St. Alban’s Square Neighborhood Association
2006 Membership Meeting
August 8, 2006

The Neighborhood Association Membership Meeting is held annually in August. The main purpose of the meeting is to elect new members to the Council of Stewards and to present committee reports of the past year’s activities. Neighborhood issues and questions are also discussed and official actions taken or referred to the Council of Stewards (COS).

Tom Fisher, Association President, called the meeting to order at 7:20 P.M. Homeowner notification of the meeting was verified. Minutes of the 2005 meeting were approved. During the meeting, volunteer sign-up sheets for all committees were made available.

A quorum of members was verified. The Nominating Committee presented via ballot the names of candidates for the Council of Stewards as follows: Tom Fisher and David Smith to fill three-year terms that expired this year; Sam Coleman to complete the term vacated by Bob Ashton (expires in 2008); and Teresa Furlong to complete the term previously held by Steve Baker (expires in 2008). There were no nominations from the floor and no other nominations had been submitted to Abbott Enterprises. Ballots were collected and all candidates were elected for terms as outlined.

A summary of the committee reports is submitted below. If there are any questions regarding these reports, please call the committee chairperson or a committee member as listed on pages 12 and 13 of this newsletter.

Finance Committee

Norm Reid, Treasurer, presented a balance sheet and statement of revenues and expenses from January 2006 through June 2006. The balance sheet reflected current assets of $313,477. Common expenses are under budget by $909. Townhome Peer group expenses are under budget by $13,827, although there are expenses in the last half of 2006 that are expected to diminish this surplus. Collection of delinquent accounts, a big issue in 2005, has improved satisfactorily over the past year. Reserve contributions are satisfactory.

Architectural Review Committee

This committee meets monthly to consider requests to make architectural changes and to establish neighborhood standards as needed. The committee has recently developed a new standard for basketball hoops on individual property. This has been reviewed and approved by the ARC and will be submitted to the COS for approval at the August meeting. Copies of the standards and change request forms are available on a hallway table outside Doug Boone’s office (St. Alban’s Lane). Copies are also available on the Association website.

Covenant Committee

This committee’s responsibility is to review reported or observed covenant violations with the intent of maintaining and preserving community standards. The committee is currently creating an easy reference version of the covenants. This will be mailed to all homeowners when available. A document covering Enforcement Policies and Procedures has undergone legal review by the Association attorney and, following final review by the Covenant Committee, will be presented to the Council of Stewards for approval.

Landscape & Grounds Committee

The contract with Contemporary Landscapes of Charlotte which expires at the end of August has been reviewed by the committee and a recommendation for renewal will be presented to the COS at the August meeting. A contract for fountain/water feature maintenance was approved in early 2006. Maintenance of neighborhood park areas owned by the Town of Davidson is also being handled by Contemporary Landscapes.

Townhome & Workplace
Building Maintenance Committee

The second phase of the townhome exterior painting project has been completed. A Reserve Study completed earlier this year shows that the Association reserves are fully funded. The effort to reduce maintenance expenditures has been successful with a decrease of approximately one third of 2005 expenses.

Newsletter & Website Committee

Many residents in our neighborhood have contributed to the writing, production, and delivery of the newsletter and their volunteer efforts are greatly appreciated. Additional volunteers for articles and delivery are always welcome. Expenses for 2006 have dropped slightly.

The website continues to be a success. Steve Lee, neighborhood webmaster, requested that all neighbors utilize the information on the website and make corrections to personal data if incorrect. Efforts to republish a neighborhood directory will depend on the accuracy of information. At this point, 62 of 272 owners/residents have obtained passwords to enter protected fields. [Please visit www.stalbanssq.org.]

Property Transition Committee

This committee was created in 2006 and Teresa Furlong has replaced Steve Baker as chairperson. The committee is charged with helping new resident transition by providing information regarding covenants, the website, committees, and the maintenance fee payment process. Verification of mailing address and phone number for Abbott files is also a key function.

Following committee reports, the floor was opened to new business and comments:

• A question was raised regarding the need and expense of a monthly newsletter when there is a website to inform residents of community issues. Not all residents have access to or use the website. Since the newsletter frequently is utilized as a primary communication tool for Association business, it is felt to still be necessary at this time.
• A homeowner asked that residents keep garage doors closed when the garage is not in use. Aesthetically this is more pleasing and is a safety & security issue. The same resident also urged owners to not leave trash cans outside following pick-up.
• In answer to questions regarding the publication of an updated neighborhood directory, it was explained that once correct addresses, e-mail access, and telephone numbers can be verified, a new directory will be published.
• An owner expressed concerns about practices used by Abbott Enterprises to collect delinquent assessment fees. Several other attendees expressed similar or related problems with Abbott. Since it is the policy of the Council of Stewards to only discuss individual accounts in closed session, residents were asked to bring specific issues to the next regular COS meeting on August 23.
• Association members were urged to bring other problems experienced with the management company to the regular August 23 meeting.