what appeared to be “donuts” in front of my dock. This morning thousands of new floaters were pooled up along the western edge of the peninsula.

Only on a few days have I seen anyone operating this expensive piece of equipment for more than a couple hours at a time. When it is operated, thousands of floaters are left behind and no attempt to clean up the floating debris is made…instead they take root and worsen the problem.

Note that I live on the lake and work at home. My office has line-of-site view of the harvester in its parking spot…where it has sat idle for most of the summer. When it is operated, I watch in frustration as it is operated incorrectly, doing more damage than good.

This year lake water SMELLS absolutely awful. The abundance of decaying biomass (weeds and dead fish – earlier this year we experienced a week or two where dozens of small fish washed up along the western edges of the lake) and the proliferation of Blue-Green algae are most likely the causes, but since we are now into August and no testing has yet occurred, I cannot dismiss bacterial contaminates as a potential additional cause.

I have already heard of homeowners considering dumping herbicides into the lake on their own to combat weed and algae growth around their docks, and while I do not know of anyone who actually did this, I would not be surprised if it happens…especially if the board continually fails to act.

The fact alone that no board member has had responsibility for the community’s most valuable asset is a breach of the trust which the membership has placed in our board. If the mismanagement continues, one can safely assume that legal action against the board is also possible, as homeowners seek to protect/recoup the asset value of their homes. Regardless of whether a management company is brought in to work with the lake, the Board MUST assign a chairperson to the Lake Committee, and prioritize Lake Management and its budget above the numerous non-essential activities which routinely receive higher priority.

I have previously (more than a year ago) researched and forwarded information re: the SolarBee product to the board, and no action has been taken. We researched it further this spring and found out that they no longer lease these units and each unit for a lake our sized would be approx. $30,000. Our lake would most likely require 2 (or possibly 3) units to be effective…although we could start with one to determine its effectiveness. I think we still need to do additional research as to their effectiveness in controlling milfoil, however initial indications are positive.

I have attached some additional information for review.
*SolarBee General Info: SolarBee PDF
*SolarBee Website: http://solarbee.com/freshwater.html
*SolarBee Case Study: NY; 7-15ft deep lake with Eurasian Milfoil and Blue Green Algae problem effectively controlled within 2-3 years: http://www.solarbee.com/Installations/ny66.html

Both Sarah and I have repeatedly volunteered to serve on the non-existent Lake Committee for years, but as there has been no chair-person on the board, there has not been a Lake Committee to serve on. If something EFFECTIVE is not done soon, we will soon be faced with significantly fewer and more expensive options…such as dredging. These costs would likely be many times greater than a couple of SolarBees…and would devastate the aqua-system requiring years of follow-up restorative activities at additional cost.

This community has surely WASTED more than $30,000 a year over the past few years, while spending next to nothing each year towards managing and supporting our lake.

It is time for change.

OK. First, let me say that I really don’t think the gate brings much actual security. It mostly keeps honest people honest, and suggests that there are other security measures in place.

Of course, if the gate doesn’t work…

Just about a month after the grand reopening, it was back offline again. Now a few weeks have passed and still “the bugs are being worked out” according to the most recent Waubeekan.

I personally don’t think it is making life here at Lake Waubeeka any more dangerous. I am not worried for my family’s safety…at least not yet anyway,

What I am worried about is that we are paying A LOT OF MONEY for what is supposed to be a service and maintenance agreement and we are NOT getting service for our maintenance intensive security stepchild.

Doesn’t anyone else feel like their money is being wasted?

May 4th the sign promises - the gate will once again work. After more than 6 months. I am willing to believe it…when I see it (IF I see it).

I mean seriously folks…can anyone begin to imagine what could have kept the gate non-functional for so long? Give me a break! And what’s with the delay? If it’s working, turn the damn thing back on!!!

With the May budget meeting right around the corner, I think everyone should think long and hard about the effectiveness of our leadership in getting ANYTHING done.

Ineffective leadership means wasted time, effort and money. Enough said…for now.

Man. It seems like just the other day that the broken gate..which had been broken for 2 months…was repaired. Now it’s busted again. How long will it be broken this time?

I thought we had a service contract. That we were paying a company a monthly fee to maintain the gate. It simply boggles the mind that so much money has been spent and so many problems continue.

UPDATE 2/5/2009:

Well OK, a few days after I posted this, the gate was fixed. I thought, “Great! Finally we are getting decent service.”

Then, POOF! Broken again just a few short days later. This time, according to the sign at the gate, it will be more than a month to fix the system. (Thank you by the way for keeping us informed at least this time.)

I don’t know about you, but I think this is getting old fast. Do we need to change our maintenance company? Is it time to get rid of the gate altogether? I mean, the illusion of security comes at a cost…and with the gate perpetually open, we don’t even get the illusion for our money.

Seems like it isn’t exactly a value.

OK. I know we are due to pay something soon. But having not received a bill, I have no idea how much or when it’s due. I know there’s also a special surcharge due to whatever the reason was now…but, how much was it again?

For all I know, I may already be out of “good standing”. Ah well, what is a poor Waubeekan to do if one does not receive a bill? I have one simple rule in life. I pay all my bills. But if you don’t send me a bill, how can you expect me to pay?

Several folks have told me the same thing, so I know I am not alone in my dilemma.

In all seriousness, it took more than two months to get the gate fixed…how long do you figure it will take to get around to sending out the invoices? You’d think with a budget that is close to double what it was 10 years ago, someone would have figured out that we need to start running our community like a business.

But alas…no such luck.

Well, it finally happened. Sooner or later, I knew it had to. Someone actually read my blog!

For the past couple months I’ve been posting, never sure that anyone ever would see what I wrote. But yesterday, a couple of people told me they don’t agree with me! Yay!

It’s fine with me that someone disagrees with me. In fact, if they agreed, they might never have told me they read the blog in the first place.

Hell, I might even learn something from someone who has a different opinion and sees fit to express it. Isn’t that what freedom of speech is all about?

The part that got me a little down was how they perceived what I had to say. They were upset at me because they felt that, based on what I wrote, I didn’t like living here in Lake Waubeeka.

Hmm. That made me think. It also made me go back and re-read everything I’ve written.

It’s true. Some of the things I wrote are heavy with discontent. I have been a bit quick to hand out the blame and criticism, and slow to notice the positives. As I read my past posts, I tried to picture what someone who doesn’t know me might think.

Yeah. It does seem like I am quite the unhappy camper. Oops…my bad.

Let me set the record straight.

All criticism aside, I love this place, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. We were thrilled to be able to buy a house in Lake Waubeeka, and to this day we have no regrets. In fact, it is because I care so much about this place that I wrote what I did.

Yes, I was critical. Yes, I was concerned. I am concerned still, and I want to do my part to make this place better. I’ve served on the board, and quite honestly I think I can make a bigger difference by writing my thoughts here for all to read.

Writing is an art. No matter how good you become at it, there will still be those who misinterpret what they’ve read. There will also be plenty of folks who disagree with what you have to say…and I look forward to hearing from you.

I’m probably wrong about stuff as much as I am right, and I don’t mind people telling me about it. By signing up, you can post public comments for all to read (It’s 100% free and I promise you won’t get any spam). Or if you prefer, you can email me ( jamie@waubeeka.net ) or come by and talk in person.

One other thing…I am looking for other Waubeekans who would like a place to write their own Lake Waubeeka blog. If you are interested, please let me know and I’ll make sure you get set up. It would be much more fun if I wasn’t the only loudmouth with an opinion here.

Thank you for reading, and please let me know what you think!

I just got mine. A bright yellow LWA Volunteer T-Shirt.

I didn’t expect it. It was just handed to me. A thank you for organizing the Open Mic nights at the beach.

I think it is just great. Not just because I got a free T-shirt. It is a lot more than that (though I am pretty psyched about it). The real reason it’s great is because lots of other people are getting them too. In recognition for stepping up and doing good things for the community.

This is one of the little things that can make a big difference. Saying “Thank you” like that helps encourage people who are already volunteering to do more. It can help inspire others to do the same.

It’s a great idea. How cool a place would this be if EVERYONE earned a T-Shirt?

Tonight we’ll be doing our second Open Mic night at 6PM on the Paul St. beach…weather permitting of course. If we get thunderstorms, we’ll probably have to cancel it. There is no rain date currently scheduled, but keep watching here for updates.

We will also have Open Mic on Thursday August 28th at 6PM.

Everyone is welcome to come down and participate or just enjoy the music.

I remember when we first moved here. We rented a home for the first two years, and even though I was not able to participate in the process, I attended the annual meetings. I was impressed with the professional way in which the business of the community was carried out. It was one of the factors which influenced my decision to buy a house here.

We bought our home in 2000. The annual assessment was then around $1300. This year, including the $100 “special assessment”, the annual fee is a couple hundred dollars shy of DOUBLE what it was just 8 years ago.

Double folks.

I realize that cost of living has risen, but seriously…70% increase over 8 years is just a little bit more than keeping up with inflation. Meanwhile, in the face of these abominable increases, the services we receive have deteriorated. I can only conclude that there is a problem.

In 2000, our security gate had human beings on duty 24/7. The automated gate was supposed to save money. The $100,000 per year we paid for those security guards went away, and the annual assessment increased anyway.

The roads have never been in worse shape. The lake is neglected, to the point that trying to get a single testing for coliform each summer requires an effort. The playground and tennis courts are a disgrace. Many community facilities are simply dreadful eyesores, despite thousands of dollars worth of beautiful flowers and the hard work of our devoted beautification committee.

Meanwhile, the board has taken an active role in causing community discontent. Homeowners who have had walls and fences in front of their homes for 40 years recently received certified letters threatening legal action. The former President of the community tried to make a motion for the board to submit the community records to an audit, and the President refused to allow it.

REFUSED TO ALLOW IT. Wait a minute. Something is very wrong here.

The meeting notice that I received specifically said, “Discussion of such other related matters raised by members at this meeting.” The motion was certainly a related matter, pertaining to questions about the special assessment we were asked to vote on. Yet, the President did not even request a second to the motion, denying due process as prescribed in the bylaws.

This is not the same community I joined 8 years ago. The current leadership has replaced the original spirit of the founders of Waubeeka with a new spirit, steeped in bickering and rules. Forced compliance has replaced volunteerism, and democratic governance has been replaced with totalitarianism.

Totalitarianism? How can it be…we still get to vote, don’t we?

But is it a fair vote if only one side of the issue is allowed to be presented? If we are asked to make a decision, but are not presented with all of the facts, is the vote to be considered fair?

In truth, yes.

In all fairness to those who serve on the board, if we don’t make an effort to become involved and informed, we deserve whatever we get.

At the last budget meeting, not enough people even showed up to call a vote.

Yes, we deserve everything we get. We deserve to keep paying more for less and less. We deserve to see our lake become a weed choked swamp. We deserve to see our property values fall as the quality of life here continues to deteriorate.

But, we can fix this. If we all take an interest in these things, and if we become informed and involved, we can each make a difference. We can bring back the spirit of cooperation that built this place. We can bring back the community that we all thought we were joining when we bought our homes.

We can do it. But we can’t do it without getting involved.