Carolina Forest Association, Inc.
Board of Directors Meeting
Friday, March 13, 2009 at CFA Clubhouse

Board Members present:, Cyndi Caviness, Larry Neyens, Dolly Tyndall, Dannie Cox  

Absent:  Tom Sargent (Chair)
Officers present:  John Olmstead, Tom Miller, Andy King     
Other Attendees:  Annette Frick, CFA Business Manager
Larry Neyens chaired the meeting in Tom Sargent’s absence and called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.

February Draft Minutes:  Andy King noted one change.  Dolly moved to approve the minutes with the change as submitted, Dannie seconded.  All approved, motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report:    Tom Miller reported income receipts are behind last year’s level at this point.  Cyndi moved to accept the report, Dolly seconded, all approved.

President’s Report:  John presented his written report (See attached report) 

Committee Reports

Architectural Review Committee:  Jimmy presented his written report and noted there were drainage issues with Lot 120.  The owner will erect a silt barrier and Jimmy will meet with him and Dannie Cox when the project nears completion to assess the need for further remedies.

Campground:  No report. 

PEC:  No report. 

Entertainment:  Michelle King announced there would be Ladies’ Socials on 3/14 and 5/9.  The Easter Party is scheduled for 4/11 and the Annual Ice Cream Social will be held on 5/23.

Clubhouse:  No report

Legal:  No report

Marina:  Dannie noted that he was the sole remaining Marina Committee member and that he planned to publish the marina waiting list and make the boat slip rental process as  transparent as possible.  The list will be posted in the office with the date of application shown for each person.  Dannie also reported he would measure each boat slip once all payments had been made this year to assess the maximum boat size for each slip.  John Olmstead asked the Board if payment plans were allowed for marina slips or if payment must be received in full by the due date for members to be eligible for a boat slip.

A lengthy discussion ensued. Upon completion, Dolly moved that CFA Annual Lot Fees must be paid in full for a member to rent a boat slip.  Annual boat slip rental fee is also due in full by the invoiced due date.  Cyndi seconded, all approved.

John then asked if this motion should apply to campsite rental in the CFA Campground as well.  Another lengthy discussion followed.  Larry moved that members renting campsites must be current on any CFA Annual Lot Fee installment payments (if applicable) or they are not eligible to rent a campsite.  Cyndi seconded, all approved.

Newsletter:  No report
Roads:   No report
Welcome Committee:  No report.
Beautification:  No report
Website:   No report
Recreational Park:  No report
Rules and Regulations: No report

Unresolved Issues:

Item 804:  Construction Policies – The Board reviewed and discussed Jimmy’s proposed changes at considerable length.  Larry moved to accept Jimmy’s changes except for items 7 and 8 which are deleted.  Item 2 will increase the deposit for new home construction to $1500 instead of the proposed $2000.  Dolly seconded, all approved.  Motion carried.  Tom M will incorporate the changes into the Construction Policy.

Item 806:   Rules and Regulations – Dolly moved to table this item until the next meeting, Cyndi seconded, all approved.  Motion carried.

Item 812:  Lester Kellough, Appeal of By-Laws - Lester Kellough and his son presented their request for a waiver to allow Mr. Kellough to combine 2 undeveloped lots.  This is currently not allowed under CFA by-laws.  They explained that Mr. Kellough had purchased two adjoining lots in CFA and wanted to build a house.  Neither lot will perk and neither was tested prior to purchase.  Mr. Kellough has been working with the county and soil scientists without success to find a way to get a septic system approved.

He asked the board to grant him financial relief in the form of lot consolidation by waiver of existing by-laws and asked that the Directors not decide tonight but take time to consider his request.  Larry indicated the Board would study the request and inform him of their decision. 

Item 813:  Mowing Grass in CFA 2009 – Dannie Cox proposed that CFA purchase a Zero Turn Radius (ZTR) commercial mower instead of paying for contract mowing in 2009 as budgeted.  Dannie explained that Maintenance could mow much more area in less time with a ZTR mower and asked that all Directors and Officers volunteer to mow with the ZTR mower those common areas not mowed by Maintenance for the balance of 2009.  Dolly Tyndall would be exempt for health reasons stemming from an accident.  Other volunteers would be welcome to join in.

Dannie calculated if each volunteer mows at least twice with him mowing 3 times, this should be sufficient to satisfy the mowing requirements.   In 2010 a resident or other person could be hired on a contract basis and paid hourly to do all the mowing.  Any money saved against the mowing budget could be given to the Parks and Recreation Committee or other suitable project.  A good ZTR mower should last at least ten years according to Dannie and require minimal maintenance.

Note:  John Olmstead provided the Officers and Directors with a detailed summary of the current mowing contract and requirements as a discussion aid via email prior to the meeting.

A lengthy discussion followed which included man-hours required for mowing, liability issues, mower specifications and brands, financing plans, and Maintenance hours spent on pool maintenance during the summer season.  Cyndi thanked Dannie for taking the time to put this together.

Larry moved to approve the purchase by Dannie Cox of a ZTR mower with selection and pricing options to be explored prior to purchase.  Maximum spending limit is $8K.  Cyndi seconded, all approved.  Motion carried.

Item 814:  Low Cost Removal of Tennis Courts – Dannie asked the board for permission to deconstruct the CFA Tennis Courts at his own expense, on his own time, using his own equipment with no time limit.  He said this was one of his goals as a Director.   Dannie’s proposal was discussed in detail.  Larry moved to accept the proposal with the fencing and poles to be torn down first, followed by the base.  Cyndi seconded.  Dannie abstained from the vote, all others approved.  Motion carried.

Item 815:  Return of Lot 373, Alvin Blake – Mr. Blake requests to return this lot to CFA.  Tom M reported that all fees and claims have been satisfied and CFA practice is to accept lots when these conditions are met.  Dolly moved to grant the request, Cyndi seconded, all approved.  Motion carried.

Item 816:  Satellite TV at Gatehouse – John reported that the TV in the gatehouse now receives only one channel since the transition to digital broadcast TV has begun.  He said the security employees had requested that they be allowed to install satellite TV at their own expense providing a signal can reach the gatehouse.  A lengthy discussion followed concerning the merits of providing CFA security employees with entertainment while on the job.  It was noted that current practice allows a conventional TV and a DVD player to be used by security personnel in the gatehouse. 

Upon conclusion, Larry moved to install satellite TV at the gatehouse if CFA can bundle it with our current DSL and phone service with Embarq.  Security personnel will pay for the satellite addition to the service bundle.  Dannie seconded.  Larry, Dannie, and Dolly voted yes, Cyndi voted no.  Motion carried 3-1.  John, Angela, and Annette will handle this item.

Open Discussion

• Tom Miller asked that the Directors and Officers attend a short Executive Meeting upon conclusion of the open meeting.   

• Tom M also noted that the CFA office email has changed to:   carolinaforest@embarqmail.com.  The old address is still active until May 2009.

• Tom M announced that all past due accounts not already placed with the collections attorney (i.e. new past due accounts, accounts that are too small for the collections attorney, and owners on payment plans who have missed scheduled payments) will go out for collection as of 4/7/09.  This did not happen last year until around August.

• Cyndi asked if the raccoon killed recently in Lake In The Pines was confirmed to have rabies.  Tom Miller replied that Animal Control had verified that the raccoon was definitely rabid.

• Bill Needham addressed the Board regarding erroneous late payment notices he and his father’s estate had been receiving.  Calvin Needham’s estate conveyed one lot to Bill Needham which he has paid up to date.  Another lot not owned by Mr. Needham or the estate is also being billed to him.  Mr. Needham explained that he had called the office several times to correct this without success and had become very frustrated.  Tom M indicated he and Annette would investigate the matter and resolve it as soon as possible. 

• David Hartsell complained that he had gone on the waiting list for boat slips last year and his name had been dropped from the list.  Dannie said he would investigate and reiterated his earlier statements on how he was going to handle the marina waiting list.

• Larry Emmert asked if the Board was reversing the earlier decision not to employ members since it had been mentioned that mowing might be done by a resident next year for pay.  The Board replied there was no change and any mowing would be done on a contract basis only.

• Larry E asked if the Board had considered his proposal from an earlier meeting some months ago regarding an automatic water softening system designed to save money on pool chemicals.  None of the Directors remembered this but Andy King did.  They said they’d look into Larry E’s suggestion.

• Compensatory time off for CFA employees was briefly discussed.

Cyndi moved to adjourn the meeting.  Dolly seconded, all approved.  Meeting adjourned at 9:29 pm.