Hickory Lake Campground Cooperative Association

Ice Out

Ice out for Hickory Lake was declared on the afternoon of April 23rd, 2019.  Average ice out date from all records is April 18 so this year was only about five days behind the median.

Employee and Water Update

Good Evening,
It is looking and feeling more like Spring every day!
The water to the shower house will be turned on this Saturday, April 27th. Water to individual sites will depend on frost conditions and will be assessed at the time the shower house is opened. If you are interested in helping out with this, please seek out Scott Berge, site 3.
Also, we have hired David Ondris as our full time caretaker for the summer. David grew up in Pilager, MN and has been a full time RVer for the past 15 years. David, his girlfriend Lynn and their two dogs will be joining us early to mid May.
David’s days off will be Sunday and Monday. Scott Bjork, site 47, will be overseeing the campground and taking care of the necessities, including the pool, on those two days. Also, Wyatt will be returning this summer to assist with lawn mowing and other tasks as needed.
Reminder to please drive with care around the campground. We do not yet have a date, but there are plans for road repair this spring.
There is also no date set for returning the docks to the water. The floating docks are in need of repair and we are looking at our options. Getting the docks out and their repair will require volunteers; we will keep you posted.
All for now, Bobbie

RCV Spacing & Aitkin County Ordinances and Permits

As the season grows closer, I am sure many of you are itching to get to the lake.  Some of you may be buying new campers, planning some landscaping, possibly building a deck, or putting in a new shed.

In the case of some of our new seasonal renters you may be moving in for the first time.  Welcome to Hickory Lake!

With all this in mind, here is information regarding obtaining permits from Aitkin County for potential projects as well as a guide to spacing of your recreational camping vehicle (RCV).  A couple of things I will point out:

  • Your shed and deck are considered part of your RCV by Aitkin County.
  • Even though HLCCA has a setback of two feet from the property line, the ordinance states you must be ten feet away from another RCV (so you may have to plan for 8′ of space at the edge of your property line).
  • There is a ten foot setback from the road.
  • If you own or rent property on the outside boundary of HLC, there is a 30′ setback.

When in doubt, before moving or constructing anything, contact Aitkin County (information below as well as on the Aitkin County Information page of this site).  A quick five minute phone call could save yourself a huge headache down the road.

 

Jim A


Aitkin County Information

Permits

Prior to submitting a permit application to the county please submit the Request for Lot Alterations to the board for approval.

Aitkin County has now put their permit applications online.  Please follow the link below to begin your application for a deck, shed, or other alterations that may require county approval.  If in doubt on whether you need a permit, please contact the Aitkin County Planning and Zoning Department.

https://pzpermit.co.aitkin.mn.us/index.php

Aitkin County Planning & Zoning / Environmental Services
209 2nd Street NW, Room 100
Aitkin, MN  56431
Phone:  218-927-7342

Local & County Ordinances and Other Information

Aitkin County Ordinances for RCA’s (Recreational Camping Areas) 

RCA (Recreational Camping Area) Spacing Aitkin County Fact Sheet

Aitkin County 2017 Update to Permit Process

Aitkin County Recreational Camping Areas Update 2019

Aitkin County 2019 Permit Fee Schedule

Aitkin County Online Permitting FAQ

Aitkin County Shoreland Homeowners Guide to Lake Stewardship

Spring Updates

Good Evening,
Just wanted to send out a couple updates:
1. The board meeting was moved to this Saturday, April 13th  due to conflicts with the previously scheduled date.
2. As of now the shower house is not open and there is no water access on the campground. The soonest the shower house will be open is April 20th; however, there is no guarantee. We are monitoring the weather and are reassessing this weekly.
More to come,
Bobbie

Happy Spring ?

It is officially Spring; however, in many places it does not look much like it, including in my own yard. The latest word is the campground still has a lot of snow that needs to go. Some nicer temps during the day are certainly helping; however, it continues to drop below freezing at night and looks like it will stay that way into the foreseeable forecast.

According to our Rules and Regulations, water will be turned on April 30th if weather conditions allow. We will continue to monitor the weather and conditions at the campground. If weather/frost permits we will look at turning the water on sooner…hopefully no later!

I want to remind everyone to please use extra care throughout our property this Spring. As it starts to thaw, the roads and grounds will be extra wet and soft; hopefully with a little extra attention we can avoid significant damage.

New this season, we have contracted with PLM Lake and Land Management to assist us in weed control at the beach and around the slip docks. They will be out twice during the season to apply DNR approved chemical applications. There are no restrictions to the use of the water, swimming, fishing, etc during these times. Please see the sample notice that will be posted by PLM at the time of the application (attached).

I was hoping to provide you with information on our new caretaker(s); however, the people who we had onboard recently backed out. We have reposted and have received a lot of interest. More to come…

I can tell you though that Scott Bjork is retiring this spring (Congrats Scott!) and will be at the campground full time this summer. He has agreed to fill in for the full time caretaker(s) during their two days off.

Reminder, we will have our first owners gathering over Memorial Day weekend. More details will be provided closer to that time.

Finally, the board will be meeting on Saturday, April 20th at 10:00 AM at Carolyn Tonneson’s to discuss/finalize employee schedules, training/orientation, etc. and make sure we have what we need covered to start the season.

Can’t wait to get back to the lake!

Bobbie

 

PLM Notice

Updated Documents

New documents that reflect changes approved by the HLCCA Board of Directors as it pertains to the seasonal rental of sites as well to the process of selling your site have been uploaded to the members area

2019 Construction Projects in the Aitkin Area

Pine-Hickory Lakes Roadside Parking Area (2019)

Pine-Hickory Lakes Roadside Parking Area

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: A pre-bid meeting was held at the Baxter D3A District Office, on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019 at 10 a.m.. Construction may begin in March and continue through September 2019.

 

Garrison Pedestrian Underpass (2018-19)

Garrison Pedestrian Underpass Rehabilitation

Construction Update: Jan. 9, 2019 The stone masonry restoration on the bridge is complete. Fabrication of replacement steel for reinforcing the bridge arch caused delays in the work. The concrete bridge deck was unable to be completed in the 2018 season. A temporary asphalt surface has been installed to pave the bridge over the winter. The final concrete bridge deck will be completed in the Summer of 2019.

 

Hwy 18 & Hwy 47 — Malmo

July-October 2019UPDATE FEB 2019 – MnDOT recently sent a postcard to local customers that showed the project would take two separate years to complete.  But good news, now it will only take one. MnDOT has come up with a new schedule so both can be done this year. First the Hwy 47 bridge, then the Hwy 18 bridge. Learn about the detour

Summary of work

  • Replace the Hwy 47 bridge over the Morman Creek, north of Malmo, with two new box culverts
  • Replace the Hwy 18 bridge over the Morman Creek, west of Malmo with a new box culvert

More information: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/d3/projects/malmo/

 

Whitefish Creek Bridge Rehabilitation

Project Scope: The Whitefish Creek Bridge will be rehabilitated. Historic stone will be repaired and repointed, including bridge abutments, walks and guardrail stone wall. The bridge deck and approach lanes will be reconstructed and an integral Wyoming guardrail will be installed. This project has been designed to meet the Secretary of Interior Standards for Rehabilitation. Construction is planned for summer 2019.

Construction Update: Dec. 13, 2018. This project has been awarded to Environmental Associates, Inc. Construction will take place in 2019. Lane closures will be used to keep traffic open on the bridge during construction, but travelers on this area of Hwy 169 should expect delays.

Board Meeting January 26, 2019

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends!

With 2019 upon us, the board is busy securing caretakers for the upcoming season. The next board meeting, January 26th, will primarily be focused on this task.

Other things on the agenda include:

Budget Update
Review of the rules and regulations
Opening the season – tasks/to do list
Floating Docks – estimate
Mosquito Spray – estimate
DNR Permit/weed control
Insurance Review

Updated Rules & Regulations

An updated document has been posted in the owners area of the website. Please review this document as it contains the latest changes that were discussed and voted on at the last board meeting.

HLCCA Board Meeting

Hope everyone is staying warm! As Carolyn stated in a previous email, there will be a board meeting at Carolyn’s home at 12:30pm on Saturday, November 17th. The agenda will include the following:

MEETING

  1. Call to Order
  2. 2019 Board Officers
  3. 2019 Proposed Budget
  4. 2019 Employees
  5. Approval of Membership Application Fee word change
  6. Rules/Regulations
    1. Feedback from Owners
    2. Potential Updates /Changes
  7. Other Business
  8. Adjourn
Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! Bobbie