Quick Review of Election Process and Ballot Items

• On the third Sunday in every September the POA holds the Annual Meeting and finalizes the Annual Election. 
• Pre-Voting – Current By-Laws provide for voting during regular POA office hours the 5 days before the Annual Meeting, which means pre-voting starts this Tuesday.
• Annual Meeting – Sun, Sept. 18 at 12:30.  Ballot box opens at 12 noon and closes at 2:10 pm.
• Voting Rules – A Property Owner gets one vote for each item on the ballot plus a vote for each open Board position.  A family or any co-ownership arrangement gets only one vote as the Property Owner.  Adjoined lots or multiple lots deeded the same get only one vote.  Property deeded differently would get a second vote.  (Example:  Property 1 is deeded to only one person, but Property 2 is deeded to that person plus another person, so Property 2 also gets a vote.)  Bring your ID with you to vote.
• Good Standing – Assessments must have been paid in full by August 19 for a Property Owner to be eligible to vote in this Annual Election.
• Poll – Voting is done at the POA office.  Volunteers hand out ballots.  A Board member must oversee the Ballot Box, which is locked except for slots to drop in ballots.
• Results – Votes are publicly counted after the Annual Meeting, and the results are posted/emailed that night.

Ballot Item #1 – Add to Covenants 1H:
The use of bladders, ballasts, bags, or any device used for the purpose of increasing weight, enhancing wake, or creating additional wake, whether permanent or temporary, by any boat is strictly prohibited.  Boaters must minimize “plowing” (maintaining speed between idle and plane which creates the largest wake.)

Residents who support this item believe the large waves are dangerous for the beach, make boating for others more difficult, and cause extra degradation of our dam and lakefront properties. 

Proponents of allowing wake boating and the large waves required for wake surfing on Autumn Lake have claimed that specific Missouri lakes allow wake surfing, but all three lake communities responded to us that wake boating is not allowed there.  (Initially an office person at Terre Du Lac said they allow wake surfing, but she confused it with wake boarding.  Their code enforcement officer clarified that wake boats and wake surfing are not allowed at Terre Du Lac.)  

Voting Yes on this ballot item would put a ban in the Covenants on the use of bladders, ballasts, bags, or any device used for the purpose of increasing weight, enhancing wake, or creating additional wake, as stated above, similar to the Covenants ban on air boats, new jet skis, and maximum size limitations.

Voting No would leave this subject to Rules.

Ballot Item 2 previously included in the newsletter was removed for further evaluation.  You will not vote on this.

Ballot Item 3 adds text to Covenants 3f to round the assessment billing to the nearest dollar to avoid the odd cents caused by the 5 percent increases.  The exact amount would be used to calculate the increase for the following year.

Ballot Item 4 is the option to have a Special Assessment of $50 per Property Owner for funding Amenities that we don’t have funds for in the Operating Budget.  This Special Assessment would be $50 per Property Owner (1 vote = 1 $50 Assessment no matter how many lots you own, 2 votes because names on property deeds differ = 2 $50 Assessments.)  All proceeds would be spent to add and maintain new amenities.

Ballot Item 5 adds text to By-Laws to extend Pre-Voting hours outside of normal business hours on at least one weekday and the Saturday before the Annual Meeting to make it easier for Property Owners to vote.

Ballot Item 6 adds requirements to By-Laws to define how many Board members can vote in a Committee vote and limiting Committee members for voting purposes to one family member just as in voting rules for the Annual Election

Ballot Item 7 adds context to By-Laws to promote compliance with the 700 pages of Robert’s Rules without distorting or distracting from the meeting in process.

The annual business meeting will open at 12:30 p.m. and conclude with an Open Forum no later than 1:30 p.m. to allow everyone ample time to vote. Doors will open at 11:45 a.m. Ballots will be given out from 12 noon to 2 p.m.  The Ballot box will open at 12 noon and close at 2:10 p.m.

After the meeting, the ballots will be publicly counted by several Property Owner volunteers. The Board candidate getting the most votes will serve a 3-year term, the second most will serve a 2-year term, and the other three will serve a 1-year term. Results will be announced, posted at gates, by email, and on the POA Community Facebook page.  

We hope you will take the time to vote.

https://mailchi.mp/bfc2abac25d2/ballot-item-highlights?e=2934e2bbe0