1,700 Oakland homeowners to be assessed for lakes’ maintenance
February 2, 2012, 8:52 AM
By Philip DeVencentis Staff Writer |
Franklin Lakes – Oakland Suburban News
OAKLAND – Almost 1,700 property owners are being forced to ante up to maintain two lakes owned by Ramapo Mountain Lakes Inc., though some say they never visit the lakes or even benefit from their existence.
Crystal Lake, encircled by Lakeshore Drive, and the much smaller Mirror Lake, between Hiawatha Boulevard and Calumet Avenue, are just a mile apart.
But the lake association oversees far more land.
The lake association was incorporated in 1944 by National House & Farms Association Inc., a developer that acquired 700 acres in the borough seven years before to create a private summer colony.
Stock was issued to each lot purchaser, and according to the lake association’s certificate of incorporation, “Any present or future owner of [stock] in this corporation shall be obligated to sell, transfer or assign his or her shares of [stock] at the same time he or she sells, transfers or assigns title to his or her property in Ramapo Mountain Lakes, Oakland.”
In other words, property owners and their shares are bound together in perpetuity.
“I’ve lived here since 1990, and I have no clue about it,” Linda Giordano told the Borough Council last week, alluding to the complex history of the lake association and her newfound obligation to pay for maintenance of its properties.
Giordano lives on Page Drive, steps away from Indian Hills High School, and about 1-1/2 miles from Mirror Lake.
“I don’t even live by the lakes,” Giordano continued. “And I never joined the lake – I never went to the lake in my whole life that I’ve been here.”
However, Giordano said she received a letter dated Jan. 9 from the lake association informing her that she does, in fact, have a stake in the future of the lakes.
“All property owners in the community have certain privileges and obligations that are associated with property ownership in RML,” the letter states. “The board has determined that a mandatory fair share fee be assessed to all shareholders.”
The lake association is governed by a 12-member board of directors.
The letter states that the lake association’s financial responsibilities are being met voluntarily by beach club members and lakefront homeowners. However, the letter states, increasing costs associated with maintaining the lakes have compelled the board to seek other sources of revenue.
Giordano and her fellow shareholders were invited to a private lake association meeting at Valley Middle School last week to find out exactly how much they will have to pay.
According to one of the shareholders who attended the meeting, the lake association presented the following annual fee structure: residents who live on Crystal Lake will be asked to pay $370-$380, residents who live on Mirror Lake $110-$120, and all others will contribute $55-$65.
It is unclear when shareholders will have to begin paying their fees, but according to the lake association’s attorney, Eileen McCarthy Born, they might be charged as soon as next month, after the board finalizes its budget and holds its reorganization meeting.
“RML is optimistic that these residents will see the value of paying to maintain the lakes,” said Born, who represents 45 lake associations throughout the state. “Maintenance of the common properties enhances everyone’s individual property values.”
Born said the lake association’s recent decision to ask all property owners to pay dues is supported by case law.
White Meadow Lake in Rockaway Township also was developed by National House & Farms Association Inc., Born said.
White Meadow Lake Property Owners Association Inc. has been challenged regarding its right to collect dues from all property owners. In 1968, a judge ruled that White Meadow Lake property owners’ obligation to pay dues was unenforceable. However, the decision was reversed on appeal.
“It is clear from the contract of sale…and the deed executed in conformity therewith, that anyone purchasing property in the development automatically becomes a member of the country club and the association and is obligated to pay a proportionate share of the maintenance charges for the recreational facilities,” the court concluded.
Born said one of the rising expenses the local lake association is anticipating is for repairs of two dams, pipes – essentially – that empty water from Crystal Lake into the Ramapo River.
Historically, the dams have been controlled by the lake association. But representatives of the lake association and local officials agreed last year – amid an uproar by lakefront homeowners who complained that the lake association was negligent in its attention to the dams, causing flooding and, in turn, property damage – that the borough would assume responsibility for opening the dams in case of heavy rain. The lake association would still have to shut them.
The caveat of the arrangement was that the lake association would have to fix the dams before the borough ordered its Department of Public Works personnel to open them.
In a report issued in December, and prepared by the borough’s engineering consultant, South Hackensack-based Boswell Engineering, valves at both dams were found to be “very difficult to open.” Therefore, the engineer recommended installation of turn-key handles with locks.
In addition, the engineer reported, railings on concrete barriers adjacent to the dams were found to be “loose” and in need of tightening to meet federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards.
The engineer also recommended replacing light fixtures around one of the dams and clearing debris from around the other.
The borough paid $1,200 for the engineer’s report. It does not estimate the cost of repairs.
“They sent the report to RML’s engineer at the beginning of the month, and we are waiting for their response,” Borough Administrator Richard Kunze said last week.
Meanwhile, some lakefront homeowners are at a loss, as they are still picking up pieces of their homes after the last flood.
“I don’t even know what the word is,” said Lakeshore Drive resident Denise Vulgaris. “We don’t have Sheetrock up right now because it’s too depressing to lose everything every time it floods. And then to be told you have to pay to live here – it’s just not right.”
Vulgaris said her home, which overlooks Crystal Lake, has been flooded 12 times in 14 years.
“It’s like a war zone down here,” said Vulgaris, one of more than 80 borough residents who applied for a buyout from the state Department of Environmental Protection. “People are actually looking to give their shares away, but I couldn’t sell my home. I couldn’t give it away. It’s pitiful.”
Like some of her neighbors, Vulgaris said draining Crystal Lake may be the best option.
But, argued Born, “That doesn’t make sense. The stigma of a lake that has been drained would negatively impact all properties in the area. Decommissioning a dam and draining a lake is a significant cost that would be assessed to all homeowners.”
And, Born said, draining Crystal Lake would not stop the course of its sources, such as Allerman Brook, which flows directly into it.
“It wouldn’t be the park-like field that people envision,” she said. “It would be a swampy mess. I’m not sure people understand the negative impact to property values that would have.”
Devencentis@northjersey.com
© 2015 North Jersey Media Group
