Bentwood Farms - Mallard Pond Homeowners Association

JULY 2001

Nov 20, 2001

Notes from the President
By Jim McGrath

After many hours and a lot of work by quite a few people, including Jeff Fix, who managed the project, the eroding pond wall has been rebuilt! We were fortunate in that it didn?’t cost as much as our original provided estimates. Once we examine our finances and see what else is going to be done at the pond site, we will consider additional plantings at the pond- trees, shrubs, etc. We also intend to widen, clean up and finish the gravel of the path around the pond.
The issue of a bridge spanning from the common area on Thoroughbred over to the pond area has been proposed again. We already have had a donation of exterior lumber from the Turos Family that will provide the surfaces and railings, but we need two long pieces of I-beam to use as the supports. If anyone has any access to this material (cheaply), please contact Curt Anderson at 861-1206.
Be sure to read the Deed Restriction info attached!
Please visit our NEW webpage (note change) at: ?”www.neighborhoodlink.com /violettwp/bfmpassoc?” We finally were able to get our ?“Government?” section listed as Violet Twp!

Seeking Nominations for Two Trustees
At the Homeowners?’ Association meeting July 9, 2001, two of our Trustees announced their resignations in order to pursue other interests. We thank them for their contributions toward the progress of our Association, and wish them success in their new endeavors:

Mr. Jeff Fix, Secretary of the Association, has served in several capacities. He was instrumental in researching and coordinating the pond repairs just completed, and most recently organized the work of revising our Deed restrictions. He has resigned to launch his campaign for election to the Violet Township Trustees. (See fourth page of this newsletter for more information on that topic)

Mr. Jim Miller, Special Projects Trustee and former


chair of the Architectural Control Committee, has been elected to the Pickerington Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and appointed Co-Chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee. He resigned to fulfill those obligations.

Two new trustees are now needed, and your nominations are invited. We hope to elect replacements at our next meeting, Monday, August 6th. Please attend this meeting if interested.

Communications Committee
Trustee Sharon Lach formed the communications committee, which has the responsibility to help improve the lines of communications between the board of trustees and the homeowners. Please thank the following people for volunteering to walk or ride the various newsletters, flyers, and phone directories to your door or mailbox; Carla Searfoss, Jim & Jennifer Hellmich, Billy Kelly, Terry Egan, Lori Goddard, Megan Snare and Kim Wright. Sharon?’s ongoing projects include updating the community map and phone directory. The new phone directory is being printed right now. If you have time to help, two more volunteers are needed for the this committee.

Grounds
Sharon is also our grounds trustee and is responsible for insuring the common areas are maintained. She is currently interviewing local lawn care companies and getting bids for next year?’s lawn care. To expedite the process and save her some time, if you know of a reputable company, please call her.

Join Us At Our Monthly Meetings
The Board of Trustees encourages all neighborhood residents to join us for monthly Trustee meetings. The meetings are held on the first Monday of each month at 7:00 at the Violet Township Offices located at 12970 Rustic Drive.
Welcome Wagon
If you have new neighbors, contact Sharon at 861-0325 so they can receive a ?“Welcome Folder?”.
Social Committee News
By Andrea Turner

I hope everyone is enjoying his or her summer. By now you should have received the picnic flyer on your mailbox. If you didn?’t receive a flyer, there are some on the RSVP mailbox at the common area on the corner of Winners Circle and Steeplechase Ave. The RSVP deadline is July 25th. The picnic, on August 4th, will feature a fire safety house, which should be arriving between 4-5pm, and the cooking will begin around that time. We will have assorted games to play and door prize drawings for those in attendance. I hope to see everyone there.


Architectural Control Committee
By Craig Turner, ACC Chairman & Board Member

?“Thanks?” go out to all our neighbors who have complied with the submission requirements of outside projects. However, there are some projects that were started and/or completed without ACC approval. We have contacted some of those who failed to comply with the Declarations of Covenants / Deed Restrictions.

As a reminder, the ACC requires a copy of your plot plan that shows where the work is located at on your property, a cover letter that gives a brief description of the work along with your name and address, copies of plans/prints if available, and any product data that is applicable for the type of material and/or color that will be used. Submissions will be kept for our records. We try to get an approval letter issued within a week or two. Please allow for this time when scheduling your project.

The ACC at this time does not require submissions for wooden play sets, but will address it if the homeowner places it too close to lot lines, offensive colors are used, or complaints are received.

The ACC would like to thank you in advance for following these requirements and hope to see you at the Neighborhood Picnic.


Would you like to advertise in our Newsletter? If so, contact Jim McGrath for rates, etc. at Jmcgrath@Wallickcos.comRates are reasonable?…
Treasurer?’s Report
By Curt Anderson

This year we had all but nine homes pay their Association dues. For those that paid, we thank you. Hopefully, everyone recognizes our efforts to maintain the common areas and understand the challenge we have to preserve the quality of the neighborhood and the value of all homeowners?’ investments in their property. Unfortunately, liens have been filed for the nine homes that did not pay their dues.

Recently, one of our long-term major goals was accomplished, one which has taken a very large financial cost to the Association. The work has been completed. We would like to thank Jeff Fix for working with the engineering company and obtaining a cost-effective solution to correct the erosion of the embankment of the creek/ pond. We had originally received estimates of up to 75k to resolve the problem. We are happy to report that the final cost for the actual work was 43k.

Our average monthly expenses for lawn care and lighting at the entranceways runs approximately $1,330 per month over the year. We also use $400 per year for copy expenses and communication. We will also be expending a considerable amount this year on legal fees as a result of two lawsuits, one on which we are waiting to hear a response, the other which has yet to go to trial. Both lawsuits are a result of the Architectural Control Committee enforcing restrictions that help to maintain the value of the neighborhood. The outcome of this is that the Association may need to keep the yearly dues the same for another year, or worse, force us to raise the dues. Overall, in comparison to other associations that surround our neighborhood, our fees are low. We originally had hoped to reduce the fees another $20 for the up coming year.


Pets running Loose?
We have had several comments made about pets being walked, but not wearing leashes. Please use a leash, not only for other?’s safety, but also for your pet?’s. You never know when they may run, or chase another animal, possibly in front of a car.



Architectural Control Committee Info (ACC)

Planning any exterior work or changes to your property? Please remember to get approval first by contacting one of the current members of the Architectural Control Committee:

Name: phone/ e-mail address:
Craig Turner (Chair) 577-9311
Holly Amos hamos@vcdsm.com
Jim Reigle jim.reigle@VCF.com



***DEED RESTRICTION UPDATE***
Attached to this newsletter is a very important document. It is the current draft of the re-write of our Association?’s deed restrictions. A lot of time and effort has gone into trying to clarify and amend those items that have seemed to be troublesome to the Association over the years. The final result is intended to be fair, but most importantly to try to preserve the original integrity and concept of the neighborhoods- that of an upper middle class neighborhood which holds its property values and is a great place to live.

Please take about 5 minutes and read this document. We need to have 75% of all lot owners vote ?“yes?” on this document or it will not be passed, and we will be forced to keep the original document that we have, which is very hard to work within, due to ambiguous and unclear language. In other circumstances, things were not considered, or are just not appropriate any more, and need to be deleted.

We are hoping that a number of you who are attending the picnic in August will have read the documents and be willing to vote ?“yes?” at that time, because it will be a gigantic effort to go around to
each homeowner to get signatures. The attorneys are telling us that the signatures must be notarized and witnessed to be valid. Hopefully you see the work this will involve in getting everyone?’s vote. With this type of change, if we can?’t get you to vote, it counts as a ?“no?”, so it is imperative that everyone be contacted, and as quickly as possible so it doesn?’t drag out too long. The whole process may take several months as it is, so please help by reading the documents and be ready to vote when you are contacted.
ATTENTION HOMEOWNERS-
Now?’s the time to get online and receive infor-mation and get connected with the Association. If interested, please send me your e-mail address. We now have in excess of 150 addresses in our system.
Remember, in order to build a strong community, we must stay connected. Please note that we will not use these e-mail addresses for anything other than communications of information to you. Thanks for your help.
Nick C Lacy
LACY5@QN.NET

If there are any questions, please go to the Association Website, (see first page of newsletter for address) and post your question in the ?“Let?’s talk about it?” discussion column, that way everyone can see it, because many may have the same question, and we can all share the questions and answers. If you don?’t have access to a computer, please contact a trustee and ask, and then I will try to post all questions on the Website, as they are all important.

I will briefly attempt to list some of the changes to the restrictions, but please read the whole document, as it may affect you down the road.
First, it spells out what the Architectural Control Committee can and can?’t do. It is more of a clarification of the things they have already been doing, but it is pretty in depth, mainly showing all the necessary steps to make sure our neighborhood continues to look nice.
Second, it tries to protect everyone from households that seem to not care how their lot looks, but we all know that it affects property values when people are trying to sell their home.

There are clauses talking about fences, color of homes (exterior changes in general also) and other ?“hot topics?”. There are also a few blanks that need to be filled in by the attorneys. Rest assured that by the time we get the document ready for signatures everything will be complete, and we will have a list of any minor changes that may have been made since this draft. We wanted to get it to you in advance of the picnic, so it needed to go out with this newsletter.

Thank you for your time and efforts,
Jim McGrath, President