by Melissa DeSimone, MLSA Executive Director
Representatives from 16 lakes in Southwest Michigan came together on Saturday, September 14th for their semi-annual region meeting held at the Porter Township hall in Van Buren County. The group was led by Craig DeSimone of Gravel Lake and saw many other returning faces as well as some new ones from area lakes.
There was even representation from Harwood Lake that just voted to create a lake association weeks before our region meeting. We were also visited by Rex Vaughn from Cedar Lake in Alcona and Oscoda Counties, who traveled 5 hours to visit with our region so he can start a similar meeting in his area.
Some of the topics on the minds of the representatives included lake levels (drains, spillways, etc), boating etiquette, legal fund/legal issues, insurance, funneling/key-holing issues, membership growth, and swimmers itch. The meeting was held in a round table fashion where each lake had the opportunity to talk about their issues and offer their thoughts on the issues facing other lakes while enjoying some coffee, donuts, and networking.
The group was joined by Paul Sniadecki and Dave Maturen, both directors of MLSA and members of lakes in the region, who provided an up-to-date report of the work MLSA is doing regarding issues of CLMP funding, short term rental operations, and our AIS database.
The next Region 3 (southwest Michigan) meeting will be May 16, 2020 and all are invited to come join the discussion. You can contact Craig DeSimone (cucad4@hotmail.com) or Melissa DeSimone (melissa.desimone@mlswa.org) to be added to the region email list or for more information about the meeting.
NORTHEAST MICHIGAN
Several Lake Associations in NorthEast lower Michigan have expressed a possible interest in having MLSA Regional meeting in their area. MLSA has agreed to explore the level of interest. If you would like to participate in such a meeting contact MLSA at: info@mlswa.org. Additionally, Rex Vaughn, Cedar Lake, in Alcona/Iosco County, cell 810-516-6686, has agreed to facilitate questions and answers for lakes in his area. If there is a sustainable level of interest, MLSA will assist in coordinating Regional Meetings in Northest Michigan.
If other parts of the state have a similar interest, please contact MLSA at: info@mlswa.org