WPA ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES
November 21, 2015
The meeting was called to order by Jacky Walton – President
In attendance: Jacky Walton, Bob Garrison, Janine Cline, Al DeMarchi, Larry McMillin, Adam Anderson, and Inge Ebert. Absent was John Walton
The President asked “Do we have a quorum?” The Secretary replied, “Yes” after receiving the numbers from the Inspector of Elections, Peggy Phillips. The Secretary stated that Annual Packet was delivered on October 16, 2015 to the Post Office by herself and Peggy Phillips. The proof of notice is on file in the office.
The motion to proceed with the election process was made by Al De Marchi with a second by Janine Cline. The motion passed unanimously. The Secretary called for nominations from the floor three times. There were no nominations.
The introduction of the Election Committee was presented by the Secretary. The motion to approve Peggy Philips as Inspector of Elections was made by Bob Garrison and a second from Janine Cline. The motion passed. The President called for the collection of the ballots from the floor and excused the Election Committee to commence with the count.
President’s Report – Jacky Walton thanked the nominating Committee, Nancy Johnston, Stephanie Ellison, Marie Piethkewicz, and Donna Boshears for their time and effort in securing the candidates to fill the positions for the WPA Board of Directors.
The Secretary read the 2014 Annual Meeting minutes and made a motion to approve them as read. There was a second and motion passed.
Vice President’s Report – Bob Garrison welcomed everyone that attended the Annual Meeting. He was glad to see so many showing an interest in the community and their property owner’s association. He thanked all his fellow board members for their dedication and service for the last year and especially to the three candidates up for election who have agreed to continue to serve this community. Bob stated that it has been a distinct pleasure to work with each of them and he values their contributions to the WPA.
Sales of homes have increased, new construction is taking place, and it seems that Wedgefield’s reputation has become more positive in the eyes of prospective homebuyers. Roads are being repaired, grounds have received multiple upgrades, and other positive improvements continue.
The board has managed to hold assessments for 2016 to $500, as you will see when billing goes out in January. In 2017 you may expect a 5-10% increase in assessments and this is a fair notice to ensure time for each member to budget accordingly. Even with this projected increase, Wedgefield continues to provide excellent value when compared to other HOA’s in this area. This board has been committed to balancing the needs of our community with the need to keep Wedgefield affordable to all of our residents. The board hopes that majority of the residents agree with this fiscally responsible approach to the management of your community.
Secretary Report – Janine Cline introduce our new office manager Kim Feagin to the residents and announced about the new website Wedgefieldhoa.com. The tree lighting will be December 6th at 4:30 pm; the office will be accepting unwrapped gifts for Toys for Tots until December 16th.
The WPA has officially adopted Wedgefield Road for clean-up. I want to thank Pastor Justin Flowers from The Family Worship Center for his help.
Children can get community service credit for helping out. The clean-up will take place twice a year. Ideally it will be scheduled for October and April.
Treasurer – Al DeMarchi reported WPA has received the 2014 annual audit and the report states. “In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Wedgefield Plantation Association as of December 31, 2014, and the results of its operations and cash flow for the year then ended in conformity with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.”
No state or federal taxes are due.
The 2016 budget has been approved for Wedgefield Plantation Association. It will remain at $500.00 per lot. Invoices will be mailed in December, with payment due by January 31, 2016
The Plantation currently has approximately 19 delinquent accounts, accounting for about $43,000. This is a significant reduction from prior years positions.
The Reserve Accounts continue to be funded, with Roads being the greatest expense to the plantation. Based upon the Reserve Study performed in 2013 and the monitoring of expenses, the allocation amounts were changed to more accurately reflect the needs of the plantation. $100,000 in funds was transferred from various reserve accounts to allow the roads projects to proceed at a faster pace than anticipated. Roads account for 72% of the Reserve requirements. Total current reserves are approximately $358,000 with and additional road expenditure of approximately $130,000 and drainage expenditures of approximately $20,000. This will still leave about $228,000 in the reserve accounts.
ARC report – Keith Johnson thanked his committee for their help this year.
21 approvals for additions and renovations
15 refundable builders deposit were returned
19 tree removals were approved
3 new constructions have been approved
Legal Report – Bob Garrison reported the following proceeding regarding legal delinquent accounts:
- 1 foreclosure instituted by WPA (2 years DLQ)
- Several bank foreclosures to deal with
- 2 lots being prepared for sale from successful foreclosures
- Several (approx.. 6 properties that will be due for foreclosure when they become 2 years past due at end of February
No other pending litigations
Have successfully completed a number of previously DLQ accounts.
DLQ at historic low
I Appreciate the cooperation of the vast majority of property owners who pay assessments in timely manner and reduce the time and expense of collection of DLQ accounts. With no increase in assessments for 2016, expect to see this trend of reduced DLQ to continue.
Finance – Al DeMarchi reported financial functions performed by the office secretary will now be reviewed by James Young, CPA. Statements and monthly transactions will be forwarded to the CPA for review, comment and if necessary changes to our procedures to ease the accounting functions performed in-house. Monthly reports will be available at the meetings in a “cash account format”. This will simplify the constant question of how we perform to budget.
Welcome Committee – Inge reported Vivian Segelken and I have designed a trifold sheet, containing pertinent information about our Wedgefield Community, which we present to all new residents, with a map of Wedgefield on one side and how our community came about on the other. We have had very positive responses to both.
Vivian and Inge have contacted, either in person, by phone, or card, 33 new residences since last December. If no response to our initial cards the Welcome Committee will consider this as a completed visit.
Drainage – Al De Marchi reported the entrance pond project is complete except for sodding the area. Damaging rains did not help the situation, but the bulkhead and drainage system alleviated much of the road flooding that has occurred in the past. Remaining funds from the original project will be used to complete the work.
The drainage along lots 451, 452, 453, 479, 480 and the golf course brush pile has been modified and is performing adequately, but will be modified, at no additional cost, to achieve the best possible drainage of a marginal situation.
The remaining two drainage projects have been delayed due to weather. As soon as weather permitting, J.C. Landscape will proceed with the projects.
Water Amenities – (read by Bob Garrison) John Walton reported both landing and parking areas have been graded and stonework has been installed. Installed pilings and built a fence to protect transformer and panel board, additional signs and fishing rod holders on both docks and on bulkhead for member’s use. Both decks are cleaned weekly, removed many logs and tree stumps after October flooding. Maintained watch for outsiders using landing by checking for WPA stickers.
Roads – Adam Anderson reported this year brought about another round of road repair work which is currently under construction. During the year we solicited bids for an engineering firm to oversee the project and hired Earthworks. They worked with the committee to compile a list of needed repairs and wrote bid specifications for those areas and solicited bids. Coastal Asphalt was the winning bidder and we entered into contract with them and work began in late September. During the process of milling the old asphalt it was discovered that the old asphalt could be reused as base for the new asphalt allowing Coastal Asphalt to reduce their bid by a significant amount. Phase one was reduced from the original price of $152,730.57 to $121,229.05. We expect a savings of similar proportions during phase 2 which is currently underway. After 2 years of long overdue repairs our roads should be in decent shape for the immediate future.
Condominium Liaison – Inge Ebert reported there are some issues with parking at the Village and it is currently being addressed by the WPA Board. We have received a quote of the cost for the paving project for the Regime III parking lot. The quote was unanimously accepted and the project will start immediately to be completed by the end of November.
The investment 3 years ago into improving our Condo Pool has paid off, we have seen substantial savings in our water and chemical usage and it have made the maintenance of the facility a lot easier. We still see intruders though, and are trying to find a way to prevent trespassers from coming in.
Grounds – Larry McMillin reported the Plantation has bought chemicals to continue the maintenance of the entrance pond. With only two applications this season, the water quality appears much better than what we were paying to have this service done. I still have enough chemicals to last through the upcoming season. The fountain is inoperable until my physical condition improves so I can perform maintenance on it. The flood has clogged the inlet and must be cleaned before further use.
The compost site on Governor Boone has been completed and is operational. The lease on the property is with Georgetown County Water & Sewer Department at a cost of $1.00 per year for five years and renewable thereafter.
After much effort, we awarded a contract to perform much needed maintenance to the exterior of the Gate House. Phase II is planned to be awarded at a later date.
Negotiations for the upcoming maintenance contract will begin in January and early February to prepare for the renewable annual agreement. All issues, concerns, and proposed changes will be brought to the board before any agreements are reached. I assume the lot maintenance program will once again be a hot topic, and this year’s terms covering grassy lots brought numerous complaints.
We have plans to replant and expand the flower beds near the entrance with new colors and species. This year was pretty nice, and we hope to make it even better during next season. I am hoping we can get more volunteers to participate in the process.
The recent historical flooding has destroyed our irrigation pump near the pond. A new one will need to be purchased sometime in April.
Compliance – Bob Garrison reported committee consists of Peggy Phillips, Barbara Nichols, and Dick Mooshie. During the course of the year, compliance has reviewed and submitted changes for the board to consider correcting inconsistencies and amending policy. Compliance looks at each section of the policy manual and evaluates these to recommend updates as required. Any proposals for policy changes from board members are also evaluated by the committee prior to presentation to the board for approval or rejection. Each proposal must have 2 reading before the board can approve any changes and proposals submitted as first readings are posted on the WPA websites prior to a second reading. If approved, these changes become part of the policy manual, the master copy of which resides in the office, as well as on the website.
Old Business – None
New Business – None
Resident Comments –
Jill DeMarchi suggested that 843 come before each telephone number in the Directory and 1 come before the area codes for numbers out of state. She offered to help with the new directory in 2016. Jill also had concerns about properties being maintained.
Madeline Claveloux had a concern regarding a past legal settlement and a complaint about the maintaining of vacant Lots.
James Hughes thanked the Secretary Janine Cline for the great job on the Road Cleaning. He asked that each resident while out if they would help clean up Wedgefield. He also offered to help the Welcome Committee.
He asked three questions about the budget.
- Electrical – Al DeMarchi explained the areas covered. That included the office, street lights and parking areas.
- Annual Meeting budget – Janine Cline explained the budget of $2200. The actually moneys spent was approx. $1650. This includes over $800 in postage, printing, Church rental $200, paper, cartilages and refreshments. The remainder of the budget is returned to the reserve account.
- Building & Structure Repair/Improvement budget. Al DeMarchi explained it’s for the Marina and the Entrance Gatehouse.
One resident stated he had sand for luminaries available at the condos and the other asked if anything could be done for speeders on Live Oak Lane. The board replied by saying just to call the sheriff.
Jacky Walton called for a temporary adjournment while the vote count continued and to allow for a 15 minute break
Janine Cline read the election results as follows: Adam Anderson – 172 votes, Alan DeMarchi – 168 votes, John Walton – 166 votes, Danny Pittman – 1 vote, Madeline Claveloux – 32 votes, Colin Young – 1 vote.
By-Law #1 – Passed (143 votes in favor needed, received 158)
Covenant Change #1 – Did not pass (100% needed to pass, received 151)
There was a motion and a second to move the Board Meeting back to Wragg’s Ferry Road.
Jacky Walton announced the next monthly meeting on December 15th, 2015
Meeting was adjourned at approx. 12:02 pm.