(Posting this report for archive purposes)
April 30, 2020
Greetings to All. First and foremost, we wish to offer our sincere thanks for your continued support of the Interlachen Community. You provide the glue that binds this unique and special community together.
As expected, we have elected to forego the annual meeting. If you have any issues or items that you would like the Interlachen Association Members to address, please respond with the topic, and it will be carried forward and addressed in due course.
Our Board Member reports are included, along with updates from the Interlachen Water People’s Utility District and the Fairview Lake Property Owner’s Association. Some summary highlights from the reports are:
- HOA Financials are in good standing. 2020-21 actual funding is about 92% of planned budget, and we will find ways to meet the budget. The Blue Lake-Resident fee increase for water and lake management was positively accepted with funding at 92% of planned.
- For Roads and Parks, there is a new sturdy shoreline at Welsh Park along with many landscaping and irrigation upgrades. Lighting enhancements at the Pavilion, ground damage repair and tree planting are planned this year, along with repainting road bumps and patching Interlachen Lane
- Active Membership stands at 95 residents, which is right about our 10-year average, but a bit lower from the previous three-year average. We will focus on new residents this year and your help in identifying when homes change ownership is always helpful, plus we will work to prove our value to current residents.
- Social Events will begin to occur once Multnomah County restrictions are lifted. We hope this is much sooner than later.
We’d like to recognize Bill and Donna Harrison, who have lived on Blue Lake now for 57 years. That may well be the longest span, and we would like to hear from others that are close to this duration. Donna relates that when they moved here, Interlachen Lane was a gravel road, with their mailbox down the lane at a common wagon wheel structure, and streetlights were yet to come. Halcyon days indeed. She and Bill are a living testimony that this is a great place to live!
For those that do not know me, my name is Michael Vest, and I will be your HOA President for the next two years. Acting board members along with myself for 2020-21 are:
- Jerry Mylet – Vice President
- Roxanne Redwine – Treasurer
- Matt Williams – Secretary
- Deborah Weaver – IWPUD and FLPOA Liaison
- Tom Burns – Parks and Road Commissioner
- Kevin Morrow – Blue Lake Commissioner
- Cathi Smits and Lynn Godat – Membership Commissioners
Our contact info is also listed on https://www.interlachen-hoa.org/. If you ever have a need or request, please reach out to us, as we look forward to working with you all!
Sincerely,
Michael Vest
Fairview Lake Spring 2020 Update – Bob Dolphin
In 2019 the treatment was not successful managing excessive aquatic weeds including curly-leaf & sago pondweed and elodea. Even with a second treatment, results were not satisfactory. Our plan with our licensed applicator for an improvement in 2020 is to treat 50% of the lake between June 1st and 15th with a greater overlap in application paths.
Our lake agreement targets the lake at summer elevation from May 1st to October 15th. Be on the lookout for blue green algae as the weather warms. Lacamas Lake has already been impacted with a bloom this year and our heavy aquatic plant density last year contributed to the lack of a significant bloom.
Kayaking, paddle boarding, and pontoon boat cruising are ideal activities for these times of physical distancing. One could not pick a better location to quarantine!!
Interlachen Water People’s Utility District – Tom Caufield
The IWPUD provided over 18,000,000 gallons of drinking and irrigation water to 154 customers in 2019 or approximately 320 gallons/household/day. At a cost of $37,385, this is about $0.0021/gallon.
Highlights of accomplishments during the year included flushing the system, repair or replacement of 8 service lines and valve boxes, the addition of 1 hydrant and completion of the abandonment of a deactivated main line between 21435 and 21730 NE Interlachen.
Water quality tests for coliform were taken monthly with no negative results. Tests for Synthetic and Volatile Organic Compounds also resulted in no violations of EPA standards.
The Consumer Confidence Report for 2018 was provided in July. The report summarizes results of water quality testing performed in the calendar year, the quantity of water provided and contact phone numbers of the IWPUD Board members
The IWPUD had kept the user fee rates constant for 12 years and made a decision to increase the annual rates by $20/household in 2020
2019-20 Budget Report – Roxanne Redwine
2020-21 Budget Report – Roxanne Redwine
2019/2020 Annual Road and Parks Report – Tom Burns
This year we concentrated our improvement efforts on the Lake shoreline. Over a ton of broken concrete was pulled from Fairview Lake and hauled off. There is still concrete in the lake that is either too big to wrangle or buried deep in the mud. Over eight yards of 3-4” ballast was added to the shoreline and groomed with a new swath and seed. Minor improvements were made to the irrigation system and the back wall of the driveway which is now covered with various ivies that have taken root. This will showcase another of Yuval Golan’s art pieces. He restored an old hand pump that was laying underfoot in the main pumphouse.
Various potholes have been filled last year and more this spring. This is an ongoing maintenance. The speed bumps did not get repainted last year as this has become a futile effort. Buying professional road paint has only lasted six months. The Board has decided to seek bids from professional companies to install a heat application to the bumps.
The park was in pretty good shape until the Contractors doing the work for the City of Fairview drove a massive multi ton forklift across the breadth of the lawn to wrestle a buried manhole cover out of the ground. The City of Fairview made the repairs, but we will need to complete some more remediation. We also removed a good number of trunks from a wild woody plant that was engulfing the flagpole and the commemoration stone to Nick and Maddie Welsh who donated the land to the community and for whom the park is named after.
Four trees are in the park improvement plan for this year on either end of the lakefront. Benches will be placed between the trees for places to rest and relax in their shade.
A retaining wall will be built around the child’s playground area to control constant erosion of the playground boundaries. We plan to refresh the playground bark after the repairs are complete on the lawn.
The Park is a privately owned property of Interlachen Inc. meant for the exclusive enjoyment of its members. It is available for association members to reserve for special occasions. For others not associated with Interlachen Inc., a request for renting the space must be approved by the Board on an individual basis. The Park Commissioner will oversee the calendar and all requests to reserve the park for a specified period of time.
Please come down and enjoy the latest news on the bulletin board or treat yourself to a book in the community library. It is your park so come on down and enjoy it!
Respectfully submitted:
Tom Burns
Road and Parks Commissioner
Blue Lake Update – Kevin Morrow
In 2019, we worked with the City of Portland and Oregon Metro to establish a formal written agreement for shared water costs. Water must be purchased from the City of Portland’s Columbia South Shore Well Field. Efforts were partially successful, as meetings with our Oregon Metro Council Person – Shirley Craddick – and Metro Parks and Recreation leadership resulted in their written commitment to fund up to $8,000 in water fill costs in 2020.
Metro is developing “long term plans” for the park, and they were unwilling to commit to a formal agreement, but we have established a written history, with documented emails and statements we can take forward. Many thanks to Julia Warner with the Troutdale Historical Society, and the Interlachen Residents that made the time and effort to archive the history of Blue Lake. It is our belief that this work by others compelled Metro to fund water fills.
Water costs about $4000 per foot in Blue Lake. In 2019, the Interlachen HOA approved purchase of two feet of water, and negotiated for one foot of free water from the City of Portland. The City of Portland tests their wells and flushes the pipes from these wells into Blue Lake; and this is good quality water from the Blue Lake aquifer and the Troutdale Sand and Gravel Aquifers. Oregon Metro contributed two feet of water. For Spring 2020, Portland will add close to 6” water as part of their well testing and pipe flushing.
In 2020, Blue Lake Resident HOA fees were increased by $100 to support any necessary shared water purchases with Oregon Metro, and to fund weed management by BLIA (Blue Lake Improvement Association). BLIA applies aquatic herbicides, and can also provide per individual resident request. Contact: Jon Wissler j.wissler@comcast.net
Membership– Lynn Godat and Cathi Smits
We are maintaining the ten-year average for Association Membership at about 95 homes.
Please let us know when new residents move in! We want to give them a warm Interlachen Community Welcome! We can be reached at:
Lynn – lynn.godat@gmail.com (602) 999-3257
Cathi – cathiesmits1126@gmail.com (503) 491-8685
