Happy New Year!

On behalf of the SLPPOA, We would like to wish you and yours a very happy new year with our best wishes for a healthy and happy 2015.

The road assessment must be paid in full by 2/28/15. 

For those residents who wish to join our association for the first time, we offer you a warm welcome to the Shady Lake Property Owner’s Association.  For those who are rejoining, we welcome you back and thank you once again for being an active member of our wonderful community.  

Please note that for both the road assessment and membership dues invoices, a monthly late fee of $20 will be charged if not paid by the due date.  There will also be a $25 fee for returned checks.

If you do not wish to join, please return only the road assessment invoice with your payment.  You may disregard the membership coupon.

Just the Facts

Shady Lake has 130 homes. Last year (2014) there were 70 memberships into the association and 61 were non-members, or “road-only”.  As stated in a judgment by the Superior Court, road dues are determined by the amount we spend to maintain the roads, divided by the entire 130 houses. This is the way you are billed for your road assessments. We have tried to keep these fees around $100.00 per year.  We keep our roads private in order to keep our taxes down.  The other alternative (if agreed upon by 51% of the community), would be to turn the roads over to the town, making them public. Gordon Lakes did this about 12 years ago, and each homeowner was assessed for their roadside footage, resulting in a decade-long annual assessment of approximately $1000 per each homeowner!

We would like to thank all the Shady Lake homeowners who have paid your road assessments in a timely manner.  This is what allows us to keep our roads private and saves us each a large amount of annual tax dollars.

For those that do owe back road assessments, please be aware that a lien is placed on your home for the amount of arrears, and a copy of the lien is faxed to the real estate company and lawyers upon the sale of the house.   These monies, plus accrued interest, are then payable at the closing.   During real estate transactions, the attorney will request a statement of account from the Shady Lake PPOA depicting any monies owed so as not to delay the closing.  As financial secretary, I will be happy to supply the statement of account.

The Association

How did it begin?  Shady Lake started out as a summer community with no heat or water in any of the homes. There were dirt roads and the only amenity was the lake. At the time, the residents formed an Association. They took out a community bond to have the pool built.  They also bought the 50 acres of land in the back of the development as recreational land (which at the time was a real baseball field and hiking trails) and protected it from other land developers.  The association then bought the clubhouse (which was originally a general store).

Shady Lake – Just a POOL?

Based on the above, our current “inheritance” as an association member is five pieces of real estate: the roads, pool, lake, clubhouse and 50 acres of land. Today, that same parcel of land has been made into a tree farm, which is maintained by the members, and we also have the addition of the cell tower, which was erected in July 2003.  As a member of the association, you are a property owner of the above items, much like you are owner of your own private home.  Care and maintenance of these properties is just as important.

How does it all work?  The premise is the same as it was originally – all the members pay the same amount of money and invest the same amount of time to maintain these properties. It has always been an unspoken rule that every member should donate a portion of their time each year for the maintenance of these properties.

However, time has taken its toll on these areas.  The summer houses are now year-round homes, yet participation in maintaining these areas has dwindled. This leaves us with two choices:

1. Unfortunately, this year we had to increase the membership dues for ALL members so that we can hire workers to do the work that volunteer members used to do.  Please note that the membership dues have not been increased since 1990 (over 14 years)
2. Ask that all member families commit to at least 3 hours of volunteer work a year in order to keep up with the maintenance of the properties.

Please remember a few important points regarding membership:

• You are the owner of 5 pieces of real estate
• Improvements are presently made by your hard work and participation – everyone is responsible for the present condition of these properties (good or bad)
• As a member, you have a deciding vote on what is done with all five of these properties, e.g., keeping roads private, continuation or discontinuation of both the pool and the clubhouse, and upkeep of the lake. This is a democratic society and when 2/3 of the general membership no longer wishes to continue with any or all of these properties, they will no longer exist.

For over 50 years there has been a “general meeting” on the last Friday in July. Please come and learn about your community. Here is a synopsis of the time and effort that is required to maintain these properties.  It will also make it clear as to how your dues are distributed:

• LAKE

We do hire a contractor to treat certain growths in our lake. We have to harvest the algae by hand (VOLUNTEERS). Removal of trees, limbs and debris and clearing of drains are done continually (VOLUNTEERS).

• TREE FARM

We have a paid forester to mark trees and file necessary permits. We then have the trees harvested according to the guidelines given by the state for the operation of such tree farms. We manually (VOLUNTEERS) pull out the tree tops (according to the guidelines stated), rent machinery for the above and pay for the necessary permits.

• ROADS

For the past 20 years we have hired a contractor to lay large sections of continuous roadway. We have completed every road that has multiple houses on them as well as kept up with the patching and repairing of through roads. Drains need to be cleaned, mailboxes cleared from snow and brush trimmed back to alleviate blind spots (VOLUNTEERS).

• CLUBHOUSE

Our clubhouse is showing signs of age and is in need of constant repair. We try to keep the integrity of the structure and the logs, but a lot of labor and TLC is needed. The clubhouse needs to be opened and cleaned out in the spring, and closed up and cleaned in the fall (VOLUNTEERS).  Continuous maintenance including mopping, cleaning of windows, bathrooms and kitchen is necessary (VOLUNTEERS).  The grounds need continual up-keeping (leaves raked, volleyball & horseshoe courts maintained,  etc.) (VOLUNTEERS).  Fire inspections are done annually and permits are paid for. Fire extinguishers are updated annually.

• PLAYGROUND

In order to pass inspection so that the pool can open, mulch has to be laid, swings need to be in good operating condition and the wood has to be power washed and painted (VOLUNTEERS).  Daily maintenance is required to keep the area clean and safe so that the pool can remain open (VOLUNTEERS).  If this area is not kept safe and clean and fails inspection, THE POOL WILL BE CLOSED!

• POOL

Every year this is the biggest and most-needed area for volunteers.  The fewer volunteers we have, the later the pool opens each year. The pool chairperson is there every Saturday and Sunday in May with the hopes of good weather and a strong showing of volunteers. Cleaning, cementing, power washing, painting – the list goes on and on (VOLUNTEERS).  The age and size of the pool and its surrounding area make for a huge amount of work each year.

The combined annual real estate taxes on these properties is over $7,000, which your dues help to pay for. We also have an attorney to whom we pay legal fees, as well as an accountant who files our corporate taxes as well as an insurance agent.

If you have any questions regarding the above, please contact the SLPPOA President, Chuck Carbone at 973-208-1786 or Jeannine Meegan at 201-978-7421, jeannine.a.meegan@gmail.com.

Please remember that every member is invited to attend all board meetings (held on a monthly basis) as well as the general membership meeting.  Your participation and input are much needed in order to continue to keep Shady Lake such a wonderful community.  Also be aware that the Shady Lake website (shadylake.tripod.com) is an excellent resource for news and events concerning our community.

We thank you for your cooperation and community spirit in endeavoring to make Shady Lake a beautiful place to live.  We would like to remind everyone that being a member of our association is a “joint real estate venture” and a choice.  We look forward to working with all of our partners!

Kind regards,

Jeannine Meegan

SLPPOA Financial Secretary