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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Fearrington Homeowners Association

JANUARY 2004  MINUTES

DATE: January 6, 2004

PRESENT: Ann Bigelow, Richard Bird, Stephen Bodner, Frank Chut, Jerry Gaudet, Cynthia Jones, Al Lebeau, Janet Lorant, Steve Ruziecki, Lisa Stewart

ABSENT: None

GUESTS: Bill Kern, Dik Van Iten, Jim Granger, Tom Hauck, Don George, Gordon Stewart, Bob Oram, Paul Ising, Christine Farnan, Evy Barrow, Reg Lorant, Maggie Gaudet

APPROVED: February 3, 2004

President Gaudet called the meeting to order at 7 p.m., welcomed guests, and called for residents’ input.

Resident Input

Christine Farnan inquired if the board intended to take action on the issue of the redraft of the proposed Chatham County Board of Commissioners’ Compact Community Ordinance. Jim Granger distributed a handout (Appendix A) on the plans and requested that the board consider supporting the Chatham Citizens for Effective Communities through:

Support of a meaningful Compact Community Ordinance, Version A

Support of due process and of work done by BoC, PB, and citizen groups over the past 18 months

Attendance at the Discussion Seminar with Dr. David Salvesen, Director of the Program on Smart Growth and the New Economy at the Center for Urban and Regional Studies, UNC. Tuesday, January 13th, 6:30 to 8:30 at CCCC, Pittsboro Campus.

Permission to allow a stream evaluation team to sample along Bush Creek inside Fearrington Village, under the supervision of professionals from the Haw River Assembly.

With regard to the stream evaluation, President Gaudet inquired why this should be done, how it would be done, who would do it, what would be their qualifications, and what would be done with the results.

After discussion about the two drafts of the proposals, President Gaudet asked Mr. Granger to draft a position statement for the Board to consider.

Tom Hauck reported on the results of the food bank drive. Fearrington residents donated the following: 1010 pounds of food, $460 in checks (equal to 2300 pounds of food), 521,114 Greenpoints (equal to 1302 pounds of food at 400 Greenpoints per pound). The estimated total donation from Fearrington comes to 4612 pounds of food vs. the 5000 pounds from Meadowmont. Final results should be available within a few days and will be reported in the February FHA Newsletter. President Gaudet, on behalf of the Board and the community, thanked Tom for his work on the food bank.

Dik Van Iten gave an update on the last stages of work of the FHA Deer Committee. His committee is preparing a manual for living in peace with wild life that will be available to residents. He announced that his committee would make a recommendation at a later date for a mediation service for contested issues within the neighborhood.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the December 3, 2003 meeting were approved.

Issues Requiring Immediate Action

There were no issues requiring immediate attention.

Old Business

Bill Kern and Evy Barrow asked for the results of the postal survey distributed in the December 2003 FHA newsletter. The choices were: A - sort for three names, Fearrington, Fearrington Village, and Pittsboro, or B - change the zip code database to Pittsboro only. The majority of surveys (137) came back in favor of Choice B, Pittsboro only, while 51 were in favor of Choice A, and 15 votes were for no change. The President will inform the post office of the Choice B, Pittsboro only.

New Business

None.

Committee Reports

Treasurer’s Report – Frank Chut reported (Appendix B) that receipts in most income accounts are consistent with budget expectations. The apparent large deficit in income is expected to be more than offset by the income from dues in December and January, which is the largest source of revenue. Income from interest and dividends will be below budgeted projections because of current money market conditions. Total expenditures for November are well below projections because of a late bill from a vendor who has rendered substantial services. Income is presently above that expected in large part due to the volunteer work on the part of community members, which greatly reduces the costs of repairs. Treasurer Chut predicts a reserve fund of between $11,000 and $14,000.

Financial Officer’s Report – Richard Bird reported (Appendix C) that about 90% of the property owners have paid their yearly dues. There are no delinquent dues to date. Homeowner dues must be paid by the end of January. He has initiated action to collect dues for those property owners who have signed on for automated debiting of dues from their checking accounts.

County Liaison Report – Al Lebeau referred to the earlier discussion regarding the Chatham County Board of Commissioners’ Compact Community Ordinance. He added that he had attended the Commissioners’ meeting and filed a complete report (Appendix D). Other items of interest:

Unemployment in the county has decreased while population is increasing.

Chatham County now has one senator rather than two due to a change in the 2002 election and a merger with Durham.

The estimated completion of the 15-501 construction is October 2004.

The date of the opening of the new entrance into Fearrington is unknown due to variations in weather.

There will be a water quality workshop offered in the county.

Community Affairs Report – no report

Covenant Concerns Report – Anne Bigelow reported that her committee would be offering a workshop covering the covenant rules and regulations in the Village.

Grounds and Facilities Report – Stephen Bodner reported that his committee is looking for a new contractor for lawn cutting. The past contractor is resigning. Some of the kiosks need repair work. Tom Hauck is preparing an emergency procedures document for Fearrington.

Gathering Place Report – Lisa Stewart discussed the problem of security at the Gathering Place with so many keys now out in the community. She moved that the board take the following actions: have a locksmith change the access code to the Gathering Place, have outside doors be rekeyed using Medco locks, and that only people on FHA business be given a key to the building. The cost of these steps would be approximately $300 (depending on the condition of the present locks and sliders on the doors). The cost will include all needed new keys. The motion was seconded and carried. It was suggested that a list of people who have keys to the building be posted outside the building with emergency numbers for contacts.

Lisa also reported that Jules Samitz, a Fearrington resident and retired from his home inspection company, is working with her to find economical ways to remedy a number of existing conditions in the Gathering Place. Mr. Samitz has also offered to inspect the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems in the building at no charge to FHA as a community service. Lisa moved that the Board accept Jules Samitz offer to inspect the electrical, plumbing and HVAC system. The motion was seconded and carried.

President Gaudet called for any final resident input. Upon hearing none, the meeting was adjourned at 8:03 p.m. The next meeting is on February 3, 2004 at 7 p.m. at the Gathering Place.

Respectfully submitted,
Janet Lorant, Secretary