YLPA Membership Dues
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You are invited to join the Yankee Lake Preservation Association, Inc. Paying your annual dues means that you are paying your fair share of the costs associated with maintaining the dam, water quality, privacy, local taxes and so forth. All of this serves to enhance your property values.
The property surrounding Yankee Lake was subdivided in the 1890s and early 1900s. Certain of those property lots were granted rights to use Yankee Lake as part of their property deed. Some lots had direct access to the Lake, while others had access strictly through the use of designated rights-of-way to the Lake. These Lake rights have been passed down through the years as properties have changed hands.
The Yankee Lake Preservation Association, Inc. (YLPA) is an association of those property owners who have a right to use Yankee Lake by virtue of their property deeds. This association of property owners was incorporated as a non-profit organization under the State of New York, established By-Laws for the operation of the organization, and elected a Board of Directors to deal with the finances of the organization and all other day-to-day affairs. This association of property owners purchased the Lake, the dam, some of the rights-of-way, and several other pieces of property related to the preservation and maintenance of the area.
The waters of Yankee Lake are held back by an earthen dam that was constructed in the mid-1800s as part of the support infrastructure of the Delaware and Hudson Canal. Whenever there is a population downstream from a dam, regardless of the actual risk of dam failure, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) designates dams protecting those downstream populations as "High Hazard" dams. The dam at Yankee Lake is a designated high hazard dam. There are significant State regulations that apply to High Hazard Dams.
Please see the chart below, which depicts in graphical form how 2009 dues were spent. First and foremost, your Association, as owner of the Lake and its dam, has the responsibility to maintain the safety and integrity of the dam. This requires annual maintenance work, strict compliance with State law regarding such structures, and appropriate reserve funds as defined by the State. Then, there is liability insurance. And fire insurance on the Club House. Legal and other professional fees. Then the Lake Patrol, to ensure your private lake stays private. Postage. Water quality testing and other environmental expenses. Only 12% goes toward fish stocking, concerts, the children's program, and other activities and events.
