Lake Tahoe Park Association

Bob Thomas introduced Ben Leech as the new beach manager and Ben introduced the staff. Ben has been with the Association for three years and was promoted to on-site Manager this year.

Bob advised the membership that a new fence was built, rather than repairing the old, the piers were rebuilt and a new lock system was installed.

The lock system will allow increased security since a lost keycard will be deactivated and a new keycard can be issued. It was recommended that owners collect a key deposit from renters since there is a $50.00 charge for replacement. Each paid member is permitted to purchase a maximum of two additional keycards at a cost of $50.00 each and will be automatically billed annually for the additional keycards.

Milt Hyams spoke regarding the enormous amount of time that has been spent reviewing all of the legal records to determine the legal authority that the Board had to manage the gas station property. The gas station property was originally deed to the Trust for recreation use only and the Board has been actively working on getting wider management controls over the land. Bob signed the new court petition yesterday. A petition was initiated last year, however the court had concerns over the chain of title. Just recently, a title insurance policy was obtained in order to demonstrate ownership to the court to approve the petition. The notice of the court action will be sent to the members in a few weeks and the full court petition with be available on the Association website, or by contacting Jim Davisson.

Richard Wilson presented the financial report and the Management Commentary explaining the variances between prior year costs.
 

1. Dues income increased because back dues were collected.
2. Buoy income increased by $4,300, since the lake level rose allowing the front row of buoys to be rented and the fact that Jim has managed the program efficiently.
3. Buoy repairs increased due to the installation of the front row of buoys and various extra repairs. The costs vary based upon our annual inspections.
4. Contract labor increased due to assistance in gravelling and landscaping, which were conditions from TRPA for the restroom permit.
5. Insurance, which is one of our major expense categories, was up due to workers' compensation and additional liability coverage.
6. Legal fees were a major cost due to the Board’s efforts to file a court petition to define the powers of the Board of Directors to administer the gas station property and to petition Lahontan for closure on the gas station site.
7. Office costs were higher due to mailing and distribution of the court petition.
8. Salaries increased due to installation of the playground equipment and required graveling.

A member asked for a breakdown of salaries and Rich responded that he would be happy to provide the detail of the general ledger account. He stated that salaries should not be expected to decrease since additional staffing is needed in the evenings.

Greg Gilbert announced that the 2008 annual assessment will increase $10.00 per parcel to $235.00, which will raise approximately $7,000.00. The Board is considering alternatives to increase revenue and will raise the new owner first-year assessment, which began at $1,000.00 and is currently $1,500.00. When the fee is raised to $2,000.00 early in 2008, it may generate an additional $10,000.00-$15,000.00 of income annually.

A member asked if any new homeowner ever turned down membership due to the first-year assessment and both Rich and Jim responded that most people consider it to be a bargain.

A member asked how we could collect delinquent dues. Bob Thomas explained that the majority of the delinquencies date back many years and the funds are collected upon sale. It is a very small number that do not pay each year.

A member asked whether there will be any special assessments during the next five years. Bob responded that it is not expected since the major improvements have been completed, however he explained that we keep the dues low and a special assessment is issued when funds are needed. Inflation should also be considered and the dues were not raised last year.

Jim Davisson spoke and introduced member Mark Hendricks, who did the pier repairs under budget. (Applause.)

Ben is doing a great job and Jim oversees that park quite often. Projects for the future will be put on a list and will be communicated to the members. Jim will use due diligence in order to make sure bids are obtained.

Retaining walls will need to be repaired in a timely manner.

The “A-frame” policy for small boats is being evaluated to provide as many members access as possible. Three years ago there were 32 canoes on the beach. After the A-frames were built, we now have 88 small boats, a large growth factor that was not anticipated. Jim apologized to those who did not get one and is considering building additional racks.

Questions/Responses:
 

1. It is difficult to enforce the “no rock throwing” rule, since we have a rocky beach and accidents are expected. The staff is trying, but please be careful and monitor your children.
2. Please be aware of the fire dangers and only use charcoal in the barbecues.
3. In an effort to eliminate late evening disorderly conduct, Jim had timers installed on the basketball court to turn off at 10 p.m. (Applause.)
4. Thanks to Jim Nicholls, who donated his backhoe and dug the horseshoe pits.
5. Jim thanks the members for their respect of the staff. His goal is to keep the family atmosphere in place, which is the momentum of the park. (Applause.)
6. Question whether smoking is allowed. Ashtrays are provided and we hope that people are considerate. Jim feels that smoking has not been a big issue in the past but it will be addressed if it becomes a problem. Member asked that smoking not be permitted on the piers.
7. Question of how many buoys are available. 50 buoys are allowed by State Lands and there were approximately 82 applicants. Only nine did not get buoys this season and they are put on priority for next year.
    

1. Michael Dill and Judy Brown spoke that smoking should not be allowed on docks for safety and health reasons. Bob Thomas responded that it will be enforced.
    
2. Ralph Hudek discussed safety issues in the area in case of fire and congratulated the members for cleaning up their homes. He asked if anything could be done to clean up vacant lots. Bob responded that the Association only has authority over the park property and recommended that members contact the Forest Service directly to report specific areas.
    

Bob Thomas introduced Richard Wilson and expressed his appreciation for Rich in that he had played an integral part of every piece of the development of the park over the past thirty years. He thanked him for making the park as beautiful as it was today and applauded him for a fantastic job. (Applause.)

Richard’s speech:

I would like to take this time to recognize some important people I have worked with and highlight some of the events and achievements I remember best over the last 30 years.I was hired June of 1977, 30 years ago.

I was one of several candidates. Cameron Wolfe, then the President, cast the tie-breaking vote to place me into the General Manager’s position. I in turn hired a staff of three. The staff consisted of Linda Wilson, Barbara Spangler, and Jim (somebody). (Barbara Spangler was asked to stand. Applause.) Linda, my wife at the time, carried a very large part in the operation. She worked on-site during the day, did all the dues posting, paid the bills, rented buoys, and worked with the membership and their needs. All bills and checks were written by hand.

One rather out-spoken and critical individual, took up quite a bit of our time. He had ideas for budget cuts, policy changes and suggestions for improvements. He made one too many suggestions and was recruited to the position of night manager. This man's name was Jim Dempsey. Jim for the next 16 years played a major role in the beach operations. He was able to do everything and anything. He rebuilt piers, built additional retaining walls, designed walkways, planted grass, constructed the stone barbecues and water fountains, located and installed the picnic tables, put up our first playground facility. Jim hired Victor. Victor has been with us for 20 years. Victor takes great pride in maintaining the grass, planting flowers, and insuring everything gets adequate water. Victor’s efforts reflect his love of the park. Of course, we have had many other employees and managers and I thank them all for the efforts.

I want to share a few events and changes that have had a great impact on the Association.My first day on the job, we had six picnic tables, the horseshoe pits, volleyball court, the chain link fence and the guardhouse. The gate had no lock and people passed in and out at will. My first improvement project was to obtain approval to install an outside light on the guardhouse. The Board was against the idea, being concerned about altering the character of the park. The next summer, after much debate, the power and light went in, at a cost of around $100. This spring we spent $140,000 on improvements.

In the late 70’s, I was served with a notice from the (CTRPA) California Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to attend a meeting being held by various government agencies, dealing with Lake Tahoe matters. The meeting members included the CTRPA, State Lands Commission, Lahontan Water Quality Board, Fish and Game, and US Forest Service. The meeting was rather short and I was told point-blank, that I was to remove the south fence between the old high water line and the current high water line, in order to allow public access to our beach. The order was based on a Supreme Court ruling creating a public easement for access around the shore of the Lake. I was further informed that if I failed to comply with their demands, State Lands would not continue with our pier and buoy lease and the buoys may be removed. My response was that the fence line and our buoy field were separate issues. I explained that the buoys were under permit with State Lands and our fence was in place prior to the creation of the TRPA and CTRPA and was therefore grandfathered into existence. It was quite apparent that our fence, protecting our park from the general public, was in serious jeopardy.

The following day I called Larry Hoffman, a very powerful local attorney dealing with these Government agencies and began a 25-year confrontation to protect the privacy of our beach. The battle was finally resolved when the permits for the restrooms were issued.

Buoys were a very hot topic. We had 45 buoys and 45 or more private individuals claimed ownership to them. The Board of Directors presented a proposal to the buoy claimants stating that in order to obtain a legal lease with State Lands, the buoys must be owned and maintained by the Association. We took possession of the buoys in exchange for a promise of a priority use, during the duration of the ownership, of their property. The proposal was accepted and we started what is known as the Grandfathered Buoy Owners. There are eight participates left. The benefit to the membership is accessibility to the buoy field, and a good a source of income.

The next big project was two-fold. First, we actually decided to purchase a PA system, so we could stop yelling at each other during the meetings. The second was to order a new 10 meg-a-bite computer and DOS operating system to handle our billing and accounting tasks. After much time and patience, we were able to print annual invoices in about two hours, rather than spending two months. The printing time was subject, of course to the attitude of our tractor-feed printer, which jammed quite often.

The buoy issues are gone. However, there is always another topic ready for debate. This issue came about because of Prop. 13. The effect was a great variation in the dues rate per parcel. Individual assessments ranged from as low as $20 to over $1,000 per parcel. Each year a motion was made to amend the bylaws and set an equal rate for all. The motions were made and the motions always failed. The Board of Directors arrived at a two-fold solution. We continue to operate under the original By Laws, which allows an assessment of up to 1% of a property’s assessed value. Our policy is to assess each property with a maximum cap set by the Board of Directors each year. For 2008, the cap is $235.00. A few years later, we started a first-year assessment which goes into effect upon transfer of title. The current fee is $1,500. The purpose of the assessment is to have new members contribute to past improvements and help keep our annual dues as low as possible.

Several other events that come into mind are:
 

1. The installation of our first key lock on the gate
2. The free hot dogs and beer following the annual meeting
3. Creation of picnic table reservations
4. Happy Day, we started renting the Green Porta-Potties.
5. The gas station was closed down and we were sited by the Lahontan Water Quality Control Board to cease gas station operations and clean up the site. That came about in 1987 and is still on going. I thank Pete Hutchins for his continued efforts.
6. The annual buoy drawing at the beach
7. Basketball Court
8. Creation of an informational Internet web site

Over the last five years, we have achieved a number of major successes.

We obtained a permit to build our new restroom facility. HAPPY DAYS, NO MORE GREEN PORTA-POTTIES. (Laughter, applause.)

As part of the permit the TRPA, State Lands, Fish and Game and the US Forest Service after 25 years finally recognized our right to maintain the fence line, along with the south end of the park. The TRPA has also recognized our buoy field which entitles us to 50 buoys for use by the membership.

Installation of a great playground for our children.

This year we obtained authorization and completed the new pier decking, installation of our new fence and are putting into effect a new keycard system to better control the use of the park. Our small boats are organized and stored at the South end of the beach.

A special thanks to the eight Presidents I have worked with:
Key Deleray
Ken Vendley
Walter Cannady
Gary Stizman
John Wright
Greg Gibeson
Steve Osborn
Bob Thomas.
And the many Directors.

So with all this excitement and energy used up over the last 30 years, I am ready for a break, I plan to direct my time and effort to the operation of my real estate business, spend time with my current wife, Barbara Wilson, our administrative assistant and accountant and play with my grandson. I am pleased to turn over the position of General Manager to the very capable Jim Davisson. (Applause, standing ovation.)