Walnut Grove Lake

WALNUT GROVE LAKE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION

Annual Meeting Minutes

March 7, 2019

Call to Order:  At 6:35 the meeting was called to order by Board Chair, Margie McMillan.

Introduction of Guests:  Mrs. McMillan introduced our guests from Keith Collins Management, Ms. Kristi Adcock & Ms. Whitney Burnette. She also recognized Mr. Ken Cavill from Cavill & Associates who handles the neighborhood security patrol and is also a resident.

Mrs. McMillan called for a quorum. Ms. Adcock noted that we did not have a quorum present. We need 117 homes represented for a quorum. Without a quorum present, elections would not be able to take place. The Board will gather at a later date to appoint new Board members. The Association will need 5 members plus one alternate. Jessica Roberts has resigned her position as Treasurer and that position will need to be filled along with an alternate. Mrs. McMillan called for nominations from the floor, but none were made.

Mrs. McMillan noted that since our last meeting in March of 2018, we have 27 new neighbors who have moved into Walnut Grove Lake subdivision. She requested that all neighbors in attendance please introduce themselves to everyone in attendance, which they did.

NEIGHBORHOOD EVENTS:  Mrs. McMillan began her presentation with a review of the 2018 neighborhood events including a slideshow with photographs of these events. These photos can be found on the WGLHA website.

EASTER EGG HUNT, PICNIC & BOAT RIDES:  This annual event was held on March 31st, 2018. Neighbors stuffed eggs for the children to hunt in Lovitt Field. Over 40 children attended. Hot dogs were cooked and served, boat rides were given on the lake and the children enjoyed playing on the playground. The 2019 Easter Egg Hunt will be held on April 20, 2019. Mrs. McMillan encouraged all of our neighbors to attend even if you don’t have children. It’s a great time to meet your neighbors.

LAKE LEARNING DAY:  A lake learning day was held on June 16th, 2018. The children had a great time learning about the natural beauty that makes up our neighborhood. They made bird feeders and terrariums to take home, observed insects and frogs, and even little microbes under the microscope. They learned about the fish that inhabit our lake, went fishing, and caught bream!

INDEPENDENCE DAY FESTIVITIES:  June 30th was the date of this annual event. It was kicked off by the mailbox decorating contest, followed by the fishing rodeo, boat parade and culminated with great weather for our fireworks extravaganza! Winners of each event were noted and pictures were shown along with those receiving honorable mention. The photos and names for each of these can be found on our website in the Summer 2018 newsletter. Over 50 participants signed up for the fishing rodeo which was led by Mr. Ron Wong. With the help of many local volunteers and local businesses, each participant received a ‘swag bag’ of goodies. Mayor Jim Strickland, Mr. Boo Mitchell, owner of Royal Studios and State Representative Dewayne Thompson were judges along with Mrs. Jeanie Velarde. The Grand Champion Boat was Christmas in July theme by James & Sally Logan. The events of the day were a huge success ending in the annual fireworks extravaganza. Our 2019 event will be held on June 29th, 2019. We encourage all our neighbors to decorate their mailboxes early and show your neighborhood and country pride.

DAM PARTY:  The Dam Party was held on October 27th. Over 90 neighbors were in attendance. Events included Best Dog Costume, Kids Costume, & Adult Costume. All walked the red carpet and the judges had a difficult time with their decisions. Photos and winners can be found online at our website. MemPops food truck was at the event along with music provided by Bluff City Blacksliders. Arts & crafts vendors were set up. This year’s event also honored Mrs. Jeanie Velarde who has served the Board and as neighborhood bookkeeper for over 24 years. She has stepped down for health reasons and at the time of the annual board meeting is still in the hospital. All in attendance at the annual meeting applauded Jeanie for all her efforts and work for our neighborhood and wished her well in her recovery. Mrs. McMillan showed a full page slide of all the duties that Jeanie has performed for us annually. It was quite extensive and likely incomplete as Jeanie has done so much for WGLHA for many years.

HOLIDAY LIGHTS: The annual decorating contest of holiday lights was held on Dec 15th & 16th. There were many spectacular displays. The winners’ names and photos will be added to our website. A huge thanks to Susie and Lex Ward for judging the contest.

NEIGHBORHOOD BEAUTIFICATION:  Each year during the months of April through October, the association recognizes Lawn of the Month and Garden of the Month. The names and photos of 2018 winners can be found in the Summer 2018 newsletter and on the website. Additionally, we have neighbors who maintain and keep up our entrance signs and also decorate for the annual events. Mrs. McMillan encouraged all neighbors to maintain and keep up their homes, gardens and the street area in front of your home. Any neighbors who have complaints may send those to Joyce Spiecha, our representative from Keith Collins.

OUR PARKS:  Our parks are common area properties for all neighbors to use and enjoy. We have Farrell Park, Simpson Park, Lovitt Field and Little Park. At Farrell Park we have a dead tree that is needing removal. Simpson Park has an area for boat storage. Please be certain to store only boats and no trailers. Also check that Lot numbers are easily seen and displayed on both sides of your boat. Check for wear on the numbers. The swing in Little Park needs painting. Along the dam we need to keep the spillway clean, and the picnic table and bridge need to be power-washed.

COVENANT COMPLIANCE:  Keith Collins is now responsible for covenant compliance. Covenants can be found on our website. Keith Collins is sending letters to homeowners in violation for their yards, houses, inoperable cars, leaves, limbs, etc. Our houses are aging and to keep our neighborhood property values up, please replace rotting wood, paint, take care of mailboxes and fences. Keep yards mowed & raked. Take pride in your home & our neighborhood. Any compliance issues are to be addressed to Keith Collins Management Team.

Inland Waste is no longer handling our garbage pickup. The new company seems to be doing a much better job. We’ve had 19 construction permits granted by the board including one new house. Be sure to use your WGL car decals on your vehicle.

LAKE REPORT:  The goose roundup was performed in June 2018. Forty-four (44) geese were caught, banded and released far away from our lake. We have trapped two (2) beaver on the lake in the past year. We have a new concern that was brought to our attention by Cecil Norwood, Lake Committee Chair. A family of otters appears to have taken up residence in the area of the Mysen | Karlstad storm drain. One adolescent otter has been trapped. Three dens were found along the area. It was noted that they will also make their homes under docks. The concern of the otters is they eat our fish population. Cecil also recommended a product that can be purchased at Lowes to protect trees from the beavers as well.

DREDGE REPORT:  Dredging has been an issue on our radar since 2014. The last time the lake was dredged was in 2000. At that time the cost was $118,000 and the wetlands below the dam were not part of Wolf River Conservancy protected lands. Now that land is protected by the WRC and we cannot shoot the dredge fill over the dam into the land below. A dredge committee was formed to get estimates. Because of the new process of bagging the material dredged the estimated cost is between $500,000 & $1MM. We’ve been raising dues annually to help fund the project, but we are now at a critical point and the dredge must be completed to provide adequate water depth and for the overall health of the lake which benefits all WGL residents.

PATROLS:  Ken Cavill, one of our neighborhood residents, handles our patrols through his company Cavill & Associates. The company monitors for non-residents using our lake & parks, drugs & underage drinking on the dam, late night noise, & possible gang activity in the area. He parks his cars throughout the neighborhood in different spots to slow down traffic. They look similar to Shelby County Sheriff patrols cars.

We have 18 neighbors that we know of that have surveillance cameras. If you have a camera, we would request you make it known to the Board and/or Keith Collins Management team. Let us know where the cameras are placed so if there are any criminal activities in the area, we can turn any surveillance over to the proper authorities. 

ADDITIONAL THINGS ACCOMPLISHED IN 2018:  We transferred the day-to-day operations of the HOA over to Keith Collins Management. We renewed our insurance. The board held five regular meetings. We put out 4 newsletters, managed the website, set the budget. Placed liens & judicial lawsuits for delinquent HOA fees. Welcomed new neighbors.

TREASURER REPORT:  Forty-eight percent (48%) of our expenses were for Administrative Expenses, including Management Fees and Legal Fees. Twenty-two percent (22%) were for Contract Services - Grounds Maintenance and Patrols. Insurance comprised 10% of expenses; Maintenance & Repairs – 18%; followed by Utilities & Taxes. Total expenses were $81,255.

Our Total Assets = $412,819

Accounts Receivable = $12,626

-       Incl. dues & legal fees

-       Repossessed a car, 3 judicial foreclosures

-       Liens

Total Income = $139,000  | Net Income = $57,800  

Dues:  The Board voted to increase dues by just over 10% this year to $290. This will cover increases in expenses due to inflation and add to our contingency fund.

In addition we have added $200 for two years to be able to dredge the lake in 2020. This will give us $500,000 for dredging while keeping $200,000 in reserve for any overages or emergencies related to the dam and spillway, as we are self-insured on those.

Our regular dues will be billed in May ($290) and the additional $200 will be billed in October for two years only.

LAKE & FISH COMMITTEE REPORT:  Mrs. McMillan then turned the floor over to Cecil Norwood to provide additional information regarding the lake. Mr. Norwood discussed the dredge issues in more detail stating how all the storm drains empty into the lake. We have experienced especially high water recently due to the rain and the runoff from the storm drains. There is a great deal of debris in the water including trash from the drains and debris from docks & seawalls that have torn loose. Fish report is that we still have a fair amount of small bass and Coppernose bluegill. Not all of the tilapia that were introduced to the lake died during the winter, but it was considered that the addition of the tilapia had kept the algae issues at bay better this past year. We are showing signs of more minnows in the lake presently which is good for the bass population. Tilapia are also good for the bass and an asset to the lake. Mrs. Roberts noted that the Coppernose bluegill were stocked based on professional recommendation.

ADJOURN OF THE OLD BUSINESS | OPEN TO NEW BUSINESS:  Mrs. McMillan then opened up the floor to new business. First to speak were neighbors who live on the west side of the lake along Walnut Creek. They are having issues with a neighbor threatening them and shooting a gun along with a dog that has bitten the husband when he was mowing his lawn. Police have been called and the neighbor continues to threaten them. They are soliciting help from other neighbors in the area to contact the police. Keith Collins representative, Ms. Adcock, indicated this is a police matter, not something the HOA should be handling. However, Mrs. McMillan said she would discuss this issue with our attorney to see if there is anything we can do. Overall consensus is that if you see something, say something. Contact the police if you see or hear a neighbor shooting their gun or threatening yourself or a neighbor.

There were requests for SkyCop cameras, but these cameras run $6000 or $12,400 each and we would need multiple cameras for the neighborhood. At this time we do not have the funds. Keith Collins representatives indicated these often bring down property values in neighborhoods where installed as people see the neighborhood as being one of high crime.

Another neighbor | homeowner made request for speed bumps along Ericson as it is a wide street and people are often driving above the posted speed limit of 30mph. Unfortunately, the street width being greater than fifty (50) feet prohibits the installation of speed bumps. It was suggested by another resident | homeowner  that any and all of our residents should contact the MPD East precinct and request officers to set up a speed trap to slow down drivers. At past meetings, MPD officers have made it clear they are willing to come patrol or set up speed traps at our request.

With no additional new business the meeting was adjourned.