Your LAPOA Board has been hard at work on a number of issues that we believe will be valuable in preserving and enhancing the quality of life on Lake Athens.
We believe that all of these developments will help us accomplish our purpose of being an organization that promotes and enables the community of, and represents the interest of, Lake Athens property owners. Preserving and enhancing the quality of Lake Athens is our guiding principle for everything we do.
Here are the latest developments:
1. Joint LAPOA/AMWA Lake Enhancement Committee
We have just developed and put in place the first ever system by which the issues and concerns of property owners can be addressed and potentially resolved by the Athens Municipal Water Authority (AMWA)
In addition, a number of outstanding issues will result in standing policies being established so that you can easily take action to resolve certain issues you may have. Some examples of policies that have been developed are the treating of vegetation, dredging, and abandoned boats.
Soon you will be able to submit your issues or concerns via the website. Your LAPOA Board will consider them on a monthly basis. A joint LAPOA/AMWA committee will attempt to arrive at an acceptable solution. Once that is complete, the resolution will go before the AMWA Board for consideration. While we cannot guarantee that all issues will be resolved, we do believe that this is a positive development in enhancing our relationship with AMWA, having our voice heard, and hopefully resolving issues to improve Lake Athens.
We will notify you by email when we are ready to receive your issues for consideration.
2. LAPOA Passes Resolution regarding boat ramps, docks, and Marinas
In an effort to preserve the quality of Lake Athens as it relates to boat traffic, water roughness, safety, noise, pollution, and low crime, the Board has passed the following resolution:
“WHEREAS, the purpose of Lake Athens Property Owners Association is to be an organization that promotes and enables the community of, and represents the interest of, Lake Athens property owners.
“WHEREAS, the property owners want to preserve and enhance the current quality of Lake Athens as it relates to boat traffic, water roughness, safety, pollution, noise, and low crime.
“WHEREAS, the Lake Athens Property Owners Association Board of Directors has deliberated at length, and believes that adding any boat ramps (public or private), boat docks that are owned or leased that grant lake access to non-water front property owners, or any additional marinas or docking beyond the current marina, will negatively impact Lake Athens as it relates to boat traffic, water roughness, safety, pollution, and low crime.
“NOW THEREFORE,
“BE IT RESOLVED that the Lake Athens Property Owners Association Board of Directors is opposed to any additional boat ramps, docks that are not Lake Athens water front property owners’, or marinas.”
This resolution has been communicated to AMWA, and will be maintained with our By-Laws.
3. LAPOA Member Communication and New Website
In order to enhance the timeliness and quality of communication within LAPOA we have developed a new website. You should find there everything you need to interact with LAPOA. In addition, our quarterly updates will be via email. There are many advantages to this new email policy. It saves money, enables quick and easy communication, and allows weekend resident property owners to get timely updates.
Please make sure we have your email address to ensure that you receive these updates. If you are already receiving our updates in your email inbox, you need take no further action. If you are NOT receiving our email updates, please send an email to [email protected] with your correct email address and it will be added to our membership database.
Please note that from this point forward, only LAPOA members in good standing will receive membership updates. Emails belonging to non-members will no longer receive email updates. (A good reason to Join LAPOA.)
4. Clubs
The Lake Athens clubs have been a wonderful success. We have had numerous sailing regattas, rowing regattas, and ski events. People are making new friends while enjoying what they like to do on the water. We believe that these clubs will continue to expand and have an impact in building community on Lake Athens.
We plan to kick off the 2014 Season with learn to ski, wakeboard, sail, and row clinics. These clinics will offer a great opportunity for you, your children, and your grandchildren to create lasting memories on Lake Athens! If you are interested in joining in the fun, please go to the Clubs page where you will find the latest club contact information.
5. LAPOA Calendar Changes
In order to enhance participation in LAPOA and our Lake Athens community, we have realigned the annual LAPOA calendar so that for all purposes (except fiscal) our calendar year will now be July 1 – June 30. This makes more sense for our organization since our Lake population is at its highest during the summer months.
Our annual meeting has been permanently moved from January to June. We believe that this will enable more of our weekend resident property owners to attend the meeting. Our membership year has been moved to July 1- June 30. This syncs it with the annual meeting. Our board member terms have been moved to July 1- June 30. This enables new Board Members to be voted on at the annual meeting.
6. Dues
In light of our calendar change, we are going to begin collecting dues for our next membership period starting in January 2014. This one-time, transitional membership period will expire in June 2015. This is an 18 month period. The dues will be $30.
Due to limited volunteer bandwidth and administration, dues will not be prorated. No matter when you join during the January 2014 to June 2015 cycle, your dues will be $30. Therefore it is to your benefit to pay your dues on time in January in order to enjoy the benefits of LAPOA.
7. LAPOA Member Royal Caribbean Cruise!
LAPOA members are going on a cruise! This will be the first ever (maybe annual?) LAPOA member trip. (Another good reason to Join LAPOA.)
We will sail from Galveston on May 4 for a six night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean. Lake Athens very own Jamie Running has made arrangements for our group. We have discounted group rates, two private cocktail parties, one member meeting, and common dinner seating. This will be a great opportunity to make lasting memories with your Lake Athens neighbors!
To register for the trip please call 1-800-465-3595, Monday – Saturday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. CST. Use our LAPOA Group #4481517 when booking. Royal Caribbean will hold rooms and rates for our group until December 31, 2013. After that date rates may increase and availability is not guaranteed. For more information, please contact Jamie Running at (214) 668-6365, or [email protected].
8. LAPOA request that AMWA enforces abandoned boat policy
LAPOA has noted that Lake Athens currently has four partially sunken boats on Lake Athens. AMWA has a written policy regarding abandoned boats that has not been enforced. In an effort to enhance the quality of Lake Athens, we have requested that the policy be enforced. AMWA agreed and is in the process of dealing with the four boats currently in question.
9. Water Restrictions
We are all painfully aware of the ongoing drought and low water levels. Did you also know that the property owners who use lake water to irrigate their lawns are subject to the AMWA voluntary and mandatory watering restrictions? It is important that we do our part to help conserve our water (and water level). For the latest information on watering restrictions, please go to the City of Athens website.
10. LAPOA to establish a new tradition – Lake Athens Property Owners Association Weekend
LAPOA has realigned its calendar to accommodate more weekend resident property owners. We will have a special weekend in June that will include:
- ♦ Learn to sail, row, ski, and wakeboard clinics. These will be conducted by our friends in the Lake Athens clubs. They will be available for LAPOA members, their children, and grandchildren. This will be free of charge and will occur on Saturday morning.
- ♦ Float Party. This will be a boat rafting party north of Goat Island on Saturday afternoon.
- ♦ Annual Meeting/Dinner. This will be on Saturday night. Location TBD.
- ♦ Shore clean-up day. This will be on Sunday where property owners clean up their own shore lines to enhance Lake Athens.
11. Jerry Bergman retires as LAPOA Secretary
Jerry Bergman has retired from the LAPOA Board after 15 years of continuous service. Jerry has been a dedicated and tireless servant on the LAPOA Board. Most recently he has served admirably as the Secretary. This is a tedious task that he has performed with distinction. Jerry will be missed. We wish Jerry all the best with his new found free time.
To that end, Lake Athens resident Dorian Reeder has joined the LAPOA Board as the new Secretary. Dorian is a retired military officer and IT executive. He brings a wealth of administrative and IT experience to the LAPOA Board. Dorian has already had a huge impact on the organization. Welcome aboard Dorian!
Summary of LAPOA Accomplishments for 2013 and why membership is valuable:
Beginning in January 2013, your LAPOA Board embarked on a major overhaul of the organization. We believe the changes are the beginning of a new era of relationship around the lake as well as enhancing our advocacy and resolution of concerns and issues on the lake. We hope you agree.
Following are a list of accomplishments and changes for LAPOA during 2013:
1. Modified and enhanced the Purpose, Mission, and Vision of LAPOA.
2. Created the Sailing Club, Skiing Club, and Rowing Club. We had the first ever Sailing and Rowing Regattas on Lake Athens.
3. Created a new website that will enable better dissemination of information and better communication for members.
4. Judy Blaising created an official LAPOA logo. T-shirts featuring the logo are available for purchase.
5. In an effort to get the facts on the low water levels, LAPOA organized the first ever meeting with AMWA’s Executive Director Wylie Pirkle. Wylie presented AMWA’s data regarding water supply and usage. This meeting was instrumental in developing a more productive relationship with AMWA and dispelling numerous rumors on a host of issues. The meeting was attended by approximately 100 LAPOA members and was very effective at getting AMWA’s facts to our membership.
6. In an effort to preserve the quality of Lake Athens, passed a resolution regarding LAPOA’s position on any future boat ramps, non-property owner boat docks, and Marinas.
7. In order to make the annual meeting more available to all property owners, the meeting was held in June. The attendance was the highest at any annual meeting except the first founding meeting. As a result, the annual meeting has been permanently moved to June, and all membership, dues, and Board Member calendars have been synced so they align with the annual meeting.
8. In conjunction with the June annual meeting, LAPOA is going to create a LAPOA member annual lake weekend that will include, sailing, skiing, and rowing clinics, shore clean up, and the annual meeting, dinner, and party. Our intent is to make this annual member weekend meeting a new tradition on Lake Athens that will transcend generations to come.
9. LAPOA members will go on the first ever LAPOA member trip – a Caribbean Cruise on May 4, 2014.
10. Created a joint LAPOA/AMWA committee to address and resolve issues on Lake Athens.
11. A.M.W.A. will enforce its policy on abandoned boats.
We anticipate several new initiatives for 2014 that we believe will continue to preserve and enhance the quality of life on Lake Athens. We will keep you informed via email and the website.
If you would like to become a member of LAPOA, you can complete the Online Registration Form and pay your dues with PayPal or, if you prefer, you can download the Membership Application Form, print it, complete it, and mail it with your payment. Instructions are on the Membership Form.
We look forward to seeing you on the Lake!
Your LAPOA Board of Directors