Hickory Lake Campground Cooperative Association

Good Afternoon HLCCA,

First and foremost I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe and healthy.

Amidst these unprecedented and constantly changing times with the COVID -19 pandemic, we are working towards opening the campground.

WATER TURN ON –  Currently the plan is to make repairs to our water system over the  weekend of 4/11.  If frost is out of the ground and below freezing temps are out of the forecast we are shooting to turn water on weekend of 4/18.

DOCKS –  We are shooting for the weekend of 4/25

* Please keep in mind these are dates we are shooting for  and may change.  We will update dates as conditions change. And will post when tasks are complete.*  Unlike the southern portion of the state Aitkin area still has some snow, ice fishing is getting close to ending with 12-18 inches of ice on lakes and the shoreline areas starting to break up.  Also after Tuesday the area has forecasted low temps in the 20’s for the whole following week.

SHOWER HOUSE – At this time there is no plan to open the shower house early.  Meaning it will not be open until we can get staff onsite and water on to the rest of the campground. For the safety of our community , with CDC routine cleaning needed for those facilities, staff needs to be on hand to maintain.

LAUNDRY – We are reaching out to our laundry service vendor and the county to figure out a safe plan to operate the laundry area.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT – In this time when people’s jobs are being directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic we understand some may have some difficulty with making association dues/assessment payments. If this is the case please reach out to the treasurer or the board to figure out a plan to help. This  plan is to help with association dues/assessments, items like boat slip rental and canoe/kayak spots the board considers them a luxury item and if you unable to make that payment on time please allow it to roll in to the next available person that is able to.

I know we all are anxious for the start of the season.Sadly as much as we all would like the coronavirus to magically disappear, I am afraid it is here  for awhile and seemingly making changes to our normal everyday life daily. Your patience and positive attitude is greatly appreciated as we navigate through a few extra hurdles this year. We will update you of changes as they come.

Stay safe, stay healthy

Ed

All,

Ed

Good Evening HLCCA,

Most of you are aware of, but some that reside out of state at this time of year may not be.  Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz authorized Executive order 20-20 “Stay at Home” Yesterday. It goes into effect Friday March 27,at 11:59 PM until April 10 at 5:00 PM.  This date can/may be extended. 

With this order in place the campground will remain closed. Once this order is lifted we hope to get started on getting things ready to open.  Keep in mind the six plus inches of snow on the ground and the frost needs to go away.

We are working through many changes in regards to COVID-19. The scenarios are constantly changing.  We will keep you up to date as we can.

Have a good night and stay healthy

Ed

Just to give everyone a heads up, the projects below are scheduled for work during the summer of 2020 and may affect your travel time to HLC.

Hwy 169 — near Milaca

Description: Install Reduced Conflict Intersections (RCI) at Mille Lacs Co. Rd. 11 north of Milaca, and Co. Rd. 12 and Co. Rd. 13 south of Milaca.
Traffic impacts: Lane closures
Construction dates: May-June 2020
More information: mndot.gov/d3/projects/rci/h169

Hwy 169 — Vineland

Description: Install pedestrian High Intensity Activated Crosswalk System (HAWK) system at Hwy 169/Ataage Dr. in Vineland. Project led by Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Traffic impacts: Single lane or shoulder closures
Construction dates: Late summer 2020
More information: mndot.gov/d3/hottopics/hawk.html

Hwy 47 — Isle to Ogilvie

Description: Reconstruct 22 miles of road surface, improve road access and update drainage between Hwy 27/47 in Isle and Hwy 23 in Ogilvie. Replace two bridges near Ann Lake.
Traffic impacts: Detour(s)
Construction dates: May through November 2020
More information: mndot.gov/d3/projects/h47isletoogilvie

Hwy 18

Hwy 18 — Malmo 

Description: Replace the Hwy 18 bridge west of Malmo, along northern Mille Lacs Lake, Aitkin County.
Construction dates: July-August 2020
Traffic impacts: Detour

More information: mndot.gov/d3/projects/malmo

Hwy 18 — East of Brainerd

Description: Replace bridge over Portage Creek west of Hwy 6
Traffic impacts: Detour
Construction dates: July-August 2020
More information: mndot.gov/d3/projects/2020/h18

Pine-Hickory Lakes Roadside Parking Area (2019)

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Pine-Hickory (PDF)
Original Construction: 1938
Designed by: Arthur Nichols, Consulting Landscape Architect
Constructed by: National Youth Administration (NYA)

Project scope: The Pine Hickory RPA Rehabilitation will restore several historic stone features, repave the parking area and make accessibility improvements to the picnic area and portable toilets. A degraded paved trail will be re-paved, while other trails will remain turf, or soft surface. A new fishing pier will be installed by the picnic table. This project has been designed to meet the Secretary of Interior Standards for Rehabilitation. The roadside parking area on Little Pine Lake will be closed during construction. The gravel access and boat launch on Hickory Lake will remain open and is not being worked on. Construction is planned for summer 2019.

Construction update: Nov. 1, 2019. Construction is complete! There may be some smaller repairs or corrective work at the site but this work should not impact visitor use of the site. Read more about the site on this link to the new interpretive sign:

• Pine-Hickory Lakes roadside parking area

All,

Due to some last minute scheduling conflicts the date, and location of the February board meeting has changed.

Date: February 27, 2020

Time: 7:00 PM

Please check your email for the location.

Think Spring!

Ed

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving,

The board members met for a brief organizational meeting this past Thursday. We decided on the following organizational items.

Board member term lengths

Ed Gangl – Three years

Jim   Boldenow – Three years

Kathy Duderstadt

Officer election/ appointment for 2020

Ed Gangl – President

Scott Berge – Vice President

Jim Boldenow – Treasurer

Committee appointments

Grounds – Kurt Wuollet 

Structural/Buildings – Scott Berge

Gardening/Landscaping – Kathy Duderstadt

Social/Activities – Jim Boldenow

Overflow – Ed Gangl

A few dates we put out there to have on our calendars:

Board meeting

Date: February 19, 2020

Time : 7:00 PM

Location: To be confirmed

Owners special meeting

Date: Sunday, May 24, 2020

Time: 10:00 AM

Location:  HLC Gathering Room

Owners Annual Meeting

Date: Saturday, September 19, 2020

Time:  10:00 AM

Location:  HLC Gathering Room

Have a great day,

Ed

Good Evening HLC,

Good evening HLC owners,

Have I got a great opportunity for you all. Sunday, November 24, at 8 AM Sean will be coordinating water shut off to the shower house. We are looking for some volunteers to help with this. It is a great opportunity to learn more about the workings of our great campground.

A response is appreciated, if you can make it, Otherwise just show up at the campground at 8 AM on Sunday.

Thank you for your help,

Ed Gangl

The 2019 Board of Directors election for HLCCA is underway.  All site owners should have received an electronic ballot via email.  If you did not receive a ballot please notify the website administrator via email from this link.  Voting ends on November 19th at 12:00 AM and results will be emailed out to everyone shortly thereafter.

I have a correction to make from Saturdays annual meeting. Water to the sites will be getting shut off to the sites on Sunday October 6th. I was informed that the compressor we use was unavailable for the 13th. With caution in mind with unpredictable weather it got reserved for the 6th. At this time the shower house will still continue to be open until November.

I have been trying to schedule the dock guy for October 5th but have been having troubles getting through to his phone number. As soon as I get through to him I will update with the dock schedule.

I apologize for the inconvenience
Ed