News from the Board

There are a few things we need to address this month. The first being the open Town meeting that took place a couple of weeks ago. Sean and I attended this meeting to see if we can get a one-on-one with the Mayor, Town Manager and Police Chief. As it happened, the Mayor and Town Manager sat at our table across from us. Once again, we brought up the proposed new community on Linwood. The Mayor apologized for voting for the zoning change not realizing our own Commissioner voted against it. So much for knowing who represents who. The Town Manger informed us that no plans were submitted and if they are submitted an environmental impact study will be required. We also brought up the intersection at Main and Linwood. In the past when this was brought up we were told that the State owns that portion of the street, not the Town. We asked why the Town did not push the State for sidewalks in front of Isy Bell’s and a light. He wondered that also and said he would look into it. We are trying to setup a meeting with the Town Manager and his staff to meet with anyone in Linwood Farms sometime in the near future. We told him we would rent a room for that, if we can set it up. Sean was able to sit down with the Police Chief and Police Major. Speeding in the community, stop sign runners and other subjects were brought up. They have a plan for us in the near future (of which I will not get into detail here) and all homeowners will be warned about the events that will take place.

Let’s discuss the pool. When the hurricane was announced and Charlotte was supposed to get more than a drizzle and minor gust, the pool company asked us to help batten down the pool in case the worst happened. I unbolted and removed all the umbrellas, turned the fiberglass tables upside down, stacked the chair and lowered them on their side, emptied all garbage cans and moved them into the bathroom and did some other minor things. Sean made sure all the umbrellas were stowed away and completed anything that was left undone. We then waited for the storm that never happened. We were then informed that the pool company could not spend as much time as necessary at the pool (daily), because they had to go back to the pools that were shutting for the season and also the other pools that had things stored for the storm. At that point, we decided to shut the pool because we could not guarantee that someone would show up. As far as the chemical levels go, the water was manually tested every day. We also have a chemical system that is supposed to monitor the chemical levels constantly. That is what failed. The levels were showing normal, but the manual tests were showing something different. Eventually we purchased a new state-of-the-art system to handle the chemicals. As far as the pool company goes. We were not happy with them this year. 2 years of great work and one that stunk. There are only a hand full of commercial pool companies out there and we have gone through most of them. We have contacted a company which was unknown to us, but has a great reputation and have just received a bid. They currently handle Cherry Grove, the point and many country clubs and communities. We’ll keep you up to date on any changes. Now let’s discuss lifeguards. Because we have a junior Olympic pool, the pool companies are requiring us to have 2 lifeguards. One lifeguard cost us $20,000 or more. The pool would not open until 4 pm while school is in session and would close at 9 pm. The pool would also close the first week in September. We cannot afford the $40,000 for 2 lifeguards unless we raise dues by over $100 per home. This community has had only one increase of $10.00 since we opened and that brought complaints. I cannot imagine what would happen if we were to increase dues 15% every year until we hit that $100 increase.

Now let’s address the remarks on Facebook about elections. Prior to us taking over the Board, homeowners were mailed out info about elections 10 days before the meeting. We changed that to a month. In that packet is the time and place and usually the name of the incumbent if they are running. Included is a proxy to vote as well as a form to send in if you want to run. Nothing is last moment. Here is the problem. Few people actually come to the meeting. Only the die hards. The few people that did run did not send in a form but were nominated from the floor. In the past, we asked people to tell us about themselves and what they want to accomplish. Outside of a couple of us, no one responded. The last person that ran against an incumbent was more interested in Social events. That person should have joined the Social Committee but didn’t. Very few people that run or complain have a clue how much time is spent out of our lives on Community business. In order to save money, we do as much work as we can on our own. We can have contractors do it, but would have to raise dues. Who goes to the pool when something happens? Who has homeowners coming to our homes, has meetings with contractors and management company? Stays with contractors while work is being done to make sure it’s done the way we want it to be? Drops our pool robot into the pool at night in order to better clean the pool? We’ve painted bathrooms, cleaned up floods, moved furniture and much, much more. Not to mention managing our budget to make sure we have enough money to get things done without going broke.

Before you complain, find out what it takes to do what we are doing.