Three Objectives Every Lake Committee Should Have

Minnesota and North Dakota are rife with secret societies. These gilead groups have leadership, codes, and even a set of by-laws that every member should abide.

Just what are these underground orders?

Lake Associations

In the land of ten thousand lakes it’s easy to understand why keeping order across the many natural wonders would be vastly important. If you’re unfamiliar or maybe a member yourself, we’d like to weigh in on just a few of the important objective out there for lake committees, and please weigh-in on your own ideals in the comments.

Here are just three ways to establish or improve your own lake association.

1. Select Beach Captains

Most Lake Committees already have designated beach captains, voted in every year. These people function as a sentinel for the lake and uphold some important duties. Let’s make sure we’ve got those responsibilities covered.

Welcome New Residents:

Seems like the simplest of tasks, so let’s begin here. It’s important to get a good network of neighbors on your lake for a plethora of reasons. However, just making everyone feel welcome can be a huge asset that many forget altogether. It’s also good to make acquaintances and know what the status of their residency are. Meaning, if they’re planning on snowbirding or just coming out on the weekends, maybe it’s a full-time residence.

Keeping an eye out for your community is very important, especially on lakes, when people may not reside there all the time.

Beach Liaisons:

Having a Beach captain also means that someone can watch for violations around the beach area and make sure the lake, in this designated area, is being cared for.

Some issues that can occur involve abiding by rules regarding No-Wake zones. If water is particularly high on your lake then waves caused by boats can be damaging to the shoreline. We are probably all aware of these complications so it’s important to help enforce rules of this nature.

Divers also tend to visit lakes with public accesses so making them feel welcome and safe is a must. The general rule is to keep boats at least 150 feet from diving flags.

Obviously use of boats and jetskis in a considerate fashion is of the interest to everyone.

2. Solicit membership in the Lakes Association:

If you’re on a lake with or without a Lake Committee it’s important to facilitate a proper meeting place and get members active. This can be as simple as discussing possible meeting places, or just bringing coffee along to entice neighbors to get active.

Some lakes have issues with drainage or ordinary water height. This can affect property values significantly. However, it is also a treatable problem when a community comes together to face it. Even if nothing has happened on the lake yet, it’s wise to get a group in place that can handle such issues.

3. Print and deliver association directories:

To be a really effective lake association, we should be able to get in contact with one another. If you’re like Detroit Lake, you may have an entire website dedicated to news, for instance, letting lake area resident know about the recent zebra mussel infestation.

Since aquatic invasive species can be a real threat to lake ecosystems, letting the community know quickly creates an effective line of defense for such issues.

Speaking of defense…

Lake areas can be large and the property lines vast. This puts your neighbors at a distance likely. For better or worse.

Burglary and vandalism can happen. But if you know your neighbors and establish another line of defense, then it’s easily to spot activity that might be suspicious.

In conclusion, one of the most important objective a lake committee should have is the welcoming of all new residents. Establish a strong community by gaining membership and help beach captains serve as a liaison between areas of the lake and the association.

Make sure to observe for violations or emergencies in the area, and further communication in an event through use of a group message or other communicae. A directory can be a very important tool in emergency events, so try to keep it up to date and distributed.

Setting up an annual meeting is also very helpful to garner a community voice when deciding important matter regarding the lakes area.  

As we await the Spring thaw, hopefully these tips will help you prep for a productive Summer with your own Lake Committee.

Thanks for reading and please consider watching our blog for more tips on having a prosperous property in lake country and beyond. Please comment on your best lake committee tips!

Blake Olson