BOARD OF DIRECTOR’S NEWSLETTERS
President’s Report - Annual Meeting 2011
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Board of Directors, VP Fred Pitre, Director Scott Harmon, Director Dick Cote, and especially Secretary Pat Lewis. Pat has been involved with the Covenants Team, helped to develop the draft budget for next year, as well as reporting the financials and putting together and distributing the monthly meeting notes from the monthly Board meetings.
Pat was very instrumental in taking all the notes from the Covenants Committee and with the help of the team, type the Articles and Sections, sometimes working late into the night.
I would also like to thank the Committee Chairs for all the hard work they performed over the past year. The Board of Directors would like to express their thanks to the many resident volunteers who came forward to help out with the numerous maintenance jobs accomplished over the past year. With their help, our common grounds, in all areas, are in great shape. Some of the accomplishments executed by these teams over the past year are:
First and foremost, the biggest accomplishment for this year, was finalizing the proposed Covenants. That being said, at this time, I would like to ask Belle McGinty, the Covenants Committee Chairperson, to come forward and say a few words about the process that was used, and deliver the results of the ratification. After this final report by Belle, the Covenants Committee is hereby dissolved by the Board of Directors’.
Completing the front entrance sign and bringing this action item to resolution, was another accomplishment for this year. Kathy Mullen has the front entrance looking very attractive with the new plants and shrubs that were planted. At this time the Board of Directors’ is hereby dissolving the Front Entrance Sign and re-design team.
Chairwoman Judy Emminizer and the members of the Welcoming Committee has put together and delivered numerous welcome bags to a number of new residents. At this time I would like to introduce some of our new residents and lot owners since our last Annual Meeting:
o Lot 92 - Thomas & Suzanne Crossley (Part time).
o Lot 195 - Thomas & Sherry Martin (full-time)
o Lot 193 - Robert & Kathy Sims (full-time)
o Lot 215 - Charles Novitske (full-time)
o Lot 16 - Mark Hochman & Sandra Davis (Part time).
o Lot 169 - Bruce Sutzer (full-time)
Mr. Chadwick, better known as Chad, has the paths on the Island looking very good. I certainly appreciate the fact that we can walk on the trails with comfort and ease, which wasn’t always the case a few years ago. Thanks Chad.
Chairman Matt Mullen and the members of the ARB have been busy approving 3 new homes, following up on additions, and approving other requests.
Lakes and Grounds Chairman Giro Mazzone, and the members of the Lakes and Grounds Committee, have been busy investigating concerns with our drainage pipes and our road signs, which we all will be hearing more about in the near future. Chuck Kelly has been busy repairing, painting, and in some cases, replacing our street and stop signs. This has been an ongoing task for many years. It might be time to consider replacing our signs with one of the suggested signs that Lakes and Grounds member Chuck has been investigating for us.
The power washing team has the Amenity Center and bridge sparkling clean. In the future this may be hired out due to a shortage of volunteers to help accomplish this task.
The Nominations Committee has been busy preparing for today’s election process, and after today’s vote count, this committee will be hereby dissolved by the Board of Directors’.
2
The Pool Committee Chairperson Gloria Calverley, along with Pat Lewis and other pool committee members have followed up on re-strapping all the Chaise lounges and about a dozen chairs for the Amenity Center. For next year, we have budgeted dollars to re-strap the remaining 14 or 15 chairs. We also recognize the need to purchase another 6 oblong tables to satisfy the need of our community yard sales and other Association events. The Pool Committee and others have overseen our 3 major Holidays which an average of 60 people attended.
Our Bookkeeper, Cherry Gray, from Accurate Numbers has done a magnificent job of keeping the Association records, paying the monthly bills, and in some cases finding things in the keeping of the books that saved us some money over the past year. An example of this is saving us money on our Accounts where Cherry got some bank charges dropped for us.
Lastly, I would like to mention a word about our communications efforts over the past couple of years. The Board of Directors’ has used the "Neighborhood News" to get communications out about everything from storm warnings to residents helping with power washing buildings, opening and closing the pool. This has proven to be a powerful tool to get the word out to the community. We want to thank Bob Weldon for his efforts in helping us get the word out via e-mail with the Neighborhood News, and our official website, www/.heatherlakeslive.com, in a timely manner. In finalizing this report, I would like to thank the members of Heather Lakes Homeowners Association for allowing me to serve as a Director of the Association, in the capacity of President. I have enjoyed serving this past year.
Thank You, Clint Acton, HOA President
September 4, 2011
Dear Residents of Heather Lakes,
As we get closer to Saturday, September 10th, The Covenants Committee and the Board of Directors would like to remind you to take the time to vote to ratify the proposed Covenants.
For your convenience, we will have a Notary at the Amenity Center Saturday, September 10, to witness our signatures.
The Notary will be there from 11 AM to 2 PM and again from 5 PM to 8 PM.
We are asking you to bring along verification, such as your drivers license, just in case the Notary asks for such information.
Also, please remember that you must sign your name(s)
as it appears on the deed to your property and all listed on the deed must sign. (eg. you and your husband or wife, significant other, etc.)
Lastly, I would encourage all of us to vote in favor of ratification of this updated document. A lot of time and money was spent over the past 2+ years to update our guiding principles.
We feel there is something in the updated proposed Covenants that will benefit each of us.
Thank you,
For the Board of Directors and the Covenants Committee,
Clint
July 29, 2011
A message from our HOA President:
Heather Lakes residents,
As many of you know, the wetlands behind Heather Lakes
has been put up for sale.
The entrance to this area is a private piece
of property off Burning Tree Lane that is
not associated with Heather lakes.
A big sign was placed on this piece of property
within the past couple of days.
I called a person named Ken Marlowe, who is listed
on the listing.
I asked him if they would consider taking the sign down,
as we don't
allow signs within Heather lakes.
After he talked with the owner,
his office called me back and explained that the owner
states this is private property,
and the sign remains.
There is nothing we can do about
this particular sign,
as it is on private property,
not associated with HLHOA.
Thanks,
Clint
Dear Heather Lakes Community Residents,
As you have noticed, our front entrance sign has been re-installed after some major maintenance work was completed, and painting the sign was performed.
I think you will agree, the sign looks great.
Some residents have questioned if the ends were going to be covered. The answer is yes.
The ends will have a composite PVC type of material added, along with a trim across the ends and sides of the sign.
The signs were re-installed so measurements could be taken to fabricate the flat roof and the trim.
New Halide lights will be installed, then the landscape work will be re-done. As soon as the work is complete, we will communicate that to the community.
Thank You,
Clint, for the Sign Committee
April 17, 2011
Subject: Amenity Center clean-up
The Heather Lakes Board of Directors would like to thank the following people for a good job well done getting the Amenity Center ready for another year.
All the furniture received a Spring cleaning, as did the kitchen, the refrigerator, the bathrooms, and the storage rooms. All the chaise lounges have been re-strapped with new strapping, in a very pleasant new light green and accented with two straps in a light beige color. I think everyone will like the new color combination.
Thank you team!!
For the Board of Directors,
Clint
POOL CLEAN UP VOLUNTEERS 2011
Gloria Calverley-Leader
Pat Lewis
Barbara Acton
Clint Acton
Carolyn Weldon
Don Pasquine
Judy Emminizer
John Emminizer
Melissa DiGiorgio
Matt DiGiorgio
Dave Kessler
Don Shirer
Giro Mazzone
Re-strapped furniture looks great!
New flags are flying!
Attached is a note form one of our members thanking the people involved with making the front end more attractive by letting the brick show through the planting's. I am also including the member's of the Front Entrance re-design and sign team. I would like to take this opportunity to thank those involved with this project. As soon as the sign is refurbished and re-attached, our front entrance will be great to look at once again. Thank you all. Speaking for the Board of Directors', a job well done.
Thank You,
Clint
HI CLINT,
BEFORE I BEGIN - NO THIS IS NOT A COMPLAINT BUT RATHER A COMPLIMENT ON THE
APPEARANCE OF THE ENTRANCE WAY. I LIKE SEEING THE BRICK SHOW THROUGH; IT
GIVES A RICHER LOOK. PLEASE THANK THE PERSON OR PERSONS THAT DID ALL THE
HARD WORK.
April 2011
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
Heather Lakes Homeowners Association Annual Meeting
September 18, 2010
President’s Report
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Board of Directors, VP Fred Pitre, Director Scott Harmon, past Director Al Ackerson, and especially Secretary Pat Lewis, for their hard work over the past year. Pat has been involved with the Covenants Team, the Nominations Committee, the Financial Committee to help develop the proposed budget for next year, as well as reporting the financials and putting together and distributing the monthly meeting notes from the monthly Board meetings. I would also like to thank the Committee Chairs for all the hard work they performed over the past year as well. The Board of Directors would like to express their thanks to the many resident volunteers who came forward to help out with the numerous maintenance jobs accomplished over the past year. With their help, our common grounds, in all areas, are in great shape. Some of the accomplishments executed by these teams over the past year are:
Power washing the Amenity Center, the front entrance, and the bridge.
Scraping paint and preparing the chimney to be painted in the near future.
Gathering information for a new front entrance sign which we will discuss a little further during their report.
Following up on installing new columns under the deck in back of the kitchen, which was a safety concern.
Cleaning up and chipping underbrush and fallen limbs on the Island.
The financial team put in some time to help us finalize a proposed budget which we will introduce during the Treasurer’s report.
Followed up on transferring the Little River Water station ownership from Heather Lakes Homeowners Association to the Little River Water Company Inc.
The Nominations Committee has been busy preparing for today’s election.
The Covenants Team is nearing completion of updating the Covenants to present to the Board of Directors’ for their input and approval. You will hear more about this during the Covenants Team report.
Followed up on the purchase of 8 new chairs for the Amenity Center. We have budgeted to purchase a few more next year.
Other things that have been followed up on this past year by various members have been the purchase and spreading the mulch in our numerous bush and flower beds. The purchase of two new grills which will be operational in the very near future. These grills were purchased at a very reasonable price of $620 each. The old grills finally got to expensive to repair, and because of their age, parts were getting much harder to find and more expensive to purchase.
In finalizing this report, I would like to thank the members of Heather Lakes Homeowners Association for allowing me to serve as a Director of the Association, in the capacity as President. I have enjoyed serving this past year.
Thank You,
Clint Acton
President, Heather Lakes Homeowners Association
President’s Report - July 21st, 2010
Since our last open Board Meeting, the Board of Directors, along with Committees that are responsible for their respective areas, have been busy with updating the Covenants, preparing for the upcoming Annual Meeting, getting ideas for a new front entrance sign, preparing for the 2011 budget, and trying to keep abreast of the numerous potholes that have been popping up in the neighborhood. It makes me feel good that we have a number of people involved with these various committees, as it helps bring forth new ideas from other members of our Association.
The Covenants team has been extremely busy with updating the covenants. The team conducted a survey to have Association member’s offer input into changes to be considered for updating the Covenants. This particular team has been meeting every week, except for holidays, for about a year now. I believe the first Covenants meeting took place in the first week of May, 2009. There has been a great deal of work put into the proposed changes. I have been very impressed with how this team has been performing.
The Pool committee has been busy with keeping the pool area looking neat and clean for our enjoyment. We have had two holiday picnics with an average of seventy people attending. A good time was had by all that attended. The Committee is in the process of getting ready for the Labor Day picnic now.
The ARB has been busy with approving plans for a new home on lot 13, which is almost complete now. I know that Matt and Melissa are patiently waiting to move in. There have been some problems with theft recently on this jobsite. Please report any suspicious activity to the Board of Directors for their follow-up, or call the Horry County Police. Your help is greatly appreciated by Matt and Melissa. The ARB has also been busy with approvals for additions to existing homes, as well as approval for removal of some trees.
The Financial Team, which consists of Charlie and Peggy Johnstone, Ellen Sloboda, Pat Worthington, Dave Morris, Pat Lewis, and Clint Acton, has been busy going through line item figures for the 2011 budget, and will put together a long and short range goals plan to make sure we have enough finances to cover these items. The proposed budget will be ready for the Annual Meeting.
The Nominations Committee has been busy getting ready for the next election. I know Scott will let us know when the candidate’s night will be held, and who the candidates are. This team has been putting the finishing touches on the election.
The Front Entrance re-design team has been busy looking for a design for our new entrance sign. We have looked at a few designs, and I know Charlie and Peggy are looking at some different designs for the team to review. As soon as the team agrees to a design, it will be forwarded to the membership for their input and approval.
Now that summer is upon us, the Board of Directors would like to remind all of us that we have some house cleaning to accomplish. This reminder is to have each of us look around our properties and see if anything needs our attention. Items would include things like cleaning our mailboxes, removing mold and/or mildew from our homes. It is also time to investigate what we might have lying around that should be picked up before a storm might visit us. This would include things like bags of mulch that has been waiting for us to spread around, or items being stored in front of our garages which need to be moved inside our garage. This is also a good time to remind ourselves that there is no parking on any grass areas. This is a must for our irrigation systems, and it is also one of our Covenants. Please do not park on any grass areas.
The Board of Directors will also be sending out letters to lot owners to have the underbrush on their lots brought up to date with a clearing of the underbrush. Please, no trees to be cut this time. As a follow up, the Board of Directors’ will follow up in a couple of weeks with any infractions that are brought to our attention, and a letter will be sent to the homeowner where the infraction is noticed. We have a very attractive neighborhood, and it should be the goal of all of us to keep it looking attractive for all our members and guests.
Respectfully Submitted,
Clint Acton, President, HLHOA
President’s Report
June 16, 2010
Our Board of Directors’ has been very busy so far this spring. Following up on projects such as the power washing of the Amenity Center, getting a fresh look with the addition of new mulch in all of our flower beds, following up on getting new sod installed on the Northwest corner of the Nature Trail, as well as getting new hinges installed on our Amenity Center gates. With the addition of the new hinges, we need to remind ourselves not to block the gates open. This is a DHEC regulation, and by blocking the gates open, it weakens the springs on the hinges, and the gates will not spring to the closed position.
We have also changed the pool house locks to updated combination locks. This will allow us less need for keys, and the locks do not have to be changed whenever too many keys get out in the general public. There is concern that as contractors come and go, we don’t always get the keys returned to us. In the future, we would like to change the locks on the kitchen and the front and rear gates to combination locks as well.
We had to invest in a new speaker system for use at meetings and holiday functions. Our old set finally gave out on us, and had to be trashed. We replaced the system with this new system, which will serve our purposes well. New speaker stands are also on order and should be here in a few days. The total investment is right around $620 for the new system.
The front-end re-design team has been busy getting prices and designs for a new front entrance sign. As soon as the team approves a sign, and price, it will be presented to the membership and the Board of Directors’ for input and finally approval.
We also had to deal with the Heather lakes Drive sinkhole, which the County Public Works and the Storm Water Departments responded to and got the sinkhole repaired
in a timely manner. The new grass is already coming up.
Lastly, the Board of Directors’ and the Lakes and Ground Committee has been busy preparing the chimney for a fresh coat of paint. As you can see, we have done some prep work by scraping old paint and drilling some weep holes in the chimney. After drilling the weep holes, water just poured out of the chimney. We will be giving this a fresh coat of cool-white paint after the inside dries out about a week from now. We will also be repairing the old spa corner in the near future.
Respectfully submitted,
Clint Acton, President, HLHOA
May 24, 2010
Good Morning all:
Heather Lakes sinkhole update:
Called Horry County Stormwater and spoke with Renee DeFalco about the sinkhole on
Heather lakes Drive. They will send someone out as soon as possible to check out the sinkhole.
We have asked for a remedy to this situation as it is causing sand to dump into our
lakes. I have been assured this will be repaired as soon as possible.
10:00 AM - Horry County on site!
Woodrow Shelly Drive drainage problem update:
Asked Renee to give us an update on the drainage problem on Woodrow Shelly drive. They are
investigating the problem and will have an update for us in a few days. We will keep following
up until resolved.
Thanks,
Clint
December 2009 President’s Report
One of the first things I would like to report on is the 2010 assessment of our membership dues. We have received communications from a few residents asking why the $30 increase over the 2009 budget, and why the dues notification invoices were sent out a week late. First, the reason for the increase of $30, or 6.7%.
As we all know, the amount we pay for utilities has increased, starting December 1. Electric, water, and telephone have gone up. The insurance premiums for our coverage on the buildings and front sign have gone up too. We were under insured for our buildings, and most of our buildings were not insured. The pool house, pavilion, and front sign were added to our renewal policy that were not covered in the past, per our insurance carrier. Our total cost for our insurance will be right around $6000 in 2010, an increase of about $900 for the next year.
Another area we have an increase in is property taxes. As I mentioned in last month's meeting minutes, we have not paid any property taxes on our buildings since inception. We added enough money to cover the difference of the property taxes, which brings our property taxes to around $500. We increased the budgeted amount of our property taxes to cover this expense. We also had to divide a foreclosure of one lot spread out amongst the membership. This is one area we have no control over. Article VI, Section 8 of our Covenants explains how this works.
The Board of Directors’ has also set aside a modest increase for general maintenance of our grounds. This will cover expenses for non-planned maintenance or repair work, such as removing the bushes out front due to infestation by bagworms, minor electrical problems and enhancements, repaving of the parking lot, etc.
That being said, we had to assess a modest increase of $30 to help pay for these things. I would ask that anyone who would like to help us with keeping the books, please, by all means, contact any Board member. That could save us around half the expense of the total bookkeeping.
Lastly, the invoices for the dues went out one week late. The Board of Directors has agreed to push the due date out by one week, making the due date January 8, 2010. There will be no penalty accessed on our dues unless we go past the February 8 date, which is one month beyond the due date. Any monies owed after February 8, 2010 will incur a 6% penalty, compounded monthly.
Thank You,
Clint
For the Board of Directors
Clint
Heather Lakes Homeowners Association Annual Meeting
September 19, 2009
President’s Report
I would like to take a minute to thank the members of the Board of Directors, VP Fred Pitre, Secretary Pat Lewis, and Treasurer Al Ackerson, for their hard work over the past year. I would also like to thank the Committee Chairs for all the hard work they performed over the past year as well. The Board of Directors would like to express their thanks to the many resident volunteers who came forward to help out with the numerous maintenance jobs accomplished over the past year. With their help, our common grounds, in all areas, are in great shape. Some of the accomplishments executed by these teams are:
1). Starting right off we had to have the pool re-surfaced due to peeling. The work performed was under warranty.
2). Had the center drains re-installed from 24” on center, to 36” on center, to comply with the Graeme-
Baker Safety Act of 2007.
3). Had the parking lot sealed with a fresh coat of top-seal and the lines re-striped.
4). Changed the decking around the pool, from the composition decking, to concrete. This
was done to alleviate the safety concerns of buckling with the composition decking boards.
5). Relocated the playground due to services running under the past location.
6). Power washing of the Amenity Center and the sidewalks outside the Amenity Center by volunteers.
7). Repaired, cleaned and painted numerous signs. Installed new speed limit signs.
8). Cleared vacant lots of underbrush for fire safety and appearance.
9). Updated our By-Laws to correct some errors which were discovered over the past year.
10). Had the Juniper bushes removed at the front entrance which were diseased with bagworms.
Sod will eventually replace the Juniper bushes.
11). Made the approach on the mainland side of the bridge, handicap friendly by installing a concrete slope from the mainland
To access the Island from the bridge.
12). The new pool furniture seems to be a hit for those that use it. Thanks to Pat and Gloria for following up on the
Purchase of the furniture.
Most of the above work was performed by our volunteers, except for the work on the concrete decking and the
Re-sealing of the Parking Lot. The work the volunteers performed saved the Association a few thousand dollars, which is reflected in our fiduciary responsibility to the Association, which Al will speak about in his report.
The pool committee continues to do great work for our community. The 3 major Holidays, year to date, have been very successful, with right around 65 to 70 people attending each Holiday. The Lakes and Grounds committee has done a terrific job of keeping up with working with Natural Aquatics to keep our lakes looking great. The ARB has done a good job of keeping up with the numerous requests for approval for room additions, decks, painting of driveways, approving numerous trees to be removed from our common grounds, and trees being removed from private residences. Al has done a magnificent job of paying the bills and keeping us up to date on where we stand financially. Pat has done an excellent job of keeping up with all the meeting notes, along with the work she is doing for the various committees’ such as the By-Laws committee, the Nominations Committee, and the newly formed Covenants Committee. The Board of Directors’ wishes to extend its thanks to all the committees for their hard work and dedication for a job well done.
A few items that the incoming Board will have to deal with over the course of the next year or so, includes:
▪ Continue updating the Covenants to bring them into today’s environment.
▪ Form a team to explore what to do with the remainder of the decking in back of the
Kitchen where it is failing the structure and warping more.
▪ Repair or remove the deteriorating chimney.
▪ Upgrade the Security system for better clarity.
▪ Do we want to add a club room between the kitchen and the playground?
In closing, I want to thank the members of the Association for allowing me to serve as one of the Directors’ over the past year. Sometimes it has been fun and other times not so fun. It has certainly always been a learning experience.
Thank You,
Clint Acton
President, Heather Lakes Homeowners Association
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HEATHER LAKES HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
05/24/09
____________________________________________________________________________
Update, the pool is now open.
The new concrete pool decking has finally been completed. We hope you enjoy the new maintenance free update to our pool decking, and surrounding area.
§ Pool Decking update
o The concrete decking has been completed. The Board received 3 proposals for the decking. One for wood, one for another synthetic material and one for concrete. Concrete was chosen for its durability.
o New pillars have been constructed to replace the old concrete flower boxes that were deteriorating.
o The apron around the pool has been refreshed with a new coat of paint.
o The area outside the kitchen has been painted with the same paint that is around the pool and has been sealed.
o New light fixtures have been placed at the entrance to the Amenity Center and 2 new lights on top of the concrete corners have been added.
o The Board met with DHEC on the 15th of May at the Amenity Center. DHEC representatives stated that some regulations are changing this year or next. One rule that has already changed is for the height of the gate handle to enter a pool. It must be a minimum of 52” up from the bottom of the gate. Ours was at 42”. The height of the fence around pools may be mandatory at 6’ by next year. We are ahead there. The playground fence was 6’ and has been removed and placed around the pool. The code for playgrounds remains at 4’ since there is no pool in that area. We have enough 4’ fencing to go around the playground area.
o DHEC reps also stated that we CAN NOT block the gate open at the Amenity Center. If the gate is observed open by an inspector of DHEC, the pool can be closed and there is a hefty fine that goes along with the infraction. The gate must be spring loaded to close automatically and lock.
o One new rule being considered is for the steps going into pools to be no more than 11” in height. Our bottom step is 15”. We may have to have this corrected if this rule goes into effect this year. It is not clear at this time if we can be grandfathered in. (Per DHEC).
o Underneath the skimmers there is a return line that keeps water moving. They must be plugged to keep long hair from being sucked into the return line. The Board of Director’s recently had to have the drain in the bottom of the pool spread to 36” on center, as well as newly designed drain covers, to comply with the Virginia Graeme Baker Safety Act of 2007, which is Federal Law. These newly modified covers are designed to keep long hair from being sucked into the drain lines
Amenity Center
§ Lot of work going on at the Amenity Center. Lots of contractors in and out. The decking around the pool has been replaced with concrete. It looks really good.
§ Clean up at the Amenity Center took place over the weekend. Many people put in long hours starting on Thursday and going through Sunday. Special thanks to all the members who came out to help with the cleanup. These members were: Tibor Bauer, Lenny Liebowitz, Barbara & Clint Acton, Pat & Jim Lewis, Al Ackerson, Donna & Fred Pitre, Gloria & Cliff Calverley, Carolyn & Christine Weldon, Beryl & Don Shirer, Belle & Brian McGinty, Bill Miskovic, Hugh Barrie and Don Fay.
§ All the buildings were power washed, the sidewalks power washed, all the furniture was cleaned and Armor All was applied to all pieces. The old broken tables and umbrellas were discarded.
§ The new furniture was delivered on Monday. Looks great.
§ The Board of Directors’ is trying very hard to have the pool open by this weekend. The Board was unable to plan our normal Memorial Day festivities, due to the busy maintenance of the pool. If the gates are installed in time, the pool will be open Memorial Day weekend. All members of the community are welcome to use the facilities at the Amenity Center.
§ Again, thanks to all of the many volunteers for the many hours of hard work. Everything looks great and we hope to have a good season. Thank you.
Thank You,
Your Board of Director’s
BOARD OF DIRECTORS' NEWSLETTER
HEATHER LAKES HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
04/06/09
____________________________________________________________________________
Problems with Pool Decking
This newsletter is intended to be an update to the continuous problems we have been experiencing with the current pool decking. As you know, the decking has been buckling and warping over the past couple of years, and has been getting progressively worse as time passes. Your Board of Director’s has been investigating the feasibility of trying to repair the existing decking, or looking for an alternative to the Rhino decking. We have heard numerous pros and cons to composite decking such as the current Rhino decking we currently have, and with some of the newer composite decking on the market today.
Unfortunately, all the composite decking is not manufactured for a deck as large as ours, without a lot of structural prep work performed before any new deck can be erected. That can be a costly expense. We have been quoted prices for replacing the decking that our budget just will not accommodate. We looked at returning to wood decking, which we really do not want to do because of the heavy maintenance involved with wood decking, which can also be costly, as well as some different types of composite decking, which again can buckle and warp just like our current decking, over time, without adding a lot of structure under the deck. We were hoping to find something that would stand up to our weather and usage, sort of like what we now have. No such luck.
That being said, and with the Board of Directors being responsible for the maintenance of our properties, we dug even deeper and started to look towards concrete.
We received a proposal from Quality Concrete Inc., and the Board of Director’s liked what we heard. We have decided to go with a concrete deck, with colorant added to blend in with our current scheme. We will be doing this work in at least two phases. The first phase, and probably the most important phase, will be to change from Rhino decking to concrete, from the corner of the restrooms next to the water cooler, Westerly to the Spa, and around the pool apron, over to the flag. This means the pool will remain closed while the work is being performed, except for authorized people following the project.
The estimate we agreed to with Quality Concrete Inc. is $33,787. We can fund this project without any special assessments, loans, or increasing our dues. Thanks to the past couple of Board of Directors’, we have enough funds in our emergency account to fund this project.
After this phase, the next Board of Director’s can decide what the next phase would be. We will have the other half of the decking to complete, as well as re-working the columns to bring them up to date. We also have plenty of painting to complete, which could be accomplished by volunteers for those willing to volunteer. Otherwise this work will also be contracted out in the near future.
We will put the other work on long range planning to be completed over time, when funding permits. It is not out intention of raising future dues or taking loans to accomplish these tasks. It is our intention to take care of our maintenance in a timely manner, according to priority.
Thank You,
Your Board of Director’s
December 2008
To: Residents and Lot Owners of Heather Lakes
From: Clint Acton, President, HLHOA
This is the first quarterly President’s letter for the 2008/2009 season. Since the last quarterly letter came out during the Annual meeting in September, a lot has happened. One of the first things we had to address was the condition of the pool. The membrane that was put on a few years ago was starting to pull away from the bottom of the pool. Since this was under warranty, we contacted Dick’s Pool Service to look it over for us. It was discovered the problem was worse than originally diagnosed. Instead of having one small area to repair, Dick’s Pool Service found over 35 different voids in the membrane, which you can’t detect until the pool is drained. I’m happy to say we have the pool repair completed at no cost to the Association. While the pool was empty, we had the Pool’s main drains re-configured to comply with the Federal Graeme Baker Act. This consisted of chiseling out the main drains and having them installed 36” on center. Then we had to replace the main drain covers with covers that have more holes in them to reduce the suction on the drain lines. Our pool is now in compliance with the new Federal law.
The Association has also upgraded our bookkeeping system with a new laptop computer and an updated QuickBooks 08 bookkeeping system. Our CPA has strongly urged us to do this for better bookkeeping practices. This will help us out immensely during our audits. All our financial records will now be on the laptop computer and will allow us a less labor intense audit. We have been working closely with the CPA so our systems can talk to each other for an easy transition of financial data.
We had the parking lot re-sealed. The contractor for this job says we should have had this done when the stones first started lifting from the binder. There were 3 bids for this job and the Board chose Spider’s Seal and Stripe, mainly due to the fair price, and their ability to do the re-seal and re-stripe the lot under one business. We also had the drain in the corner of the Parking Lot fixed so it would drain surface water from the lot. The drain now works so there is no standing water after a rain. During this process we discovered that some of the roots from some of the taller Pine trees was lifting the parking lot and causing voids under the pavement, as well as cracking the pavement. We had the trees removed to rectify this problem.
We have installed new signs over the past few weeks. There is now NO SOLICITING signs at each entrance, and signs that state NO GAS POWERED CYCLES ON THE DAM. We are also looking into getting the speed signs changed and updated in the very near future.
The Lakes & Grounds team has worked vigorously on a new contact for the next 2 years for our lakes. We just signed a new 2 year contract with Natural Aquatics. A lot of time and effort was put into the research and developing the proposed contract, and was sent out for bids. We are also working on updating the Grounds, Pool and exterminator contracts for the next few years. There are a couple of reasons for updating the contracts, with the most obvious being getting the expired contracts dated, as well as complying with the request from our CPA to have all contracts in date as well as generating a monthly bill for payment. More to come in the next edition.
Scott Roberts of DHEC was here Monday to inspect the dam. We are happy to announce that the dam has passed the inspection. The next inspection will be 3 years from now. Scott liked how the grass and weeds on the sides and top of the dam are being kept mowed and trimmed. Thanks to Lakes and Grounds for keeping us in such good shape.
Lastly, The Board of Directors’ would like to wish every property owner of Heather Lakes Happy Holidays. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.
Clint, for the Board of Directors
Heather Lakes Homeowners Association
Annual Meeting
September 20, 2008
President’s Report
I would like to take a minute to thank the members of the Board of Directors, VP Janice Hanlon, Secretary Pat Lewis, Director at Large Ted Shubeck, and Treasurer Jon Malakar, for their hard work over the past year. I would also like to thank the Committee Chairs for all the hard work they performed over the past year as well.
The Board of Directors would like to express their thanks to the many resident volunteers who came forward to help out with the numerous maintenance jobs accomplished over the past year. With their help, our common grounds, in all areas, are in excellent shape.
Some of the accomplishments executed by these teams are:
▪ Cleared paths on the Island so more residents could use the Island.
▪ Removed a lot of debris from the Lake while the water level was still low.
▪ The lights in the pool have been repaired for us to use.
▪ Spread out 45 cubic yards of Cypress mulch on 5 flower beds.
▪ Renovated the back storage room which now house our Association records.
▪ Sanctioned a website for positive information for our community to use.
▪ Ran a food drive for the needy families in our area, during the Holiday season.
▪ Worked with the owner of lot 13 to bring this lot to resolution. The owner will come back and put down grass seed this fall to further slow down any future erosion.
▪ Worked with the County to install piping and drains on lot-46 and the common area next to it at no cost to the Association.
▪ Installed new Exit lights in the Kitchen to bring it up to code.
▪ The Garden committee has cleaned and refurbished all flower beds and planters.
▪ Power washing of the bridge, the front entrance fencing, and the Amenity Center, by volunteers from the Lakes and grounds Committee.
All of the above work was performed by our volunteers, except for the work the County did installing the drainage piping on lot-46 and the common ground next to it.
The work the volunteers performed saved the Association thousands of dollars, which is reflected in our fiduciary responsibility to the Association.
The pool committee continues to do great work for our community. The 3 major Holidays, year to date, have been very successful, with right around 70 people attending each Holiday. The Lakes and Grounds committee has done a terrific job of keeping up with all the thinning of brush along Heather Lakes Drive, and around Lake Luck, as well as working with Natural Aquatics to keep our lakes looking great. The ARB has done a good job of keeping up with the numerous requests for approval for room additions, decks, coloring of driveways, as well as approving numerous trees to be removed on our common ground, as well trees being removed from private residences. Jon has done a magnificent job of paying the bills and keeping us up to date on where we stand financially. We thank all the committees for their hard work and dedication for a job well done.
A few items that the incoming Board will have to deal with over the course of the next year include:
▪ Bring lot 94/95 to resolution.
▪ Update the Covenants to bring them into today’s environment.
▪ Update the by-laws to correct a few errors that have been discovered throughout the past year.
▪ Finish updating the ARB guidelines that have been gone over by the present ARB. A few minor changes were identified by the Board of Directors to be updated.
▪ Repair or replace pool decking.
In closing, I want to thank the members of the Association for allowing me to serve as a Director over the past year.
It has certainly been a learning experience.
Thank You,
Clint Acton, President
Heather Lakes HOA
June 25, 2008
To: Residents and Lot Owners of Heather Lakes
From: Clint Acton, President, HLHOA
This letter is intended to communicate on the progress of what this Board has accomplished since being elected to office last September. It has certainly been a busy year for us, starting out with clearing the Island so all residents can use the Island for relaxation. We encourage you to take a walk over to the Island to see the great work that has been done for all to enjoy. When the Lakes were at their low level due to lack of rainfall, we had all the debris removed from the Lakes as well as the surrounding areas around the Lakes. The old pump house at the Northeast corner of the small lake has been refurbished with a new roof, as well as a fresh coat of paint.
The folks from Lakes and Grounds that take care of our road signs throughout the community have been busy with repairing and cleaning our signs to give them a fresh look. The Adopt-a-Highway folks have been busy keeping our section of Highway 17 clean with its quarterly pick-ups. The Power Washing crew has done a magnificent job of cleaning our entry fencing and our buildings and fencing around the Amenity Center, and cleaning up and removing the used decking material left over from repairing the decking last year. Our Garden Club has cleaned and refurbished all our flower gardens outside the immediate pool area, as well as new flowers and planters inside the pool area, and added new sod in the Southwest corner outside the pool area. 45 yards of cypress mulch was purchased and spread out in five separate flowerbeds by numerous volunteers of the Association.
The lights in the pool have been repaired and are now working for our use. New flooring has been added to the attic above the Kitchen to create more storage room, and lights have been installed. A new light fixture has been added to the record storage room in back of the kitchen, as well as electrical outlets for future use. The storage room has also been insulated, drywall installed, and the walls painted. A new water cooler has been purchased and is in use for all that use the pool. The events and Pool Committee took care of the Christmas decorations and the lighting of the tree for the 2007 Season. This team was also responsible for running a food drive during the Holiday Season for the needy families in our area. The Bulletin Board has been updated each week with positive information for all homeowners to use. The Board has sanctioned a web site, heatherlakeslive.com, to use as the official web site for Heather Lakes. All information has been informative and of a positive nature.
We have had the deteriorated meeting signs replaced with new signs, and are reporting and having repaired the numerous streetlights that go out from time to time. Volunteers spent numerous hours researching easements near and on lot 46 and were able to get the County involved and have the ditch removed and the Homeowners property restored at no cost to the community. The County installed new drainage pipes, and volunteers came out in large numbers to help rake the ground, plant grass seed, and remove the debris that was left in the area. The Owners of lot 46 were very appreciative of all the efforts that went into correcting this problem. We are working on getting the lot 94/95 problem corrected in the very near future. We are also working on locating the exact location of our Southern property boundary and having it marked for us. Our ARB is working diligently at updating the guidelines so we can review them before the Annual Meeting and the membership can vote on them at the meeting.
Overall, it has been a very busy year. We owe all our volunteer workers big thanks for a job well done. With their help we have saved thousands of dollars by doing much of the work ourselves.
Thanks,
Clint
All Heather Lakes Neighbors:
UPDATE ON GROUNDS WORK
This communications is for all residents.
The Lakes and Grounds team has been doing some clean-up work on the South side of Heather Lakes Drive by the front Lake. We will be clearing out some vines and fallen trees and limbs.
We have also redone the old original pump house at the front Northeast corner of the Lake. There weren't any critters inside the concrete block pump house! A little more cosmetic work is yet to be done.
We will also be finishing up the chipping of the debris that was thinned out last December, on the Island. That should pretty much take care of the chipping.
This project has Board approval.
Please pass along to your neighbors, especially those who might not have e-mail.
Thanks,
Clint
To: Residents of Heather Lakes
From: Clint Acton, President, HL-HOA
Subject: Letter to the Community
It is my plan to update the Community by way of this letter, each month. I do look for your feedback on the contents, and items of interest I may have overlooked.
Since being elected to the Board of Directors last September, your current Board has accomplished a considerable amount of projects. Starting out with clearing our Island of some underbrush, and opening a walking path around the Island, it is now more accessible for all residents to use. There are new benches which were installed for our use, and some rails have been installed for the birds to perch on. Some volunteers have been busy chipping the unnecessary debris, and adding it to the paths. We have been keeping in mind the habitat on the Island, and have installed bird feeders to accommodate some of them. This project will be finished shortly. Cost to us, zero dollars.
Next, I would like to mention the great work going on preparing the records storage area in back of the kitchen. The room was created by the previous Board for the purpose of record retention. This project has been moving along quite well. Insulation was installed, sheetrock was put up, it has been primed, and a couple of volunteers have put the first overcoat of paint on this past weekend. During this phase, an additional electric line was installed for a possible future lake aerator, and electric outlets were run, and the window that used to be on the wall above the sink in the kitchen, now supports a new mirrored enclosure, complete with mullions, for that finished look. It looks fantastic. This was constructed with numerous hours of patience, by Chuck. It is really coming together now. When you get a chance, stop down and have a look. Cost to date, $435.
Lot-46 and the common area next to it has been worked on as well. The County Stormwater Department has installed piping from St. Andrews Drive to Lake Vista Drive to ease the drainage problem that previously existed. We still have some pooling of water at the Lake Vista end, and the County will be out shortly to take a look at that. We have some minor caving in of some of the fill that was brought in around the drain. We feel confident it will be corrected in a short time. We might have to do some more work with sloping the ground for better water run-off. Total Cost: Zero dollars to the Association.
There is a project started to clean up Mullet Creek. The County and State are involved with this project. We have sent the County’s request for Easement back to Conway. We are waiting for some of our neighboring landowners to send in theirs so the work can begin. This will allow for better drainage of Mullet Creek, which in turn benefits Heather Lakes for our run-off. Here again, the County and State will accomplish this, at no cost to the Association. A by-product of this project is that we were informed we could own more property on the South side of Mullet Creek along Rt. 17! We are in the midst of getting quotes to have that surveyed in the very near future.
That’s it for now. I hope this helps to keep all of us informed about our Association.
Thanks,
Clint
**************************************************
Dear Neighbors,
I am happy to announce that the County has taken the leadership role in helping Heather Lakes rectify a storm water runoff problem that we have in our common area next to lot-46, and more importantly, fixing the problem we have with the ditch we dug last year across lot-46. The County has authorized the running of piping from the St. Andrews Drive drainage pipe all the way to the Lake Vista Drive drainage pipe. Thats a total of approximately 218' of pipe. Because most of the water is storm water runoff, the County has picked up the tab for this project. They are furnishing the pipe, will fill in the old ditch we had dug last year, and put in the drainage grates to catch runoff water from the common area.
Why is this so important to the Association is threefold. First, we fixed the problem we created by digging the ditch across lot-46 in the first place. Second, there will be no standing water in the common area, as well as lot-46. And thirdly, this saves the Association at the very least, $8,400.00 to fill in the ditch and run the piping ourselves, or a possible law suit. It's a win-win situation for all involved. This also takes care of the odor from standing water in very hot temperatures, and the mosquitoes. The Board of Directors say Thank You to the County for helping us out with this concern.
We would also be remiss if we didn't say thank you to Chuck Kelly for setting up the meeting with the County Storm water Department, and representing the Association and the owner of lot-46, and bringing this to resolution. Thanks for your help Chuck. Lastly, the Board would like to thank the owner of Lot-46, for being so patient with us while we worked out an agreement with the County, to correct this situation of the storm water runoff.
Thank you,
Clint Acton, President
Heather Lakes Homeowners Association
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The photos below show some of the volunteers
(there were over a dozen)
who helped puit the final touches on the County's good work!
