Did you know?
The original Lake Lotawana concept was gravel roads and fishing cabin type dwellings. The original plat for the community called for three tiers for development with a second roadway behind the Tier 2 plots. That platted roadway (never developed) is still in place today even though most Tier 3 properties have been sold to non-lake residents. There was also a planned beach and golf course long term that was eventually scrapped.
The original gravel road, dirt ditches and culvert design were never to a standard that most cities would require today and relied mostly on natural drainage already existing. Over the decades many homes were remodeled in place or removed with new construction. After the City of Lotawana was created, the Lake Lotawana Association (LLA) took over the responsibility of the infrastructure. The LLA never had any type of basic requirements for remodeling and building around proper drainage management as this would eventually fall into the City of Lake Lotawana building codes. Over the decades with city limitations on codes and enforcement, many properties were developed without the proper drainage in place. FYI, the LLA does have a construction permit requirement used primarily to access Road Impact fees for projects with heavy material or trucks required.
Add in that over the years the watershed in the area is now larger due to paving our roads, expanding communities, and covered surfaces overall, we now see many owners experiencing increased issues on their properties with any type of heavy rainfall. This is especially acute for properties either downhill from the road or located close to major natural runoff ditches surrounding the lake.
While the Association will do its best to work on maintaining the current culvert and ditch structures, rain runoff (aka stormwaters) on personal property remains the homeowner’s responsibility. This includes sufficient drainage management to prevent flooding as well as keeping gravel, dirt and other debris from entering the lake.
After last month’s heavy rains on top of saturated ground conditions, the lake experienced heavy runoff, road flooding, and debris being washed into ditches, culverts and the lake itself.
There are approximately 156 gravel driveways that tie into the LLA road infrastructure. If you didn’t know, the LLA put in place many years ago a rule to stop new gravel driveways and parking pads from being created. The rule requires new construction to have some form of paved driveway. We also have a policy that requires the installation of a drain basin in certain driveway designs to capture heavy runoff so that it stays off the streets. When the rule was created, a caveat for existing gravel driveways was made allowing for routine maintenance, but no size expansion. This rule since its inception has limited the growth in numbers, however, has not fully met the need to protect our infrastructure and lake environment, so the BoD will have to look at changes.
With all our infrastructure (roads, ditches, parkway, pathways, silt basin, drainage ditches and other properties) the Executive Board of Directors has conceptually approved an Infrastructure Committee be formed. This Committee’s charter will be to start looking at all the various issues we have going forward with our roads, ditches, culverts, pathway and parkway maintenance. The goal is to develop a master strategy we can use within the other committees to develop new policy, rules, etc. to help us long term manage all the growing issues as the lake goes through continued new development. The rule on gravel roads will be one of the topics for sure.
If you are interested in volunteering for this committee, please reach out to me at president@lakelotawana.net.
To end this topic with good news, the operations crew during the first part of June have removed significant vegetation growth along the roadway improving visibility, especially on corners. The Roads committee has plans underway to complete 3 additional culvert replacements (L and M block) along a possible section of resurfacing to test a potential contractor.
Water Safety
As you may have heard through the grapevine we had an incident on the lake June 2nd, where one young man was severely injured with a fractured skull. An incident report has been created and filed with our insurance company for their records as well as our legal counsel. I’m glad to report the young man will have full recovery, but some scars to remember the accident for the rest of his life.
This was a Jet Ski accident later in the evening (still within lake rules), but unfortunately non-residents. As owners, please remember it is your responsibility to keep your watercraft secure and ensure you do not allow unauthorized use. Our rules are very specific on who can operate watercraft on the lake. While being a resident does not protect you from accidents, awareness of who is using and their skills and knowledge of rules helps to prevent accidents.
My personal thanks to the lake residents who responded so quickly to the calls for help and facilitated getting the boy to the Marina docks so that South Jackson County Fire and Rescue could help the boy and save his life. A special shout out to Lisa Lala and Robert Harris who quickly responded and drove the young man from the scene to the Marina docks where the EMS were waiting and ready. Their quick action was significant in the young man’s ability to survive such an accident.
Anytime we have an accident the natural tendency will be to blame rule enforcement or rules in general. Please rest assured that the LLA takes water safety seriously, and we continue to look for ways to educate both our Water Patrol as well as members, however, it is essential to recognize that safety ultimately rests with each individual. Our collective responsibility as property owners and residents is to take full responsibility in policing our families’ use of the lake and ensure boating skills and lake rules knowledge is taught to all family members and guests. If you need a current copy of the Rules and Regulations, please either download from the LLA website or stop into the office and pick up a copy.
Water Patrol
With the above incident, and the 2024 season in full swing there has been a lot of chatter on social media regarding the Water Patrol. Did you know we have increased our budget for Water Safety and started earlier this year with plans to continue to patrol the lake into September. Even with these efforts, we still have a limitation on the number of patrol personnel on the lake at any given time.
Did you know that we have a Water Patrol Committee and that when we hear about concerns this committee along with the EB and BoD review the topic(s) and provide direction to the Water Patrol accordingly.
Did you know this year we added to the patrolman training a written test on the rules as well as provided the community a list of rules focused on safety we planned to write citations on first offenses.
The Water Patrol Committee is discussing how to adjust the patrol schedule for the balance of the season to better optimize our coverage within the budget. We try to have a minimum of two patrolman during all major shifts like the weekend, but even then, keeping the entire lake under observation is tough. If we have two patrol personnel in a single boat to provide better observation, that substantially increases our staffing requirements. A balancing act for sure and we will continue to work to improve.
One thing that does tie up our patrolman is towing those who have run out of gas, or their battery dies. Please make sure you have your battery checked every year and replace it after 3-4 years (typically battery life span) especially if you have not kept on a trickle charge during non-use times. If you have a family member or friend at the lake you can call for help, we really would appreciate it. Of course, especially when busy, being stranded in the middle of traffic is a safety hazard and the Water Patrol will work to handle it as soon as possible.
While the Water Patrol is not perfect, my request is that we avoid social media posts that jump to conclusions or expose rules that may not actually be rules. There are many claims made and rumors spread around the lake that are not fact based. It’s important we have the rules correct before chiming in on social media.
For me personally navigation violations are my number one concern and what I observe the most; please review them in the Rules.
Last on this topic, if you have water safety concerns, please bring them to your director’s attention or members of the Water Patrol Committee.
Water Patrol Committee – Chairman, Dave Cooley with members Bob Cantrell, John Martin, Jeff Needles, Gary Schroeder, Craig Davis.
Stafford Field
Many are confused by the Stafford Field article in a previous article. Let me clarify. There are three parcels of land that make up what many call Stafford Field. Two are in the city limits of Lake Lotawana and one (Association Building) in Jackson County. The two parcels in the city limits were annexed into Lotawana in 2000. This annexation was done at the request of the property owner at that time and is currently zoned General Residential.
In my last article I indicated the current zoning of these two properties was AG (Agriculture). The city administrator did some homework as part of their internal process and found the AG designation was never completed from a recording perspective, leaving the zoning as General Residential. This finding actually increases the need to rezone the property to the new “Park and Open” category in order to preserve the property long term.
The second part of the plan is to update the Deed Restrictions for this property that are separate from the overall Association Deed Restrictions. The changes being considered would help define and ensure uses that protect the property as the donors intended. Setting the record straight, there are no plans for tennis or pickle ball courts, nor playground equipment to be built on this property. The focus is on establishing the native grass and flowers that provide continuation of the walking trails (Association residents only) and maintain the historical Stafford airstrip.
To help with the goals for the property we have started discussions with the Missouri Department of Conservation regarding their land management programs that come with funding. Yes, we can get money to help with managing this overall property regardless of zoning.
Despite the rumor mill, the new zoning to Park and Open Area does not transfer the property to the City or open the property to public access. This property will continue to be private land available for our members and simply align the City Use designation to the long-term goals of protecting the property. I hope this answers any questions lingering out in the community.
Storage Lot Auction and Update
The auction held on June 8th resulted in $1,950 in proceeds. The lucky bid winners will be provided a storage application and issued a 2024 sticker when payment for the property and this year’s storage is received.
Next steps will be to remove any remaining abandoned property from the lot permanently. This will take several weeks depending on weather conditions. Then we will start putting 2024 stickers on property paid with their new form completed and received by the office.
In addition, the Operations Crew in the May time frame removed tree clusters and associated dirt piles in two sections. This has added new areas for storage that can be used. While the Operations Crew is working to mow the storage lot, we still need all owners to please weed eat, mow or remove trees growing around their stored property. This will help us from eventually having to move the trailers and repeat the clean-up we did last year. If its been awhile since your last visit, the grasses are now growing taller and it’s a good time to find your property and clear the area.
Season in Full Swing
As you read this article it is hard to believe the season is already over a month old. We have the July 4th celebration (thank you to all firework donors and it’s not too late to donate if you haven’t), Lotawana Days and more Parks and Recreation concerts to enjoy. Let’s all work together to safely enjoy the season.
Sincerely,
Jeff Clemow
President