Meeting – 08/29/13
A copy of the Agenda is available here.
A special meeting of the Board was held on Thursday, August 29, 2013 at the office of Board President Bruce Wilson. Present in person and by teleconference were: President Bruce Wilson; Secretary Debbie Director; Treasurer Donnee Ramelli; Vice President Mary Haverback; ARC Head Paul Salditt; and staff member Phyllis Donovan. Property Manager Steve Houston was an invited guest.
The first order of business was the review and ratification of votes taken by email since the June 9, 2013 meeting. The record showed that President Wilson recused himself from voting on the construction plans at 8 Farview. A vote was taken to ratify the email votes and they were approved.
President Bruce Wilson reported on recent issues involving North Shores Security. Security Supervisor, Lee Stewart, had reported earlier that the State Police had been called twice to a residence in North Shores. President Wilson had written to the homeowner but had not received a response to the letter. Discussion was resolved with a decision to notify the State Police involving future incidents with this property. President Wilson will notify the homeowner of that decision. Further discussion of Security involved the patrol and enforcement of the pool house lot and the parking spaces along Holly Road after new parking rules and passes were introduced this year. Regular patrolling on a more frequent basis and ticketing of cars without current parking passes, combined with a new towing policy, was very effective this season and limited the use of parking and access to North Shores’ amenities to members of the community.
In response to several expressions of community concern about the number of construction projects underway, the Board had a discussion about possible construction restrictions during the peak season. Other ideas included regulations that would limit the number of construction vehicles permitted to be parked on property other than the property under construction. All agreed that the unusually large number of houses under construction this year would not likely be repeated, but noted that ongoing construction seems likely in the neighborhood given its age. Bruce Wilson stated that the current rules already distinguish between off-season and season, and that some additional restrictions would be consistent with that. Parking problems associated with large construction projects created a nuisance to the immediate neighbors as well as property damage to landscaping. ARC Head, Paul Salditt, recommended escrowing $2500.00 for damages, refundable after an inspection by Property Manager Steve Houston. The Board will consider adopting parking rules for construction vehicles, to include rules requiring the vehicles to be parked on the job site and to provide fee-based permits for overflow parking in pool and marina lots, when necessary. Bruce Wilson asked Paul Salditt to draft rules for the Board’s review to address these issues.
In response to homeowner complaints, the Board and Beach Club Manager Maureen Brown, implemented a new rule on a trial basis for personal umbrellas, requiring them to be set up behind the blue North Shores umbrella line, set up by our staff. North Shores’ umbrellas and the lifeguard stands are set up at the high tide line to provide a clear line of sight for the lifeguards, and personal umbrellas seaward of that line were obstructing the view of the beach by the lifeguards and interfering with the daily set up. Temporary signs were made and everyone appeared to have complied with the request. It was agreed by all that this system worked very well and provided a safer beach environment and a more manageable beach for the lifeguards. New permanent signs will be made for use next summer, and the Board will adopt the rules as part of the community’s beach regulations.
Pool access issues and the implementation of pool passes this summer went very smoothly. Maureen made some adjustments at the beginning of the season to fine tune the new system and the community has adjusted to using the new passes. A more in depth discussion was postponed until the fall meeting.
Our website and computer consultant submitted a contract that was routine in nature. Secretary Debbie Director shared the contract with President Bruce Wilson and both agreed Office Manager Dion Johnson could sign it. Debbie has been working with our consultant to develop a permanent back up to be stored on a hard drive at a remote location, in the event of a catastrophic loss such as a fire or super storm. Currently both systems have continuous hard drive back up as well as Carbonite. Debbie also explained that near the end of the season, Maureen was experiencing computer problems related to the website inventory system that is used for billing. It appears that some of the performance issues were related to the community’s website programing, which is obsolete and will need to be updated. The updates will be completed over the winter.
President Wilson plans to send a letter to all homeowners bordering the marina reminding them of North Shores’ ownership of a 25 foot border strip of land from the water around the entire marina. Bruce would like to remind homeowners that they have been permitted to landscape in the right of way, but must not restrict access through fencing, gates or landscaping. At some point in the future, the community may want to pursue installing a path on that property for the enjoyment of the whole community. Bruce reminded the Board that they have a duty not to allow common ground to fall into disrepair, and unrestricted access for maintenance is necessary. Homeowners that have installed docks have done so with permission, but will be required to show proof of insurance for their docks. If necessary, North Shores will clear the area in the right-of-way of vegetation and fences. Paul Salditt commented that lots without bulkheads were contributing to the build-up of silt in the marina. Debbie Director commented on the importance of maintaining the strip of land so that it is available for equipment placement needed to manage the marina, such as installing a bulkhead or dredging.
Property Manager Steve Houston reported on the extensive work he has done over the summer to improve the drainage system in the neighborhood. Steve has developed several maps for the Board to review, outlining in detail the areas of concern. He reported that many culverts and drains are in disrepair and many need to be replaced. Steve reported the primary areas of concern were along Anchor and Holly Roads, as well as Farview. Culverts and catch basins in those areas will require significant repair. Steve presented a drainage plan for the area along Holly Road that included replacing two 125 foot drainage pipes on Farview Road. The Board agreed that the work would have to be done in stages due to current budgetary conditions.
Bruce Wilson indicated the need to undertake a capital survey of the neighborhood for planning purposes. He will provide the contact information of companies that do capital surveys to Steve, and begin the process of obtaining quotes. After a discussion about construction and landscaping plans in the North Shores right of way, the Board agreed that it would prefer black PVC drainage pipe be installed. The life expectancy is longer than the corrugated metal currently being installed, and is often damaged during construction. This will reduce the cost of maintaining the drainage system in the future.
Secretary Director discussed the importance of completing the employee staffing procedures and operations outline that was started earlier in the year. The office outline is nearly complete and will be finished in the near future. President Wilson would like Debbie to share that document upon completion with the other staff and Board members so that it can be used as an example for the other areas. Areas that have yet to be completed are: bookkeeping/financial; beach/pool (manager job responsibilities, lifeguard training and duties, season opening and closing procedures); property management (annual/ quarterly maintenance record). This document will serve as a manual for Board members to manage the neighborhood in the future.