Next tentatively scheduled regular Board meeting September 22, 2022
The Annual Membership meeting was held outside at the office common area and thankfully the weather cooperated and made for a lovely outdoor event. A short regular Board meeting followed to address some regular Co-op business.
A quorum was achieved and 73 members voted. All the motions on the ballot passed by a vast majority of the members.
The lot increase notification will be sent and the increase will begin on November 1. 2022.
The Board Vice Presidents position is now held by Tammi Tandy The Board Treasurer was reelected and will continue to be held by Chris Chistolini Nominee Kathy Gibbs stepped down from Director 3 position and was appointed by the Board for Director 1 position Nominee Dan Hill was appointed by the Board for the Director 1 position.
The raffle winners were Susan Lemieux, Daulton Mann & Steve Cross who were present at the time of the drawing and received their prize.
A portion of the Electrical upgrade project will begin tentatively on September 12. This will effect (9) homes on Coventry Rd, (2) on Wilmington Rd, (1) on Wexford Ln and (1) on Brennan St. Since Coventry is a main road please be aware that the work may cause some disturbance and inconvenience for your morning commute. These upgrades are designed specific to the Vermont State Electrical Inspectors request, requirements and specifications.
The Leach field replacements for the 5 priority fields that are failing will begin as soon as all the Vermont state permits have been issued and our vendor can coordinate the work. This will cause ground disturbance however the vendor will repair the lot back to its original form once the work is entirely completed.
2 homes have been replaced by homeowners with New Mobile Homes.
Currently there are 5 homes for Sale, 118 Lexington} sale pending, 219 Walden} sale pending, 364 Shannon, 132 Wyndham and 20 Yardley.
A Huge thanks to the Maintenance committee for setting up the annual meeting and breaking it down after. The Maintenance committee this year has contributed 1560 volunteer man hours which amounts to $23,400 in savings to the Co-op if we had outsourced at even $15 per man hour. The membership showed appreciate with a well deserved round of applause when this was reported at the meeting .
The Home/Lot improvement committee continues to inspect requests from residents to make sure the project will cause no harm to our Co-ops infrastructure and that all local, state and federal laws are followed.
The enforcement committee continues to do drive-thru’s regularly to record violations that have been resolved as well as new violations that may need a reminder that they are not in compliance with the community rules. The policy that indicates the Co-op will take action to correct the violation at the homeowners expense will be implemented after receiving proper notice will begin as of August 26, 2022.
The Volunteer/Social committee received approval for hosting an outdoor movie night. Details will be discussed and a date will be decided. Wayne G will supply the equipment. Events hosted by the Volunteer/Social committee are from fund raising efforts and donations.
The Rules & Bylaws committee did an excellent job of reviewing the rules and deciding what to bring before the Board to help determine what is in the best interest for the overall community in regards to safety, liability, legality, budget, fairness and aesthetics to help in maintaining our properties value.
The Community Rules with the changes have been posted on the website in the document section. Some changes are meant to clarify an exiting rule and one new one is to prohibit donated/dumping of any items in all areas of the community without Board approval. Reflective address number must be large enough where they are visible from the road. If you choose to obtain the 911 reflective address plate you can do so submitting the form found on the Colchester rescue website. They are free however a donation is appreciated. A step by step guide to installing a new home will be posted in the policy section of the website very shortly. Residents are reminded that it is required to maintain their homes as well a their lots to be in compliance with the rules. Construction of a fence needs Co-op approval by submitting a home/lot improvement request. The location of All underground utilities need to be located and Dig Safe (811) needs to be contacted before any ground disturbance can be considered. Dig Safe does not locate the Co-op electrical wiring, leach fields, septic, or water pipes. They only mark GMP, Cable and phone lines.
As of November 1st there will be a 2 tier lot rent system. Non member lot rent will increase no more than the Vermont State rent increase allowance for each year. Currently at 4.5%. Non-Members can become a member at any time by contacting PMA at [email protected] or the Membership committee [email protected] for details. This system will enable providing a discount to the members of the co-op at a lesser rate then the 4.5% for their participate, time and contribution, which saves the co-op thousands of dollars per year.
The village project continues to move at a steady pace. Petitions are being sent in small groups for easier tracking mainly to ensure accuracy since the Town voters registration list is approx 20% incorrect. The Town has weighed in and a letter has been sent to all the Westbury residents addressed to Gayle Pezzo indicating that they do not support the project. Some of the items listed in the letter as well as their reasoning as to why they do not support our project, we don’t agree with and some are incorrect and misinformed. We intend to respond the letter after we hear from our residents and we hold hope that we can keep the lines of communication open and continue to attempt to form an alliance with those that serve to represent us as citizens of Colchester who are looking to find solutions. We are not trying to build a case. We are attempting to build a relationship & partnership with our town and be treated equally and fairly as any other Colchester resident. Discussions are the only way we find solutions! The Board President has not received this letter yet. It will be posted when/if this letter is received.
The security cameras are being upgraded and additional cameras will be installed in the common areas by the office, mailroom, pool, garage and work shed area.
The Pool will be closed beginning September 8, 2022.
We hope you all had a lovely Summer.
Addendum: 9/11/22, The WHAI Board President has received the letter from the Selectboard and will review it with the Village Team as well as other residents that have weighed in. The Selectboard will be made aware that it has been received.