2010 Annual Meeting Minutes

Annual Meeting Minutes: January 11, 20107:00 PM, First Baptist Church-Clarksville
Board Members:Present: Frank Lombardo, Don McLaren, Stacy Lombardo, Bonnie McLarenQuorum present? Yes
Others Present: Signed-in members of Poplar Hill Homeowners Assn.

Paul Riccio
Robin Riccio
Horst Maggard
Cathie Coppedge
Eleanor Hamilton
Joseph Fox
Jeff Morrow
Gerald Carter
Laura Kirshgraber
Bob Storey
Amber Earl
Andy Guertin
Dian Krone
Justin Meeks
Andre’ Hinton
J.J. Hinton
Terry Paul
Paul Nelson
Tiffany Nelson
Phyllis Fox
Diane Vangyija


Proceedings:

· The President welcomed Members and introduced Board.

· The Secretary read the Minutes of the October 17, 2009 Quarterly Members’ meeting. There were no additions or corrections to the Minutes and they were accepted as read.

· The Treasurer was asked to give a Year-To-Date report. Before giving the report, the Treasurer explained to the Members that the Members decide how the Association Dues are spent each year.

The Treasurer gave said Year-To-Date report. Each Member present had received a copy of said report upon signing in.

· The President then proceeded to give a year in review for 2009. It is as follows:
Cul-de-sacs are all finished and Members are now volunteering to remove weeds.
Street signs have been replaced, not repainted.

Maintenance of street lights is now being done by a Member electrician, Ray Ashford, who has done an excellent job this past year, including replacing a street light which was destroyed by a runaway trampoline.

Traffic control is handled by the County and we were unable to get additional STOP signs where needed. However, the County did replace the STOP signs that were faded.

Collection of Dues was a priority. Liens were filed for unpaid Dues, including unpaid late charges.

Quarterly meetings were held.

A violation committee was considered, however, as we only had 1 volunteer, the Board has been handling each violation as it has been reported.

Legal information has been obtained regarding amending the Deed of Restrictions, however, there is a need for a committee to handle the details and there has been no volunteers.

A new Blog site has been created.

Drainage problems have been addressed.

Violations in the neighborhood have been addressed, when presented to Board.

Board has dealt with home in foreclosures regarding upkeep and HOA Dues.

Established Decorating Committee

Established Welcoming Committee

· The President set out Projects to be addressed in 2010:
Establish a Neighborhood Watch.
Work to resolve existing drainage problems.

· The Annual Meeting was called to order at 7:15 p.m. by the President. The President explained the Rules of Order for the meeting. He also reviewed the By-Laws Rule regarding one (1) Vote per Household.

Then the President asked for a Motion from the floor that the Members retain the current Board of the Association.

Laura Kirshgraber made such a motion and J.J. Hinton seconded said motion. The motion was passed unanimously.

The President then introduced John Doss, Stormwater Coordinator for Montgomery County.

Mr. Doss proceeded to pass out pictures of a major drainage issue near the front of the subdivision where the stormwater leaves the subdivision. He spoke in detail about this matter and convinced the Members present to address this drainage problem with urgency. He mentioned if unresolved in the near future that the Association might find itself with legal problems from the State of Tennessee and/or the property owner adjacent to the entrance of the subdivision.

Gerald Carter (3451 Poplar Hill which is right off of McAdoo Creek Road) said that if Members look along McAdoo Creek Road toward the school that all residents have a drainage pipe under the entryway to their property, but Poplar Hill does not. Mr. Carter said that there are several homes whose properties are flooded, because the water cannot run through to McAdoo Creek. It was recommended by Mr. Doss that the President contact Mike Frost and discuss this issue.

NEW BUSINESS

After Mr. Doss’ presentation, several Members suggested that we need to prioritize all drainage problem areas and possibly propose an Assessment to take care of the expenses. One Member said that Dues should not be raised.

· The Treasurer was asked to give the proposed 2010 Budget. The Treasurer presented two (2) separate budgets: one including the drainage expenses and one without the drainage expenses. The drainage expenses in the one report reflected the expenses for the four (4) smaller drainage problems in the subdivision. Each Member present received a copy of each of these reports.

· The Treasurer then presented a third (3rd) proposed 2010 Budget which included ONLY the one (1) drainage problem relating to the exit of stormwater from the subdivision. That is the drainage problem explained in Mr. Doss’ presentation.

There was much discussion among the Members present regarding how to pay for this major drainage repair which conservatively could cost approximately $10,000.

One of the discussions related to the amount of Accounting fees for 2010. The Treasurer explained that we will be billed for two (2) billing cycles in 2010 to facilitate collecting the annual Dues in advance. Annual Dues will be collected July 1, 2010 for the year 2010 and December 1, 2010 for the year 2011.

There continued to be much discussion among the Members, mostly related to how much should the Annual Dues be raised. The amount of $120.00 per year was mentioned during part of the discussions.

Robin Riccio made a motion to approve the third (3rd) proposed 2010 Budget and also to raise the Association Dues to $100 per year. Said motion was seconded by Andy Guertin and a vote taken. The vote was 16 FOR and 0 AGAINST.

Justin Meeks suggested that the $35 that will be collected per household because of the drainage problems be kept in a separate bank account. The Members present were in agreement with that suggestion. The Board will open said account.

Amber Earl made a motion to establish that out of the five (5) drainage problems that the Association is aware of at this time, that the drainage problem presented by Mr. Doss should be addressed and resolved first. The motion was seconded by Diane Vangyija and the vote was 15 FOR and 0 AGAINST.

The President brought up the fact that at the January 31, 2009 Annual Meeting that it was recommended that the Association find out how to amend the Deed of Restrictions to enforce them without legal proceedings.

The President explained to the Members present that it takes 51% of the 281 homes, [one (1) vote per home] to vote for changes to the By-Laws and Deed of Restrictions. It is a huge undertaking to:

Obtain suggestions for changes to these documents,
To decide which suggestions should be put on the ballot, and
To get the (notarized) signature of one (1) person per household on a ballot.

At this Annual Meeting, three (3) volunteers stepped forward to work with the Board and Members to get this process started: Andy Guertin, Stacy Lombardo and Joseph Fox. However, more committee members will be needed.

· Deed of Restrictions Infringement: It is recommended that the Association find out how to amend the Deed of Restrictions to enforce them without legal proceedings.· Meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

POPLAR HILL HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION

Quarterly Meeting Minutes: October 17, 200910:00 AM, Clarksville-Montgomery County Library
Board Members:Present: Frank Lombardo, Don McLaren, Stacy Lombardo, Bonnie McLarenQuorum present? Yes

Others Present: Signed-in Members of Poplar Hill Homeowners Assn.
Cathie Coppege
Lilya Haynes
Diane Vangyija
Bob Storey
Joe McCullough
Carolyn McCullough
Andrew Williams
Laura Kirchgraber


Proceedings:· Meeting called to order at 10:00 a.m. by President, Frank Lombardo
· President welcomed Members and introduced the Board.

· President then explained the Rules of Order for the meeting.

The Minutes of the 7/11/09 Quarterly Meeting were read by the Secretary. There were no additions or deletions made.
· President then asked the Treasurer to give us a year-to-date report of expenses.
The Treasurer began by explaining to the Members present “Who Decides How the HOA Dues Are Spent.” She explained that the Members present at each meeting vote on the expenditures and that the Board does not make these decisions. The Board researches, presents and administers for all the Members of the Association.

The Treasurer’s Report was read and accepted by the Members.

· President then acknowledged and thanked the volunteers who:

Deliver the newsletters each month;

The Yard of the Month judges;

The residents who have been taking care of the removal of weeds in their cul-de-sac; thus saving money for the Association;

The residents who have been welcoming New Neighbors with information packages and a sweet treat; and

The neighbor who decorated the entrance for Halloween.

The President also wanted to thank the neighbors who have volunteered to notify residents of Poplar Hill of violations that exist on their property.

The President then stated the need for additional help and asked those present to consider signing up. He brought up the fact that we are in need of 28 members to canvas the neighborhood for the Board in preparation of establishing a “Neighborhood Watch” program.

Carolyn McCullough brought up the point that it is difficult for neighbors of residents in violation to confront the violation. Therefore, an appointed Committee was a good idea.

Old Business:
Drainage Issues:
Since the last meeting, the President and Secretary have met with legal counsel and asked them to review the By-Laws and Deed of Restrictions governing Poplar Hill. It was determined that is stated that the Poplar Hill Homeowners Association is responsible for “repairing and maintaining” drainage problem areas, but definitely is not responsible to remove previous work and/or rebuild the problem areas.
The Board will be working on obtaining estimates to ascertain what the approximate costs will be to take care of the current problems. Those estimates will be presented at the Annual Meeting in January 2010. At that time, a vote will be taken to determine the means of paying for said repair and maintenance.
The President asked for discussion. Bob Storey inquired who decides the extent of work to be done. The President answered it will be determined by the contractors hired.

New Business:
Amendment of By-Laws and Deed of Restrictions
Upon review of the By-Laws and Deed of Restrictions with legal counsel, it has come to the attention of the Board that the Homeowners Association is in violation of the requirements relating to payment of Annual Dues and also the day of the Annual Meeting.

Cathie Coppedge remembers that the meeting date was changed, because one year the Library was not available on the day prescribed in the By-Laws. After having the meeting on a Saturday, which was more convenient, the meeting date was changed.

These requirements need to be amended if the Homeowners Association wants to continue following the current schedule.
For example, Annual Dues are currently due by July 1st of each year. According to the By-Laws: Dues shall be paid annually in advance. The dues which were paid in the summer of 2009 are for the calendar year 2009.
Additionally, according to the By-Laws, There shall be an Annual Meeting of Members on the 2nd Monday in January of each year.
There is no documentation referencing these matters in the Homeowners Association records.

Laura Kirchgraber asked how the amendments are made.
It is the recommendation of the Board, that the By-Laws and also the Deed of Restrictions be amended, properly. In order to do so a vote from one (1) owner of each lot in the subdivision, signed and notarized, must be received. A fifty-one per cent (51%) majority is needed to make any amendment.

The Board also brought up the amending of the Deed of Restrictions. Currently, the only recourse for enforcing any violations of the Deed of Restrictions is by a homeowner taking legal action which is costly to the homeowner and violator. The Board suggested that alternative measures be instituted, such as fines for specific violations which are not corrected within a specified time period.

The President also mentioned that other Members of the Association may have suggestions for changes.
These amendment matters will be highlighted in the November and December 2009 Newsletters in order to make Members aware.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
The President discussed the increase in theft in Clarksville and Poplar Hill. DO NOT leave cars unlocked and DO NOT put outgoing mail in your mailbox—thieves are looking for checks in envelopes to tamper with and steal from your checking account.
Joe McCullough wanted to thank the Sheriff’s Department for noticing an open garage door one night and advising him of it.

The President acknowledged this quarter’s Yard of the Month winners: Mr. & Mrs. David Thomack, Ms. Sheryl Beals andd Ms. Therese Koverman.

Lilya Haynes discussed the constant occurrence of dogs unleashed in the neighborhood. While walking her dog, others will come out on the street and cause problems. Cathie Coppedge agreed with Ms. Haynes.

Members were advised that liens will be placed on any property which has unpaid Annual Dues and/or Late Fees. If you have any amounts due, please pay immediately before liens are filed.

The 2010 Annual Meeting is tentatively planned for January 11, 2010 at 7 p.m.
- - - - - - -
· President discussed the following with the Members present:
When contacting the Board Members, please email them (unless it is an emergency), as the Board Members are not always at home when your calls come in. You can reach them at: Presidentpoplarhill@yahoo.com and Secretarypoplarhill@yahoo.com.
“THE BOARD AND MANY MEMBERS ARE VERY AWARE OF MANY VIOLATIONS OF THE DEED OF RESTRICTIONS WHICH EACH HOMEOWNER RECEIVED AT THE CLOSING WHEN PURCHASING PROPERTY IN POPLAR HILL. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A COPY, WE HAVE SOME COPIES HERE TODAY.
THE BOARD OF THE HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ENFORCING THE DEED OF RESTRICTIONS.
IN THE EVENT YOU ARE AWARE OF A VIOLATION, YOU MUST APPROACH THE MEMBER YOURSELF AND ASK HIM TO CORRECT THE VIOLATION.
IN THE EVENT THAT THE MEMBER IN VIOLATION DOES NOT CORRECT THE VIOLATION, IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION IN ORDER TO REMEDY THE SITUATION.”

· President asked if there was any additional new business. There was not.
· Meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.· Minutes submitted by Secretary, Bonnie McLaren.

News

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Our next HOA meeting will be held on July 11, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Library.

HOA Dues: You should have received your annual statement. Dues are due July 1, 2009.

Neighborhood Watch

Someone has been disrupting landscaping stones around mailboxes on Poplar Hill drive at night. Homeowners please keep an eye out for your neighbors. Thanks.

Yard of the Month - June 2009

3325 Dabney Lane

New Street Signs!

The new streets signs are nice and easier to read ... what do you think?

Yard of the Month - May 2009