Annual Meeting at St. Joe Township Fire Station -- November 17, 2014 -- 6: 30 PM -- 8:30 PM

The Still Water Place Community Association's Annual Meeting is  at 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the St. Joe Township Hall / Fire Station (corner of St. Joe Center and Maplecrest).

Food and refreshments at 6:15 p.m.  Meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.

Board member positions are available including the President and Treasurer.
These two positions must be filled as they are both retiring.

Please email stillwaterplace@yahoo.com if you are interested in becoming a board member.

Please share this information with your neighbors.

CHANGE OF OFFICERS

At an executive committee meeting of the Still Water Place Board of Directors, new officers were named to fill vacancies.

Jim and I sold our home and bought a home in California.  We are moving April 10^th.  We remained officers as long as possible to help out, but simply can’t serve any longer.

Please update your records to show that the current officers are:

President

Rick Anderson 485-1554

res09hw3@frontier.com

Treasurer

Jeff Musick

heartlightone@frontier.com

Secretary

Margaret Eveland

misseseveland@comcast.net

ALL DUES PAYMENTS, LATE PAYMENTS, ETC. – must be sent to:

Still Water Place

c/o LTS CPA Group LLC

808 Ley Road

Fort Wayne, IN 46825

(260) 387-7700

It has been a pleasure to serve this association.  Please welcome our incoming officers and show them your support.  If you have interest in serving on the Board - please contact them.  Information about the Garage Sale and other news will be presented to you shortly by the new officers.

Yes, More Snow!

The snow plow crews are doing a pretty good job keeping up with the outrageous amount of snow we are having this winter.

However, with 5-8" expected on Tuesday night thru Wednesday, you can expect that Fort Wayne and Still Water Place will have some difficult times ahead.  Where will the snow go?  Our mounds are already taller than we are.

Yes, you may call us during business hours.  Please try not to call during evening hours.

The ice underneath is there because of the temperature fluxuation.  For a while we couldn't melt it (too cold).  Then it melted all at once and caused pooling.  Then it re-froze and cause thick ice in some places.

If we could warm things up, we would.  Since we can't - we just have to make the best of things.  Be patient.  Drive slowly.  Let us know if your street is not cleared.  But please realize that it takes time to move this much snow - and we are running out of places for it to go.

Think spring!

Lisa - for SWP Board

Architectural Request Form

There are covenants and bylaws that guide what we can and cannot do in the Still Water Place Community Association.  They are not optional.  They are legally enforceable.  The Board is required to ensure that the restrictive covenants are enforced.  We don't want to be a burden, but we do need to make sure all residents are in compliance with the covenants and architectural restrictions that apply.

You can find your covenants at the City's web page or on this blog.

Any change to the exterior of your home, roofing, decking, plans to fence, etc., require that you receive architectural approval from the Board.  Free-standing sheds are NOT allowed.

The architectural request form you need is available and we are also happy to mail you a copy.  It's not difficult to get permission for most projects.  It actually helps you to benefit from what we've learned about some of the roofers and workman in the area.

Getting a permit from the City does NOT replace the requirement to get architectural permission for the Still Water Place Community Association Board.  We will respond quickly to your request and most requests are approved.

Rick Anderson is the Chairman of the Architectural Committee and he will work with you and be sure the Board is aware of your project.  485-1554

Avoid expensive removal or having to pay to have work re-done because you are not in compliance with the architectural restrictions.  None of us want the expense of court action.

Thank you for understanding.  You will need to enlarge the image below to 8.5 x 11 to print at full size.

Paying Dues via Auto Pay - Changes

Our accounting firm for the past year is and will continue to be:

LTS CPA Group LLC

808 Ley Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46825
Phone:(260) 387-7700

If you pay by auto pay or bill pay, please change the payee to show LTS CPA Group LLC.

Homeowners Annual Meeting - November 18, 2013 - 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

A big newsletter is coming your way in the mail next week.  Please open it and read it!  It has important information for YOU, as a homeowner in Still Water Place.

This year's annual meeting is:

Monday, November 18, 2013
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
St. Joe. Firehouse Meeting Hall (St. Joe Center and Maplecrest on NW corner)



Slate of officers for this year:
Last year's annual meeting Minutes are below for your reference:

President - Pam Kleber
Treasurer - Jeff Musick
Secretary - Open (Lisa would like to step down.  She will transfer all files and assist as needed and she is able.  Secretary needs to have computer experience and possibly blogging experience, good organizational skills, detail oriented, able to make meetings)

Jim Bordner - Immediate Past President - serves as VP

At Large
Rick Anderson - Architectural Chairman
Bob Bastian - Architectural committee
OPEN - Architectural committee
OPEN - Architectural committee
OPEN - Architectural committee
Lisa Bordner

We will need several new members to join the Board.  It is a rewarding experience and your volunteer efforts really do make a huge difference.

Still Water Place Community Association     

Annual Meeting Minutes

November 12, 2012

St. Joe Firehouse

6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Prior to the beginning of the meeting, free Sandwiches, pop and chips were available for the residents.

Minutes

Treasurer’s Report (how your dues were spent)

         

October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012:
$6,687 checking balance,  $22,438 savings balance

Collected $27,111.  s/b 32K

Expenses – lawn, landscaping, snow removal

Accounting services $120/mo Epco – switched accounting services to LTS for the same rate – expect to increase but also have monthly reports and better service.

Utilities – sign, fountain, street lights, insurance, etc. totals presented.

Taxes are property taxes.

Repairs maintenance etc.

Largest expense for ash trees that died. 

 

President’s Report (past year’s activities)

DEAD TREES:  We had many dead or dying trees due to the emerald ash borer.  We also lost a few due to drought.  Twenty-six dead trees were removed and stumped and we replaced 20 of those trees with ornamental pears, which are quick growing, hardy and attractive trees.  This represented a significant portion of our expenses.

POND MAINTENANCE:  We continued our contract with Aquatic Management, Inc., who treats the water, controls pernicious weeds, and repaired the fountain and its lights.

POND-SIDE GAZEBO:  It needs to be cleaned, repaired and re-stained.  A couple of potential contractors failed to follow through.  We will attend to this in the spring.

DIRT DAY:  As promised, we brought back Dirt Day this year, and it appeared to be well received.  All the dirt was taken.  We need feed back:  we had reports that while the dirt LOOKED realy good, things failed to grow in it. 

YARD OF THE MONTH: We continued our program of awarding $25 gift cards to winners of the YOTM, encouraging residents to enhance curb appeal:  homeowners seem to appreciate the notice and the prize.

PLAYGROUND:  Swing chains and seats were replaced where needed.

NEW ACCOUNTING FIRM:  The board determined it was necessary to switch to a new accounting firm.  We hired LTS CPA Group, a firm started by a partner in one of the city’s best-known CPA firms, Greg Green.  Greg was our accountant when we used Mannia-Green, he knows our organization, and his staff has already shown themselves to be far and away more responsive and competent.  They will cost a little more, but we all agreed that paying a little more for great service was much better than paying a little less for almost no service.

CONCRETE LEVELING PROJECT:  A1 Concrete Leveling offered a “group rate” by discount their rates to Still water residents if we coordinated the work.  40 Still Water residents had their sidewalks leveled at a lower price as a result.  Thanks to A1 for the discount, but even more to the residents who took advantage of the program.  Nothing makes a neighborhood look rundown faster than bad sidewalks, and the pride and effort to participate is much appreciated.

NEW HOLIDAY LIGHTING: New holiday lighting last year looked great. We’ll be putting that same display again this year.  Storage is part of what we pay for.

Speaker:  Attorney Nick Harsh – Changing Covenants – Attorney Harsh was here because a few residents have repeatedly requested changing covenants to allow sheds, limit colors people can paint their homes, desiring to affect or reduce current restrictions. 

The attorney provided handouts outlining the law and how it relates to our bylaws.  He discussed the reality of trying to change our covenants which must remain faithful to the spirit of the bylaws and abide by local, state, and national laws as well.  We are required to have 75% agreement among homeowners before we can change the covenants.  Signatures need to be notarized in case there is a challenge by other residents.  The effort would require many volunteers who are notaries and a strong consensus concerning what change(s) are to be made.  The cost in time for door to door canvassing and money in attorney and filing fees should be balanced against the likelihood of success or failure of achieving desired goals.  It was his advice that we not pursue changing our bylaws. 

He also suggested other remedies that are more effective concerning specific problems that don’t currently exist but may come up.  One example of an objectionable display was shared by a resident. The attorney indicated a private request from the affected party would carry more weight than a blanket restriction in bylaws, which could be seen as in violation of the first amendment. 

Secretary mentioned that this is the second attorney to recommend that we not attempt to change covenants.  There was some concern by a minority.  We discussed the possibility of sending a mailer to neighborhood to judge their interest and their willingness to work on changing covenants regarding allowing sheds (which will require a larger board to assist on architectural committee), rental issue is not up for discussion, as rentals are allowed in our bylaws, color of houses to avoid someone painting their house wild colors like the one on Rothman, and possibly amend the architectural guidelines to define the restriction of flag sizes.

Open discussion:  Should we add more stop signs to slow traffic?

                        Yes - for the one at Copper Creek and Running Brook.  Stop signs at other locations didn’t get as much support.  Secretary reported that street department representative from The City of Fort Wayne said street budget does not allow enough for all the roads that need repair to be repaired.  This type of request is way down on their list and may be several years before they could do this if a traffic study warranted.

Open discussion:  Should we lower the speed limit from 30 to 25?

                        No significant support. Maybe request more patrols and ticketing.

What should we be working on over the next year?

Seem to be doing a good job.  More of the same.

Slate of officers will be presented by the board for homeowner vote.

Jim Bordner, President

Bob Bastian, Vice President

Jeff Musick, Treasurer

Lisa Bordner, Secretary

Rick Anderson, Architectural Chairman

The vote passed unanimously.

Other comments:

·         Remember to keep vehicles off the streets when snow or ice is a potential.  This makes it easy for our streets to be cleaned.

·         Remember to Scoop The Poop!  Clean up your pet’s waste!

·         Be a Block Booster – Report for your block (home sales, abandoned cars or houses).  The term is one year – email or call in reports.  It’s easy!  Two people signed up to be block boosters.

·         If you’re interested in joining the board please attend the annual meeting, bring contact information to leave with the secretary.  We need you to volunteer as at-large members and learn for one year before assuming officer positions.  It’s your neighborhood! Only 1 – 4 hours a month can make a real difference.

The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.

The board addressed individual questions – we’ll do our best to help as time allows.

Our Goal:  Protect property values for all – encourage a safe and happy community.

Approval of minutes with amendment to update the missing treasurer information 5-22-13

Motion by Bob Bastian

2^nd by Pam Kleber

Vote carried

Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa Bordner, Secretary
Still Water Place Community Association, Inc.

Dog Park Answer

The board learned that there about a resident who unofficially circulated a petition around the Still Water Place neighborhood concerning a desire for a dog park.  

Unfortunately the board decided that we could not provide or create a dog park regardless of the petition.  Following are some of the many reasons from the minutes of that meeting for this decision:

1.      Liability. Creating a dog park creates a need for specific liability insurance to cover the potential lawsuits that may occur from dog bites against humans and other dogs.
2.      Rights of nearby home owners.  Creating a dog park would potentially consolidate dogs in a limited space.  Barking and the smell of feces would certainly be noticeable by those residents located next to the dog park.
3.      Use of common area.  The common areas are designated for all residents.  Creating a single use that would make other uses impossible would violate the intention of the common area.
4.      Expense.  In addition to the cost of specialized insurance, would be the cost of removing the feces.  Who is going to do this? Who pays for this? What happens if it isn’t removed?  Would a code violation be cited against our Association? Would dogs become ill?  Would insect populations grow?
5.      No other neighborhood associations have dog parks.
6.      Fencing.  Any dog park would need to have a fence.  This creates a potential violation with our own covenants (no chain link) and raises additional questions about expense and safety.
7.      Motivation.  If the motivation for a dog park was the hope that people would take their dogs there and clean up after them, and reduce the number of dogs that are walked and leave droppings in people’s yards or the park strips – then the outcome is very unlikely to be achieved.  People who are not responsible when walking their dogs, are not going to be responsible enough to take their dogs (in many cases much further away) to a dog park and then clean up after them.  What would most likely happen is that we would go to an enormous expense to create something that becomes a hazard without value.

We have made it a priority in recent months to try to raise awareness of the need to clean up after one's dog, and we'll continue to do so.  We made an issue of it at the annual meeting, and our next newsletter will talk about the problem and we will feature it soon on the message sign at the entrance.  Thanks for your input and concern.

Jim Bordner
President, Still Water Board

Scoop the Poop

We've had numerous request by residents asking us to remind dog-walkers to "scoop the poop" their animals drop in the course of walking. 

Exercise is great for you and your pet, but leaving animal waste behind for someone else to step in or clean up is just, well, un-neighborly.  It's also incredibly unsanitary. See what City of Fort Wayne has to say about pet waste.

Children and adults play in our yards and they can get hook worms, round worms or worse from the waste you allow your animal to leave behind. It's also a main contributor to water pollution.  

So remember to "scoop the poop" for a happier and healthier neighborhood.

Association Garage Sale!

Still Water Place Association Garage Sale:

May 17 and 18 (Friday and Saturday)
From 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

These dates coincide with Arlington's garage sale dates.  

Gain room in your garage and closets.  Get rid of those things that weigh you down.  Let your seldom or never-used items be cherished again!

Snow Contractor / Removal

There have been some unexpected delays in snow removal today we are working to resolve the problem. The contractor is reporting that one of his trucks went down, slowing his progress.