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Assessments are being paid, and work has started on Lake of the Woods spillway Date published: 12/6/2009
BY ROBIN KNEPPER More than 70 percent of Lake of the Woods Association members have paid all or part of the $1,200 special assessment levied on each lot to pay for state-mandated improvements to the dam on the Orange County subdivision's largest lake. Entire or partial payments were due Dec. 1. As of that date, nearly half of the needed $5 million had been collected. Another $1 million is being provided as a grant from the state. Construction has started on a new 190-foot auxiliary spillway. The state found the existing spillway to be inadequate. The project is expected to be completed by September 2010. Many Lake of the Woods residents were surprised and angry when the special assessment was announced in October, even though the Lake of the Woods Association had been fighting with the state over the dam for eight years. Some of the protesters urged fellow members not to pay the assessment. Some 1,171 lot owners, about 28 percent, have made no payment. "We're optimistic that this trend will reverse itself by March of next year," said Treasurer Olive Kelly at yesterday's meeting of the homeowners association's board of directors. General Manager Ted Wessel said collection procedures for the special assessment will be the same as those used for the yearly assessment. Those include a 30-day grace period, after which a $50 penalty is added. An annual 18 percent interest rate also is charged, and the automobile bar codes that allow access through the gates are deactivated. Residents have been offered several payment options. Those with financial difficulties can discuss other options with the general manager. So far, according to Wessel, fewer than 20 members have done that. Robin Knepper: 540/972-5701
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