May is here and we are in spring mode with all the beautiful flowers and yards so green! I hope everyone is well and is enjoying this milder weather. Before you know it, summer will be here and we all will be complaining about the heat (and humidity).
Last month our maintenance building project was built and it looks great. Maintenance is in the progress of organizing the new building for all the equipment and supplies needed for that department. Added to the contract was the re-roofing of the metal roof on the old maintenance building for $6,200.00 for labor and materials. It will be used as a covered parking area for our security and maintenance trucks and for items such as pipe for the water system. The new building still needs some work on the inside such as electrical, and in the office and bathroom areas which will be completed over the next coming months. This project is a great addition to keep HAWL assets enclosed and secure.
We have made changes to the gate lanes coming into HAWL. Security has been instructed that property owners who have the HAWL decals will use the outside lane and will be given first priority. The inside lane is now used for those individuals with HAWL cards, HAWL passes and for guests coming into HAWL. Out of necessity, the oversize vehicles will still use the outside lane. The Security gate position is the busiest job in HAWL at times. Please continue to call the gate in advance for any guest/delivery persons coming in. This is the main issue which continues to hold the line up at the gate but hopefully, by making these changes and your adherence to them, it will help with the ingress to your community.
Water meters will now be read every other month. On the billing statements for the month that the meters are not read, the current reading will reflect the same figure as the previous reading, showing the usage as zero. The minimum monthly fee of $15.35 will be charged. For the month the water meters are read, the usage will show the actual water used for the past two months. In addition to the $15.35 minimum usage fee, the bill formula will be based upon 12,000 gallons to calculate the overage rate. This was started in March when the meters were not read. In April, the meters were read. So the meters will not be read in May. I’m hopeful this will not be an issue but a better use of time for our staff to get other projects completed and better for the property owner now that you will have 12,000 gallons before any overage charges are incurred.
Effective July 1, 2008, we will start the implementation of administering a non-refundable $500.00 initiation fee for all new club membership registrations acquiring a lot with or without a structure on it in the Hide-A-Way Lake community. This initiation fee must be paid in full at the time of registration and is subject to full monthly dues in accordance with Hide-A-Way Lake’s policy, rules, covenants, and regulations. The only exception for administering the initiation fee will be current property owners who are registering a newly purchased adjoining lot. This is a common practice with other communities. This only affects new registrations and not existing property owners. Surely, the money will help the community, but the main objective is for those new property owners to understand and be aware of Hide-A-Way Lake’s covenants, regulations, policies, and rules. This information will be sent to all local realtors and local closing agents.
Our maintenance supervisor, Mr. Leo Mills, has announced his retirement this year in September. Mr. Leo has been an employee since 1969 and has given HAWL 39 years of service. For those of you who don’t know Mr. Leo, he is a great asset of knowledge and is a hard-worker for this community. For those who do know our Mr. Leo, please let him know how much he will be missed. I hate to see him leave but wish Mr. Leo the very best in his retirement. I have started to look at both internal staff and outside applicants for the best individual to be his replacement. The process will continue this month and I’m hopeful of finding someone who will help continue what Mr. Leo started 39 years ago with the care he has taken of our community.
And as always, if you have any questions or concerns, please give me a call at the office.
Bruce Devillier
General Manager
