The Camden Crossing HOA Board held a meeting on Tuesday, March 11th, with four of the five board members present, and Dawn Hatcher in attendance from Dickson Properties. The board was kind enough to allow me to speak before the meeting regarding a few issues.
I discussed the need for a form of communication amongst all residents (owners and renters) so that ideas and issues could be discussed in an open forum, possibly through a message board or a neighborhood e-mail list (similar to the Lineberry Alliance forum). I encouraged them to not only include HOA members, but to also include renters in the discussion, ensuring that all people receive the information and are able to participate. Similarly, I demonstrated the need for a newsletter (electronic or hard copy) to let people know what is going on in the neighborhood. A website has been developed (www.camdencrossing.org) which is a great start, and I encouraged them to keep the information current, and demonstrated how the website would be a great compliment to a newsletter and e-mail list. Lastly, I discussed the need for a more diligent response of board members and the management company to other member’s requests and concerns, as it often takes several requests in order to receive a response.
Secondly, I discussed the need for consistency in the enforcement of the current rules and bylaws, as renters are held responsible for fewer rules due to a conflict between HOA and city ordinances regarding street parking. Currently, HOA members are not allowed to park on the street due to HOA rules, however, renters and visitors are not bound to this because the street is public property and they are not members of the HOA. I suggested incorporating something in the bylaws requiring homeowners who lease their property to incorporate this rule into their lease agreements, or to erase the rule altogether, in order to create a consistent situation.
Thirdly, I discussed the Lineberry Alliance (www.lineberry.org), and what its members have accomplished in the recent past, including sidewalk completion, securing of property for a neighborhood park at the corner of Sierra and Lineberry, the creation of a dog park at Carolina Pines Civitan Park, the discussion of ideas, and the ongoing process of creating a name for our region. I encouraged each one of them to sign up to receive e-mails and become part of the conversation, as well as encouraged them to spread the word to all members of our HOA members to further broaden our membership and include more ideas. I also mentioned the SouthWest Citizen Advisory Council, and the role it plays in our area.
Fourth, I explained a current initiative of several Lineberry Alliance members to increase the number of receptacles and dog bag stations around our neighborhoods. Camden Crossing has been a leader in this effort, already having many of these stations throughout the townhomes, and at the pool area. I encouraged them to discuss with several homeowners in high traffic areas the possibility of putting them on private property, or to consider placing them in the common property along Trailwood Hills Drive to serve a larger number of community members. Infrastructure is already in place to service the other stations, therefore, increasing the number of stations in a few places does not pose a large increase in effort, and offers a great service to all community members.
Fifth, I discussed some budget issues and suggested decreasing the number of times the clubhouse receive janitorial service in the winter, when usership is significantly lower than when the pool is open. I also discussed the possibility of replacing bulbs that are permanently on with fluorescent bulbs to decrease overall power consumption.
Finally, I demonstrated my willingness to participate in the implementation of each of these initiatives. Further, I thanked them for allowing me to discuss these issues prior to the meeting getting started, and asked why HOA board meetings were closed to non board members. They explained that sensitive materials were discussed at the meetings, including foreclosures. After leaving to allow them to have there meeting, I got to thinking that it might be best served if the board meetings were structured so that sensitive materials could be discussed at the end, allowing for non board members to attend a majority of the meeting, creating more transparency in the way the HOA is run and managed.