Meeting Minutes for 2008
Minutes
Board Meeting--November 20, 2008
In Attendance: Ed Pittman, Leo Minervini, Gayle Basnight, Jim Davis, Mary Ellen Crisp
Absent: Avis Nash, Dick Cranston, Tim Daly
Leo Minervini opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
A general discussion was held with regard to attendance at monthly board meetings. Tim Daly sent the board members an email addressing his absence at meetings. Leo will have a discussion with Tim to determine his commitment to the board and attendance at future meetings. It was suggested that we should institute some ground rules and expectations of board members prior to the installation of new/additional members.
Finance Committee
Leo presented a hand-out of receipts and disbursements as of November 7, 2008. There is currently a balance in the checking account of $1972.21, with projected bills remaining for 2008 in the amount of $1153.68.
Leo will obtain a list of delinquent homeowners from Avis when she returns from vacation. He and Gayle will start the collection process of filing liens against them. They will also determine if repeat offenders need additional liens filed or if the liens already filed can be amended.
With regard to specific expenditures, Jim confirmed that there is no duplication of services between the Smith Brothers and Southern Turf with regard to lawn care and fertilization/weed control.
The line item of payments to Douglas Love should be combined and indicate what work was done (two columns repaired plus purchase of brick to repair two more).
The payments to the Craven County Tax Collector were for back taxes owed by Gerald Anderson. The attorney acknowledged this was a result of an oversight on his part and had previously offered to reimburse us for those costs if we did not receive any type of reimbursement from Gerald Anderson. Leo will follow up to request reimbursement from the attorney.
There is a duplication of payment to the NC DOR for filing our tax extension. We are still expecting a refund of $60 from the NC DOR.
Leo will contact the accountant to get an estimate of the cost of filing our tax returns for 2008. We will then determine if we want to seek estimates from other preparers.
We need to institute and follow a procedure when submitting bills to the Treasurer for payment. A board member needs to authorize payment of any bills received indicating the work has been performed satisfactorily and payment should be made.
A motion was made to approve the Receipts and Disbursements as of November 7, 2008. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
Covenants Committee
The board discussed the revised Covenants Committee Charter. A motion was made to approve the charter. It was seconded and passed. Leo will inform Joe Mauney that his committee should go forward with the procedures outlined in the charter to continue enforcing the covenants.
Maintenance Committee
The committee is satisfied with the repair work that has been done on the two columns on the brick wall. The contractor is storing the extra brick that was purchased to repair two additional columns free of charge. It was recommended that we continue with the same contractor to repair additional columns.
The committee spoke to two engineering firms with regard to the sink hole that is happening on a lot in front of the back lake. It is most likely being caused by a leak in a bend of the underground pipe. They received the names of three firms that could confirm the problem and fix it. It was recommended that we get estimates from at least two of them so that we have a better idea of the cause and extent of the damage and the cost of repairs.
The items that were being thrown over the brick wall behind Iverson Lane have been removed.
The Christmas wreaths will be put up on the brick walls in early December.
Alignment Committee
Leo, Ed and Gordon will meet with an attorney to get a legal perspective on the possibility of merging the phases within Hunters Ridge. This will allow us to be better prepared to make a presentation and answer questions at the annual meeting.
Board Members
We will have either three or four board positions that need to be filled. Leo and Ed have contacted a few homeowners to see if any were interested. Other names were suggested at the meeting. Leo and Jim will follow-up to contact the additional suggested names to see if there’s an interest.
Annual Meeting Preparation
We will have our annual meeting in mid to late January. The first choice of a date is Thursday, January 22, 2009, with an alternate choice of January 29. Leo will ask Avis to check with her church to see if we could use that location again. It was suggested that we ask for a sound system to be set up so that everyone can be heard better.
Leo will check the by-laws to determine the timing of the meeting notices. It was suggested that we send out postcards instead of letters to save postage. It was also decided that we will hand-deliver reminder flyers a few days prior to the meeting.
Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at Ed Pittman’s house. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
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Board Meeting Minutes
October 9, 2008
In Attendance: Ed Pittman, Leo Minervini, Gayle Basnight, Jim Davis, Mary Ellen Crisp, Janet Johnson
Absent: Avis Nash, Dick Cranston, Tim Daly
Guests: Gordon Basnight, Joe Mauney
Leo Minervini opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
There was a discussion regarding attendance of board members at meetings. Leo will contact Tim Daly to discuss his commitment to the board and attendance at meetings.
Alignment Committee
Gordon Basnight presented a summary of the work this committee did with regard to combining all of the phases within the subdivision. A motion was made that this committee should proceed with the exploratory process of combining the phases. It was seconded and the motion passed. It was agreed that the next step be to meet with legal representation to make sure the approach is legal. Leo is to contact Jim Ayers prior to next month’s meeting.
Covenants Committee
Joe Mauney has been trying to grow this committee and would ideally like a cross-section of members from throughout all of the phases. Currently there are only 3 members and there is limited representation. The committee revised the Charter per the board’s recommendations. He will email an update to Susan Pittman for posting on the web.
Finance Committee
A discussion was held regarding the collection of dues and the amount of late fees. It was agreed that it would be beneficial to have an annual billing instead of semi-annual. It was also agreed that the late fees needed to be more significant than what they currently are (10%). A motion was made to change the by-laws and increase the late fees to $15 per month. It was seconded and the motion passed. Mary Ellen will send out an informational letter to all homeowners informing them of the new procedures. Invoices will be mailed prior to January 1, with a due date of January 31.
Maintenance Committee
The committee agreed to provide a quote for the cost of pine straw to the board in December for the following year, so that amount can be included in the budget.
Debris has been thrown over the brick wall behind the houses on Iverson Lane. Chuck Tyson will contact the homeowner and ask that they clean it up.
Going forward, the committee asks that Smith Bros. have total control over the care of the front entrance to include watering.
The sink hole on a lot on Wingate continues to be a problem. Ed will contact an engineer to have someone look at it to determine the cause and a possible solution.
Miscellaneous
It was recommended that we change the structure of the board and have the officers selected from board members beginning with next year’s board. This item will be discussed in more detail at the next meeting.
Leo asked Janet to help get documents, etc. together for the upcoming annual meeting.
Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. Location TBD. The meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m.
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Minutes
Board Meeting -- September 11, 2008
In Attendance: Ed Pittman, Avis Nash, Leo Minervini, Gayle Basnight, Jim Davis, Mary Ellen Crisp, Gordon Basnight
Absent: Janet Johnson, Tim Daly
Leo Minervini opened the meeting at 7:00 p. m.
Marilyn Philippart, Board Member, resigned from her position at the end of July 2008. A replacement needs to be named. After a brief discussion, a motion was made to appoint Dick Cranston to replace her. It was seconded and the motion passed. Leo will inform Dick that he was chosen to replace Marilyn and will serve as a board member for her remaining term.
Mary Ellen, Janet and Dick Cranston met with the Treasurer of Taberna's HOA. A report was given to the Board of how they run their association and what suggestions she provided to help us with our structure.
Finance Committee:
The Treasurer provided a hand-out of receipts and disbursements as of September 10, 2008. There is currently a balance in the checking account of $3356.40, with projected bills remaining for 2008 in the amount of $2307.36.
There are still eight residents who have not paid their dues. Six homeowners have not paid the second half of 2008, and two have not paid at all for 2008.
A discussion developed regarding the collection of dues, collection of late fees, recovering court costs and legal fees and the placement of liens on homes. A set monthly amount of a late fee might have more impact than the small percentage we are charging now. It was also suggested that we begin billing annually instead of having the option to pay semi-annually. A suggestion was also made to place liens on the homes of those who have not paid by year-end.
Leo asked Gayle and Gordon Basnight to review the current by-laws and covenants to determine what our options are with regard to the billing process, late fee amounts, etc. They will report back with their findings at the October meeting.
The Treasurer also requested that all bills submitted for payment be detailed. In addition, she will not make payments or reimbursements for any items that have not been approved in the Budget or have gotten Board approval at a meeting.
Covenants Committee:
Leo presented a hand-out of "The Covenants Committee Charter" provided by Joe Mauney. The board reviewed it and made comments. It was agreed that this Charter was not specific enough with regard to the procedures they are recommending. Leo will talk to Joe and ask him to revise it. He will also invite him to attend our next meeting.
Maintenance Committee:
The pine straw has been installed.
The lights are in place and are working. Several adjustments had to be made, which had to be done at night, which added to the length of time it took to complete the installation.
Smith Bros. indicated they would place seasonally appropriate flowers in the boxes around the sign three times a year for a total cost of $250. It was agreed this expense was not in the Budget and there is not enough money to cover it at this time.
Smith Bros. also provided an estimate of additional landscaping in the island, to include bushes around the bottom of the monument which would cover the base that is exposed. The proposed project totaled $1071.00. Again, this does not fit our current budget. The Board will consider this proposal when determining next years' budget.
The Bradford Pear trees are extremely dry. It is not known if they will survive, but it is strongly suggested that they receive as much water as possible to increase the chances we won't lose them.
There has been frustration with the company that has repaired the first column on the brick wall. It has not been completed to the Maintenance Committee's satisfaction and they have been non-responsive to phone calls. They need to fix the color of the adhesive and fix the top of the pillar to make it complete.
There are 12 more columns that need to be fixed; most of them are in need of immediate repair. Due to the amount of funds remaining, a motion was made to purchase the amount of bricks needed to complete 3 additional columns and repair one, with the remaining bricks being stored. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Alignment Committee:
Gordon Basnight presented the findings of this committee, which has met numerous times over the past several months. They reviewed the covenants of all the phases in Hunters Ridge and provided a cross reference that makes it easy to compare them. They also provided a comparison of dues and a proposed dues structure that over time would make the dues for all homeowners equal. They also provided a printout of recommendations and conclusions. It was agreed that this was a lot of information for the Board to digest. Each member received a copy of all the documents provided to review after the meeting. A big thank you to Gordon and his committee for all their efforts.
Web site Renewal:
The invoice was paid to renew the maintenance of our web site for another year.
Annual Meeting Preparation:
In anticipation of our annual meeting, we will look at restructuring our current Board/Officers. Currently, the board members serve two-year terms. Three of the members' terms expire at the end of the year. We need to consider the timing of the annual meeting so that it coincides with the terms of the board members. Ed Pittman will present some suggestions to discuss at the next meeting.