CWL HOA NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS May 2010 MARK YOUR CALENDARS IMPORTANT DATES! May 29, 2010 Pool Opens September 4, 2010 Pool Closes UPDATE FROM BOARD Helping to maintain property values in our community has turned out to be quite a challenge. Every member of the Board of Directors takes this very seriously. We are committed to interpreting the bylaws so we can best serve our community. We understand that many members of the community are frustrated about past and current issues. With a new Property Manager and a new Board that is committed to serving the community, it is our hope that we can work together to resolve past challenges, and face new challenges with confidence. CWLHOA members owe a total of $180,323.40 as of the end of the first quarter, March 31, 2010. Letters were sent to home owners who are delinquent in paying their mandatory Homeowner Association dues, advising them they had until April 30 th to pay their dues. After April 30, 2010, delinquent accounts started accumulating attorney fees. We have liens filed on many homes and are taking the next step in the process by filing law suits for payment of the CWLHOA dues that are owed for this and previous years. The board is considering new procedures to address home owners who are negligent in the upkeep of their property. A CWLHOA Committee, made up of CWLHOA members, will report violations to the City of Memphis Code Enforcement Department. The Crye-Leike Property Manager will send postcards advising our neighbors that they are decreasing property values in the entire area when they do not maintain their property. Your CWLHOA Board promises you that we are doing our very best to always keep the majority of our members in mind when making decisions which impact our Community. When a decision is made regarding financial expenditures it is done with consideration of the majority of CWLHOA homeowners. As we move forward we are making every effort to gather historical data to pass along to the next team of volunteers so they can make more informed decisions. CWLHOA Board Members: Cammy Peterson - President Jack Fellin - Interim Treasurer Donna Downen- Secretary Tommy Ashker Adam Stluka Mr. Larry Jordan is our Crye-Leike Property Manager. He can be reached @ 901-758-5678. Please visit the Board of Directors tab on our website for information regarding the Board s responsibility to our community. This information can also be found in our CWLHOA By-laws.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE In the past, the Board of Directors has not followed the bylaws concerning nomination and election of directors. It is the desire of the new Board of Directors to make every effort to follow the bylaws as they were written with regard to director election. According to the bylaws, the members shall elect one (1) director for a term of one (1) year, one (1) director for a term of two (2) years, and one (1) director for a term of (3) years; and at each annual meeting the members shall elect directors for a term of one (1) year. Nomination for election to the Board of Directors shall be made by a Nominating committee. Nominations may also be made from the floor at the annual meeting. The Nominating committee shall consist of a Chairman, who shall be a member of the Board of Directors, and two (2) or more members of the association. The Nominating committee shall be appointed by the Board of Directors prior to each annual meeting of the members to serve from the close of such annual meeting until the close of the next annual meeting and such appointment shall be announced at each annual meeting. The Nominating committee shall make as many nominations for election to the Board of Directors as it shall in its discretion determine, but not less than the number of vacancies that are to be filled. Such nominations may be made from among members or non-members. Election of the Board of Directors shall be by secret written ballot. At such election, the members of each class of membership or their proxies may cast, in respect to each vacancy, as many votes as they are entitled to exercise under the provisions of the Declaration. The person receiving the largest number of votes shall be elected. Cumulative voting is not permitted. In order for the board to follow the bylaws we need volunteers to develop a nominating committee. If we are unable to form a nominating committee the current Board of Directors will seek volunteers to serve on the Board. It is our goal to have nominations for directors so members will be able to vote at our 2011 annual meeting. LAKE A/C DAM UPDATE The dam on Lake A/C failed during heavy rains and floods earlier this month. When this occurred the Lakes drained down Fletcher Creek. There is no timeline in place for when this will be fixed. The Board, Crye-Leike Property Management Company, and community volunteers, are working diligently to get the dam replaced. Current updates, when received, are being provided on the website at www.cwlhoa.org. Thank you for your patience and respect while we work through this disaster. LAKE B UPDATE The Board has signed a contract with West TN Pond Management Company to spray the weeds. This process will be done in three (3) or four (4) applications, over upcoming weeks. By approaching the problem in stages there will be minimal impact to the wildlife that lives in and around Lake B. Expect to see boats in the water and individuals walking the shore line. Lake B homeowners have a responsibility to our community to control the weeds that may be on their lakefront property and keep those weeds from growing into the lake. In the interest of our entire Community, all lake front homeowners should maintain the lake bank in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency. Please go to www.tnwildlife.org, click on the Anglers page; from there, on the right side of the pageclick on Management of Small Lakes and Ponds. You will find suggestions for weed control, and product application procedures that will assist you in controlling the weeds on your lake bank so wildlife is not harmed. As stated on the website, control procedures are best done in early April each year. In 2010, CWLHOA is providing this weed control for Lake B. 2
If you have a concern regarding what is occurring please contact Crye-Leike. Please, do not hinder the progress of their work. LAKE D UPDATE Several members of the Board of Directors have volunteered to apply algaecide and blue dye to Lake D in the upcoming weeks. These chemicals will not harm the wildlife. The purpose of this is to keep the algae from growing in the lakes and giving the water a cleaner look. This procedure keeps the neighborhood looking nice when people are driving in our community and looking for a home to buy. RECREATION AREA/POOL UPDATE On April 1 st the main gate to the Recreation Area was opened. This date was chosen to save money on the open/closing of the gate. There were complaints from a few home owners regarding the date. These complaints were not numerous enough for the board to modify the 2010 Budget to accommodate such a change. An armed guard will be on site beginning Saturday, May 29 @ noon. The guard will be responsible for the following: 1) Opening/closing the pool at the designated hours of noon to 8 pm. 2) Checking id s against a homeowner list to verify residence and CWLHOA account standing. Homeowners who owe money to the association for any reason will be denied access to the recreation area. 3) Assisting homeowners with rule compliance as posted on our website www.cwlhoa.org 4) Tracking the number of users at various hours, and actual number of pool and tennis court users. 5) Recording incidences that arise that require guard intervention; listing names of those who break the rules. 6) Patrolling the entire neighborhood from 8pm until midnight. The pool was resurfaced at the beginning of April. This creates a more pleasant experience for swimmers because the pool surface is now very smooth. The money for this was approved during budget planning. Three pool professionals informed the board that the pool did need to be resurfaced and the longer we waited the more expensive it would become. The Association saved additional expense and eliminated the possibility of having to shut down the pool during the summer to make necessary repairs. Recently, there were 2 breaks in the levee that surrounds the South side of the Recreation Area. This levee protects the homes that are situated below the Recreation Area from being flooded with water. These breaks were repaired by a homeowner and your Association President. This incurred minimal expense to the Association since the work was performed by volunteers. AREA FACILITATORS UPDATE All Board Members agree that the system in place to handle violations according to the existing Rules and Regulations document is not working. In an attempt to rectify this situation, research was done to discover the origin of the initial Rules document. We found that the bylaws of the Carrollwood Lakes Home Owners Association only specify rules and regulations to govern the CWLHOA common areas. There are no covenants, conditions, restrictions or bylaws that give the Association authority to place land use restrictions on a homeowner s property. Please note that there are guidelines set by the City of Memphis Code Enforcement as to land use restrictions on personal property. Here is an update of the new procedures being considered by the Board for handling Code Violations on personal property in our community. 3
To assist homeowners in keeping our property values high, the Board is considering the following: 1) Area Facilitator Committee members are noting properties that are in violation of City of Memphis Codes. 2) Each City of Memphis Code Violation is entered on-line by a Board member. 3) CWLHOA Board will maintain a list of these properties and the violations that each incur. 4) Crye-Leike will be sending postcards requesting that homeowners, who are in violation, do their part to correct issues to assist with keeping property values up. The board is in the process of approving the postcard that will be used. The City of Memphis Code Enforcement Department will enforce Code compliance. The City has the power to fine Code violators and will enforce code compliance through the courts. City of Memphis Code Violation and Reporting links have been provided to all homeowners via the website www.cwlhoa.org. All homeowners are encouraged to enter violations they see. If you enter a violation you can e-mail it to cwlboard@cwlhoa.org and we will be happy to follow up for you. For a quick reference of the Top 10 City of Memphis Code Violations click on this link: http://www.memphistn.gov/pdf_forms/10codeenglishrevised2009c2.jpg. A complete list of City of Memphis Code violations can be found at the City of Memphis web site. By establishing a strong relationship with the City of Memphis Code Enforcement Department, we can ensure that Carrollwood Lakes homeowners are serious about maintaining a beautiful and healthy environment for all of us to enjoy. If you are interested in working with the Board on this issue, please e-mail us at cwlboard@cwlhoa.org. Website Update In the December Newsletter we requested e-mail addresses from homeowners so we could build a database that would be used for communication to our community.. At this time we have received approximately 60 addresses from nearly 800 homeowners. We are anxious to hear from you! Please, immediately notify the Board by e-mail that you wish to be part of the database. We Need Your Email Address!!! If you did not receive the recent E-Communication regarding Lake A/C, and you would like to receive future email updates and communications from the CWL Board, PLEASE Email us at: CWLBOARD@cwlhoa.org Make sure you add our address to you acceptable list so correspondence is not sent to spam We plan to enhance our communications with added e-mail marketing and database software over time. Please help us by telling your neighbors about this effort. We will continue to add new information to the web site so please add the website address to your "Favorites". 4
Please refer to these recently added documents and links at www.cwlhoa.org *Updated Pool, Recreation and Common Area Rules (see Rules/ Regulations tab) *Code Enforcement Information (see Rules / Regulations tab) *Link to file a complaint with City of Memphis Code Enforcement ( Rules/ Regs tab) *Link to view local crime information (see Security/ Safety tab) Common Area Mowing Update In order to insure that Pugh s Lawn Maintenance staff does not to mow areas in our community that belong to individual homeowners at the expense of the Association, the CWLHOA President recently set an appointment with Pugh s to ride around the entire subdivision. During the ride, Pugh s stopped at all the areas that they were maintaining. With plat in hand all Common Areas were verified. Here is a list of areas that Pugh s will no longer maintain since they are not CWLHOA Common Areas: 1) All areas North and West of Lake Edge Drive and Fletcher Creek. Those areas belong to Countrywood. 2) The Common Area along Lake Edge Drive ends at the first river birch tree when coming from Carrollwood Lane. All remaining areas along Lake Edge Drive are private property. 3) All fenced areas along Oak Springs Drive that are not between brick pillars. These areas are private property. 4) Area at the South end of Oak Springs Drive; this is an MLGW right-of-way. 5) Southwest side of Valley Edge Drive where Fletcher Creek feeds Lake B: maintenance will stop at private property line. If you own property at any of these areas, please begin to maintain your property. Thank you. Neighborhood Watch Update Perhaps you have noticed the Memphis Neighborhood Watch signs at several of the entrances to our community. Please consider starting a Neighborhood Watch group on your block. If you have an interest in assisting with our community safety efforts, please contact the Board. Thank you for your continuing efforts to improve our CWLHOA Community. The CWLHOA Board values your ideas and suggestions. Have a Healthy And Happy Summer! 5