Big Cedar Protection and Rehabilitation District (PRD) Election
This is a Property Owners Association (POA) newsletter. We do not speak for the PRD. Nonetheless, the actions of the PRD are of interest to our members and we serve our members by reporting our observations of the PRD meeting.
The PRD annual meeting was Wednesday, August 24, 2022. The meeting was held at the Slinger High School Performing Arts Center. The venue was a great selection as it supported concurrent registration and business meeting without noise and distractions. The air conditioning and comfortable seating were a nice improvement as were the audio/visual functions.
The communication from the PRD about the meeting and voting rules proved to be effective. There were very few questions from voters about the meeting procedures or voting requirements. Attendees seemed to be clear about the voting rules as they came to the meeting with the necessary documents for their specific voter registration.
Dave Baldus was the only person nominated for the open commissioner position. Dave has been elected to a three-year term.
Christina Fiasca gave an excellent presentation on the budget. She covered the entire budget, describing all the significant elements of expense and revenue. The audience seemed engaged as they asked a number of questions. In particular, there were questions about the proposed purchase of major equipment next year. Each year the PRD budget includes funds for various reserve accounts so that the funds are available when big purchases come up. The Genthe Pond work done this year was paid for utilizing reserve funds. For next year, the proposed major equipment purchases will be paid for using reserve funds. The result is that these items can be purchased and yet the tax levy will not change.
Troy Zagel lead the discussion about the new equipment being considered for 2023. He provided information about the need for each and the capabilities of each. He reported the plan is get whatever trade-in value he can for the old equipment. There is a chance of getting grant money for some of the cost of the new weed cutter head. The DNR grant could possibly cover up to 50% of the cost. The PRD will apply for a grant. Troy indicated the PRD would do all it can to get the new weed cutter head for next year cutting, regardless of whether DNR funding is forthcoming.
The budget and levy for 2023 were approved. Purchases of commercial grade lawn mower, weed cutter head for the existing harvester, and a side-by-side UTV were each approved in separate ballot voting.
During the open discussion, Joe Jansky asked the PRD to implement the practice for each monthly board meeting of including in the agenda an item for discussion of all correspondence the PRD received since the last meeting.
Debris in lake
Fall is on the way and soon many residents will be in the raking and leaf pickup routine. Please DO NOT dump leaves and other yard waste into the lake. The POA hopes all residents share our desire to keep the lake as clean and clear as possible. Anyone dumping debris of any type in the lake is not practicing common sense and good lake stewardship. Property owners along the lake do not want the sediment and material decay that occurs when leaves and other debris float along the lake and then sink. Anyone who enjoys a nice sandy lake bottom does not want to see it become a “soft” lake bottom.
There are some reports of residents enjoying personal fireworks off their dock or raft and then throwing the leftover materials into the lake. That is clearly polluting our lake and should never be done.
The primary goals of the POA are the protection and preservation of Big Cedar Lake. Thus, the POA is very concerned about any leaves, debris, and yard waste going into the lake. There is a PRD ordinance against dumping materials in the lake. Both the Town of Polk and the Town of West Bend have yard waste collection sites. We hope everyone will take the appropriate care in their leaf and yard pickup.
Big Cedar Property Owners,
Big Cedar Protection and Rehabilitation District (PRD) Election
This is a Property Owners Association (POA) newsletter. We do not speak for the PRD. Nonetheless, the actions of the PRD are of interest to our members and we serve our members by reporting our observations of the PRD meeting.
The PRD annual meeting was Wednesday, August 24, 2022. The meeting was held at the Slinger High School Performing Arts Center. The venue was a great selection as it supported concurrent registration and business meeting without noise and distractions. The air conditioning and comfortable seating were a nice improvement as were the audio/visual functions.
The communication from the PRD about the meeting and voting rules proved to be effective. There were very few questions from voters about the meeting procedures or voting requirements. Attendees seemed to be clear about the voting rules as they came to the meeting with the necessary documents for their specific voter registration.
Dave Baldus was the only person nominated for the open commissioner position. Dave has been elected to a three-year term.
Christina Fiasca gave an excellent presentation on the budget. She covered the entire budget, describing all the significant elements of expense and revenue. The audience seemed engaged as they asked a number of questions. In particular, there were questions about the proposed purchase of major equipment next year. Each year the PRD budget includes funds for various reserve accounts so that the funds are available when big purchases come up. The Genthe Pond work done this year was paid for utilizing reserve funds. For next year, the proposed major equipment purchases will be paid for using reserve funds. The result is that these items can be purchased and yet the tax levy will not change.
Troy Zagel lead the discussion about the new equipment being considered for 2023. He provided information about the need for each and the capabilities of each. He reported the plan is get whatever trade-in value he can for the old equipment. There is a chance of getting grant money for some of the cost of the new weed cutter head. The DNR grant could possibly cover up to 50% of the cost. The PRD will apply for a grant. Troy indicated the PRD would do all it can to get the new weed cutter head for next year cutting, regardless of whether DNR funding is forthcoming.
The budget and levy for 2023 were approved. Purchases of commercial grade lawn mower, weed cutter head for the existing harvester, and a side-by-side UTV were each approved in separate ballot voting.
During the open discussion, Joe Jansky asked the PRD to implement the practice for each monthly board meeting of including in the agenda an item for discussion of all correspondence the PRD received since the last meeting.
Debris in lake
Fall is on the way and soon many residents will be in the raking and leaf pickup routine. Please DO NOT dump leaves and other yard waste into the lake. The POA hopes all residents share our desire to keep the lake as clean and clear as possible. Anyone dumping debris of any type in the lake is not practicing common sense and good lake stewardship. Property owners along the lake do not want the sediment and material decay that occurs when leaves and other debris float along the lake and then sink. Anyone who enjoys a nice sandy lake bottom does not want to see it become a “soft” lake bottom.
There are some reports of residents enjoying personal fireworks off their dock or raft and then throwing the leftover materials into the lake. That is clearly polluting our lake and should never be done.
The primary goals of the POA are the protection and preservation of Big Cedar Lake. Thus, the POA is very concerned about any leaves, debris, and yard waste going into the lake. There is a PRD ordinance against dumping materials in the lake. Both the Town of Polk and the Town of West Bend have yard waste collection sites. We hope everyone will take the appropriate care in their leaf and yard pickup.
Slow-No-Wake
Big Cedar Lake, as well as many other Wisconsin lakes, has a slow-no-wake ordinance for all motorized watercraft within 200 ft of shoreline. A couple of years ago, Dane County passed a 200-foot from shore slow-no-wake for lakes Mendota, Waubesa, Monona, and Kegonsa. On a recent trip to Minocqua, I learned Minocqua Lake also has a 200-foot slow-no-wake. The old standard slow-no-wake within 100 ft from shore is being replaced on many lakes with the 200 ft requirement. The primary goal of the POA is the protection and preservation of Big Cedar Lake. We believe the 200 ft rule helps protect the shoreline aquatic plants and minimize shoreline erosion. It helps protect and preserve our lake.
Cedar Lake Hills
The Big Cedar POA has two directors that cover Cedar Lake Hills, Mark Hammen and Mark Weske. We have very few POA members in CLH. We would like to have more residents there join the POA and support POA efforts in areas where we share common goals. Minutes from Sep 1984 POA board meeting stated that, at that time, CLH never had a POA director, Ann Dunlop was nominated and voted in.
POA Director
In our last newsletter, we announced that Dale Thoma was the new POA director for the middle section of West Lake Drive. At this time we are pleased to announce that our remaining open position for directors has been filled. Lynn BieseCarroll has agreed to represent the neighborhood that is the Northern third of West Lake Drive. We are excited to have these two new directors on our team.