In the last issue of the paper I indicated that the Association office would remain open, but before the ink could dry off the presses, the entire metro area including all of Jackson County was put on a “shelter in place” order. It can be argued that some of our staff (primarily the Operations Crew) provide essential services to our community. For example, we are responsible for keeping the Lake road open. Thankfully, we have not had any snow or ice, but there have been trees down in the road. The challenge has been keeping the staff and the membership safe while still providing essential services to the community.
We are getting a lot of questions lately. When will the Association resume dredging? When will the dead trees be cleaned up on the parkway? When will the Lake Improvement Board meet to approve new dock construction? When will the gas docks be open? What is the status of the restaurant?
Unfortunately, there are more questions than definitive answers at this time. We are not far off from starting to dredge. There is no sense hiring a crane company and spending $3,000 of the member’s money until we’re sure that winter is officially over. Today the weather is beautiful, however most years there is no assurance that spring weather is here to stay until late April or early May. This is the normal time for us to begin dredging. The machine is ready to go, we just have to hope that the current COVID-19 situation will not prevent us from hiring the crane when the time comes. Tree cleanup is continuing albeit slowly.
The Lake Improvement Board meeting for March was canceled and it appears that with the new extension of meeting restrictions the April meeting is in jeopardy. We are exploring alternative methods to approve docks however it is essential that the neighbors of the applicants get to have their say in a public forum.
The gas docks remain closed as is the restaurant. We cannot sell gas unless there is someone on site (Missouri Law). Once we get the power and the internet back, we should be able to work something out, but there is no timetable yet. For now, we’ll have to fill our tanks the old-fashioned way. The new tenants should have all of their permits in place with the city by now and interior remodeling should be resumed, providing the contractors are able to work under the cloud of the corona virus situation. The exterior work that the Association is doing on the parking lot and the north wall to solve the water issues should be done by the time you read this. There will be a more complete explanation including financial reporting on the project in a later issue.
The Association office remains closed. We are continuing to do business over the phone, email and internet. Boats are getting registered; permits are being processed and questions are getting answered. The bad news is that we seem to be about 2 weeks behind New York on the curve and they’re anticipating another 2 weeks before their problems peak, so we’re liable to have another 4 weeks of this. The good news is that the Lake is open, and people are seemingly enjoying it. Talk about your silver linings….
Submitted by: Jan T. Olson – Executive Director
If you need to reach me for anything, please email me at janolson@lakelotawana.net or call the office at 578-4272.