Board meeting minutes 10/30/2018

The first board meeting of the new Spring Lake Homeowners Association board was held on Tuesday, October 30, 2018 at 6:30 PM. In attendance at the start were:

Greg Bunch
Tom Burris
Tamara Laurie
Ted Weems

The first order of business was for the members to decide on which positions they would hold, and for how long. Two of the positions are for one year terms, as they are completing the remaining terms of former members who left office. The results of that discussion were:

Tom Burris will be president for a one year term.
Tamara Laurie will be vice president for a one year term.
Greg Bunch will be secretary for a two year term.
Ted Weems will be treasurer for a two year term.
Justin Caldwell will be member at large for a two year term.

Having police details in the subdivision to help address the speeding problem was added to the list of items the HOA wants to implement.

Committees were discussed. Currently there are three committees:
Common Areas Committee
Violations Committee
Welcoming Committee

A good number of residents have already signed up for these committees, and are very much appreciated. Tom Burris volunteered to head up the common areas committee. The violations committee, which has had many volunteers, will be overseen by Ted and Justin. Former board member Leatus Still is very active in this area, and is already making plans for a meeting of this committee (Sunday, November 4, 2018 at 5:30 PM at the park pavilion). Tamara will oversee the welcoming committee. Greg Bunch will use the MLS and the clerk of court records to keep track of sales which will help the welcoming committee to greet new residents.

Ted Weems mentioned that when he moved here he did not get contacted by anyone.

The board will meet with previous board members to confirm what their new violations procedures are, and to formally approve them after making any necessary changes. Greg Bunch will make a secure copy of a thumb drive given to the board by the former board which contains documents.

Member Justin Caldwell had been caught in traffic and arrived at 7:00 PM.

The board decided that having the welcoming committee give an official welcome to every single resident would be a great idea. Each person would get a copy of the restrictions. The board also discussed providing a gift to each incoming new resident as they move into our subdivision.

Tom will get in contact with the lawn company to confirm the details and duration of their contract. Justin mentioned that he also knows someone with a lawn company who could quote us if needed.

The board will obtain details on the new filing and make those available to everyone.

A lengthy discussion was held regarding Community Management. Their current contract was reviewed, with particular attention given to the termination section and related time frame. The contract states that after termination they must meet specific deadlines for turning over our web site, documents, and other information which belongs to us.

It was agreed that Greg will be in charge of providing a regular Spring Lake newsletter. It will be delivered via email or via our website to everyone with an email address. Residents who do not use email or Internet will receive a paper copy.

Following further discussion of Community Management, Greg Bunch made a motion to terminate their contract immediately. The motion was seconded by Ted Weems, and was passed by a unanimous 5-0 vote.

The board discussed the liability policy which is supposed to protect residents from liability should anyone sue the homeowners association. Such a suit could come from someone getting hurt or killed in a lake, etc. Tom is familiar with the policy, and will get a copy so it can be thoroughly reviewed to make sure all of our residents are protected and that we have the proper coverage we need.

Someone has volunteered to handle our simple accounting at little to no cost. The board will look into that possibility, and the procedure for having them bonded. Other options were discussed as well.

After we determine exactly how many electrical and water meters we have, Greg will contact DEMCO and Ward 2 Water to find out about putting them on a combined bill and thus getting a discount.

A discussion followed about the possibility of setting up an actual physical address for the park, complete with a mailbox. In the future perhaps water could be added there, which would be useful for park functions.

The board discussed adding the new treasurer and vice president to the bank account. They will also look at costs and features of our current bank, and move banks if necessary. Free online payment can save us time and money, and if our current bank does not provide that, moving the account would be wise.

The violations committee will be meeting Sunday, November 4, 2018 at 5:30 PM at the park pavilion. Several board members will also attend. One of the first things to do will be to draft a “Friendly Reminder” letter, which will be a much nicer first letter to send for a possible violation than the harsh letter used by Community Management.

The board held a brief discussion about options for our official SpringLakeWalker.com website after we get it back under our control.

The board agreed to give $100 to the Friendship Church for their gracious donation of their building for our last meeting. Such a donation had been done in the past.

Tom pointed out that our restrictions state there are supposed to be 2 community events (parties) each year, so that was discussed.

The board agreed that in the future, all official communications will come from our own website. The Spring Lake Facebook page will be a valuable, but secondary, source. Tom said he will get the Facebook login from a previous board member.

Until our official website is back in our hands from Community Management, a temporary site may be set up so that announcements and 2-way communication can take place. Once our official site is back, the temporary site will automatically send any visitors to the official site, and do so transparently. The board agreed that such a site will be a good benefit.

At some point soon the board will meet with recent former members to go over various details on projects currently under way. These include the newly revised violations policy, updates to the Natures Way entrance, judgments on the 2 largest past-due accounts, etc.

Meeting adjourned at 8:32 PM.