April, 2023

• Welcome & Introduction - HPHA President, Ken Mulder, welcomed all attendees and introduced the newest board members, Louis Bitto, who resumed the position of Treasurer.

• Financial Report - HPHA Treasurer, Louis Bitto, provided a financial report.   

 Oct 2022 – Apr 2023               Income:    $1,350. Income is generated from $25 yearly dues; the board is trying to increase the membership.

Expenses: $1,731

Assets       $10,044.05 checking

                   $34,274.43 trust fund (CD)

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• Current membership & payment options - Currently there are 70 dues-paying members of the 850+ homeowners in the subdivision. An additional 16 paid at the meeting or via VENMO following the meeting for a total of 86. The board instituted a new payment option via VENMO for those who prefer to use e-payment option. Residents are making dues payments successfully through VENMO application.

• Election of Officers – Election of officers was held by Ken Mulder. No new residents were nominated; therefore, the current Board Members will remain in their current positions.  The board is looking to fill one additional position, Website Administer/ Communications person.  Candidates would update the website one time per month by adding or deleting content so those homeowners who do not have Facebook can keep up with current events and send out emails.

• Road SAD – We are no longer pursuing the road SAD. The Board and several volunteers made a valent attempt to get 51% signatures, unfortunately we feel short and will no longer pursue road upgrade for 5 to 10 years. There was a lot of work put into this effort and the Board will not revisit the option for a few years.  Note the County Road Commission maintains the roads but will not replace them.

• Dredging on Lakeshore/Riverdale canal – effort was requested by homeowners to look into dredging, note this is resident driven and not a board effort though Ken Mulder is assisting homeowners with the effort. Need to raise $5,000 in order to hire a contractor to get samples and send them in for sampling. Flyers were sent to all homeowners on the affected properties.  So far $3,225 has been donated to date, if the SAD is approved by 51% of homeowners the donated money will be credited to the donor’s balance. There should be more information in a couple of weeks, timeline for suction dredging is up in the air. Hoping for this fall or next Spring.  Water levels are in a downward trend, want to get the dredging done before we lose access to affected canals. If a SAD is passed by 51% the Township will manage the project, two public hearings will be held then the township will apply for permits from EGLE and Army Corps of Engineers.

• Events – Word on the street is residents feel they are not getting anything for their yearly $25 donation, so the board is planning numerous events this Spring/Summer/Fall to draw neighbors together. So far, we have the following events planned:

• Annual garage sale May 19 – 21, weekend before Memorial Day weekend. We will advertise on Facebook and the local paper to draw people into the neighborhood. Brigantine Estates is also holding a subdivision garage sale on the same weekend.

• Summer kickoff cookout @Metro Beach pavilion on Sunday, June 11. We will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and soda. We welcome others to bring a dish to share. It will be a family friendly, BYOB event. If you plan to come by boat, the north marina does change for boat wells $10 for the first 12 hours. It’s a first come first serve basis because there is no power or water, so it charges the same as the Seawall docking. Metro Park will make sure someone is over there to help us out and coordinate payments. We are looking for volunteers to help with the planning and execution. Would like those who plan to attend to notify a board member so we have an idea how much food to purchase.  

• Mini raft off – Event will take place on July 8 or 15 depending on the weather outlook. Destination is also dependent on weather – looking at Goose Bay, Fisher Bay or Strawberry Island. Dues paying members will receive a pennant style flag with HPHA logo to hang on your boat to show your support to the neighborhood.

• Fall festival – Looking to have a cookout, bounce house, and trunk or treat, more info to follow.

• Euchre tournament – end of September or beginning of October, date and info to follow.

** Board is looking for volunteers to engage and sponsor community events, please contact a board member if you are willing to assist in one of the above or any other event.  

• Buoys – Buoys will be going in soon and will be placed in the same location as they were last year.

• Q&A –

• Discussion ensued pertaining to the suction dredging proposal. President Mulder mentioned the first hurdle is to obtain samples to determine how much silt needs to be removed so we can get an accurate quotation. Then we need to solicit signatures for SAD approval. Once approved by 51% of affected residents, the township will award the contract, contractor will pursue purchasing bags to hold slurry and water. The water runoff will be intentionally directed toward sewers, not toward houses or seawalls. Note the township has no record of dredging in Huron Pointe for the past 50 years. Ken Mulder is currently speaking with two companies regarding having suction dredging done. There are both benefits and drawbacks to the process.  Suction dredging will lift the loose silt from the canal; however, the drawback is that there will be large bladders filled with sediment approx. 400 cubic yards each which will need to be placed on vacant lots in order for the sediment to dry out.  This can be unsightly.   The contractor can only move the silt 1,000 feet and it must dry out before it can be hauled away.

  • Properties without seawalls – causes run off into the water ways. Township may eventually force homeowners to secure their property. Doesn’t do any good to dredge if property runs off into the canal.

  • Properties with cut-in boat wells will be required to pay an extra fee to have the cut in dredged as well.

  • Price will be based on samples of silt to see if can be used as fill or does it need to be dumped in a hazmat site.

• When is W. Archer bridge replacement – This summer and will take 3-4 months to complete.

• When will the S. River Road bridge be replaced – President Mulder is not aware when it will happen, it is not yet listed on the County’s list of road projects.

• New stone entrance sign – comment was made regarding the outcropping sign not being as appealing as former wooden sign. President Mulder advised the crowd that the former sign needed repair with estimates approx. $3,000 - $4,000. The board felt it more prudent to replace the sign with a more permanent fixture which mimics other neighborhoods in the area. The board selected graphics that represent our community by selecting a lighthouse.  Flowerpots with seasonal flowers will be added to the location to brighten up the area.

• Recommend burying overhead wires in neighborhood – This was addressed when the roads were done back in the ‘80’s and was voted down.  This is not an option; it is too costly and can only bury under the streets. Individuals can pay to have the wires running to their homes buried at their own expense. 

• Enforce rules regarding the number of trailers/boats storage on property – homeowners should file a formal complaint through the township.  The township will redact complainants name if a FOIA is submitted by defendant.  Township Supervisor, Ken Verkeste, will also entertain complaints if unwilling to submit formal complaints for fear of reprisal.

• Clean-up of S. River Road specifically by Lambrecht’s Marine - President Mulder talked to the township. They are working with the county to get cleaned up.  Recommend residents talk with/file complaints with township and county, the more complaints the more likely the issues will get addresses.

• New HPHA board member request – looking for a new board member to specifically manage the website and email mailing/marketing.  If anyone is interested in joining the board, please contact one of the board members.

• Future communication methods – trying to expand our methods of communication with homeowners by utilizing email to send out flyers. If you’d like to receive email flyers and notifications electronically, please provide your email address to a board member. Flyers do not always make it into homeowners' hands, they are often either left on the mailbox or fly away.

• Block Captains – Three new block captains stepped up to the plate, would like to thank Paul & Heather Aggeler (N. Lakeshore) and Laura Danckaert (Venetian) for volunteering.  

• Meeting adjourned