For those of you who attended the 2010 Annual BLHA Meeting in January, you know the membership approved building bathrooms at the beach and, given funding, approved building a new pavilion. I'm writing to update you on the status of these projects, and to provide you with additional information regarding the full plan for the beach.

All work on topography, soil sample and engineering for the septic design has been completed, and the septic application was submitted to the county the week of March 8. We expect to obtain the permit within a few weeks. Once this permit has been secured, we will request a building permit from the city. Once we have the building permit, we can begin construction. We expect the bathroom project to take approximately ten (10) weeks to complete.

In addition to the bathrooms, BLHA plans a fundraiser to solicit money for the pavilion. We have already received approximately $5,000 in donations so we are off to a good start. Look for more information on the fundraiser in the next few weeks.

I've received several questions about why we want to build the bathrooms during a year when the lake level will be down 10 feet. Well, given the limited use of the lake, we actually expect more usage of the beach. Our members live in Berkeley Lake because of the outdoor recreation activities; and the beach area should be a popular spot for picnicking, relaxing, swimming, and playing. Remember the volleyball court gets active use; we recently installed a Bocce Ball court, and we added more picnic tables and the fire pit. It's not only those with boats who use the beach, and we need to serve all members. For those who think we should wait and build a few years from now, I say, "why not get use of the bathrooms this year – rather than several years from now"? And, of course, with the economy being slow, we believe we are securing lower bids from vendors who will complete the work.

Several have also asked about our plans for the sand portion of the beach area. We plan to bring in extra sand and expand the beach all the way to the water's edge, so the beach will be open for swimming, as usual! In fact, this will be the largest beach area ever available to the swimmers.

We are also investigating ways to get boats on and off the lake, by expanding the boat ramp at the chapel, and we are looking for ways to allow boaters (who still have their boats on the lake) to dock at the beach area.

Additionally, we will be installing new lighting at the beach this spring. We expect to add two light polls to the existing lighting system. This of course will support activities later in the evening and provide additional security for our members.

These are the highlights, although there are several other smaller projects on the list — so never a dull moment. I want to thank those who have been, and continue to stay involved in these projects, and especially those who met at the beach on February 20 for clean-up day. This was an all-day affair, and we were able to trim the berm, do pre-work at the organic garden, chop and stack fresh firewood, cut grass, remove leaves, clean and re-dress beds, and generally spruce up the grounds. In fact, thanks to Chip and LeAnne McDaniel, we had a nice post-clean up picnic.... the first of the season!

The snow and cold will end, and I'm sure our members will be ready to get out, catch a few rays and enjoy a hot dog and cold beverage at the beach. See you there.