November 2023 Meeting Minutes
HOA Special Meeting November 3, 6:00-7:30 PM
Announcements-
Gaither opened the meeting with a summary of the association’s three governing documents (Declaration, Bylaws, Rules and Regs), the Board, and the ARC. Look for future mailing asking for volunteers to serve and be voted on at April’s annual meeting.
Appeals made to members who have not yet done so to fill out the provided email communication permission form, as email eliminates the cost of postage. These forms will be sent to Century 21.
Joel Szymczyk summarized recent updates to the HOA website: morganscrossinghoa.com
Gaither noted that $25K of Association funds have been placed in a 12-month CD to earn higher interest than our bank savings account.
Wolf summarized the trash can policy, reminding attendees that cans must be put out no more than 24 hours before and put away no more than 24 hours after pick-up.
Community-building feedback-
Asherman and Wolf presented the idea of holding a community-wide yard sale next May and then segued into a call for homeowners to contribute other ideas for enhancing community in the neighborhood. Paper and pen were provided for participants to write down their ideas. These pages were collected at the end of the meeting and will be carefully considered by the Board.
Garden Box Vote-
Paper ballots were handed out for a vote on two options regarding the issue of raised garden boxes: 1. Keep current policy (raised beds allowed in backyards only), or 2. Grant leeway for ARC to make exceptions in certain circumstances. Ballots were collected and counted at the end of the meeting by the Board. Option 1 was the winner, so policy will remain the same.
Rules and Regulations Revision vote-
Gaither explained the context and called for a motion to approve the revised rules and regulations that were distributed several weeks ago and placed on the website. Motion made and seconded by members of the association. A vigorous discussion ensued about several matters, some only tangentially related to the motion. Three notable examples:
Concerns were expressed about cars driving too fast on the neighborhood streets and children playing on them without sufficient attention to oncoming traffic. The Board noted that the roads are Township, not HOA jurisdiction, and that all concerns about their use should be relayed to the South Middleton Township Department of Public Works.
Concerns expressed about the aesthetics of some of the garden boxes at some homes. The idea of having a community gardening group or some other resource to help homeowners in this domain was floated. The Board asked for that suggestion to be written down and added to the Community-building feedback stack, which it will discuss at its next meeting. Wolf and HOA webmaster Joel Szymczyk are organizing a Facebook chat about this topic for interested parties.
Concern expressed about the frequent “tremors” experienced in the neighborhood. Association members explained that they emanate from the adjoining rock quarry. It was not known if the quarry posts a blasting schedule, though one member did note that should damage occur to a residence by a blast, the homeowner should document that and submit a claim to the quarry, which does have insurance to cover such matters.
An amendment to the motion was introduced by an association member and seconded that asked for two more weeks to consider the document, whereafter the meeting will reconvene. During discussion of the amendment the board explained in more detail the procedure they undertook when making changes to the Rules and Regulations, and Gaither offered to provide his track-changes first draft to any member interested so careful comparison between the two documents could be made if desired. Amendment failed by voice vote.
After further discussion about various issues the original motion was voted on. Motion carried.
Bylaws Revision Committee vote-
There was a motion from the floor proposing that the Board convene a Declaration and Bylaws Review Committee to study the two documents and suggest changes to be voted on at the April 2024 meeting. Motion seconded. During discussion it was noted that changes to the document require legal counsel, which would be costly for the HOA. Motion failed.
Meeting Adjourned
Minutes respectfully submitted by Milton Gaither