For those who have interest in viewing the discussions about possible historic designations within the former Jonathan Development? Here is an update:
During the January 25, 2011 Chaska Heritage Preservation Commission meeting, I brought forward two motions concerning historic designation of portions of the former Jonathan Development. The main motion was a recommendation for designation of a Jonathan ‘New Town’ Lake Village Historic District. The second motion proposed formation of a work group to create a list of properties, etc. Both passed with minor changes.
During the March 22, 2011 Chaska Heritage Preservation Commission meeting, I placed two items on the agenda pertaining to the Jonathan area. The first item basically made language changes and minor corrections to my original motion concerning formation of the Jonathan ‘New Town’ Lake Village Historic District special committee. The second item suggested how the Jonathan ‘New Town’ Lake Village Historic District special committee could be structured. They passed.
At the invitation of the Jonathan Association Board of Directors, I attended their monthly board meeting of May 10, 2011. I presented my “National Registry Designations within the Jonathan Areas” discussion, answered questions, and presented a short PowerPoint titled “Modern Era in Historic Preservation.”
Videos of these meetings can be found on the Vimeo website.
As to the list of questions mentioned during the May 10, 2011 meeting, I have placed a copy on my www.jonathandocuments.com website. I have also added copies of the slides from my “Modern Era in Historic Preservation” presentation and a copy of the historic designation submission for the Historic Residential Subdivisions of Metropolitan Denver, 1940 – 1965.

Historical Jonathan – For those who have interest, I have uploaded a copy of the slides from my presentation to the Chaska Heritage Preservation Commission. I spoke during their regularly televised meeting on October 26, 2010. A copy of the slides can be found near the bottom of the list of documents on my www.jonathandocuments.com website.

The Jonathan ‘New Town’ District document described above is located near the bottom of the General History page of www.jonathandocuments.com
As an FYI, while I am a commissioner on the Chaska Historic Preservation Commission, I have not formally presented my proposal to the HPC.

Well Done. Thanks Debbie.

Jonathan ‘New Town’ District – I have received a request for a copy of the Jonathan ‘New Town’ District proposal that I wrote in early 2008. (I mentioned this during the most recent Historical Preservation Commission meeting). My proposal was a first pass at addressing the categores for designation. I have uploaded a copy of my proposal to the www.jonathandocument.com site.

Jonathan 2010 Annual Meeting – for those who have interest, I have posted copies of the 2010 Jonathan Association Notice of Annual Meeting of the Members, and the 2009 Neighborhood Equity Analysis on my Jonathan Documents site. The links are at the bottom of the General History page.

I’ve been Looking at the current pictures of Lake Grace on the www.jonathandocuments.com website, and while I’m not disagreeing with you on the point that it’s in disrepair (because it is,) but I think it is an unfair comparison to use pictures of what look to be professionaly done, took in the summer and used for commerical use, against (again, guessing here)are self taken pictures of Lake grace in the WINTER. Again, I’m not disagreeing with you, Lake grace has fallen to disrepair, but the current pictures are misleading in showing what Lake Grace looks like now.
And for those of you who are talking about who badly Jonathan is taking care of it’s ammenities, what is stoping you from helping Lake Grace? Yes you pay your dues and expect something to come of that, but if you really want something to change, your going to have to take the initiative. The only recent repair that I know of to Lake Grace was done by a Boy Scout as a project for becoming an Eagle. He did work with the Jonathan association,but it was pretty much planned and done by volenteers who care about their neighborhood. It’s easy to complain about Jonathan at your computer desk, but at least be proactive and do something yourself.

The model DOES work, Laz. That’s why the model is used extensively across the country with new developments. The biggest reason SOME of the Association’s assets are in disrepair is because several years ago the board reduced the annual dues for consecutive years and then spent almost $200,000 to destroy and/or disassemble the Association. For example, the board said it would cost approximately $120,000 to abate the radon at the Eitel House as well as repair and remodel the building. Had they made small increases in the dues vs. reducing the dues, the Eitel House could be a vibrant asset to our community today. It could be used as a meeting place; an art or history center; a day-care facility; or anything someone with just a little imagination could vision. We would have been better served had the board considered a CONstructive vs. a DEestructive vision.
Laz, I’m sure you would agree the nearly $200,000 spent on the far-fetched legal case could have been put to very good use at Lake Grace. A new pavilion could be constructed at half that amount and the remainder could have gone towards the trails leading to the beach and the surrounding grounds. But a few felt it was important to spend the community’s money on their own selfish goals. Do you think any of the former board members who advocated destroying the Association would have put up their own money to make their legal case? I don’t either.
Respectfully,
Mike Sibley

Very nice work, Debbie. It certainly took a lot of effort and time on your part. As a citizen of Chaska and Jonathan resident, I certainly appreciate the information you collected and are sharing with the community. Informed residents can make informed decisions.
As to your questions:
1. I DO welcome the information;
2. I was not surprised by the strong Department of Housing and Urban Development / HUD connection.
3. I think the city of Chaska has helped development of the Jonathan area, but I believe previous Jonathan boards were not diligent towards the required process. I believe they were well-intended decisions, but were misinformed on the process;
4. I do not think all of the current Jonathan Association area fits the original Jonathan ‘New Town’ criteria, but I believe it doesn’t matter that much. After Jonathan went bankrupt, the `New Town’ concept was no longer an appropriate or valid vision;
5. It’s difficult to say where the Jonathan Development should have ended, as we don’t know the vision/ideas of those elected to make the decisions. I do believe it has created challenges for the Association today, but I also strongly believe that working together in a collaborative effort we can make the Association BETTER and improve the community significantly vs. finding reasons to dissolve the Association or remove neighborhoods. Some residents in the remote neighborhoods that have publicly stated they receive little to no benefit from the Association actually receive a far greater share of resources then the “original Jonathan” neighborhoods. Those on the prior board wouldn’t dare to publicly correct them. Many don’t believe that it’s JUST a coincidence that the neighborhood by neighborhood comparison of Association money spent on it’s assets and Common Area’s stopped being updated when those intending to destroy or diminish the Association were on the board;
6. Other comments? If a neighborhood desires to be removed from the Association, that neighborhood certainly has the right to do so. However, they should use their own resources (time and money) and not those of the Association. According to the current Association President, the last board spent “just under $200,000” on legal fees to dissolve the Association and/or have neighborhoods removed. This money was paid by homeowners to improve and better the Associations assets, e.g. Lake Grace, trails, Eitel House, etc. as required by the Associations Governing Documents. It will take a long while to recover the missed opportunities to better our community. Another example of this occurred this year when a small neighborhood, which is refunded most all of their dues, asked the board to pay for MORE legal services to see how they could succeed from the Association. The President at the time said the Association would send the matter to the attorney, presumably paying for the opinion. Why wouldn’t the President say, “with all due respect, we invite you to pay for the legal opinion yourselves. It’s not an Association matter.”
To provide a more complete view of the Jonathan Association and its history and the decisions previous board of directors made, you may want to consider a section on past elections, including how the apartment vote tabulations have changed over the years, how the board removed the right of homeowners to vote via proxy and seating a board member which the Associations attorney clearly stated in a written opinion was in violation of the By-laws (and which some on the board chose not to share this information with other board members). By exposing the problems, the Membership will be better informed and may take a greater interest in their community to ensure these injustices don’t reoccur.
Debbie, do you find it interesting that those who make negative comments on these posts most always decline to identify who they are and hide behind their screen names? Certainly it’s their right, but it is rather weak to put it kindly.
Thank you again for your efforts with this project Debbie. You’re truly an asset to our community!
Sincerely,
Mike Sibley

I wish the association would face the music and recognize Jonathan is a decaying eyesore! The model does not work, just look at the current state of Lake Grace Park! The association will never have enough monetary resources to recoup the original vision. The land needs to be given back to the City, and the association dissolved.

Great job Debbie!
It must have taken weeks just to gather and scan the information, so many plaudits on your work.
I will be adding your Web site to my “favorites” list as a one-stop site for Jonathan historical documents, photos and miscellaneous.