VOH BOARD OF DIRECTORS MINUTES OF MEETING 10/6/12
Overview of Meeting:
This was the 18th Annual Homeowners’ meeting. The meeting was held in the Corolla Library from 3 pm to 5 pm. All board members were present except Marc Blanc. NBRM was represented by Vicki and Dick Garvey. About 48 residents attended. A Proposed Change to the EC Policy, which was to be discussed at this meeting as an ad hoc agenda item, was tabled for later discussion. The minutes below follow the agenda for this meeting. Bold text indicates agenda items.
Introduction and acceptance of the spring 2012 Membership Meeting Minutes
The spring 2012 Membership Meeting Minutes were approved with one change. In the section discussing the Home Court Drainage Project, the first sentence of paragraph three (“At this time, all flooding issues have been addressed.”) was changed to read “At this time, all major flooding issues have been addressed.”
Treasurer’s Report and Questions
2012 Year to Date Budget and Year End Forecast: NBRM gave a line-by-line review of significant items previously distributed by mail to all members. Of note are unexpected increases in insurance fees (our current carrier no longer covers this area), increases in landscape and maintenance fees, and increases legal fees.
2013 Budget Proposal:
The proposed 2013 Operating Budget, or the day-to-day cost of running our community, has increased a total of 5.3% from 2008 to 2013 (approximately I % per year). While low, the increase means the Board had to recommend an annual assessment increase of $50 per lot. This is the first increase since 2007 when the annual assessment was raised $250.
The 2013 Capital Budget now includes a separate provision for new capital projects that are proposed for the coming year. In the past such projects were intermingled with the budget for the repair and replacement of existing capital items. The Board feels that this added level of transparency is needed in order to call attention to projects that may potentially reduce the funding required to maintain our existing infrastructure and that may need to be funded by other means. For example, new projects such as the Westside Paths, installed in 2011, should be funded separate and apart from the budget that has been developed to only repair/replace infrastructure that is already in place.
North Beach Management Update
Summer 2012 Report: NBRM gave a photo presentation showing dramatic progress on many initiatives which NBRM completed. NBRM also mentioned that Pool usage appears to be a little lower than previous years. Usage of the Fitness Center is higher than last year.
2012 Reserve Study: Phase 2 of the Home Court project will be done by December 31st, 2012.
2013 Capital Projects: The most significant project will be the repair to the stair steps by the ocean pool. The budget contains $25K for this project.
Statements by candidates running for Board of Directors
Three openings exist on the 2013 Board. The final slate of candidates was as follows: David Halla, Stephen Hill (*), Steve Kirk (*), Mike McCalpin, Grant McLoughlin, Johanna Tucker, and Bruce Walter. Not all candidates were present (noted by an *). Those who were present gave statements summarizing their background, experiences, and why they were running. Joe Santullo, initially listed as a candidate, withdrew his name from consideration before the membership meeting. Votes cast for him before the Membership Meeting were voided.
Vote
Board of Directors: Vote was taken. The results, reported at the end of the meeting, were as follows: Dave Halla, Stephen Hill, and Johanna Tucker were elected to serve a two-year term on the Board of Directors effective January 1st, 2013.
2013 Budget: The 2013 budget was approved.
Committee Reports
Environmental: Cindy Zeigler will remain as Chairman until 12/31/2012. Letters will be sent out to all property owners who have dead pines on their property requesting that the trees be removed. This is part of an effort to stem the infestation of pine bark borers.
Landscape: Three items were discussed. 1) plans are in place to repair the ocean front parking lot; 2) the committee is working with Holly White from Currituck County to complete the new pocket park at High Dune Loop which – hopefully – will include new trees as promised by the county; and 3) West Side path maintenance includes a $7,500 line item from the 2012 budget, part of which will be used to place granite dust down and plant ornamental grasses at the path entrances. The Landscape committee will now be responsible for maintenance of this path.
Long Range Planning: No report. This committee has no chairman.
While not an agenda item, Rich Segal gave a report from the Firewise Committee. He mentioned that house signs that clearly indicate the street address are an important item for quick identification in case of an emergency. Owners can contact Dan Lane at the Currituck Firehouse for these signs. Rich also stated that street signs will be replaced based upon a successful application for a Firewise grant. VOH will be expected to cover 20% of the cost for these new signs if the grant is approved.
As a final item, the Board expressed their gratitude to the Roll Back team who faithfully returns trash containers once they have been emptied.
Other Business and New Business
While votes were being counted (and two Board members were participating in that process), the following topics were raised by the membership; they are listed here for completeness:
• Board was asked to look into installing more speed limit signs since too many cars are exceeding the 15 MPH limit.
• Board was asked to put in place a policy to require co-signatures on checks above a certain amount.
• Board was asked to consider a covenant change that forbids placements of grills on any deck surface.
• Board was asked to consider developing a new Capital Reserve Policy statement that defines what can be spent.
Adjourn
Meeting adjourned after voting results were announced.