HAWL Board of Directors

Pictured (from left to right): Tom Gibilterra, Jack C. Jensen, Jr., Robin Montalbano, Elizabeth Ennis, Kathy Busco (who is filling Mr. Scheuermann's term), Fred Emanuel, and Jim Wells.

It is with great sorrow that we must announce the loss of our current Board Member and friend, Ronald “Ron” Scheuermann, on April 23, 2020. Ron was a leader in our community who served on the Board of Directors for over sixteen years and on multiple committees including terms as President. He led with integrity, knowledge, and compassion. We are a better community because of his devotion.

Board Meetings are held to conduct business and take place the second Wednesday of the month in the lower level of the Lodge at 6:30 pm. Property owners are invited to attend, listen, and to observe the discussion held during these meetings.

Concern Time is for any property owner who wishes to address the Board and will start after the Board Meeting is adjourned. Property owners wishing to participate must sign in and complete the appropriate form to be turned in to the President. Only property owners whose accounts are current and are in good standing with the community may utilize this privilege. Concern Time may either be public or private; however, the time frame to state a concern is limited and must be done so in a professional manner. Before participating, property owners should take into consideration whether this is truly a Board matter and has the General Manager been approached with this concern yet. Additionally, if the issue is a problem with a neighbor, the Board does not assist in neighbor related issues. Lastly, if the concern is regarding a security violation, the matter should be brought to the Incident Review Panel. Property owners wishing to utilize this privilege must attend the entire meeting as late arrivals forfeit this opportunity.

Another year has gone by and Hide-A-Way Lake continues to make a number of positive changes and improvements, even as these past few months have been unprecedented times in response to the Coronavirus. I want to thank everyone for their continued effort as we navigate through this crisis together. The following are some of the major improvements that were made this past fiscal year.

In September 2019, the Maintenance Department finalized drainage improvements in areas around the Lodge. Also a new swing set with two ADA seats was installed at the Lodge area. This swing set was ordered from Bluegrass Playgrounds for a total of $2,005. This purchase was generously made by our Social Committee from their funds. Thank you to the Social Committee for this swing set as it is a welcome addition to HAWL.

Echoes went to a digital version in October 2019 and physical copies were no longer mailed with monthly statements. Physical copies of Echoes are available for property owners at the HAWL Office, the Southgate, and the Front Main Gate. Also property owners who utilized ACH began to receive their bill by email. Not only will this eliminate the risk of the bill being lost or delayed in the mail, but you will receive the statement sooner. Both of these changes were major steps to improve communications, bill review, and payments. Based on the number of property owners signed up, this was a savings of $5,000 to $8,000 to your annual operational budget.

In December 2019, Dungan Engineering Firm inspected our bridge by the Firehouse. The results showed that all areas were in good shape and there were no negative findings. We are now on a two year inspection schedule.

In January 2020, Maguire Iron, Inc. inspected and washed out both of our water system’s hydrostorage tanks. This inspection is required every five years per Mississippi Department of Health regulations. The total cost of these inspections and washout was $3,300. Once both hydrotanks were completed, we took our 200,000 gallon water tower off line for interior maintenance and painting. We had signed a maintenance contract with Maguire Iron, Inc. in September 2016. The exterior was painted in April of 2017. The total contract was for $121,070 which is being paid over a five year term. While the tower was offline, the water system was pressurized by both hyrdrostorage tanks. The engineering firm Shows, Dearman, & Waits, Inc. was hired to perform a formal inspection on our dam/spillway, which is required this year from Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). The total engineering fee for this inspection was $5,400. Many property owners took advantage of the lower lake level to perform repairs and improvements to their shoreline. The HAWL staff inspected, cleaned, and painted the lake valve and cage on the dam, cleaned the spillway, and inspected the lower part of the dam. Eight boat docks at the East Lodge Marina were rebuilt and several loads of sediment were removed from the area. All of the docks were inspected and new cleats were added. The boat launches at both the East and West Marinas were repaired. Stairs were built to get to the West Marina docks. All maintenance was performed by the HAWL Maintenance Department.

In February 2020, Huey Stockstill, LLC was awarded and began our 2020 Road Overlay Project of approximately two miles of roads and some areas of road repairs. The first part of this project was milling the roadways to help establish an optimal base for the road. Overlay of the roadway followed. This capital improvement was budgeted at $248, 241.50. The areas of improvement were: 215 to 607 E. Lakeshore Dr., Woodlawn Dr., Pine Burr Dr., 307 to 608 Hide-A-Way Ln., Brookdale Dr., and 510 to 537 W. Lakeshore Dr.

Also in February 2020, Traffic Control Products Co, Inc. was awarded the contract for our 2020 Striping Roads Project and began work. This project began approximately 30 days after road work was completed. Striping with reflective paint was done on the new overlay on main roads as well as some restriping of other main roads (approximately three miles). The total cost of this capital improvement was budgeted at $13,840.25. The areas of improvement were: Entrance of E. Lakeshore Dr. to Sherwood Dr., Hide-A-Way Ln. by the Firehouse to W. Lakeshore Dr., W. Lakeshore Dr. to 537 W. Lakeshore Dr., and Big Pine Ln./Hide-A-Way Ln. to Rabbit Hill Dr.

Effective March 2020, our Security Department’s patrol officers began to have body worn and vehicle cameras. We have had cameras for years at both guard gate entrances. The use of the cameras is for training and the objective recovery of interactions of HAWL Security officers, HAWL residents, and guests. The use or non-use of the cameras will not impact the validity of a citation that is issued per HAWL’s pre-established procedures. The cameras are owned and will remain the property of the community as well as the contents and videos. This enhancement to this department cost $1,826.50. This is only a tool to help protect our community.

Throughout the year, many property owners have come to show support for and learn information about your community by attending “Coffee with the General Manager”. These meetings have been the perfect opportunity to have a conversation regarding community information directly from the General Manager as well as to get to know each other. I want to personally thank the staff of Hide-A-Way Lake, the Board of Directors, and HAWL committees for their work in maintaining our community. “Good neighbors make great neighborhoods and communities.”