GREENBRIER PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING 5:00 PM The Emerald Present: Bill Stafford, President Geoffrey Smith, Treasurer Dan Cashman, Secretary Linda Dodge, Assistant Secretary John Robinson, Member at Large Excused/Absent: Rhona Beadle, Vice President Others Present: George Kramer - chair of ACC, Michael and Carolyn Waring, Suzanne Blais, Ted Gallaher 1. Call to Order: The President, Bill Stafford, called the meeting to order at 5:02 PM. 2. Roll Call: Bill reminded us that Joanne Glenn had resigned after her house was sold and announced that we had a quorum. 3. Open Community Forum: The visitors introduced themselves. Suzanne wanted to inform that us that someone had stolen the Drive as if your children live here sign from her front yard while she was away for the Labor Day weekend. She had also checked with the other family who had a similar sign in their yard and it, too, had been stolen. She continues to be concerned with drivers who speed along Pine Valley Drive. Mr. Gallaher told her that speed was an issue in every neighborhood he had ever lived in and he did not think it was unique to Greenbrier. We advised her to report the theft to the police and told her that we were working on solutions to the speeding problem. Suzanne left after her presentation. 4. Minutes approval for August 14, 2018: It was noted that Rhona has corrected the date at the top of the minutes and re-emailed them to all members of the Board. Dan made a motion to accept the minutes with that correction; Geoffrey seconded it and the motion was unanimously approved. The minutes will be posted to Greenbrier website. 5. Report of the ACC: Dan Cashman/George Kramer The ACC met on August 29 and reviewed several requests: a. 3001 Coriander Drive- tree removal of an oak struck by lightning b. Bear Park tree removal c. 1328 Pine Valley Drive fence installation d. 315 Augusta Court installation of trees and trellis to screen property from flying golf balls e. 3104 Coriander Drive shed construction Page 1 of 5
A motion to approve these five requests was made by Dan; seconded by John and unanimously approved. A sixth request had been made to the ACC for installation of a fence at 3105 Peppercorn Road. The ACC had denied it because its 8-foot height and 6-inch setback from the property line were not within the limits outlined in the covenants. The homeowners appealed the decision to the Board. Their property has some shrubbery and small trees along the property line and using a setback over 6-inches would require the removal of that greenery. The intent of the fence is to screen the view and noise from the neighbors pool, which was installed after the owners of 3105 Peppercorn purchased their property. They have a raised deck and a shorter fence would not accomplish those two goals. We reviewed the materials they planned to use. Dan made a motion, seconded by Geoffrey, to approve the request conditional on them checking that it meets all City of New Bern standards and that their neighbors are informed of their intent to install the fence. The motion carried unanimously. Covenant Enforcement: Dan spoke to the need for better enforcement of the covenants. He is setting up a system to keep better tabs on tracking the ACC violations and how each violation progresses through a process of resolution. Dan, Bill, and George will attend a meeting at the end of September with Attorney Arey Grady to review the eleven sets of covenants within Greenbrier and determine the best way for the Board to process violations and talk about legal recourses that the Board might use in extreme cases of violations. Attorney Grady will make a presentation at the November general membership meeting to explain the outcomes of the September meeting. John suggested that it might help if the ACC would issue a bright large card that homeowners would post in a location easily visible from the front of their property while they are having work done, i.e. tree removal, shed or fence installation. This sign would indicate to any curious passersby that the homeowner has received ACC clearance for this work. 6. Mid-Summer Meeting Wrap-up: Bill said it was an oversight on his part that the minutes of the December 2017 general membership meeting were not brought up for approval. He will include these minutes at the November meeting. Dan will provide Linda with eight copies of the amended by-laws that were approved at the Mid-Summer meeting. Linda will place one copy in the teal binder located in the storage shed; the other seven copies will be provided at our next Board meeting so the Board Member s green notebooks may be updated. Dan has given all material regarding the vote and proxies to Linda to place in the storage shed. Page 2 of 5
7. Membership: Linda Dodge reported that there are currently 469 GPOA paid memberships plus 9 members who paid dues but have moved away and 3 paid members who are now deceased. This is just slightly ahead of last year s number at the time. There are currently 25 houses for sale and four more that are in pending status. Linda praised her Welcome Committee for their efforts to visit as many new residents to Greenbrier as possible. Of the 41 homes that have changed hands in the last year, 34 have been visited. Two have moved in so recently the initial Welcome letter hasn t reached them yet. Only five have not responded at all. Twenty-seven have joined the GPOA. A Welcome Reception for new residents is being planned by the Welcome Committee for October 24, 2018, from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Linda encouraged as many Board members as possible to attend. 8. Report of the Treasurer: Geoffrey Smith Geoff reported his printer is not working so he emailed the latest financial report to all. As requested at the last meeting, one CD has been rolled over. The treasury is on solid footing. John motioned to accept this report as information; Dan seconded and it was unanimously approved. 9. Directory Update: Linda reported that almost all the copy and art has been forwarded to the Copy and Print Warehouse and things are in good shape. Bill reported that he has sold 67% of the ads. This year there is competition from the Gazette for our advertisers and he was happy to accept that competition. Ad sales will close on Friday and he felt optimistic that there were more to come. Bill reminded Linda to get the Dedication to him as soon as possible so that he could have it framed and ready for the Directory Reveal Event. 10. Maintenance Report: Bill announced that the repair of the fountain next to Greenbrier Parkway is going slower than expected but the work would conclude soon. The repairs are costing approximately $2700. Most of the money comes from the insurance company to cover the damage due to electrical storm; only about $500 will come from our treasury. The bids are completed for adding irrigation to Bear Park. Work will commence when the way be clear as John is fond of saying, which means when the checks for ad sales for the Directory have cleared. The removal of two trees approved by the ACC will be underway soon. The cost is covered by providing an ad in the Directory at little or no cost. Bill asked for $350 to cover the purchase and spreading of pine straw on the garden beds that have recently been cleaned up and cleared of weeds Page 3 of 5
and overgrowth. John made a motion to approve that expense; Dan seconded it and it was unanimously approved. Rhona will be assembling a group of volunteers to do additional work/plantings at the Park. The three benches revealed and dedicated at the Mid-Summer meeting are currently in Bill s garage. They will be installed by Freddy Brown in small areas covered by landscaping cloth and stone to cut down on weeds and protect them from weed-eater tools damaging them. John announced that the two Mutt Mitt stations approved at an earlier meeting have not been installed yet. He is seeking permission from the City of New Bern to install one in the grass area next to the fountain on Greenbrier Parkway and permission from the Housers to install one on a post that already exists on their property near the powerlines on Clubhouse Drive. Linda pointed out that the entrance on Greenbrier Parkway is sorely in need of weeding. Bill will contact Dan Patterson, who is contracted to provide this service, and call this to his attention. Bill passed around sketches, pictures, and verbal descriptions that have been submitted by GPOA members to address a replacement for the stone wall at the entrance on Greenbrier Parkway. The suggestions included a sculpture on a concrete pad; a simple low-maintenance sign that says Welcome; replacing all of the landscaping on the island with grass; a flagpole set atop a small brick structure; multiple pictures taken from the internet of how other communities have erected signage at their front entrances, a fountain, and put it back just the way it used to be. It was suggested that a committee be formed to sort through all these options and obtain some costs and report back at the October meeting. Dan and Bill volunteered to be the committee. 11. Old Business: Dan announced that he recently observed a permanent sign on Pine Valley Drive that displays the speed limit and posts the actual speed of the oncoming car. He showed a picture of this sign on his phone. He does not know who posted it and says that it does not appear to be operational at this time. He would like to explore the possibility of working with the City to split the costs of erecting more of these permanent signs in other areas of Greenbrier. Dan thinks the costs of a sign like this is approximately $2000. Bill made a motion to appropriate up to $1000 to post a similar sign on Greenbrier Parkway. John seconded it. During discussion, Linda wondered about the effectiveness of such signs; do motorists become so inured to them over time that they lose their effectiveness. The vote was taken: 3 in favor; 2 opposed. The ayes carried. 12. Announcements: a. Next Board meeting: Tuesday, October 9 at 5:00 PM at The Emerald b. Welcome Reception for new homeowners: Wednesday, October 24 at The Emerald, 6:30-8:00 PM Page 4 of 5
c. Fall Pig Picking/Directory Reveal, a ticketed event, Saturday, October 27. Brian Mayer will provide country and western music. Time to be announced. d. Winter General Membership Meeting Saturday, November 19, 10:00 AM, Orringer Auditorium. e. Christmas Concert, a ticketed event, Tuesday, December 4. Entertainment: Lewis n Clark. Hors d oeuvres and wine. No dancing. 13. Adjournment: There being no further business, upon a motion made, seconded and carried, the meeting was adjourned at 6:12 PM. Respectfully submitted, Linda Dodge, Ass t Secretary Page 5 of 5