[After receiving a copy of the Long Range Planning Committee's recommendations on the mailhouse, we changed our description of their design suggestions. We originally called these "criteria." More accurately, they were the LRP Committee's assessment of the more important recommendations about the facility gathered from the community.
In addition, we originally reported that the "Lake Patrol" had been extended to weekdays. In fact, the Board voted to extend ID checks at Johnson Point to weekdays; the on-lake patrols are still confined to weekends and holidays.
The revised text appears below in italics and boldface.]
Westsiders will continue to be able to collect their mail at a facility within the gates, rather than renting a Post Office box in WestEnd, the Seven Lakes West Landowners Association [SLWLA] Board of Directors decided Tuesday evening, June 28.
The Board, during a regular work session, unanimously approved a recommendation by the Long Range Planning [LRP] Committee to move forward with constructing a new mailhouse or mailhouses in Seven Lakes West, and also approved an expenditure of up to $25,000 for study and design to determine the appropriate number and size of mail facilities.
After the Board made the issue of mail delivery "a matter of significant interest," the LRP Committee held a town hall meeting on the matter, as well as collecting additional feedback from members that suggested about 85 percent of the community is in favor of onsite mail delivery, according to LRP member Ron Shepard.
The LRP’s report delivered during Tuesday’s meeting said the group had received “many excellent comments from the Community concerning the type, number and locations for the potential new mail house(s),” including suggestions that the design should:
• Be cost effective in design and placement.
• Focus on convenience and safety.
• Recognize that the maihouse serves as a community meeting place.
• Simplify the current box numbering system by using street addresses.
• Increase box size and enhance parcel handling.
• Incorporate a flexible design to accommodate future changes at the Postal Service.
Before the motion was approved, Westsider Bill Price encouraged the Board to move forward with the project, saying the “community has expressed itself . . . Move ahead with it and not let it get buried in a committee some place.”
Westside resident Joel Martin said he would like to see street addresses used instead of box numbers. Legal Director Jack Stevens agreed with Martin but added that this may cause a problem, since some Seven Lakes West street addresses could be confused with others within the 27376 zip code. [County regulations require unique street names -- e.g., there can only be one Barnes Pt. in Moore County, but there can also be Barnes St., Barnes Ln., Barnes Pl., or Barnes Blvd. -- Ed.]
The next step is for the Board to establish and confirm a project leader and a committee to complete the mailhouse project over the next two years. The LRP Committee has recommended that someone be appointed to this position no later than the July 12 work session. President Mick Herdrich asked that the names of volunteers or nominees for the committee be submitted to the Board.
Archiving Association Documents
The digital archiving of Association documents is not an “urgent” priority Legal Director Stevens told the Board on Tuesday night, but it is something for the Board to consider and possibly budget in the next fiscal year. Currently, the documents are being archived by a small group from the Legal Committee. The committee scans the documents, converts them into a PDF file, and stores them on the community computer, a DVD, or a flash drive.
The initial purpose of archiving documents was to preserve files that are in a state of deteriorationas well as to make them available when background information is needed. Stevens told the Board that he believes this could possibly be done in a more time effective and cost efficient way -- and offered four options for archiving association documents:
• Storing documents in an offsite storage facility,
• Selectively digitizing documents,
• Storing paper records in a secure onsite location, or
• Having an outside vendor digitize documents and place them on devices that could be available to the Board or Committee members -- or possibly stored on the internet with a secure access code.
Currently, the Association's documents are stored at the Community Center in a locked room that also contains supplies used by the Lake Auman Sports Club. According to Stevens, there are also various individual libraries throughout the community that have documents that should be archived by the Association.
ARC Director John Hoffmann said, “Our records have saved us many a time and the lack thereof has hurt us many a time.” A committee will be formed to further investigate the process and possibilities for archiving community documents.
Lake Auman
So far, seven boats have been reported by the Lake Auman Boat Patrol for not having a registration sticker attached to their boat, reported President Herdrich. Out of the seven boats reported, five were registered but had failed to attach their registration stickers to the boat, resulting in a warning. If the boat owners do not comply, the next citation will result in a fine, said Herdrich. Owners of the two unregistered boats were fined.
An audit will be conducted next week at the trailer yard, Herdrich said. Both trailers and boats need to be registered with stickers on them.
Seven Lakes West resident Charlie Flinchum praised the lake patrol for doing “a wonderful job.” He also volunteered to help put the diving float back into the water.
The Board has yet to determine when or what type of float will be placed in the water, but Community Manager Joan Frost reported that a plastic float used on Lake Pinehurst proved susceptible to deterioration from ultraviolet rays. The Board seemed inclined to use the existing float for this year, but made no firm decision on the matter. Herdrich said he hoped to have the issue resolved by the July 12 work session.
Safety and Security
The guards at the Johnson Point gate seemed to be effective in deterring non-residents from boating on Lake Auman over the previous weekend, Community Manager Joan Frost reported. The Board approved a motion by Security Director Jack McCarthy to extend these ID checks to weekdays. Frost told The Times that they will take place at various times each day.
During the member comment period, former SLWLA President Ron Shepard said that, two years ago, the Board put $15,000 aside to be used for a badge system for entrance into Johnson Point, the pool, and other amenities. He asked the Board to revisit the idea in the future, saying it could possibly eliminate the need for more than one guard at Johnson Point.
A bear spotted in the community has caused some alarm for residents who heard about it, reported President Herdrich. Secretary Jane Sessler, who was also called during the incident, said the best thing to do in this type of an emergency is to first call 9-1-1 and then the front gate house.
Decals for Westsiders to enter into the South and North side are on sale for $5.00 at the West Side Park Community Center, reported Director Hoffmann, who said over one hundred have been sold already.
Fourth of July Weekend of Events
The Fourth of July weekend will be filled with events, reported Events Director Jim Ferguson, starting with a concert by “Loaded Dice” on Friday, July 1 at Johnson Point.
On Saturday, July 2 there is a “Decorate Your Wheels Parade” for children, scheduled to begin at 10:00 am at the West Side Park Community Center.
On Sunday, starting at 1:00 pm, there will be the Lake Auman Boat Parade, which will meet “inside” Pine Island.
A fireworks show scheduled for Monday, July 4 at dusk will cap off the holiday weekend. The fireworks will be launched from Pine Island and can be seen from anywhere around the lake -- including Lake Auman Dam.
Architectural Review
The Architectural Review Committee [ARC] is continuing to update their standards, Director Hoffmann reported, and would like to present updates to the Board in the next 30 days for review and possible approval.
One area under review by ARC is the fees that are associated with certain construction activities. Currently, the Association charges a fee to homeowners for the wear and tear that certain heavy equipment -- such as a dump truck -- may cause to the roads in the community, Hoffmann explained. This fee is different than a deposit, which can be returned to the homeowner if no damage is caused.
Currently, there are twenty-two projects ongoing in the community, seven homes under construction, and two additions, Hoffmann reported.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure Director John Goodman said road-patching should be completed within two weeks.
There are three more culverts to repair in the community, Goodman said, two of which will divide the community in half. But the last one, on Callis, should have minimal impact on travel in the community.
Any backup or standing water behind the culverts is normal at this time, explained Goodman, who told the Board that the culvert pipes are bedded in three to four feet of gravel, which will take one to two years to find its “natural level.”
