Canongate Village Homeowners Association
Annual Meeting Minutes
April 17, 2018
In accordance with the bylaws an annual meeting of the homeowner’s association was held on Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at 7:00 PM at Northgate High School in the 9th grade cafeteria, located at 3220 Fischer Rd, Newnan, GA
The homeowners were notified of the meeting by mail which was sent on March 23, 2018. This notice was also posted on the web site www.canongatevillage.org. A copy of the notice to the membership is filed for record. Included with the notice were the following documents:
WELCOME – President Orler introduced himself and thanked everyone for attending the Annual Homeowners meeting. He reviewed the list of the new residents who had moved into the neighborhood since the last Annual Meeting and those who were present identified themselves.
Meeting Called to Order – President Orler called the Annual Meeting to order at 7:05 PM. He confirmed that a sufficient number of property owners were present to make a quorum per the sign in sheet and proxies. A total of 58 lots were present along with 61 proxies that were received by Secretary Kadlick. There are 201 lots considered in the count.
We are going to have a roll call vote tonight so you will need to sign-in in order to be called upon. If you are a proxy for another homeowner, you need to register under their lot.
Roberts rules of order will govern the meeting. For those who wish to speak, each statement will be limited to 90 seconds. Time keepers will inform you when your time is up. Use the microphones in the room so that everyone can hear.
Introduction of Board Members – President Orler introduced each of the Board Members:
Mark Orler (At Large & President); Sharon Kadlick (Secretary & Area 2 Rep), Robert Kupfner (Treasurer); Andy Hardin (Area 3 Rep) and Don Harris (Area 4 Rep).
Additions to the Agenda by Members – There were no request for additions to be made to the agenda.
Approval of the 2017 Annual Meeting Minutes – President Orler asked if everyone had a chance to read the minutes from the 2017 Annual meeting and if anyone had questions about them. There were no questions or comments from the homeowners.
Motion – Ben Amoson made a motion to approve the minutes
Second – Glen Marshall
Vote – Unanimously passed
OLD BUSINESS:
New Entrance Sign – Joe Lee Drive sign was replaced.
Lake Maintenance – President Orler indicated that there is a budget item for the lake and that has been funded throughout the year. Survey and quality of the lake; indication of the fish and the health of the body of water. The health of the water is very good with good visibility; indication that we don’t have algae or fungus in the lake. Fed by under and above ground streams. We track it so we can address issues if they arise. The recommendations provided are “standard” and the board will assess how to deal with recommendations.
Fish – The fish management company goes out and shocks the water and fish rise to the top and tell us how many types of fish are in the lake. There are some large bass in the lake, with shellcrackers, which are bottom feeders and then bluegill.
President Orler showed a chart of the weight of the fish and we are average. Suggestions are to present salting of the lake to bring some bait fish into the lake: cost $1500-$3500 to increase the base fish and to eliminate the competition in the lake. The other way to do that is to encourage homeowners to fish; need to get out about 25 pounds per acre (25 x 25 lbs.); harvest a lot of the skinny fish out of the lake. The Board has some money in the budget to pursue this request. The 2018 BOD will consider whether to keep the current fish management company or to hire another company who do provide more universal services into one package.
Pavilion Update – President Orler reported that some repairs were made to the kitchen after the severe water damage due to a water leak from the water heater. The drywall was repainted and new countertop installed. The repairs came in under budget.
NEW BUSINESS
Long-Range Projects – Referenced the lake maintenance history in years past. HOA still rebuilding the funds and we are not quite there yet. The BOD is still considering the health of the lake and discussing smaller dredging projects. A bathymetric survey was performed in 2012; we are now looking to get another survey this year. The second survey will be used to show any increase of siltation to give us a better idea to pin point projects. The limitations were the mobilization of equipment. We feel like we can do targeted projects instead of a huge project. There are contractors who will do maintenance of the lake and conducting the maintenance in this manner would be a more progressive way to handle the lake.
Side Walk Initiative – Looked into this project. Marie Orler conducted a feasibility study and met with the county. It was determined that there would be heavy costs at approximately $3 per linear foot for sidewalks from the entrance of Canongate Trace down to Lawn Market (down to the dam). The cost would be $150,000 to do this; however, the cost of concrete has gone up since then. This project is tabled at this time due to financial concerns.
Speeding – Canongate Trace to Palmetto Tyrone and Lawn Market – the speed limit is 25 mph. We have had some close calls by drivers using this route as a cut-through. Speed bumps are not a good option because if installed, that will prevent roads from being resurfaced by the county. However, the BOD is looking at temporary deterrents. The cost for the temporary deterrents is much less and can be removed and relocated if needed. The BOD wants to hear from residents so send your thoughts to us.
Amendment, Presentation & Vote – This has been a long process; this is the result in an increase of complaints from the homeowners to the BOD regarding the covenant violations. President Orler was the ACC chair for 4 years and only had 2 cases and most of the time, the situations were eliminated with a simple conversation about the issue. Most homeowners were reasonable and the ACC was, and is willing to work with everyone.
Sam McCool, Chair of the ACC, has had many violations to deal with during his tenure. Some complaints have been received anonymously however you are encouraged to put your name on it. Over the past few years, we have had new residents come in who want to remodel, but the change of residents over the year has brought to light a lot of violations. Attempts to speak with the new homeowners have become contentious and the BOD has had to pursue legal remedies. Canongate residents bought homes knowing that the covenants were there to help protect property values and help achieve the highest return as possible. In some of these recent cases, the BOD has had to issue an injective relief from our attorney to stop the work on a property. The BOD only pursues this avenue as a last resort. The BOD is always willing to work with our neighbors to remediate a violation.
The BOD looked at covenants in nearby neighborhoods and our covenants fall woefully short in comparison. We want to strengthen the baseline of the covenants and give the authority to the homeowners at large. The uniqueness of this structure is that instead of having a BOD that dictates the fines, we would establish a Homeowner’s Committee. The intent is to have representation of your peers on the committee and they would have veto power over the BOD and/or the ACC. This establishes a checks and balances over the issuing of fines.
In taking a look at the amendment, it addresses off-street parking. Our covenants don’t define off-street parking which is problematic. If a homeowner parks in their front yard or beside their house, this is technically off-street parking. The BOD would like to clearly identify this as paved parking – concrete or asphalt. If a homeowner wants to add more driveway, he should use the same substrate that exist.
Issuance of Fines – Before any fine can be assessed, it would require the majority approval of the three bodies, the BOD, the ACC, and the Homeowner’s Committee which would have veto power. The homeowner in violation would have the opportunity to come before the BOD in an effort to try to remediate the violation. The implementation of fines would allow us to put liens on the property and help motivate the homeowner to get the work completed in a timely fashion.
If you have a violation, the BOD, and the ACC will look at how to improve the request. If the ACC rejects it, it is always done with a recommendation so that the homeowner will be brought into compliance. If the homeowner remains in violation, the only thing the BOD can do at this time is to suspend their voting rights and contact our law firm to seek an injunctive relief. These are our current limitations. Therefore, the entire purpose of this is to truly make the enforcement of the covenants have some strength to it. Sometimes HOA BODs have to get violator’s attention by hitting them in their pocket book.
Mr. Orler referenced Peachtree City and mentioned that we may adjust our duration clause to ensure that our covenants come up for review every 10 years and be updated with 2/3 of the vote. This would align us better with current case law.
So tonight, to get an amendment passed we needed quorum to be present and the votes tonight are enforceable. There are three lots suspended and cannot vote. We need a 50%+1 vote for this amendment to be adopted. As such, we need to achieve 102 votes to get this amendment approved.
Comments Related to the Proposed Amendment:
Q: Laurie Pate – Questioned the process. If the HO committee votes the violation down, can it be brought up again for consideration or is it done?
A: President Orler– there is a window of 2 years to address the violation. If changes are made and it becomes a new violation, the 2-year window is reset.
Q: Mike Edwards – Are fines retroactive?
A: President Orler – There are no retroactive fines.
Q: William Gray – There is no language in the amendment about liens or the minimum number of members who will serve on the subcommittee.
A: President Orler – The covenants allow us to put liens on property.
Q: William Gray – So, there was a car being parked in the yard and this is the reason for this change?
A: President Orler – No, that is not the issue. He spoke about the homeowner that want to put in a new driveway to handle off street parking. ACC rejected it. The homeowner re-submitted and the ACC denied it but provided suggestions. Then the homeowner had gravel driveway installed. This is the reason had to be changed. Before we could get a judgement, the homeowner did remediate the driveway but they are still parking in the yard. Our attorney indicated that we can’t do anything because our definition of “off street parking” is weak.
Q: Gary Howard – Have you look at rewriting the covenants all together?
A: President Orler – We looked at a covenants rewrite committee and would require a 2/3 majority to do it. This way would fix the more immediate need. This current court case costs the HOA over $800. We obtained the final assessment after Jan 2018 which is why it is not reflected in the 2017 expenditures.
Q: Jim Mault – I have dealt with the BOD for 3-4 years. There are no teeth in our bylaws to do anything. This BOD is charged to have a lot of responsibilities but no way to enforce them. You have a hard time to get homeowners to serve on committees and then people don’t show up for meetings. I am concerned with your subcommittee – that you cannot get enough people to serve on the subcommittee. Jim suggested that the violator would have to obtain their own residents to serve on the committee.
A: President Orler – When the BOD first drafted the amendment, we did not have the Homeowner Committee in there. The BOD floated this amendment to various homeowners and listened to their feedback and decided that the establishment of a Homeowner’s Committee would be the safety net. The minimum number of members must be 5 and likely only need to meet one time per year. The make-up of the committee would not include those who serve on the BOD or the ACC. The residents indicated that they did not want the BOD and ACC to have too much power so this committee is a compromise. We hope that we could get at least 5 people to serve.
Q: CA Wyatt – We need to address cars parked on the curves on Lawn Market. No parking on curves even for a short term because it is very dangerous when the sun is in your eyes – you cannot see. Especially near High Street and Lawn Market; also, White Shark Cove. No parking signs would be helpful.
A: President Orler – The BOD will investigate this concern.
Q: William Gray – What if you don’t have the committee?
A: President Orler – Without the committee, we cannot assess fines.
Q: Barry Bruder – Why don’t we put a sunset clause in the amendment and at the end of 2-3 years, we reassess. Mike Edwards thought that this is a good idea. Mark indicated that he would need to speak with the attorney.
A: President Orler – The board is looking at a complete re-write of the covenants. The reason that the BOD did not do it is because our law firm was going to charge a very large fee. The BOD will do the draft.
Comment: Sam McCool – Within the past years, we have had several violations. Many were minor and he spoke to them and the issue was remediated. The ACC always tries to work with the homeowner first. If that fails, the ACC sends a letter and takes voting rights away. He recommends that we vote for this amendment tonight instead of waiting on it.
Comment: Don Harris – That Homeowner’s Committee is created on case-by-case and must be made up of a minimum of five homeowners. It would also be a rolling committee.
Q: Gary Howard – Would the insurance go up?
A: President Orler – No. Don’t believe so but will inquire with insurance company. The authority remains with the BOD and not the committee.
Comment: Don Harris (insurance agent) indicated that the likelihood of our rates being negatively impacted is very small.
Q: Janis Shoup – Whatever the Homeowner Committee decides would come back to the BOD for a determination?
A: President Orler – The Homeowner Committee is the last entity to review the violation. This committee does not generate the violation; they only review the violation and make their recommendation back to the BOD who would assess the fine.
Comment: Robert Kimbro mentioned that the committee is a fresh group of homeowners looking at issues. It changes with each case.
Comment: Joy Hardin – A spouse of the of a BOD and ACC could not serve on the Homeowner Committee.
Comment: Jim Mault – If you have a rotating committee, you will have a better chance of getting people to serve. He expressed concerns that if the BOD goes away and the HOA hires a management company, what would that mean for this committee. He also wanted assurances that the members making up the committee were residents of CGV and not outsiders.
Comment: President Orler - The committee would serve at the interest of the president and would only be residents of CGV.
Q: William Gray pointed out that the amendment as written does not address the size of the subcommittee and questioned whether it should be reflected in there.
A: President Orler – Suggested that we can add the wording, “a minimum number of “X” Homeowners shall serve on the subcommittee.
President Orler suggested that someone make a motion of the wording to specify in the amendment, no less than 5 people to serve on the committee.
Q: Dennis Wahlen – Asked if the amendment can just be changed like that here at the meeting when there are people who aren’t here and would not be aware of the change.
A: President Orler – We are simply trying to clarify a point within the amendment and it does not affect the intent of the amendment.
Motion to Add Clarifying Language to the Amendment related to the size of the subcommittee:
Motion - Don Harris made motion to add to the wording of the current language that the Homeowner’s Committee have no less than five members in good standing.
Second – Andy Hardin
Vote – passed (70 Approved; 4 Opposed)
Motion to Approve the Amendment as written with the aforementioned clarification of committee size:
Motion – A motion was made to approve the amendment to include the clarifying language about the size of the Homeowner’s Committee.
Second – Cindy Lauer
Roll Call Vote – Passed (111 Approved; 12 Opposed)
Financial Report for 2018
President Orler reviewed the finances pointing out that of $51,470 came in under budget.
Add that to original income, positive $19,244. This board has been responsible with your money. Any left-over money was placed into the reserve fund. Total assets $292,000. The HOA is gaining back some of the ground we lost a few years ago with the dredging effort.
Proposed Budget for 2018 – President Orler presented the proposed budget which was the same as 2017 $64,750. As a reminder, you are voting on this budget, not the line items within the budget. Your vote is based on the proposed budget of $51,470.
Motion – Dennis Whalen made a motion to approve the budget as presented.
Second – Glen Marshall
Vote – Passed
Nominations & Election of Board Directors
President Orler stated that the area representative spots are 2-year terms and there are three open areas due to a resignation in Area 1. Called for nominations for Area 1
Area 1 Rep
Jim Mault nominated William Gray – 32 votes
President Orler nominated Kirk Edens – 66 votes
Vote – Kirk Edens was elected
President Orler asked current member Sharon Kadlick, if she was willing to serve another term as the Area 2 Mrs. Kadlick stated she was not. President Orler then called for nominations for Area 2.
Area 2 Rep
Nominations:
Gary Howard nominated himself – 8 votes
President Orler nominated Andy Hardin – 44 votes
Roxanne Ledesma nominated herself – 64 votes
Vote – Roxanne Ledesma was elected
Area 3 Rep
Nominations:
Gary Howard nominated himself– 11 votes
Andy Hardin nominated himself– 76 votes
Vote – Andy Hardin was elected
President Orler stated that the At Large positions are a 1-year term and there are three open positions. He called
for nominations.
At Large Positions: Call for nominations.
Position 1 – Hearing no nominations, inquired with current member as to their willingness to continue to serve.
Mark Orler was willing to serve.
Position 2 – Hearing no nominations, inquired with current member as to their willingness to continue to serve.
Robert Kupfner was willing to serve.
Position 3 – Nominations for third position:
William Gray – 52 votes
Jeff Salyards – 71 votes
Vote – Jeff Salyards won the position.
The new 2017-2018 board is as followed:
Area Rep (2 yr. term) Incumbent Term Expires
1 Kirk Edens April 2019
2 Roxanne Ledesma April 2020
3 Andy Hardin April 2020
4 Don Harris April 2019
At Large (1 yr. term) Incumbent Term Expires
1 Mark Orler April 2019
2 Robert Kupfner April 2019
3 Jeff Salyards April 2019
Volunteer Opportunities:
President Orler asked members to please consider serving on one of our many committees:
Board Announcements – President Orler reminded homeowners: No gas engines in the lake, pick up after your dog, no minors at the pavilion, speed limit is 25 mph, seek ACC approval before starting projects, and to check out our new Face Book page. Please refrain from sending anonymous complaints to the board. Your privacy is protected, but we need to be able to follow-up on any complaint.
ADJOURNMENT – President Orler asked if there was any further business for the meeting, if not, could a member make a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Motion – Wayne McWhorter made a motion to adjourn.
Second – Ben Amoson
Vote - Unanimous
Meeting Adjourned at 9:10 pm
Secretary – Ms. Sharon Kadlick
Annual Meeting Minutes
April 17, 2018
In accordance with the bylaws an annual meeting of the homeowner’s association was held on Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at 7:00 PM at Northgate High School in the 9th grade cafeteria, located at 3220 Fischer Rd, Newnan, GA
The homeowners were notified of the meeting by mail which was sent on March 23, 2018. This notice was also posted on the web site www.canongatevillage.org. A copy of the notice to the membership is filed for record. Included with the notice were the following documents:
- Meeting Agenda
- Minutes (draft) from the 2017 Annual Meeting
- 2017 Financial Report
- 2018 Proposed Budget
- Proposed Amendment
- Proxy Voting Form
- Directions to the Meeting
WELCOME – President Orler introduced himself and thanked everyone for attending the Annual Homeowners meeting. He reviewed the list of the new residents who had moved into the neighborhood since the last Annual Meeting and those who were present identified themselves.
Meeting Called to Order – President Orler called the Annual Meeting to order at 7:05 PM. He confirmed that a sufficient number of property owners were present to make a quorum per the sign in sheet and proxies. A total of 58 lots were present along with 61 proxies that were received by Secretary Kadlick. There are 201 lots considered in the count.
We are going to have a roll call vote tonight so you will need to sign-in in order to be called upon. If you are a proxy for another homeowner, you need to register under their lot.
Roberts rules of order will govern the meeting. For those who wish to speak, each statement will be limited to 90 seconds. Time keepers will inform you when your time is up. Use the microphones in the room so that everyone can hear.
Introduction of Board Members – President Orler introduced each of the Board Members:
Mark Orler (At Large & President); Sharon Kadlick (Secretary & Area 2 Rep), Robert Kupfner (Treasurer); Andy Hardin (Area 3 Rep) and Don Harris (Area 4 Rep).
Additions to the Agenda by Members – There were no request for additions to be made to the agenda.
Approval of the 2017 Annual Meeting Minutes – President Orler asked if everyone had a chance to read the minutes from the 2017 Annual meeting and if anyone had questions about them. There were no questions or comments from the homeowners.
Motion – Ben Amoson made a motion to approve the minutes
Second – Glen Marshall
Vote – Unanimously passed
OLD BUSINESS:
New Entrance Sign – Joe Lee Drive sign was replaced.
Lake Maintenance – President Orler indicated that there is a budget item for the lake and that has been funded throughout the year. Survey and quality of the lake; indication of the fish and the health of the body of water. The health of the water is very good with good visibility; indication that we don’t have algae or fungus in the lake. Fed by under and above ground streams. We track it so we can address issues if they arise. The recommendations provided are “standard” and the board will assess how to deal with recommendations.
Fish – The fish management company goes out and shocks the water and fish rise to the top and tell us how many types of fish are in the lake. There are some large bass in the lake, with shellcrackers, which are bottom feeders and then bluegill.
President Orler showed a chart of the weight of the fish and we are average. Suggestions are to present salting of the lake to bring some bait fish into the lake: cost $1500-$3500 to increase the base fish and to eliminate the competition in the lake. The other way to do that is to encourage homeowners to fish; need to get out about 25 pounds per acre (25 x 25 lbs.); harvest a lot of the skinny fish out of the lake. The Board has some money in the budget to pursue this request. The 2018 BOD will consider whether to keep the current fish management company or to hire another company who do provide more universal services into one package.
Pavilion Update – President Orler reported that some repairs were made to the kitchen after the severe water damage due to a water leak from the water heater. The drywall was repainted and new countertop installed. The repairs came in under budget.
NEW BUSINESS
Long-Range Projects – Referenced the lake maintenance history in years past. HOA still rebuilding the funds and we are not quite there yet. The BOD is still considering the health of the lake and discussing smaller dredging projects. A bathymetric survey was performed in 2012; we are now looking to get another survey this year. The second survey will be used to show any increase of siltation to give us a better idea to pin point projects. The limitations were the mobilization of equipment. We feel like we can do targeted projects instead of a huge project. There are contractors who will do maintenance of the lake and conducting the maintenance in this manner would be a more progressive way to handle the lake.
Side Walk Initiative – Looked into this project. Marie Orler conducted a feasibility study and met with the county. It was determined that there would be heavy costs at approximately $3 per linear foot for sidewalks from the entrance of Canongate Trace down to Lawn Market (down to the dam). The cost would be $150,000 to do this; however, the cost of concrete has gone up since then. This project is tabled at this time due to financial concerns.
Speeding – Canongate Trace to Palmetto Tyrone and Lawn Market – the speed limit is 25 mph. We have had some close calls by drivers using this route as a cut-through. Speed bumps are not a good option because if installed, that will prevent roads from being resurfaced by the county. However, the BOD is looking at temporary deterrents. The cost for the temporary deterrents is much less and can be removed and relocated if needed. The BOD wants to hear from residents so send your thoughts to us.
Amendment, Presentation & Vote – This has been a long process; this is the result in an increase of complaints from the homeowners to the BOD regarding the covenant violations. President Orler was the ACC chair for 4 years and only had 2 cases and most of the time, the situations were eliminated with a simple conversation about the issue. Most homeowners were reasonable and the ACC was, and is willing to work with everyone.
Sam McCool, Chair of the ACC, has had many violations to deal with during his tenure. Some complaints have been received anonymously however you are encouraged to put your name on it. Over the past few years, we have had new residents come in who want to remodel, but the change of residents over the year has brought to light a lot of violations. Attempts to speak with the new homeowners have become contentious and the BOD has had to pursue legal remedies. Canongate residents bought homes knowing that the covenants were there to help protect property values and help achieve the highest return as possible. In some of these recent cases, the BOD has had to issue an injective relief from our attorney to stop the work on a property. The BOD only pursues this avenue as a last resort. The BOD is always willing to work with our neighbors to remediate a violation.
The BOD looked at covenants in nearby neighborhoods and our covenants fall woefully short in comparison. We want to strengthen the baseline of the covenants and give the authority to the homeowners at large. The uniqueness of this structure is that instead of having a BOD that dictates the fines, we would establish a Homeowner’s Committee. The intent is to have representation of your peers on the committee and they would have veto power over the BOD and/or the ACC. This establishes a checks and balances over the issuing of fines.
In taking a look at the amendment, it addresses off-street parking. Our covenants don’t define off-street parking which is problematic. If a homeowner parks in their front yard or beside their house, this is technically off-street parking. The BOD would like to clearly identify this as paved parking – concrete or asphalt. If a homeowner wants to add more driveway, he should use the same substrate that exist.
Issuance of Fines – Before any fine can be assessed, it would require the majority approval of the three bodies, the BOD, the ACC, and the Homeowner’s Committee which would have veto power. The homeowner in violation would have the opportunity to come before the BOD in an effort to try to remediate the violation. The implementation of fines would allow us to put liens on the property and help motivate the homeowner to get the work completed in a timely fashion.
If you have a violation, the BOD, and the ACC will look at how to improve the request. If the ACC rejects it, it is always done with a recommendation so that the homeowner will be brought into compliance. If the homeowner remains in violation, the only thing the BOD can do at this time is to suspend their voting rights and contact our law firm to seek an injunctive relief. These are our current limitations. Therefore, the entire purpose of this is to truly make the enforcement of the covenants have some strength to it. Sometimes HOA BODs have to get violator’s attention by hitting them in their pocket book.
Mr. Orler referenced Peachtree City and mentioned that we may adjust our duration clause to ensure that our covenants come up for review every 10 years and be updated with 2/3 of the vote. This would align us better with current case law.
So tonight, to get an amendment passed we needed quorum to be present and the votes tonight are enforceable. There are three lots suspended and cannot vote. We need a 50%+1 vote for this amendment to be adopted. As such, we need to achieve 102 votes to get this amendment approved.
Comments Related to the Proposed Amendment:
Q: Laurie Pate – Questioned the process. If the HO committee votes the violation down, can it be brought up again for consideration or is it done?
A: President Orler– there is a window of 2 years to address the violation. If changes are made and it becomes a new violation, the 2-year window is reset.
Q: Mike Edwards – Are fines retroactive?
A: President Orler – There are no retroactive fines.
Q: William Gray – There is no language in the amendment about liens or the minimum number of members who will serve on the subcommittee.
A: President Orler – The covenants allow us to put liens on property.
Q: William Gray – So, there was a car being parked in the yard and this is the reason for this change?
A: President Orler – No, that is not the issue. He spoke about the homeowner that want to put in a new driveway to handle off street parking. ACC rejected it. The homeowner re-submitted and the ACC denied it but provided suggestions. Then the homeowner had gravel driveway installed. This is the reason had to be changed. Before we could get a judgement, the homeowner did remediate the driveway but they are still parking in the yard. Our attorney indicated that we can’t do anything because our definition of “off street parking” is weak.
Q: Gary Howard – Have you look at rewriting the covenants all together?
A: President Orler – We looked at a covenants rewrite committee and would require a 2/3 majority to do it. This way would fix the more immediate need. This current court case costs the HOA over $800. We obtained the final assessment after Jan 2018 which is why it is not reflected in the 2017 expenditures.
Q: Jim Mault – I have dealt with the BOD for 3-4 years. There are no teeth in our bylaws to do anything. This BOD is charged to have a lot of responsibilities but no way to enforce them. You have a hard time to get homeowners to serve on committees and then people don’t show up for meetings. I am concerned with your subcommittee – that you cannot get enough people to serve on the subcommittee. Jim suggested that the violator would have to obtain their own residents to serve on the committee.
A: President Orler – When the BOD first drafted the amendment, we did not have the Homeowner Committee in there. The BOD floated this amendment to various homeowners and listened to their feedback and decided that the establishment of a Homeowner’s Committee would be the safety net. The minimum number of members must be 5 and likely only need to meet one time per year. The make-up of the committee would not include those who serve on the BOD or the ACC. The residents indicated that they did not want the BOD and ACC to have too much power so this committee is a compromise. We hope that we could get at least 5 people to serve.
Q: CA Wyatt – We need to address cars parked on the curves on Lawn Market. No parking on curves even for a short term because it is very dangerous when the sun is in your eyes – you cannot see. Especially near High Street and Lawn Market; also, White Shark Cove. No parking signs would be helpful.
A: President Orler – The BOD will investigate this concern.
Q: William Gray – What if you don’t have the committee?
A: President Orler – Without the committee, we cannot assess fines.
Q: Barry Bruder – Why don’t we put a sunset clause in the amendment and at the end of 2-3 years, we reassess. Mike Edwards thought that this is a good idea. Mark indicated that he would need to speak with the attorney.
A: President Orler – The board is looking at a complete re-write of the covenants. The reason that the BOD did not do it is because our law firm was going to charge a very large fee. The BOD will do the draft.
Comment: Sam McCool – Within the past years, we have had several violations. Many were minor and he spoke to them and the issue was remediated. The ACC always tries to work with the homeowner first. If that fails, the ACC sends a letter and takes voting rights away. He recommends that we vote for this amendment tonight instead of waiting on it.
Comment: Don Harris – That Homeowner’s Committee is created on case-by-case and must be made up of a minimum of five homeowners. It would also be a rolling committee.
Q: Gary Howard – Would the insurance go up?
A: President Orler – No. Don’t believe so but will inquire with insurance company. The authority remains with the BOD and not the committee.
Comment: Don Harris (insurance agent) indicated that the likelihood of our rates being negatively impacted is very small.
Q: Janis Shoup – Whatever the Homeowner Committee decides would come back to the BOD for a determination?
A: President Orler – The Homeowner Committee is the last entity to review the violation. This committee does not generate the violation; they only review the violation and make their recommendation back to the BOD who would assess the fine.
Comment: Robert Kimbro mentioned that the committee is a fresh group of homeowners looking at issues. It changes with each case.
Comment: Joy Hardin – A spouse of the of a BOD and ACC could not serve on the Homeowner Committee.
Comment: Jim Mault – If you have a rotating committee, you will have a better chance of getting people to serve. He expressed concerns that if the BOD goes away and the HOA hires a management company, what would that mean for this committee. He also wanted assurances that the members making up the committee were residents of CGV and not outsiders.
Comment: President Orler - The committee would serve at the interest of the president and would only be residents of CGV.
Q: William Gray pointed out that the amendment as written does not address the size of the subcommittee and questioned whether it should be reflected in there.
A: President Orler – Suggested that we can add the wording, “a minimum number of “X” Homeowners shall serve on the subcommittee.
President Orler suggested that someone make a motion of the wording to specify in the amendment, no less than 5 people to serve on the committee.
Q: Dennis Wahlen – Asked if the amendment can just be changed like that here at the meeting when there are people who aren’t here and would not be aware of the change.
A: President Orler – We are simply trying to clarify a point within the amendment and it does not affect the intent of the amendment.
Motion to Add Clarifying Language to the Amendment related to the size of the subcommittee:
Motion - Don Harris made motion to add to the wording of the current language that the Homeowner’s Committee have no less than five members in good standing.
Second – Andy Hardin
Vote – passed (70 Approved; 4 Opposed)
Motion to Approve the Amendment as written with the aforementioned clarification of committee size:
Motion – A motion was made to approve the amendment to include the clarifying language about the size of the Homeowner’s Committee.
Second – Cindy Lauer
Roll Call Vote – Passed (111 Approved; 12 Opposed)
Financial Report for 2018
President Orler reviewed the finances pointing out that of $51,470 came in under budget.
Add that to original income, positive $19,244. This board has been responsible with your money. Any left-over money was placed into the reserve fund. Total assets $292,000. The HOA is gaining back some of the ground we lost a few years ago with the dredging effort.
Proposed Budget for 2018 – President Orler presented the proposed budget which was the same as 2017 $64,750. As a reminder, you are voting on this budget, not the line items within the budget. Your vote is based on the proposed budget of $51,470.
Motion – Dennis Whalen made a motion to approve the budget as presented.
Second – Glen Marshall
Vote – Passed
Nominations & Election of Board Directors
President Orler stated that the area representative spots are 2-year terms and there are three open areas due to a resignation in Area 1. Called for nominations for Area 1
Area 1 Rep
Jim Mault nominated William Gray – 32 votes
President Orler nominated Kirk Edens – 66 votes
Vote – Kirk Edens was elected
President Orler asked current member Sharon Kadlick, if she was willing to serve another term as the Area 2 Mrs. Kadlick stated she was not. President Orler then called for nominations for Area 2.
Area 2 Rep
Nominations:
Gary Howard nominated himself – 8 votes
President Orler nominated Andy Hardin – 44 votes
Roxanne Ledesma nominated herself – 64 votes
Vote – Roxanne Ledesma was elected
Area 3 Rep
Nominations:
Gary Howard nominated himself– 11 votes
Andy Hardin nominated himself– 76 votes
Vote – Andy Hardin was elected
President Orler stated that the At Large positions are a 1-year term and there are three open positions. He called
for nominations.
At Large Positions: Call for nominations.
Position 1 – Hearing no nominations, inquired with current member as to their willingness to continue to serve.
Mark Orler was willing to serve.
Position 2 – Hearing no nominations, inquired with current member as to their willingness to continue to serve.
Robert Kupfner was willing to serve.
Position 3 – Nominations for third position:
William Gray – 52 votes
Jeff Salyards – 71 votes
Vote – Jeff Salyards won the position.
The new 2017-2018 board is as followed:
Area Rep (2 yr. term) Incumbent Term Expires
1 Kirk Edens April 2019
2 Roxanne Ledesma April 2020
3 Andy Hardin April 2020
4 Don Harris April 2019
At Large (1 yr. term) Incumbent Term Expires
1 Mark Orler April 2019
2 Robert Kupfner April 2019
3 Jeff Salyards April 2019
Volunteer Opportunities:
President Orler asked members to please consider serving on one of our many committees:
- Lake Advisory Committee
- Homeowner’s Violations Review Committee
- Architectural Control Committee
Board Announcements – President Orler reminded homeowners: No gas engines in the lake, pick up after your dog, no minors at the pavilion, speed limit is 25 mph, seek ACC approval before starting projects, and to check out our new Face Book page. Please refrain from sending anonymous complaints to the board. Your privacy is protected, but we need to be able to follow-up on any complaint.
ADJOURNMENT – President Orler asked if there was any further business for the meeting, if not, could a member make a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Motion – Wayne McWhorter made a motion to adjourn.
Second – Ben Amoson
Vote - Unanimous
Meeting Adjourned at 9:10 pm
Secretary – Ms. Sharon Kadlick