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; Board members: KG Mani, Jim Witt, Jim Balthrop and Larry Clarke.  Tina Longwell represented Center Group, our administrator.

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 http://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 and the Board adopted the minutes from the last regular meeting. 

Meeting Function:
This was the regular scheduled bi-monthly meeting.  The Board has had two special meetings since the last regular meeting.  One meeting was with Larry Newsom, Office of Escambia Country Engineers on August 8, 2009.  The other meeting was with three representatives from Florida’s Department of Environment Protection on August 28, 2009.  Detailed minutes from both meetings are posted on the Marcus Pointe website.

Administrator’s Report:

• Financial Report:
• Center Group collected $1,254.03 in delinquent dues, late fees and interest since the last regular meeting.
• The MPHA Operating Fund has a balance of $36,984.87.
• The Reserve Fund (for road repaving and fence replacement) has a balance of $34,997.59.  In the minutes for the next regular meeting we will provide the projected time frame for both projects and as assessment of where we stand with the reserve fund to ensure we have the funds necessary to complete the task when due so we do not have to have a special assessment or increase dues again.  After that date, Center Group will have a text block on the bottom of the Balance Sheet that provides that information on a bi-monthly basis.
• Additionally, the Reserve Fund CD’s balance is $25,072.85.  The Board voted some time back to place a portion of the Reserve Fund in an interest yielding CD instrument to maximize growth.
• The Balance Sheet and P&L Statements are appended to this report.
• Delinquent Accounts:
• MPHA is owed $ 538.41 in interest on delinquent accounts as of September 2009.
• Community foreclosures in process owe the association $2,736.14 in delinquent dues, fees and interest (several of these accounts are multi-year delinquent).  Center Group has taken all necessary steps to ensure that the Association is on the payment list when foreclosure is complete and the property transfers back to the bank/mortgage holding company.
• Ten (10) day demand letters have been sent to all those residents who have not yet paid their 2009 dues.  That total with penalty, late fees and interest is $1,957.80.
• We have two properties’ that are multi-year delinquent, have not responded to 10 day demand letters, and are in the process of placing Association liens on their property.  Total owed the Association $1,491.91.  All costs incurred in placing these liens are added to the amount due from each account.
• We have one delinquent property that is under lien which owes the Association $1,310.88.
• Tasks assigned to Center Group:
• The ~$15,000.00 sprinkler replacement in the rear of the community along Marcus Pointe Blvd common area by Riker Irrigation is complete.  Center Group is testing the ensure depth of the pipes complies with guidance and code prior to executing the final payment.  All work, depth verification and payment should be completed before September 30th.
• The Board has been very pleased with the work Eden Lawn Service has done to date.  We have received many positive and only one negative comment since they started work.  The negative comment came from a homeowner who lives adjacent to the Gulf Power right away.  That area is cut with a bush hog periodically.  That issue has been resolved to the Board’s satisfaction.  We are also pleased with the underbrush clearing of small wooded common areas that now look much better.
• The scrolling sign (to be mounted on the rear of the Marcus Pointe sign just across the bridge to be viewed as you exit the community) should be installed and operating by the end of the first week of Oct.  The scrolling sign will be used only by the Board until we have time for a special meeting to develop a written policy on what can and cannot appear on the sign.  Board Secretary is leading the effort to cut back the foliage prior to the sign to increase viewing time as you exit the community. Special thanks to Joe Salter (our juggling jogger) for his early morning help to get a very good start on the effort.

Architectural Control:

• 2041 Downing has been approved for the addition of a decorative 700 lb anchor adjacent to the house.  The anchor is 36” high and 32” wide.
• 5041 High Pointe was approved to place a dumpster at the top of the driveway for house clearing operations.
• Board Comment:
• Carol Wilson has been on the Architectural Control committee for ~14 years and has served on the Board for ~9 years.  The rest of us are new to MPHA.  The Board has many boxes of records that go back to the very early days of the community.  Since Center Group replaced the old management company, we have been making a valiant effort to document and where possible correct those things in the community that do not conform to architectural guidelines.  Many who have received letters from Center Group have said “it was previously approved by your predecessors”.  If it was, our predecessors did not keep your request letter or a copy of their approval letter.  If you have both, we would welcome your passing a copy to us for the record and that will close the issue.  Hopefully everyone knows the importance of good documentation.  You should have a personal property folder to pass on to the buyer or inheritor of your property to protect them from letters from future Association managers trying to do their job. 
• The Association Board has a folder for every property in the Marcus Pointe community.  There is a copy of all correspondence from you and the Association response held there.  We are in the process of converting all that paper to digital form.
• We are indebted to those who have been willing to remove and in some cases take down those things that are outside the approval guidelines that have been in place for years.

Board Discussions of interest to the Association:

• An issue regarding armadillo’s on personal property came before the Board.  Armadillo’s can be quite disruptive and damaging to one’s property.  Armadillo’s, like any other animal or vermin, are the responsibility of the homeowner and will not be addressed using association funds. 
• The Board is concerned regarding the increase in solicitation occurring in the community.  We are addressing a new entrance sign that is more explicit regarding any form of solicitation.  We encourage homeowners to tell anyone calling at their door that was not solicited by you, to reject any pitch and tell the people they are violating the community’s no solicitation request.  Responding to anyone with support of any kind makes it difficult for those who seek personal property peace.
• We have received several queries about how to control the unusually large number of non-residents at Halloween that run rampant through our community.  Emergency vehicles would have a difficult time transiting up Marcus Pointe Blvd due to all the parking on that road.  Our roads are public so we cannot block them or restrict incoming traffic.  The Board is unanimous is recommending that the best method to reduce and stop this annual onslaught is to leave your front lights off and not answer the door.  Several of your Board members leave home for dinner that evening.
• Residents who have businesses and wish to advertise on our web site, please contact Jim Balthrop, our web site manager (address and phone number is one the web site). The cost is $100 for a full year’s advertising.  See the website for two businesses already availing themselves of the service.
• We have asked the community administrator to begin addressing mold and mildew on mailboxes.  Some are so covered you cannot tell whether the construction material is brick or stucco.
• Your Board is considering a community picnic next calendar year as the weather changes.  If you would like to assist, please contact one of the Board members.  It will probably be held at the Golf Course club house area.  We do not have a per-person cost yet but will have one before Christmas.

Update on the Blossom Trail C&D Landfill (DEP file No. 0078442-002-SO):

• Refer to the Board Minutes from August 28, 2009, the special meeting with Florida’s Department of Environment Protection (DEP) for background material.
• DEP’s Marshall Seymour tells the Board secretary that Mr Tony Green, landfill owner, has signed the consent for DEP to enter his property to take waste samples and even dig tap wells to test the water table if deemed necessary.  Mr Green returned the forms with his signature ahead of schedule.  DEP’s Dick Fancher, DEP Northwest District Director signed for DEP.
• What’s next according to the consent order :
• By Sep 24, all the materials placed in the landfill since 2001 when his permit expired must be covered with 6” of soil at a slope of not greater than 3 to 1.
• By Oct 24, Mr Green must pay an independent licensed company to inspect and certify to DEP that he is in compliance.
• Your Board is tracking the issue and will provide updates.

The meeting adjourned at 3:20 local time.

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