Happy New Year!
2025 is off to the races with the mild winter weather turning over to a wild ice and snow blizzard. One of the many benefits we enjoy is our private roads. Our Operations crew started Saturday afternoon with pre-treatment efforts and ran 12 hour shifts through the storm. Did you know – during storms, our full staff uses 5 trucks armed with plows and salt/sand spreaders. Not a small investment to acquire and maintain as well as the cost of fuel, salt and sand. My personal thanks to the crew’s dedication and long hours keeping our roads as open as possible, especially for emergency vehicles.
Hopefully all the snowbirds migrated south safely before the storm, and everyone enjoyed their holiday family time, parties, and festivities.
The office staff enjoyed some Office Fun with a theme week leading up to Christmas. Elf Day, Tree Topper Day, Ugly Christmas Sweater Day were all great ways to enjoy holidays while toiling away finishing the 2024 action items. On the last Friday workday, as a thank you to the staff, we had the annual BBQ luncheon. Thank you to all the groups and individuals who dropped off so many wonderful goodies. It is so nice to see all the recognition during the holidays for our hard-working staff. We are truly blessed with good leadership and hardworking employees who care about the community.
Dues, Fees, Storage – keep a look out for your annual invoice that includes all the dues, fees, etc., for 2025 (check email spam, as mine ended there). The office has been working diligently leading up to the New Year scrubbing through all the records, updating any changes from members to enable the consolidated invoice. Being our first year invoicing in this fashion, please be patient with any issues that arise. I know there have been complaints about the sticker shock of the combined invoice. To make it easier to compare it with prior years the invoices were line itemed (dues along with dock, boat, golf cart, and storage fees).
If you did not attend the annual meeting, dues increased by 4% after a year with no increase. The biggest increase came from the addition of the Dredge and Silt Basin Reserve charge, which is addition to the 4%. The new reserve funds will be used to sustain an increased dredging operation over the long term. So when you pay the invoice, remember no more charges or paperwork. Forever stickers are coming for watercraft, golf carts and storage property and no registration of water toys. Also, all the infrastructure improvements being done and how great it is to have roads cleared timely in a storm.
New Gate 1 LLA Building Project – speaking of projects to come, did you know we are replacing the Water Patrol Building and associated storage bays at the Gate 1 location (behind Community Club). It has been a long time coming, as this project was first brought to the board 4+ years ago by Don Leven (President at the time). No funding and other priorities had the wheels turning slowly for this project, but in Q1 of 2025 we anticipate completion. In order to replace the structures, our first step required working with the City of Lotawana to annex the property, now complete. Next steps are filing applications for city demo and building permits, currently in progress.
Why the annexation? The building resided in Jackson County, where setback rules and permitting may have caused delays and design changes. The city agreed to allow the LLA to build back in the same footprint with an expansion keeping the property functionality intact. Also, the city will be connecting the new building to the city sewer system, along with the Community Club. This eliminates the holding tank from the old structure that came into disrepair and removes a long-term maintenance expense if we replaced.
Next steps are for the Operations crew to demolish the existing buildings and prepare the pad for construction. Our contractor Oldman Construction is scheduled to start work and complete the building during February barring weather issues. Then we will work to run all the utilities needed to finish out the building with lighting, walls, etc.
This new building will provide the water patrol and operations crews with a safe, clean conditioned space to operate. The biggest improvement is a larger covered structure for storing our equipment. This project kicks off one of many planned for the year like additional culvert replacement, road resurfacing, low water crossing replacement and silt basin improvements.
Lotawana Properties, LLC – did you know the Lake Lotawana Association through its LLC owns the property, building and parking lots leased by the Marina 27 operating group? The LLC is overseen by a Committee established in 2024. This committee has spent the last 8 months working on putting together a long term investment plan for the property. Also, with the current tenant lease expiring at the end of 2025, the process of negotiating a new lease started with the goal by both the LLC and Marina 27 group to renew with a longer term.
As an investment property, we are fortunate to receive income from the property along with interest from any further invested proceeds. Many ask where the proceeds from our investment go, so I thought I would provide some insight. In summary, in the first few years of the 5 year lease, we paid back loans taken in addition to the original mortgage. We made our monthly mortgage payments and completed projects like the relocation of the Fuel Tank and installation of safety structures. Also, prior to interest rates rising, we made a lump sum payment on the principal. We also started building a reserve for our maintenance obligations as well as potential property investments that would increase the value of the property.
In 2024, the LLC fixed the leaking roof and cupola, replaced one HVAC unit, fixed siding and gutter breaks as well as decommissioned the backup generator (let us know if you want to purchase) along with several other smaller projects. A project of note is the addition of a guard rail on the mid-Level parking lot. The Committee contracted this installation with the contractor Collins and Hermann who did really good work. The new guard rail will help individuals park closer to the curb with confidence, improving vehicle spacing in a tight parking lot. On your next visit to Marina 27 check it out and give it a try, especially those with large vehicles who can back up to the new rail.
One of the reasons for building a cash reserve came home to roost this fall. Did you know we had a structural failure on the north end of the outside deck (dining area). This required the closing of a section of the deck for the last months of outdoor dining. The repair will be a complicated and expensive project where timing of the work will be crucial. The restaurant operator’s success is tied to the outdoor eating environment during peak season, so we can’t just close it down. The committee is working with contractors to collect bids for the repair, which at this time we think will be a full replacement for the deck. The Committee is moving as fast as possible to decide on next steps as outside dining will be here before we know it. More to come on this topic as the committee pulls together an action plan.
Stafford Field Management Plan – the draft management plan is now complete with final review and planning effort to be done in January/February. We will post the final plan on the LLA website and provide more details in a future article. The plan outlines the objectives, tasks and timelines for the property transformation to bring back native species in order support the bee and other wildlife habitat along with providing walking paths and event space. We continue to work together with the Allstate Consulting, State of MO Conservation department the Bee Habitat Society to plan and complete this project.
Courtesy Reminders – 2025 invoices are all due by March 1, 2025. If you would like to set up a payment plan, please contact Marilee at the office to discuss it.
If you have questions or topics, you would like discussed regarding the Association, please feel free to drop me a note at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Jeff Clemow
President