Lake Linganore Association Inc.
Board of Directors
June 2, 2003
Meeting Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. Those present were: Alan Dinkelacker, Grant Sheehan, Todd Young, Andrew Twillman, Bill DiLoreta, Brian Kopec, and Peter Fitzpatrick.
Also in attendance were: Stephen Hembree, LLA general manager; Joy Gurley, community resource manager.
No report was given.
The minutes of the May 5, 2003 regular meeting of the LLA board of directors were approved as written.
The minutes of the May 17, 2003 meeting of the LLA board of directors at the annual meeting were approved as written.
Security— DFC Venzin reported that the month of May had been busy with lots of complaints. He asked whether the “no trespassing” sign would remain at the Brosius Dam this summer. Mr. Hembree said that the board had approved removing the sign for the summer until the dam rehab project got underway, at which time the sign would be replaced in order to help secure the construction site. DFC Venzin said he had a meeting with the residents of Pinehurst regarding problems, neighborhood watch information, etc. The deputy also asked about whether or not his monthly security report was still published in LakeTalk. Director Sheehan explained that the report would not be published in LakeTalk but that a reference to the report and its availability would be listed in the paper’s masthead section. The report will be made available to residents at the office where it can be read, though not generally distributed.
Finance Committee— LLA treasurer Todd Young reported that the new member of the committee had recently resigned and that new members are still needed. He said the committee was primarily focusing on collections of delinquent accounts and would discuss with LLA auditors whether any of the accounts should be “written off”. He noted that the water bills received by the LLA that were questionable last year were sent to Michael Marschner, head of the county’s Division of Utilities and Solid Waste Management, for review to see if he can help make a determination about the accuracy of the bills.
Director Young reviewed the financial statements for the month of April. Director Sheehan asked about the differences in reserve deposits, which were different than the final budget approved by the board. Mr. Young said the difference was due to late snow removal bills that had come in after the budget was set and then were paid so the Finance Committee to make the change to balance the budget properly.
Mr. Young also said that the first orientation meeting for the board of directors was to be held on financial matters and was scheduled for 7 p.m. on June 25 at Mr. Young’s home.
Trailblazers Committee— Co-chairperson Cathy Reed said that the trail going from North Shore to the Brosius Dam should be closed to bikes and golf carts because the trail is falling in. Director Dinkelacker said the county’s water and sewer department should be worried about the condition of the trail but GM Hembree said the county is only worried about what the LLA plans to do to correct the problem. Mr. Hembree said the origin of the problem had not yet been established. In the meantime, signs could be put at each end of that section of the trail to inform hikers. Former board president John Snow noted that during the dam rehab negotiations Michael Marschner had said something about the county putting in a bulkhead in that area and that the LLA may want to follow up on this. Mr. Hembree said he would write to Mr. Marschner to inquire about the possibility. Mrs. Reed said the Pinehurst trail had also been closed due to mud. She said the committee is still getting bids for the trail refurbishment in Coldstream, which will begin from Coldstream Beach parking lot east to the esplanade, approximately 450 ft. and will have some funds left over. She also invited the board to accompany the trails committee on a site visit for the Ben’s Ford Bridge, as well as a boat trip to the Isles of Balmoral, on June 14.
Social Committee— Chairperson Rachael Kopec told the board the committee is always looking for volunteers, especially for the June 21 Summerfest event. She said the event will have a fishing tournament, a concession stand, live music, sand castle contest, boat regatta, and a Scales ‘n Tales presentation. She also reviewed the assigned nights for the Grill Nites at Coldstream Pool activity.
SHUR Funds Update— Mr. Hembree had received a response from the county about the amount of money that the LLA was to receive under SHUR funding (letter attached). He said recalculations needed to be done. In addition, he said that the certification papers had to be completed signed and returned to the county’s Finance Department and that staff was working on this. He said the SHUR funds would be distributed quarterly to the LLA by the county. Any monies that the LLA had spent on roads before July 1, 2003 would not be eligible for reimbursement. Staff is still working on the road maintenance plan but for the time being is focusing on emergency pothole situations.
Westwinds Quit Claim Deeds— GM Hembree said all legal descriptions for the deeds were completed and had been sent to LLA attorney Harry deMoll, who made some corrections and sent the documents back to Westwinds developer Tom Poss for signature. Mr. Hembree said that the LLA had not received those documents back for its signature. Director Twillman said that he spoke with Mr. Poss who said that the “ball was in the LLA court” and that a signature was all that was needed. Mr. Hembree said the LLA could not sign something it does not have in its possession. He also posed the question as to whether the LLA should have attorney Shelah Lynn tackle the matter instead of deMoll. He noted that several weeks ago, according to the title company handling the matter for Mr. Poss, all but one bank had agreed to mortgage releases, which are needed to ensure the property is not encumbered. Director Twillman said that he would make a follow up call to Mr. Poss.
Coleman Request Re: Elimination of Nightingale Beach Parking Spaces— GM Hembree showed a map of the area in question to the board. Lot owner Jill Coleman said she had been a resident in the community since 1990 but was a new resident to Nightingale. She said the parking spaces layout for the Nightingale Beach no longer makes sense now that she had built a home next to the parking lot area and suggested that the LLA remove three spaces at the side of her home and create three spaces somewhere else in the nearby area. Mrs. Coleman said the original plans submitted to the ECC for her home did not make such a request and that the original plans do stipulate that the parking space, removed during construction of the home, were to be put back upon completion of construction. Director Sheehan said the parking spaces were an important part of a major amenity for the community and did not see how the parking spaces could be taken away. He asked if the Coleman’s were making a formal request to remove an amenity. GM Hembree said that to move the parking spaces and create some in another area would require extensive work. Director Dinkelacker said the fact that the Community Development Authority (CDA) had yet to determine where the new road would be placed in the village made such an undertaking a problem at this time. Directors Sheehan and Twillman noted that Nightingale Beach was a popular amenity and the board had received many complaints when the boat ramp was closed earlier in the season. Director Young said that property owners must do due diligence as to what surrounds the property they plan to build on.
The board agreed to make a minor adjustment on the location of the parking bumpers for the six parking spaces so that the fronts of vehicles do not overhang onto the Coleman’s property. Director Young asked whether a shrubbery screen should be put into place. GM Hembree said that staff would review relocation or addition of parking spaces and the related costs. Staff could then make recommendations to the board during the upcoming fall budget cycle.
White Request for Boat Dock on Lot #15 Nightingale— Robert White had submitted a letter with a request regarding installation of a dock in front of this lot but said that he was withdrawing the request because the lot was not for sale. GM Hembree gave the board a copy of a faxed letter from the lot owner Joseph Donnelly, which stated that he did not want anything in front of his lot. He also complained about the boat racks in front of his lot because they destroy the view of the lake. Nightingale property owner Chester Wagstaff told the board that he wanted the boat racks removed because they affect the lake view and now that the lot can be built upon he wanted the view to be without the boat racks. Director Kopec said that he had presented the LLA with a plan awhile ago that outlined 11 sites for boat racks; he passed out a copy of that plan for the directors to review. Upon brief discussion some problems with the plan were noted. Staff is to review the plan and incorporate it into long-range planning.
Nightingale resident Joe Rezash asked the board how many more boat racks were planned for the village. GM Hembree said there were no plans to add to the number of boat racks in the village. Rachael Kopec said that the LLA needed to develop long-range plans regarding such amenities and she said that lakefront property owners should have priority consideration when the board makes decisions about such things.
John Snow said that the LLA built the double-tiered racks when it received pressure from residents to get the numerous boats out of residential yards and when the waiting list for the boat racks reached a critical point. He said the community is only one-third built out and is having a problem meeting the demand of residents for the boat racks. Director Young said resolving the racks issue should be done sooner rather than later.
Staff was directed to review the plan for reconfiguring the boat racks and incorporate it sooner than later into long-range planning.
Burke Letter Re: Pinehurst Neighborhood Parking Situation— Two of the residents involved in the issue met with Deputy Venzin prior to the board meeting and said they would wait until the resident forum to address one aspect of the situation.
Hughes Letter Re: WW HOA— Westwinds resident John Hughes sent a letter to the association about money he is owed by the Westwinds ECC and Westwinds developer Tom Poss. Though the LLA has no jurisdiction/authority to act upon Mr. Hughes’ problem, Mr. Hembree said that he would draft a letter to the WW HOA and to Mr. Poss encouraging a solution to the problem.
Rhoads Letter Re: Pinehurst— four residents (Kim Sanders, Lisa Rhoads, Dottie Ward, Sasha Raab, Martha Robertson) from Pinehurst spoke to the board about problems they are having in their neighborhood, some related to vandalism. The problems at one “trouble” house had been partially resolved and there were ongoing actions to remedy the situation. They also complained about speeding in the neighborhood, asked the board about installing speed bumps and about hiring an extra deputy, and briefly discussed the value of instituting a curfew for the playground areas. Staff was directed to install at all tot lots a sign that states that facilities are closed from dusk to dawn.
· Pinehurst residents Alan Quickel and Kelly Spencer, who are involved in a parking problem in Pinehurst, asked the board if it regularly authorized residents to personally issue parking violation stickers in the community. They said that a neighbor had been given the violation stickers by ECC administrator Larry Brown and that if this was regular practice they wanted some of the stickers, too. GM Hembree said that the ongoing problem in this neighborhood related to parking had frustrated Mr. Brown who was unable to catch the alleged violator and so gave the sticker to Mr. Quickel’s neighbor to place on the vehicle when it next appeared. Directors Young and Sheehan instructed staff to ensure that for future action that only LLA staff is authorized to distribute the violation stickers and that staff is not to give them to residents to place on the violating vehicle.
Director Young made a motion to adjourn the meeting. DirectorTwillman seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 10 p.m.