The 2013 Cove Landing Property-owner’s Association Annual Meeting was held on January 31, 2013 at the Liberty Grove Church on Bradley Cove Road.
The first order of business was call to order. Jane Witherell initiated the meeting to begin, and passed out an outline of the items of business to be addressed. The meeting began at 7:00 p.m. following the “order of business” as outlined in the Cove Landing By-Laws.
The second order of business was roll call. Homeowners attending the meeting were invited to sign in at the table where the CLPOA accountant, Halli Holt was sitting. 25 voting lots signed in, which did not meet the requirements of establishing a quorum. Current Board members present at the meeting were Jane Witherell (President), Gerald Riley (Vice President), Robyn Jones (Secretary), Valerie Enchelmeyer, and Lori Bodinger. Kelly Thessing and Warren Morey (Treasurer) were unable to attend the meeting.
The third order of business was proof of notice. This year, notice of the annual meeting was posted on the CLPOA website, www.covelanding.org, as well as on the CLPOA’s Facebook group page. Additionally, three signs were displayed within the neighborhood announcing the meeting time and place. Two at the entrance of Cove Landing on Walleye/Bradley Cove Road, and one at the T at the intersection of Walleye and Blackfin. Post cards were sent out two weeks prior to the meeting to all homes within Cove Landing announcing the meeting as well.
Item four on the agenda was to read the preceding annual meeting’s minutes. Robyn Jones read aloud to the homeowners the minutes from the last annual meeting, which was held on January 17, 2012.
The fifth and sixth items of business were Treasurer’s report and 2013 Budget. Warren Morey, current Treasurer for the board was unable to attend to give a report. Jane asked Halli Holt if she was prepared to give a report, and she requested that the board move on to the next item of business and she would gather the information and give a report at a later time in the meeting.
Item seven on the agenda was Old Business. Jane Witherell explained some of the issues that have been addressed by the board. The county road department has recently repaired several potholes. There have been several requests for the addition of more streetlights in the neighborhood and Jane explained that the streetlights must be ordered in lots of 6. Problems with dogs roaming the neighborhood continues to be a problem and Jane explained that dogs are to be kept inside a fence or are to be walked on a leash. Gerald Riley explained some of the calls he has received over the past year regarding residents being bitten by dogs. Mr. Riley went on to explain the Animal Shelter in Russellville has no jurisdiction in Cove Landing and will not pick up stray animals, as the neighborhood is outside of the city limits of Russellville. Mr. Riley advised residents that if an altercation occurs with a dog, the Pope County Sherriff’s office should be notified. The owner of the dog will be cited by the authorities. The county road department has indicated that they intend to repave Walleye, but are waiting until the right weather. We expect to see a move toward repaving Walleye in the spring. Sid Gray from the county road department visited Cove Landing in January 2013 to look at some of the ditches and culverts that need repair/replacing, specifically one past Tarpon on Channel Circle. Speeding cars continue to be a problem. Jane Witherell told homeowners that she has received numerous phone calls and complaints about a red Monte Carlo that frequently drives through the neighborhood at excessive speeds. If homeowners observe vehicles speeding through the neighborhood, they are advised to call and report it to the Pope County Sherriff’s office as soon as they witness it. The same is true with 4-wheelers being driven through the neighborhood. 4-wheelers are not street-legal, and are breaking the law if they are driving on the road. Gerald Riley explained that he has responded in the past to teenagers and young people driving 4-wheelers recklessly late at night through Cove Landing and warned them that homeowners in the neighborhood are upset and have been advised to call the authorities. Mr. Riley asked for homeowners to help him in the effort of keeping the youngsters off of the roads on 4-wheelers, particularly at night, as he is unable to respond to every call/complaint that he receives about these situations. Gerald went on to explain that he is still looking for volunteers to help with crime-watch. Over the past year, there has been a significant decrease in crime in the neighborhood. The board believes this to be due, in part, to the increase in streetlights and also the use of security cameras.
Item eight on the order of business was new business. The Cove Landing Property-owner’s Association Board of Directors has 7 available positions open for election each year. Members are nominated and then a vote is made amongst those present at the annual meeting. For the 2013-year, all board positions were available. Jane Witherell explained the roles of each board member, and the frequency of meetings, as well as the times that the board usually meets each month. For some time, the board has been meeting on a Tuesday of each month around lunchtime (typically at 11:30 a.m.). It is important that board members be available to attend monthly board meetings. Board members should be prepared to be outlet for property-owner’s to express complaints, as several board members have experienced this in the past. The floor was open to nominations for 2013 board members. Jane explained that Kelly Thessing and Lori Bodinger had expressed to her that they did not wish to serve on the board for the upcoming year. Jane asked for volunteers to speak up and nominate themselves to serve on the board. Billy Kite indicated that he would be willing to serve on the board for 2013. Greg Long indicated that he would be willing to serve on the board, if meeting times were changed to evening meetings. It was explained that the meeting time is not “set in stone,” and that the board is able to discuss and vote on meeting time, but that existing members have found the Tuesday lunchtime meetings most convenient. Jane nominated that Warren Morey return as a board member for the 2013 term. Residents were encouraged to volunteer to serve on the board. Gerald Riley, Robyn Jones, Valerie Enchelmeyer, and Jane Witherell indicated that they are willing to serve on the board again for the 2013 term if no other residents are interested in volunteering to do so. Jane Witherell called for a motion to accept by acclimation the seven people that indicated that they would serve on the board as the 2013 CLPOA Board of Directors. The motion was seconded, and all present were in favor and none opposed. Those Cove Landing residents elected for service on the 2013 CLPOA Board of Directors are as follows: Billy Kite, Greg Long, Warren Morey, Jane Witherell, Gerald Riley, Valerie Enchelmeyer, and Robyn Jones. Board officers will be elected at the next board meeting, scheduled for February 19th, 2013.
Pope County Justice of the Peace, David Ivy, spoke to residents next. He explained to residents that Cove Landing is within the Crow Mountain fire department’s service area. Crow Mountain has a fire classification of a “class 9,” but many homes within Cove Landing are over 5 miles from Crow Mountain fire department, and are considered to be a “class 10” with many insurance companies. Mr. Ivy went on to explain that the Pottsville Fire Chief has explained to him that an “automatic mutual aide agreement” exists between Crow Mountain fire department and Pottsville fire department for the Cove Landing area. This means that if someone within Cove Landing calls for help with a fire, both Crow Mountain fire department and Pottsville fire department are alerted simultaneously to respond to the fire. A “mutual aide agreement” exists between both of these fire departments and Russellville city fire department for the Cove Landing area, which means that Russellville city fire department will respond to assist if either Crow Mountain fire department or Pottsville fire department is on the scene of a fire within Cove Landing and request help. Mr. Ivy explained that some insurance companies may take the “automatic mutual aide agreement” into consideration when rating a home’s fire protection rating, and the written agreement is available to be taken to one’s insurance agent for review. Mr. Ivy offered his contact information and invited anybody that is interested in obtaining a copy of the written agreement between Crow Mountain fire department and Pottsville fire department for the Cove Landing area to contact him.
The Board has received multiple complaints about cars being parked in the grass at the home located on Blackfin. Complaints have also been received concerning vehicles habitually being parked overnight on the street, rather than in a driveway or garage. Jane Witherell explained that the covenants prohibit these things, and action will be taken to bring those that are out of compliance into compliance with the covenants.
The floor was then open to homeowners to bring up new items of concern. One homeowner addressed Jane Witherell and asked who is responsible for maintaining drainage ditches. Jane explained that it is the homeowner who is responsible for maintaining drainage ditches on their property. Another homeowner asked for attention to be brought to a vacant lot that is overgrown on Channel Circle. The Board will contact the owner of the vacant lot and bring to their attention the complaint of the overgrowth. A homeowner who lives on Bluefish told the Board that an empty lot, which is realtor-owned, has hornets nests that need attention from an exterminator. One homeowner expressed that she would like to see more streetlights on Walleye, and another homeowner expressed that the area on the north side of Channel Circle – on the hill – is very dark and would benefit from the installation of a streetlight. Jane Witherell explained the process of purchasing streetlights. The decorative streetlights, which are used in Cove Landing, must be special-ordered through Entergy in lots of six. Each of these streetlights must then be installed in locations where there are secondary electrical boxes to supply energy to them. Some homeowners in the past have expressed that they oppose streetlights being installed near their homes, so the Board prefers to arrange that lights be installed near homes whose homeowners do not oppose such. Cost is also a factor in deciding when it is a good time to purchase a lot of six streetlights. The Board will consider the Treasurer’s report in deciding when a purchase of this kind can best be made.
Halli Holt, the acting accountant for the Treasurer, provided a summary of financial details to the homeowners present at the meeting. Expenses paid out over the prior year were summarized, and funds received were read aloud to homeowners.
One homeowner brought up a concern about service vehicles that are frequently parked on Walleye along the side of the street. The concern is that these service vehicles are potentially a hazard to drivers who might be traveling on the road, unaware of the parked service vehicles. It was explained that there is a 3-foot easement on either side of the street, on which service vehicles can park along, and there is nothing that can be done by the CLHPOA Board to prevent service vehicles from parking along Walleye in this manner.
No other items were brought up for discussion.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:10 p.m.