December 27, 2006
Highland Park Homeowner’s
Association
Minutes of November 30, 2006 Meeting
Annual Homeowner’s Meeting
Board Members Present
Brian Benham, President
Bill Dickey, Vice-President
Dennis O’Toole, Treasurer
Lisa Wurster, Secretary
Mike Coombs, Board Member
John Price, Board Member
List of homeowners present
is on file with the Secretary.
Meeting was held at the
White River Library. Meeting began at
7:05 pm and adjourned at 9:10 pm.
Brian discussed general
ongoing concerns with covenant violations and stressed the importance of
maintaining a beautiful neighborhood and being respectful of neighbors. He mentioned that we still see a number of
violations, including vehicle parking, signage and others. He reminded homeowners of the dangers
associated with sump pumps draining onto sidewalks and streets.
Several homeowners issued
concerns about barking dogs. Brian
confirmed that the Board has also received complaints on the website from
homeowners bothered by continued barking and noted that several letters have
been sent to the homeowner. At least one
homeowner has reported it as a public nuisance to the sheriff’s office. Brian indicated that it may be a difficult
situation to resolve but we will see what the Board can do.
There was a concern raised
about the number of people walking through the neighborhood but not utilizing
the sidewalks, and a concern about overgrown trees/bushes that block the
sidewalks. A suggestion was made to mention
this in the next newsletter.
Several homeowners would
like to see the addition of stop signs and speed bumps. Lisa indicated that the Board has tried
unsuccessfully and on numerous occasions to work with the county to see if stop
signs and/or speed bumps could be installed.
One homeowner, Don Davis, believes we should go ahead and install them
on our own and is willing to pay for the first $1000.
A complaint was raised
regarding the inability to see the
A request for the status of
a homeowner’s directory was raised.
Coleen was not present at this meeting, but Lisa noted that she believes
Coleen is currently working on developing a directory. Some homeowners were concerned about privacy
and security issues both in the directory as well as those associated with
online posting.
One homeowner requested the
status of mailbox replacements at the front of the subdivision. Bill indicated that the permanent mailboxes
are scheduled to be installed the first of next week.
There has been an ongoing
issue with lake maintenance since 2003.
Brian reiterated the Board’s view of the issues and summarized what was
discussed at the special lake lot owners meeting in August. It was the Board’s
understanding at that meeting that the lake lot owners wanted to handle
lake maintenance ongoing versus putting it off until major maintenance was
required, and that the lake lot owners were willing to pay a larger share of
the maintenance to get that accomplished.
Aeration seems to be the ongoing issue.
The Board proposed that we purchase 2 aerating pumps and continue to pay
electricity and expense of chemical treatment.
It was agreed that the old pump will not be used and that the new pumps
will be installed by Leistner. The lake lot owners present at this meeting
agreed that they believe aeration is the issue and hope that this helps solve
the problem.
One homeowner wanted to know
why the lakes we share with Brocton Manor are handled differently. Bill Dickey read amendment #3, passed in
1999, that specifically addresses the handling of expenses on those lakes.
Another homeowner asked if
we believe that the lakes are fatally flawed.
He has heard that they are. One
of the lake lot owners mentioned that she has discussed the lake concerns with
Greg Allen but he does not believe he has any ongoing responsibilities with the
subdivision.
One homeowner is concerned
about the look and sound of the aeration pumps.
He believes people are used to seeing fountains and is concerned about
the aesthetics of the new pumps. He also
stated his discontent with Greg Allen and his lack of concern for the lake
issues. Several other lake lot owners
shared concern about the pumps and would like to see what they look like. One lake lot owner asked if we could get the
same pumps with fountains, and if so, what the additional cost would be. One homeowner who does not live on the lake
expressed his discontent with paying for lake expenses at all since he gets no
benefit from the lake. Several of the
lake lot owners thanked the Board for the proposed resolution.
Dennis distributed copies of
the 2007 proposed annual budget. Several
questions were raised and clarity was provided.
One homeowner requested that the miscellaneous category be more
specific. Several homeowners raised
concern about the amount of money being spent on mowing and front entry
plantings; several other homeowners responded with support and compliments for
the entry. The annual budget was
approved as proposed.
All Board Members were up
for re-election. The following
homeowners ran for election for 2007:
Brian Benham
Bill Dickey
Dennis O’Toole
Lisa Wurster
Coleen Ellis
John Price
Mike Coombs
Margaret Plummer
David Snyder
Jerry Day
Ballots were distributed and
collected. Proxies were collected. Votes to be tallied by the Secretary and
announced to homeowners in letters dropped in mailboxes. Voting results, ballots and proxies are on
file with the Secretary.