Board Minutes
Douglas Lakeshore Association
September 19, 2009
Present: Sheldon Wettack, Al Lyon, Wayne Kidder, Mary Kay Baker, Pat Woods, Steve McKown, John Blair, Vince Beckman, Joe Milauckus
Excused: Arlene Philp, Jay Hernly, Mike Flynn
Sheldon called the meeting to order at 9:20 a.m. and thanked Mary Kay for hosting the meeting.
The minutes from May 30, 2009 were approved as distributed and corrected via email.
Treasurer’s Report. No report.
Annual meeting. Wayne, Arlene, Joe and John are on the subcommittee to plan the Annual Meeting. It will be held at the Douglas City Hall. Snacks will be organized by Pat and will begin at 8:45 a.m. The business meeting will run from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. and the program will run from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Wayne has been hard at work putting together a panel of speakers and reports he has had mixed success. Bill Nelson will be out of town but will put together a report covering an update on the reconstruction of Lake Shore Drive. Chris Roerig will be present to discuss the emergency evacuation route. Becky Renninger will be out of town and said she would put together a spreadsheet that would show the drainage maintenance and issues they have addressed this past season. Mr. Max Roger handles the maintenance of the drains in Douglas and Wayne will try and contact him to at least prepare a report. Dave Kowel doesn’t attend Saturday meetings. Wayne Kuipers volunteered to come and speak briefly as he is running for Pete Hoekstra’s seat. Joe will follow up with Wayne Kuipers.
The community will put up posters about the Annual Meeting and an email will be sent to the DLSA membership.
For the business part of the meeting we will nominate and elect the new Board members. The will be a period of time for member comments. The members will be asked to give suggestions on where to donate some of the proceeds from the Summer Social.
Wayne has put together a preliminary agenda that was reviewed by the Board.
Nominating Committee. Sheldon reported that Jay has asked Dennis Dreyer to fill Wayne’s spot as he is going off the board. There is just one opening as Joe, Arlene and Jay are up for renewal and have all agreed to stay on the board. Arlene would like to step aside from the Treasurer’s job. Al has volunteered to be in charge of the Directory. The slate of officers will be finalized immediately following the Annual Meeting.
Township Road Committee. Joe has sent an email to Chris Roerig concerning an emergency evacuation plan for homes north of the washout. There was some confusion about the role of the Lakeshore Association as they thought we had the authority to take over this project, fix the road and then bill the members. Unless we continue to champion the north side, this will not get on the agenda. There is not funding to create a plan for south of the washout at this time.
Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance. Sheldon reported that they are in the middle of a fundraising campaign. They are selling the beautiful book Saugatuck Dunes for $35 plus tax. It is a book of artists’ renderings of the dunes, the lake and harbor. They are available at the Summertime Market, Landsharks and Good Goods. They are still negotiating about selling the south property, perhaps for less than originally settled on. The Alliance has given about $20,000 to the Township for their legal fees.
Saugatuck Harbor Committee.The committee brought in the director of the Detroit Port Authority to get a feel of how they operate the only Port Authority in the state. RJ Peterson has convinced the Committee that there needs to be a Master Plan for the harbor and he will help with raising funding from the marina groups. A meeting is scheduled in the next two weeks. Chris Nurn is the Chairman of this committee.
Saugatuck Township Planning Commission. Joe reported that Whispering Pines next to the Collins Subdivision is looking for a final approval for five units.
International Upper Great Lakes Study: Joe reported on the public hearing in Muskegon. Lake front property owners are losing our beaches as the water is coming up. We are within 3 inches of the long term average for July. We are at the annual long term average for the whole year. A group from Georgian Bay wants restrictions on the St. Clair River. This will increase the levels in Michigan and Huron. The preliminary report said it was not warranted but they are still considering the position of the original draft. Joe handed out copies of the Great Lakes Coalition Summer 2009 Newsletter. There is comment period until August 1st and the Board members were asked to write a letter to encourage them to leave the St. Clair River alone. Next they want to study reducing the level in Superior by adding water to Michigan and Huron.
Next Meeting: The next meeting has been scheduled for September 19 at Pat Woods’ place.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Kay Baker
Douglas Lake Shore Association, Inc.
PO Box 618, Douglas, Michigan 49406
DouglasLakeShore@gmail.com
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