I am hoping that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! Take the time to enjoy your friends and family and stay safe and warm!
I wanted to take a few moments to give you a brief recap of the highlights of our Board Meeting this past Saturday! First, I want to thank those of you who came out and attended the meeting! It was a long one, but it was very productive and we got lots accomplished for the community!
Our first order of business was to Welcome new Board Member Linda Azzarella! While she is new to the board, she is an experienced member of the HOA’s self governance group! We all look forward to working with her!
All of the Manager’s gave their reports and there was nothing really remarkable to report. Of interest to many would be the fact that the October vandalism report identified 6 separate times that restrooms had been vandalized over the month. We are hoping to see a huge reduction in vandalism when we get the November report. Restrooms will continue to be locked through the winter season.
I introduced a resolution on Pet Owner accountability for Vicious Dogs. There have been way too many small pets attacked and severely injured or killed from being attacked by Vicious Dogs that are not on their leashes. The Resolution has been provided to the Board for further review and will be discussed further at the December Board Meeting. If you have an interest in this I encourage you to come to the meeting the third Saturday of the month in December.
Our treasurer introduced a new and updated Process that establishes flow and tracking of all late dues and assessments and specifies what steps are taken in each and every circumstance. It includes what actions are to be taken with Trustee sales as Bankruptcy sales so as to minimize as much as possible the length of time a home sits vacant once the owner is no longer in control of the home.
Well 5 and its current status was discussed. A group of the Water and Roads committee members along with any other interested parties will be visiting a treatment plant where they have treatment systems similar to those being considered for our water system. This will help them, along with the advice we have received from experts to put the right system into place.
The Winter Weather plan was introduced, finalized and will be posted on our website this next week. Again, it is incumbent on every resident to plan ahead for the bad weather and make sure that you are prepared. If you have not yet gotten chains for your tires, it is not a bad idea to have them. It is my understanding that there is a tire store in town where you can buy chains and if you don’t use them and keep the original packaging, they will take them back and refund your money when the winter season is over.
Director Cawley and Manager Darrow let us know that they were working closely with the State and County officials on the design of the Bulkheads at Reichel and Otter Beaches and that project is moving along well.
The Emergency Services and Patrol Group introduced a Vacation Check Program where residents who are going to be gone from home for extended periods of time can complete a form at the office and have their house put on a list to be checked whenever our Local Patrol or Sheriff patrols are in the neighborhood. While it is not a daily patrol, it will cover several days of the week and can be very preventative. It is also helpful to let a neighbor whom you trust know to watch your property as well. Additionally, they are continuing to watch vehicles that are parked in no parking zones or blocking street access for fire and ambulance access. They will TOW vehicles that are parked incorrectly. Some situations require notice, and others do not.
The Board evaluated their TOP 5 priorities for the next Year. Each Director is taking the lead on one of the 5 item and will be working with the different committees and invite community members to help do some planning and research to make sure that we get done the projects that we agreed needed to be done. The overall descriptions of the projects without going into the specific scope that were adopted were 1) Updating and Clarifying Administrative and Operational Policy and Processes and all governing documents; 2) Safety and Security of the Community to include the Gate System and Fencing; 3) Focus on the timely completion of Reserve Projects to ensure that we are caring for the amenities and community property that we all enjoy 4) Evaluating the Roads and Water Systems and the pipes which carry the water throughout the community; and 5) Searching out a Software Solution that will assist with the administrative workload of managing the HOA – such things as debt collection, electronic voting, violation processing, billing, project planning and work orders to name a few. This was probably one of the most important things that we accomplished during this meeting and it will take the focus of the next year.
As I close, let me give out a few reminders: All RV’s need to be moved off lots. No one can reside in RV’s to include tents, truck campers after November 1, 2017 through May 1, 2018. I also had the chance to go on a ride along with my husband today as he checked on existing building permits and want to remind everyone that the Yellow Permits are to be left up until your project is complete. This will eliminate you being reported for not having a work permit when in fact you do; with all the rain and wind, you could put it in a baggie and attach it to your tree or front porch so the ACC members can easily see them.
Tommy also asked me to share with you how important it is to have the house numbers of your addresses easy to see from the roadway. When he has to go out at night to turn off water or take care of another emergency, it can be very hard to see your address. I will remind you that the Bald Hills Fire Department sells metal reflective signs that go in your front yard that can be easily seen at night. Those are so easy to see and are of great assistance if you ever need a police or ambulance.
And lastly, please remember that it is your responsibility to keep your yards neat and tidy! I know there are way too many leaves this time of year but I am seeing backs of pickup trucks filled with junk, wooden pallets piled in front of homes, trash thrown outside on the front porch, shelving set up in front of closed garage doors being use for storage, appliances left on the side of houses, wood scraps and construction materials that has been left piled in front yards. The aesthetics of any community contribute to our property values and it is my hope that we can instill pride in every resident.
And in closing, what would this letter be if I didn’t share with you the continued need for volunteers to help out on the many committees! Just today alone, the ACC Committee had 29 properties to check out for building permits! That’s very time consuming for one or two people to accomplish! Our patrol group needs volunteers to ride in pairs as they work the neighborhood in the evenings! If only they had enough to cover more nights! The holidays are coming and our MAC committee is looking for folks to help with the Christmas Events! And the Polar Bear Plunge will be coming!
Happy Thanksgiving Clearwood!