July 29, 2011
Over the years many
changes have come to our lovely park, Rock River Leisure Estates.
The developers
started with Motor Homes only in Section One, and, when business did not move,
they made it a full RV park with permanent housing and vacation cottage lots on
the outer area of the park. It was set up with 15000 SQ.FT for houses, 9000
SQ.FT for cottages and less than 9000 SQ.FT for Recreational Vehicles (RVs).
Then, along came the second phase with more RV sites and much more common
ground. During the late 70's sales were completed on almost all sites in the
park.
In 1981, the
developers turned over the park to the owners of the park via the board of
directors. Along with the turnover came the Covenants, Rules and Regulations of
the park as set forth by the developers. Some of these requirements came about
due to the state of Wisconsin and the county of Rock.
Today, we are in
the 21st Century. For those of us who came here in the 70's, there
have been many changes, some were good, and, others that were remarkable! There
is no doubt we, as a park, must make changes to keep up with the needs of
people that like estate living. To most of us, that includes living here either
weekends, weekly, monthly or yearly. One of the changes that have come about is
the change of life in senior citizens. In most of the last Century, when people
became old, they lived with one of their children until death. Since then, more
and more seniors have turned to living in estates and condos. I might add that
my wife and I live in a condominium of single family housing and love it. When
one of us passes away, the other will remain and enjoy the comradely of the
condo.
In our park, the
changes towards senior citizen living began when we allowed twelve foot units
on 6,000 sq. ft. sites. Then, at a later date, we allowed add-a-rooms .By
adding the room; most units had up to eight hundred square feet of living area.
Many people in our park found this to be the perfect residence for their senior
years. Since then, many Park Models have been built into fixed buildings with
all the amenities of any house in Edgerton. The county must have known when
they required 6000 Sq. Ft. and the houses in Edgerton are only on 5000 Sq.
Ft.(PS,They knew what they were doing!!)
Well, now we stand
here, saying that Senior Citizens cannot live in RRLE year around because our
Covenants do not allow year around living on 6000 Sq Ft. lots. Many of us agree
that if a RV is parked on the lot, it is not for year around living. How do you
determine a RV lot from a Permanent Park Model (PPM) site? If it is easily
moveable, it is a Recreational Vehicle.
In the mid nineties
the state of Wisconsin and Rock County took action on units in our park and put
them on the annual tax roles. They took units, such as park models, and placed
them in the Tax Category of Residential Single Family. At the same time, they
told us we did not need the thirty-two dollar plate on the RV license. Many of
us tried to convince the County and State that we were RV's. They told us that II if you cannot move the vehicle in four
hours, you are a taxable building" end of discussion! It was determined
the county receives about $600,000 because of the change to taxable building.
Truly, the biggest
change in our park is the move to permanent buildings instead of RV's on the
6000 sq. ft. sites. Question for all-what will it take to place a new category
of units to our Covenants? This is where PPM enters in---PERMANENT PARK MODELS.
In order to get this approved will require several items: first, a solid
definition of what is a PPM-second, a presentation to the total membership at
the annual meeting for a positive vote---third, upon approval, enter the new
PPM to the Covenants of RRLE.
Continuation of the
PPM proposal---
What is a
PPM---This is a park model with attachment or a unit the size of a park model
that has been rebuilt with an add-a-room.
A. Inside measurement is 800 to 1000
square feet
B. Residence for 2 people and one of the
people must be 55 yrs. or over
C. Register in Wisconsin as single family residence, FFM should be insured and in good condition
D. Comes under the ruling of Wis. Stat
70.043
E. Has exterior full size AIC and
Furnace
F. Must rest upon concrete or concrete
blocks and skirted
G. Permanent connection to utilities
Presentation:
A. Send a copy to all members of the park
B. Makes arrangements to have approval of the FFM proposal on NEW BUSINESS at the next annual meeting, May 26, 2012
C. Do a straw test by E-mail of members interested in FFM
New Covenant:
When PPM becomes a part of our Covenants the nasty and troubles that
have taken place in RRLE will melt away and we all can call this HOME, daily or
once in a while.
In closing, there
is one corporation that must have faith in our proposal=
---- They are putting more electric power in
for PPM I!!!!!
Dick Ahrens
Past president and
member of the RRLE BOD