TWPOA Newsletter
Spring 2009
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TWPOA Newsletter |
| Editor: Anne Fernandez
Spring 2009 |
Tara Woods Website - Get all the news about the association
TWPOA Board Members President Mike Mann Director Cherish Dahm
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Architectural Committee Changes Assignment of NEW Boats Slip to be Auctioned |
President's Corner
by Mike Mann
It's officially springtime and I am very enthusiastic about getting back on the water. I'm confident that is a pretty common sentiment. All in all we had a pretty mild winter with just one snow storm of any size. The water level is up to the normal height, although the lack of rain is cause for some concern. Hopefully the rains will pick up before this becomes an issue.
We've continued to make steady progress on the boat docks. Jack Perrigo finalized the building permit with the county and the power company. We are moving as quickly as possible to get the new configuration in place before the boating season begins. Custom Lawn and Landscaping of Partlow , Virginia will remove the old pilings and install new ones for the expanded configuration. We expect the piling movement, which really determines the new slips, will be completed over the course of a couple of days. The 10' dock extensions to the ends of the piers will take a couple of weeks to complete. Nine existing slips (7, 9, 12, 25, 28, 30, 38, 60 and 62) will be displaced by the construction and will be reassigned new slips. We will have 6 additional high quality slips as the result of the construction. The Boat Slip Management Committee (Larry Katz, Scott Perkins, and Dave Bolden) is busy planning for the auction that will be the basis for re-assigning the new slips. They've developed their management approach and are finalizing a committee charter which will be presented to the Board at the next meeting (April 5, 1:00 at the Lake Anna Rescue facility). I expect that the schedule and auction rules will be distributed shortly thereafter. Please keep your eye on the website for their posting if you are interested in upgrading your current slip assignment. We will also send an email notice prior to the auction and I would encourage you to individually express your interest to Dave Bolden to make sure you are fully informed.
I did want to take a minute and acknowledge the passing of Sue Dickens on January 6. Sue had many friends in the community and she will be missed. Both she and Dick have been stalwart members of our association and were deeply engaged in the very fabric of our community. Dick has been on the Board for many years and also served as the head of our Architecture Committee where his experience in design and construction was invaluable. Through his leadership of this committee he touched all of us who built homes, and I never heard a single complaint about him. My own personal experience was that he went out of his way to be helpful and to propose solutions that honored the covenants while helping members achieve the home they desired. Dick has stated that although he will retain ownership for the near term, his intent is to move to New Orleans to be with his family.
Looking forward, I'm hopeful 2009 will be a good year for all of us. Like the seasons the 2008 board is now finished. We just elected 4 new members to our board of directors. The newly elected members were identified in a separate article in this newsletter, so rather than talking about the individuals I would like to look at the resulting composition of the 2009 board of directors. We have 8 elected Board members. The new board is very well balanced: 3 members are permanent residents and 5 are “weekenders”. Looking at the total from another perspective, 4 own waterfront property and 4 own lake access. This distribution fairly represents the demographics of our community and should collectively give us confidence that the Board will continue to act in the best interests of all the association membership.
Treasurer's Report
by Jack Perrigo
Tara Woods operates on a calendar year so there is not much to report. The dues letters were mailed out in January. The board kept the dues at $370. There are still 5 members who have not paid their dues. At this time of the year there are usually only 1 or 2 unpaid dues. I guess this is a sign of the economic tough times.
The budget passed at the January meeting was very similar to the last budget. Two significant changes were the approval of spending $6,000 to reconfigure the docks and lowering the reserve requirement.
We need to reconfigure the docks because we are short two slips and we have 4 conflicted slips (adjacent boats block the slip). The reconfiguration will eliminate these problems at low cost. We will hold auctions to assign the newly created slips. Also, when a slip holder sells their property, the slip assignment will be auctioned. The auction proceeds will repay the association for the cost of reconfiguration and any proceeds after that will be kept in a separate account to fund future dock improvements.
The reserve contribution of $9,087 was reduced to $7,379 since we re-roofed the pavilion and re-decked the docks which re-start the clock on these reserve line items.
Please visit the Tara Woods website for more information
Tara Woods Board of Directors Election Results
The following members were elected to the Board of Directors: Bart Cameron (Lot 62), Jim Holland (Lot 72) and Russ Smith (Lot 74) will be returning as Directors and Donna Bobbish ( Lot 40) will be joining the Board for the first time. Congratulation to our newly elected/reelected Directors. Also, many thanks to the Election Committee consisting of Elaine Ellis, Kathy Goldbeck, Nancy Lear, Maryhelen Perrigo and Betty Joe Spivey for their outstanding effort in tabulating the election results.
Architectural Committee Changes
Due to the resignation of Dick Dickens as chair of the Tara Woods Architectural Committee, the Board has appointed Bart Cameron and Donna Bobbish to the committee. Members are reminded to contact the committee whenever there are plans to build any structure or make any exterior modifications to their current residences. Modifications include painting, re-siding or re-roofing. Changes in colors or materials must be approved in advance. In addition, Louisa County will not issue building permits without written approval from the TWPOA. Contact Bart or call 540-894-4776.
The Annual Tara Woods Annual Meeting will be held Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 10:00 am at the pavilion. Everyone is encouraged to attend. Come meet the newly elected Board of Directors and some of our new neighbors.
Assignment of NEW Boat Slips To Be Auction
The marina in the common area is being reconfigured to create six additional boat slips. Four of the new slips will afford direct access from the lake, while the other two are on the inside of the “U” formed by the existing piers and are easily accessible for most boats. Property owners in good standing (all dues paid) who wish to upgrade their currently-assigned boat slips are invited to participate in an auction of the new slips.
Successful bidders will be assigned the new slip in lieu of their existing boat slips for as long as they own their property (under the Covenants, each non-lakefront lot is assigned a single boat slip). Since all boat slips are owned by the entire Association, upon sale of the property, the assigned boat slip will be re-auctioned. As discussed below, the property owner may request an early auction in anticipation of sale.
The auction of the six new slips will be held at a date and time to be announced and will be held at the pavilion. The announcement will be made in three ways: posting on the Tara Woods Website, email to those members who have given their email address to the Board, and physical posting at the pavilion. The minimum bid for the four slips with direct lake access will be $500, while the minimum bid for the inside slips will be $300. Proxy bidding is permitted.
Subsequent Auctions
When a lot is sold, the boat slip assigned to that lot will generally be auctioned. If the seller wishes, the auction may be held prior to the sale, with the resulting assignment to be effective upon settlement. In this way, if the seller is the successful bidder, the slip assignment will pass to the purchaser of the property. The notice of subsequent auctions will be made in the same three ways as the initial auction and will specify the minimum bid (based on the location of the boat slip in the marina).
Registry and Reassignment
Forms were included in dues statements asking the make, type, and size of boats to be docked in the marina. The Association plans to maintain a registry to help ensure that boats are docked in the proper slip. Therefore, property owners who have not done so are asked to return the form.
If a slip becomes unusable because the property owner or the assignee of a neighboring slip purchases a larger boat, the Boat Slip Management Committee (“the committee”) designated by the Board will attempt to reassign slips within the same area of the marina to resolve the problem. A property owner who needs reassignment should detail the problem to the committee by sending an email to bsmc115@earthlink.net or a letter to the Boat Slip Management Committee, TWPOA, 115 Scarlet O'Hara Court, Bumpass, VA 23024. It will not be possible to reassign slips if the cause of the problem is low water levels, because there are simply not enough boat slips to meet the need.
Questions on the auction or reassignment procedures may be directed to any member of the Boat Slip Management Committee:
Dave Bolden Larry Katz Scott Perkins
Property Manager Update
by Jack Perrigo
The Fence
As most of you are aware we sent out two surveys to help the board decide what to do with the deteriorating fence. The conclusion was that Tara Woods would provide the materials to replace rotten/non pressure treated rails and posts. Each member would have to install the new materials and dispose of the old materials.
For two years we had a pretty good participation by volunteers who would request rails and posts. The volunteers have significantly decreased. Consequently, the board of directors decided that the last phase will be an involuntary one. I will assess each lot/home need for rails and posts. I will send the property owner a letter notifying them of the assessment and when I plan to deliver the materials. The property owner will have 30 days from the delivery date to install the fence materials and dispose of the old. After, 30 days, we will hire a contractor to do the work and bill the property owner. If all goes well, most of the rotten or non pressure treated rails will be replaced this year. The plus is that we can look at lowering the dues next year.
Joshua Sabourin has offered to install rails and post. He will charge $3.00 a rail and $10.00 a post. If you are interested in hiring Josh, please call him on 540-748-0340.
Anne Fernandez is willing to take the old rails. They can be burned since they are not pressured treated. If you have no other source contact Anne.
It is almost that time to dust off you mower. Remember to mow your grass to the street. Some members have not always mowed from the fence to the street. If the grass gets between 8 and 12 inches, Tara Woods will mow the grass for you. Tara Woods charges $150 per mowing and we would prefer that the property owner take care of lot and leave us out of it.
Looking for Volunteer to Work on the Dock
The dock reconfiguration is estimated to cost about $6,000 and the estimate depends on getting volunteers to help. The cost will increase without volunteers. I will need some small work parties this spring. If you are fit and can help out please call me at 540-894-0295 or email Jack. I'd like to have a list of volunteers to call for help when needed. We won't need a large turn out as this project is labor intensive in small spaces.
Tie Up Your Boat
by Jack Perrigo
Please tie your boat carefully and check it often. You need to leave enough slack in the lines to let the boat move. However, make sure that no part of the boat can touch any part of the dock. Any damage done to the docks will be repaired at the expense of the property assigned to the slip. Harmel and I have re-tied boats over the winter. In one case, we had a bad wind storm and if we had not re-tied the boat, there would have been severe damage to the docks.
Generally, storing your boat at the dock over the winter is a bad idea. Damage to the docks in the past has usually occurred during bad winter weather. We get some of our worst storms in the winter and people aren't around as much to check and adjust the lines. It is also bad for you boat. The lake water can create a very nasty crud line on the hull and it is almost impossible to remove. Also, not winterizing a boat motor can cause severe engine damage.
Community Work Day - Mulch
by Maryhelen Perrigo
We are going to freshen up the entrances to our community by spreading mulch on April 18 th at 9:00 am . If it rains we will postpone the work to April 25 at 9:00 am . Joey Vaughn will deliver 16 yards of mulch and drop it at each entrance (Rhett Butler, Tara Circle , and Tara Woods Dr ). I plan to have 3 or 4 people at each location to spread the mulch. Please bring pitch forks, rakes, and a wheel barrel. If you can help, please call me at 540-894-0295. If you need mulch for your home, call Joey Vaughn at 540-894-4100.
The 4th of July fireworks display at Lake Anna this year is scheduled for Saturday, July 4th. Inclement weather will likely result in a delay of the fireworks until Saturday, July 11th. As in the past, the fireworks will be set off on Dike #2, which most of you know, is located south east of Tara Woods. For those people wishing to view the fireworks from a boat on the public side, here is a recommendation: Proceed south east past Dike #2 to an area north east of the viewing area to anchor your boat. The most crowded anchorage area has historically been north and west of Dike #2. Once the fireworks display is over, boat drivers typically rush out of the area to the north west. We recommend you wait an hour or more after the display is over to depart the area. That way you won't get caught up in what has become a very dangerous marine situation over the past few years. One Tara Woods resident recently said it was one of the scariest situations he had ever been in on the water when he attempted to leave the area with everyone else. Also, don't forget, the Tara Woods 4th of July parade is also scheduled for the 4th.
Tara Woods will hold a parade with floats. Please line up your float at 11:00am for a Noon start at the Perrigo's field (191 Burruss Mill Rd). The theme is"This is YOUR America". Please call or email Maryhelen or Nancy at 540-894-9919 if you plan to have a float in the parade. A picnic will immediately follow the parade at the Pavilion. We will have hotdogs, hamburgers, potato salad, beans and dessert. The food is free for association members and guest are charged $2.00.
| April 18, 2009 9:00am | Community Work Day - Mulch | |
| May 16, 2009 1:00pm | TWPOA Annual Board Meeting | Pavilion |
LARS is Lake Anna Rescue. It is located on Rt. 618 (Bumpass Rd.) Take Rt. 652 left out of the subdivision to Rt. 601. Turn right and go over the railroad tracks. Take an immediate right onto Bumpass Rd. (I believe it is Rt. 618) and go 1 or 2 miles to the Rescue building on the left, 300 Bumpass Rd. Bumpass, Va. 23024.