Although there was not much listed on this month’s POASC Board Meeting Agenda except the usual committee reports and the first reading of an amendment to the covenants, property owners raised two controversial subjects and the board voted to change the time of the board meetings.
A proposed exercise/billiard building and an alleged wrongdoing by an employee as well as night instead of day meetings were discussed. Beginning in July, the POASC Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the Cove Clubhouse instead of 10 a.m.
In his comments to those attending the meeting, Chairman Frank Lennox said that he would not accept questions or comments about the employee situation and that the board would be meeting in Executive Session following the Regular Session.
However, at the end of the meeting, residents brought up the rumor regarding the employee. Some had received unsigned letters describing the alleged “misappropriation” of funds. After various comments by property owners, requesting they be notified of the board’s decision in the matter and commenting the board should hire an independent auditor to go over the books, the chairman adjourned the meeting to end discussion.
A resignation by Frank Meier, chairman of the PDM Committee, put the building proposal to rest. Meier is moving to northern Alabama and selling his home in Spanish Cove.
After the resignation was accepted, the board named Jimmy Young the new chairman of the committee and he said he felt the existing amenities need attention, more than spending money on a new building. Chairman Lennox accepted the resignation with regret and said Meier had done an excellent job since his appointment to the board last year and should be commended.
It had been rumored that the board would vote on the proposal at the June meeting. Property owners expressed concern about outsiders using the facility, it being a hangout for teens and spending money unnecessarily in 2009 due to the economy. One resident commented that the spirit at the June PDM committee was “to get the building up and get it going”.
The reading of an amendment to allow site-built homes in Land Harbor was read. No discussion was allowed, but property owners may comment at the next meeting on July 16. At that time the board will vote on the proposed amendment and send it to the property owners for their approval.
The Rules Committee recommended the change because it has been increasingly more difficult to obtain insurance on structures such as park models. Site-built homes are constructed to meet local building codes and are eligible for conventional mortgages at prevailing interest rates and standard down payments. The committee feels this type of housing will have a long-term effect of increasing property values in Land Harbor as well as the rest of Spanish Cove. It will give additional options to Land Harbor property owners who might want to replace older park models or RVs with a more permanent dwelling.
The proposed amendment is as follows. Changes are highlighted. The section as it reads now may be accessed by clicking on “Documents” at the top of this site and then click on “POASC Covenants May 2008”.
Section 8.38. Permitted Uses and Improvements. Recreational Vehicle Lots shall be used exclusively for single-family residential uses. Recreational Vehicles, Manufactured Homes, Modular Homes and Conventional Homes, which cannot exceed one thousand (1,000) square feet in size, may be used as a Dwelling on a Recreational Vehicle Lot.
No more than one (1) Recreational Vehicle, one (1) Manufactured Home, one (1) Modular Home or one (1) Conventional Home shall be permitted as a Dwelling on any one (1) Recreational Vehicle Lot. No permitted Accessory Improvement shall be used as a Dwelling on a Recreational Vehicle Lot. Temporary occupancy of a stored or visiting Recreational Vehicle may be permitted with specific written approval of the Board of Directors. Manufactured Homes may include single wide units (formerly known as Park Model units) up to five hundred (500) square feet with additions of equal size approved by the Board of Directors or complete manufactured homes up to the maximum size of one thousand (1,000) square feet as approved by the Board of Directors.
Section 8.38. Permitted Uses and Improvements. Recreational Vehicle Lots shall be used exclusively for single-family residential uses. Recreational Vehicles, Manufactured Homes, Modular Homes and Conventional Homes, which cannot exceed one thousand (1,000) square feet in size, may be used as a Dwelling on a Recreational Vehicle Lot.
No more than one (1) Recreational Vehicle, one (1) Manufactured Home, one (1) Modular Home or one (1) Conventional Home shall be permitted as a Dwelling on any one (1) Recreational Vehicle Lot. No permitted Accessory Improvement shall be used as a Dwelling on a Recreational Vehicle Lot. Temporary occupancy of a stored or visiting Recreational Vehicle may be permitted with specific written approval of the Board of Directors. Manufactured Homes may include single wide units (formerly known as Park Model units) up to five hundred (500) square feet with additions of equal size approved by the Board of Directors or complete manufactured homes up to the maximum size of one thousand (1,000) square feet as approved by the Board of Directors.
Treasurer Ben Bonnet reported that although the 2009-2010 Budget is only two months old, at the end of May the financial situation is good. He said real estate activity has increased in both months and it is hoped it will continue in the upward trend.
$50,000 has been set aside to pay POASC insurance, qualifying for a discount. In previous years, payments were made in increments, but this method cost extra money in fees. He said all would be well if there are no major hurricanes this year.
Finance Committee Chairman Dale Morsette echoed Bonnet’s assessment of the financial situation. He said $40,000 is planned for deposit in the Asset Replacement and Repair Fund (AR&R). He said it was discovered that none of the advertisers in The Update had been invoiced in recent months and that the office personnel were addressing the problem that amounts to approximately $4,000. The new receptionist said she has contacted all advertisers and has gotten positive results and some new ads.
Morsette said the AR&R Fund budget has been updated and that a quarterly review of the Operations Budget will be held in July. The next meeting of the Finance Committee will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 15 in the Board Conference Room at the POASC office.
Activities Chairman Judy Deeter reported on two successful special events, the Strawberry Shortcake party in May and the June Shrimp Boil. There are no special events scheduled for July, but a picnic at Johnson Beach is planned for 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18. The committee will supply the chicken and those attending are asked to bring a dish to serve eight. Sign up for the picnic at the Activities Office, as a count is needed for ordering the chicken. The next meeting of the committee will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 7 at the Cove Clubhouse when they will discuss use of the clubhouse.
Members of the Communication Committee and Chairman Dale Morsette have been discussing the Cove website, www.spanishcove.org. Members feel it should be updated with a new look and new information. Discussion centered on whether to keep it in its present format, hire a website developer or use some other method to provide a user-friendly site.
Morsette explained that the Mediacom Channel 86 equipment is difficult to use and the property owner dependence on the channel is unknown, so the screen has been blank to see if there is any reaction. The next committee meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 1 in the Board Conference Room at the POASC office.
The piling at the end of the pier has been repaired, as well as some boards in the walkway. PDM Chairman Jimmy Young said the Cove Clubhouse is being caulked in preparation for painting. The building was last painted when the pool was opened in 2002. The trim around the doors at the RV Clubhouse is in bad repair and needs to be replaced.
“We need to take care of what we have before we think about adding to the amenities,” he said in reference to the proposed exercise/billiard building.
A date has not been set for the next PDM Committee meeting.
Roads and Drainage Chairman Tom Pinkerton said maintenance is addressing the drainage area problems by spraying with a non-toxic defoliant to kill the weeds to allow the water to flow well during heavy rains. The two major areas are at the 14-tubes on South Spanish Cove Drive and on Valencia Drive. Previously the committee had plans to hire a company to clear the areas at a cost of $6,500, but they felt they could achieve the same goal by using the defoliant. A property owner also asked that the drainage area at end of Chagrin Drive be addressed.
Pinkerton said meetings of the committee would be held as needed, since no roadwork was to be done this year. However, one property owner said he felt that meetings should be held regularly to address on a timely basis the problems that might come up.
Regional Concerns Chairman Sharon Bemis said a liquor license for a facility called “Twice Used Roadhouse” was denied by the Baldwin County Commission. She also said that the county is addressing the new Perdido Street extension drainage.
Board members remind property owners they need identification stickers for all their vehicles. In the event of a hurricane these stickers will identify you as a resident of Spanish Cove and allow you access to your property once the area has been designated as safe for return. Access the Spanish Cove Hurricane procedures by clicking on “Documents” at the top of this site.
It was noted at the last Finance meeting.
In my opinion, this is one of the problems when you net income and expenses as we do. In addition, advertising revenue does not come in on a regular basis. Some pay annually, some monthly, and some in between. While I agree what happened is bad and surely not desireable, the item is small and small items tend to slip between the cracks. We tend to look at major variancs in income and spending. Who really worries about a couple of hunfred dollar variance when we got amounts in the thousands of dollars.
I would have thought that the Finance Committee or someone would have noticed a deficit in income for The Update over the past several months. Especially since supposedly everyone was looking at income and expenses so closely this past year.
Advertising Income from the Update is placed in Acct. 43080, which is on page 1 of the Income/Expense statement. It is an offsetting account to Update Expense accounts 52010 and 52011.
The Update rarely “pays-its-way” and the balance is subsidized from the General Fund as a “service” to the residents. All of this is shown on the Cove’s monthly operating statements.
One of the items that was discussed at the Board Meeting on the 18th was that the advertisors had not been invoiced since January. If I remember correctly one of the questions that Sally McKinney had when she was fired was the question of where the funds were being accounted for with the Update. Apparently they went into the big open “Other” fund and was lost. If the money had been put into a proper Update Account the bookkeeper should have know by now that they were working at a loss. Isn’t that something the bookkeeper should have been keeping an eye on. I am sure that when the bills were paid they had to have used a account to charge them to so if there wasn’t any income there must have been a loss. This is what I was trying to say at the last meeting, that if expenses had been paid and someone was going to pay that expense back there should have been an account showing that the money was spent ( and what for ) and that someone was to pay it back at some time.
It looks to me someone needs to make an apology to Sally for the way she was treated when she asked the question of where the money would be shown or if it was going into the General Fund. Just what else is in that General Fund? The one good thing is that at least the money is now being collected.
I’m I the only one that is wondering about why this took so long to discover the problem?
Thank you, Marge and Ken for your efforts and comments. I can only hope that when they are known the full facts will be revealed.
Marge- just sit on it until the facts are available.
Hmmmm, Could you repeat your advice, please? Could you get a chair?
I was on your site yesterday and noticed this morning that everything that was written the last couple days had been removed. Is there a time limit and then the responses are removed?
Hi Barbara. Some of the comments are filling more than one page. When this happens there will be a link at the end of the comments entitled “Older Comments”. When you click on the link you’ll be taken to the next page.
I would like to make a correction to the minutes of the Board Meeting on the 18th. In the paragraph that said a “unsigned letters discribing the alleged “misappropiation of funds” had been given out to property owners. The letter in questions at no time mentioned this it only was bring to the attention that the construction of a Pool Hall and Excercis Building was being considered and if you had any interest in this to attend the Board Meeting. Which with the number of attendance at the meeting showed that there were people that wanted more information. If anyone would like to see the letter that was given out I still have a few.
We feel very stongly that the issue at hand with the Operation Manager is very serious and not just hear-say and idle accusations and the findings should be given to the property owners just as soon as possible so this alligation can be dealt with and cleared up once and for all.
We regret that Frank felt it necessary to resign from being Chairman of the Board in the middle of all this unfinished business, but wish him well in his retirement.
The findings do not need to be “given to the property owners…so this allegation can be dealt with…” That’s the Board’s responsibility. They will likely inform the Membership of any action they take – or they may not if it’s a sensitive situation and any possibility of litigation exists. Remember, the Board, though elected by the Membership, is an independent body and does not necessarily need to run its decisions or deliberations by the property owners. The Board’s principal responsibility is to protect and promote the interests of POASC and the Membership, just as any Board has similar (but not same) responsibilities to the corporation and its stockholders
Marge, you seem to indicate that you are speaking for more than yourself when speaking about the charges being made against Charlie. Don’t you think it might be proper to give the names of these others you are representing?