President's Corner

       Updated September 23, 2003

Previous issues: January 2002, March 2002, April 2002, May 2002, June 2002, July 2002, September 2002, November 2002 , January 2003,  March 2003, April 4 2003, April 28 2003

HB 4141/SB 481

The Michigan Senate has already returned for the fall session and the House is scheduled next week. That signals the opportunity for public hearings by our elected state officials. Rest assured the HLPOA has been working very hard with "key" legislators in both the Senate and House during summer recess in an effort to schedule public hearings on HB 4141 and SB 481 (proposed road end legislation) in the coming months.

Currently, Representative John Stakoe's bill (HB 4141) rests in the House Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Committee, chaired by Representative Susan Tabor. Senator Wayne Kuiper's bill (SB 481) is assigned to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs, chaired by Senator Patricia Birkholz. We've been advised that both these committees plan to hold formal hearings. In a recent meeting with Senator Michelle McManus she agreed to would contact Senator Birkholz and encourage her to schedule the Senate hearing in the near term.

As soon as I receive word on the scheduled dates I will announce the time and place on this web site so interested members can plan to attend. Obviously, the HLPOA plans to aggressively support these bills. We understand that representatives from the DNR, DEQ, Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) and the Michigan Township Association (MTA) are also supportive of this legislation, where public roads terminate at the water's edge of Michigan's inland lakes and streams.

POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (PAC):

I'm pleased to report that HLPOA members in attendance at our Annual meeting voted unanimously to adopt bylaws that will permit the Higgins Lake Property Owners' Association to create a Higgins Lake Political Action Committee (HLPAC).

I believe we are the first lake association in Michigan to enter the political arena by filing formal application with the state and federal governments. This is a major step toward establishing a mechanism that will allow members of the HLPOA to provide election support to those candidates who share the same concerns and views in the protection of our natural resource . . . Higgins Lake. A task the HLPOA has willingly pursued at the local and state levels since its formal establishment in 1935.

More detail information on the newly formed PAC will be forthcoming in our newsletter, Water Lines, and at this web site.

Ken Dennings,

President Higgins Lake Property Owners' Association