The 2012 Annual Meeting was held on January 17, 2012, at the Liberty Grove Church on Bradley Cove Road. The meeting began promptly at 7:00 p.m. following the “order of business” as outlined in the Cove Landing By-Laws.
The first order of business was Roll Call. Serving as Treasurer, Lori Bodinger greeted residents at the door and directed them to the sign-in sheet. 37 voting lots were present at the meeting, which is a considerable increase from the attendance numbers in 2011.
The second order of business was Proof of Notice. This year, notice of the meeting was posted on the CLPOA website, www.covelanding.org as well as on the Cove Landing Property-owner’s Association’s Facebook group page. Additionally, two signs announcing the meeting were posted in the neighborhood the week prior to January 17, 2012: One near the brick retainers at the entrance to Cove Landing near the Walleye/Bradley Cove Road intersection; the other at the intersection of Walleye and Blackfin. The Board President, Ernie Enchelmayer explained the Board’s decision to give notice in these ways, rather than passing out flyers as has been done in the past.
Item three on the agenda was to read the preceding meeting minutes. Mr. Enchelmayer read the minutes aloud from the January 10, 2012, board meeting. The minutes of the March 2011 meeting were mentioned as well.
The fourth item of business was Officer Reports. Officers were introduced and an explanation of their duties was described: President (Ernie Enchelmayer) – main responsibilities have been to convene meetings and organize to attend to the business of Cove Landing. Mr. Enchelmayer has contributed to Cove Landing in many ways this year, one of which being the development of the Cove Landing Property-owner’s Association Facebook group. Vice President (Jane Witherell) – main responsibilities have been to work on behalf of the president and oversee day-to-day items in Cove Landing, including field calls, street work issues, street light issues, and landscaping concerns. Treasurer (Lori Bodinger) – main responsibilities have been to collect checks, make deposits, and keep the books for the CLPOA. This includes making payments on the POA’s behalf for bills that are due (electricity, water, landscaping services, security services, etc.). Secretary (Robyn Jones) – main responsibilities have been to record and maintain minutes of each board meeting. Minutes are distributed via email to board members and are then published to the Cove Landing website by webmaster, Terry McCormick.
Reports of Committees was fifth on the agenda. The Building/Grounds committee was, as last year, an “ad hoc” committee that convened only when asked. This year the committee was asked to approve two structures and one fence. The Holiday Decoration committee is to be determined by the winning household of the previous year. The winner keeps the award for one year and is then responsible for choosing the home they think should have the award for the following year. 2010 winners of the “Best Holiday Decoration” award were the Hammond family, and it is unclear as to whether they passed on this award to another household in 2011 or not. The Best Yard committee was inactive in 2011. The Welcome Committee has been dormant for the past two years. The Security Committee is headed by Board member Gerald Riley. Mr. Riley was not yet present at the meeting, so the President went on to the next item of business, noting that Mr. Riley would be invited to give a security report when he arrives.
The sixth item of business was Unfinished Business. One item related to “unfinished business” from last year’s annual meeting in March 2011 was the suggestion to have a real estate lawyer speak with Cove Landing board members and residents. In December 2011, the board contracted the services of Carol Collins, and she dutifully answered our questions and laid out guidelines for how the CLPOA Board could employ her services with regard to enforcing Covenants & Restrictions and By-Laws. Dues collection was another item of unfinished business. That process is now back to the “old” method for 2012. Dues – established by the CLPOA Board – are due no later than 10 days after the annual business meeting. For the past two years, a quarterly collection system complete with penalty phases has been used to collect annual dues from residents. Effective for 2012, the Board has elected to go back to the system as laid out in the Covenants, Restrictions, and By-Laws, whereby the dues are due up to 10 days after the first business meeting of the year and then they are turned over to a legal service for collection or to begin the lien process.
At that time, Gerald Riley addressed residents with his security report for 2011. Mr. Riley explained the purpose of the security cameras that are placed at the front entrance, which is to identify those responsible for causing mischief within the neighborhood. Next, Mr. Riley explained his efforts in organizing a Neighborhood Watch program within Cove Landing. Group Leaders are needed. These individuals will be responsible for “spreading the word” to a pre-determined group of neighbors when a security threat has been reported. The idea is that once a threat is reported, everyone in the neighborhood can be notified quickly. Thus far, notification of security matters has been posted on the CLPOA Facebook group page. Mr. Riley encouraged individuals that would like to help to volunteer to help patrol the neighborhood and report suspicious activity or vehicles in the area.
The seventh item of business was New Business. The first and most important item of “new business” is the election of the new Board. For the 2012 year, every position is open. Seven positions are available to serve on the Board each year. Mr. Enchelmayer spoke for a moment about the duties of Board members, and the importance of being available to attend monthly Board meetings. The floor was then open for nominations for the 2012 CLPOA Board. Ernie Enchelmayer indicated that he would like to step down off of the Board for the 2012 year and give someone else a turn. Lori Bodinger indicated that she wishes to step down from the position as Treasurer but is still willing to serve on the Board as a Board member. Randy Roush indicated that he has been unable to attend Board meetings due to work schedule conflicts but would be willing to serve on the Board in 2012 if the meeting time were changed to take place in the evening. Mr. Enchelmayer explained that while the meeting time is not set in stone, to change it must be voted upon by the Board, so an evening meeting time cannot be guaranteed. Gerald Riley indicated that he is still willing to serve on the Board if needed. Jane Witherell indicated that she is still willing to serve on the Board. Robyn Jones indicated that she is willing to serve on the Board. A nomination was made for Jeremy Keaster to serve on the Board, but he indicated that his schedule would not permit it. A nomination was made for Kelly Thessing to serve on the Board, and she accepted. Scott Savage was nominated as well. Warren Morey volunteered to serve on the Board. With seven nominations presented, the President called for a motion to accept the seven by acclimation. The motion was seconded, and all who attended were in favor with none opposed. Those Cove Landing residents elected for service on the 2012 Cove Landing Property-owner’s Association Board of Directors are as follows: Lori Bodinger, Gerald Riley, Jane Witherell, Robyn Jones, Kelly Thessing, Scott Savage, and Warren Morey.
Ernie Enchelmayer explained that the next scheduled Board meeting is to be held Tuesday, February 7th at 11:30 a.m. at Brangus Feed Lot in the back room. At that meeting, Ernie Enchelmayer will preside initially over the meeting until officers are elected from among the 2012 Board of Directors.
Residents were then given the opportunity to initiate discussion on other matters of new business. One resident asked what happened to the bulletin board style sign that was on the property at the corner of Walleye and Blackfin. Another resident indicated that the property owner had taken the sign down.
Fire class ratings and their effect on insurance premiums were brought up by one resident. Ron Chenault explained his efforts in investigating the possibilities of Cove Landing being sanctioned into the Pottsville fire district. He also explained that the Crow Mountain fire department is currently rated a class 9. The department’s fire class rating could be improved eventually, but they are in need of more volunteers. Another resident suggested that there seems to have been “talk” that Russellville will eventually place a fire station near Cove Landing, which would put the neighborhood in the Russellville Fire Department’s district.
An inquiry was made by one resident about the process of filing liens and the attorney’s fees associated with doing so. Ernie Enchelmayer explained that past due lot numbers will be passed on to the office of Carol Collins, who will then determine the owners of each lot. A letter will be sent to each, and a fee will be charged up front per letter. The next step is placing a lien on the amount past due plus attorney’s fees on the property that is delinquent. POA funds will initially pay the attorney’s fees, but those fees will be attached to the liens.
One resident asked if annual dues can be added to personal property taxes for the county to collect. Karen Martin, the current Pope County Tax Assessor, spoke up and explained that in order to organize something like that, an election would have to be held – which is a very costly chore. Another resident suggested that a list of delinquent lot owners’ names be published on Cove Landing’s website. Ernie Enchelmayer explained that the Board has considered publishing the names of delinquent lot owners in the local newspaper in the “Clubs & Activities” section. A suggestion was made by one resident to consider teaming up with another neighborhood’s homeowner’s association in the area and determine if there may be a way to share with them the cost of collecting delinquent dues through the filing of liens.
No other items were brought up for discussion and a motion was made to close the meeting. The motion was seconded, and all were in favor with none opposed.
The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.