Date: 09/20/2025
Time: 8:00am – 9:33am Meeting called to order at 8:00am by Kate Hoffman
Location: Esmann Office
Facilitator: Kate Hoffman (Vice President)
Note taker: Nikki Lynch (Secretary)
ATTENDEES
Kate Hoffman, Vice President; Brett Flickinger, board member; Tim Plagge, board member; Terry Denner, board member; Josh Geistkemper (on phone), president; Gail Sherr not in attendance, board member; Tim Stueck not in attendance, board member.
Owners: Dottie Reimer, Dick Downes, Tom Nagel, Linda Lampe, Wayne Jensen, Tim Hoffman, Mike and Lavonne Burke, Kari Winders, Cindy Miller, Ken Brandel, Shawna Barton, Kris Plagge
Motion to approve previous minutes by Terry and 2nd by Brett
REPORTS
Report #1: Treasurers report of income/ expenses/ investments, etc
Bills paid:
Alpine (set up for service) $420.95
Alliant $139.00
Friedlein $221.44 (Clean Rock)
Tyler Schieltz $5,136 (Concrete at park)
Income received:
Assessments $5,267
Assessments $900
Interest on late ckg $21.45
Expected Income:
Boat Storage $2,100
Farm Ground $1,850
Bank balance(s):
Bank Balance $33,483.36
TCD $197,000
Total Assets:
$230,483.36
Report #2: Building Permits/Ownership Changes
Haar to Denner
Report #3: Committee Discussions (Kari Winders)
Account as of Aug 30 is $9,754.38 Payment to the board for the concrete for the memory benches to be written for $2,568.00. A donation was made by the Schneider family for a new playset to be set by Memorial Day next year. The wood set will be removed, if you are interested in any part of that set, please contact Kari or anyone on the park committee. The slide will also be removed, if anyone is interested.
Report #4: Roads
No update to roads
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Item #1: Tree Removal Letters, Camper and Nuisance Letters
All letters have been sent and all responses have been communicated. Some have reached out to state that not all work will be done by fall but most have noted that they will get all property cleaned up and that all trees will be removed. Linder’s stated that they will have their tree down as soon as they are able, per Wayne Jensen
Item #2: Condensed Building Checklist
The new checklist has been added to the website. There is still a question regarding the “Shouse” definition. There are numerous ways to define this. Terry Denner has discussed with Patty, who is with the county but she is no longer in that role. Josh stated, we do not want a bunch of garages being built on the island that do not have living quarters. The next step is between now and April, the board will work to put together a committee to discuss this so that they can have a set definition to then present at the annual meeting to vote to update the by-laws. Josh mentioned discussing this with Earle Burkle and Jeff Brown, as they have recently built such buildings and have knowledge of the process. See attached, new list.
Item #3: Tree Trimming in general areas.
Josh and Kate agree that there is just not time for owners to take this responsibility on their own. Kate made a motion to take the lead to get bids to do a one time clean up and then annual up-keep. Terry Denner 2nd the motion.
Item #4: Pay HOA
Pay HOA is a secure all in one software that would take the place of the Esmann website and Quickbooks. See the cost breakdown below:
Current: Pay HOA
Web Fees $115.00 Annual
Mailing $150.00 Annual
Printing $170.00 Annual
Tax Prep $700.00 Annual
Paper/Ink $35.00 Annual
Treasurer $1,000 Annual $500 Annual
Annual Fees $2,025/Annual or $169/ month
Total $2,170 $2,528
Kate made a motion to move forward with implementing Pay HOA and Terry 2nd the motion.
There will be a 30 day free trial that will begin after Cindy and Nikki have a chance to ensure all of Quickbooks is cleaned up and ready to merge with the new system. At that point, everything will be implemented over the winter months so that it is ready to go by next season. Link for review: https://www.payhoa.com/
Item #5: Signage In 2024, it was recommended that additional signs were added to the pond area. Examples. 5mph, No Carts in the Pavillion, Yield sign at causeway area and cart path to pond. Also a stop sign at Timberlane and Hickory.
Cindy has offered to get new signs ordered for installation next Spring
Item #6: Gate closure at the pond. Who has the keys and who makes the call to close and what are the times/dates? etc
Details: Per Kate: For the gate closure at the pond, Tim Hoffman has one key and another key is at the office. The general agreement is that Tim would close the gate for holiday weekends, like Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and other busier weekends as needed. The target time is 9-10pm with the exception of the night we have fireworks during 4th of July. The intent is to eliminate the mis-use of golf-carts in that area since traffic is much higher and we have had problems in the past. It does seem the gate closure has helped manage the traffic and reduce issues we previously have had at the pavilion area and field. I have heard similar feedback from members as well.
These details will be added to the rules
Item #7: Trail Cams: Trail cams were approved to be purchased at the Sept 2024 meeting to put up in the pond area. Were these purchased? Were they installed? Who monitors? There was firework debris that was left numerous nights this July that others had to clean up. This could have assisted with this issue. Also, could assist in any damage or speeding in the pond area.
All board members and owners in attendance agreed that this year seemed to be much calmer than past years. However, there are still some instances where the equipment up at the pavilion have been tampered with. The pond aerators have been turned off, etc. On the weekend of July 4, there was also notes of a mess left behind after individuals set off fireworks. In order to discourage this, the board will move forward with installing trail cams in the pavilion, park area. Brett has offered to research some rate and best options to present to the board.
NEW BUSINESS
Item #1: Bill for the dock installation and pick up
Terry Denner submitted a bill for the installation and pick up of the new dock. He was very heated and stated that he was being questioned regarding the payment of the new dock. He called out Cindy Lynch stating that she threw him under the bus and was upset that he was being called into question about a check by email payment. He stated that Cindy did not understand what a check by email was and accused her of trying to “get to the bottom” of this issue. Per Cindy, she stated that a deduction was made from the bank account for an unknown vendor. She was unaware that there was a check by email in process and she spent time trying to determine what this withdrawal was for. She called the bank numerous times and she also had to reach out to the company that received payment to attempt to rectify the situation. Terry stated that he had sent her an email and that she should not have been confused. However, it appears this email was sent to a personal email address and not to the Esmann Island email address so it was overlooked for 6 weeks. Cindy stated she did not see the email as she monitors the Esmann email daily but not her personal email. Cindy then requested to have the email resent and this upset Terry because he felt he had already provided the necessary information and was upset that Cindy was questioning the purchase. Terry stated that he is upset because he was called into question and Cindy stated this was not a personal attack but she was questioning the processes. Dottie Reimer and Cindy Miller then questioned how this check by email process, asking why the standard 2 party sign off was not followed and what is to stop others from accessing the account as Terry is not currently on the bank account. Josh stepped in and stated that this was a one time situation and that going forward the process of 2 party sign off will be implemented. Josh also stated that he takes responsibility regarding the communication issue. The issue appears to be resolved and Terry lowered his invoice to $2,950 for his time and travel. Tim made a motion to pay Terry for this invoice and Josh 2nd the motion.
Item #2 Additional Ramp for New Dock
Terry submitted a bill (attached) for an additional ramp (walkway) to help make the new dock handicap accessible. The bill is for $5250.00, which is still well under the $25,000 mark that is approved to be spent without additional approval. However, all were in agreement that making the new ramp handicap accessible is very important. Josh made a motion to move forward to purchase this ramp and Terry 2nd the motion.
Comments/Discussion with members in attendance
Kari asked where the old dock will go or what will be done with it. Terry stated that it will be put in the pond to see if it will work there. If not, there is an offer to buy it but all attempts to use it for the island will be tried first.
Tom Nagle asked about incorporating a bumper system on the new dock. Per Terry, there is one on the dock but Josh also commented that there may need to be additional padding. Kate stated that users of the dock may need to use their own bumpers instead of the island spending more $ to beef up the padding.
Terry mentioned that he got a quote for a new ramp and that it was $36,500. This will be tabled and added to be voted on at the annual meeting to see if there is any interest in looking into this further. Right now, it is about $1,000 a year to maintain the current ramp.
Terry mentioned that there was a discussion with Dale Hoffman that he was no longer wanting to mow so he asked Tim if that was the case. Per Tim and Kate, Hoffman’s will continue to mow indefinitely.
Dick Downes asked about the alliant energy poles and who will be responsible for removing the poles eventually. Josh stated that the poles are still being leased out to Mediacom so we do not know when that lease will expire and who will then be responsible for the removal. Dick suggested talking to the attorney to see who is responsible so that it does not end up being something the island is responsible for. Josh stated that he has emailed mediacom at least 7-8 times with no response. He is going to call his Alliant contact and see if he can get some answers regarding this issue.
Assessment increase was briefly discussed but this would need to be on the annual ballot to be voted on so nothing further was discussed.
General reminder: Please be sure that you are cleaning up after yourself on the island. There has been an increase of litter around the island. Be sure that we are all working together to keep our island clean!
Motion to adjourn @ 9:33am by Terry and 2nd by Brett
Respectfully submitted by Nikki Lynch, Secratary