Morningside HOA Board Meeting
11/9/2022
Meeting Minutes
Ben Whipple called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.
In Attendance: Ben Whipple, Andrew Johnson, Matt Huff, Jimmy Newland
Absent: Lauren Heavern, Benny Nixon, Mike Pilcher
Ben reminded the board that we had moved the HOA board election and the community meeting from August to January to align with the annual meeting and budget meeting.
Matt reported that Dana Bufford had bought two tables for the Spring event. Those are for the community but she will store them. We need to add that to a central list so that future boards are aware of them and know where they are. Jimmy chimed in that they were storing the patriotic decorations (flags) and that the Gravelys had the Christmas decorations.
Jimmy asked and Andrew confirmed that power had been run up front for Christmas decorations. Jimmy noted that the decorating committee would be purchasing Christmas lights, etc. to upgrade the holiday decorations up front.
Andrew reported that the landscaper, who had done the new plantings at the front of the neighborhood, had replaced the five that had died at no charge.
Ben related that the county would not replace/re-install the street sign across from Tony McCullers’ house – we need to replaced it as an HOA. The board agreed to do it ourselves, vs. hiring it out, in order to save money. Ben set a tentative time of 3:00 on Saturday to meet and knock it out.
Ben reported that the HOA had received an anonymous complaint about some fences in the neighborhood being dilapidated. The board as a whole felt like there were not any fences in the neighborhood in such a state where we had any real jurisdiction to force action. The feeling of the board was that the covenants didn’t specifically address the topic of staining fences, etc., but we would undertake further review.
It was mentioned that it might be a good idea to solicit volunteers to pick up trash in front of the neighborhood – perhaps every couple of weeks or so.
Ben mentioned that we also needed to monitor the street lights so that we could let the appropriate people know when we had any that were out.
Matt reported on the 2022 finances and talked about a proposed budget for 2023. He said that in 2023 there will be a $2,000 increase in the cost of trash pickup which will make us $2K over budget. However, he noted that we still had a $45 K is surplus. The board agreed to absorb the shortfall through surplus for this year and to re-evaluate before 2024. The unanimous decision was to keep dues at $400/year, but to watch expenses closely. Matt will send out the final budget for review and approval sometime in December
Ben suggested that we hold the community meeting the last weekend in January. He will plan to send out the notice to residents in the first or second week of January.
Andrew motioned, Matt seconded, and Ben adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jimmy Newland
Morningside HOA Secretary
