ARROWHEAD LAKE ASSOCIATION – Decorum urged at board meeting

By Mary-Justine Lanyon

President Alan Kaitz began the Feb. 24 meeting of the Arrowhead Lake Association board of directors by asking for decorum.

“It is imperative,” Kaitz said, “that we maintain a respectful tone in our comments. Failure to adhere to that may result in a request for a member to sit down. Our aim is to cultivate a more friendly member environment. Thank you in advance for contributing to a positive meeting experience.”

General Manager Mike Pate thanked those who came to his first “coffee with the GM,” something he plans to do quarterly.

“There are dozens if not hundreds of things to be done,” Pate said as he told the members they are “converting the maintenance process” – prioritizing the tasks that need to be accomplished.

“I’m proud of our staff,” he added, “They are rising to the occasion on every level. We have a lot more skills and talents on the staff than I realized.”

There are six trail projects ready to go as soon as the weather permits, Pate said. “Our goal is to get them done before the summer season.”

During Member Comments, Roberta Rindenow, a past president of the board, noted that the board and the committees “have been wrestling with the issue of wake for 15 years. We know that wakes are a huge problem and we need to address the issue.”

Rindenow congratulated Denise Loxton, chair of the Lake Safety committee, and her committee for initiating the survey about wakes on the lake. “They had amazing participation in the survey,” Rindenow said.

Loxton reported that an “outstanding” 1,154 members participated in the survey. The takeaway from the survey, she said, is “members do not want wake-enhancing devices used on the lake.” 

From the survey numbers Loxton shared, 815 respondents or 71 percent said they would be in favor of prohibiting the use of such devices on the lake.

Loxton stressed that the survey was informational only. She added that rules are only changed once a year.

During the Q&A period at the end of the meeting, Megan Hardin-Griffiths asked if wake-enhancing devices were banned and a member sold a boat with such a device, would it be grandfathered in. Loxton’s answer was that if the boat is continually registered, it could be transferred. 

In action items, the board approved a contract with the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District for the use of a portion of an ALA-owned dock in exchange for fire safety services. 

The board awarded a contract in the amount of $511,500 to Arrowhead Docks Unlimited for the replacement of Rental Dock A. This issue, said Director Jim Hannon, has been discussed for about five months. “We would like to thank staff for the amount of time they spent on it. And we would like to thank the 30 members for attending and evaluating and sharing opinions on the matter. Over 80 hours of people’s time was spent on this.”

Because ALA’s patrol boats are aging and in need of expensive repairs to keep them afloat, Pate and Hannon recommended purchasing a new one. “We found a boat less than half of the proposed budget,” Pate said. It has a fiberglass bottom with inflatable sides so it has a soft cushion should it come up against another boat. 

“We rely on staff to help make these decisions,” Kaitz said, adding they have the education and have analyzed the facts. The board unanimously approved the purchase of the new boat. 

ALA had already purchased new motors for the maintenance barge, thinking staff could mount them. However, it was determined the work needs to be done by a specialized contractor. A bid was received from Kiwi Docks, including parts and labor, for $46,846.30. 

Pate noted they need the barge for all shoreline and trail work. ALA has had to rent equipment at a cost of $25,000. The board unanimously approved having the work done by Kiwi.

Kathi Rothner, chair of the Fish committee, asked to continue the stockings as scheduled: 6,000 pounds in April, 6,000 in May and 4,000 to 5,000 pounds in the fall.

While 17 or 18 states have advisories for PFAS, California is not one of them. ALA has a waiver in place for their derbies; Rothner suggested adding a disclaimer “along the lines of eat the fish at your own risk.” Pate said he would create such a disclaimer and have legal counsel look at it.

Pate reported he had chosen a company to test the fish from Lake Arrowhead for PFAS. The plan was for former Fish committee chair Gene Warner to catch the fish, filet it, get the tissue from the fatty part of the fish, freeze it and have it flown to Michigan, where the company is. The results should be available in a few weeks.