November 2024

Please Visit our Assocaition website at www.ILPOA.org for regular updates and answers to FAQs

NOTE: There will be no Smoke Signal for the month of December.

As we head into the holiday season, there’s much to be grateful for at Indian Hills. Our dedication to major initiatives Lake Restoration and Road improvements continues to thrive, thanks to our diligent committees. I deeply appreciate all the work of our association employees, as well as the clubs and the invaluable contributions from the clubs and member volunteers.  A warm welcome to our new board members, Karen Stevens and Tom Harman. Wishing everyone a joyful and healthy holiday season filled with cherished moments with family and loved ones.  

Joe Mischik – ILPOA President

Booster Club

Booster Club raises funds through membership, fundraisers and activities for helping with equipment for our maintenance department, the lake, our new tennis/pickle ball courts, the community hall renovations and so much more. Our meetings are on the third Saturday of the month at the community center at 9am. We also gather the Friday’s (will start back up in spring), before the meeting on the patio from 7pm-9pm to meet neighbors and answer any questions about the Booster Club. Would love to have you join us. Also join us in some of our activities coming up, Thanksgiving Dinner November 23, at 3pm at the community center, bring a dish to pass and BYOB, turkeys and ham provided. Hope to see you there! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at boosterclub@ilpoa.org or Nancy at 262-309-0508.

                                                          SAVE THE DATE!!

CADDY SHACK FAMILY GOLF OPEN

As the Booster Club will celebrate its 20^th anniversary in 2025, we have some special events planned.  We are very excited to announce our Caddy Shack Family Golf Open on June 7. This is the first of two installments of the Booster Club’s famous Family Days.

This will be a Family-Oriented Event.  Holes will be set up at host’s houses throughout the community (poker run style), with special golf-related games at each with no golf experience required.  In addition to the golf tourney, we are planning a dinner, additional games, a live auction and music for the evening.   There will be something for everyone and a great way to start out in the summer!  We know our community will go all out with cart decorations, costumes, etc.! 

As a charity event, we will be looking for hole sponsorships from businesses as well as families, complete with signage.  Marty Voyles is heading up the committee for Sponsorships and Don Villaire is the Official Golf Commissioner.

If you can help with sponsorships, auction items, a host house, or as a volunteer to plan the day, please contact us at boosterclub@ilpoa.org.  Our next meeting will be on November 16 directly after the Booster Club meeting at 10:00 at the Community Center.

The Booster Club works hard for the community to fill in the gaps where our dues fall short.  We think this will be a fun and exciting day to raise money!  Please mark your calendar and participate in the Caddy Shack Family Golf Open!

Also save the date for the 2^nd part of family days-Saturday June 21^st, we are looking for items for a silent auction. If you have baskets to donate, please contact Ronda Emmons at the booster club email.

We now have where you can pick up a paper copy of the Smoke Signal and Booster Club events, the boxes are located by the community center next to the electric sign. Feel free to grab one!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy Safe New!

Ladies Auxiliary

Indian Lake Ladies Auxiliary The next ladies meeting will be Monday, December 9th at the community center, lunch will be at 12 noon. We ask everyone to bring an appetizer to share, the board will provide dessert and special drinks. This will be a fun Christmas luncheon to share some Christmas Cheer (No meeting)!

The January meeting will be held on January 6, 2025. At lunch at 12, the meeting starts at 12:30. We hope to see you there!

 Our annual Christmas Party will be held on Saturday, December 14th, 11:30 at Sybil’s in St. James. Tickets are $35 with a limited number of tickets being sold. So don’t delay and purchase your ticket today! If you are interested in buying a ticket, please contact Jean Rohel at the Marina or Lou Oswald, 314-540-4070. We promise a good time and of course a delicious lunch from Sybil’s. Tickets are going fast so let us know if you want to come!

The ladies in the community gather every Thursday at 3 PM at the community center for Yappy Hour! BYOB. On the third Wednesday of the month, the ladies go out to lunch at different area restaurants. This group is known as the “Lunchables”. On November 20th we will be going to Spencer Winery in St. James, lunch at 11:45. Please let Deb Dolan know if you plan on attending. Give her a call or send her a text 314-348-7168. You do not have to be a member of the Ladies Auxiliary to attend Yappy Hour or Lunchables. All are welcome.

“Recipes from the Lake” Cookbook The ladies Auxiliary has put together a cookbook with over 500 recipes from members of the lake. The cookbooks are for sale for $20 each. They can be purchased at the Marina or by contacting Lou Oswald, 314-540-4070. lawandaoswald@gmail.com Don’t forget to get one for each of your homes. They also make a great gift! Christmas is coming, so stock up now on presents for your family and friends

The Ladies Auxiliary would like to wish everyone a very Happy Holidays! Enjoy friends and family and safe travels to all who will be traveling.

Men’s Club

Greetings from the Men’s Club.  We are a social club within Indian Hills that, among other things, raises money for projects to improve the Community.  Where we can, we work in conjunction with the Ladies Auxiliary and the Booster Club, and they with us.
 We meet on the first Saturday of each month at 9:00 a.m. in the Community Center.  We also sponsor the Wednesday evening get-together for food and fellowship, starting at 4:00 p.m.  Men of the group volunteer to prepare the dinner and we charge $10.00, which pays for the food with the balance going to the Men’s Club. It’s BYOB of choice.
 We had successful Pancake Breakfasts this Summer because of your support.  Thank you. 
If you have any questions, please feel free to call or text me at 636-295-5039 or email me at jim.burli@gmail.com
 Be well. Jim Burlison

Security

The roving patrol number is 573-259-3700, he does not get good reception. If needed asap, please call 573-317-6086

Roads Assessment – Invoices for the Roads Assessment were mailed this month.  Payment can be made in the form of either the total $2,500 or $500 per year for 5 years or $41.67 for 60 months. Please note that if you choose the monthly payment option, we will not be sending out invoices and it shall be your responsibility to make timely payments.

Road Committee 

Met with Cochran Engineering, received information from them on doing engineering work. A couple of committee members are reaching out to other engineering firms they work with to get competitive bids. 
Will reach out to Mid States paving and Blankenship out of Rolla MO to get prices to do a couple of miles of roads this winter.

2025 Annual Member Dues: The St. Louis area Consumer Price Index (Utilized per our BUR) for 2024 was released and the year over year increase was 3.6%. The 2025 membership schedule will be with invoices for 2025 sent out in December:

Communication

If you would like to receive urgent text messages and have not yet signed up, please contact Gary Weber at bod.gweber@ilpoa.org

KNOW THE RULES

Section 26.  CULVERTS AND DRAINAGE DITCHES (Rules and Regulations)

1. Members are responsible for the maintenance, upkeep and cleaning of their culverts and drainage ditches so as to prevent any buildup or clogging of their culverts/drainage ditches resulting in rainwater runoff overflowing onto Association Roads and adjacent property.
2. Failure by the Member to keep their culverts/ditches clean of debris (leaves, grass clippings and so forth) shall result in a letter being sent by the Board of Directors for corrective action.  The Member has 30 days to comply with this request for corrective action as sent by Certified Mail.
3. The Association shall clean the culverts/ditches of any Member who fails to comply within the 30-day time frame as set forth by the letter. Members shall then be billed for the actual costs (equipment and labor) to clean their culverts/ditches.

NOTE: As most of the leaves have fallen, there is much cleanup needed to culverts/ditches.  Overflow of culverts/ditches causes damage to our already poor roads.  As we begin to work on the roads, it will be imperative that members keep the culverts/ditches clean. 

CARE

* Electronic Leashes are considered compliant with Rules and Regulations Section 11 A1

* Vendor vehicles exceeding the speed limit are currently under advisement as to how that will be dealt with.

* Zero tolerance policy regarding non-compliant issues is the desired goal

* 98% of street signs are in place

* Completion of dock signage for non-compliant docks is still a priority

* Six citations were written during the month of October. Citation fines levied during October totaled $1050.00. Legel action was taken against one member for consistently loose dogs.

* October paid hours for ARE employees totaled 144 hours.

* The front gate was open on October 19^th for a couple of hours due to a gate box malfunction.  

* The Crawford County Sheriff’s Department continues to average 2.5 regular daily patrols of Indian Hills in addition to special service requests and requirements which tend to average 1 every other day.

Roads Committee

ROAD COMMITTEE UPDATE-NOVEMBER 2024

The road committee is well established with a diverse and experienced group of individuals.  We have met numerous times and have been diligently working on a plan to improve our roads. 

One of our first tasks has been working on pinning down our Engineering needs so that we can begin working with them to put out bid packages.  We should have our engineer contracted in December. 

We are happy to announce that as of this date, $96,000 has been collected for the road fund.  19 of our members thus far have paid the full $2500.  Thank you.  Receiving money consistently and on time will help us move forward more quickly.  We will be able to tell by December 1 how much of our first-year installments we will receive by what dates – imperative info needed for moving forward, planning and hiring contractors.

We will continue to communicate as we solidify the plans. 

PAVING THE ROADS TO THE FUTURE!

DID YOU KNOW:

There are approximately 15.25 miles within our community.  The approximate breakdown is as follows (in tenths of a mile) :

Sequoya (8.5), Pawnee (4.5), Osage (1.5), Yaqui Trail (1.0), Cree (1.0), Kiowa (1.0), Navajo (1.5), Lone Wolf (4.5), White Fawn (3.0), Itawamba (1.0), Big Bear (3.5), San Chez (6.0), Pontiac (.5), Alleghany (1.0), Seminole (5.0), IH Drive-entrance (5.0), IH Drive – exit (5.0), Hickory (9.0), Oak (1.5), Walnut (2.0), Dogwood (3.0), Lakeside (5.5), Squaw (5.0), Cochise (2.0), White Hawk (5.0), Bow (.5), Dark Cloud (1.5), Lakeshore Drive (6.4 MILES combined)

Maintenance Department

The maintenance crew is shifting to winter projects.  The top boards have been removed from the spillway for winter and the outside bathroom at the community center has been closed until spring. The asphalt plants are shutting down winter, so major patching is done.   We will be filling ruts and potholes with gravel as needed over the winter.  Focus now will be cutting brush, mowing below the dam and spillway, inspecting and cleaning culverts and doing maintenance on the equipment. The Kubota is in the shop. Kubota has to be fixed as this is the only tracker that will load salt into the trucks this winter, If you have areas of concern, please email or stop in the office. 

Friday November 15^th, an Eagle that was hurt on DD was released at the spillway. They believe it was an eagle from the lake. While waiting for his release there were 2 other eagles flying above and one in a tree. He took off with no hesitation. Amazing site, welcome back!

Eagle Release

Thank you to all that voted, thank you to the ballot committee for doing the counting, thank you to the volunteers who helped count the ballots, thank you to all the members that ran for the board. Let us congratulate the winners, Karen Stevens, Tom Orelup, Barry Alick and Tom Harman. The community appreciates you all!!!