Proposals pass at Lake annual meeting
By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Lake Monticello residents approved two proposals and elected three new members to the Board of Directors at their annual meeting on Saturday (Sept. 26).
Elections Committee Chair Jean Booth said they received 2,065 member ballots, slightly lower than the record 2,122 votes cast in 2019.
Fish, Sellick, Henson win seats
Voters also selected three new board members from a group of four. Booth reported the final vote counts::
- Judy Fish: 1,714
- Gary Sellick : 1,380
- Larry Henson: 1,346
- Gary Vogan: 1,178
Fish, Selleck, and Henson will replace outgoing directors Rich Barringer, Tom Braithwaite, and Bing Spitler, all of whom have reached the end of six years of service.
Proposals 1 and 2
Members approved Proposal 1, which would redirect dues currently allocated to the Emergency Reserve Account (ERA) to Major Repairs & Renovation (MR&R), by a vote of 1,647 to 258. They approved Proposal 2, raising the Property Transfer Fee (PTF) from $600 to $800, by a vote of 1,306 to 699.
Neither proposal will raise member dues — a reversal from the proposals in 2019 to raise annual dues by $180 and impose a $50-per-household subsidy for the community restaurants. Both measures were voted down by nearly 2-1.
The failure of the 2019 measures sent the Board of Directors looking for ways to cut costs and reallocate funds to shore up long-term finances. In a town meeting earlier this year, Board president Jay Hinkle said the measures on the current ballot would increase reserve funds by $2.2 million at no cost to members and would keep those reserves healthy well into 2040 and beyond.
Virtual gathering
The meeting had originally been scheduled for late June, only to be delayed due to COVID-19. In keeping with social distancing guidelines, the event was held online.
President Jay Hinkle praised staff and volunteers for their handling of the COVID-19 crisis, saying the emergency management teams had handled this once-in-a-century pandemic with efficiency and calm, and kept to the “guiding principles” of preserving the safety and health of the community.
Hinkle and Treasurer Mike Harrison said the finances of the association were in relatively good shape even with the loss of revenue from the closures and restrictions of popular amenities like the pool and the golf course.
Hinkle also recognized Bing Spitler for his service to the board, holding a plaque up to his webcam. “Can you see it?” he asked.
Spitler thanked the staff, volunteers, and members for all their work in recent years to improve the amenities and the community as a whole over the past six years. He gave a shout-out to Berringer and Braithwaite, who both stepped down over the summer, for their “fidelity and friendship.”.
The next annual meeting is scheduled for June 26, 2021.
