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.
Category Archives: Meeting Notices & Updates
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!
Homeowners Approve $825 Special Assessment for Street Repairs
Homeowners voted overwhelmingly (93%) in favor of a Special Assessment to finish the major repairs to the streets at the front entrance and make preventative maintenance to the streets throughout the neighborhood. The $825 Special Assessment is in addition to the Regular Annual Assessment, which the Board voted Tuesday to keep at the current rate of $319 (the Board may, without a vote of the homeowners, raise the annual regular assessment 10%).
Quail Creek Neighborhood’s annual assessment is among the lowest in Rockwall County, which makes it necessary to propose special assements from time to time, especially when it comes to street repair and maintenance.
Another development with a very low regular annual assessment is Kentwood (south of QC along 1139), which has just 17 homes, but is facing more than $116,000 to repair their street, which is in serious state of disrepair! Our ability to split repair costs among 69 owners is a true advantage over other developments.
The $825 Special Assessment, voted and approved by homeowners during the October 6 Annual Meeting, will be billed in January. Homeowners are encouraged to pay the full amount, rather than pay in three annual installments, which was proposed for homeowners who may be on a fixed income or where it may cause undue financial strain. The Board will make repairs as funds come available, which is why it is so important for as many homeowners as possible to pay the full amount in January.
“No Soliciting” Sign WILL NOT Prohibit School Fundraising from Neighborhood Children
At Tuesday’s Annual Meeting, homeowners overwhelmingly approved authorizing the Board to post a “No Soliciting” sign at the front entrance to Quail Creek. This will not inhibit school kids and the fire department from going door to door to raise funds for their worthy causes, however, but is intended to dissuade door-to-door solicitors from outside companies and organizations.
Homeowners should understand that a sign is legally unenforceable as there are no laws regulating door to door solicitation, which means that even with a posted sign it is not a criminal offense for people to solicit door to door. This means that the Sheriff will not come out to our neighborhood and arrest, fine, or even throw out a door-to-door solicitor because of our neighborhood sign.
A neighborhood “No Solicitation” sign, then, gives homeowners leverage to inform a solicitor of the neighborhood sign as reinforcement of the desire of our community to be free from this kind of solicitation. It actually works better than a law because sales people will be less likely to continue after a number of homeowners make this point to them.
Annual Meeting Summary
This year’s Annual Meeting was one of the highest attended since the completion of Phase II, where 70% of the Membership was represented, either in person or by proxy. A new Board was voted in and many motions were considered.
- The Board Officers for the 2015/2016 term are
- Shana Nalls, President
- Casey Berley, Vice President
- Rhonda Smith, Treasurer
- Brad Peters, Secretary
- Architectural Review Committee
- David Hoye, Chairman
- David Fuller
- Ken Daulong
- The treasurer’s report is posted below under Budget 2015/2016.
- President’s Report
- Bob Steinhagen, outgoing president, spoke about the many accomplishments of the Board, which include:
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- Improved communications with homeowners including a new website, the newsletters, and email correspondence for important matters.
- Amending the governing documents of the HOA, which include the CC&Rs & Bylaws to bring the Association into compliance with new state standards, through a Ballot initiative that the Board created & developed, as well as many new policies, most of which were state mandated.
- Improvements to the neighborhood streets, which include the opportunity for homeowners to consider a Special Assessment for preventative maintenance and major repairs to the front entrance of the development.
- The decision to place a mailbox at the front entrance of the neighborhood for HOA related matters, which included a detailed explanation of the option between a decorative metal mailbox, which, while it would not conform to neighborhood standards, would be more cost effective verses a brick mailbox, where homeowners voted, via a poll posted on the HOA website, for the brick mailbox.
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- Mr. Steinhagen also thanked the current board, Vice President, Brad Peters, Treasurer, Shana Nalls, Secretary, Glenna Brown, and the ARC, Ken Daulong, David Fuller, & David Hoye, for their tireless support to help reinvigorate homeowners confidence in the Board through their tireless and dedicated efforts.
- Bob Steinhagen, outgoing president, spoke about the many accomplishments of the Board, which include:
- A Motion to post a “No Soliciting” sign at the front entrance to the neighborhood passed, with the understanding that neighborhood school children may still go door to door to raise funds for their schools.
- Motion to remove the two stop signs on Pheasant Hill failed by just four votes.
- A Motion to sell the lot that currently is the park in the community and use the proceeds to repair the road near the entrance of Quail Creek failed overwhelmingly, with just six votes in favor of the motion.
- A Motion to rename Mockingbird Hill Lane to Clint Packer Way was withdrawn.
- A Motion for the Association to, on January 1, 2016, levy a Special Assessment of $825.00 for neighborhood street repairs and preventative maintenance, which shall either be due in full on the 31st of the same month or may be paid in up to three annual installments of not less than $275.00, where each installment comes due on the 31st of January of the installment year passed overwhelmingly (93%), with just three votes against the motion.