WPA MONTHLY MEETING MINUTES
June 16, 2020
Call to Order – Bob McMahan
Attendance – Bob McMahan, Adam Anderson, Peggy Phillips, Larry McMillin, Tom Macedo, Jonathan Rutstein, Gary Dreher, Butch Williams
Absent– Quorum – Yes
Approval – Motion to approve May 19, 2020 Minutes made by Adam Anderson. Motion seconded by Butch Williams. All in favor. Motion Carried.
Motion to approve May 4th, 2020 Minutes made by Larry McMillin. Motion seconded by Gary Dreher. All in favor. Motion Carried.
Officer Reports
Presidents Report – Robert McMahan reports, John Walton has resigned due to his health. We will be taking resumes for his position until July 14. He will put a notice on the sign. This will make 4 seats available to vote on for the Annual election.
Hopes everyone is doing well during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. We live in a beautiful neighborhood and we all want to keep it that way. The fact that many of us have been staying home and working from home has made us become more aware of certain conditions in the plantation.
Most of us are aware that there is a Policy Manual that covers the By-laws and Covenants for the Wedgefield Plantation Association. The By-laws and Covenants have been written as not to be overly restrictive to the residents. The residents should embrace the overall intent of the By- laws and Covenants. There has been increased correspondence concerning the decreasing beauty of Wedgefield.
The two covenants covering the overall beauty of Wedgefield are Covenants #6 and #7. Covenant # 6 “It shall be the responsibility of each lot owner to prevent the development of any unclean, unsightly, or unkept conditions of buildings or grounds on such lot, which shall tend to substantially decrease the beauty of the neighborhood as a whole or the specific area.”
Covenant #7 “No noxious or offensive activity shall be carried on upon any lot, nor shall anything be done thereon tending to cause embarrassment, discomfort, annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood. There shall not be maintained any plants or animals, or device or thing of any sort whose normal activities or existence is in any way noxious, dangerous, unsightly, unpleasant, or of a nature as may diminish or destroy the enjoyment of the other property in the neighborhood by the owners thereof.”
These covenants cover unkept lawns, deterioration, of house exteriors, unregistered vehicles, debris piled on vacant lots or at the sides of houses, and the parking of numerous vehicles, lawn mowers, golf carts, or boats on the front yard.
Please be aware of the beauty of our neighborhood and know that letters will be sent out for violations. Robert McMahan asked the compliance chairman Butch Williams to form a subcommittee to address these issues.
Bob McMahan announces Jean Hulse Hayman as Nominating Committee chairperson.
Vice Presidents Report – No Report
Secretary’s Report– Larry McMillin reports, The Annual WPA Homeowner’s meeting will be held at the Georgetown Presbyterian Church on Black River Rd on November 21st. The Fellowship Hall and kitchen have been reserved, as required in the policy manual. The deposit of $150.00 is required to be paid a couple of weeks prior to the meeting, and will be done in a timely manner. As part of my duties as Board Secretary this will be my last time organizing the Annual meeting since I am not running for re-election.
Treasurer’s Report– Peggy Phillips reports, On May 31, 2020, our Operating Account with South State had a balance of $212,299.88. The South Atlantic Debit Account had a balance of $1,204.21. This was after paying for 100 new marina stickers in the amount of $311.55. The ARC Escrow Account with South Atlantic had a balance of $11,583.50.
The Reserve Account balances were: South Atlantic $136,012.39, Edward Jones $272,664.27, TD Bank $58,275.33 for a total of $466,951.99. Reflected in these balances was interest earned: South Atlantic $23.04, Edward Jones $731.52. and TD Bank $9.87. for a total of $764.43.
Committee Reports
ARC– Tom Macedo reports, There are several jobs going on in the plantation. A few new houses are going up. The rain has held up the process on these projects.
Tom said he has been getting a lot of questions about needing an application. Anytime you do anything outside, please check with the office to see if you will need a permit. He would like the Welcome Committee to let new residents know the requirements of any outside work to be done.
Legal– Adam Anderson reports, We had a request from a past resident that owed us over $4800 in dues and late fees and penalties to release a judgement we had filed on them. We had a legal meeting on May 19th and discussed the situation. We offered to settle the judgment for the amount originally owed which was $3,273.50 They accepted and our attorney filed to release the judgement.
I asked the attorney for our options on the situation at the end of Wedgefield road. He said legal action might be the only choice, and we would need to budget $5,000 for a trial.
I also asked for the advice concerning the uptick in covenant violations we are experiencing. He wants to have a meeting the legal committee to discuss.
Finance– Peggy Phillips reports, Our assessments have continued to slowly come in. For 2020, 11 properties are unpaid with 2 of these being deceased. For previous years, we have 5 that are unpaid with 1 of these being deceased plus the owner with 23 properties for multi-years. This equals a total of 39 unpaid.
We will continue to make every effort to collect all assessments due. Per policy, liens will be filed in July.
We had one previous owner that had a lien and judgement placed by us approximately 8 years ago. He asked to have the judgement release, and paid us $3,273.50 to have this accomplished. A Satisfaction of Judgement has been completed and filed by our attorney, Joe Crosby.
Our 2019-2020 Road Project:
5/2/19 Coastal Asphalt submitted bid for $357,600.79 to the Board. 7/16/19 Suggested we accept one bid from Coastal Asphalt.
7/23/19 Roads Committee met with Board to discuss project with Coastal Asphalt. They explained what the contract would include.
8/20/19 Board approved contract with Coastal Asphalt in the amount of $357,600.79. 9/17/19 Contract completed and ready to signed by President and Secretary.
The amounts paid out for our 2019-2020 Road project are as follows: 2/7/20 $183,215.91
2/17/20 $101,232.00
3/6/20 $19,796.48 (originally $12,858.24) mil change
*mils were approved to increase from 490 to 783 on Swamp Fox.
Communications– No report.
Community Liaison– Adam Anderson reports, This month we have had the following letters:
A complaint about someone parking a commercial vehicle at a home. This is not against the rules.
Two complaints about someone moving into a house on Wedgefield Road and the boxes and tents in the front yard. A letter was sent.
A letter asking 2 ARC questions, a complaint about parking trailers on a common area and a request to trim trees on Wedgefield Road. These were given to Tom and Larry.
A letter about kids trespassing on a lot on Wragg’s Ferry. They were told to contact the police. A thank you for the bulkhead repair on the common area at Gov Johnson and Wedgefield Rd. A suggestion for the WPA to contract with Spectrum.
An inquiry that the May 2nd open Board meeting to discuss the drainage project on Wedgefield Road was illegally called. Once explained the writer withdrew their objection.
A complaint about chickens on a lot on Joanna Gillard.
A complaint about a vacant lot not being mowed on Swamp Fox.
Welcome Committee– Butch Williams reports, Four new families have been welcomed to Wedgefield since the Covid 19 pandemic.
Drainage–Gary Dreher reported, The repair of the drain on the HOA property at Wedgefield Rd and Governor Johnson was completed by JC Landscaping by the first excavating to remove the existing collapsed drainage pipe and catch basin along with a larger connection box. A new larger catch basin was then installed that allowed the pipe coming under Wedgefield Rd, a pipe coming from under Gov. Johnson, and a new pipe from an east facing swale to connect into the larger pipe that directs storm water into the canal. The area was then graded and seeded with grass seed to complete the work. At this time the work is considered completed and we can issue a check to the contractor when an invoice is received.
We have received a complaint about a drainage issue on Joanna Gillard that relates to a drainage pipe that was re-routed to allow building a new home there. The concern is that the pipe that was installed does not appear to be pitched properly to allow drainage of the catch basins that feed into it. There is another house being built there and ideally this condition should be rectified before landscaping is completed once the home is built.
We will also be determining what drains are restricted and getting quotes to have them cleaned out to reduce the storm water backups that occur after heavy rains. If any residents are aware of issues, they should contact the WPA office or one of the board members to address the concerns.
Water Amenities– Larry McMillin lets everyone know that there are new Marina stickers at the office. Adam Anderson is working on getting bids for an automated gate.
Condo Liaison– Robert McMahan reports that the President of the WVA has requested a key to the front of the office building to have access for the WVA meetings. Adam Anderson makes a motion to give the WVA president Jacky Walton a key for this purpose. Jonathan Rutstein seconded motion. All in favor. Motion carried.
Roads– Gary Dreher will be taking over the roads committee. Gary is looking into speed bumps for the plantation to curb the speeding.
Grounds-Larry McMillin reports, Since the rainy weather is hampering the mowing and maintenance of the Plantation, I have made arrangements with Howard’s Quick Cut to spend their time this week pruning trees along and overhanging the streets. Butch Williams asked Larry to have someone check the overhanging area along Governor Johnson.
Compliance– Butch Williams reports, He will form a subcommittee to address the concerns about properties not complying to the Policy Manual.
Website Committee– No Report
Old Business– No Report
New Business–
Public Comments– Mike Downs asked Gary Dreher if we were credited for the small box that was taken from the drainage project. Gary said we were.
Al DeMarchi lets Larry know that Harbor Freight had pallets of sod for $275 and volunteered to help pick it up.
Carl Gettman asked if anyone had been in touch with the sheriff about speeding. Butch said he called them last night and they have been patrolling the area.
Bob Garrison asks about Minutes for a May 4th meeting.
Golf Course Update– Butch Williams reports, The Manor House isn’t serving lunch right now. Robert McMahan asks Butch to press Mitch on removing the tree that is endangering a resident’s home. Butch said that Mitch said he would take care of it as soon as the ground dries where they can get to it.
Next Monthly Board Meeting– July 21, 2020
Adjourn – Robert McMahan