Bills Lake Association

Minutes

September 5, 2009

Association President Dan Coby called the meeting to order at 10:02am and opened the meeting by leading all in the Pledge of Allegiance.

First order of business was to introduce and welcome any new residents or Association members. George Kuker introduced his son, Tim. No other new members present, but some news was shared regarding recent property sales. The Green property (on Vanderstel in Geronimo zone) was purchased by Luanne Smith. Luanne was not able to attend this Association meeting, but has been reading up on all the Bills Lake factoids and lore via our website. The Schroeder property (on El Camino in Dakota zone) was purchased by Chris and Jessica Barnes. They and their 3 children have already enjoyed several great weekends on the lake.

Bills Lake Store (Ken Huizen) donated a Bills Lake sweatshirt to the 50/50 raffle.

Dan then asked if there were any birthdays, anniversaries or other significant events to recognize. There were none – except for Dan being reminded that Ardi’s birthday is Sept. 15 and that Ardi’s mom also turned 87 during September.

The minutes of the previous meeting were read. Motion made to accept minutes as presented. Motion was seconded and approved.

Jim Tower presented the Treasurer’s Report. 71% of dues have been collected. We have $7,448 in the Association treasury. Jim’s complete report will be available on the website. This was Jim’s final report as our Treasurer. He has served in that role 5 years and said that it was a pleasure to serve.

Motion was made to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented. Motion was seconded and approved.

Discussion turned to the tear down of the Outhouse. Jim Tower will be contacting Schultz in the following week to see if they could match the estimates previously reported (see previous meeting minutes for details). Once it is gone, Association Members can move on to earnest discussion regarding the financial benefit to be derived by offering the space as rental for seasonal trailers/campers. Just kidding – we thought we would throw that in here to see how many of you are reading these minutes!

Communications was next in discussion. Ed Waits reported on these items:

1) There is no newsletter published this Labor Day weekend. There was no new news to report. He asked everyone to keep an ear open and let him know if they hear of any mention from residents missing the newsletter.

2) Website is updated – please visit the website from time to time to catch up on Bills Lake news, developments and facts.

3) Directories are available upon request, in hard copy or electronic form. Just drop an email to Ed Waits. edwaits@charter.net

Ed Waits then moved on to a quick report re: Lake Testing. He’ll be conducting formal testing on September 16. Ed noted that his latest reading, taken on September 1, recorded the ability to see to a depth of 13 feet.

Ken Huizen mentioned that he was enjoying the good bluegill fishing in nice weed patches on the lake – some of which seemed new to him.

All concurred that Bills Lake is renowned for its cleanliness.

Election of New Officers. Agenda turned to the business of electing new officers. There was a call for nominees for the office of Vice President, Treasurer, and one Trustee. All elected officers will assume their office immediately upon election. Results of those elections, via unanimous vote, are as follows:

Vice President: Holly Sosnowski

Treasurer: Jerry Elenbaas

Trustee: Del DeJong agreed to return and serve another term as Trustee

New Business, with a little Old Business mixed in. I suppose truly more an Open Forum:

• It was verified that the $1,000 donation to Camp Trotter, approved at the Memorial Day meeting, was complete. It was noted that we’ve not received any acknowledgement from Camp Trotter, but there have been staff/management changes and that could explain.

• One Association member asked if we were donating to the Fire Department. A brief discussion followed during which it was noted that in years past, we had made a donation to the Fire Department, but that in recent years we had not. Discussion led to general consensus that we would not be making a donation this year.

• Martha Gabrielse brought up the topic of holding a Boaters Safety Class, organized by and held for the benefit of Bills Lake Association members. This idea received enthusiastic response, with several members noting that they had children/grandchildren who could definitely benefit. All agreed that it would be best to hold the class as early in the 2010 Season as possible. It was also agreed that the class should be held indoors. Martha will check with Newaygo County Sportsman’s Club to see if they might wish to join us in this endeavor and donate use of their club for the 6 hour, one day course. Martha will need to verify date for the class with Marty Murphy (Newaygo County Sheriff’s Dept. liaison for Boater Safety Education – she conducts the classes in the area Middle Schools, etc.) First choice is the Saturday before Memorial Day, second choice is the Saturday after Memorial Day, third choice is the second Saturday after Memorial Day. We will shoot for class from 9-3, with the exam given at the end of the class at 3 pm. Watch the Bills Lake Association website for details!


• Martha asked that everyone interested in Boater Safety please check out the State of Michigan website www.michigan.gov/dnr and also the website www.boat-ed.com/mi. The “boat-ed” website offers great info. On it, readers can find out how (if you are 12 years or older) to take a free Boat Safety Course online, which prepares you very well to take the Michigan boating safety Pre-Certification Exam. Once you the online Pre-Certification Exam, you can pay a $29.50 fee to receive a Certificate that allows you to then sit for a proctored Boater Safety Certificate examination without having to attend a full 6 hour course.

• Association members also commented that it would be nice to organize and offer an American Red Cross CPR class. It was suggested that it would probably be best to hold such a class, immediately following a regularly scheduled Association meeting. Martha Gabrielse agreed to research this, and will shoot for June 26, 2010 as the date for such a class.

• Reminder went out to all that July 4, 2010 is a Sunday. Therefore, races and events will be held Saturday July 3, with a rain date of Sunday July 4. Martha Gabrielse has agreed to be a reporter on the scene for the paddle boat, canoe and kayak races.

• An attendee asked if the dry hydrants were tested on a regular basis. Several people verified that indeed they were tested by the Fire Department on a regular basis.

The 50/50 raffle was drawn, and the $1mm game winnings went to Bill Kok. Donna Elenbaas will be in style this Fall as she sports the sweatshirt donated by the Bills Lake Store (Ken Huizen).

Dates for Association Meetings in 2010 will be as follows:

May 29, 2010

June 26, 2010

July 31, 2010

September 4, 2010

Meeting adjourned at 11:03 am.

Respectfully submitted,

Martha I Gabrielse, Secretary