Media Center

Hurricane Ida devastated our lake in 2021 with water topping the earthen dam for the first time since it was built 235 years ago and flood waters rushing over the spillway to the homes below. Today, after making temporary repairs to the dam, Silver Lake is on “life support”; the Silver Lake Community Association sought financial help far and wide.  At a meeting with Senator Mike Regan (our Pennsylvania State Senator serving our home county), he reminded us that we were a private lake and public funds would not be available. We understand and accept that our needs are not a public burden. Help could come from other places and Senator Regan then challenged us by saying “Let’s see the community come together”.

We came together!

A number of homeowners have come together to explore creative financing methods to fund the needed repairs and to respect and protect the economic diversity of our lake community. We created a self funding model – members loaning money to the SLCA at no-interest over 20 years - to mitigate the financial impact on our neighbors living on fixed incomes. Our SLCA Board of Directors initially supported our effort, with some Directors joining us to make commitments – over $200,000 in no-interest loans. Several “Stewards” discussed the need for rewritten bylaws so the safeguards necessary to protect loaners – big and small – were put in place. One Board Member tasked us with rewriting the bylaws (after all, we are not banks with lawyers and a collections department). Then…the Board “killed” the member-provided no-interest loan program leaving the only option of costly bank loans with high interest rates!

The SLCA Board of Directors’ decision is stunning and newsworthy. Yes, every local community has compelling “people trying to raise money for a just cause” stories but this story is different. Our story has compelling elements. Here’s why:

• Something unanticipated – Refusing no-interest loans!
•  Relevance and relatable – Not because news consumers have lakes in their lives but because they pay monthly house payments and they know the pain of interest payments!
• Detail – Every issue documented!
• Emotion – Not the “poor Silver Lake people, I hope they save their lake” but the “How can the Board possibly pass on no-interest loans?! And from their own members!”
• The “What Happened Next …” component – Follow-up stories will include our May 7th Members’ called Special Meeting and the June Annual Meeting. As these events are only weeks apart and media consumers will easily remember and follow the developments.