EFAC Annual Meeting – September 10^th 2022 at 09:00AM

North Webster American Legion Post

Board Members – in attendance

Jim Lease – President

Joe Watkins – Vice President

Randy Plew – Treasurer

Gerry Powell – Secretary

Brian Pyle – 5^th Member – not in attendance – resigned in August 2022 – due to new position – with conflict of interest a possibility.

Financial statements provided by Treasurer were available. 

Meeting minutes from 2021 annual meeting provided.

Attendance registration forms were on the tables near the entrance door – attendance registration sheets are at the end of this document.

Jim Lease started the meeting at 09:05AM on September 10^th, 2022.

Jim asked that anyone who missed signing in when entering, please show your hand and we will get you a sign in sheet.

Minutes from the 2021 annual meeting were provided and read.  No changes offered, 

Motion to approve by Plew – 2^nd by Don Mathias (member) – Jim asked for a show of hands for approval which was given.  A show of hands for not approving – none – motion passed.

Randy’s financial statement reviewed,

Copies were available & handed out.

The Board approved a $5.00 a month service charge so we can get a physical bank statement each month for our records.

A $50.00 donation was approved by the Board and has been provided to the Legion for the use of the facilities.  We thank them for their effort in accommodating us each year.

EFAC Board insurance was extended with a locked in rate of $795.00 per year, we have 1 year remaining on the agreement.  New insurance will need to be obtained in 2024.

There are 163 pier spots on our records – 105 on-shore and 58 offshore.

Motion to approve financial report by Lease – 2^nd by Watkins.

Show of hands for approval – yes – non-approval, none

List of current pier assignments can be found in financial section of the website.  Look for the list of invoices sent, and it will show the assignment of each pier location.

Website instructions were provided (epworthfac.com)

Overview provided – pictures and high-level notes on sign-in page

Most all need information can be found under the DOCUMENTS heading this contains-

Pier information – Wait list – Misc. information

Court documents and rulings

A file for each year – under this you will find the Financial Statements and Board Meeting Minutes

Under the Pier Info header, you will find the Drone video of the Epworth Forrest Lake front.

Question on invoices was asked – it contains

Your name – address – phone # – pier # – and email address

This invoice is mailed to the same location as your tax bill for the property.  If you need it mailed elsewhere you will need to contact Randy Plew as he maintains the data base for these mailings.

The stump at 5^th Trail is still there, Joe Watkins from EFAC and George Arnold from the Epworth Property Owners Assoc. are both working to have the Church address the issue and get it removed along with the seawall repair.

Don Mathias has brought attention to the EFAC Board that there may be some additional sockets remaining from the Community Pier location which was in front of Huntington-Trinity and Kokomo-Grace cottages.  Due to this being late in the season the EFAC Board will address this issue in the Spring of 2023, when the water is typically clearer, any remaining sockets will be identified and removed at EFAC’s expense as ordered by the Kosciusko Circuit Court. 

We still have issues with some pier placements and lack of assignments on lake front properties.  We are working within the court orders and ruling to address these issues.  If you have an issue with a location or lack of assignment, please send the appropriate form with your information to our site (efpier@gmail.com) we will try to address the issue and provide an answer if possible. 

Question on Court orders & rulings – as mentioned previously these can be found on the website epworthfac.com under the DOCUMENTS section – there are 177 documents concerning Court Judgements – Rulings – and Court Cases involving many issues.

Question again was brought forward concerning the Community Pier and why the Board eliminated it.  The Board did not eliminate the community pier, this was a Circuit Court action   which was litigated by EFAC and Kokomo/Grace in Circuit Court in Warsaw, Indiana.  The court did not rule in EFAC’s favor, and we were instructed to remove the Community pier.  Please review the documents on the website as we seem to be reviewing this question every year at the annual meeting. 

We need each of you not familiar with the Community pier issue to read the Board Meeting Minutes of 2018 through 2020, along with the Court ruling which eliminated this option from the lake front.  Every effort by the pervious EFAC Board and the present Board are documented showing the major effort put forth to keep the Community Pier.  Our efforts did not prevail in Circuit Court as you will find in these documents. 

Non-payment of pier fees has been an issue for a few properties.  EFAC is determined to close this issue by the start of the 2023 season.  Liens for onshore members and taking away offshore assignments & reissuing them to members willing to pay the required fee will be pursued.  Watch for further information in the EFAC monthly Board meeting minutes.

One new onshore & offshore EFAC member will be needed for the 2023 year.  Jim Lease and Joe Watkins will be leaving the Board at the end of the year.

A new 5^th Board member is being sought to replace Brian Pyle who resigned.  Any suggestions on a replacement can be given to any of the Board members.  Watch the monthly Board meeting Minutes for progress in this endeavor. 

Meeting closed at 10:10am EST

Gerry Powell – Secretary