HAWL Board of Directors

This past year has had some major accomplishments and one important project was rejected by our property owners. We maintained a sound financial operation and saw a high growth rate of new construction. We have been disappointed with the time lapse of our Southgate lawsuit with the City of Picayune.

We received the worst case preliminary engineering report from Dungan Engineering for connecting to the PRC Utility Authority (PRC UA) sewage disposal system. The estimate was $9,000.00 for lots with houses and $4,000.00 for lots only. In August of 2007, we held two meetings open to all property owners with representation from PRC UA, Mississippi Department of Health, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, and Dungan Engineering. Both meetings had an overflow crowd in attendance. We were informed that one of the Utility Authorities’ requirements was that a public vote had to be taken and gain approval of two-thirds of the property owners before they would go out for final bids. After bids were received, another vote requiring 50% approval of the property owners had to be obtained before any action could be taken.

In October 2007, we were informed that the PRC UA would reduce our sewage connection fee by $2,000.00 as grant funding was available. If the property owners at that time desired to connect, the total fee would be $7,000.00 instead of $9,000.00. This was the worst case scenario. The results of our proposal poll were as follows:

Number of accounts: 1231

Total polls received: 803 (65%)

Yes Poll: 339 (42%)

No Poll: 457 (57%)

Voided Poll: 7 (1%)

With these results from our poll, all efforts to get additional information and final bids have stopped. A centralized sewage system is inevitable as we continue to grow. Availability of grant funding in the future may no longer exist and the cost will surely continue to rise.

In September 2007, HAWL filed litigation papers in PRC Chancery court against the City of Picayune regarding their refusal to let us use our Southgate exit. After eight months of no cooperation from the City, we had no choice but to seek legal action. The City then filed a plea to dismiss our suit on insufficient grounds.

On January 28, 2008, we appeared at Chancery Court in Poplarville, Mississippi. The Judge ruled in our favor that we do have sufficient cause to seek legal action. The City appealed the ruling. On April 29, 2008, we appeared at Circuit Court in Purvis, Mississippi. The Judge once again refused to dismiss our suit. He requested both attorneys to submit their briefs for his review. It is now July 19, 2008, and we are awaiting his review to have a full trial on this matter.

Our planned projects and upgrades that were completed this past year are as follows:

Paved and striped two miles of road and the lodge upper and lower parking lots for the sum of $218,462.00 which was $7,923.00 under budget.

Purchased a new security vehicle for $16,295.00.

All debris was removed from the spillway and the lake valve channels to the bridge at a cost of $9,000.00.

Dungan Engineering contracted to provide the specs, manage the bid process, and oversee the fire hall bridge project at a cost of $6,000.00.

The fire hall bridge project was paid in the amount of $24,826.00 which was $600.00 under the original quote.

We paid all of our insurance policies in the amount of $49,506.00 compared to $54,444 last year at a savings of $4,938.00.

Property taxes were paid in the amount of $15,420.00.

We purchased forty new lounge chairs and eight additional umbrellas at a cost of $2,120.00 for our swimming pool.

Our new 40’ X 80’ maintenance building was paid at a cost of $49,407.00 and a new roof was put on the old open air building at a cost of $6,200.00.

A new Dell server was purchased for the office at a cost of $3,489.00 as our original unit was overloaded.

On May 30, 2008, as recommended by MSU Extension Services, we released approximately 1,000 sterilized grass carp into the lake to help relieve the grass/weed problem. The Lake Quality Committee will also be spraying an approved herbicide chemical to help address the problem. The Board of Directors has approved $15,000.00 for both projects. The lake is our most valuable asset and this investment had to be made.

A meeting was held on March 15, 2008 for all property owners, security committee, and representatives from the PRC Sheriff’s office to discuss the development of a Neighborhood Watch Program. Additional meetings to formulate our plan were held on May 13^th, June 10^th, and July 8^th. Property owner participation will either make or break this program and to date, attendance has been very poor.

As this year comes to an end, we have accomplished our planned projects and managed our financials. Thanks to all who are involved with maintaining and managing our community and to all the volunteers who offer their time and experience so generously. The above efforts along with the cooperation of our property owners will continue to ensure that our community remains the beautiful and unique place that it is.

Thank you for your attendance at this meeting.