From the Boardroom
2025 Maintenance Levy
In line with the long-term maintenance and funding plan (LTP) as presented at the 2024 AGM the Board has approved the levy for 2025 at $1,275 per share. This represents a 6.69% increase over 2024 which has only been made possible by ensuring strict control over costs. Some of these costs are outside of our control, especially utilities, where we have seen some excessive increases over the past year.
As per the LTP we have sufficient funds to cover refurbishment and upgrades scheduled from 2024 through to 2027. The 2024 Refurbishment Programme has been extensive and is covered in the Resort Roundup later in this newsletter.
Board Succession Planning
As advised, at this year’s AGM Rick Martin signaled his intention to stand down from the Board by 2026. To ensure good governance practice and practical succession planning Rick has decided to stand down as Chairperson effective 31 December this year.
The Board has unanimously agreed to appoint Wayne Keats as Chairperson from the same date. Rick will continue as the Taupō based director assisting Resort Manager, Karryn Raikes in the management of the Resort.
The directors all believe it is critical to provide a succession pathway to enable the institutional knowledge held by current board members to be retained for the benefit of the company and all shareholders. A plan to achieve this will be finalized at the February board meeting and presented to all shareholders and tabled at the 2025 AGM.
2023/24 Audit
The feedback from owners to combine the 2023 and 2024 audits was overwhelming in support of the proposal with 97.9% of shareholders in favour. The board has engaged Audit Professionals from Dunedin to conduct the Audit early in 2025. Audit Professionals are engaged by many of the time share resorts around New Zealand as well as The New Zealand Holiday Ownership Council.
Advance Notice of the 2025 Annual General Meeting
Please make a note in your diary, the 2025 AGM will be held at the resort on Saturday 17th of May 2025. A formal notice of meeting will be sent out following the board meeting on 21st and 22nd of February.
Refurbishment Programme
Following feedback from owners the Board agreed to convert six of the ensuite bathrooms to walk in showers by removing the bath. Since then, we have undertaken a full appraisal of all ensuites in each apartment, and there are eight apartments in total that are in major need of refurbishment due to unforeseen plumbing and structural problems. As a result, we need to include Apartments 7 and 11 in the conversion programme.
Resort Roundup from Karryn and the Team
It has been a productive few months, with many upgrades and refurbishments completed around the Resort. We are grateful to have such a wonderful team at Lake Edge that show up each week to help keep the Resort at its best!
Here is a snapshot of some of the completed projects:
Wifi Upgrade: The internet upgrade has been completed for the remainder of the Apartments and Resort areas, so you will have high speed access to internet services wherever you are staying!
Hot Water Cylinders: all HWC conversions have now been completed to ensure they are all up to date with standard specifications.
Bathroom Vanity: the cracked basins in many of the downstairs bathrooms have been replaced with new vanities.
Ensuite Refurbishments: the refurbishment of the ensuite bathroom in apartment seven is now complete and looking fresh! The roll-out of the remaining conversions will take place over the next two years. Next up are Apartments 11, 12, 10 and 2, to be completed between May and August 2025. Below are pictures of the new look in Apartment 7.
Games Room: has been fitted with a new Smart TV and Xbox, library shelving and lighting.
Pool and Surrounds: the small rocks and statue from the pool entrance have been removed and replaced with a planter box. We have researched removing the larger rocks and have been advised it would be difficult and costly and would potentially damage the pool itself. The Board and Management have now prioritised the refurbishment of bathrooms for next year.
*Please note, we have also noticed the ducks coming up to the pool area more often and leaving their business in and around the pool. We would like to encourage all Owners/Guests to not feed ducks and if seen, please shoo them away (even off the upper grassed area) to ensure we can keep up the pool water quality standard.
Spa Pool: the indoor spa has now been fitted with a new cover and lifting frame for ease of use.
Owners Lounge: a new kitchen is in the process of being fitted together with a Smart TV in the lounge area.
Balcony Signage and Slip Bolts: for health and safety we have installed slip bolts and signage on the doors to the entrance of the balconies. We request all Owners and Guests please ensure that children are always supervised on the balcony areas. This is in place to meet our legal requirements regarding the potential risks associated with the glass deck railings.
Bikes: a few new step-through bikes and helmets have been purchased to add to the fleet, and all bikes are being fitted with bells!
Other Resort Matters
Levy Invoices
Our new invoicing system in Xero is now up and running so your 2025 Levy invoice(s) will be sent through this platform. We will roll these out from the week of 20th November, so keep an eye out for these in your email inbox over the proceeding weeks.
We anticipate there may be a few teething issues with the new system so please feel free to let us know if anything is amiss with your invoice, or if you haven't receive it by the end of the month.
Please check that you have our new bank account details loaded before making payment by direct credit:
Lake Edge Resort Limited
ASB: 12-3252-0012757-00
Reference: Please put your Owners number as Reference
Code: Please put your Invoice Number as Code
Payments by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express or UnionPay) can be made directly to us by clicking on ‘review and pay’ button in the email you receive. Please note there is a credit card processing fee of 2.9% added on all credit payments.
Here is an example of the credit card payment portal through Xero:
Early Bird – Be in to Win! Prompt payment of your levy invoice by 31 December 2024 will ensure you go into the drawer to win a free week at the Resort in Apartment 14 (*Terms and conditions apply)!
*If your Levy is paid in full by 1 January 2025, you will go in the draw to win a bonus week in Apartment 14 during 2025. Once you receive your Levy invoice, simply pay it in full and you will be placed in the draw. Each week of ownership paid in full by 1 January 2025 will count as one entry. This bonus week will be available to be used between 1 May and 31 August 2025.
Banking Weeks
If you wish to bank your 2025 week with an exchange company, the full levy amount of $1,275 must be paid prior to banking.
Rentals
We have a week available to rent from 24-31 January for $2,100. Please contact the office if you are interested.
Please note a cleaning fee of $100 is charged for owners/guests for rentals that are less than a week in duration.
Website Upgrades: School Holiday and Future Booking Requests
We have updated the Owners Tab on our website: This is where you can find all the valuable information for owners, click here to view: LERL Owners Page. You can make requests for future bookings and/or school holidays requests through this page by clicking on the relevant button and entering in your details.
We now require all booking requests and cancellations to be made either through the Owners page on the website, or by written instructions via email, so we can avoid any miscommunication or confusion.
Please note the booking calendar opens one year in advance. The school holiday ballots close on the last day of the school holiday period and are drawn on the following week.
Christmas is fast approaching! The Office opening hours over this period are as follows:
Christmas Office hours New Year Office Hours
Tues 24th Dec: 9am-12pm Tue 31st Dec: 9am-12pm
Wed 25th Dec: Closed Wed 1st Jan: Closed
Thur 26th Dec: Closed Thurs 2nd Jan: Closed
Fri 27th Dec: 8am-10.30am; 3.30pm-6pm Friday 3rd Jan: 8am-10.30am; 3.30pm-6pm
On behalf of the Board and Staff, I would like to thank you all for your continued support of Lake Edge Resort and wish you an enjoyable Christmas and holiday season! I look forward to catching up with you next time you are here!
Blessings,
Karryn Raikes