Meeting Time:  19:00

Attendees:

Liberty Square Board of Directors:  Tony Weatherington, Carl Sulzer

Property Manager:  Chardon Wyatt

Homeowners:  Sandy Hinton, Katie Boschert, Mike & Vickie Loy, Dan & Eileen Regelski, Marlene Nikoukary, Elaine Rojas, Mark Wilson, Spudabeh Akhbari, Gloria Dunaway, Flora Lynn Odom

 

Minutes:

The meeting was called to order at 19:05

Neighborhood Update

A brief neighborhood update was given on the currents status of the neighborhood and recent activities being undertaken on behalf of the residents

Financial:

• The operating account currently has a balance of approximately $20,000, and the reserve account has a balance of $25,000.  Several major projects were undertaken last year, some of which required reserve funds.  This year we hope not to touch the reserve account unless something unexpected occurs.

General:

• Gold Touch Landscaping has been through to sod over the areas in which trees were removed last year
• The board has requested proposals from several tree companies to trim up trees in the neighborhood this year.  We are awaiting responses
• The pool continues to have tiles falling off despite several repairs performed under warranty by Aquarama pools.  The board continues to discuss options with Aquarama and they will be out once again to repair the latest missing tiles.  We are not sure whether the repairs will be done before or after pool opening, but the missing tiles do not impact the usability of the pool.
• The pool will likely be opened by the 2nd week of May.  The board will make a final determination of pool opening date and announce key distribution times at a later date.
• For years, people have been complaining about a homeless encampment parallel to the entryway drive across the woods.  The HOA has been working with various entities over the past year to try and remedy the concerns.  Team Management have contacted Bartow County Code Enforcement and were able to get the county police to visit the site in February.  Three people were removed, with one arrested for outstanding warrants.
  • A landowner has been identified for that property and must press trespassing charges before the county can do much
  • The tents were meant to be removed after the initial visit, but are still there
  • Several residents expressed their concerns about the camp and expressed a desire to have it removed.
    • The prospect of a perimeter fence was discussed for the neighborhood – this would be prohibitively expensive for the HOA
    • The suggestion was made that the more calls the county receives about the camp, the more likely they would be to do something about it.  Interested residents may contact Bartow County Code Enforcement using the following information:
      • Bartow County Code Enforcement
        Deputy James Lowry
        770-383-7405

Open Discussion

The floor was opened for discussion regarding any topics

• A question was raised about whether any stipulation exists within the covenants to prevent the number of rental properties within the neighborhood.  There is a feeling that renters are not taking care of their homes and are not picking up after their dogs.
  • There is no restriction in the covenants to limit the number of rentals.  In order to change this, there must be a 75% yes vote on any amendment to the covenants.  Several years ago this change was proposed and the overall reaction of the community was to ignore the amendment or vote “no.”
  • The argument was made by other residents that there is no way to know who is not picking up after dogs
  • The concern was voiced that lenders would be less likely to offer mortgages to people buying homes in communities with many renters.  Other residents disagreed with this assertion and stated that a lender is not legally allowed to discriminate based upon number of renters
• A question was asked about the entry way – The right side driving in looks beautiful, while the left side is not as pretty.  Is there something we can do about this?
  • That land is owned and managed by Ingles, though the trees and a few feet of grass are maintained by Liberty Square.  Grass will not grow there due to heavy shade and roots of trees.
• A resident commented that the playground bridge is broken and is in need of mulch.  Team Management will have this repaired and will order mulch.
• A resident asked whether anything could be done socially when the pool is opened as has been done in the past.
  • The social committee is currently nonexistent
  • One resident in attendance informed the group that she is a professional event planner and offered to begin organizing events.  The board has allocated some funds each year for social events that could be used for a pool opening party.
• A resident inquired whether operating a daycare business out of a home was allowed.  There is one house in front of which cars are constantly improperly parking and blocking other traffic.
  • Having a home-based business is not necessarily prohibited, though the business operator should have registered the business and posted in front of the home that the business would be run from the home.
  • Team Management will send a letter to the homeowner regarding improperly parked cars.
• A resident indicated that a neighbor has two “junk” cars in their back yard that have not moved in some time and would like to know if the HOA can do anything about this.
  • The HOA can send a letter.  The best course of action may be to contact code enforcement from the city of Acworth to determine if having derelict vehicles in a residential neighborhood is prohibited.

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The meeting was ended at 19:55.