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Wednesday, April 28, 6- 8 PM Bees Landing Recreation Complex Opening Remarks: Meeting was called to order by L. Veatch at 6PM. All were welcomed to the meeting and the new Bees Landing Recreation Complex. L. Veatch announced she would be running for re-election to the Board. Another homeowner, Richard Bunch, announced his bid for the board. Mr. Bunch gave a brief description of his background and his interest in applying for the Board. Ballots were given to all homeowners and the results would be announced at end of tonight’s meeting. Pool/Security/Basketball Goal – Jon Henrikson: Jon asked for volunteers to set up pool furniture on May 1st (day of pool opening) at 9 AM. He informed the homeowners that an upgraded security system has been installed at the pool that holds more memory and has a 5 year warranty. Homeowners were advised that the basketball hoop at the pool is going to be removed per recent vote of HOA Board members. Several fence posts were recently repaired due to vandalism. Late night basketball playing is related to this vandalism. Basketball is now offered inside the gym at the Bees Landing Recreation Complex. No objections were voices regarding this decision. Jon asked homeowners for any suggestions on where to donate our basketball hoop. Homeowners are encouraged to call the City Police non-emergency number, 84- 577-7434, if they observe any suspicious activity around the pool or in the neighborhood. ACC Committee – Ron Byrd: Ron gave an overview of the role of the ACC in our community. He stressed that Mt. Royall & Harrington Place is a controlled environment and that residents have chosen to live in this community. He stated the goal of the ACC is maintaining appearance to maintain the value of homes in the neighborhood. ACC does not typically get involved with landscaping improvements as they enhance property value. The time line for an approved project is 90 days to 6 months once started. R. Byrd recommended homeowners contact the Charleston County Zoning Ordinances for regulations on tree removal. Fines can be levied up to $15, 000 for improper tree removal. R. Byrd stated our property value has only gone down 20 % compared to 40% drop in Charleston County. Homeowners needing ACC approval for a project were informed how to access an ACC application form via our website. ACC requests are usually answered within 72 hours. Several homeowners had questions about drainage problems on their property. R. Byrd advised homeowners to direct these concerns to the City. One homeowner complained about a large willow tree blocking his view of the pond. Board will investigate this further. Speaker: Will Rishovd, Bees Landing Manager Mr. Rishovd welcomed homeowners to the new facility. He announced the tennis courts are open and the children’s playground. The Bees Landing Recreation Complex includes a gym and a large multi-purpose room. Several classes will be offered the week of May10th. They include, Yoga Boot Camp, Mommy & Me exercise classes, Youth Jazz, Sumba Dance. Efforts are underway to get an Adult Dodge ball League. Treadmills and bikes will be available in the gym during the daytime hours. Fitness classes will also be offered in the near future. Other future projects include volleyball, and a basketball league for adults 40 and over. Most popular activity now is the basketball playing in the gym. An open gym membership is $15 a year. Currently the gym is not open on Sundays. Speaker: Matt Compton – Bees Landing Construction/Planning Mr. Compton stated the benches for the playground are coming in tomorrow. He stated the Dog Park in still in preparation for use. There will be three different areas for dogs; small dog, general dog, and wet dog area. Poop bags for dogs’ excrement will be located through the dog park. More trees will be added to the park in October. Ground cover is going in now. An exterior basketball hoop will be installed if there is interest in this from the community. Exterior basketball playing requires special set up and monitoring. A front entry gate for the park has been ordered. Currently the recreation center is closing at 9:30 PM. Recreation Department worked hard to minimize the impact of lighted baseball/softball fields. Mr. Compton advised homeowners to log into Grand Oaks website for updated information on the Landing. He stated all exercise classes at the Landing will have a separate class fee. A Summer Camp is being designed for young children. The Landing will be advertising this in near future.
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Speaker: Dan Riegel, Charleston City Council Member, District #10 Mr. Riegel stated that over 200 volunteers assisted with the set up of the children’s playground at the Landing. On April 3rd, 500-600 people attended the East Egg Hunt at the Landing. Mr. Riegel informed homeowners of the various road widening projects that affect our community. The Paul Cantrell Blvd widening project will get started in June 2010. Bees Ferry Road widening construction will begin Spring 2011. The traffic light at Grand Oaks will not be removed. The sub-division located near the Landing has received preliminary approval but developer is having problems securing bank loans due to difficult economic times. New roads for our community have been put on hold due to this. Permits have been renewed and are active so the intent remains to build additional roads into the Grand Oaks subdivision. Several homeowners expressed concern over expansion of Bees Ferry Landfill. One homeowner asked about restricting heavy truck traffic to Savannah Hwy only. Mr. Riegel that all vehicles and trucks pay taxes and thus have access to all roads. DOT cannot restrict use of certain highways. Speaker: Graham Philips – Website Mr. Philips gave an overview of the neighborhood’s website. Our website is a subsidiary of the Grand Oaks website. Homeowners expressed satisfaction with using website as a tool to learn about neighborhood activities. Speaker: Susan Boykin – Covenants & Restrictions S. Boykin reported weekly inspection by C. Brack of community is vehicle used to identify any problem situations. Homeowners are also encouraged to contact the Board and/or C. Brack if they witness a violation of our covenants and restrictions. Recent efforts by the Board to decrease violations and increase neighborhood pride include: contacting rental property management companies to advise them of our restrictions and covenants; signs placed prominently in community that we are governed by covenants; Yard of the Month; Best Holiday Yard; Christmas decorations at entry way. Ms. Boykin stated some houses are in need of dire attention. One house is in foreclosure, stands vacant with visible mold of front/sides of house, landscaping needs attention. Ms. Brack must spend considerable time tracking down correct owner of the house to pursue corrective action. Several homes in our community are rental properties. Homeowner must be contacted to address any covenant violation. Letters are sent out with work to be done request. Fines are levied if homeowner ignores letters. Eventually, Board will contract out to have work done and charge the homeowner. Ms. Boykin announced Board was looking into pricing for a community sign to announce upcoming events. Sign would be located at the Pool. Speaker: Lynn Veatch L. Veatch reported on finances: $30,000 in CD earning 2.33 %, $11,226.44 in Savings account, Checking Account balance is $59, 264. 13. Outstanding HOA dues are $13, 916.62 made up of 24 homeowners, 4 of whom owe two years dues. Small claims have been filed on two of these and judgments have been awarded by the Court. Three have made partial payments. The final due date for late HOA fees is May 3rd. Outreach phone calls and emails will be made prior to the deadline in hopes of securing payments. Small claims suits will be filed for any fees not paid post May 3rd. Ms. Veatch reported the gate at the playground has been repaired and a new sign, “No Swinging on the Gate” has been posted. A new Handicap Sign for the pool area has been ordered.
A new janitorial service “Dust Bunnies” will be servicing the pool area this season. Board will begin replacing the pool furniture gradually. A homeowner suggested bright lights for the pool bathroom. Another homeowner expressed dislike for vending machine placed at pool area. L. Veatch will do a survey with homeowners (via email) to assess homeowners likes/dislikes about the vending machine. L. Veatch reported on weed control in entry median. Turf replacement will take place over next three years. Annual cost for this project would be $2,000. Killing weeds in median now would leave large areas with only dirt as there is little grass in this area. Several homeowners complained of street parking and cars parked in the wrong direction of oncoming traffic. Cars are not allowed to block sidewalks, driveways or park on the curb. HOA cannot enforce wrongful street parking, City must be contacted for this. Parking against the flow of traffic is a citable occurrence. Summary: Votes for new board members were tallied. L. Veatch re-elected and Richard Bunch newly elected. Mr. Bunch thanked homeowners for their votes. No further business to discuss, meeting was adjourned at 8PM.
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Respectfully submitted by,
Susan E. Boykin
Secretary
Posted by:
G.R.Phillips
5/19/10