BE IT REMEMBERED that the Board of Directors met in the Clubhouse, Hide-A-Way, Pearl River County, Mississippi, on the 12th day of September and the following proceedings were had and done.
The regular monthly meeting was called to order by President, Kathy Busco.
The roll call is as follows:
Kathy Busco, President Present
John Rodish, Vice President Present
Jim Danton, Secretary/Treasurer Present
Beth Ennis, Director Present
Donna Ruston, Director Present
Danny Stockstill, Director Present
Jim Wells, Director Present
All members of the Board were present or accounted for.
The Security Contractor’s Report was presented for July and August 2007.
The Chair entertained a motion to waive the reading of the Minutes of the Board meeting of July 11, 2007 and August 8, 2007. Jim Danton acknowledged the motion, Jim Wells seconded the motion. Unanimously approved.
The Chair entertained a motion to approve the Minutes of the Board meeting of July 11, 2007 and August 8, 2007. John Rodish acknowledged the motion, Jim Wells seconded the motion. Unanimously approved.
Manager’s Report
1. Last month, Huey Stockstill, Inc. paved the lodge parking lot. They are scheduled to complete the repaving of two miles of roads and the road to the lower lodge level by month’s end. This capital improvement of $226,385.00 will be paid after the project is completed.
2. A contract for $12,185.20 has been signed with Robbie Robinson, Inc. to stripe the main repaved roads and the lodge parking lot. This project will begin approximately 30 days after the road repaving work is completed.
3. The 2007/2008 Operating Budget is completed. The resolution will be forthcoming during this meeting.
4. The mailing of September billing statements will be delayed by approximately a week since the fiscal year ends on September 30th.
5. The water tower insurance was renewed at a cost of $6,300. It has a $2,500 non-wind and non-hail deductible with a $30,000 deductible for wind and hail damage.
6. On September 7th, the money market account (#6075253) at First Southern Bank was closed. The funds were deposited into our account (#014107438) at Hancock Bank. This Hancock account was changed from a HIMMA (money market account) to a Business Resource account to reduce our operating account service charges.
7. At a cost of $2,616.15, a new outside air condition unit for the lower lodge game room was installed July by Artic Refrigeration, LLC.
8. The Lake Quality Committee has been working with Mississippi State Extension Office to help us with a major analysis of our lake. The grass has been identified as “hair grass”, which is a perennial.
9. Our attorney, Rick Norton of the Bryan Nelson firm, has filed litigation papers in Pearl River County Chancery Court against the City of Picayune regarding the use of our Southgate exit. This action was taken after eight months of trying to work this out with the City of Picayune. A court date should be determined in the next two to three months.
10.On August 8th and August 25th, an informational meeting to discuss a centralized sewer system for our community was held with Pearl River County Utility Authority, Dungan Engineering, Mississippi State Department of Health, and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. The estimated project costs per lot is as follows:
- Sewer collection lines in Hide-A-Way Lake ~ $2,000 per lot
- Wastewater treatment plant ~ $2,000 *1,2 (if connected)
- Grinder pump or STEP system ~ $5,000 *2 (if connected)
*1 May be eligible for Grant Funding.
*2 To be paid when connection to system is made.
There is a possibility that the Utility Authority will be able to obtain funding for the treatment plant cost to reduce each lot’s cost by $2,000. This should be finalized by month end. HAWL’s next step is to conduct a poll of the property owners to determine what the majority truly wants.
11.The following is a report of our delinquent accounts:
59 accounts are in the process of being worked in-house $ 11,285.95
14 accounts have received judgments $ 29,219.50
Total $ 40,505.45
205 accounts were assessed the $12.00 late fee in July.
221 accounts were assessed the $12.00 late fee in August.
Ms. Busco reiterated that the poll Mr. Devillier talked about in the Manager’s Report was just to determine whether there was enough property owners interested in pursuing the sewer issue. This will not be the actual vote to have sewer installed in HAWL.
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS – Months of July & August 2007
Ms. Busco stated that the committees had been restructured to combine Parks and Recreations and Social Committee to avoid duplication of effort of the board members.
Architectural/Variances – Jim Wells
The number of houses to date, including the new home construction included in this report are 938. The architectural committee approved the following: (1) new home construction, (5) additions, (3) sheds, (1) above ground pool, and (2) repairs (patio cover and porch).
Mr. Wells took the opportunity to thank the individuals (Loraine Harper, Don Mangan, Mike Ginart, Clyde and Wanda Alcon) who volunteered for the Parks and Recreation Committee after Mr. Wells came on as director of that committee. Now that the Social Committee and the Parks and Recreation Committee have been combined, he encouraged those individuals to extend that willingness to participate to either the Social Committee or one of the other committees.
Finance Committee Report – Jim Danton
$ 5,874.98 Hancock Bank Checkbook Balance (Operating Account)
1,200.00 Petty Cash
5,000.00 Cash – Payroll
$ 12,074.98 Total Checkbook, Payroll, and Petty Cash
$ 26,569.99 Hancock HIMMA Savings
71,739.76 BankPlus Capital Reserve Account
82,611.94 Regions Bank (formerly Union Planters Bank) Capital Reserve Account
64,944.71 First Southern Bank Money Market Account
115,321.07 First National Bank – Board Contingency Account
$ 361,187.47 Total Savings
$ 50,000.00 CD’s Bank Plus
40,000.00 CD’s Edward Jones
35,000.00 CD’s Regions Bank
$125,000.00 Total CD’s & Investments
TOTAL RESERVE $486,187.47
GRAND TOTAL $498,262.45
On August 1, 2007, during the work session the Board of Directors reviewed checks #020027 through #020098 which were disbursed 06/26/07 through 07/25/07.
On September 5, 2007, during the work session the Board of Directors reviewed checks #020099 through #020178 which were disbursed 07/26/07 through 08/25/07.
The report is incomplete since normally the records would show how much money was received and how much money was spent. For some reason, it got left off so it will be covered at the next meeting.
Security Safety, Fire Committee & Boat Sub-Committee – John Rodish
The Security Committee met on August 22, 2007 to discuss some new ideas for different things in Hide-A-Way. One of the biggest concerns is still speeding and stop signs. The report given by Security has 75 roving violations for July and 66 in August. The Security Committee has had requests to raise the speed to 35 mph, even though there are some who have trouble staying on their side of the road at 25 mph. Also, there have been suggestions that the stop signs only be “stoppable” during the day since at night you can see the headlights of oncoming traffic. Obviously, these suggestions are not going to be enacted. Security is doing a good job; the committee told Security personnel “no exceptions” with the same rules applying for everybody. Sooner or later, people will get tired of paying fines and will slow down. Thank you, Security, for doing your job.
As to the Southgate issue, on August 31, 2007, two board members, Mr. Devillier, and our attorney met with the City of Picayune, the county supervisor, the county administrator, and the city attorney. It was just like the meeting last February - absolutely no progress has been made. HAWL’s attorney gave notice that a suit has been filed. The HAWL panel again requested support from the City Council during their meeting. They listened to what our attorney had to say about it but they still are not willing to change anything. Mr. Devillier interjected that the City has the perception that if there were only 200 cars using that exit, we would not be pursing this issue. However, the 200 cars were only exiting from 6:00 – 8:00 each morning. Our attorney, who did a great job, told the city representatives to give Hide-A-Way the opportunity to reopen the gate for two weeks with city counters out there to get proof of how many cars were coming through there. They would not agree to do this- they do not want to be reasonable or work with us on resolving this issue. The county offered to put counters at the Southgate and the main gate…even at the Chevron station (at Highway 43/Cooper Road) but the City blocked the gate. Hide-A-Way has no choice but to go to court. The property owners will be kept abreast of the status of the case.
Mr. Rodish addressed the board requesting approval for appointing Nancy Emerick to the Security Committee. She is replacing Beth Ennis who is now over the Social Committee. The Board voted to approve this request unanimously.
Lake Quality– Danny Stockstill
On August 2, 2007, the Lake Quality committee continued discussions on the new sewer system proposed for HAWL by constructing additional questions concerning several aspects of the new sewer system; reviewed chemical catalogs selecting two chemicals (granular and liquid form) to test for effectiveness for the control of hair grass in our lake.
Lake-water samples were taken from four locations on September 5, 2007. One sample (inlet) was above the maximum allowable Mississippi standard level for recreational waters.
Rainfall for the month of August was not available at the time of this report.
Next meeting is scheduled for October 4, 2007, at 3:00 P.M.
Long Range Planning – Kathy Busco
No report was given but the committee will be meeting in the next month or so as per Ms. Busco.
Social Committee – Beth Ennis
We had a very successful first Kid’s Day with over 100 children who participated as well as their parents and grandparents who attended. Of all the volunteers who came, only two had children who participated; therefore, we know that our volunteers who came to work did so because they wanted to create a memorable event for the kids. We appreciate that very much. Plans are already under way for next year. Upcoming events are the Flea Market October 6th, Halloween Dance is October 20th, and the social committee is looking at a couple of new projects. One is a dinner theater with Picayune on Stage after the first of the year. The second would be a “meet and greet” night where anyone could come out and meet other people who share the same interests. Activities could then be planned revolving around those specific interests such as play dates for the kids, etc.
Public Affairs – Donna Rushton
The Public Affairs had their last meeting on August 30th and prior to that we had a meeting with the Board’s attorney. It was decided after that meeting that the Board would no longer pursue incorporation. The attorney’s position, after a lot of research, was that the possibility of success is about 10%. The cost involved in incorporating is not feasible therefore that aspect of its work has been terminated by the committee. The cost for the attorney for this process was $1,600.00 and that bill has been paid. The information we obtained from Hide-A-Way Lake, Texas has been put together and it will be on file in the office in the future should there be a need to revisit the subject of incorporation. The last thing the committee wanted to discuss is the possibility that a letter being sent to our legislator encouraging them to enact a bill in our state legislature which would allow communities about to be annexed by neighboring municipalities to have a binding referendum on whether or not they wanted to consent to the annexation. There is no such legislation in our state law. As it is right now, communities have no vote, no voice, and no consent. In fact, they are not even notified directly that an annexation is being considered. It is published in the newspaper but some working knowledge of land descriptions is necessary to recognize that an annexation is eminent. At the Board’s work session, Ms. Rushton got approval for such a letter. A draft was submitted to the Board with their suggestions incorporated into this letter for their approval. This letter will come from our Board of Directors. However, on our website, Ms. Rushton will have a letter placed where any resident here who wants to join into this fight for the above mention legislation can download, copy or e-mail with just the addition of the property owner’s name and that of the legislator’s.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
A resolution whereby the Board of Directors of Hide-A-Way Lake Club, Inc. approves the fiscal year October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008 Operating Budget.
WHEREAS it is in the best financial interest of Hide-A-Way Lake Club, Inc. to establish allotments within specific operating accounts, and;
NOW THEREFORE be it resolved that the Board of Directors has resolved to accept managements Operating Budget for the October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008 fiscal year as submitted.
WHEREAS in the proposed Operating Budget:
Total Revenues are $ 1,620,315.00
Total Expenses are $ 1,499,268.00
Net Income $ 121,048.00
Capital Reserve Provision Savings $ 216,180.00
Resolution offered by Jim Danton seconded by Danny Stockstill on this 12th day of September , 2007.
Kathy Busco – President For
John Rodish – Vice President For
Jim Danton – Secretary/Treasurer For
Beth Ennis – Director For
Donna Rushton – Director For
Danny Stockstill – Director For
Jim Wells – Director For
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn given by Kathy Busco, John Rodish seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned by a unanimous vote of the Directors.
