Big Cedar Lake Property Owners
December 15, 2019 – Newsletter
It is our intention to send a monthly newsletter for the months of May through October. We plan to send one or two newsletters over the winter. If you missed one of the old newsletters you can find them posted on our website. At present, we have 553 email addresses in our email distribution list.
POA Directors
As many of you know, our president, Tod Maclay, passed away last month. The vice-president, Dave Baldus, has stepped up to handle all necessary actions until a new president is assigned. The POA General Officers are voted in by the 23 directors at a meeting of directors shortly following the annual meeting in June. At the December directors meeting, two changes to the General Officers were approved. Rick Gale is the new secretary and Joe Jansky is our new treasurer.
Water Quality Study
The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) completed a water quality study in 2015. Generally, the plan is updated about every 5 years. The POA is working with CLCF and PRD to have the study updated for 2020, or possibly have a complete study redone. Among other things, the study assesses the 20 sub-basins that drain into Big Cedar Lake. The study determines the phosphorus loading from each sub-basin. In 1995, the study determined the total phosphorus loading into the lake was 250 pounds per year.
Big Cedar Lake Dam Information
The Cedar Lakes Conservation Foundation (CLCF) published an article about the Big Cedar Lake Dam in the fall of 2018. Big Cedar property owners may be interested in the dam and the operation of it. The attached article is a comprehensive report about the dam, its history, and the process that is followed whenever the dam level is changed. It reports on the unusual amount of rain in 2018 and actions that were taken to manage the rainfall. A link to that article is provided below:
Big Cedar Lake Dam Information
Cedar Community Development
Cedar Community is still in the planning stages for their desire to add housing at the Cedar Lake campus. The POA has been in touch with them and hopes to be given a “heads up” when the planning process is complete. They will, at that point, need to go before the West Bend planning commission.
Protecting the shore is the focus for the POA and we look forward to working with Cedar Community towards that end. To date, there has been no firm commitment.
Town Property Rental Regulations
Both the Town of Polk and the Town of West Bend have passed ordinances for property rental. The main points of the regulations are:
- Homes cannot be rented for less than 6 days,
- For rentals of 6 to 30 days, a permit from the town is required,
- A state inspection will be required before a permit is issued.
Town of Polk Short Term Rental Ordinance
Town of West Bend Short Term Rental Ordinance