Report from Council of Stewards Meeting

Regular Meeting, October 26, 2005

In attendance: Bob Ashton, Steve Baker, Tom Fischer, Virginia Hart, Sherman Kahn, Norm Reid, David Smith, Vera Victorino (Abbott Enterprises), and Donna Howell.

The Council of Stewards (COS) discussed these issues and took the following actions:

Homeowner questions and items of concern:

The first one or two parking places on Twain Avenue pose limited visibility for persons turning right onto Twain from Caldwell Avenue.
Until the Town of Davidson assumes responsibility for the roads, the Town has no jurisdiction to make changes. When the Town assumes responsibility, homeowner concerns may be addressed by Davidson Traffic Management.

It was requested that the Council of Stewards establish a policy specifying that contractors use dissolvable paint when marking streets, sidewalks, and byways for repairs and servicing.
Although the Council had no easy solution to areas already marked, members did agree that this was a good suggestion and will implement in future contracts.

Concern was expressed regarding byway patching and drainage problems along Marler S. Tuttle Sr. Byway.
Work completed on Wednesday, October 26, is expected to resolve the problem.

Concern was again expressed in regard to the noise created by the St. Alban’s Church chimes. Town of Davidson has responded to a homeowner complaint and is evaluating the issue to see if there is a violation of the Town noise ordinance.
As stated in an earlier meeting this year, St. Alban’s Church is not a member of the Association. The COS agreed that this is a matter to be addressed by the Town of Davidson and suggested that the homeowner continue to pursue concerns with the Town.

A townhome owner reported that cars were being parked in the byway pad reserved for her unit. Frustration was expressed at the need to ask people not to park in this spot more than once. A request was made to place notice in the next newsletter clarifying the assignment of these pads.
Vera Victorino reported that Abbott has sent letters to the homeowners who have illegally parked in this space. The Architectural Review Committee is considering a request for an upright “reserved” sign to be placed by this parking pad in addition to the black concrete marking. The November newsletter will include an article on this subject. [See newsletter article on page 4.]

Committee reports were presented as follows:

1.  Finance Committee – Norm Reid presented financial statements for period ending September 30, 2005.
The committee, working with the Landscape & Grounds Committee, will continue to monitor utility bills to insure that billing between the Association and the Town of Davidson is correct. Winter water bills will be checked to catch any high usage caused by potential underground leaks in the system.
Tom Fischer stated that the remaining Townhome & Common Reserves account at BB&T will be transferred to Abbott’s accounting system to facilitate check writing for these funds.
Vera Victorino was requested to provide the Council with a copy of the bonding certificate for Abbott Enterprises.

2.  Property Transition Committee – This is a new committee that will be Steve Baker’s responsibility. Dave Smith has volunteered to help with the organization and execution. The purpose of the committee is to establish a system to track “for sale” houses and townhomes and to create a “Welcome/Community Information” packet for new homeowners. Presently, Abbott sends a packet to new homeowners, but there is considerable lag time between the actual closing and when the information is made available to Abbott. This has often resulted in new homeowners not being aware of community covenants and how to pay assessment fees. [See newsletter article on pages 5 and 6.]

3.  Townhome/Workplace Building Maintenance Committee – Hank Howell (chairperson) reported that the townhome door paint project has been completed. Approximately 60 exterior doors were painted at a cost of $2700.
Now that road paving is complete, the Cunnane Group has agreed to pressure wash the outside of remaining townhome buildings. This will include all exterior surfaces, with the exception of inner patios. However, they have requested that the Association investigate having Foreman’s Painting Company do this work at Cunnane’s expense. A bid for the job is being prepared. Townhome owners will be notified in advance of this work.
The committee has reviewed the completed Reserve Study Report. Some revisions were requested and a final report will be available for presentation at the November Membership Meeting.
Work orders and associated costs continue to be reviewed and monitored with the intent of reducing maintenance expenditures.
After review of quotes for gutter guards on Buildings A, U, and T, the COS has reached the conclusion that regular scheduled cleaning of gutters is a more economical approach to the problem. The committee will establish a schedule for gutter cleaning with Abbott contractors.

4.  Landscape & Grounds Committee – Dave Smith, COS representative, and Norm Reid met with B. J. Talley, committee chairperson, during October. Although he wishes to continue on the committee, B. J. has requested that a new chairperson be appointed.
Two meetings were held during the month to complete a budget request for inclusion in the 2006 budget process and to address outstanding issues. The committee is also in the process of reviewing utility bills. Coordination of committee activities and the newly formed Garden Club was also discussed. Close coordination with Contemporary Landscapes of Charlotte, the Association’s landscaping contractor, will continue. Contemporary’s contract runs for another year.

5.  Architectural Review Committee – Requests have been light. All needed standards identified at this time have been completed and approved. Hard copies of these standards can be obtained from the table outside Doug Boone’s office on St. Alban’s Lane. All documents will eventually be found on the neighborhood website and can be downloaded and copied.

6.  Newsletter & Website Committee – An update of the neighborhood website was presented to the Council. [See newsletter article on page 5.] Integration of newsletter and website content will continue in order to eliminate monthly reprinting of some rosters and information.

7.  Covenant Committee – The committee continues to await attorney review and approval of the final draft of the “Governing Documents Enforcement Policy & Procedures.” The Council is investigating ways to expedite this process.

The Council adjourned the regular meeting and went into executive session to discuss homeowner requests made to Abbott Enterprises regarding payment of delinquent accounts. The COS also reviewed the proposed 2006 budget in preparation for the Membership Meeting scheduled for Nov. 15 at St. Alban’s Church (7:00 p.m.). The purpose of the November Membership Meeting is ratification of the annual budget.