About YLPA Dues

You are invited to join the Yankee Lake Preservation Association, Inc. (the YLPA). Paying your annual dues means that you are paying your fair share of the costs associated with maintaining the dam, testing and maintaining the water quality, payment of local taxes and so forth. All of this serves to enhance your property values.

Back in the 1890s and early 1900s, the property surrounding Yankee Lake was subdivided. Certain of those property lots were granted rights to use Yankee Lake as part of their property deed. Some lots had direct access to the Lake, while others had access strictly through the use of deed-designated rights-of-way to the Lake. These deeded Lake rights, and access rights of way, have been passed down through the years as deeds have changed hands.

If you own property in the area, with deeded access to Yankee Lake, then you are expected to join and pay annual dues to the Yankee Lake Preservation Association, Inc. Although there are Rules and Regulations concerning the lake shore and your use of the lake, there are no onerous covenants and restrictions as is sometimes the case with more formal Homeowner’s Associations (HOAs).

A previous organization at one time owned the body of water known as Yankee Lake. In the late 1990s, that organization found itself unable to pay taxes, and the ownership of the lake was forfeited to Sullivan County, and Yankee Lake was in imminent danger of becoming a public lake.

To keep this from happening, an association of those who own property with deeded rights of access to the lake was formed, now known as the Yankee Lake Preservation Association (YLPA). This association of property owners was incorporated as a non-profit organization under the State of New York. The property owners established By-Laws for the operation of the organization, and elected a Board of Directors to deal with the finances of the organization and all other day-to-day affairs. This association of property owners was able to pay the back-taxes owed to Sullivan County on the Lake, the dam, related rights-of-ways, and several additional pieces of property related to the preservation and maintenance of the area. It was only through the heroic efforts of a few that the lake was saved from the auction block.

So you see why, in order to keep the lake private and not to allow it to fall back into the hands of the State, it is vital that all property owners with deeded lake rights to the lake pay their fair share to pay the taxes, maintain the dam, maintain the clubhouse, pay for insurance, and so forth.

It’s basic math, really. We have fixed costs that increase annually with inflation. If the budget can be divided by a larger number of dues payers, then the lower the over-all dues payment that is assessed to the individual property owner.

The waters of Yankee Lake are held back by an earthen dam that was constructed in the mid-1800s as part of the water supply infrastructure for the Delaware and Hudson (D&H) Canal. The dam at Yankee Lake has been designated by the State of New York as a High Hazard Dam. Whenever there is a population downstream of a dam, such as is the case with our dam, then, regardless of the actual risk of dam failure, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) designates those dams protecting those downstream populations as High Hazard Dams. There are significant State regulations that apply to High Hazard Dams. These regulations increase the costs that the YLPA is obligated to meet.

As our first priority, your Association, as owner of the Lake and its dam, has the responsibility to maintain the safety and integrity of our dam. This requires annual maintenance work, strict compliance with State law regarding such structures, periodic engineering evaluations, and appropriate reserve funds as defined by the State. Then, secondarily, there is liability insurance, fire insurance on the Clubhouse, legal and other professional fees, postage, this web site, water quality testing and other environmental expenses… It’s a long list. Only about 12% goes toward fish stocking, concerts, the children’s program, and other “social” activities and events.

To pay your dues, please click this link to download a copy of our dues payment form. Next, fill out the form. Dues includes tags for up to five watercraft. If you have more than five, then please include $5 for each additional tag that you need, and indicate that on the form. We recommend that you tag your floating docks and swim platforms. They sometimes get loose and drift across the lake. Having a tag on them makes it easy to locate the owner. Also, please take a moment to consider volunteering on one or more of our YLPA committees. Many hands make light work!

Send your check (made out to Yankee Lake Preservation Association), and the completed form, to the address listed at the top of the first page of the form. Please allow about two weeks for us to process your dues payment. If you have any questions, click on the email address at the bottom of this web page to send us a note. We look forward to hearing from you!