Leatherwood Mountains POA,
Inc
June12, 2010 Board Communication
Our June Board meeting was
held on June 12th at the Welcome Center. The
Board approved the minutes of the May 8, 2010
board meeting and have attached them to this
letter.
The Board discussed the
outstanding dues and how to proceed with
collections. We still have quite a number of
past due accounts.
We tabled further
discussion on the CAMS management proposal until
the July 10th meeting because of
several members being absent.
The Road Committee will
start on their projects in June. If you want
your driveway paved, please contact Jim Kear.
Be aware there may be some disruptions in travel
due to equipment and people in the road.
There will be a new
reminder sign at the entrance:
NO FIREWORKS ALLOWED AT
LEATHERWOOD.
Just a reminder from the
POA and the ARC:
No trees should be cut
unless you have prior approval from the ARC. We
have had some issues lately with trees being cut
down.
Abbie is sending out a
notice about our July 4th
Celebration! We look forward to seeing everyone
there!
The pool bricks have been
painted with a non-skid paint – I hope this
eliminates any falls this summer.
Our next Board meeting is
July 10th at the Welcome Center – we
would love to have you participate in our
meeting!
Thank you,
Cindy Rywak, President
Leatherwood POA
Board of Directors Meeting
May 8, 2010
Board
members present: Meda Cobb, Keith Johnston, Jim
Kear, John Kimbirl, Cindy Rywak, Ernie Sewell,
Russ Simmons and Marvin Wilder. Member absent:
Vance Stine. Guests present: Harold Robbins and
Cathie Johnston.
President Cindy Rywak
called the meeting to order at 9:00 am.
Harold Robbins reported
that work must be done on our swimming pool
drain to meet new state public pool regulations
and it must pass inspection before it can be
opened for the season. The board voted to
authorize Harold to approve up to $500 for
upgrades to meet state regulations.
Minutes of the
March 13 board meeting were approved.
Cindy reported that our
two employees, Gary and Jerry, spend their own
money, sometimes well over $100, to pay for POA
maintenance items, then get reimbursement from
our accountant. The board agreed that we
shouldn't ask our employees to use their own
money for POA expenses. The board approved
providing one “declining balance” debit card for
POA purchases by employees, keeping the
requirement that receipts be turned in and
approved to our accountant's office.
There has been some debate
recently about installing a bedliner on our new
pickup truck to protect the bed. The board
finally agreed that the time to install a
bedliner is when selling a truck, not when
buying one. The consensus is to price a
removable bed pad instead.
Treasurer's report:
Marvin Wilder presented the April Actual
Expenses Vs. Budget report. He also reported
that $259,000 in 2010 dues was collected as of
April 30, leaving $47,000 delinquent 2010 dues.
Our attorney will begin filing liens on property
with unpaid dues later this month. Marvin will
move some money market funds from our First
Citizens money market account to Great State and
Yadkin Valley Banks to keep our FDIC insured
exposure under the limits.
The board approved a $35
charge for checks we receive that bounce.
Ernie Sewell introduced
Cathie Johnston with Community Association
Management Specialists (CAMS) to present the
services they might provide to the Leatherwood
POA. Cathie has made this presentation to our
board last fall and we asked her to come back
since some board members were not present at the
previous meeting. Their services include those
being performed by our accounting firm along
with several other functions for the benefit of
associations like ours. She will provide
references to Marvin for investigation and we
will discuss at the next meeting.
Election of Officers:
New officers are Cindy Rywak – President; Russ
Simmons – Vice President; Keith Johnston –
Secretary; and Marvin Wilder – Secretary.
Roads Committee:
Chair Jim Kear presented the following report
from the Roads Committee:
Road Committee
Report May 8, 2010
RECAP
August ’09
Received construction plans for seven slope repairs prepared by Joel E.
Wood Company estimating repair costs at
$230,000. Cost of study was about $9,500.
November
’09
Requested bids from six construction companies;
three declined to bid, bids received were for
three sites only and were:
Long Drilling
Co. $362,369
Haward Baker Co.
$650,000
Crowder Construction Co.
$1,010,000
Crowder (soil nailing alter.)
$690,000
December
’09
A hybrid soil nail/vertical pile proposal was received from Uretek Corp.
and reviewed with Chris Wood and our committee;
cost estimate was $300,000 for three sites.
Uretek also recommended slope monitoring before
repair.
January
’10
Committee recommended postponing repairs indefinitely, establishing a
slope monitoring program, shift emphasis to road
repairs, culvert and drainage projects, erecting
guardrails on narrow shoulders, and tree removal
on at risk slope sites.
Budget previously approved in December included:
Slope
repair
$170,000
Paving
$ 60,000
Guardrails
$ 8,000
Feb-March
’10 Committee
brought in Blue Ridge Engineering to help
educate us on road repair options and bidding
procedures, and critique our ideas for specific
repair locations. We asked for a program
proposal from BRE and three other engineering
firms.
PROPOSAL
Consulting Engineer.
The road committee recommends we hire a
consulting engineer to advise us on a 2010 road
improvement program. This will help insure we
optimize our methods of repair, save money on
road paving costs through supervised bidding,
and have a quality assurance program to monitor
construction in progress.
Engineer Construction
Field Travel Cost/Miles
Engineering fees:
$
cost/hr.
Inspector $/hr. Technician $/hr.
$/mi. / mileage
Joel E. Wood
$95 $65
$35 $.30/mi / 88 mi.
Clover, SC
Blue Ridge Engineering
$130 $45
$45 no charge
Wilkesboro, NC
David Ramsey PLLC
$225 sub.
Sub. $.40/mi. / 62 mi.
Banner Elk, NC
Triad Geotec Consult.*
$135
$60
$40 NA
Kernersville, NC
*Triad
indicated they were not interested in this
project.
Road
Committee Report May 8, 2010
(continued)
Alternate
Fee Methods:
Blue Ridge
indicates they will do our work for a 5% fee on the total job
cost. Joel Wood proposed 9% for design and 6%
for construction supervision. Ramsey prefers a
negotiated fee for his services plus actual cost
for subcontracted construction supervision
(probably through Blue Ridge.)
We recommend Blue Ridge Engineering which also
does work for Chestnut Mountain, Buck Mountain,
Ridgecrest on the Parkway, Cielo Falls, and Sky
Carolina Tennis Resort.
Budget.
An early paving estimate from A1 Paving of
Lenoir was $66,000 for 1385’ of road replacement
(deep repair) on Elk Ridge Road. This would
have taken the entire paving budget for one
quarter-mile section. Therefore, I propose we
move $105,000 from the slope repair budget to
paving and keep the $67,000 remainder for
contingencies and to supplement culvert
replacement at two places on Elk Ridge road and
at the bottom end of West Ridge. This will
allow repairs to the most serious deterioration
on both Elk Ridge and West Ridge and the
elimination of at least three drainage problems
caused by road contours.
With a total paving budget of $165,000 our
engineering cost for that work would be $8,250.
Ed Harrison has indicated Dick Johnston will pay
for a paving solution to the “trout pond” at
Diane Austin’s and a repair to Meadow Road at
Key’s Cabin. We will have to provide estimates
for that work before it is done to secure final
approval. This could then be added to the
budgeted contract work.
Review.
If we proceed as recommended we would have a
construction plan proposal to review (before any
contracts are let) to decide if we want to add
to or subtract from the plan of work this year.
The board voted to hire
Blue Ridge Engineering to monitor slopes and
monitor paving quality, and to move $115,750
from the budget line for Slide Areas to Road
Paving.
There being no further
business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:45 am.
Respectfully submitted,
Keith Johnston
Secretary
