Hidden Lake Property Association Annual Meeting Minutes- June 8, 2013

Transcription

1 Hidden Lake Property Association Annual Meeting Minutes- June 8, 2013 Location and Date: Dyartsville Baptist Church /June Board Members Present: President- Will Reiersen Vice- President- Dennis Puntel Treasurer- Roger Warren Secretary- Jan Weil Officer at large- Bill Schumacher Others present: 23 Property Owners Meeting called to order by Will Reiersen at 1:05 p.m. Proceedings Quorum: Jan Weil reported that a quorum required for the meeting was met. Secretary: Election of Directors by the Association requires a quorum be present (in person or by proxy) at the Annual Meeting. The candidate (or candidates, if more than one position is being filled) receiving the most votes wins the election. Election results: The top two candidates for the two directors are Sandi Maki and Joyce Cann. Proposed Covenant Change: To make a change to our Covenants, the North Carolina Planned Community Act requires a 67% yes vote of the total number of lots by Association members voting either by person or by proxy. The total number of lots at Hidden Lake is 247 so a Covenant change would require 166 YES votes. The proposal was to amend Covenant #26 to disallow hunting within the Hidden Lake Community AND amend Covenant # 28 to disallow the discharging of firearms within the Hidden Lake Community, except for self-defense or the protection of personal property, when acting within the law Voting Results: The proposed change to the Hidden Lake Covenants does not pass. 139 YES Votes 15 NO Votes 90 Lots not voting (representing 68 voters) Treasurer: Roger Warren distributed the 2012 Treasurer s report to those present and reviewed the highlights of 2012 and the first five months of 2013:

2 General Fund Net Income for 2012 was $10,752. The surplus was transferred to the Capital Reserve. General Fund spending for 2013 through May was $11,103. ARC: Bill Shumacher reported that this year two residents had applied for permits for deck upgrades and also there were two approvals for new cabins. Bill reminded members that it is necessary to fill out an ARC application before construction. Suzanne Reiersen brought it to the Board s attention that neither of the two current construction sites have silt fences, and that roads and properties next to the building sites are impacted. It was also noted that the sites do not have dumpsters as required. Bill will begin by notifying the builders, and if necessary, contact the County building inspector. Pool Committee: The Pool Committee members are Suzanne Reiersen (lead), Dennis Puntel (Board Liaison) and Adele Puntel. All are Certified Pool Operators in the state of North Carolina. The Committee also receives some assistance from Jim Tyner who is a current CPO and Brenda Suttles and Cherie Schumacher who test the pool and spa chemicals several days a week. Dennis, on behalf of the Committee, thanked the volunteers who worked on April 27 th to uncover the pool and spa, clean the covers and store them in the shed, install the ladders and position the tables and chairs in preparation for the pool and spa opening dated of Saturday May 25 th. The water level in the pool was at a normal high level and did not exhibit the extremely low levels experienced last year. The Committee is happy to report this, even though there is no explanation for last year s phenomenon. Also, Brenda and Lamar Suttles continue to perform the pool and maintenance functions flawlessly. The state health inspector inspected the pool on May 15 th and passed the pool without any demerits, but wanted to recheck the spa chemicals before granting approval. Approval with no demerits was granted on Sunday May 26 th. The Committee has spent approximately $2,000 to bring the spa back into operating condition. This cost does not include the on-going cost of propane fuel and increased chemicals, which accompany such a facility. The Committee is doing well so far adjusting to managing a 400 gallon spa in addition to an 18,000 plus gallon pool The chemical levels change daily and require close monitoring and adjusting. The Committee is also investigating the treatment for pests in the bathhouse and spa pump shed. The Committee has posted new signs making clear that use of the pool is not open to the public and other pool regulations and safety rules. Another new sign used to notify residents that the pool is closed for maintenance will be placed on the landing of the stairs that lead to the pool so that the closed status is very clear.

3 Questions arose about what will happen if the pool liner does need to be replaced. Suzanne Reiersen reported the following options: 1. Fiberglass spray: Company would be contracted to remove liner and spray entire pool with fiberglass. This process is fairly quick and would not require additional plumbing or a new liner. Suzanne has not received the information about the cost for this process. 2. New liner: Replacing liner with a commercial grade liner that is 60 ml thick. The liner in question is black, however. There could be safety restrictions that prohibit this type of liner for our pool. Another option would be a decorative liner which would cost approximately $40,000 installed. 3. Gunite: This type of treatment would increase the thickness of the pool walls approximately 6 to 8. The increase thickness would decrease the pool size and would also require plumbing adjustments. The possibility of significant pool expenditures led to questions from members about the capital reserve funds. Roger Warren explained that currently the POA capital reserve is used to pay for capital expenditures during one year and is replenished in the following year through Capital Assessments. To build the capital reserve for future, large capital needs, like major road repairs or pool liner replacement, surplus funds from the General Fund are transferred to the reserve each year. Having a healthy capital reserve helps to buffer owners from large Capital Assessments in any one year when major capital needs like replacing the pool liner, arise. Another method for building the capital reserve for major future needs would be to add to the reserve each year through a regular, fixed amount assessment. In most years, the assessment would be more than the actual capital expenditures, thus building the reserve. In a few years the assessment would be significantly less than the actual capital expenditures, with the fund absorbing the overage. This method would spread major capital costs so owners would not have burdensome assessments in the future. Creating this type of capital reserve funding, adding to the capital reserve by creating a fixed amount, annual Capital Assessment, would require 75% of members to vote yes. A previous vote to establish a $200 per year Capital Assessment was defeated. Parks and Roads: Roger Warren reported that the Parks and Roads Committee has accomplished the following this year: Road work is ongoing. Road edges are repaired to prevent undermining. Ditches and culverts are cleaned to prevent erosion and damage to the roads. Repairs are made early as possible to prevent further damage. Grading Snow and ice removal Damaged trees on road removed Gate maintenance, including replacing circuit board Roadside grass cutting Cleanup after flooding Clean up day ( 21 property owners volunteered) Mulching maintained

4 Walking trail maintenance Roger asked members to notify a Board member or Roads & Parks Committee member when they notice any area that needs attention. Roger also thanked all volunteers. He also noted that much of this work is funded by dues. Silting: Will Reiersen reviewed the original plan that the POA had put into effect to dredge the lake. This plan, which involved purchase of a dredger and volunteers to operate the dredger, has not been successful. Volunteers are not forthcoming, the work has proven to be very physically challenging, and the amount of debris collected makes the dredger difficult to use. The cost of having the lake dredged commercially is minimally $150,000. Will did look into an alternative method. This method would create a forebay in which water that flows into the lake would first collect in a water collection reservoir (the forebay) in which the silt would settle before going into the lake. A tentative ball park figure from Bennick Co. suggests a cost of $15,000 for this project. The cost to have silt removed from the forebay each year would be approximately $2000 to $2500 each year. Factors that would also be considered would be whether or not the placement of the forebay would impact the lot of any property owner. It also was made clear that the dredger will not be used any longer. After discussion, Nancy Tyner moved to allow the Board to sell the dredger. Joyce Cann seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Jim Tyner agreed to assist in finding a buyer for the dredger. Other Business: Jim Tyner raised the following concerns: 1. Dead trees that have been earmarked for removal because they present a hazard have not been removed 2. A non operating vehicle is parked on Nathan McDaniel 3. Resident lets his dogs bark outside until 11 or 12 at night. 4. Untended lawns Other members also commented on dead trees that appear to present a hazard and on lawns that are extremely overgrown. The Covenants do not address the length of lawn specifically. Letters about the trees have been sent, but some property owners have been unresponsive. A discussion was held to clarify on what the Board s responsibility is in this manner. It was agreed that the Board will send letters to property owners in violation of the Covenants about maintaining property and noise restrictions.

5 Board member-at-large Bill Schumacher is leaving the Board. Will thanked Bill for the years he has served on the Board. President Will Reiersen is also leaving the Board. Roger thanked Will for the years he has served on the Board. Will welcomed Sandi Maki and Joyce Cann to the new Board. Lisa Spring motioned to dismiss the meeting; Martin Rusterholz seconded. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.