Lexington Heights Inc.
Board of Trustees Meeting
June 3, 2023
I. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by association President, Bob Alimpich, at 9:03 am.
II. Trustees Present
Bob Alimpich, Liz Alimpich, Renee Jobbit, Diana Larsson, John Medovarsky (on phone), Don McColman, Lynn Secord, Glady Stablein, Dottie Schulte
III. Reading of the May 20, 2023 minutes
The minutes were read silently by the Board. Lynn noted that Heidi would like the minutes of May 20, 2023 to show that she had asked if the boat ramp had been painted with a non-skid paint before it was put in the water. Unfortunately, it was not painted before installation because Parker took advantage of good weather conditions and installed the boat ramp before it could be painted. The Board still plans to paint the ramp with a special non-skid paint. Diana motioned to accept the minutes as corrected. Liz seconded. All in favor. (202311)
IV. Treasurer’s Report
Jennifer, the accountant, was in to go over the books with Diana. Jennifer made some changes and it affected the Profit and Loss. Diana will contact her to get it corrected. Diana will send the audit to Bob.
V. Member Comments
Kurt R. on Grove discussed painting the boat ramp with non-skid paint. The correct paint has been purchased for the boat ramp. (Specifically for marine use) John M. said it’s called Tuff Coat. This will get done. Kurt would also like to plant some Rock Maple trees on the playground to provide some shade. Kurt and his daughter, Heidi, have volunteered to help with this project. Kurt will provide the trees.
Sandy W. on Lakeview suggested that the supervising Board member sign the forms used for bluff cutting. (dual signatures) She also clarified the proposed by-law changes in the minutes. The proposed changes will be presented to the General Membership on June 24 for approval. She also discussed the use of fireworks and following MI law regarding the use of fireworks and following the time frame set up in the State law. She feels the safest place is on the beach below the high water mark. John M. said that the by-laws about fireworks are because the Association doesn’t condone fireworks and it’s for a legal reason. Glady emphasized it’s about protecting Lexington Heights’ property. What people do on their property is their business. Renee said this has been in the by-laws for many years. Glady said they are just trying to clarify things in the by-laws. Sandy also talked about dogs on the beach. Dogs can be below the high water mark.
Ron on Grove is asking Lexington Heights to support the clearing of Mill Creek financially. Maria is willing to host the clearing on Saturday, August 12. Maria thinks the clearing has encouraged new plant life in the Creek. She wants Great Lakes more involved. The rain date is August 19. Lynn asked if the Board could be notified and receive emails about this project. The Board would like to be in the loop on this project.
Debbie B. on Lakeview expressed concern over the slings hanging between trees. She asked some girls to remove them so as not to harm the trees. She also wants to provide coloring books for the children’s parade on water and water issues. She will get 100. She also talked about the drain on Nymph and how it needs to be repaired. She thought Alex Weiss might be able to repair it. Dottie had contacted Worth Township last year and didn’t get a response from the township regarding this drain. Debbie said the drains east of the road are our responsibility. Debbie also would like to see railings on the door to the east. She would like to power wash a few benches on Lakeview with the Board’s permission and providing they can get water.
VI. Committee Reports
Clubhouse - Julie touched up both floors in the restrooms. She is thinking of getting more paint to put another coat on the floors in the fall. She purchased two new swings for the playground but needs help installing them. She planted a few more flowers in front of the clubhouse as something is eating them. There are two white cars parked on the east side of our property that need to be moved. There is a rental coming up June 10 and the cars need to be moved before the rental. Bob will talk to them. She would like to get rid of the flower bed on the east side of the clubhouse and plant grass there. Mark may be able to use his backhoe to remove those beds. She picked up sticks on the playground. She purchased hand towels for the bathrooms. ($75 for a case) In the future, we may want consider getting electric hand dryers. Lynnette Pennington on Nymph may be interested in becoming clubhouse manager. Lynnette will come to a meeting.
Bluff/Parkway – Dottie thought the bluff trimming went well. She would like to get some volunteers to help to clean up the bluff north of Tulip. Dottie feels it’s too much for one person. There are trimmings/clippings in that area that need to be removed so vegetation can grow. The next bluff trimming is scheduled for Sunday, June 25 at 9:00 AM. We do not have any requests for that date. Dottie picked up the posts for the signs. Kurt will be involved in the placement of the signs. This project will take place on Monday, June 12 at 10:00 AM. Volunteers will meet at the clubhouse. Posts were purchased to replace missing posts along Lakeview. Don and Dottie will work on replacing the posts.
Beach/Jetties – Lynn and Don walked the beach and picked up some trash. Beaches look good. There is a paddle boat that looks abandoned. There are about 8 posts that need to be replaced along Lakeview. Some posts are completely missing. Stickers are being made to identify Lexington Heights golf carts. Glady said the idea of the stickers is to identify golf carts. Blue Water Beach tows golf carts that are not members. Bob reminded everyone that Blue Water is an HOA. The stickers will be discussed at the Annual Meeting. Don has a board to replace on the platform on Laurel. Sandy Warner offered to help. The Board is not changing the lock on the boat ramp. We have some boat keys available. The boat ramp is getting buried in sand.
Clubhouse/Grounds – Entry door on garage will be replaced. Bob Hughes will help Bob A. with the door replacement. Door was donated along with a hot water heater. Bob will
get on the roof so the bathroom ceiling can be repaired.
By-Laws – New by-laws will not be in a booklet form. By-laws will be available on the website for members to download. Proposed by-laws will be presented at the Annual meeting for membership approval.
VII. New/On-going Business
The election committee will be: Liz, Diana, and Don. Glady can also help. Liz will be the chair.
John is in charge of the Euchre night. June 24 is the first euchre night. It will start at 8:30 after the neighborhood music event.
Proposed By-Law changes:
Miscellaneous (p.20)
Revised – No person shall trim, cut or dislodge any shrubs, grass, or trees from the parks, parkways, or bluffs within the corporate limits of Lexington Heights, Inc., without a written permit from the Board of Trustees. A five hundred dollar fine, $500.00, will be imposed for unauthorized cutting on the bluff and parkways. Lynn motioned to accept the change. Liz seconded. All in favor. (202312)
Revised (Section 3)
Only members in good standing shall use the boat ramp if the fee, as set by the Board of Trustees, has been paid to its designated representative. Dottie motioned to accept. Diana seconded. All in favor. (202313)
Glady read a clarification of what’s involved for raising the dues. Bob and Glady are working on language to help future Boards to understand what is required for a dues increase or special assessment. For example: If 500 ballots are sent out to the membership and 250 are returned, then one hundred and twenty six yes votes are needed for the increase to pass. This will be added as an asterisk to the by-laws.
“The following example is being provided to better understand the mechanics of how a dues increase or special assessment must be achieved. For the sake of argument, we will assume 500 deed holders as our base membership. A mailing of the proposal(s) will go to all 500 deed holders. A minimum of 250 responses would be needed to consider the vote valid and then a simple majority of the return votes would be needed for passage of an increase. 500 deed holders, 250 returned ballots, 126 (one more than half) YES votes = dues increase or special assessment.” Diana motioned to add this clarification to the by-laws. Dottie seconded. All in favor. (202313) This will be presented as the Annual meeting for the membership.
Satinwood Beach – Most people know that the drain was clogged up there and repairs were made to the drain. Since the repairs, the Board has been looking to hire a contractor to level the sand out in the area that was dug up in the spring. Joe Zajac volunteered his backhoe and operator to straighten the beach/sand out. Before he could even begin, someone challenged the backhoe operator about having a permit from the Army Corp of Engineers to do work on the beach. Mike, the backhoe operator, left the beach before doing any work. The Board does not need a permit to do work on the beach as long as we’re doing it above the median high water mark. All information is available on the Army Corp of Engineering website. Tom Wilson went down to the beach and checked the elevation and we were within the proper limits. Liz said the delineated mark is formed by the action of the waves - where you see the sand piled up. (a shelf of sand) Joe’s backhoe operator did go down and straightened out the sand in that area. Now the big hole is filled in. In addition, there is a lot of sand piled on the north side of the Satinwood/Worth jetty. The Board would like to move some of that sand to the south side because the sand is really pushing on that jetty. Liz mentioned that a drain to the north of Satinwood needs attention and sections need to be added back on. Bob said that what happened on the Worth beach was that when that drain was cleared, the water just came shooting out. The end of the pipe was blocked by sand. Debbie said that is one of the largest drains. Debbie B. said that there should be paperwork (drawings) on the drains somewhere. There was a discussion of the drains. Bob and Kurt will look at the drains.
The sod near the flagpole needs to be cut back to allow better drainage. Dottie volunteered to help with this project.
New trash contract is on Bob’s list.
VIII. Trustee Comments
Don wanted to know if we could make a motion so that Board members must be on the Board for a year before becoming an officer. This would need to be a by-law change.
Don feels that during the Annual meeting, people should be limited in how long they can speak and Board members should not engage, debate, or respond to the comments.
John is going to address the smell from the pumping station. He is going to take the lead in following up with Worth Township on this issue.
Glady was verbally accosted at the boat ramp by a man. It was totally unprovoked. She hadn’t said anything to him. She felt very threatened and called the sheriff. Other community members have noticed this man hanging out by the boat ramp. He lives down Mill Creek road and is on probation. Glady is going to follow up with the sheriff’s office and she suggested we write a letter to him.
Julie wanted to know if she has permission to remove the east flower bed. Bob said that would be fine.
IX. Adjournment
Dottie motioned to adjourn. Diana seconded. All in favor. (202315)
Community Events
Annual Meeting June 24th 10:00 AM
Euchre Night June 24th 8:30 PM
Children's Parade July 2nd 12:00 PM
Trustee Election July 22nd 11:00 - 3:00 PM
Euchre Night July 22nd 7:00 PM
General Meeting Aug. 26th 10:00 AM
Euchre Night Aug. 26th 7:00 PM
Corn Roast Aug. 19th 1:00 -4:00 PM
Chili Fest Oct. 7th 6:00 PM
Board Meetings
June 24th 10:00 AM (Annual)
July 8th 9:00 AM
July 22nd 9:00 AM
Aug. 5th 9:00 AM
Aug. 26 10:00 AM (General)
Sept. 9th 9:00 AM
Sept. 23rd 9:00 AM
Volunteers needed:
Trim hedges at the clubhouse
Help replace broken posts along Lakeview
Help repair the men’s bathroom ceiling
Help level the low spot near the flagpole
Power wash Lakeview benches
Email us at Lexingtonheightsinc@gmail.com to volunteer.