Special Thanks to Jay & Nash Patel, Marcus Pointe Residents, for allowing the Board to meet without cost at their Days Inn location next to Kia Motors on RTE#29.

Attending:  Carol Wilson, President; members: KG Mani, Jim Witt, Jim Balthrop and Larry Clarke.  Tina Longwell and Wesley Dean represented Centre Group Properties Inc, Marcus Pointe Homeowners Association Administrator.  Also attending was Larry Newsom from the Escambia County Engineers Office.

For our membership: 
Your Board serves pro bono because we are genuinely concerned about our community.  Our goal is to maintain the appearance and upkeep outlined in the legal covenants that govern the operations of our community.  We encourage everyone to go to the web site www.marcus-pointe.com/ download the Covenants and Architectural guidelines.  There are blank forms for addressing/requesting architectural changes to your property that require prior approval. Please do not sign contracts or begin work until you have checked this site.  We do not want to be confrontational or disagreeable, but covenant enforcement is required.  Spend a few minutes updating your family on the community requirements and avoid letters of violation.  We also encourage you to register for the Association blog where you can provide your comments any time you desire.  Our Board meetings are open to the Association membership and we encourage you to attend at least one while residing in the community.

Carol Wilson called the meeting to order.  This was a special meeting to discuss several pending issues with Larry Newsom left over from actions from the February Annual Homeowners meeting,

County Engineer discussions:

• The speed monitor:
• The sign belongs to Escambia County.  MPHA pays nothing for the sign, its relocation or its maintenance.
• Speed tables (not speed bumps) were discussed as an option for speed control but discarded as an option since the cost of installation and maintenance is added to local homeowners tax assessments.
• The Board agreed that the sign will continue to be used in our community.
• The Board will identify for the county engineers other locations where speeding complaints have been received and offer those locations as alternate locations for the sign.
• The sign will be rotated between locations at approximately 3-5 month intervals.
• Road Stripping:
• Mr Newsom discussed the options for stripping with the Board.
• The Board agreed to strip only Marcus Pointe Blvd at this time.
• Initial stripping will include all of Marcus Pointe Blvd.
• Initial stripping will be via yellow paint (law requires yellow stripping when the traffic flow is in the opposite direction on the other side of the stripping).  Yellow paint will last about a year.
• In October 2009 the major curves will be permanently thermo-coated.
• The curve includes the entire curve and 50 ft on either side.  The stripping will be solid yellow line.
• The Board will have the option of requesting the engineer’s thermo-coat all of Marcus Pointe Blvd at that time.
• Thermo-coat lasts approximately 5 years.
• The work will be funded out of the country’s current traffic control budget.
• A walking path, as part of the stripping, on Marcus Pointe Blvd was discussed.  Mr Newsom provided actual photos of Marcus Pointe Blvd with the 5 foot pedestrian lane.  The Board agreed that the risk of law suit in case of injury (the lane is only on one side and walking with your back to traffic is illegal) coupled with greatly restricted width of the traffic lanes with the added pedestrian lane was not is the best interest of traffic safety and security.
• Light at Enterprise and Marcus Pointe Blvd:
• At the annual meeting, the option for a flashing yellow light for Marcus Pointe Blvd and flashing red for Enterprise was proposed.
• Mr Newsom advised that magnetic loops are in the pavement and connected to a computer in the silver traffic light cabinet located at the intersection.  We proposed that the loop controlling computer be set to give Marcus Pointe Blvd priority for signaling.  This means that:
• The light for those exiting Enterprise would be red except when traffic was present (loop activated).  Enterprise would get the normal 60 sec green light unless traffic drove over the loops on Marcus Pointe Blvd which would trigger a change within 10-15 seconds.
• In case of no traffic flow in any direction (late at night) Marcus Pointe Blvd would remain green.
• Mr Newsom said it would take ~ 30 days to fully implement the change.
• Marcus Pointe Sign at W street:
• Mr Newsom agreed that the sign operation and maintenance was the responsibility of the county (only because it also addresses the Enterprise area and Golf course).
• The Board asked that the county ensure that the sign be lighted at night.
• Storm Sewer Maintenance:
• MPHA has several storm sewer issues that require attention.  Mr Newsom provided the county POC and phone number for resolving that issue.

• The President thanked Mr Newsom for joining us for this meeting.  He gave the Board his cell phone number and recommended that we call him directly if there were unresolved traffic issues with the county.

Architectural Control: 

• The Board voted to seek a legal opinion from our attorney on architectural guidelines for an issue before the Board to define our legal responsibility and a course of action to move forward to resolve the issue.
• The Board President advised that she has found legal clarifications of several architectural issues in historical files.  She is searching to ensure that she has them all.  She will pass them to the Board Secretary for collating into a document suitable for posting on the MPHA web site with the current architectural guidelines.

Board Discussion Items:

• Security:  The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has delivered the Marcus Point Crime report for the last four years to the Board.  Unfortunately the report includes in the cumulative totals of housing areas surrounding Marcus Pointe (the report is by street name).  Our web master will extract the Marcus Point only data and publish it to the web site for Marcus Pointe Homeowners who would like to review that data.   Residents are cautioned to review the categories and not focus on the totals.  Totals include things like animal control calls, response to burglar alarms that were weather activated related (lightning, etc), disorderly conduct (noise), responses to 911 calls, and other non-crime related responses.

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Irrigation:

• Residents may have noticed that the major sprinkler repair on the back side of our community along Marcus Pointe Blvd has begun (sprinkler head marker flags are posted) and should be completed within a couple of weeks. 

Lawn Service:

• The Board voted to send seven-day performance letters to all foreclosed properties still in the foreclosure process (title not yet back with the mortgage holder) and abandoned properties that MPHA will begin cutting and edging their property as allowed by the covenants and add the associated charge to their bill owed the MPHA.

Other Discussions:

• Addition of a scrolling sign:
• The Board voted to spend $ 7,149.46 to add a scrolling, red-monochrome LED display to the back of the Marcus Pointe sign to allow the Board to communicate important information to homeowners (less than ½ of the membership has signed up for the blog).  The scrolling viewing area is 7 feet long with 9+ inch bold letters.
• Board Secretary Larry Clarke is seeking homeowner help of a half day or less work day to cut the existing vegetation at the bridge on the Marcus Pointe sign side to the ground to allow for a longer viewing time of the new scrolling sign as homeowners exit the community.  Please call Larry if you are willing to help 476-5225 or send him an e-mail at larry.carol@cox.net.

Yard Maintenance:  Larry Clarke is willing to respond to request for assistance from those families in violation with some education and guidance on how to easily come into compliance.  Contact Larry Clarke, MPHA Secretary, 850-476-5225 if you desire to take advantage of this free service.

The meeting adjourned at 5:20.

Respectfully submitted,
Larry Clarke
Marcus Pointe Association Board Recording Secretary.