Highlights of the HOA Board meetings from May 8th and June 3rd are summarized below. The May meeting was delayed two days due to Indiana’s primary voting that was held on Tuesday, May 7th, at the same location as the Board meeting.
Two Board members attended a spring seminar held by the HOA’s attorney concerning the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) which was enacted in 2021 but became in effect this year. The CTA aims to help law enforcement prevent, identify, and combat financial crimes. Under the CTA, most businesses, including incorporated HOAs such as ours, are required to file a report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). More information about the CTA can be found here.
The Travis pond dam issue was discussed. Dam leakage will require repair. Representatives of the Board have met with two vendors to discuss the criticality of the issue and recommended remedies. After considering their opinions, the Board voted to proceed with one of the vendors at a cost of approximately $8 thousand dollars. Due to the urgent need for this repair, the Board decided to postpone a portion of the landscape budget earmarked for additional trees and use the funds to offset the cost.
The health of our ponds is an issue that needs addressing. Board representatives met with an environmental expert and visited each of the ponds. The recommendations to improve the health of the ponds ranged from avoiding chemical runoff from lawn fertilization to dredging to increasing pond depth, and rehabilitating the shorelines where needed. Improving the ponds will not be cheap and must be considered in future budgets if we wish to reduce the cost of numerous temporary remedial measures.
The Chancery pond fountain continues to be a headache. After replacing the power meter and controllers, the fountain still does not work consistently. The Board is seeking additional expert input. Meanwhile, the fountain will be swapped with another working fountain to ascertain whether the problem might lie with the fountain pump or power cable.
The central fountain in the roundabout is not working properly, possibly due to an alignment issue. The vendor has been contacted and the fountain will be inspected and repaired as necessary. The water pump for the fountain is thought to be undersized, which might be contributing to the water flow problem.
After receiving complaints that empty lots were not being mowed, the Board contacted the developers to resolve the issue. Soon after, the lots that were under their contract were mowed and assurances given that they would be maintained properly in the future.
The HOA website experienced a problem that caused it to run very slowly that appeared to be related to some old code. Since the fix would take time and a new website was planned anyway, an interim solution was a quick launch using a generic template. It is hoped a new website will be available late this year.
Board communication with HOA members represents a significant cost and there are opportunities to reduce that cost. Several options are being considered. One proposal is an online account for each lot owner. There were several ideas expressed which will be explored further before any decision is made.
The section of Morgantown south of Chancery Blvd entrance has been accumulating debris. A representative of the Board met with the landscape vendor to request more frequent clean up. Moving forward, it was decided that clean up will take place whenever the Board requests it.
Weeds in cracks and crevices on our roads and in the roundabout are not only unsightly, they can also hasten degradation of the pavement. Weed control is part of the HOA’s landscape contract. The landscape vendor was contacted and asked to improve their effort to maintain the roads and roundabout.