Minutes of the Meeting

1. The Board of Directors of the Hammock Beach Estates Home Owner’s Association met on Thursday, September 11, 2003, at the Hammock Community Center, Malacompra Road, Palm Coast, Florida. The following Board members were present: Robert Thomason, President; Joe Bowen, Operations Coordinator; and Mike Joyce, Treasurer. The following homeowners were also present: Frank Carelli, George DeMeglio, Joe and Carol Sermarini, and Karen Joyce.

2. After opening the meeting at 7:04 p.m. Robert Thomason asked all attending to stand for a moment of silence in memory of the event two years ago on this date.

3. He then opened the discussion portion of the meeting by suggesting topics on which those present might wish to address their remarks:

-election procedures, in view of the upcoming annual elections, and especially Norman Humphreys’ proposal for changing those procedures;

-on the same topic, appointment of a nominating committee;

-the annual holiday party;

-the need for rules for the use of the retention ponds;

-activation of an architectural review committee;

-and consideration of an amendment to the C&R’s regarding affiliate memberships.

4. Beginning the discussion on election procedures, Carol Sermarini asked

for a summary of the Humphreys proposal. Robert Thomason, who had distributed copies at the beginning of the meeting, said that it had two objectives. First, to replace proxy voting in all instances with vote-by-ballot procedures for both resident and non-resident members. Secondly, to revamp the nomination process to make it possible for any qualified member who wished to run for association office to do so. Implementation of the proposal would require adoption of a number of amendments to the C&Rs. Comments from the floor included questions on some of the proposal’s specific features, including adequacy of time frames for the steps it envisaged. Several members expressed support for abolition of proxy voting. Robert thought that a voting-by-ballot procedure could probably be used to approve such amendments, though proxy voting would still be necessary in election of officers until the amendments were formally made. He asked for ideas on how to solicit community ideas on the proposals. Joe Sermarini agreed to work with Norman, who would be returning soon, on a proposal reflecting this evening’s discussion for the next Board meeting.

5. At 7:34 Robert opened the formal Board meeting, turning first to the special agenda item.. He introduced Judy Shearouse, president of the Sea Colony Homeowners Association, whom Robert had invited to speak to the meeting on construction of a new fence between Sea Colony and our own community. Two issues were of special interest to us: the composition of the fence and a slight discrepancy in two surveys on the property line between the two communities. Ms. Shearouse spoke at length on the difficulty Sea Colony had experienced in reaching a decision on the composition of the fence, a chemically treated wood, and the difficulty it had since had in implementing its decision. The Board of County Commissioners had asked Sea Colony to stop the construction process because of environmental concerns, yet, Ms Shearouse maintained, no law or regulation prohibited using the wood chosen for fencing. On the issue of the property line, Ms. Shearouse said that Sea Colony would pay for a resurvey to settle the issue. The Board thanked Ms. Shearouse for addressing the meeting.

6. Robert then reported completion of a number of action items from the July 14 meeting:

-minutes of the previous Board meeting of July 17 and August 14 were adopted without change;

-since the mysterious Mr. Sawyer, who attended an earlier board meeting to ask if a lot owner could have no more than two pets, was apparently not a lot owner himself, this action item was deleted.

-the annual meeting amendment and fining policy were mailed, but page four of the latter was omitted and needed to be resent;

-a form had also been mailed to members for indicating how they wished to receive minutes. Several had asked to receive association mailings by regular mail, several by e-mail, and five by website. Since website was the default choice, most members were apparently content to rely on that medium;

-Robert reported sending the attached letter to Stan Rosenbaum. In a subsequent conversation Stan had agreed to comply with suggestions by St. John’s Water Management District regarding run-off from construction sites and maintenance of retention ponds, and to consult with the Board through Joe Bowen about future work on the retention ponds;

-a special Board meeting was held on August 14 with Allen Baggett on use and maintenance of the retention ponds. Robert said he had become convinced that we needed to establish rules for the use of the ponds;

-finally,it was reported, with thanks to those who had organized and participated, that the re-mulching of the south beach walkover had been completed..

7. Robert reported that the teenaged son of a member had been involved in the accidental breaking of a window in a pool restroom. After a call from the parents he and Board vice-president Sara Clarke had spoken to the parents and the teenager about the matter. They agreed to repair the damage and clean up debris. Guests of member teenagers had also damaged pool furniture. He said he and Sara felt that we would have to establish rules on pool use by outside guests, perhaps permitting only members over sixteen to have guests without a member adult present. Joe Bowen expressed some concern over the efficacy of such rules, and suggested that a regime of warning signs and lights might be better. Mike Joyce was of the opinion that a good rule was better than nothing even if only partially effective, and feared that lights would do as much to attract as to warn off. It was agreed that Joe would work with Sara to draft rules, which we would post on the website, with Joe Sermarini’s assistance, for community comment.

8. Robert pointed out that the Board had to appoint a nominating committee before the next board meeting. Its task would be to nominate five candidates to stand for election at the annual meeting. Members present suggested a list of names of persons to serve on the committee, then ranked them by priority. Robert said he would contact those names, in order, and the first three who agreed to serve would constitute the committee and report at the next Board meeting..

9. Robert asked for suggestions and comments on the annual holiday party. There seemed to be two views. One supported a repeat of last year’s dinner and dance at the Palm Coast Resort hotel, while the second favored holding the event where we were meeting, with attendees to bring potluck. A third possibility, he said, would be to hold the event at the latter location, but have it catered. After some discussion he asked Social Committee member Karen Joyce to develop a proposal, after consultations with other members. He suggested that we limit the price to $25 per person, and agreed that the association would contribute $200 to overall costs as it had done last year.

10. The Board approved by unanimous vote the memo to the Board from the Ocean Dune Circle Advisory Committee (see attached). Robert pointed out that the developer had yet to transfer Parcel B, Ocean Dune Circle street itself, to the Association. Rather, even though the street was communal property, he had signed it over in December 2002 to a corporation named the Armand Beach Estates Homeowners Association, which he controlled. Several members noted that it was incongruous, at least, that the lots owners on Ocean Dune Circle were expected to pay for maintenance of a street to which they did not have title. Robert also reported that the developer had added the gate on the street to the Association insurance policy, though he did not have the authority to do so. Our insurance agency now knew to accept instructions only from the Board. The Board discussed whether or not the gate should be removed from the policy, since it did not have title to it or the street. Finally, Robert said that the developer had agreed to meet with the Ocean Dune Circle Advisory Committee, with Robert present, to discuss these issues.

11. Joe Bowen reported receipt of a request from the county health authorities to repair a gutter in the pool area. He said he would take care of the matter.

12. Mike Joyce, Joe Bowen, and Joe Sermarini agreed to prepare a budget proposal for 2004 for distribution before, and discussion/adoption at, the next Board meeting.

13. In the final item of business Robert proposed October 30 as the date for the next Board meeting, to be held at 7:00 at the Hammock Community Center. Further, the annual meeting was set for December 1 at 7:00 p.m. at the same location. The meeting adjourned at 9:02 p.m.

Mike Joyce,

Acting Secretary