2018 ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 17, 2018 AT 10 A.M. GEORGETOWN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Present: Jacky Walton, Bob Garrison, Larry McMillin, Peggy Phillips, Bob McMahan, and Adam Anderson
Absent – Steve Vasey, Butch Williams, and John Walton
Secretary Larry McMillin confirmed that a Quorum has been met, and; There are 211 verified ballots without what came in today Proof of Mailing – In the office
Motion to Proceed with the Election Process – made by Bob Garrison, Seconded James Bennett, Motion carried
Secretary Larry McMillin made a call for Nominations from the floor 3 times. No motions from the floor
Election Committee: Mary Sasso, Inspector, Marion Cuttino, Inge Ebert, Johanna Garrison, Sue Hastings, Jean Hulse-Hayman, Tom Macedo, Barbara Nichols, Bob Nichols, Shirley Peterson, Peggy Phillips, John Sasso, and Vivian Segelken
Larry McMillin made the Motion to Approve Mary Sasso as Inspector of Elections Seconded -Bob Garrison, Motion Carried
Collection of ballots – Election Committee retired to count. Larry McMillin read the 2017 Annual Meeting Minutes.
Bob Garrison moved to approve Annual Meeting Minutes as amended, Adam Anderson Seconded and Motion carried.
Officer Reports
President: Jacky Walton reported that last year we had asked about volunteers. The people of the community listened and I would like to thank them. Also, a thank you to the Board of Directors. We don’t always agree but we have learned how to disagree and get along to work things out. We appreciate that the community tells us how we are doing and we thank them. My biggest disappointment is our monthly meetings. We have more Board members than residents at these meeting. These meetings are for you. We are conducting your business.
Vice President: Bob Garrison welcomes everyone who showed up. I would also like to thank Larry and his crew for setting this meeting up. I would also like to ask if everyone knows the policy on trailers, to show the importance of reading your policy manuals and covenants because most of the answers to your questions are in there. There is a copy of the Policy Manual and Covenants on our website for you to view. There is also a copy in the HOA office. If you don’t know the answer you can also call the office and someone will assist you.
Secretary: Until now, I was unaware of how much time and effort is required to conduct this Annual Meeting and election. So many details are involved in preparing the packet, sending it to all residents correctly, and recording the responses. Many thanks to all, whose experience with this annual meeting and election process was invaluable to me to do my tasks correctly. Also, I applaud the members of the Election Committee, the most in memory, who have volunteered to make this election efficient and proper. It is good to see so much participation.
The conversion to the new e-mail address is underway and working well. No incidents with the new account have occurred. As a reminder, to re-register, send an email to the new office website address with your name and address. A response from the office clerk will be sent to you, confirming completions of the change request.
Treasurer: Peggy Phillips reported Our assessments are used to pay the operating expenses of the Plantation. Our current operating account is with South State Bank and had a balance of $132,756.18 as of October 31, 2018. In June, 2018 we created a secondary checking account with a maximum balance of $2,500. This account can be accessed by a debit card. The current balance is $1,860.93.
Any monies not used for normal operations are placed in Reserve Accounts. Currently the Reserve Account balances are: Edward Jones $362,038.55, South Atlantic $169,915.19, and TD Bank $48,017.92 for a total of $579,971.66.
The Reserve categories are presently accrued at the following percentages and the current balances are: Roads at 67% ($351,035.54), Drainage at 12% ($53,350.62), Marina at 2% ($8580.24), Emergency at 2% ($32,859.36), Canal at 15% ($123,637.03), and Landscape at 2% ($10,508.87), for a total of $579,971.66.
Total bank balances as of October 31, 2018 were $714,588.77.
ARC: In June Bob McMahan assumed the role of the ARC Chairperson. He reports that as of October, 2018 we have had a total of 35 permits issued. 9 are still open, 26 have been completed. 7 new house requests with 1 completed. 36 for other things are still pending.
Legal: Bob Garrison stated that we have had a pretty easy year. Most of the year was spent on delinquent accounts. We only have a few assessments unpaid other than the ones that are multiple year delinquency, 22 of which are tied to one owner and 5 others, with one being gone in a few weeks.
The lawsuit that was withdrawn was resubmitted this year. Hopefully it will be withdrawn shortly because, the WPA isn’t liable.
Finance: Peggy Phillips stated that all Association checks are written by Ms. Kathy Browy, our Bookkeeper and per policy are signed by two officers, President, Vice President, Secretary, or Treasurer. Financial information is compiled by Ms. Browy and forwarded to our CPA, Mr.James Young, for review and preparation of financial documents. These documents are available on the WPA website and copies may be obtained from the office.
An updated reserve study was completed by Reserve Professionals in April, 2018, and based on their data, the Finance Committee recommended to the Board to have the assessments for 2019 remain at $525. The Finance Committee consisted of: Bob Buice, Bob Garrison, Bob McMahan, Larry McMillin, and Jacky Walton. Each Board member was given an opportunity to contribute in the preparation of the budget.
The assessment invoices will be mailed the last week of December and are due by February 1st. Any assessments not paid by the last day of February will be assessed a late charge of $20 per month beginning March 1st until the assessment and late charges are paid in full.
Communication: Larry McMillin reported that there was talk about the community picnic attached to the Easter egg hunt being moved to May when the weather is nicer. We will still have the Easter egg hunt the same time. I would also like to hold a community meeting on the Christmas decorations. We are planning to decorate on November 30th and December 1st. The tree lighting will be held on December 2nd.
We will be doing the Christmas luminaries again. We have the candles at the office. Come get what you need. If you can participate, please do so.
Welcome Committee: No report provided
Drainage Committee: Jacky Walton reported that there were a few issues we worked on this year. Jacky pointed out that Al DeMarchi has worked well with Mansfield and they have placed a ditch line between them and us. This has helped a lot with the drainage issue in that part of the Plantation. We have a few issues that pertain to a resident’s property. Al is getting the papers together on that. Any issue that comes up will hopefully be addressed. The few issues we have at hand now should be cleared up in the year to come.
Water Amenities Committee: Canal Dredging: Adam Anderson reading John Walton’s report: Last winter the WPA committed to spending up to 1/3 of the dredging cost from the canal reserve that have been set aside, providing that the canal lot owners could raise the rest through private donations. This spring the canal lot owners began raising money for our portion of the dredging. We asked for $4000 per lot. As of today, we have raised $191,000 and continue to collect from a few that have promised to contribute or those that are making payments. In June we began the spoil site repair work. That was completed in August. The contract with Carter Dredging was signed in August. Work is scheduled to begin on December 1st and should be completed by April of next year. We appreciate everyone’s hard work and cooperation on this project. It was our goal to get this done without all the animosity that previous dredging’s have caused and with a plan that was fair to those that do not live on the canal. We believe that we have achieved this balance.
Roads Committee: Adam Anderson reported that We have managed most of the problems this year with cold patch repairs. There are a few areas that will need repaving soon. The committee will take on these projects in the coming year. If you are aware of a problem please write or email the office.
In June we awarded sign contractor Sign Shark the contract to replace all of the street signs in the plantation. That project is wrapping up with just a few details still left to do. We opted to use vinyl post so these signs should last for many years to come and they look nice.
Grounds: Larry McMillin reported that we were very fortunate this hurricane season to have experienced very minimal impact. There was only one minor storm cleanup performed, and it went very well by our maintenance crew, Howard’s Quick Cut. This will allow the Emergency Reserve to grow to meet possible future needs next season.
Our contract for grounds maintenance services is due to renew in March, 2019. Howard’s Quick Cut has offered to renew the contract with the same terms and fees for the upcoming year. The Board will discuss and vote on this matter in February.
Compliance: No Report
Old Business: No Report
New Business: No Report
Election Results:
| Adam Anderson | 213 |
| Gary Dreher | 126 |
| Robert McMahan | 221 |
| John Walton | 174 |
| Connie Downs | 2 |
| Rob Coker | 1 |
| Butch Williams | 2 |
| Otis Campbell | 1 |
Resident Comments
Bob and Jacky were complimented on the work at the Condos.
Craig Coonrad commented about having problems with abandoned cars asked if there was something we could do. Jacky let him know that if they had tags and insurance, then there really wasn’t anything we could do. He let him know that the WVA would be addressing that at their next meeting.
Kathy McGrogan would like to thank the Board for their hard work. She says she was concerned about the Altman house which had burnt. Asking how long it would stay that way. She also commented on the runners wearing dark clothing and running with traffic instead of facing traffic. Asked if we could publish something in the next Wragg.
Bob Garrison commented that it appears the insurance company has settled up some on the burnt property. The owner has been told they are responsible for clearing out the property. We have sent a letter to let her know it needs to get it cleaned up. She has told us that she has told people to come get what they want, so she doesn’t have to pay someone to clean it out. I will talk to the lawyer about what kind of time table she has and what we can do.
Michael Downs said they should have safety precautions set up.
Greg Gaspari asked if anyone had contacted the fire department about using the house for training purposes.
Tom Cobb is concerned with people speeding.
Jacky Walton let him know that in the past some residents got upset because they were ticketed and it caused a problem. The best thing to do is call the sheriff when you see this happen.
Bob McCray said the sheriff might be able to talk to the person but would not be able to ticket them unless they saw it personally.
John McBride said that in the past we had a radar machine put up on our streets and wanted to know if we had any data from it. Jacky let him know it wasn’t the WPA who did and he is not sure who put this up so we do not have any information pertaining to this.
John McBride also asked about using the WPA electronic sign for other things than HOA business. Bob Garrison said there will be future meeting on this. We are in the process of setting up guidelines for the sign.
Al DeMarchi Thanked communications for the Wragg. Commented that speedbumps may be a solution on speeding. He also asked if the rain had shrunk the signs. Adam let him know that his wife had complemented the signs the day before.
Mike Macedo asked if there was a check on the debit card and Peggy Phillips assured him there was. He also commented that Pawleys Plantation has a speed limit detector when you come in and they don’t have the problems we have with speeding.
Mike also said we should give this Board a hand for all they do. Followed by applause.
Gary Dreher says there has been positive change in the community since the reopening of the golf course and The Manor House. We should acknowledge Mitch for all he has done getting this up again and we should all support him.
Bob Garrison made motion to return future meetings to WPA Office. Peggy Phillips seconded motion, and Motion carried
Next Board Meeting on December 18th at the WPA Office.
Meeting Adjourned.