April 23, 2006

Highland Park Homeowner’s Association

Minutes of April 6, 2006 Meeting

Meeting Attendees

Brian Benham, President

Dennis O’Toole, Treasurer

Lisa Wurster, Secretary

Coleen Ellis, Board Member

Mike Coombs, Board Member

John Griffin – Special Guest (Representative for White River Citizens United)

Meeting started at 5:30 pm and adjourned at 6:45 pm. Held at Brian’s house.

Homeowners’ Dues

Dennis reported that all but four homeowners have paid their annual dues. Dennis will send one more follow-up letter to the four with outstanding balances.

Homeowner concern regarding drainage

Dennis Steeb spoke with Dennis O’Toole regarding his ongoing concern about drainage between his house and his neighbor behind him. Dennis O’Toole reiterated that when the concern was raised previously, it did not appear that there was any violation of the covenants and that the drainage was a private issue. Lisa will re-send a copy of the original letter sent to Steeb previously.

Lakes/Ponds

Chrissy from Leistner called to see if we wanted them to perform algae treatment again this year; the Board agreed to pay for the treatment again this year. Dennis received a $700 bill to store and clean the pumps. Dennis will call Leistner to see who authorized the expenditure and will let Leistner know that they need to receive authorization from and bill owners living on the lake.

Uniform Signs

There was a discussion regarding whether or not we want to incorporate uniform signs in the subdivision. If we decide to do so, we could incorporate the same sign language used by Brocton Manor. Brian will obtain a copy of their sign language and we will review at the next meeting.

Violation Issues

Basketball Goal Violation - Brian has sent two letters to the homeowner on Eagle Trace Drive who is in violation, but still no response. Brian will visit the homeowner about the issue.

Drain on Sidewalk – John Price contacted the county regarding the improperly draining sump pump by 1805 Eagle Trace Drive. The county indicated they will take a look at the drain sometime this month.

Tent and graffiti on property – Dennis called Greg Allen’s office to request that the tent and the graffiti on the barn be removed from his lot on Dockside Drive.

Tree warranty

Mike spoke with Charlie Burris regarding the tree warranty. Charlie just wanted to go on record with his objection to where the tree was planted, as he had concerns about the previously unsuccessful attempts to plant a tree in that location.

Subdivision Website

Scott Cassin is currently updating/maintaining our website, but he has plans to move out of Highland Park. He will continue to update the site until he moves and is willing to train someone else. Coleen is going to check with Angie Seaman to see if she is interested.

White River Citizens United

John Griffin joined the meeting to provide an update on the activities of the White River Citizens United group.

The group recently developed a newsletter that John would like to distribute to Highland Park homeowners, but wasn’t sure how to distribute. We suggested the possibility of including their newsletter with the spring newsletter that we are going to send out.

The following issues have been discussed within the WRCU group:

There are ongoing concerns about traffic on SR135 due to the new development at SR135 and Stones Crossing. There was a recent study by citizens to come up with cash and ideas to help with the maintenance of roads. The idea was presented but defeated by county-councilman Paul Reed. The county does not have a plan that is comprehensive or current (the current plan is about ten years old). There is a new plan in progress but the county believes it will take at least another three years to develop. WRCU group believes it’s imperative for the county to move faster.
There is a PUD (Planned Unit Development) that will convert the McCarty farms into a 240-acre development. Requirements only allow 10% of the development to be commercial but they have requested that 20% of the development be allowed commercial. WRCU group has hired Lynn Gray to hold this development to the requirements. There is at least one Olive Branch neighborhood fighting the PUD and they need help financially. They are asking that we partner with them on expenses (dollar for dollar). They need about $7000 more to continue their fight. $3500 would come from Highland Park and surrounding subdivisions. Our support would not require additional collection of funds; the help could come from the existing budget we have already approved for this WRCU group.
State Representatives in our district will be meeting to discuss SR135 safety and to put together a plan to put pressure on INDOT to take action about the accidents occurring on SR135.
A question was raised about whether or not the WRCU group should support and/or endorse a political candidate. Anita Knowles is a member of WRCU and is currently running for office. We believe that financially the group should remain neutral. We believe the decision about whether or not the group endorses a candidate should be left up to the group.

Spring Newsletter

Coleen will develop a spring newsletter and will incorporate the WRCU newsletter. All Board members should send their ideas to Coleen.

Johnson County correspondence regarding front entrance repairs

Bill Dickey presented his letters of correspondence with the county regarding the front entry repair of the bridge. Lisa will make part of the Secretary’s records.

Board Member resigning

Coleen announced her upcoming resignation as a Board member. She will be relocating sometime in the near future and will remain a member of the Board until then.

Upcoming Meetings

Thurs, June 8 – 6 pm (Denny’s house)

Thurs, Aug 3 – 6 pm