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Updated: Friday, January 17, 2003 12:07 PM Branch
Pond Association Membership Application
Home Membership News Van L. Terrell, President – BPA January 11, 2003 Subject: Annual Dues - 2002 Dear Branch Lake Property Owner: We are sending another special mailing as a dues reminder. Our records show that your dues for calendar year 2002 have NOT yet reached us. Please send a check for $15.00 along with the attached completed information sheet. Dues and donations are tax deductible as the BPA is now a Non-Profit entity. Keep in mind that the dues for 2003 and beyond will be $20.00 per family. Some folks sent in a check for $20.00 and designated it for 2003, but had not yet paid 2002 dues. We have credited your $20.00 check to 2003, but request that you send us a dues check for 2002. We continue to increase the number of people we communicate with via e-mail. Please visit our Website at www.branchpond.org . We post the newsletters to the Website and notify folks via e-mail. Please send me your e-mail address or change of e-mail address at President@branchpond.org . In response to the November ’02 special mailing, we have received dues from a disappointing 80 out of 280 property owners. Thus, you see the need for this second special mailing. Our work in ’02 focused on several fronts. Most important is the Invasive Aquatic Species Committee. This committee continues to focus on educational topics and the prevention of Invasive Aquatic Plants from reaching our Lake. Everyone is aware of the milfoil threat. This Committee’s work depends on dues monies. Thus, it is essential that we have full support of this and other important work. I just learned that the invasive plant Hydrilla is in now in a pond in Limerick, ME. It is scary folks, as Hydrilla is more invasive than variable leaf milfoil. I remain optimistic that we can influence City, County and State officials to pay increasing attention to the Invasive threat as well as non-point source pollution threats. HOWEVER, WE MUST BE A UNITED VOICE! We cannot go to the City, County or State officials to encourage change if membership remains at these low levels. If you have a personal concern that the Association does not represent your views, please tell me and please get involved. Otherwise, please pay your dues each and every year. The BPA has developed a formal operating budget for 2003. This budget is based on a minimum number of property owners paying their dues. In addition, we have created several ‘Rainy Day Funds" to address anticipated and unanticipated threats to our water quality. Attached is a copy of the Budget for review and comment. It was prepared last fall and presented to the Board by our Finance Committee chairman, Glen Curtis. Bob Totman, Treasurer and I also worked on this with Glen. The Board approved this budget on September 17, 2002. If folks do not pay the annual dues, we cannot operate. In closing, I wish to remind each of you that volunteerism is the only reason the BPA exists and functions. We have only a small group of people who do 90% of the Association’s work. As time passes, we will need to see new people to step forward and take on leadership roles. The Board wishes to thank you for your support, and for those of you who live away it is quite beautiful on the lake right now as the fall foliage has been beautiful. Van L. Terrell, President, BPA |
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