​Community Update February, 2023

ANNOUNCEMENTS (opening remarks from Annual Meeting 2/11/23)
My name is Lynne Partridge, and on behalf of the Board we’d like to welcome you to our Annual Meeting. Today’s agenda will focus on two major items; review and adoption of the 2023-24 budget, and the election of two Board Directors. This past year began with the challenge of the sudden resignation of two officers, Jack Shook and Barry Keefer who served as Chair and Treasurer respectively. With two new Board members, we had to quickly reorganize to figure out how to best serve the community. Our primary goals were to use our bylaws and MD HOA laws as guides in how we operate, establish communication with residents, and create a shared responsibility for the operation of our community. This meant creating committees headed by Board members and welcoming resident volunteers. The function of our HOA Board is to manage our budget and ensure the operation of our shared facilities. In this voluntary role, we see this as an extension of our responsibilities as homeowners. We hope to extend this mindset to more neighbors and encourage you to volunteer on a committee or two. There is much work to share! I’d like to acknowledge our Board of Directors: Treasurer, Keith Miller who, although brand new to the Board, stepped up to take on the responsibility of managing our finances. Secretary and long-time resident, Janie Stopford has proven herself invaluable to me as we navigated this first year. Craig Costantino, our webmaster, is another long time board member whose community history and perspective informs our decisions. Andrew Davis and Bill Custead are first-term directors who lend their backgrounds in construction and utilities in a variety of ways. And a special thanks to Lisa Smith and Becky West for their willingness to serve as appointed Board Directors this past year, Today’s election will serve to officially make them duly elected Board members. We welcome and appreciate their contributions. I also want to personally thank Bill and Jolene Killinger for not only their service today with the election but also in contributing to the maintenance of our gardens and concern for wetland preservation. Thanks also to Brandon Ridout for help in overseeing our water system, and Robin Custead for leading our newly created Sunshine committee.

COUNTY WATER PROJECT: Bill Custead is anticipating the USDA funding as either a loan or grant will be approved by Spring ‘23. There was discussion concerning the water prices, process, completion and acquiring residents’ approval. The Board will engage in a campaign of communication, awareness, and cooperation to garner community approval for this critical investment in our infrastructure.

ELECTION RESULTS: Both Becky West and Lisa Smith were unanimously elected.

\ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW: Andrew Davis reports letters suggesting improvements to
townhome owners will be mailed in the coming weeks. He also suggests the need to improve community curb appeal through awareness, cooperation, and concern for property values.

COMMUNICATION: Minutes from each Board meeting will be approved via text and posted to the website 2-3 weeks after each meeting. This will allow for faster posting of meeting minutes

DUMPSTERS: Reminder: dumpsters are for approved trash (no large furniture/objects, brush, not-broken down cardboard boxes) and for residents’ use only.

TENNIS COURT: Discussion - Consider repurposing courts as a boatyard, basketball court, pickleball court or some combo. Attendees were asked to complete a survey for input and other ideas. Surveys will be emailed to residents not in attendance to offer input.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Keith Miller Budget 2023-24
The development of this year’s budget was a balance between rising costs & new legal
requirements, with an awareness of our financial realities. To that end, we consulted our bylaws, our accountant, and attorney to create a budget that covers all operating costs and is fair to all. This final draft represents hours of work crunching numbers and finding ways to minimize costs. A comparison of last year’s budget vs actual items reflects our attempts to cut costs wherever we could, which allowed us to absorb a few cost overruns. The balance from last year’s funds will be placed in an account designated for reserves. This will hopefully allow us to offset the recommended reserve funds required by the new MD House Reserve Fund Bill 107. This year, we will engage a company to conduct the required reserve study who will make recommendations that we will be required to follow. The 2023-24 budget, dues schedule and dock fees were approved unanimously. A copy of these documents along with account balances can be found on the website. Dues will be mailed March 1: due by March 15. Payment may be either yearly, quarterly or monthly.

BOARD REORGANIZATION: Election of Officers for 2023-2024: Lynne Partridge - Chair, Janie Stopford - Secretary, Keith Miller -Treasurer. Other Directors serve as Committee Chairs. These committees serve to keep our community running. We welcome and need fellow residents to join us*. If you have a lot of time or just a little, please consider and contact any Board member. We could use your help!

Committees
*Architectural Review - Andrew Davis and Lisa Smith
*Reserve Study - Lynne Partridge, Keith Miller, Bill Custead, Andrew Davis,
*County Water Project - Bill Custead, Lynne Partridge, Lisa Smith
*Lawncare/ Burnpile/Pool - Janie Stopford, Craig Costantino (burnpile)
*Water /Septic Systems - Lynne Partridge, Brandon Ridout
Communication - Craig Craig Costantino, Janie Stopford, Lynne Partridge
*Driveway/Tennis Courts - Bill Custead *Sunshine - Robin Custead, Betty Young
Finance - Keith Miller, Becky West Boat Dock - Craig Costantino