The information below was provided by Mary Beth Huffman, ILPOA President. Any questions regarding the information provided can be emailed to Mary Beth at bod.mbhuffman@ilpoa.org. Any questions regarding the lawsuit can be directed to Chris Pinaire, ILPOA Legal Chair at bod.cpinaire@ilpoa.org.

Well, we are happy to report we not have had a documented case of COVID at Indian Hills and as of this date, only 11 have been reported in all of Crawford County.  Things are starting to open up in Crawford County.  But we must all be vigilant to keep ourselves and our families safe and healthy.  We were able to have our Board Meeting Friday, June 12 in the Community Center.  So glad to sit with my fellow board members, even if it was at a distance.  Our Quarterly Member Meeting is scheduled for July 11th, we are planning on doing that outside so that we can spread out.  Hope you will join us.  With COVID we are noticing that the lake is much busier this year – with vacations, sports, concerts, etc being canceled, folks are spending more time at the lake and each weekend seems like a holiday weekend.  With that comes a crazy busy lake – we must all learn to slow down, stay clear of the shore, and BE CAREFUL!  Often we find that members have not relayed the rules, etc to their guests.  That is your responsibility – please make sure that everyone knows how to operate the watercraft and that they know the rules.

A big storm (or small tornado?) hit IH on Saturday, June 27.  It had a distinct path through the southern end of the lake.  NOBODY was hurt and that is the most important thing!  Many members had quite a bit of damage, roofs, docks, boats, trees.  The Association also sustained some damage, we will be turning in a claim to our insurance carrier.  But as typical of Indian Hills, there was a outpouring of help coming from every direction.  

Community Center.  As previously reported, we have a committee that has volunteered to manage the Community Center.  Among other things, the committee was tasked with redoing the rental lease.  We were not able to cover our costs with the current lease, so the lease has been revamped.  Each rental will now have to pay a cleaning fee.  There are also new cancellation fees.  Go on-line and read the new lease.  The committee is having a hard time finding cleaning folks.  If you or somebody you know would be willing to clean the outside bathroom as well as the inside of the community hall, please contact me.

In mid-March, Board Member Bill Brummit resigned.  Per our governing documents, the next person in line, Dale Brunts was offered and accepted the position.  Dale assumed Bill’s roles as Chairman of Lake, Dam and Spillway and Nuisance Properties.

We will soon be asking the members to submit any by-law and rule and regulation changes they would like to see.  Forms for this will be available on the website as well as at the office.

Also, not too early to be thinking about running for the board!  Please join us – you’ll never have so much fun!  Seriously, the Association NEEDS folks to continue to take us on this path forward!  It is very rewarding to give back to the Community, please consider donating your time and expertise to Indian Hills.

Lawsuit – Of course, the biggest interest of the Community is the Lawsuit that Indian Hills Civic Association with the plaintiff’s Brunts, O’Fallon, Wideman, and Williams have brought against the Association.  The suit was filed in January 2019 and was revised numerous times by the plaintiff’s.  The trial took place on May 29, 2020.  It was declared that ILPOA has the right to assess its members for the cove 9 bridge design and build, fees for boat stickers, and fines and interest on past due fees.  To date, you as members of the Association have spent well over $30,000 to defend ourselves against the plaintiffs over the last 16 months.  These costs include attorney fees, our employee hours to prepare discovery items, copying costs, etc.  This number does not include the hundreds and hundreds of hours the board members have sacrificed in meetings, preparation, and travel to represent the association.  The plaintiffs continue to seek punitive damages as well as their attorney’s fees through Counts IV and V of their suit.  Our lawyer has called for a dismissal of these charges and the judge is currently considering the motion.  Unfortunately, we cannot give an estimate of the future costs that we will be forced to spend to defend The Association from these plaintiffs, but we will continue to update the Community as things progress.