WPA MONTHLY MEETING MINUTES
February 20, 2024
Call to Order –Stan Earnhart
Attendance – Stan Earnhart, Dave DeCreny, Bob Ramsey, Valerie Cooper, Trina Davis, Marilyn Weitz, Joe Myers, Jonathan Rutstein
Absent– none
Quorum– Yes
Resident Speaker–
Minutes- January 16th, 2024 minutes approved. January 29, 2024 minutes approved.
Officer Reports
Presidents Report – Stan Earnhart reports, He apologizes for canceling the last meeting to handle board conflict. If we cannot come to a conclusion on the Spectrum contract or electing a new Board member he will be calling a special meeting to allow HOA members to vote on these issues.
He thanks Dean Floyd who met with him and Dave DeCreny to discuss the paving of Ballard and other streets closest to the Marina entrance. He thanks Brad Davis who met with Joe, the drainage committee and him to discuss the Retreat Lane drainage problems. There is a great need for the WPA and Eagle Corp to work together to solve our mutual drainage issues. In both meetings the professional expertise our residents provided was instrumental in forming solutions to these issues. He thanks Trina and Mike for providing a special Barbie Galentine Movie night for our community. The evening was well organized for all who attended.
There has been misinformation on Facebook concerning the Spectum contract. No members will receive any special benefits from this contract. There will be five community drops but they will not be in a Board member’s home.
The wellness committee will be accepting bids to complete the Wraggs Ferry Trail. They should be available be the next meeting.
Vice Presidents Report – No Report
Secretary’s Report– Bob Ramsey reports, 1st reading on Office Manager scope of duty, 1st reading on Section 6, 1st reading Section IV amendment president job description. Valerie Cooper makes a motion to approve Kathy Browy contract hourly rate up to $18.00 an hour. Motion seconded and carried.
Treasurer’s Report– Valerie Cooper reports, As of January 31, 2024, our account balances were: Operating Account with South State had a balance of $341,490.02. Our debit account with South Atlantic had a balance of $2,413.76. The ARC Account with South Atlantic had a balance of $14,251.76 (7refunds of $250 and 3 deposits totaling of $8000.00). The Reserve Accounts balances as of 01/31/2024 were , South Atlantic Money Market $5,996.85, Edward Jones Money Market $291,675.95, EJ CD 5/15/24 $50,000, EJ CD 2/01/24 $ 50,000, EJ CD 2/23/24 $50,000, TD Bank $4,016.43, TD CD $225,603.76 -rolled. Valerie makes a motion to move $115,000 from Operating to a CD in Reserve Account. Motion seconded and carried. Valerie makes a motion to roll over 2 CDs at highest available rate for 6 months. This motion failed.
Committee Reports
ARC– Marilyn Weitz reports, The arc committee is working with Jonathan from Beverly homes to fix issues on three homes before we issue the final acceptance and release the deposits on these three homes. We hope they will be finished this week. We had 6 applications for minors changes. Thanks Al DeMarchi for working on the attic upstairs and organizing the drawings upstairs. Marilyn makes a motion not to exceed $1200 for mailing tubes, bins and storage racks to be charged to Office Supplies. Motion seconded by Joe Myers. Motion carried.
Legal– Trina Davis reports, Our attorney has stated that his client is the HOA and we are in no way to share any of his emails. We will not be distributing these to the public. They will be in the office for the Board to see. Is it legal for us to call a special meeting for the issues at hand with Spectrum and the Board meeting. The attorney says if the board cannot come to an agreement we can move to allow a vote by the membership. Valerie asks for the attorney to come in to speak to us like the Board had agreed on.
Finance-Valerie Cooper reports, The Committee met on February 15th and reviewed the January Reserve Accounts as well as the recommendations outlined in the Reserve Study for 2024 and years beyond. It was also noted that the new CPA does not yet have a copy of the QUICK Books for 2023 in order to begin on the financials but hopefully will get with Michelle this week.
There were several reports and discussions o n the needs of our community’s repair and/or actions that are needed on our current assets –including:
Marina Docks, Sea Wall and Access Road; Paving needs for our roads; Use of Pool at the Villages, Drainage issues and a drainage study, dredging, new amenities and landscaping.
After hearing the many competing financial pressures on our reserves, the committee voted on the top three to focus on in 2024—the results were: #1 Paving, #2 Drainage, #3 Marina Repair—with the exception of e Sea Wall, which everyone agreed is the first thing that needs to be done in order to keep our Marina as an amenity.
The Villages Pool access for all Plantation homeowners was also discussed, and moving forward with negotiations on what that cost would be. It was suggested that an assessment of the pool , decking bathrooms and chemical room be done to understand the current condition.
The Committee also reviewed a 7-year projection developed by Jonathan Rutstein with the current assessment rate and all competing projects. It is clear than an increase in the assessments is needed, but without solid quotes for the above repairs, no recommendation for an amount of increase was undertaken.
With the forthcoming reports from the administering committees and quotes for work to be done—and support from the Board—we hope valuable improvements can be accomplished this year.
Communications/Website- Trina Davis reports, We have gone back to Spectrum they rarely do a 4 year contract and will not do a three year. Trina makes a motion for Jonathan Rutstein to be added to Spectrum subcommittee for Communications. Motion seconded. All in favor. Motion carried.
Trina makes a motion to approve up to $2000 for the Easter egg picnic on March 23. All in favor. Motion carried.
Condo Liaison– No Report
Community Liaison-Stan Earnhart reports
Welcome Committee– Cindy Fry reports, The Welcoming committee was notified of 4 new Homeowners. 3 Welcome Packets were dropped off. The 4th residence is vacant.
Drainage- Joe Myers reports, The 500 block of Francis Parker project is 90% complete and functioned well in most recent rains. Al DeMarchi, Mike Downes, Brad Davis and Nate Nadeu were instrumental in this project. David Harrison assisted in its success. All the owners backing up to rear ditch cleaned their section. We re cut thru Strause lot to reconnect to an underground pipe that drains into a water hazard instead of rainwater running over the cart path and fairway to the pond from overflow.
Beverly Homes has contracted with a landscape firm to reconfigure the drainage for 6 properties to remove standing water from the streets, to eliminate soggy yards, to deepen swales and ditches as noted, and to reroute storm water into storage areas. ARC and Drainage worked together on this project with Al DeMarchi and Nate Nadeau donating hours.
Huge drainage problem at the Condos especially Regime 3 and 5 plus others. An Engineering Study is warranted to pinpoint the problems and recommend solutions.
Water Amenities– Joe Myers reports, The sea wall is in desperate need of replacement. Earthworks will send out 2 people to analyze and tell us the best approach to fix it for $2850. A motion was made for up to $6000 for a scope of work to fix the seawall. Motion seconded and passed. A band aid to strengthen a short section is $9750. North Float needs 5 flotation blocks replaced as they are waterlogged. Bids have been requested from 2 marine construction companies. Both floats need deck boards replaced. No estimates yet. Parking lot needs a layer of crunched cement gravel. Estimate forthcoming.
Depth Maintenance Project- Government hurdles have been cleared. Retained A/E firm Earthworks is preparing the requests for bid and developing the list of Dredging firms to contact for bids. May-June Contract Review Time.
Roads– Dave Decreny reports, We have gotten King Asphalt to work up a scope and estimate for our next paving project on Ballard Place, Duckpond, Ricefield, and Wedgefield road beyond Ballard and the marina gate. This will be for milling 2 inches and paving. Jonathan Martin from Beverly Homes has been in touch with Dean Floyd about fixing the damage in front of a Beverly Home.
Grounds– Marge Miller reports, Our efforts to improve the entrance to the Plantation are moving forward. All the roots by the gate house and dead plants have been removed in preparation for additional dirt and spring planting. The stumps by the gate house and next to the Proctor’s residence have been removed. Work on cleaning the north side of the entrance has been completed. Removed the large pieces of wood from the large map sign. Gary Dreher and Tom Macedo cleaned out the entry pond fountain. Gary and Stan removed the fountain from the Wragg’s Ferry Pond and found that barnacles had formed seizing the motor. Replacement is not recommended. The Golf Course removed excess brush and branches from Wedgefield Road across from Captain Anthony White Lane.
Nate and Stan met with the irrigation specialist and developed a plan to hook the sprinkler system to City Water. We are still working on a new flag pole, power washing, additional dirt, and spring planting to improve the entrance to Wedgefield.
Compliance– Stan Earnhart reports, A compliance fine notice has been sent to 132 Swamp Fox Rd. The Board will have a closed session before next month’s meeting to discuss the fine. The lot owner will also be invited to attend and explain why a fine should not be assessed. We are in discussions with the owners of 998 Francis Parker regarding the compliance issue.
Capital Improvement-
Website Committee– Dave DeCreny reports, We have spoken to our website designer about updating our website and being able to take payments online. We hoping to make it more user friendly and easier to find stuff. We are waiting on him to bring a sample for us to view.
Next Monthly Board Meeting– April 16, 2024
Adjourn –Stan Earnhart