2023 has got off to an unusual start with January coming up full of surprises.
The usual Taupō summer has evaded us here albeit with some sunny days interspersed between the rainy or overcast days.
Then a change of Prime Minister followed by more “Atmospheric Rivers” causing flooding and disruption throughout the upper part of the country. While Lake Edge has been spared any damage, we know that a number of owners have not fared so well with their homes flooded and, in some cases, damaged. On behalf of the ‘Lake Edge Family’ we wish all those who have been affected by the unseasonal January all the best.
Let’s hope that the sun reappears in the North in February for a belated summer.
Updates from Rick Martin End of an Era - Denise Retires
While well signaled at last year’s AGM’s we have now arrived at the time to say farewell to Denise Chisholm, our long-serving Body Corporate Secretary. Denise joined the team at Lake Edge in 2007 and has been a guiding force in the financial area and also as part of the team especially during two rounds of refurbishments.
Denise has stayed on past the 31st December cut off of the Body Corp trading to ensure the new accounting structure is in place and the 2022 final accounts for both the Lake Edge Body Corporate and Lake Edge Residents Society Inc are completed.
Her role will be taken over on a day-to-day basis by Jen Vandenberg, our Resort Manager. To provide support to the resort office team, local business Admin Angels has been engaged for two to three hours per month to assist in reconciling accounts and ensuring the Xero Accounting System is fully functional. Altitude Chartered Accountants of Taupō have also been engaged to provide financial services such as the preparation of annual accounts and filing of returns. We wish Denise well in her retirement and trust that after the COVID travel disruptions of the past few years, she will be able to resume her trips to visit family in France. A presentation to Denise will be made on behalf of all owners at the 2023 AGM.
Lake Edge Resort – Corporate Changes – Update
As advised in the November Newsletter Lake Edge Resort Limited commenced trading on January 1st 2023. At the time we believed that Land Information NZ (LINZ) would be proceeding with the cancelation of the Unit Plan as per the Sealed High Court Order. This has not happened due to both LINZ being short staffed due to COVID and a ‘wrinkle’ we did not anticipate. While our lawyers had advised LINZ of the impending High Court action and flagging the primary title it was still possible for lawyers to transfer individual titles via the LINZ Online system. Two titles were transferred and as a result LINZ are seeking advice as to whether they can complete the cancellation as requested. If they decide they cannot, we will be required to apply to the High Court for a supplementary order.
During this process we have been in discussion with other resorts about the change to a company structure and a number are keen to follow suit. One of the resorts suggested while they were happy with our ‘blueprint’ we should ensure that our procedure for selling shares does not fall under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. Our Lawyers provided an opinion that our proposed structure was not an entity within the meaning of the Act but recommended that we seek clarification from The Financial Markets Conduct Authority. More on this when we have an update. In the meantime, The New Zealand Holiday Ownership Council (NZHOC) have agreed to cover the additional legal costs incurred by us. There are two sayings that best sum up this exercise; “nothing is easy” and “Good things come to those who wait”.
2023 Meetings for Lake Edge Entities
Many of you will be aware that we plan to hold the wrap up meetings of the Lake Edge Body Corporate (LEBC) and Lake Edge Residents Society Inc (LERS) along with the first annual General Meeting of Lake Edge Resort Limited (LERL) on April 1st this year. This is still our intention, however, the slow speed of getting all the changes in place is putting strain on the timelines to ensure that we conform to the legal requirements for notice of meetings.
The meetings of the LEBC and LERS will be simply the presentation of the final accounts. You will recall at last year’s AGM’s we presented fully audited accounts for both. No motion was put regarding the auditing of the final accounts. Previously, owners had approved an agreed upon set of procedures over three years followed by a full audit.
Dean Roe of Altitude Charted Accountants is willing to provide a letter supporting the 2022 financial accounts if owners agree to accept this in lieu of a full audit. An Audit will cost $8,000 to 10,000 and will take four weeks or more to complete from the date of engagement.
We would like your opinions.
As you will note from all the above, we would welcome your feedback on a number of matters. To achieve this, we will be sending out a survey request via Survey Monkey next week seeking your thoughts on the following.
Your views on reinstating the weekly Meet and Greet at the resort.
Possible postponement of the LERL AGM and final LEBC and LERS presentation of accounts.
A full Audit versus a letter supporting the 2022 annual accounts from Altitude Chartered Accounts.
Board members will be meeting on February 13 and appreciate your feedback.
EV Charging
An earlier survey asked for your thoughts on providing charging facilities at the resort for Eletric Vehicles. While a significant number or owners were in favour the majority preferred a ‘wait and see’ approach. The Board accepted this, have put the project on hold and will revisit it in the future.
Resort Update from Jen
Winners of free week
Congratulations to Malcolm and Linda Wadsworth, they are the lucky winners of a free week in Unit 14. Thank you to all of those that had your levy paid by the 1 January 2023 to enable you to enter this competition! We know Malcolm and Linda will enjoy that extra week this year at the resort.
Levies
There are a few levy payments still outstanding. For those people, we will be re sending your levy account to you this week via email, please give this your priority attention. As from the 1 March 2023 there will be a 10% penalty fee added to your unpaid levy.
New Company Name & Bank Account Number
From the 1st January 2023, we've made the change to a company, our new name is 'Lake Edge Resort Limited'.
With this comes a few administration changes, we have a new bank account & GST number as below:
Bank Account No:. 12-3252-0012757-00
GST No: 136-176-692
This is the bank account we would now like you all to use going forward from today when processing a payment to Lake Edge Resort.
New Resort Administrator
We are delighted to have a new resort administrator, Karryn started with us in the office on the 16 January and will be working 10 - 12 hours each week. Along with Candice who will continue with her 25 hours a week as Assistant Manager, they will be front office and attending to all enquiries as needed.
Hi, my name is Karryn Raikes, the new Resort Administrator, and I would like to introduce myself to you all. I moved to the beautiful Taupo town six years ago with my family, from a beachside town called Orewa, North Auckland. It was a fantastic move and I have loved all the opportunities that Taupo and the surrounding areas has to offer, especially the outdoor environment!
I have two wonderful girls, Hannah is 16 and Danielle is 14, who attend Taupo-Nui-a-Tia College. My husband Jeremy is a carpenter here in Taupo and he has just finished building us a beautiful house in Nga Roto Estate.
Alongside this role I work from home as a Website Administrator for Agape Christian Fellowship, which I am enjoying learning and growing through different projects. Prior to this, I worked as a Practice Manager at The Lake Clinic supporting the Chiropractors, Physiotherapists, and other practitioners in each of their respective businesses.
I love being outdoors as much as I can either mountain biking, walking the trails or skiing. I also have a passion for all things food related! When I first arrived in Taupo, I also dabbled a little in being a wholefood chef, creating things like raw banoffee pie and raw caramel slice for one of the local cafes!
I also really enjoy helping and interacting with other people. I always endeavor to keep a positive attitude in life and make the most of it! I would like to thank you for the opportunity to be a part of the Lake Edge Resort team, I am excited to be here, and I look forward to meeting and getting to know each of you at some point!
New Signage
We have had new signage installed on the face of our building. We have had a lot of positive comments on this new look along with the new paint job. We are also working our way through all of the Lake Edge Resort documentation adding the new logo.
New Owners Lounge Notice Board
Paul our builder has replaced the wallboard which was very untidy with a water resistant hardi-flex. This has given us an opportunity to add a larger white board for local resort news and up and coming events in Taupo. You can check this out next time you stay.
Bookings for 2023
Bookings have been coming in thick and fast for 2023, we have only a few weeks available between now and May. Please remember you can book up to 12 months in advance if you are happy to pay 50% of next year's levy. This ensures you are more likely to get the week you want. Our usual school holiday ballots are working well, please email us your request well in advance of the 12-month mark where we will draw the ballot and let you know if you have been successful.
Just a reminder, if you don't have a booking confirmation email, then you don't have a booking, you should receive an email within minutes of your booking being completed by one of the team. If you don't have a booking confirmation, please contact us at the office.
From The Lake Edge Resort Team