Management Reports – January 2010
Joe Mattingley - General Manager
Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa (ERR&S) –
The Resort has not been sold as all of you know and business as usual will continue.
In regards to the property swap agreement for the dredge pond the agreements have been sent to ERR&S for review and refinement. The potential purchase of the resort has slowed the final process. Once input is received from ERR&S about the agreement we will have finalized documents for the GTA Board of Directors to review and consider in a future board meeting.
Shenandoah Riding Center (SRC) –
SRC and GTA Management have met to discuss items such as general maintenance of the facility, the litigation that is underway regarding the rider that had fallen from a trail horse last year, capital improvements to the SRC, leased equipment that is within the SRC/GTC lease and general discussion about the fireworks for the rodeo that is scheduled on July 4th weekend.
We will be meeting in the end of January to discuss the timeline for replacing the roof on the facility as well as the other capital upgrades that we will bring back to the Long Range Planning Committee for review and comment. We should also know by the end of January were SRC management is with their rodeo vendor agreements.
Pool –
The Budget and Audit Committee has had an initial meeting to “crunch” the numbers and in the end they will summarize their findings/recommendations in an executive summary document to the Board of Directors for consideration. Pending final conceptions of their recommendations The GTA Management may request a special board meeting to review said recommendations with the board as a whole in the month of February.
Tri-County Economic Development (TCEDA) –
As of the beginning of January the Executive Search Committee from the TCEDA Board of Directors (I was a member of it) recommended to the TCEDA Executive Committee a permanent Executive Director for the organization that was hired. The new Director’s name is Randy Prasse and he is a native of rural Stephenson County however his resume of work experience has a span of working with multiple economic development associations in the Rockford and Milwaukee area. His most notable accomplishment was very recently were he was the CEO of The Wisconsin State Fair for multiple years and he was able to foster relationships to that provided a financial turnaround totaling $6.5 million during his tenure; from a $3.7 million loss to a $1.5 million surplus. He has vast knowledge of Board of Director Governance and was very confident that he would be able to make TCEDA successful via relationship statuses and productivity to sustaining current business establishments as well as fostering new business development for the region.
GTA Propane Co-op Program –
As of the writing of this document there has not been any propane purchased for 2010 – 2011 heating season. Current markets show that out month propane rates would be in the $1.78 per gallon range. Jim Ritterbush and I still feel that the market will soften coning into spring due to massive storage levels of oil and natural gas; keeping in mind what the value of the dollar will do rolling into spring. Currently Ferrellgas is providing weekly price updates and we are monitoring daily oil pricing, propane markets and similar commodity ratios that effect our decisions.
Utilities Incorporated (Utilities) –
To date we have not heard from Utilities Incorporated in regards to the rate request that they are going to forward to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). There have been multiple conversations with legal counsel that deal with the ICC from the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency, and we have inquired about the attorney that Apple Canyon Lake has in place to pursue their case. The ICC and Utilities Incorporated are governed by Section 285 of the Public Utilities Act and within that act the utility company is allowed a return on equity based on current capital infrastructure and a single year’s operations expenses. From those factors a “reasonable rate of return” may be awarded by the ICC back to the utility. This is where potential consultants come in to verify their approach. A field that we would potentially pulled from to utilize as expert testimony would be past ICC staffers that understand the rating structure of the ICC and utility companies state wide.
Once the petition is filed by Utilities Incorporated the timeline begins and petitioner hearings are held in either Chicago or Springfield. All property owners will be notified from Utilities Incorporated about their filed petition to the ICC along with the proposed rates – this is required in the Public Utilities Act. The GTA Management will recommend legal counsel to pursue the ICC rate request and the Board of Directors will have to determine if it is desired for The GTA to move forward with such action to intervene in the process.
Dave Oldenburg – Assistant Manager
- The sewer is now done and being monitored by Utilities Inc. We have withheld a percentage of money to repair the landscaping in the spring after a settling that will occur through the winter.
- The ARC has finished its annual inspection of the homes and the owners that need to address maintenance items on their home will be contacted.
- We have been busy working with people that are in the process of challenging their tax notices.
- The deer culling is underway and the required helicopter count was done on the 15th.
- We have been working with the Association’s engineer to get some concepts on potential ways to better protect the marina from large rain falls. I also met with the road commissioner and some of the farmers that are up stream in the watershed to get their input and ideas of what could help both parties.
- I’m drawing up specs for the bridge that we are going to be installing over Small Pox Creek this summer.
- Also, specs are being put together to go to bid on the parking lot addition at the Owners Club.
- Next month we will be starting the closing in of the upper deck area at the Marina to enlarge the user capacity for that area.
Emily Lubcke - Greenspace & Lake Activities
Farmers’ Market – We are prepping for the 2010 season and have found a way to stay at the OC. We will be modifying the fence around the basketball court so that it’s easier for vendors to get their goods set up and so foot traffic flows more smoothly. No vehicles will be allowed on the court.
Spring Burns – We are preparing for the spring burn season. The tracts we are looking at burning include Thunder Bay Falls Park – the slope across from the falls & the field where current restoration activities are occurring, Lookout Trace woodland that we did not burn in fall, & “The Point” at the end of Thunder Rock Trail
Dormant Seeding – Several dormant seeding projects are planned for January: North Cove inlet (repaired by the township after the 8/9 flood), Sewer repair seeding (Pond Court), Lookout Trace prairie, Cogan Valley Prairie (grass establishment), 319 Grant sites
Trails – We anticipate opening Trail 7B, from North Cove to Cameron, in the spring. Maintenance is currently working to remove trees and debris from the path of the trail. Galena Survey Consultants is and has marked lot lines along a new trail route from North Cove to TBFP as well as a new loop at the end of Trail 1E, near Clark & Winterwood. We will be moving a portion of Trail 7A off of Lake Ridge Road and into Greenspace. We will also start laying out the trail in Thunder Bay Falls Park this winter.
Ice Fishing Tournament – The ice fishing tournament is proceeding as planned for 1/16/10 and we currently have about 30 participants. Scales Mound Fire agreed to have their ice rescue drill the same day and will be holding that off of the fishing pier.
LMEC Winter Dinners – LMEC is again hosting a winter dinner series. The first will be on January 30 and will be the State of the Lake presentation. The second is on March 27 and we are hoping to have the presentation on Birds of The Territory.
319 Grant – We anticipate submitting for Phase 3 by August 1, 2010, and will include the creek on the East Course from Pond Court to Small Pox Creek, the creek along Trail 5 in Cogan Valley, and Small Pox Creek. Guilford Township will be doing work at Valley & Cogan, Rawlins Road, Ford Road, & Miller Ridge Road. Depending on approval and the permitting process, we anticipate starting this work in 2012. At the first Board Orientation after the new Board is appointed we will have a session on the benefits of the 319 Grant, as was requested by one of the Board Members.
NWF Community Habitat Registration & Certification – The Habitat Team is still working with River Ridge & Scales Mound schools to achieve our certification status. We also have a new goal of 100 properties to register as Wildlife Habitats. Currently, we have 89 properties in that category and added 2-3 more GTA sites – the Marina, Thunder Bay Falls Park, and Pond Court. We will be working with Tom Tully upon his return to register Eagle Ridge golf course sites.
Marina Flood Protection – We are working with the engineers on a few plans for abatement of flood damage to the Marina. We anticipate having this ready for Joe to discuss at the Annual Meeting
Native Restoration Guidelines – I am working on compiling the database info for contractors, seed & plant suppliers, and Territory Residents. Information should be ready to distribute at the Annual Meeting.
Susan Miller - Assistant Manager
Annual Audit
The auditors will be on site on January 20-22 to complete the audit. During December the administrative staff completed the preliminary work.
Deer Management
The deer management program is underway. Culling started on January 12 and will be completed on Tuesday-Thursday from dawn until dusk.
Snow Plow Contracts
Last month I reported that we had contracts to plow 297 driveways. Once it actually snowed that number increased to 330.
Licenses
We have currently received the following license renewals for 2010:
- Snack Bar Food Service Establishment License
- Jo Daviess County Liquor License
- State of Illinois Liquor License
Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting exhibit area is about half way sold out. We have a total of 81 vendors this year and typically sell out by the end of January, but things are a little slower this year. The Annual Meeting will begin at 1:30 pm, with the complimentary cocktail party scheduled to run from 4-6 pm. Thanks to Ferrellgas, Galena Hillside Homes and Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa for sponsoring the cocktail party.
The new Board of Directors will meet immediately following the annual meeting to elect their officers for the coming year. That meeting is typically held in one of the small banquet rooms in Woodlands. All members are welcome to attend.
GTF Annual Meeting
The Galena Territory Foundation Annual Meeting will also be held on February 27, 2010 beginning at 11 am in the ballroom at Eagle Ridge. Remember that all members of the GTA are GTF members and welcome to attend this meeting but must present identification.
Ballots
Ballots for the Board of Directors election will be mailed the last week in January. Completed ballots must be received by 1:30 pm on February 27th to be counted.
Annual Meeting Booklet
The deadline for receipt of content to be printed in the Annual Meeting booklet is January 31St. A reminder was sent to all board members and committee chairs a couple of weeks ago reminding them of this deadline.
Satellite Associations
We are closing down the books for 2009 for the seven associations we manage and are preparing for audits and tax return preparation. All townhouse/condo associations have scheduled their annual meetings for March and April of 2010 and we will complete their nomination/election process in conjunction with those meetings.
Convention & Visitors Bureau Grant
We applied for another $1000 grant from the CVB which was awarded and the check has been received. We will use this to finish up the directional sign project.
Boat Docking Applications
Dixie Dittmar and Deb Welp plan to mail the boat docking applications on February 1st. Applications will be due on March 31, 2010.
Projects Underway or Scheduled for 2010
- Request for proposal – banking services
- Review of all board motions
- Review of Declarations of Covenants and Restrictions for revision
- Bid Homeowner insurance for 230 townhouse units
- Update administrative procedures
