“Time is ticking . . . . and this needs to be resolved with the two current sitting boards.”
Frustrated at the slow pace of progress toward implementing the three and a half-year old agreement between Seven Lakes Landowners Association [SLLA] and Seven Lakes Country Club [SLCC] over the “old driving range” property, SLLA President Randy Zielsdorf offered a brief update at the Wednesday, December 15 Open Meeting.
“I’ve asked three times for the tentative draft on the easement and covenants,” Zielsdorf reported. “I was told there was one change to the easement that our attorney said would be no problem — that it had no impact on our objective. There have been minor changes to the covenants [drafted by the Club]; and I’ve asked for copies to pass out to our Board, but those have not been received.”
Approved in a 4-3 split vote in July 2007, the agreement includes five specific points: that the Club would draft its own covenants restricting its properties to golf course and club operations, that the Club would grant the Association a ten-foot easement along Seven Lakes Drive, that the Club would provide the Association with space for at least five additional parking spots at the Southside mail house, that any residential development of the old driving range would be subject to Southside Covenants, and that the Association would cooperate with any future developer of the old driving range property.
In previous meetings, Zielsdorf reported the Club had expressed concern over what they feel is vague and subjective language in the final point, which commits the Association to work with a developer in “an open, efficient and cooperative fashion.” He said the attorneys for SLLA and SLCC were scheduled to meet on Thursday, December 16, specifically to discuss this issue and to draft a letter of understanding or a memorandum that would beef up that fifth point.
Responding to a question posed by former ARB director Donna Stephan, Zielsdorf confirmed that the memorandum would be made available for public review once it was approved.
Echo Dam road repairs
Unexpectedly cold and wet conditions have delayed the Echo Dam road repair project by at least ten days — and the waiting continues.
“Unfortunately, weather has not been on our side; and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be on our side,” reported Community Manager Alina Cochran. “I’m very sorry for the inconvenience. Let’s hope we get a wave of heat.”
Cochran said the project had been ahead of schedule, with work that was expected to take three weeks completed in the first week of the project. However, temperatures dropped precipitously and halted further progress. She explained that it must be a minimum of forty degrees before work can continue.
Resident Mike Cummins was thanked again for his dedicated efforts on the project.
Amendments to rules & regulations
Looking to streamline the annual member registration form and associated administrative tasks, the Finance Committee recommended three minor changes to the rules & regulations and the elimination of a few related minor fees. All three amendments were approved unanimously during the Wednesday, December 15 Open Meeting.
Specifically, Rule 5.2.3 was amended so that dog owners may opt to register their pets for identification purposes, but are no longer required to do so. The $3 registration fee was eliminated.
Rules 8.4.2.2 and 8.4.2.4 were also amended to eliminate a requirement to register non-powered boats and the related fee.
“To track a two or three dollar item costs us more in administrative expenses than we receive,” explained Treasurer Denny Galford.
Recreation
Many hands made light work for the SLLA Children’s Christmas Party on Friday, December 17.
Director Keyser thanked the Recreation Committee and volunteers for their efforts and also extended appreciation to the Women of Seven Lakes for their annual donation to the event; to Seven Lakes Dance for donating extra refreshments; to Chick Fil-A of Southern Pines for providing milk and small toys to be distributed to the children; to Seven Lakes Fire Department for giving Santa a lift to the party, since his sled was already loaded down; and especially to Northsider Jordan Rhodes for making sure Santa was available to attend the party.
Keyser thanked Bob Racine for compiling the results of a recent recreation survey, noting that the committee is hoping to explore new recreational programming ideas and improve on old ones for 2011. The next Recreation Committee meeting will be held Wednesday, January 5 at 9:30 am at the SLLA office. Visitors and new members are welcome.
Looking ahead, Keyser said the committee is focusing on a better approach to stay ahead of schedule in planning the pool and Summer Camp activities for next year.
Community Standards
Director Kent Droppers reported that he is pleased with both the progress and the process now in place to review Community Standards violations. He added that several ongoing issues had been forwarded to Judicial Panel.
To ensure a fair and even-handed approach to applying standards, Droppers said that the entire committee will also be combining their efforts in January to inspect the entire community over the course of a single day. The committee’s regular process involves having individual members regularly inspecting designated areas.
Infrastructure
A comprehensive review of the Reserve Study will take more than one or two work sessions, said Director Bud Shaver.
“This is a very in-depth thirty-year financial plan,” Shaver said. “How we approach this will reflect on the value of your homes. Over the years, very little has been done to build a satisfactory reserve fund to deal with aging infrastructure.”
The Reserve Study has not been made public; Shaver said he would release it once the Board had reviewed it.
Finance
The Association has taken action to file protective liens and to write-off bad debt on a few delinquent accounts, reported Treasurer Galford.
“This is an action that has been debated for several years,” he explained. “With assistance from Talis and using a standardized system, we came up with ten properties [on which] to request liens, with four written off using reserves.”
Continuing his report, Galford thanked the Board for approving changes to the rules & regulations recommended by the Finance Committee. The newly updated registration forms will be sent to residents along with election ballots and the proposed budget. However, unlike in previous years, the membership dues statement will be sent separately, with instructions to mail payment directly to a lock box. Once payment is received, the office will then mail out vehicle stickers and membership cards.
“In past years there has been such an influx of payments that many had to wait for long periods of time at the office. This year we will have a much more efficient process,” said Galford.
The Finance Committee will hold a special meeting to review the proposed budget on Thursday, January 6 at 9:00 am at the SLLA office. Galford invited the SLLA Board and candidates to attend.
Other business
In other business on Wednesday, December 15, the SLLA Board:
• Approved a $3,950 contract with Aberdeen Exterminating for an initial termite inspection, treatment program, and annual contract. Cochran apologized for the ‘poke holes’ at various buildings, that were made as inspections were undertaken. The areas will be repaired.
• Heard from Cochran that new lockers had been installed at the North and South mail houses. The lockers have been on-site since September, but it took several months of calls to the Postal Service before the necessary special locks were received.
