Enchanted Lake Residents Association, Board Meeting, May 26, 2015
Present: Greg Colbert, Bob Molyneux, Margaret Novack, Rod Castanha, Stephen Kofsky, Alan Richardson, Shannon Oshiro, Doug Kroll, Michele Compton, Gus Gustavson, Past President.
Bob Bourke (Scientific advisor), Cindy Turner (Webmaster)
Absent: George Lingle, Kelly Adams, Melody Spencer (Administrative Assistant)
A quorum was declared and the meeting called to order at 7:07pm.
Approval of Minutes The minutes for the April 14, 2015 meeting were unavailable. They will be distributed, commented on, and approved via email. The minutes for the May 1, 2015 Special Meeting were discussed and commented on. They too will be approved via email. Once approved both minutes will be uploaded on the ELRA website.
Executive Session:
The Board went into Executive Session to discuss the update/status of ongoing litigation. In addition to the Board, Bob Bourke was also included in the discussion.
Ongoing Business:
Financial report: Doug Kroll, Treasurer, reported that the association had a balance of $16,565.73 in checking and $12, 093.12 in savings, held at the American Savings Bank.
Considerable discussion was devoted to the best (as defined by safe and easy) means of paying bills from the checking account. Currently the ELRA uses a two-signature mode. The American Savings Bank electronic banking system does not support two-signature requirements therefore paying simple bills can be cumbersome. It was agreed that before any changes are made as to how bills are paid (I.E. checks are written), bonding alternatives should be investigated.
Declaration of Protective Provisions (DPP). Greg Colbert reported that discussions continue with Kukilakila Community Association (KCA) relative to a variety of legal and financial issues to allow ELRA and KCA better cooperation in maintaining the lake. He has also been in discussions with Kamehameha Schools about cooperative actions related to the possible extensions of the DPP. The current DPP expire Dec 2016. ELRA is working to resolve any remaining issues concerning the DPP well before that date.
Fees: Recently Board Officers have been requested to approve certain encroachments into the lake. This activity requires due diligence. The current By-Laws are silent about what fees should be attached to these activities and previous fees have been traditionally set at $400 for an encroachment agreement and $100 for a transfer of owners.
From By-Laws:
EXECUTION OF INSTRUMENTS
SECTION 5.1 Proper Officers. Except as hereinafter provided or as required by law, all notes, deeds, leases, contracts, licenses, endorsements, powers of attorney, proxies, waivers, consents, returns, reports, applications, notices, mortgages and other instruments or writings of any nature, which require execution on behalf of the Corporation, shall be signed by…
Following considerable discussion, the following motion was passed.
A motion was made by Greg Colbert that standard fees be published for certain transactions. Given the proportional increases in property values over the past decade, approval for Encroachments should be set at $800. Fees for transfer of owners on an encroachment agreement will result in a fee of $200. The motion was seconded by Doug Kroll. All but one of the Board was in favor. One member voted in the negative.
Board Member Openings: Two members have left the board because of work conflicts (Linda Jenks and Kelo Maosi). As allowed by By-Laws, it was agreed to work to fill the open seats.
Block Captain (BC) Update: Michele Compton stated that the BC activities continue. Members were encouraged to make their visits to their neighbors and remind them to submit declarations for any negative effects (such as midges, smell, inability to fish, boat, or use the lake in any way) from the sediment events to Linda Paul (or Greg who can get them to Linda).
Lake Health: Bob Bourke indicated that the lake is relatively healthy given its recent history of stress, but lower in water surface elevation than usual. The berm was opened 12 May, using a bulldozer. This resulted in the movement of over 400 cu yds of sand. The opening was timed well to coincide with the strong high tides, allowing for an excellent exchange of water.
However, because the berm opening was so large, as the tides grew weaker, the lake was left at an unacceptably low level (approximately 1.25 ft). Salinity is higher than normal and the water has been observed to be cloudy in some instances. There have also been complaints of bad smells and midges.
A test is being conducted by Oceanit, a Honolulu based science, technology and engineering company, to determine the feasibility of siphoning waters from the Kawainui Marsh into the Hamakua wetlands. The intent is to replicate the water exchanges that had existed before the levy was build to protect Coconut Grove. It is hoped that this process will raise the level of the lake by about 1/8 inch a day.
Fish stock appears to be good. Larger Papios have been observed. Bob reminds that these fish need to be at least 10 inches before they are kept.
Next Meeting will be 16 Jun 2015
The meeting was adjourned at 9:17 pm.