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Minutes
Mike briefly directed attention to two challenges facing us in the
coming year: the decreasing responsiveness of our parent homeowners
association, HBEHOA, to our needs and those of the larger community, and
coming maintenance requirements for our street, Ocean Dune Circle.
Jeri opened discussion of street maintenance by wondering whether we should wait until home construction was more fully complete before undertaking any serious efforts. Charles countered that construction traffic was only part of the problem; garbage tracks as well, turning on the tight circle at the north end, where damage was most pronounced, placed a good deal of lateral stress on the road that led to fragmentation. He said we needed temporary repairs to stop further destruction of the road base; postponing work there would make it even more costly. Gary, who lives on the circle, noted that the two major holes have been there for five years. A general discussion ensued
ed,
with a consensus reached that we needed more research into prices.
Joe, our treasurer, said he would set aside our surplus (see attached
budget) into a general maintenance fund, from which money could then be
assigned to a special road maintenance fund when needed.
Mike noted the discouraging record of the larger association in
enforcing compliance with C&R requirements concerning home and yard
maintenance. He pointed out that
the C&Rs do not require us to rely, however, only on the larger
association to take legal action against recalcitrant homeowners.
Any owner, or by extension, group of owners, can do so.
He added that such action would be only a final recourse.
It would always be better to use the forceful suasion a letter signed
jointly by all or most other owners on the street would provide.
Addressing the larger association’s disinterest in improving the
appearance and usefulness of common areas, Mike commented that the C&Rs
provide for use of our association funds for capital improvements other than
road maintenance. He pointed out,
for example, that Parcel A, the detention pond west of Ocean Dune Circle, is
included in the county replat of Armand Beach East Subdivision as part of our
association area. That could mean
that we should have free hand in deciding whether to put a fountain in the
pond, an idea that some have supported. The
legal issue would be contentious, however, and, should we decide to do that,
it would be preferable to come to some agreement on the matter either with
the larger association or with some voluntary “Friends of the Fountain”
organization. Others voiced
general support for the idea of a fountain, which would add to the appearance
of the area and promote the health of the pond.
Some, however, were leery of the problems involved in coming to an
agreement with the larger association or setting up successfully a voluntary
organization.
Charles ended the meeting with the comment that we have a good deal to
do in coming months, including giving both road maintenance and the fountain
idea a closer look.
At Joe’s suggestion, he called for regular quarterly board meetings,
with another meeting soon to chart action on the issues discussed above.
Prepared by Mike Joyce
January 4, 2007 |