Annual Meeting Announcement
Ryan Glenn
Hello, neighbors! Thank you for your patience this summer as we worked through various scheduling conflicts to get our annual neighborhood meeting on the books. Since school is out and vacations have commenced, we have opted to postpone our annual meeting until Saturday, August 26th, to ensure that as many neighbors as possible will be able to attend.
A detailed agenda for our annual meeting will be provided closer to the date; however, know that we have compiled this newsletter in an effort to answer immediate questions pertaining to key issues that will be discussed. If you have additional questions ahead of August 26th, please do not hesitate to reach out to the board at echolake.ga.HOA@gmail.com.
Bylaws Review Update
Gail Anderson
Echo Lake Community Club (a.k.a. ELHA) is approaching a milestone in its history! Two years ago the members voted to have a legal review of our Association bylaws — with the idea of a restatement and update written in legal language that comports with Georgia non-profit association code. This week, after reviewing an initial draft of the document, the board sent its final recommendations to our association attorney, Rebecca Drube, for incorporation into what will hopefully be the final draft of the document.
We were able to make this happen because of the voluntary efforts of ten members. The process began with an initial review of our current bylaws and suggestions from Rebecca Drube; and the selection of a five-member Bylaw Committee (James Lown, Jane Grimmett, Andrew McClintock, John Holbrook, Katy Irwin). After several meetings, the committee produced a comprehensive set of recommendations for the ELHA board. The board met with the committee chair, Jane Grimmett, on March 26th for a special board meeting to review their recommendations. The minutes from this meeting, the committee recommendation document, and our current Association bylaws were recently sent to Rebecca Drube as a basis for the official Amended and Restated Echo Lake Community Club, Inc. bylaws.
After the board receives and approves the final draft, we will make it available to the membership well in advance of the annual meeting. We plan to have our association attorney, Rebecca Drube, on hand at the meeting to answer any questions. Every "member in good standing" will receive a mail-in ballot and will be able to vote for or against the bylaws by a specific date that has not yet been determined. This will insure a quorum of membership voting on this important matter.
Financial Summary
Jill Beasley
Thank you to all the neighbors who have already paid their 2017 Membership Dues. Your support and generosity is greatly appreciated! For those who have not paid, this is a friendly reminder we need your support. We hope you will consider paying ahead of the annual meeting since it is being held later than usual. Payment of Membership Dues gives each household voting privileges which is particularly important this year due to the new Bylaws ballot that will be presented.
Our Membership Dues go toward normal operating expenses necessary to maintain the front entrance, our common property and preserving the lake. Membership Dues are not allocated toward legal expenses for the ongoing property line dispute. These expenses are paid from Capital contributions.
Unfortunately, as of now, the burden of dredging the lake falls on our community. It is an expensive endeavor that takes a large portion of our funds. This year the cost of the dredge will be approximately $30,000. Last year, we budgeted $14,000 for the dredge so we are well short of the actual cost.
Currently, we have collected $18,800 in Membership Dues and have an excess cash carryforward from 2016 of $27,000 – for a total of $45,800 to spend on operating expenses. Our estimated operating expenses for 2017, including the dredge and Bylaws rewrite, are approximately $54,000. So as you can see, we will be short $8,200 for the year.
Membership dues are down $5,400 compared to last year. We have an overall participation rate of 49% — 61% on-lake and 44% off lake. Our Association is voluntary and depends on the support of neighbors to help our community grow and thrive. With more participation, we could make up the short fall this year and reduce the amount of the special assessment. We encourage you to considering renewing your membership, or joining for the first time, to help us accomplish these goals.
Off-lake membership is $200; and on-lake membership is $600. Checks should be made payable to “ELHA” and mailed to the Treasurer at 2545 Echo Drive, along with a completed dues form.
If you are not sure whether or not you have paid your dues, here is the current list of "members in good standing" as of June 2, 2017.
Dredge Update
Michael McKelvey
As indicated in the financial summary above, the estimate for dredging the upper end of Echo Lake and silt traps has approximately doubled to $30,000. We have excess cash from last year that we plan to put towards the overage; however, we still need to raise an additional $8,200 in order to dredge before our permit lapses, and before we incur additional expenses and time delays. We cannot get on the dredging contractor’s schedule until we have the funds in hand for the entire project. This is in keeping with our current bylaws.
During a board meeting on May 2nd, the board unanimously agreed that a special dredge assessment was needed if we are to have any hope of slowing the infill accumulation at the upper end of Echo Lake.
Soon we will ask members and non-members alike to contribute to a special assessment to help raise the funds necessary to complete the last phase of our current dredge. The quality of our environment directly affects everyone’s property values — whether they are an Association member or not. Collections in excess of the needed amount will be dedicated to the depth maintenance of Echo Lake.
Based on the number of homes, we expect the assessment to be approximately $300 for on-lake properties and $100 for off-lake properties. We hope you will consider stepping up to the plate when you receive the assessment notice to maintain the health of our lake, as well as our property values.
Election of New Officers
Ryan Glenn
We will soon be saying farewell to the following officers: Michael McKelvey (President), Gail Anderson (Vice President, Circlewood Road), and Charlie Coulter (Vice President, Echo Drive) — all of whom have served our community with zeal and relentless commitment. I hope you will join me in thanking them for their leadership, dedication, and countless hours of service to Echo Lake.
The Echo Lake Board of Directors nominates the following individuals to fill the expired terms:
President
Doug Grimmet
1 year term
Vice President (Echo Drive)
John Holbrook
2 year term
Vice President (Circlewood Road)
Todd Williams
2 year term
Treasurer
Jill Beasley
1 year term
If you have additional nominations to put forward, please send them to Ryan Glenn at echolake.ga.HOA@gmail.com no later than Saturday, August 12th. All nominations, including those made by the current board, will be presented and voted upon at the annual meeting, which has tentatively been scheduled for August 26, 2017.