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Lakefront Owners update -
April 19, 2007
The Town of
Chestermere is presently blocking the subdivision approval
that the WID is seeking and both parties are expected to go
to court in September to resolve the jurisdictional issues.
As a result, the WID has sent all residents who accepted
their offer a
modified offer which
gives the WID until well past 2007 to finalize the
subdivision process.
The Town’s new lawyer
has provided us a message which they would like to pass on
to the Lakefront Owners. It is attached
here.
The Chestermere
Lakefront Owners Association (CLFOA)
board recently received a Draft Arbitration Agreement from
the Western Irrigation District (WID). The main purpose of
this agreement is to set out the terms of binding
arbitration between lakefront owners and the WID. An
independent third party arbitrator, mutually agreed upon by
the CLFOA and WID,
would determine the price of the lakefront lands. Both the
CLFOA and WID, and
their expert witnesses, would present their arguments and
opinions of value regarding the land to the arbitrator.
Many changes
need to be made to this draft agreement, but if the CLFOA
and the WID can agree on the changes, lakefront owners would
have the option of entering into binding arbitration with
the WID to determine the price of the lands.
As an association, we are planning on
increasing our frequency of meeting in an attempt to work
out a final arbitration agreement so that this can be
forwarded to the WID in a timely fashion.
Finally, for those who have not
contributed the extra $300 per lot for the anticipated legal
fees associated with the arbitration efforts, kindly remit
these by sending a cheque to
Chestermere Lakefront Owners Association
c/o Nick Woronuk
570 West Chestermere Drive
Chestermere, AB T1X1B4
Sincerely,
Nick Woronuk
Secretary - Chestermere Lakefront Owners
Association
secretary@clfoa.com
Lakefront
Owners Meeting - October 4, 2006
In light of
the recent actions taken by the WID in the ongoing dispute
over water access and docks, the Chestermere Lakefront
Owners Association is calling for a General Meeting of its
members to discuss this issue. This General Meeting will be
held Wednesday October 4th at 7:30pm in the
Chestermere Regional Recreation Centre Viewing Room (located
upstairs between the two skating rinks), and is expected to
adjourn at 9:30pm
All current
members of the association are encouraged to attend.
Non-members of the association will be given the opportunity
to purchase a membership at a cost of $100.00 per lot.
Letters will be distributed and signs posted to announce
this meeting for those for which I do not have email
addresses. Please make sure that your neighbors are aware of
this meeting so that as many lakefront owners as possible
have the opportunity to attend.
I will be
recording minutes of this General Meeting and passing them
on to the membership by email. If you are unable to attend,
please ensure that I have current contact information (name,
address, phone, email) and I will forward you these minutes
as well as other information as the situation unfolds.
secretary@clfoa.com
Nick
Woronuk, Secretary - Chestermere Lakefront Owners
Association
September 21,
2006
Hello Member of the Chestermere Lakefront Owners
Association,
As you are probably now aware, the WID recently terminated
their discussions with the Lakefront Owners Board and
Sub-committee. The CLFOA was in the process of sending you
that information when the letters started to arrive from the
WID to individual residents.
Given the heavy handed approach that the WID appears to have
taken, the CLFOA is now the process of researching our
options and we are planning to hold an informational general
meeting as soon as we can organize a location. Our bylaws
require that we give two weeks notice for such a meeting.
Therefore we are hoping to hold it during the first week of
October. As soon as the arrangements have been made, we will
send a notice and post the information in public locations.
If you know someone who is new to the lake, please have them
contact me, Kathy Speck, at 235-1183, or our secretary, Nick
Woronuk at 569-7744 or email secretary@clfoa.com .
At the general meeting, the CLFOA executive will explain the
discussions which were held with the WID, and explore
possible strategies for going forward. Please keep in mind
that the WID is not asking residents to commit to a decision
until the end of October. Therefore, in the interests of the
larger group, we would ask that members do not agree to
anything with the WID until after the general meeting as any
acceptance may set a dangerous precedent.
Thanks,
Kathy Speck
President – Chestermere Lakefront Owners Association
October 18, 2004 Update
Lakefront Owners Addressed by Town’s Legal Counsel and a
Land Appraiser
A large group of lakefront owners
gathered at Camp Chestermere October 12 to hear from a
highly respected appraiser, Bob Berrien and the Town of
Chestermere’s legal counsel, Hugh Ham, with respect to the
WID’s proposed sale of the lakefront portion of our lots.
The WID will be sending a package to each lakefront owner
around the end of October; these will explain their offers
(lease or purchase) in detail, and include the aerial
photos, measurements and the lake bottom agreement that they
are proposing.
Hugh Ham explained Real Property Law,
the Water Act, and the Irrigation Act, and some of the
possible options open to the WID should the lakefront owners
decide to do nothing at all. He explained their position -
they have a large irrigation district to manage, and the
demands of their customers are inconsistent from year to
year. Chestermere Lake is a balancing reservoir in their
system, and is also a receiver of storm water runoff, and
may possibly be viewed as a utility in the future. If the
lakefront owners decide to purchase the land, it will have
to be subdivided, which would be a function of the Town of
Chestermere.
Bob Berrien, who has done rural land
appraisals all across Canada for the last thirty years also
spoke to the lakefront owners. He is willing to review the
WID’s appraisal and make some recommendations. He also
discussed land rights and some possible options for
discussion with the WID board of directors. Bob fielded
many diverse questions from the residents, and seems very
well versed in this type of transaction, as unique as it is.
Lakefront owners were asked to
contribute $100.00 per lot to help defray the costs of
renting large halls so that we can meet frequently, and for
the professional advice we need. A motion was made that a
smaller committee should be formed to represent a large
portion of the lakefront owners, with the intention of
meeting and possibly negotiating with the WID. Several
people have volunteered for this committee; details will
follow in a later article. This approach would be
beneficial to both parties, as it would streamline the
process, and would hopefully lead to terms that would be
more acceptable to the participating lakefront owners. Any
lakefront owners who were not able to attend the meeting on
October 12 are encouraged to contact any board member with
their questions, and if they would like to be part of the
larger group, we have set a deadline of November 15, 2004.
Our intent is to try to communicate
with as many lakefront owners as possible, if you have not
done so already, please contact us and we’ll put you on our
email and phone lists.
October 1, 2004 update
Update for the Lakefront Owners Regarding
Full Lot Ownership
The Lakefront Owners Association Annual General Meeting held
September
22,2004 was very well attended. Two people stepped forward
to serve on the Board of Directors; they are Tony Bonato and
Jim Gunn. Thanks to both of you, we can sure keep you busy!
Keith Crowder from the Western Irrigation District presented
the WID's proposal to sell the remaining portion of the
lakefront lots to the residents. Although the proposal has
some good features, the lakefront owners were not impressed
with the $18.00 per square foot price as set by the WID
Board of Directors. There were several questions asked, some
offers made, and some frustrations expressed. Over the past
few years, some residents have purchased the remainder of
their lots for amounts ranging from $1.00 to $12.00 per
square foot. Most people didn't realize that the lakefront
portion could be purchased at all, as it was not available
for sale at the time of the original deal in 1976.
The executive of the Lakefront Owners Association is
planning another gathering, this time to hear from Hugh Ham,
legal council for the Town of Chestermere. Hugh is very
familiar with the unique circumstances surrounding
Chestermere, and is willing to address the Lakefront Owners
with respect to the lot purchase proposal. We have arranged
to meet at Camp Chestermere on Tuesday, October 12, from 7
to 9 PM and encourage everyone to attend.
We would ask that everyone wait before making any decisions,
we feel that if we work together as one body we may be able
to achieve a happy resolution for everyone concerned. We are
hopeful that we can resolve this transaction with the WID
amicably; they are our neighbors and will be for a very long
time! Watch the website, your inbox, your answering machine
and your doorway for further information, and be sure and
join us on October 12th.
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