Seminole Lakes Property Owners Association
Annual Membership Meeting Minutes
March 14, 2011

Call to Order:  Bob Toth called the meeting to order at 10:02 AM at the Burnt Store Presbyterian Church.

Establish a Quorum:  A quorum was established with 288 lots represented in person or by proxy.

Also present, was John McCluskey and Sherry Danko, from Star Hospitality Management.

Proof of Notice:  The meeting notice was distributed and posted as per the Association Bylaws and Florida Statute 720.

Disposal of Minutes:  With no corrections; the March 8, 2010 minutes were approved by general consensus.

Self-Nominations & Closing of Balloting:  With no self-nominations from the floor, Bob Toth advised owners to submit their ballots if they had not already done so as balloting and self-nominations were closed.  Ballot counting by the committee would begin.

Guest Speakers: Crime Prevention Specialist III, Dale K. Phillips, form the Charlotte county Sheriff’s Office gave a presentation regarding fraud scams, security problems, identity theft, credit card theft, and more.  It was well received by the membership.

President’s Report:  Bob Toth thanked all those attending the annual meeting and gave an overview on the following:  the hard work of the committees and contributions of the directors, the relationship with the management company, the landscaping contract with Greenscapes who follows the University of Florida “best Management Practices,”  participation with the South Charlotte County Coalition and serving as the VP for the SCCC, representation on the City Land & Development Review Committee, giving back to the Community as Deputy Coordinator for the Records Department volunteers for the COPG Police Department, having speakers at the Board meetings,  benefits from the Association law firm Becker & Poliakoff, participation with the Community Association Institute, high rankings for the website, high quality newsletter, a library in the exercise room, and music before meetings.  Overall, Seminole Lakes is a great place to live.  Bob Toth thanked the residents and everyone who served on a committee.

Vice President’s Report:  Fred Eyrich reported he was oversight director for the Election Committee and thanked June Toth and Galen Price for their efforts as well the various committee members who assisted with the process. As oversight director for the ARB, he  advised there had been 63 ARB requests in the past year, and all were approved.  Owners were encouraged to submit their ARB requests at least one week prior to a Board meeting.  Fred Eyrich added that the submission of so many requests was evidence that the owners were maintaining their properties. 

Secretary’s Report:  Linda Huber detailed her responsibilities as oversight director for the following committees: Access Control, Covenants & Governing Documents, e-mail, website and newsletter as well as being editor of the Grapevine. She advised that she attended all but two meetings, and those absences were due to illness.  Linda Huber also discussed her role in monthly inspections for violations,  daily maintenance of the website, and updating the master list and data for the bar code system. She thanked the regular contributors to the Grapevine and to Dick Beckendorf for managing the e-mail system.  Linda Huber concluded by thanking the committee volunteers and the Board.

Treasurer’s Report:  Al DiSessa reported that February 2011 ended with a surplus totaling $8,790.99.  Some expenses were over budget with others running under budget.  The balance sheet indicated a reserve balance of $636,303.38 and an operating fund balance of $169,552.69.  The 2010 audit was completed, and the POA’s financial position was confirmed and certified with an unqualified opinion.   Al DiSessa added that he expects the investment sub-committee to be empowered before the April Board meeting at which time further details will be reported.

Committee Reports:  Linda Huber introduced the following:

Access Control:  Jay Huber reminded owners of the importance of honoring the 19 mph speed limit.  That and ignoring stop signs are the two main problems.  Over 1000 slips have been distributed to visitors during a one week period, and it seems to have helped.  Jay Huber noted he would like to distribute to the residents as well.  Residents were cautioned about exiting the Acline exit in the upcoming weeks and months as the traffic patterns will be increasing due to the Burnt Store Road widening project.  The bar code system is working perfectly.  Almost 800 bar codes have been distributed since last November.

Activities:   Joyce Kraut encouraged residents to watch their mailboxes and the Grapevine for the announcement of the next party scheduled for the first week in May.  Other suggested programs for the summer include:  pot luck with a twist, July 4^th celebration, Texas BBQ, wine & beer tasting, and a Labor Day Party.  The 2011 Christmas Party is already in the works.  Members were encouraged to participate.

Covenants and Governing Documents:  Kathy Feister reviewed the purpose of the committee.  Since the 2010 annual meeting, 134 first notices were mailed for a variety of violations.  Close to 100 tube letters were distributed reminding residents to remove weeds or to clean light posts or mailboxes.  Volunteers are welcome to join the committee and may contact Kathy Feister or Linda Huber.

CERT:  Ray Negrycz provided an overview of CERT or Community Emergency Response Team.  22 members are broken into nine teams of two each, three ham radio operators, and one leader.  They are trained by the COPG Fire Department to assist after an emergency such as a hurricane or tornado.  CERT also submits Health & Safety Tips to the Grapevine for publication.

Creative Arts:  Joy Scott reported that the Committee along with other volunteers decorated the Community for the holiday season.  The November Arts and Crafts sale was a success, and another is planned for November 2011.  39 residents are scheduled to see the Unsinkable Molly Brown at the Broadway Palm Theater.  The Committee recently met and is developing plans for the upcoming year.

Election: June Toth gave a report which summarized the following:  large committee that begins their work three months in advance, Galen Price is the Co-Chair, candidates are sought in January, candidates’ forum in February, and annual meeting in March.  Many thanks to all the committee members who contribute to registration and ballot counting.  Thanks to the Star staff for compiling the election packets. 

Telephone:  June Toth indicated the committee maintains the telephone directory updates and changes.  The past year’s challenge involved changes to the State Statute which now categorizes phone numbers and e-mail addresses as protected information.  Waivers are needed in order to share with other owners.  The committee was charged with obtaining the waivers and was successful in obtaining 400 waivers.  Additional statistics for the past year include:  24 new owners, new information for 40, and changes in e-mail: 49.  The e-mail list includes 326 owners.. 

Landscape: Jim Marchky advised of the following projects:  weed control by the “weed exterminators,” trimming palm trees, planting shrubs which will hopefully require less upkeep and survive the cold temperatures, planting trees in accordance with the City, mulching at the front entrance and rear gates, and currently discussing trimming trees near the tennis courts.  Volunteers were encouraged to join the committee.

Pool:  Dennis Chatterton presented the report on behalf of Chair, Rich Kraut.  Members of the committee were thanked.   The responsibilities of the committee were summarized:  monitor contracts with Howard’s and Levy Cleaning, test pool water, water potted plants, monitor heat pumps and pump motor, maintain bulletin board and handle reservations, and ensure rules are followed.  Pool usage is on the rise.  Lastly, there have been no County citations for the past two years.

Maintenance/Lakes/Roads:  On behalf of Bud Nelson, Bill Murphy gave the report.  He stated the guardhouse was painted inside and out by volunteers after being power washed.  The street gutters from Route 41 all the way through the common ground street gutters were also power washed. Upcoming projects include new carpet for the guardhouse and pressure washing the wall south of the entrance.

Welcoming:  On behalf of Sue Ziegler, Al DiSessa reported that since the last annual meeting, there were 23 new residents.  The committee welcomed 18, two more will be welcomed once settled, and two wish not to be greeted.  At their March 11^th meeting, the committee came up with the new idea to host a “Have You Been Mugged” coffee every month on the third Monday at the pool to help newcomers meet their neighbors.  Committee members were thanked.

Linda Huber thanked all of the volunteers and encouraged others to join if interested.

Old Business:  None.

New Business:

Sherry Danko thanked the individuals who helped with the registration and ballot counting process.  She announced the results as follows:

Vote on the Rollover of Surplus Funds:

285 “yes” votes and 3 “no” votes

The rollover of surplus funds passed.

Elections:

Sherry Danko announced the following results:

Robert Toth               251.5
Fred Eyrich                220.5
Dirkje Van Gulden     72
Paula Mills                 1
Bill Stanek                 1
Jay Ward                   1

Robert Toth and Fred Eyrich received the highest number of votes and will fill the two vacant positions for two-year terms.

Owner Comments:  None.

Adjournment:  With no further business to come before the membership, the annual meeting adjourned at 11:50 AM.

Submitted by,

Sherry Danko

Sherry Danko

For Linda Huber, Secretary

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Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 11:51 at the Burnt Store Presbyterian Church.

Establish A quorum: A quorum was established with the following present: Al DiSessa, Fred Eyrich, Linda Huber, Bill Murphy, and Bob Toth.

Also present, was Sherry Danko representing Star Hospitality Management.

New Business:

As provided for in Florida Statute 720, the officers were elected by secret ballot as follows:

President                 Bob Toth
Vice President        Fred Eyrich
Treasurer               Al DiSessa
Secretary                Linda Huber

Bill Murphy will be a Director at Large

Adjournment: With no further business to come before the Board, the meeting adjourned at approximately 11:53 AM

Sherry Danko

For Linda Huber, Secretary