Big Cedar Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District Election Wednesday, August 24th
The Big Cedar PRD annual meeting is Wednesday, August 24, 2022, at Slinger High School Performing Arts Center. Registration opens at 4:00 PM and the business meeting begins at 4:30 PM. The use of this facility will improve the operation of the business meeting and voting process. The PRD sent a mailing to everyone in the district with information on the location and voting requirement changes. You will be able to vote on one commissioner open position, important capital expenditure, and tax levy items as well. We’ve been told by a PRD commissioner that votes cannot be cast until the end of the business meeting. That is estimated to be at 6:10 PM.
We encourage everyone to attend.
Current commissioner and POA director Dave Baldus is running for re-election to his PRD position. Dave has been a valuable POA member and director for many years. He served as acting president, followed by a term as vice-president. We hope Big Cedar property owners will support Dave by voting for him at the PRD election on Wednesday.
One of the items up for a vote at this year’s PRD annual meeting is approval to purchase a weed cutter head for the existing harvester. The new head will reduce the floating weed problem. The prevalent summer wind from the South means the floating weeds left by the weed harvester collect along the shoreline at the North end. From mid-summer to fall the residents there have a significant battle to keep their shoreline relatively clean and open. This has been a problem for many years. The POA believes all lake residents should be concerned about this problem and encourages all property owners to vote to approve this expenditure.
Short-Term Rentals
The growth in popularity of Airbnb/vrbo rentals is gaining both attention and concern from residents and town officials. Both the Town of West Bend and the Town of Polk require short-term rental permits for home rentals of 30 days or less. The Town of West Bend is reviewing the short-term rental process and requirements. Town officials would like input from residents during this period when they are exploring options and formulating ideas about appropriate regulations.
The POA applauds the town for seeking resident comments regarding short-term rentals. We think property owners support adopting rental policies that address their concerns. The POA is anxious to participate in this process and believes public input will lead to regulations that we will fully support. Specific requirements have not been identified but we know some communities require fire inspection for extinguishers, working smoke detectors, and exit signs. Some communities are setting “quiet time after 10 PM” for densely populated areas. Some communities have rules for parking both cars and trailers and some require garbage and litter containers adequate to handle the number of renters. With your help, we can influence the town rental permit regulations and ensure the POA board understands our member’s opinions on this issue.
Please reply to this email with your comments and suggestions. We will collect all resident input, consolidate it and relay the information to both towns of West Bend and Polk officials. Alternatively, you can send information to the town through the email addresses listed on their website.
POA Director
We are excited to announce that in late July we filled one of our POA director openings. Dale Thoma has agreed to be the POA director for the middle portion of West Lake Drive. We are happy to have Dale join our team and believe he will provide great service in his neighborhood. That area covers the properties from 5506 to 5672 W Lake Dr. Residents in the area may have already seen Dale in their neighborhood asking for POA membership dues and getting resident comments and concerns.
An important part of the duties of our directors is to get comments and opinions from their neighbors. Directors bring that information to our board meetings to help the entire board understand the views and thoughts of our members.
Reward Signs
Dues-paying members can get a “reward” sign from their director. The signs we provided the last year and this year are more durable and attractive than our old cardboard signs. We thank Serigraph (a great West Bend company) for their help and support by providing the reward signs. The reward is for information leading to an arrest. The intent of these signs is to serve as a deterrent to property damage crimes. They indicate to all, that Big Cedar Lake residents keep a watchful eye on the property of their friends and neighbors. Additionally, it shows membership and support for the POA.
The question has been raised if we have ever paid the reward. The short answer is yes, but not often. Minutes from Oct 1986 POA board meeting, state that Mrs. Gilbert Ash provided information to a theft and was awarded $200 “reward” by the POA.