By Mary-Justine Lanyon

At the July 22 meeting of the Arrowhead Lake Association board of directors, President Jim Hannon reviewed the results of the spring survey of members. He also directed members to the website, www.ala-ca.org, for the complete report.

The survey addressed five topics: activities and facilities, STR/property rights lawsuit, member-to-member communications, ALA budget and net promoter score.

Out of the 4,479 eligible members, 1,033 completed the survey – 23 percent. The responses were said to be well balanced by district and membership type.

Activities and facilities: Walking the trails was the activity enjoyed by more respondents than any other – 90 percent. It was followed by swimming, power boating and kayaking, fishing, waterskiing and sailing.

STR/property rights lawsuit: More than 90 percent of the respondents said they were at least somewhat familiar with the lawsuit. They gain their information from various sources – the ALA website, emails from other members, newspapers, attending meetings, reading the meeting minutes, friends and family, social media. Just 28 percent said they read the actual legal filings, which are posted on the ALA website.

Of those who read the legal filings, 25 percent said ALA is likely to almost certain to win the appeal; 28 percent said it could go either way; and 47 percent said ALA is unlikely or has very little chance of winning. All respondents were less optimistic about the ultimate outcome of trial if ALA loses the appeal of the preliminary injunction.

Most members don’t know who will be responsible for the association’s legal fees. Hannon said that counsel has said ALA will be responsible for its own legal fees, win or lose. They may also be responsible for the plaintiffs’ fees if ALA loses.

If ALA wins at trial and can prohibit STR access, 83 percent of members favor maintaining the existing lake/shore patrol at no incremental cost.

Member-to-member communications: A majority of members – 68 percent – would opt out of having their contact information released directly to members. A slight preference was expressed for receiving emails directly versus having them posted on the ALA website – 44 percent versus 36 percent. Both options are currently offered to members.

ALA budget: Members favor increased capital investment in the trails as opposed to pursuing “medium priority” projects. ALA has 118 dock slips available for rent by members; the preference is to continue the current method of renting them at the market rate with right of first renewal. Currently, the occupancy rate is about 94 percent.

Net promoter score: Members were asked, “On a scale of zero to 10, how likely is it that you would recommend Lake Arrowhead to a friend or colleague?” The net promoter score was 32, with the highest score in the East district (37) and the lowest in the North (21). Hannon noted that any NPS score above 20 is considered favorable.

Recommended next steps: The three Cs – conduct another survey in conjunction with the 2024 budget preparation; consider the survey results in board and committee discussion; continue to monitor NPS on a regular basis and explore underlying factors.