April 9, 7:00 PM Smith Presbyterian Church
2420 NE Fairview Ave., Fairview Oregon
96 paid households ahead of meeting. 4 paid at door.
*A quorum was reached.
At 6:58 PM, President Mike Vest showed an aerial map of the area that outlines homes in Interlachen HOA, area of unincorporated Multnomah County.
Pastor Brad of Smith Presbyterian Church welcomed our members with a brief introduction to the church and some programing offered there.
At 7:01 Vice President Jim Forney called the meeting to order.
2023 Annual Meeting Minutes were emailed to all members shortly after the meeting and have been available to review on the website since. Jon Wissler made a motion to approve 2023 meeting minutes, Chase Ferris seconded, and all voted in favor.
In Memorium, two members were honored at tonight’s meeting: Charles Flaum (Welsh Park Memorial on July 27) and Terry Shultz (Welsh Park Memorial on June 15).
Welcome to new neighbors or members!
- Derek and Rhonda Weyerauch at 21247 NE Interlachen Lane
- Dave and Tricia Bourne at 21168 NE Interlachen Lane
- Vince and Julia Cortese at 20315 NE Interlachen Lane
- Lori Gill at 20455 NE Interlachen Lane
- Jeffrey Jacks at 20846 NE Interlachen Lane
- George and Terri Svetich at 21615 NE Interlachen Lane
Updates Provided:
FLPOA – Bob Dolphin mentioned that the lake will be raised next Thursday. He reported a history of a longterm downward trend of weeds and that Fairview Lake’s pesticide applicator passed away in the fall. They interviewed and found a new company that is local and convenient. The intention is to implement treatment earlier to decrease pesticide amount used.
IWPUD – Mike Vest said to expect the semi-annual flushing to occur on April 20 and reminded that the $280 annual amount for IWPUD is to be differentiated from the current $250 that is the Blue Lake Assessment Fee for Blue Lake homeowners. Well 2 now has an automatic notification and online monitoring system, making two wells so far automated. You may have noticed that there is a new roof on the pump house at Welsh Park, as well.
Parks and Roads – Chase Ferris went over plans for the lower playground at Welsh Park, which is in need of attention. He hopes for a community fundraising effort and welcomes anyone who would be interested in serving on the committee for the future playground. Is there a contractor in the community? The current playground is wooden and has been/needs to be repaired and Chase’s goal is to have a new metal playground. The HOA has earmarked $10k in available funds
and Chase hopes the balance will be funded by the community. He made a case that the beauty and functionality of Welsh Park benefits all members of the HOA. One member asked if there was a liability issue (I assume directly related to the playground/park) and Mike Vest confirmed that Welsh Park and the Easement Dock are covered by liability and property insurance. The HOA also pays liability insurance for the HOA Board of Directors.
Easement dock on Blue Lake work will be finished soon. New heavy-duty Adirondack chairs were purchased and added to the Easement Dock.
The pancake grill was stolen from the shed and we will replace it in time for the Annual Pancake Breakfast. Please remember to latch and lock the shed if you are renting the park for an event.
Road discussion. Chase mentioned that he noticed on Google GPS that the lane has a 25 mph speed limit. We intend for more ‘slow’ signs and Multnomah County was contacted for help at the Interlachen/216th intersection, where there was a major accident recently. To answer some members’ questions, it was clarified that the sheriff will not enforce a 15 mph speed limit and steeper speed bumps are not a possibility due to emergency vehicles’ access. We are not foreseeing any major road repairs this year and will buy more patch material for problem areas.
Please report any road problems to Chase.
Treasurer Report – John Wohler showed the 2023 Balance Sheet and we are in really good financial shape. The comparison of Net Assets this year (~$88.8K) with 2020 (~$43K) was highlighted. He also revealed the 2024 Budget Proposal and it shows a General Expense total of –
$3275 which, if we stay on budget, we have the reserves to pay it. We currently have ~80% HOA membership of total available residents, which is amazing. Let’s try to get a few more residents to join this year!
Diane Wohler made a motion to accept the 2024 Budget Proposal, Terri Svetich seconded, and all voted in favor.
2024 Board Members were announced by Jim Forney.
Michael Vest 2024/25. Chase Ferris nominated, John Wohler seconded, all voted in favor. Jim Forney 2024/25. Alice Capitano nominated, Debbie Weaver seconded, all voted in favor. John Wohler. Second year of two.
Alice Capitano. Second year of two. Chase Ferris. Second year of two. Deborah Weaver. Second year of two.
Blue Lake Commissioner – needed 2024/25 Membership Commissioner – needed 2024/25 Social Commissioner – needed 2024/25
Lori Gill nominated Rhonda Weyerauch to the Board, Mary Marking seconded, and all voted in favor. Mike Vest suggested that the Membership and Social duties could be performed by one individual.
Social Events
Hope to see you at:
- Friday Frolic at Margie Rieff’s on April 12
- Family Sports Day at Welsh Park on June 1
- Pancake Breakfast at Welsh Park on June 22
Member Q&A
Mike Vest showed how much Blue Lake would need to repair two Solar Bees, continue the maintenance contract, and projected numbers in order to pay back the amount borrowed from the General HOA fund. Gregg Whitehead suggested that the HOA approve loaning the Blue Lake HOA members up to $12K from the General Reserve Solar Bee repair, pending Blue Lake members’ decision to go ahead with Solar Bee repair and maintenance. Nikki Schultz made a motion to approve, Jon Wissler seconded, and all voted in favor.
End of General HOA Meeting.
Blue Lake Discussion followed the General Meeting (Fairview Lake members were welcome to stay or to leave at this point).
- Kevin Morrow discussed that Metro is requiring a Special Use Permit, so all boat owners need to get 1) Boat insurance, 2) Vehicle/Trailer insurance, and 3) OSMB Registration proof to him by the deadline of April 15. One member expressed frustration at the Board’s inability to enforce boat registration, insurance, and removal of non-compliant boats. Members have a responsibility to comply with the rules as outlined in the HOA Boat Rules. A rules revision will be underway with the Board.
There were many questions directed at Kevin and he did not know the answers to the following: When can we launch, what is the window of launching, what are Metro’s plans for public use, will Metro follow through on its commitments to more signage about respecting our community/ property and/or have a Ranger available to educate the public, will Metro have a vehicle for rescue operations, will Metro require/advise swimmers to use buoys, will there be wash stations/education on invasive species, and will there be extra staff on busy weekends…? What Metro has been clear on is that rescue is not their responsibility and monitoring the lake is also not their responsibility.
- Jon Wissler, who is our community representative on their Technical Advisory Committee, stated that no decisions have been made about anything at this point and he questions whether the park will be open on May 25, as stated on the website. Any questions beyond those noted above, please let the HOA know so he can bring it to them.
Jon also discussed weed management and he has historically battled the east end weeds. Because the Department of Agriculture and DEQ requires certification and insurance for general weed mitigation, we switched to using the same commercial applicator as Fairview Lake did. As Bob Dolphin noted in the FLPOA section, there was a recent change in company used. We are going to use the same company going forward as FLPOA, Aquatic Insight LLC. In the past, we paid $5000 for one application with the previous company and the quote going forward is $7240 for two applications (May and July). If you are having issues near your own dock, Jon welcomes you to ask him for advice.
- Dean Boode discussed Solar Bee function. He clarified that circulation helps mitigate the intensity and duration of blue green algae (BGA) blooms, but does not eliminate them. Mike Vest said that the Loveland Colorado Water District measured an 80% reduction in algal count since deployment, with reduced water treatment expenses. Mike also noted on Blue Lake from
2009-2016, there were five records of BGA blooms on the Oregon DEQ website, with Metro stopping reporting in 2017. None exceeded Recreational Use thresholds. The Metro 2024 Blue Lake report states there were 13 samples collected and sent for analysis between 2018-2022 with one report exceeding criteria. A mild BGA bloom was experienced in the fall of 2023.
When a newer member asked if the longer term residents believe that they have helped the lake overall, the answer was generally yes. As we are all aware, two of three were badly damaged in the storm and no insurance coverage is possible. Mike Vest stated that there has been discussion and a possibility of bringing them into shallow water, minimizing the potential of tipping over in the future, but clarification of who will move them, where they would go, etc. has not been worked out yet. Residents asked further questions about when we started getting lake fills and if that might
have helped instead/in addition to the Solar Bees and whether we can turn off the Solar Bees ahead of inclement weather.
Mike showed the math: We would need to increase the Blue Lake Management Fee from the current $250 to a maximum of $600 annually. Jon Wissler made a motion to vote to accept this fee increase, David Winterholler seconded and all voted in favor.
In order to reach a quorum, at least 28 members were needed. We had 37 vote in favor, 9 oppose. This portion of the meeting adjourned at 9:30 PM.
