The Not-official Website for Hidden Lake Residents
Latest News
May Annual Meeting:
****Breaking News: HLA Attorney reverses his opinion and declares proxy voting is allowed only for a spouse of a property owner. Read More Here
The Annual Meeting of the Hidden Lake Association is scheduled for Sunday, May 21, 2023, 1:00pm at the Old Town Hall, 30 Field Park Road, Haddam CT.
Get Agenda for the 2023 Annual Meeting here.
Get the minutes from the last Annual meeting: 5/15/22 Annual Meeting unapproved minutes.
Proposed Bylaw Changes: The Bylaw committee has submitted numerous bylaw amendments to be considered at the Annual Meeting. Some of these are rather simple and straightforward. Others are more extensive. Our concern about the bylaw amendments is summed up by the following: Does the bylaw change benefit the members of the Association? To help you decide, we have summarized the bylaws and added our opinion as to whether you should vote yes or no. We also provide a link to each bylaw to be considered. This is the opinion of Hidden Lake Happenings, and is not necessarily the opinion of the Hidden Lake Association. Click Here for Bylaw Summary
Get the minutes from the 4/24/23 BOG Meeting.
Reminder: Burning of Leaves Not Permitted - Per the Town of Haddam, "A permit is required to burn brush piles. Leaves, garbage or construction materials may not be burned. Haddam does not have a local ordinance concerning campfires, fire pits and open cooking. A permit is not required and fires of this type should not exceed 4' diameter and 4' in height. They must be contained in a chiminea, pit or ring. Any fire deemed to be unsafe or a nuisance by a Fire Officer or State Trooper will be extinguished. Complaints of smoke from neighbors [constitute] a nuisance." Click Here fo the Haddam Open Burning Procedure.
Life Jackets Required for Children 12 and Under at All Times
The operator or owner of any vessel being used for recreational purposes must require any child twelve years of age and under who is aboard such vessel to wear a personal flotation device while the vessel is underway
Motorized Vessels Must Be Registered with DMV
Any motorized vessel (trolling motors) on the lake must be registered with the DMV and display current registration numbers and decals.
BOG Meeting Agenda for April 24, 2023
Approval of minutes (March)
General Discussion
Treasurer's report
Tax collector's report
Committee reports
Old Business:
Resnick Easement Request
New Business:
Removal of trees at the spillway
Rip-rap for East Shore Beach
Fence request 378 Hidden Lake Road
Annual Budget Proposal
Annual Meeting Discussion
General Discussion
The FOI Act allows for any association member to request additional
subject matters for consideration to the agenda.
April BOG Meeting Highlights:
Septic Report: Requests for bids for septic pumpings were sent out to six local companies and only Cahill & Sons, our current contractor, submitted a bid. Cahill will be our contractor next fiscal year.
Old Business:
A request by Theresa Resnic for an easement on Association property to access several of her lots was tabled until the June meeting.
New Business:
New Bank Accounts: A motion was approved to move $75,000 from the current Citizens Bank account to an online higher interest account and $25,000 to a 12-month CD with a fixed rate, both to be selected by the treasurer.
Removal of Trees at the Spillway: To comply with state regulations, trees within 25' of the dam spillway need to be removed under the supervision of an engineer. Discussion was tabled until June as this will have to take place in the 23-24 fiscal year.
Rip-rap on East Shore Beach: With a cost estimate of $2700, the amount of $3500 was allocated to complete this project.
Fence Request: Peter Lombardo, who lives next to the dam spillway where the trees have to be removed, requested to install an 8 foot fence 14' from the spillway on his property to re-establish some of the privacy that will be lost. This was approved by the board. It was pointed out in the public discussion at the end of the meeting that the tallest fence that had been approved previously was only 6 feet, and that this could create a precedence for future fence requests, and should be reconsidered by the board.
Building Regulations: President Jay stated that four members are in violation of seciont 52 of the bylaws concerning the need to provide building plans. Letters will be sent to the four members.
2023-24 Budget: The board approved submission of the treasurer's proposed budget to the annual meeting.
Bylaw Amendments:
March BOG Meeting Highlights:
Amendments: Two proposed bylaw amendments were submitted by members for consideration at the May annual meeting.
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The first amendment is to bring our bylaws into conformation with the opinion issued by the Office of Legislative Research and remove reference to absentee ballots. Per OLR, absentee ballots are not permitted in special taxing districts unless specifically allowed in the charter. Our charter does not allow for absentee ballots. See the OLR opinion Here.
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The second amendment is to adopt Democratic Rules of Order (similar to Roberts Rules of Order, but simplified) for all meetings of the HLA. This is being suggested because presently we have no rules as to how to conduct business at our meetings, and several BOG meetings this past year were somewhat disorderly. Ex: During a contentious discussion at the beginning of the September meeting, the president declared the meeting adjourned without a motion and vote, and verbally resigned his position (which he later rescinded). Having some simple rules to follow should alleviate this type of problem in the future. See Democratic Rules of Order Here.
Committee Meetings: A member suggested that committee meetings be held at a place that is convenient to the public (Old Town Hall, Burr school, etc.,) as opposed to members' homes, and that all committee meeting schedules, agenda, and minutes be published on the website to conform with FOIA rules.
Membership/Voting Lists: A member voiced concerns that membership lists and voting lists are not accurate and should be resolved before the May Annual Meeting. See the member's statement in the March BOG meeting minutes.
Septic Pumping: Request for bids for 2023-24 fiscal year septic pumping have been sent out to six companies.
Bank Accounts: The treasurer and vice president will look into finding a bank that will offer higher interest rates than our current bank, Citizens.
Turtle Crossing Signs: The Wildlife Management Committee requested and received approval for the purchase and installation of two turtle crossing signs at each of the two causeways at a cost of $178.00.
Past Motions
Motions made and voted on at BOG meetings as taken from meeting minutes as posted on the HLA official website.
April 24, 2023
A motion to waive reading of the March minutes was made by Anthony Grandazzo, and seconded by Lauren Hoynoski. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion to approve March minutes made by Cindy Porriello, seconded by Laurel Hoynoski. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion made to accept April report made by Lauren Hoynoski and seconded by Cindy Porriello. Acceptance of April treasurers unanimously passed.
Bob Kiehm made a motion to table further discussion of this mater [Old Business: Theresa Resnic easment request] until the June meeting and Cindy Porriello seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
[New Business] Anthony Grandazzo made a motion and Laurel Hoynoski seconded motion to discuss changing banks at tonight’s meeting. Vote was unanimous to pursue discussion tonight.
Laurel Hoynoski made a motion to authorize Bob Kiehm to recommend and select a new bank that will provide a high yield account, $75,000 will be placed into a checking or savings account, $25,000 in a 12-month CD. Heather Edelson seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion to table [removal of trees at the dam spillway] made by Laurel Hoynoski, seconded by Cindy Porriello. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion to allocate the money for this project [up to $3500.00 for rip-rap on East Shore Beach] made by Bob Kiehm, seconded by Anthony Grandazzo. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion to approve request by Peter [Lombardo to install an 8' fence at 378 Hidden Lake Road] after the trees are removed and according to section 52C of our bylaws made by Anthony Grandazzo. Motion seconded by Laurel Hoynoski. Vote was 6 to approve, 1 abstention. Motion passed. [Names not given]
A motion to accept this proposed [2023-24] budget for presentation at the annual meeting was made by Cindy Porriello, and seconded by Heather Edelson. Proposed budget unanimously approved.
Proposed bylaw amendments with the exception of 48A made by Laurel Hoynoski and seconded by Heather Edelson. This motion passed unanimously.
Motion to adjourn the meeting made by Anthony Grandazzo, seconded by Laurel Hoynoski at 9:50pm [No vote given]
Life Jackets Required Oct 1 - May 31
on Manually Propelled Vessels
Boating Reminder - Per CT State Law:
During the period from October 1st through May 31st, all persons on board a manually propelled vessel must wear a Type I, II, III or V, U.S. Coast Guard approved personal flotation device and no operator, or owner or user of a manually propelled vessel shall allow any person to be aboard who is not wearing such a device.
The Hidden Lake Association was incorporated in 1937 by the Connecticut State Legislature as a special taxing district. The Association's mission is to provide for the maintenance and improvements of the lake, beaches, and roadways, and for the health, comfort, protection and convenience of our members. The lake, beaches, and roads of the Association are private, and are available only for residents and guests of the Association.