The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM by President Don Vogel.  He noted that a quorum was present and that the meeting was being taped.

Directors present were Gene Allen, Rob Collins, Jim Davidson, Jim Hicks, Lee Powell, and Don Vogel.  Jeff Stillman and Angela Vanover were absent while one director’s seat was empty.

Approximately 10 Association members were present at the meeting.

MEMBERS FORUM- None

MINUTES- A clarification of the December minutes was noted.  The minutes
reflect that there had been some opposition to the proposed Tract C/E changes.
There had not been opposition to the proposal.  The last written agreement, though verbally approved, had not yet been received at that time.  Jim Davidson moved to accept the minutes as amended. Gene Allen seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

TREASURER’S REPORT- Treasurer Jim Davidson reported that in December there had been Board action to remove $33,000.00 from a Capital Improvement Fund in order to pay for a portion of 2008 road paving.  Through either oversight or misunderstanding the action had not been taken.  Our year end loss was not as deep as we had expected and there was no impact on loss/gain by not moving the money.  The Capital Improvement Fund line item on the 2009 budget will require adjustment in order to straighten out the numbers as we were expecting to “pay ourselves back”.

There were a few minor changes against our year end forecast and we were another $2000.00 short on income.  2009 monies already received are 34% better than 2008 on the same date after calculating the assessment adjustment.  We will keep a close eye on income.

Manager Kroeger reported on the delinquencies.  At year’s end the total amount of delinquent dollars is just under $76,000.00 on 186 lots.  21 of the delinquent lots have residences.  These numbers are virtually identical to year end 2007.  The collection agency did not collect any delinquent accounts in December.  He noted that he was working on some collection ideas and procedures which he would discuss further at the February meeting.

Lee Powell moved to accept the financial report as submitted.  Jim Hicks seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

MANAGER’S REPORT- Manager Kroeger reported that:

• He had recently spoken with PSC who advised him that they would be installing fiber optic cable in the entire Village starting as early as March 2009.  They anticipated that the work would be done by November with the actual changeover to be about this time next year.  This will entail a lot of work by PSC including a new drop to each house.  Also, an electrical power supply for the individual drop will be required inside each house.  PSC will not work in a house if no one is home, so appointments will need to be made.  Kroeger further noted that new mainlines will be installed as well and that most of the installation will be bored rather than trenched into place.  All CLV residents can expect a letter in the mail from PSC outlining the program in further detail.  PSC is also agreeable to participating in a “town meeting” that may be called to discuss this issue and answer questions that may be raised.
• A draft of what will become a proposed set of new Covenants and Restrictions will be returned from the attorney after first review in February.
• The changeover in trash collection companies seems to have gone well in the first week.  There were only a few “hiccups”.
• He had been approached by a couple of members regarding their safety concerns about road’s edge guard rails in three areas of the Village.  He passed the research on to the Infrastructure Committee.
• He had been working on the Beach Rules for 2009 since there would not be lifeguards at the beach.  He expected to have a set ready for the February meeting.
• He had just been notified that a Commissioners’ Sale on 34 Village lots has been scheduled for on-line auction from January 14-26th.  He said that the auction company would allow us to move it back a week so that we could advertise properly, but he thought we could take care of it within the given time. He was to publicize the sale on the marquee and CLV website as well as several area newspapers.
• He had received a letter from a concerned member about the 2009 assessment and budget.  He read the letter to the Board.  He was directed to write a letter to the member including a copy of the’09 budget.
• The Town Council meeting for January would be held the next week and that there would be two Town reports at the February meeting.

OLD BUSINESS
“Tract C” Changes- Manager Kroeger and member Carl Working reviewed the program with the Directors.  The area had been surveyed and a legal description written.  This area, after final Board approval would be changed by the Association from “Tract C” to Tract E” which would modify lake access rights for some lots on the south shore of Lake Noel.  After some questions, discussion, and map review, Jim Hicks moved to accept the proposal.  Lee Powell seconded the motion which passed unanimously.  Manager Kroeger was directed to take the required legal steps through counsel.

Winter Weight Limits- Jim Hicks passed out a winter weight limit proposal that had first been reviewed in October 2008.  There were some adjustments that had been made from information received at that meeting.  He indicated that now is the critical time to act.  Jim read the document, suggesting that we post the document and vote at the February meeting:

From its conception CLV has had one major challenge it has faced - its roadways.  Every year the Property Association has spent about 10% of its budget resurfacing some portion of the 22 miles (manager’s note- 26 miles) of road.  Each year as prices have risen, the amount we have been able to resurface has shrunk and our road usage has increased.

The Board of Directors has realized if it expects to maintain our roadway to the utmost of its abilities it needs to look at every possible way it can conserve the wear on the roads.  To that end, in March 2008, we obtained from an engineering firm an evaluation of our roadways.  The factors they reviewed were the traffic, environmental conditions, subgrade materials, maintenance, and pavement composition.  The Board is currently implementing a program to reduce the trash pickup traffic.

From the information presented by the March investigation, the Board felt it should implement a weight limit on its roadways that would address the traffic, seasonal environmental conditions, and the poor conditions of our subgrade materials.
   
The following Rules and Regulation Change was presented in October and not acted upon by the board.  There was some concern on the actual limit that the board was to impose, particularly on the construction facet of our community.  To address that issue the Rules Committee was instructed to investigate the issue further.

An additional paragraph was requested to be added to the regulations during that meeting.  A rendition of that paragraph is included below in the text italicized and underlined.

Architectural Control and Building Regulations

Section III. On Site Construction Rules and Regulations.

(New Article)

13. To protect and maintain the conditions of the streets within the Village, Christmas Lake Village shall limit the load for construction material and/or construction equipment vehicles to 16,000 pounds gross weight during extended periods of high water concentration in the soil and/or annually as warranted, between January 1st to April 1st.

The implementation of the load restrictions will be posted at the Main Gate and the Property Manager shall notify the builders of load limits status changes.  Furthermore, in certain cases, the Property Manager shall assign the route which construction vehicles are to travel to and from the site while in the Village during the duration of the project.

Exceptions to this vehicle weight limit requirements are granted to trash pickup vehicles, school busses, and equipment used by the Association.  A special written exception may be granted on a case by case basis by the Property Manager after receipt of a written request and a favorable review of the circumstances of the request.

Architectural Control and Building Regulations

Section III. On Site Construction Rules and Regulations.

(New Article)

• The use of heavy trucks and equipment within the Village shall be monitored by CLV, and the Property Manager may prohibit such vehicles from using the Village roadways if in his/her view the vehicle could damage the road surfaces.  The self propelled travel of steel tracked vehicles, i.e. bobcats, track hoes, bulldozers, etc., on Christmas Lake Village roadways is strictly prohibited. 

At the location of equipment usage, it is recommended that equipment pads (steel plate or plywood) be placed over the roadway at points of high pressure contact such as track ways, outrigger footings, or points of tight turn radius.

 In any case, as stated in the Covenants and Restrictions the repair of any roadway damage will be billable to the responsible home owner or home owners.

There was discussion about the proposal including the need for such a weight restriction to help preserve our roads, that the weight is too light for even minor construction, that we still do not have sufficient information to make a good decision, that we should follow county standards, weight per truck vs. quantity of trucks, whose ultimate responsibility this actually is, and the need more input from the experts.

The topic was ultimately tabled until the February meeting.

Festival of Lights- Manager Kroeger made some remarks about the Festival of Lights:

• Nearly 2200 cars came through the gates, including to private parties on Friday night.  This is higher than last year, but not outstanding when looking back over several years.
• About 90 dozen cookies were consumed at the Rec Center.
• Some of the decorations have become dated
• Over 4500 candy canes were passed out
• Years ago, some 3000 cars came to the Festival.  He does not think that most members today would tolerate the type of traffic that 3000 cars would create.

He suggested that either new interest/participation needs to be generated in the Festival or we need to consider some changes or even cancellation.  He stated his opinion that if we are to continue, then the Association needs to take the leadership role.  He asked that the topic be placed on the agenda for the next few months to see what sort of discussion it may bring from the members.

There was some discussion about the advertising/promotion of the Town, and how closely the Festival is tied to Christmas in Santa Claus. 

Parks & Rec chair Lee Powell said that he would like to take on the Festival as a personal challenge.

Manager Kroeger was directed to place the subject on the February agenda for further discussion.

2009 Lake/Rec Center Rules- Manager Kroeger showed the proposed 2009 Rec Center and Lake rules.  He noted that there were but two changes at this time, the date and budget approved rental rates of $75.00/year for boat docks, and $100.00 plus $40.00 refundable deposit for the Rec Center.  Jim Hicks’ motion to adopt the rules as presented was unanimously passed after a second by Gene Allen.

Verizon Phone Books- Manager Kroeger explained the issue with the Verizon.  The document regarding the phone books follows.

VERIZON TELEPHONE BOOKS
Over the years, distributors have attempted to deliver Verizon telephone books into the Village.   The Verizon books can be viewed as a supplement to the PSCI books that most Village residents use.  The Verizon book covers a few areas that the PSCI books do not cover, and vice versa.

To date, we have not allowed the distributor to deliver these books door to door as we see it as soliciting.  The 2009 version of these books is available free upon request at the gatehouse office.  Because the books were not allowed to go to your door, you may receive a call from Verizon verifying delivery.  If you do not want the book, ask them to remove you from their list. 

In working with the distributor’s representative recently, we have found that we can modify the program so that a set number of directories can be delivered to the gatehouse based on the number of requests for these directories that we receive. 

A way to request the books in the future will be posted on the Village website.

Replacement Director- There were three candidates for the Board seat left vacant by Harold Johnson’s resignation, Robert Fuller, Deb Simmons, and Mark Smith.
All three were in attendance.  President Vogel noted that the term to be filled did not expire until June of 2011.  He advised the candidates that the each would get a few minutes to introduce themselves, and say a few words about themselves followed by a question and answer period from the Board.  The Board would then go off to a corner of the building, discuss the applicants, and vote on paper ballot.  The Board recessed for approximately 10 minutes, returning with their ballots.  A count of the ballots by members Bob East and Leo Boeglin showed that Mark Smith had received the most votes and was posted to the empty seat.

There were no committee reports.

The meeting adjourned at 8:05 PM.