Morningside HOA Board Meeting – Minutes
1/2/2024
Ben Whipple called meeting to order at 6:35 pm.
In Attendance: Ben Whipple, Benny Nixon, Andrew Johnson, Matt Huff, Jimmy Newland, Mike Pilcher. Absent: Vanessa Gravely. Visiting – Tommy McCullers.
Approval of Minutes: Andrew motioned, Benny seconded and the 9/10/23 meeting minutes were unanimously approved.
Old Business
- Ben reported that Vanessa Gravely had agreed to join the HOA board – but had a conflict for tonight’s meeting.
- Matt said the light illuminating the sign on the Hodges Mill side of the entrance is not working again. There was an Ant Hill in it when he last checked. He is still hopeful we can get it working without having to pay a contractor – he will do more trouble-shooting.
- Benny reported that regular sign companies do not want to mess with a small “No Solicitation Sign” but that Sign Bros referred him to Athens Printing. They can do a 12 x 18 sign for $60 plus tax. The board agreed to move forward on this. Andrew said he would get the post and mounting materials.
- Ben and Jimmy still need to work on the welcome packet – Jimmy will take lead on that.
- The board agreed to table The Directory for now.
New Business
Detention Ponds/Water Collection Up Front
- Ben said he was first contacted in October by the Brookhaven HOA President about excess water coming into their neighborhood from our neighborhood. When they would not provide any more information Ben reached out to the County and they just got back in touch with him during the latter part of December.
- It sounds like the County is recommending that we clear out the detention ponds in the front of neighborhood. It sounds like we definitely need to clear trees and underbrush but it was unclear if we also needed to dig and grade.
- The board agreed that we need to get the county out here first to walk through to clarify what is needed to return it to original specifications and that we do not need to do anything beyond returning it to the approved specs as that could create liability on us.
- Ben will call the County to see when they can get on the calendar. Matt and Andrew will join Ben in meeting with them.
- Ben said he would update the Brookhaven President on the steps that we are taking.
Dead Tree at Front of Neighborhood
- Andrew reported there is a medium sized, deciduous tree up front that has died. It is on the HW53 side of the entrance and is about halfway between the entrance and the detention pond. Andrew felt we would need to hire a tree service to handle this.
- The board agreed to table this until the next meeting.
Budget
- Included with the minutes is the 2024 budget – amended with the changes suggested in the board discussion – as detailed below.
- Matt noted that AAA announced another increase – this one is 7%. The board felt with the cost of services, general inflation, etc. that we were still getting a good deal. Matt noted the cost is still just $18/home/month.
- Jimmy reported the decorating committee would need to purchase new bases for the flag poles and also some new Christmas garland and possibly wreaths. He suggested a $500 budget amount. The board agreed that we would move $500 from the social committee into the decorating committee budget for 2024.
- With few house sales and high interest rates, the board agreed that only $500 should be budgeted for new owner initiation fees – as opposed to $1,500.
- As the budget now stands, dues are no longer covering all expenses. The projected shortfall for 2024 is $3,603. The board agreed to let the shortage eat into reserve for one more year. However, with extra expenses on the horizon related to the front detention ponds and the tree removal, the reserve will shrink to much closer to the target floor of at least 1 year of operating funds.
- The board agreed that in this year’s letter we should go ahead and prepare the residents know that a dues increase next year is imminent.
Annual meeting
- Ben reminded everyone that we need to have the annual neighborhood meeting for the election of officers, open discussion, etc. either late January or early February.
- As of now, we will target mid-afternoon of either Sunday 1/28 or 2/4.
President
- Ben stated we are still in need to find someone willing to succeed him as HOA President.
- If someone agrees then that person would be presented in a slate for a vote at the community meeting.
Benny motioned to adjourn the meeting, Andrew seconded, and Ben adjourned it at 7:44 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jimmy Newland
Morningside HOA Secretary
