The T2 R4 BKP EKReview
Volume 1 Number 1
Welcome to this first attempt at a "newsletter" to keep you, the members of the Moxie Pond East Homeowners Association (MPEHA) a bit more informed as to the doings along the east side of Lake Moxie and in East Moxie Township. Although it is still the dead of winter, spring will be here before you know it, and as President of MPEHA and the de facto road commissioner, I believe it is important to let you know what has taken place on the east side during the course of 2008 and to remind you of some of the things we hope to accomplish in 2009. Keep in mind that when I use the word "we", I am not just referring to the officers of MPEHA. "We" are the members of our Association, and it will be only with your input and help that we can reach some of these goals, maybe even before our next scheduled annual meeting. And our primary goal is always to make and keep Lake Moxie an enjoyable place to stay, with a minimum of bureaucracy and politics.
So without further ado, here goes:
Quick review of 2008 annual meeting: The second annual meeting of MPEHA took place at 9:00 AM on Saturday, July 5 on the "green" at Troutdale camps. There were 15 camps out of a possible total of 30 that were represented at the meeting. The Troutdale camps agreed to become 12 individual members of MPEHA, and will pay yearly dues as 12 individual camps. (Subsequently, 29 out of the 30 camps paid their dues for 2008.) The membership in attendance voted to increase annual dues to $150 per camp, in order to fund anticipated road maintenance and improvement for 2009. The consensus of the membership was for MPEHA to remain a separate entity, at least for the time being, from Lake Moxie Campers Association, the association for camps on the west side of the lake. Other items were discussed, and an update on these follow.
Road maintenance: Roads were graded in 2008 "from the 'T' on down" as we say (or should we now say, "from the intersection formerly known as the 'T' on down") by Art Rogers, who also graded the road on the west side. Total cost for this was $1,435. As Crooked Road was in decent shape, I decided not to have it graded in '08 and to save the money for '09, when it probably will need to be graded. I have already made arrangements for this, hopefully in late May or as soon as conditions and other factors permit. In October, Richard Stimson, of "First Landing" camp, did significant ditching and gravel fill along Mosquito Narrows Rd., as well as some gravel fill along Crooked and Shirley Tote Rds. He charged us only $1,000 for what was probably $8,000 of work; many thanks to Richard for his hard work and expertise. We should see a significant improvement in the mud situation along Mosquito Narrows this spring. In June, Ron Tourigny, of "Camp Suspicious" (formerly known as "Brandy's Place") re-set two heaved-up culverts along Sandy Stream Rd., at no charge to the Association; thanks also to Ron for his work.
In addition to the usual grading, there are other road issues (further ditching, culvert replacement, etc.) that will eventually need to be addressed, since it is becoming clear that Wagner Forest Management (WFM) is not going to be doing certain maintenance items that previous landowners did. We are going to try to handle some of these this year as the Association's finances will allow. This is maybe where we, as campowners, could help. If any of us have access to various types of equipment, or are willing to be part of a possible "road work weekend" or something like that, please let me know.
Gate: At the 2008 meeting, the membership voted to explore the possibility of erecting a gate across Mosquito Narrows Rd. (probably right after the "T"). The purpose of this gate is not only to reduce the possibility of theft and vandalism during "off" periods, but more importantly to close off roads past the "T" to vehicular traffic during "mud season", when the roads are most susceptible to damage. It is traffic at this time of year that, by far, causes the most damage to the roads and costs us the most to repair. A gate could offer a solution to this problem, provided that "outsiders" honor it and that our own campowners exercise a little discretion before venturing into camp at this time of year.
We did receive permission from WFM to erect such a gate. A number of types and designs were explored, but unfortunately, winter arrived before we knew it and the project was put on hold. We would like to get this done as soon as possible this year. If you have any ideas on how we could do this, or if you would like to be part of a "gate construction crew", please let me know.
ATV use: At the 2008 meeting, the membership discussed the possibility of asking WFM for permission to use ATV's in East Moxie on a limited basis. Such use would be restricted to 1.) travel from camp to camp; 2.) travel to access the designated ATV trail which passes nearby; 3.) travel to access camp during times when it would not be practical with a normal vehicle.
It took a very long time for me to get an answer from Dan Hudnut, who as you know, is our contact with WFM. I will write the salient points of his responses:
(11/14/08) "I finally had the chance to speak with my lawyer on this. She quickly reminded me that the bylaws of MPEHA restrict its scope to road maintenance issues, and she listed a few other reasons why my idea of granting the permission to MPEHA was not a good one. (He doesn't mention what these reasons are. jjs) She said the best route was giving individual ATV permission slips. (This was what we had in mind. jjs) But I don't like this, primarily because then there is no longer a clear rationale for providing this on the east side but not on the west side of the lake. So I am putting it back to you to see if you have any creative thoughts. Again, I am receptive to the ideas proposed, but do not want to deal with the same issues on the west side."
I wrote back to ask him what the ATV situation actually was on the west side, as I had heard a lot of conflicting reports. He responded:
(11/14/08) "There is no permitted use along the road on the west side. A few years back we provided them with a letter allowing riding on the weekends for one year only. That year passed."
So that's where we are with that. Since creative thinking is not my forté, maybe you campowners who have an interest in this could come up with some ideas. It might be a good idea to forward these ideas to me, so that I can be the "point man", if you will, in further contacts with Mr. Hudnut. If nothing else, it will make for less confusion.
Miscellaneous happenings
Driveway work: A number of campowners were interested in getting some driveway work done last year, mostly involving loading, hauling, and spreading various amounts of gravel. Unfortunately, our "contractor" didn't come through, so this got put on hold. We will try it again this year, and maybe get some more camps involved that may need such work, and get it done all at once. If your driveway needs a little gravel attention and you would like to be part of "Gravel-Fest '09", please let me know, along with a description of what you want to have done. Cost should be around $13 per cubic yard, loaded, hauled, dumped, and spread.
2009 meeting: The consensus of the membership at the 2008 meeting was to have the 2009 meeting over the 4th of July weekend again, at Troutdale. The 4th this year is a Saturday. Therefore, is the "holiday" on Friday the 3rd or Monday the 6th? What date is best for you? AM or PM? If PM, are you interested in expanding the meeting into a picnic or something? We would appreciate your input on this, so we can schedule the meeting for maximum attendance and convenience.
Also, the terms of the current officers of MPEHA will expire this year. Do you want to be part of the "leadership" of this august organization? Keep that in mind for the next meeting.
Contact information: Now is a good time to update your contact information with us, the officers of MPEHA. If you have any change of address, telephone, e-mail, etc., please let us know as soon as possible, preferably before 2009 dues notices go out. (By the way, it would save us some money if we could send this year's invoices via e-mail. Any comments?) If you would like a copy of our membership list, please let me know, and I will forward it to you via e-mail.
Future articles, comments, input: We welcome comments and/or suggestions on any of the items described in this newsletter, as well as anything for future publication that you think will interest the members of MPEHA. Simply send them to me; we need your input. If nothing else, maybe you could help by sending me a note to indicate that you did, in fact, receive this newsletter; I do not trust my computer skills!
I hope you found this informative and helpful. Enjoy the rest of the winter, and I look forward to seeing you at Moxie this year.
John J. Siedlecki, President
RR2 Box 203C
Montrose, PA 18801 (570) 278-7140
Lake Moxie Campers Association
