Dues & Work Assessments: Dues and Work assessments must be paid before or at the May Meeting. Anyone who has not paid by the May meeting will be dropped. Members are required to work four hours per year or will be assessed $10 per hour ( for a total of $40). Dues are now $25 per member, except for exempt members. Exempt members are those that are 65 or older and have had five years of continuous membership. You need to contact Carol Peterson to adjust your fee statement if you have become an exempt member. If you did not include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your dues, you may pick up your membership card at any meeting. Remember that when a married person applies for membership (or gets married after becoming a member), both are required to pay dues and assessments. This applies to present as well as new members. If your children who are turning 18 want to become members, please have them fill out an application and attend the May meeting. If your children or grandchildren have moved away and are current members, please notify us so we can give other people a chance to join the club!
Lodge/Sauna Keys: The lodge/sauna keys are being replaced in 2012. You may purchase a sauna key at the meetings for $2.50 beginning May 7, 2012. Only one master key per member will be allowed. These keys cannot be duplicated.
Cabins: Cabins 1, 2 and 3 have been rebuilt! They look totally awesome with tongue-and-groove pine on the walls and ceilings, new cabinets, new fixtures, new furniture, and new decks. The bathrooms by the cabins have also been rebuilt! A new policy was voted in at the March meeting requiring a $100 security deposit be put down for each cabin, due at or before Laskiainen. At the end of the week your check will be returned to you if no damage has been sustained to the cabin. If there is damage to the cabin, your check will be cashed to pay for repairs. If you notice damage to one of the cabins when you move in, please contact one of the board members immediately to report it so the damage is not attributed to you. Rent for the cabins is due in full before you move in. No smoking is allowed in the cabins.
Current Addresses: It is important that we have current addresses and phone numbers for all of our members so we can keep you up to date on club activities. We are also interested in obtaining your e-mail addresses. Please contact our membership chair with any new information. (The membership list of names, addresses, and phone numbers will not be posted on our website.)
Meetings: Please come to the meetings so your voice can be heard. Improvements are being made all the time, and everyone's input is needed as the membership makes decisions regarding the club.
Membership Cards & Guests: Members are to have their membership cards with them and are responsible for their guests. Remember the club belongs to you, not your guests; please be respectful of others. A complete list of membership rules and responsibilities are posted in the lodge.
Dogs: Dogs need to be leashed while people are in the swimming area.
Fishing: Fishing is only allowed at the boat landing dock, not the swimming dock.
Sauna: The sauna rules are posted in the sauna; please follow them and be courteous of others. There is a half hour maximum time limit with removal of your belongings afterwards. When swimming, remember to use the boat house changing rooms. No glass bottles and no alcoholic beverages are allowed in the sauna.
Speed Limit: There is a new speed limit set at 5 mph at the club.
Free: Microwave. We replaced the microwave in the lodge with a new smaller version. The one on the shelf is the new one. The free microwave is under the kitchen table in the lodge.
August 1, 2011
FINLANDIA BEACH CLUB
PO BOX 41, SAGINAW, MN
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
August 1, 2011
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 by President Monty Nickerson.
The minutes of the July 11th meeting were approved as read.
The Treasurer Jane Olbrecht reported that as of July 30, 2011, there was $1,226.56 in the checking account, $5,982.97 in the money market account, and $5.16 in savings. There was $307.48 profit from the July Dinner. A complete accounting of the month’s income and expenses is attached.
Membership Chair, Carol Peterson, reported that we currently have a total of 295 members, of which 233 are active, 72 exempt, and 6 military exempt. Because Carol was unsure exactly how many graduates we had this year she chose not to admit any more from the waiting list in order to avoid exceeding the 300 member limit.
Old Business
• Due to several complaints regarding the new policy limiting alcohol consumption to the cabin area only, the change has been made to extend the policy to include the picnic tables and swimming area. Alcohol is still not allowed in the sauna area.
New Business
• When cleaning ashes from the fire pits make sure to remove anything that didn’t burn and that the ashes are cool before taking them out to the woods. Do not leave them on the edge of the field.
• It was suggested that we add some flowers around some of the buildings to help beautify the grounds. A committee was formed which includes Theresa Sarkela, Carol Peterson, Tami Rodd, Kari Osvold, and Carolyn Collumn. The committee will use as many donated perennials as possible to create some gardens on the property. Additional volunteers or donations are welcome.
• Several ideas for helping the membership to get to know each other better, improve communication amongst the membership, and to encourage more members to fulfill their work hours. They included asking all members to attend at least one meeting a year, assigning active members to mentor new members, having a guest book for people to sign when they come to make it easier to put names with faces, and to post the meeting minutes and announcements on the website and in the lodge.
• A sign-up sheet was sent around for the August 21st Meatball Dinner. It was also mentioned that there were not enough helpers for the July dinner. If everyone helps out a little it makes it much easier for everyone.
• The responsibilities of club membership were discussed. They include helping to reduce vandalism by asking people you don’t know if they are members and locking the buildings, especially the saunas, when you are done with them in order to prevent non-members from using the facilities. It was mentioned that it may not be a good idea to continue to allow the children of members to become members automatically once they graduate from high school. It was also stated that any changes to this policy would require a bylaw change and most of the trouble was caused by people in their early to mid twenties many of whom have family who are members, but are not members themselves.
Announcements
• There will be vote on increasing the dues from $10-$25 at the September 12th meeting.
• The Closing will be October 8th. We need at least 20 volunteers.
• All cleaning supplies and garbage bags are kept in the lodge for easy access for all. Toilet paper is in the garage. The garage key is in the lodge.
Ken Klinga won the $5 drawing
The meeting was adjourned at 7:46
Respectfully submitted,
Theresa Sarkela, Secretary
October 3, 2011
FINLANDIA BEACH CLUB
P O BOX 41, SAGINAW, MN
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
October 3, 2011
The meeting was called to order at 7:06 by President Monty Nickerson.
The minutes of the September 12th meeting were read by Secretary, Theresa Sarkela. The location of Laskianen was stated to be the Scanlon Community Center, the actual location will be the Cloquet Armory. The minutes were approved as amended.
The Treasurer Jean Obrecht reported that as of October 2, 2011, there was $2,843.69 in the checking account, $5,482.97 in the money market account, and $5.16 in savings, however several bills were received in the days mail, so the checking balance will go down. There was a $442.17 profit from the August Dinner. A complete accounting of the month’s income and expenses is attached.
Membership Chair, Carol Peterson, reported that the membership is unchanged from September. We currently have a total of 295 members, of which 233 are active, 72 exempt and 6 military exempt. There are currently 64 people on the waiting list.
Old Business
· All sauna wood has been delivered and stacked
· The broken windows in cabins 1 and 3 were replaced. Please be sure to clean the floors in these cabins well on the fall workday to make sure all the broken glass has been removed. The cabin bathrooms have been winterized. The lodge and sauna will be winterized after the workday.
· The 14 ft boat is a liability because there are no floatation seats on the benches, so we will replace it. One of the neighbors has a two year old 12 ft boat for sale for $500. June Ulvi made a motion to purchase the boat. Rod Heitala seconded the motion. Motion passed.
· A sprayer will be installed on the lodge sink after closing.
New Business
· While the garage was locked a high lift jack and two full gas cans were stolen out of it. New locks will be installed on the garage and bathrooms and the keys will be in the lodge.
· Several kettles are missing from the lodge so please return them if you have borrowed them and forgotten to do so. Also, Lorraine wanted to remind everyone that the food supplies from the cabinets are for dinners only. The equipment is here for everyone’s use, but need to stay in the lodge.
· A Halloween Party planning committee was formed. Volunteers are Monty Nickerson, Theresa Sarkela, Nicole Milberger, and Gail Ulvi.
· Closing in next weekend. We need to clean the saunas, lodge, and cabins. Be sure to sign the worklist by then because after that the list is removed from the lodge and it won’t be available for you to add your hours to.
Announcements
· Rod Heitala won the $5 drawing.
Ken Klinga made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Barb Maki seconded the motion. Meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Theresa Sarkela, Secretary