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LODGE LOG Blue Lake Springs Homeowners’ Association July 2019

2019 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

June 8, 2019 marked the 56th Annual Blue Lake Springs Associa-

tion Annual Membership Meeting. There were over 85 members

that attended this years meeting. There were two board positions

open and one candidate that ran for election. We welcome Dale

Ward to the Blue Lake Springs Board of Directors, elected by accli-

mation. This leaves one Board position still open. The Board of Di-

rectors will be reviewing applications for the open position at the

July 20th Board of Directors Meeting. Any member wishing to

serve on the Board can submit a resume before the July 20th date

to the Administration Office. The Association would like to thank

Mike McAtee, Bev Vasquez, and Guy Pollak for their service. They

will be missed as they contributed so much the past three years

they served on the Board.

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2019 Calendar of Events

Monday Afternoon Canasta Third Mondays at 1:00 p.m. Linda Utter 890-7643

Thursday Morning Duplicate Bridge Second Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. Bev Vasquez 795-1356

Friday Morning Bridge Every Friday at 9:30 a.m. Debbie Kushnir 795-0600

(Please note for all bridge groups,

please call ahead to save a spot)

Mahjong First and Third Thursday at 10 a.m.

Lenny Salayko 795-7166

Texas Hold’em:

Second Thursday at 2:00 p.m.

(September 2019 through May 2020)

Potluck

Second Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.

(September 2019 through May 2020)

If there is any member

who knows of someone

who may need a get well

card or sympathy card,

please call the Sunshine Lady,

Sheila Silcox at 209-795-5724.

WELCOME NEW OWNERS

Bryan & Sandra Forrester

Unit 02

Amy Silva & Doug Laventure

Unit 09

Peter Weight

Unit 12

Alan & Mary Dancer

Unit 02

Monte & Roseanna Swanberg

Unit 13

Travis & Tara Zickler

Unit 11

David Cirina

Unit 08

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Snowflake Lodge Restaurant is open year round Friday and Saturday nights.

It is a full service restaurant serving an extensive, ever evolving menu

featuring the finest food on the mountain prepared by Chef Marc Kirby and his

talented team. With a full service dining menu, you are sure to find your new

favorite! Although alcohol is not served, you are welcome to bring your own

wine with no corkage fee. Snowflake Lodge always offers complimentary soft

drinks. We hope to see you in the restaurant soon!

For Dinner reservations please call 209-795-2357. Walk-ins will be accommodated as

space allows.

SNOWFLAKE LODGE HOURS:

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July. Summer activities (and crowds) are here. Your BLS maintenance staff has been hard at work creating new recreational facilities and polishing up the existing structures. Ladders have been added to the floats in our lakes. Fly-In Lake will feature a new nine hole Frisbee Golf Course and a new par-course. Both will be installed by the end of July. Pickle ball is an increasingly popular sport across the country, so at Lodge Lake the two lower tennis courts are being converted to create four pickle ball courts. This will be done so they can easily be converted back to tennis courts to meet demand.

Fly-in Lake will be partially drained in mid-August to allow dredging of the cove area. Thedredging will increase the lake and beach areas and will allow additional water related recreational facilities to be added next year. The lake will be completely drained in Septemberwhich will allow reduction of the aquatic vegetation that tends to come up late in the summer season.

There have been some observations of fresh water leeches at Fly-in Lake. While generallyharmless, there is an understandable “ick” factor. We are posting notices provided by Calaveras County Health and Human Services at the lake so our members and guests are aware. We are also setting traps for the leeches in an effort to eliminate them or at least reduce their numbers. To our knowledge there have been no sightings of leeches at Lodge Lake.

Judith Anderson and her staff have been hard at work to create fun events for both kids andgrown-up kids (aka adults). Fourth of July weekend brings the kid’s fishing derby and eveningfireworks display at Lodge Lake. We hope you are well under way to planning your entry in theCardboard Boat Regatta to be held on August 2. As Judith says, the fun is not so much in winning the race as it is in watching the Captains go down with their ships.

VIP property inspections are scheduled for July 9th and 10th. Events of the past few years have made us all acutely aware of the importance of keeping our properties fire safe. We’ve dodged a few bullets in the past, and if we continue to do so in the future it will be thanks to all of us doing our part. Please give our volunteer inspectors your cooperation and support.

Don’t feed the bears! It’s hard to tell if we have a record number of bears in the neighborhood or we’re simply more aware of them because of the many security cameras in use. Either way, take care of your trash either with a bear-proof trash container or by taking your trash to the Avery transfer station.

We welcome Dale Ward to our Board of Directors. Dale has attended many of our Boardmeetings in the past and we are glad to have him on the other side of the table. We still have one vacant seat on our Board of Directors which we are looking to fill. If you are interested in doing your part to help this community we encourage you to send a brief resume. You will need to attend a Board Meeting each month, but part-time members are welcome as we can patch you in by telephone if you are unable to attend in person.

Enjoy summer in the best place around!

Bruce Utter, Board of Directors President

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VOLUNTEERS IN PREVENTION (VIP)

Hello BLS HOA Property Owners,

Yeah for Summer! I hope all of you are ready for inspections. The VIP’s will be out inspecting starting Mon-day July 8, 2019. Please remember to cover your “wood piles” with a fire retardant tarp, if within thirty (30) feet of a structure. This includes the adjacent property’s structures. Building materials, wood stacks and fallen logs are considered wood piles. Wood piles must have a ten (10) foot clearance on all sides, plus fifteen (15) feet up. Please remember to thin your seedlings and trim your trees. Many property owners love to have many seedlings for the privacy that they provide. Unfortunately, this is a fire hazard. Please remove all your pine needles from the roof and within 30 feet of all structures. Please remember that it is a violation not to have a contrasting address sign that is visible from the road, no matter which direction you are traveling. If you need to purchase a reflective and contrasting address sign, you can visit our website to print out an application for sign. The mailing address and prices are on the application. The Sherriff’s office will call you when they are ready. The VIP’s will be conducting their second inspections near the end of August, 2019. Whether you pass or fail, all inspection notices will be sent to the property owners after the first in-spections by CALFIRE. If you receive a LE100 from CALFIRE, please call CALFIRE at 209-795-1542 for an explanation. If you receive a BLS HOA CC&R letter, please email Thomas Hein at vip@blsha.com.

If you have logs on your property that were cut down over 6 months ago by PG&E, please give ACRT and/or PG&E a call to see if your property is in their database for removal of logs. Unimproved properties do not qualify for PG&E’s Wood Management Removal Program. However, even improved lots are not guaranteed removal. PG&E has discretion on which properties are declared “accessible”. We have come across properties that you would think would be accessible, but PG&E did not. Please take the time to find out if your property qualifies for their program. Their number is 1-800-743-5000.

I am sure you have noticed the work that Nate’s and Mario’s tree service have been doing in the past 6 months. Nate JR. is in currently in BLS HOA taking note of all the logs and trimmings (from the past 6 months) near the street that need to be picked up. If you have trimmings or trees that are more than 20 ft. inside your property, we recommend calling PGE and/or ACRT to make sure that they have you down for cleanup work. The BLS HOA Office can only do so much to help you on this matter. PG&E and ACRT want to speak to the property owner.

The unimproved lots in BLS HOA will be inspected by the end of July, 2019. Ebbetts Pass Fire District’s, Joan Lark, will be inspecting all unimproved lots in BLS HOA.

The Lodge is busy again! I hear Judith has some great things planned for this season, the snack bar is delicious and of course the restaurant is open and waiting for you to call for a reservation. I am having Prime Rib! See you soon.

Have a wonderful July,

Thomas Hein

BLS Fire Prevention Coordinator

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From the Manager’s Desk

Garbage Spills

So it's the season for bears and critters to come out and play. Recently we have had a number of garbage spills within in the development. Please make sure that your garbage is secured in a way that prevents animals from accessing the garbage. If you have Guests or Renters at your cabin it would be a good idea to leave instructions on how to secure the garbage to keep animals out.

The Association has started a Garbage Spill program that would aid in the quick cleanup of spills. Please see the insert in this issue of the Lodge Log or go to the Association website and download it from the Members Info page.

Members That Rent Their Cabins,

For those members that rent their cabin themselves, or through Airbnb, VRBO or any other one of the many rental agencies out there. It is very important that your guest have the correct information and a valid guest card. Many times the guests come to the facilities and have no guest card or sticker that is not valid. This slows down the process for them and makes for an unpleasant situation. If you are renting your property it would help your guest if you notify the Association that your property is a rental, this will help us aid your guest more efficiently.

Board of Directors Position Open

Attention Membership,

During the 2019 Election for Directors only one of the two positions was filled. The Board is now seeking to fill the vacant position. Any member wishing to serve on the Board, can submit a resume by email at blsoffice@caltel.com

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Rec Ramblings Happy Summer!

Our July 4th preparations are underway and our staff has done an outstanding job of decorating the facility

under the creative and watchful eye of Veronica. We have planned a fun week for you, kicking off with the Thursday, July 4 Kids fishing derby. We start at 6:30 a.m. At 2 p.m. a bounce house, along with two water slides will entertain the youngsters. At 4 p.m. take a break and join the fun with “Chalk it up.”

The snack bar will be open late, so forget about making dinner stay for a burger, and snag dessert at the Rec Office. At 9:15 pm enjoy our music and fireworks on Lodge Lake. We will be selling glow sticks, patriotic bears, LED toys and more.

And…if the 4th wasn’t enough on Saturday, July 6 at 2 p.m. we are playing games on the lower lawn and at 6

p.m. the DJ starts playing upbeat music and those with reservations will enjoy the annual BBQ.

Coming Attractions

Basketball Camp starts on Monday July 1. Drop by the Check in Office to sign your child up. Remember there is limited space in this popular camp, so don’t wait to sign up.

Our fishing clinic starts Tuesday, July 9, sign up forms are at the Check in Office. Kids will learn how to tie knots, and casting and retrieving techniques. Students will also learn about fish behaviors.

Regatta Reminder

We are so excited to announce our Amazing Cardboard Box Boat Regatta on Lodge Lake on Saturday, August 4. Let the creative juices flow. Drop by the Rec Office to pick up a packet of information on how to build a winning boat.

We surely have planned some fun activities and await your smiles and laughter.

Judith A. Anderson, Summer Recreation Director

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Please be courteous… Due to limited seating we respectfully request

that you not reserve tables and spots on the

beach until you are here at the facility and

ready to

participate in the daily activities.

Thank you for your cooperation

FAMILY SEASON CARDS

Family Season Cards must be picked up at the

Business Office. The cards may be picked up by

either the member or the person whose name is

on the card. Please be ready to show

identification. Cards may not be picked up by

other family members unless their names are on

the cards. In order to prevent a delay in picking

up the card(s), please be ready to give the staff

the lot/unit numbers of the property. If you have

any questions, please call the Business Office at

209-795-2357.

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Administration

General Manager

Tony Abila

Assistant General Manager

Amber Meyer

Office Manager

Leah Springman

Snowflake Lodge Restaurant

Snowflake Lodge Chef,

Marc Kirby

Facilities

Facilities Manager,

Mark Owens

Summer Recreation

Summer Recreation Director,

Judith Anderson

Assistant Recreation Director

Veronica O’Boy

Security

Vernon Nicholson

Production of the Lodge Log: Blue Lake Springs HOA Staff

Blue Lake Springs Homeowners’ Association

Office Hours

Tuesday-Saturday ~ 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Office Phone: (209) 795-2357 ~ Fax: (209) 795-4438

Email: blsoffice@caltel.com

Post Office Box 712, Arnold, CA 95223

Web Site: www.blsha.com

Snowflake Lodge Restaurant

Friday and Saturday 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Please Call for Reservation (209) 795-2357

Summer Recreation (Memorial Day to Labor Day)

Recreation Office Phone (209) 795-4009

Email: blsrecreation@caltel.com

Board of Directors Meetings

Third Saturday, 9:00 a.m.

Your Association welcomes letters from members and well

publish them in the Lodge Log on a space available basis.

If necessary they will be edited for style and shortened to

200 words. Letters will not be returned to author. Formal

policy is on file at the Association office. Members should

request a copy of the policy If they are considering submit-

Board of Directors

President, Bruce Utter

Vice President, Denny Clemens

Treasurer, Mike McAtee

Secretary, Doug Hjelmhaug

Director, Steve Pollock

Director, Dale Ward