At last night’s meeting, a member challenged the $400 special assessment for street repairs approved at this year’s annual member meeting based on the management company’s failure to provide proper notice to members. After a review of the formal requirements, the Board noted that the official Annual Meeting Notice omitted the inclusion of a special assessment, which the Board confirmed invalidates the vote. In advance of next October’s Annual Meeting, the Board plans to provide homeowners with information about the needs to repair and do maintenance on our streets, the costs, and a formal proposal for a special assessment.
Author Archives: QCHOA
Members Approve $400 Special Assessment
Members approved a $400 special assessment during Monday night’s annual member meeting to make significant repairs to Quail Creek Drive and some minor repairs on others. A portion of the capital reserve is also being used for this purpose to lessen the impact on homeowners. The Board will establish the process for sending out billing notices to homeowners and direct Goodwin & Co. to carry it out.
Annual Meeting Was A Success!
This year’s annual meeting was held last evening, October 5, in the backyard of the Swearington’s home. For the first time since anyone can remember, thanks to those that sent in their proxy form in advance, we had already established a quorum ten minutes before the meeting began! THANK YOU!!!
Bob Steinhagen, Bev Stibbens, & Debbie Smothermon were all re-elected President, Vice President, and Secretary, respectively. A great big THANK YOU to Natalie Peters for her three years of selfless service as Treasurer and welcome Shana Nalls back on the board to fill that open position. Perry Swearington was re-elected and chose by members to Chair the ARC. Kristen Fuller and Kevin Court also stepped down from the ARC with Ken Daulong & Herb Harker elected to fill in the two open seats.
The members, by a count of 35 FOR, 5 AGAINST, and 1 ABSTENTION, approved a $400 special assessment for more street repairs.
In total, 41 members established the quorum (15 being present and 26 via proxy). Thank you to everyone that attended and those that submitted a proxy!
Can You Smell That?!?
The non-stop rain has contributed to more septic issues for many homeowners this Spring, which has made for some unpleasant odors that can make outdoor activities unbearable. Open this post to find a link to “Pipeline, ‘Small Community Wastewater Issues Explained'”
While the Board would like to address these issues, the CC&Rs provide no recourse for the Association to act, which is why complaints should be made to the City of McLendon-Chisholm at 972-524-2077.
As it is a public health issue, both City ordinance & State statute requires homeowners to maintain their septic system or face fines! Please check your system!
Update to to Fine & Enforcement Policy
The board of directors amended the Fine & Enforcement Policy in January to comply with case-law, which requires HOA’s to take action with statutory legal remedies when a non-compliant homeowner refuses to adhere to the promise(s) (AKA. Covenant(s)) made when purchasing a home in Quail Creek. To view this policy, open this post and CLICK HERE on the hyperlink.
Please Slow Down!!!
Multiple homeowners have expressed concern over speeding vehicles within our neighborhood. Please observe, encourage, and abide by posted speed limits of 20 miles per hour. With active families and children in our community observing our speed limits is of utmost importance!
Reminder: Each Lot Owner is Responsible for the Drainage on Their Property…Including Easements!
On June 22, 2018, Goodwin Harrison Management arranged for a civil engineering firm to inspect the drainage ditches at the front of each lot within the Quail Creek Subdivision. At that time, the primary area of concern was along the East side of Pheasant Hill. Several lots had standing water issues and Goodwin Harrison volunteered to initiate the inspection at no charge to the HOA.
The inspection report was emailed to the Homeowners on October 19th and discussed during the October 22nd HOA Regular Board Meeting. Although the report from SBSA included a bid for a grading and drainage plan for those lots of concern on Pheasant Hill, no scope of work was authorized, nor funds allocated by the HOA. This report may have been misleading to some homeowners that understood the HOA was going to pay for drainage repairs on those lots. The HOA is not responsible for maintaining the drainage ditch on each homeowner’s property. The CCR’s define the responsibility of each homeowner to maintain and repair the ditches to allow for unimpeded water flow throughout the neighborhood.
There has also been some question as to ownership of the drainage ditch (often referred to as an easement). As noted on the neighborhood plat, filed with Rockwall County, each lot runs to the street. Therefore, the drainage ditch is part of the owner’s lot. Some lots along the South side of Quail Creek, the South and East sides of Partridge Drive and the North and West sides of Pheasant Hill have a 15 ft. water line at the front of their property. Those lots would be subject to an easement to the water company. CLICK HERE to view the CC&R’s (a copy of the plat that is located on pages 27-29).
The unusually heavy rains this fall have made the drainage situation more prevalent and therefor the need for each homeowner to assess their lot more important. If you have water standing in your ditch, the Board asks that it be addressed and repaired according to Section 7.12 and 9.2 of the CCR’s. Also, be aware that if your neighbor has standing water, it may be because your lot is impeding their water flow, and this should also be addressed and repaired.
Warm weather will be here before we know it! Standing water is a magnet for mosquitos… Let’s all do our part to work together to keep our drainage ditches clean, flowing and free of standing water!
Read Goodwin Harrison Management Company Letter to Homeowners
Stop Signs on Pheasant Hill Now Removed- Emphasis on Speed New Focus
Utilizing the existing stop sign poles to emphasize the importance of driver respect for speed in consideration of children and pets, the Board followed through on the vote by homeowners to remove the stop signs on Pheasant Hill since so many have ignored them, which has created an unintentional safety hazard since the Sheriff cannot enforce traffic violations in Quail Creek because the streets are private, not public. However, rather than just removing the stop signs, for safety the Board waited to remove the stop signs until new signs came in to alert traffic on Partridge Drive to the fact that the cross traffic does not stop.
New Trash Company Service Begins January 1 with new THURSDAY Pickup
Beginning January 1, 2019 trash pickup will be on Thursdays instead of Fridays and trash bins will be swapped out with new ones. That’s because the City has changed the trash service contractor to Community Waste Disposal (CWD), the largest independently-owned solid waste and recycling company in the DFW area. Expect to see mailings from CWD soon regarding the transition to the new trash bins, which will utilize 95-gallon trash and/or recycling cart. In addition to this service, CWD will collect up to four (4) cubic yards of bulk/brush weekly.
The new company will also be utilizing semi-automated rear load two-axle 33,000lb vehicles, which are supposed to be easier on our streets and are powered by natural gas instead of diesel, which is more environmentally fr1endly.
Lawn Maintenance Policy Is Now Effective
To help ensure that the beauty of our neighborhood is not diminished by neglectful homeowners, the Board has enacted a Lawn Maintenance Policy that establishes basic standards. Most already go well above and beyond these standards but the new policy enables the Board to hold those who don’t accountable. To read the new policy, select from the main menu above “HOA Business”; submenus “Records & Documents”; “Policies.”