A big thank you to everyone who voted in the community. A record number of homeowners voted to confirm that we are keeping our CCRs intact to retain enforcement rights for inoperable vehicles, boats, RVs and commercial vehicles within the Lakes community. The results were as follows: Yes votes 519; No votes 20.
I think that the record number of homeowners who voted was probably due to the volunteers who walked each and every street and talked to other homeowners about the importance of keeping our original CCRs and encouraged them to vote.
I want to thank Maureen Harrison for organizing the volunteer walkers. I also want to thank the following homeowners for walking and talking to their neighbors about the importance of this vote: Jean Di Ross, Suzanne Reddie, Georgi Hagerty, Robert Garcia, Allison McClelland, Cheryl Nay, Nate Hoffman, Jack Herbert, Anne and Steve Brown, Dan Rossi, Scott Leffler, Colleen and Gary Dehler, Alecia Kindgren, Leslie House, Roz Lloyd, Janet Corrigan, Holly Solberg, Monique Taetle, Jim Ramsey, Becky Huff, and Ann Etheridge.
The success of our vote was due to the coming together of our community, realizing the importance of our CCRs and maintaining our beautiful community while upholding our property values.
I want to remind all homeowners who have watercraft of any kind that they have an obligation to register them and display current Lakes watercraft stickers and their lot numbers on their boats. I have previously asked for all boat registration to be in by March 1. It is now April and I have seen a large number of unregistered boats. Please come to the Clubhouse to register your boats or be prepared to receive a notification and a fine.
Last week, while I was irrigating the greenbelt along Southshore, opening the cistern where water is delivered from the canals, someone saw the water flowing and bubbling and called SRP to report it, not knowing that this is how our long stretch of greenbelt gets watered. SRP does not flood irrigate our property. I am responsible for the greenbelt irrigation. I schedule the delivery with SRP, I open the gates to let in the water in and I shut the gates when the flooding is complete. When a call is made to them, they call me and charge the association for having received the call.
I know Lakes homeowners want to be good citizens and don't want to see water wasted, but we do not waste water. This has been the method used to water the greenbelt and the trees for the last 54 years. I am very mindful of our water usage and I monitor it hourly while we do our flood irrigation. I know that seeing the water bubbling out of the cistern structure and the bubblers along the greenbelt can be alarming to newcomers, but this is the method used to keep our greenbelt green. I do not irrigate in the winter months since the bermudagrass is dormant, but I do occasionally add water for the trees while I am filling the lake. Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any concerns versus calling SRP or the police. I will continue to be mindful of our water usage while keeping our community looking lush and green.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call me; 480-332-0050.
Christine
I want to bring to your attention that the Arizona Planned Communities Act, A.R.S. Section 33-1818 requires all HOAs with public streets to hold a membership vote prior to June 30, 2025 to retain the authority to regulate the public roadways within their own community and the ability to enforce parking restrictions. Otherwise, all existing community parking regulations will unconditionally expire.
If the members do not vote “yes”, then the association will not have the authority to prevent boats, trailers, RVs, and even inoperable vehicles from parking on the street indefinitely.
I encourage you to attend our next board of directors meeting on Wednesday, February 26 at 7 PM when our attorney Christina Morgan from VF Law, will speak to the membership about this very important issue which will require a vote from the Lakes community.
Please vote
All homeowners will receive ballots during the week of March 3 and the vote will take place at the March 26 special meeting prior to the regular board meeting already scheduled for that night.
I will recap the information presented by our attorney in the March Lakes Log and on our website if you are unable to attend the February meeting, but I highly encourage you to attend.
This is an important issue. Losing control of our streets can potentially impact the aesthetics and property values in The Lakes.
As many of you saw, our Rapids were flowing again last week, but on Monday one of the motors had to be removed for some additional work. It should be back in operation within the next couple of weeks. Thank you for your patience.
Annual Homeowners Meeting
Our fifty-fourth annual Homeowners Meeting will be held Tuesday, February 11 at 8 PM in the Beach and Tennis Club. 2024 board and committee reports will be given and the results of the board of directors election will be announced. If you have not yet voted or have not received your ballot you can come to the Beach and Tennis Club between 6 and 8 PM and cast your ballot.
If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to call me; 480-838-1023.
Christine
We are currently experiencing a Golden Algae bloom, which is responsible for the dead fish floating around the lake. We are not the only lake experiencing an outbreak. Several lakes in our immediate area are experiencing golden algae blooms as well.
Our lake doctor, Dr. Rick Amalfi, has been here to observe and test the lake. He and I are keeping an eye on the situation and plan on treating the lake again next week. We are diligently scooping out fish every day. Pease be patient as we work on the clean up.
I have had calls about the dead fish and floating algae, so I asked our lake doctor to write a letter to our homeowners addressing our current situation and what we are doing about it. Golden algae is something we have lived with for several years as well as many other urban lakes have. We are not alone in this situation. We have a good protocol in place for addressing this problem and all I ask is for homeowners to be patient while we work through this bloom.
Here is Dr. Amalfi's letter to me.
Christine:
I understand that several residents of the community are unhappy with the condition of the lake and are looking for an explanation. Please allow me to review what is happening in the lake, as well as at other urban lakes in the immediate and surrounding areas, and what we have done and plan to do.
Remaining weeds: Several herbicide applications were made using appropriate products designed to kill the weeds in the lake, sago pondweed. Dye was also added on numerous occasions to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the deeper water to inhibit plant growth. The last herbicide applications were made in early autumn, at the end of the period when water temperatures are still conducive to uptake of the chemicals. The chemical often causes the dying plant to dislodge and float to the surface. Because the air and water temperatures are reduced, natural breakdown is quite slow, and the debris tends to collect in downwind areas. Additionally, because of golden algae, the population of White Amur (weed-eating fish) has been very difficult to maintain and impossible to increase. Additional White Amur were added to the lake several months ago. They are sterile fish (required by State law) and do not reproduce. They are highly susceptible to the toxin produced by golden algae, and we have experienced major losses in the past and we are experiencing losses now.
Golden Algae: Yes, the lake once again has golden algae. We performed a pro-active treatment at The Lakes of Tempe several weeks ago, but the longevity of such treatments is sometimes relatively short. The alga can form protective cysts and re-establish after the algaecide has precipitated and is no longer effective. The Lakes of Tempe community is not alone. Several lakes in the immediate area have golden algae and have lost hundreds of fish. Two west-side community lakes have also had positive golden algae tests.
What causes the golden algae to occur in some lakes and not others is unknown. The alga may have requirements for certain water chemistry that is found in some lakes and not others. Conversely, the alga might be naturally excluded by one or more factors in some lakes and these factors may be absent in lakes where it survives and flourishes. Although many researchers are working on the cause and elimination of the problem, no definitive answers exist.
Golden algae can enter the lake via birds, ducks, the water source, and by transfer through contaminated (exposed to a lake with golden algae) boats and fishing equipment. Additionally, as noted above, golden algae can form chemically-resistant cysts that can remain dormant until environmental conditions are re-established for survival and growth. The simultaneous presence in three lakes within a few mile radius suggests it may be in the canal water or being distributed by waterfowl that frequent the lakes in the same area. Operation of aeration systems, fountains, or circulation pumps appear to have little or no impact on the golden algae. It has been found in lakes supplied with canal water, treated wastewater, surface water (lake and river), and groundwater even including well water and recharged and recovered wastewater. The toxic alga has broadened its temperature tolerance and salinity range over the past 12 years. Salinity seems to no longer control where it can develop, and we can find it throughout the year with the exception of July and August when water temperatures are extreme. It is adapting.
Response: We are doing everything we can to minimize adverse effects of nuisance algae, toxic algae, submerged weeds, and midge flies. Christine and I have been in constant communication to minimize delays in response to any issue. She has been very supportive and responsive to any material resources we require. Algae outbreaks and weed growth have been addressed by physical (dye), chemical (algaecide/herbicide), and biological (fish) management, midge flies are monitored and addressed by fish stocking and larvicide additions, and water is constantly monitored for presence of golden algae with treatments made to eliminate it from the water. When practical, fish are the preferred biological management method for weeds and insects in preference to chemicals. Please note that there is no known biological control of golden algae.
We plan to treat the lake next week for reduction or elimination of golden algae. We are also evaluating use of an early season herbicide that can be effective for an entire growing season, so long-term weed issues can be avoided even with limited White Amur.
Please remember that these issues are common to all lakes including natural lakes. A lake's response to natural biological disturbances becomes exaggerated in a small, artificial system. Issues tend to be more noticeable in urban lakes because they are in our backyard and constantly noticed. All lakes, natural or artificial, can be prone to odors, algae blooms, toxic algae, insect infestations, and fish kills too. These are unfortunately the occasional downsides to having the beauty, serenity, and recreational resource of a lake outside your door.
Respectfully,
Rick Amalfi, Ph.D., C.L.M.
Christine