Potawatomi Property Owners, Assoc. PPOA 2026 Island Lake Road DRUMBEAT NEWSLETTER Apply Postage Here Board Members President Richard Tello 8091 Dawn Avenue E Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076 Phone: 651-552-0774 E-Mail:rftello@aol.com PPOA CONTACT INFORMATION Treasurer Roberta DeLizio 2145 Beaver Trail Phone: 715-795-2842 Vice-President Robert Somers 1865 Island Lake Road Phone: 715-795-3429 E-Mail: somersanne@gmail.com Director Jane Juntunen 55775 East Island Lake Drive Phone: 715-795-2065 Cell Phone: 507-327-7148 E-Mail: jmbjhnsn@hotmail.com Managing Director Vern Wilcox 2026 Island Lake Road Phone: 715-795-2542 E-Mail: wilcoxvf@msn.com Secretary Nancy Collyard 55955 East Island Drive Phone: 715-795-2476 E-Mail: ncollyard.ppoa@gmail.com Director William Schilling 2030 Island Lake Road Phone: 608-348-6326 or 608-778-4134 E-Mail: william.schilling@icloud.com PPOA Web Site Address www.potawatomipropertyowners.com E-Mail address for Reservations ppoarentals@potawatomipropertyowners.com Address for Rental & Assessment Checks 2026 Island Lake Road
Managers Memo Greetings from Potawatomi. In spite of the almost daily rain we continue to move forward with our improvements. The lakes continue to rise and the woods are green and lush. After completing the new roof on the Lodge last fall and restoring the beach on the island we started this spring by replacing torn screens and installing all new windows in the Caretaker. We also put a new deck on the main dock and rebuilt the attached tables. Once again Jeff and Dawn Pittman have come through and have just about completed the new roof on the Wannigan in spite of the rain. We have postponed the completion until Labor Day so the owners and guests can use it for the summer. We are then planning to rebuild the screen porch on the back and convert it to a three season porch, as well as installing new windows in the kitchen. We will also be replacing some siding and rebuilding the deck on the side going into the screen porch. We are also looking to replace the windows in the Cedarwood. Don t forget our annual Discover Potawatomi picnic on July 22 nd. We welcome back author and historian, James A. Brakken, who will be giving a presentation on saving lakes and streams, as well as talking about his new book, Alias Ray Olson, the story about the famous manhunt in the Chequamegon Forest back in 1939. As always there will be plenty of food, drink and fun. Be sure to bring your lawn chair. Once again I would like to thank those special volunteers who work to keep Potawatomi a special place. Jeff and Dawn Pittman who work to keep the island clean & neat, reroofing buildings and mowing the golf course, just to name a few. Wade Juntunen for mowing the screen porch and archery range, George Rader for mowing the Fire Sign area, my wife Barbara for handling the food and drink for the picnic, as well as fielding the many phone calls and Jim Lancour for his help with the new dock and being there whenever I call for help. In addition to saving us money for other things they are the spirit that makes this a special place. I would also like to thank the board and our many sponsors including our Firewise representatives for their time and support. Vern Wilcox, Managing Director DAY / DATE EVENT DESCRIPTION
Please note our many new sponsors. PPOA greatly appreciates their friendship and support. We encourage all owners to thank and support our sponsors.
ANNUAL SHAREHOLDERS MEETING We will be hosting our annual shareholders meeting for all property owners at the VFW Post 8329 in Barnes on Saturday, August 12, 2017. The VFW is located at 52325 Lake Road in Barnes. There will be coffee and rolls at 9:00 A.M. with the meeting starting promptly at 9:30 A.M. We have a number of items on the agenda that will be of interest to all owners both new and old. Some of those to be reviewed will include: Status of finances to date. Current policy procedures and possible changes and/or updates. Review of capital improvement program including past and future plans. Status of septic improvements on the island. Possible future improvements to the campground. This is a great time to meet other property owners and the Board of Directors as well as be heard on policy decisions and requested priorities. There are also elections for new directors. This is also a great time to thank those people who volunteer their time to preserve the quality of life and beauty of Potawatomi. We plan to have new owner packets available for new owners We welcome your input and look forward to seeing you at the meeting. 183 293 142 3 4 5 6 9
Daily Specials ISLAND AND CABIN ETIQUETTE With the number of property changes and new owners perhaps it is time to review the rules and operating procedures on the island and cabins. The island and beach are for property owners and rental guests only. Parking on the island is by permit only. Owners should be displaying their parking permits on the dashboard and guests are furnished with guest permits for the length of their rental. Violators can be towed. There are 3 properties on the island that are privately owned. One on the south and two on the north. Please respect their privacy and do not trespass Dogs are allowed on the island but not on the beach. Dogs must be leashed at all times. There are no ATV s, boats or trailers allowed on the island. There are two docks on the beach. The large dock on the north is a swimming and fishing dock only. The smaller dock on the south is the boat dock for cabin renters. Owners may use the dock during the day but may not park overnight. The Wannigan Building and the toilet & shower building are available to all property owners all of the time and guests during their stay. Full Island rentals DO NOT have exclusive rights to the Wannigan. These buildings should be cleaned by those people using them. There is a no refund policy on cabin rentals. Be sure of your dates before you make your reservations. Your request will be held for ten days pending receipt of your check. If you cancel during the 10 day period you will be placed on a cash only basis for future reservations. For tax and liability reasons, reservations and payments must be made by property owners only. When making reservations you should specify the number of evening stays you are requesting. Any reconsideration of refunds must be taken to a board meeting for consideration. Cabin rentals come with cleaning materials and supplies. Renters who clean their cabins are refunded their cleaning deposits. Any time spent cleaning the cabins will be deducted from their deposits. A common mistake is to clean the cabin and then remove your personal possessions thereby tracking in sand and dirt while packing. We suggest you remove your possessions and then clean, sweep and mop your way out the door. When checking out of the cabins please lock the cabins and place the keys in the key box on the front of the Wannigan. Check out time is 11:00 A.M. and Check in time is 4:00 P.M. We try to accommodate early check ins and late check outs depending on cabin availabilities but should be cleared in advance. These rules and procedures are meant to provide all property owners and guests with a pleasant experience while using the facilities. Your cooperation is appreciated in helping to accommodate all people and make Potawatomi a place we can all enjoy and be proud of. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.
FIREWISE CHIPPING PROGRAM UPDATE Just a reminder that due to a funding cut from the DNR this year we will only be doing the one brush pick up this fall. That will take place on the weekend of September 9 th & 10 th. For the benefit of our many new owners, here are the simple rules. Brush piles should be stacked by the roadside in front of your property. Please restrict the size of the branches to 4 in diameter and maximum lengths of 6 to 8 feet. The branches should be individual branches stacked to a maximum height of 6 feet in the same direction so they can be pulled apart and fed into the shredder. The chips are then hauled to the campground where they are available to all property owners. There is a surplus of chips at the campground at this time available to all owners. If you wish to have the chips left at your site, contact me, Vern Wilcox, at 715-795-2542 prior to that weekend. This program has been a very successful and popular program. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated in order to keep this program in the future. We hope to be able to offer two (2) pick ups next year.
President s Letter Hello everyone and welcome back to the snowbirds and summer cabin users. Unfortunately there was limited snow this past winter so the snowmobilers and skiers were not so happy. Summer has begun and everything is green. Fishing, boating and all other summer activities are in full swing, so everyone enjoy because summers are short in the north country. I must also say welcome to Potawatomi to all the new property owners. I hope everyone can come to the picnic on July 22 nd. The beach on the island is fabulous and should be an enjoyable place for family fun. I also understand that Island Lake was one of four lakes that were stocked with walleyes so we should have good fishing in a couple years when they mature. The northern, bass and sun fish are sure biting now. Again, welcome back everyone and I hope you have a great, great summer. Rick Tello President, PPOA
James A. Brakken-Lecturer Jim will talk about his new books, Alias Ray Olson and Saving Our Lakes and Streams Be sure to come and welcome back our guest speaker and friend James A Brakken. Jim is a highly regarded author and historian in the area and will be there to present his new books SAVING OUR LAKES & STREAMS 101 PRACTICAL THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY and ALIAS RAY OLSON. ALIAS RAY OLSON is a thrilling new book that tells the story of Wisconsin s largest manhunt that began on the Chippewa Flowage and ended on Lake Namakagon thirteen days later. Jim is a gifted story teller who combines fact with fiction for an exciting story. The picnic will be held at the screen porch on the East side of Island Lake on East Island Drive. There will be plenty of food & drink as always and lot s of fun. Be sure to bring your lawn chair.