Lake James Manor

please vote NO on the proposed amendments to our subdivision bi-laws. They say not to worry we will be grandfathered in. That is true but WHEN we want to sell or die . Our homes will be worthless because the new owners will not be covered by the grandfather clause. If you have a fenced back yard, a 2 story home or a front facing garage this will effect you. PLEASE VOTE NO. Please educate yourself and read what was sent, even if 2 pages were missing. Those pages were the one that stated A 2 story house and front facing garage was not allowed. Please share and vote no if you want to ever sell your home for yourself or your estate.

Since we have not seen any update from the complainant regarding the conversation between myself addressing this family's concerns we thought it wise to post the letter that was forwarded out to all Lake James Manor Residents.

 

Sept 17, 2015

 

Dear Lake James Manor Residents:

The purpose of this letter is to convey to you my sincere apologies for any inconvenience you may have experienced with our most recent mailings.

In my attempt to get the Voting Ballots and our New Proposed Indentures out to you, we learned that pages 2 and 3 were omitted from the original mailings.  This is something that should have never happened but unfortunately it did.  Although Kinkos clearly stated that they were responsible for not reproducing all the copies; it was still my responsibility as the Chairman of the Lake James Manor Trustees to ensure the documents were accurate.

 

We will be resending a new Indentures Voting Package in its entirety sometime in the near future to ensure that everyone has a completed revised copy.   Please note that any and all of the previous Voting Ballots and the New Proposed Indentures are not valid and should be discarded.   We have listened to the concerns expressed by some residents and we will be looking at the indentures again before they are submitted to the residents.  We would like the  final draft for our Revised Indentures to be developed by a Lake James Revision Committee.  During our regular subdivision meeting on Oct 14, 2015, we will also be seeking residents who would like to volunteer to work on this Indenture Revision Committee.  Remember our goal is to make our subdivision a viable and safe community.  We will be also discussing our annual budget from Oct 2014 through Oct 2015.      

Again we apologize for this oversight and we hope that this situation has not created any undue hardship for our homeowners.  We will see all of you at the upcoming meeting on Oct 14, 2015 at 6:30 at the Blackjack Firehouse.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call me at .

Respectfully,

 

Lake James Manor Trustee

Chairman

 

Please note that we are requesting for our long standing residents to have an active part in the development and implementation for these Indentures.

Please note that my information was dated the 13th. You spoke with us the 17th which is the date of the letter. You stated the letter would be mailed to the subdivision residents. As of today I have not received the letter. I hope the residents receive it. I have not made any additional comments because I believed the letter would be sent.

Thank you for your reply. 

 

Hopefully the letter will arrive today in the mail.  I will say that we did make some revisions to the letter as you may well know as I indicated to you spouse while she was at my residence on Tuesday September 15, 2015.  At which time I told her it was still in draft form and the final document would be coming out soon.  On Thursday September 18, 2015, I gave you an actual copy of what was going to be mailed out by City and Village on the 19 Sept 2015 at our meeting.  I do understand that you would hesitant and would like to be certain that the letter I gave you is the same letter which is being post marked to all of our other residents. 

 

Again please understand that we had no malicious intent to harm or bring about an undue burden/hardship of any of kind to our Lake James Manor Residents.  This was clearly a mistake on my part and I take full responsibility.  However, without a better Trust Agreement Indenture we are going to have to remain at the same status quo as we are now and just do the best job we can with what we have to work with.  This makes the position of a Trustee even more difficult without having clearly a defined guidance process. 

 

During our meeting I explained to you a number of infractions with our subdivision which warrants everyone’s direct attention

Here are some of the concerns we are dealing with in regards to our Indentures:

Trustee Terms in Office are currently for five years.  This is much too long for any resident to hold office in my opinion and should be changed to three years max.  In addition the duration  should be staggered such as one Trustee for  a three year term, one for a two year term and one for a one year term.   To be quite Frank the Secretary I feel should have the longest duration for the preservation and continuity of our documents.  This would allow for continuity for newly appointed Trustees and prevent an undue hardship on the residents should all three decide to resign at the end of their term.

 

Trust Agreement should be written in common language and be fully readable.

Our Assessments for our portion of the Lake should be revised to include an additional $100.00 dedicated to the upkeep and maintenance of our Lake for our portion of the expenses.  However, this additional $100 dollars should not be levied all at once but possibly at annual increase of $20.00 per year until the maximum level has been reached in four years.  Additionally this money should only be slated for the improvement and maintenance of our Lake.  Currently we have a $20.00 annual assessment for our Lake Maintenance which does next to nothing in maintenance and improvement.  In my opinion this is not be proactive. If everyone pays at the current rate the annual amount we receive is $4,040.00.  Just to remove one tree from the common ground cost we well over $1000.00. I would personally like to see the Lake have a couple a lights, maybe a few benches, and process to stock the Lake with fish on a routine basis. But overall the maintenance is paramount first, removing dead trees in and around the lake, and Suring up the areas were we have serious erosion and possibly a clearly defined designated trail to the Lake. Most of the trees surrounding the lake are falling in due to land erosion. 

 

As a result of the land erosion we are also faced with an abundance of algae which suffocates our fish and other wildlife.  Even with the approval of the additional assessments this is not going to be fixed overnight.

Fencing in the subdivision should be addressed that all fencing types which is agreed upon shall be maintained in a good stated of repair be only placed in the rear of a residence and adjacent sides and not exceed a maximum height of 8 feet.

Paragraph 6(d) should be changed to  after 30 days delinquents assessments shall accrue an interest rate of (18%) per month instead of (8%) per month to include any and all reasonable legal or recording fees associated with this delinquency.  This is not intended as a punishment but more so as a deterrent to prevent our residents from being late or not paying in its entirety on the annual assessments.

Paragraph 11(d) Blackhall Development Company should be removed to reflect construction requirements as defined by St. Louis County Code enforcement and its applicable Ordinances.

 

Paragraph 11(k) Basically Blackhall Development should be struck out and revised in all areas.  Signs should be updated as well to allow for sale states but at reasonable dimensions not to exceed certain measurement to be determined later.

Paragraph 20 should either be revised or removed since Blackhall Development or Harold Siegfried is no longer critical stockholders

 

My other concerns are boats, ATV's, wave, runners, trailer homes, commercial vehicles, commercial yard equipment, vehicle repairs on streets, vehicles leaking oil or fluids  on streets etc.  We feel that RVs should only be parked for a minimum of three days for loading and unloading in a 14 day period.  That in addition no cars or recreation vehicles or commercial vehicles should be parked across any public walkways, thoroughfares, etc.  That all cars situated in driveways and on public streets should be currently licensed and registered and not be considered in derelict condition.  Commercial Vehicles should be parked on personal property and be in accordance with applicable St. Louis County Codes and Ordnances.

 

Proposed Inclusion in to our Indentures meeting the Revision Committee Approval and a Vote

 FINES, LIENS, ASSESSMENTS AND APPEALS

1. The Lake James Manor Board shall have the power to levy fines for violations of all governing documents for the Association or damages to the Common Elements, whether caused by vandalism, willful conduct or gross negligence. The Trustees may also levy a special assessment against a home owner for any repair of damage, even If caused accidentally or intentionally.

 2. Any person receiving a notice of violation has ten (10) business days from the date of the notice in which to file a protest in writing with the Property Management Company at City and Village unless otherwise change during the terms of the agreement Properties, Inc.)

 

3. If no protest is filed, the homeowner is assumed to be in agreement and fine will be due no later than thirty (30) days of date assessed.

4. Unpaid fines are subject to late fees and suit for collection as well as any attorney fees and associated court costs.

 5. The fine policy is:

a. First offense for committing a violation will result in a warning letter, if not corrected within ten (10) business days, fine will be levied to include the (18%) interest on the overall amount owed.

b. First annual offense after warning letter will be $75.00.

c. Second annual offense is $150.00.

d. Third annual offense is $300.00.

e. Succeeding offenses thereafter are $300.00 annually until the entire balance is paid in full.

f. If any damage is done that the Association must correct, the fees will be assessed to the homeowner as well.

 6. Homeowners shall be responsible for their families, guests, lessees, roommates, children and pets. If there is a violation caused by any of the above, the homeowner of the residence will be assessed the fine. All fees are deposited into the association's account

 

Roger and Vickie these are just some of the areas which I feel need to at least be addressed, voted on and amended.  However, this time the documents will be develop in concert under the advisement and approval  of  the Indentures Revision Committee.  We can move to only amend, revise in its entirety or if no one is interested drop this process in its entirety and live with what we have in place. 

Again my goal is not to have division within our community but to seek out ways for improvement.  I emphatically need your assistance in helping us develop a quality product that will last and be effective long after we are gone.  Plus whoever, takes over once my term as Chairman is over will have a more effective process to manage our great community and its business at hand.  Just as I said at our meeting it is absolutely no way three Trustees can effectively manage all of the challenges within this subdivision without the assistance of knowledgeable and motivated homeowners.