Madison Park

July 14, 2008 HOA Meeting Minutes

Jul 16, 2008

July 14, 2008 Madison Park HOA
www.neighborhoodlink.com 28210



7:30 PM Welcome Meeting called to Order by President Doss
47 people in attendance, plus 3 speakers and 2 police officers

Treasury Report- given by Sue Valentine-Plyler. We currently have $1,750.88 in the bank with 60 paid members. Please pay your 2008 dues!! You can send a check for $20 to Madison Park HOA, 5026 Currituck Dr, Charlotte, 28210.

Guest Speakers
Donald Moore, Code Enforcement
Jason Pauling from Park and Recreation with Greenways
Camden Coley, Charlotte- Mecklenburg Utilities


Zoning Inspector Donald Moore-
?• Regulate land use in our neighborhood (for example, if there is a home based business, the house should still look like a home, not a business)
?• Enforce sign regulation (South Blvd keeps him very busy)
?• Commercial vehicles (based on certain size and weight) are not allowed to be parked in residential areas
?• PODS (or other temporary storage units) are not allowed to be parked in your driveway for longer than 90 days. You can be fined. If you have received notice to remove and your bring them back you will get a fine immediately.
A resident asked about construction dumpsters parked outside of a house. These are allowed for temporary use.
Another resident said he had trouble recently with his cable line at his house. The line wasn?’t grounded and was recently hit by lightening. This caused damage to the home, and could have caused a fire. This may not be a code violation, but the resident wanted to urge everyone to make sure the incoming wires to their homes are properly grounded to prevent electrical fires. There was also an issue with the cable line laid across the power line going to the home. Call your cable company to have it hung correctly.
Another resident wanted to remind people that if you have a neighbor that has a dead tree in their yard, you should remind them to take care of it. She had a tree fall from her neighbor?’s yard and it cost the resident over $2,500 in repairs.
Another resident asked Donald Moore about a neighbor?’s house ?– there is trash piling up, grass is not being cut and other issues. She has been reporting this to the city for over 5 months without any results. Donald offered to look into the matter. UPDATE the home was recently inspected by Paris Waddy on 7/1/08. Kirk Young our code inspector is working on the yard issues. Housing issues and Code enforcement nuisance issue must be reported separately.

Crime Stats for the month of June. Given by Officers Crum and Isenhour.
There were 3 larcenies from vehicles, two damage reports to residential properties and three breaking and entering cases. Property crime is still the big issue for our police. Officer Crum asked what our resident?’s issues in Madison Park were. Several people mentioned traffic problems (speeding, running red lights and stop signs) basically all throughout Madison Park. Officer Crum offered to pass the information along to possibly get more patrols stopping for traffic violations. Both theses officers work our community.
A resident asked who she can call to report overgrown shrubs along a sidewalk. This should be reported to 311, not to the police. Residents are required to keep sidewalks clear of shrubs.

Camden Coley, with the water department, and Jason Pauling, with Parks and Rec with Greenways spoke next.
?• The Sugar Creek Waste Water Treatment plant is trying to expand now for the next 50 years of use.
?• The Sugar Creek Greenway will be going through the Treatment Plant.
?• The greenway will go from Archdale, through the plant, and under Tyvola. There will be public access from Park Rd Park and access trails from the neighborhood.
?• There will be a bond vote this fall to fund the greenway expansion.
A resident asked about odor coming from the plant. Camden Coley said the odor can increase in the heat of the summer. He encourages us to report bad odors. You can do call 311 or report on line through http://www.cmudata.com/reportodor.htm
The plant tries to prevent bad odors. We have added a link to our web site home page to make reporting bad odors easy.

Another resident asked if the existing trails on the property will be incorporated into the greenway. Neighbors are welcome to use these trails for walking or biking (motorized vehicles such as ATV?’s are not allowed). When the greenway is built, there will be fences to keep people out of the plant itself. But they are not planning on fencing the entire property. They are also not planning on acquiring any of the houses that border the property.

Another resident asked about the expansion along Tyvola. They are adding a pump station along the side of the road.

If you have any other questions about the Waste Water Treatment Plant, Debra Campbell is our neighborhood representative on the SCWWTP stakeholder?’s board. Residents can also arrange to tour the plant if they wish.


Murrayhill Road Sidewalks Public Meeting
CDOT contacted President Doss to alert him ?“that the Project Manager has scheduled the public information meeting for the Murrayhill Road sidewalk project. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 22nd from 6:30 until 8:00 pm. The location is the Wedgewood Baptist Church - 4800 Wedgewood Drive, Charlotte.

Notifications are being mailed to property owners tomorrow so you should receive yours shortly.
(Residents should have their notifications now)

Per the Sidewalk Retrofit Policy, the City is required to notify the Home Owners Association. Per this email I am notifying you as the HOA President.

Please let me know that you have received this so we are complying with the Policy notification requirements.?”

Vivian Coleman, RLA, AICP
Pedestrian Program Manager
Charlotte Department of Transportation
600 East Fourth Street
Charlotte, NC 28202


President Doss responded he had received the notification then alerted all of the Madison Park Board and Officers. He then sought clarification if anyone could attend. CDOT responded that since this was a public meeting anyone can attend that wishes. President Doss then immediately posted the information on our web sites discussion page and the calendar.


Tyvola Road
Earl Cox one of our members on Londonderry mentioned that Tyvola Road at the Rail Road track heading east is in need of repairs. He said he had turned this in twice, but had not seen any improvement after months. Chip Gallup with CDOT checked it out after President Doss sent him an email with the concerns and replied he saw the small failure at the tracks that is causing a depression. The issue is being looked into further. CATS said their track go overhead at that point. This might be an issue for Northern Southern to address since they own the tracks at street grade. Anyway hopefully now that CDOT and CATS are aware they will be able to help correct this problem in the near future.


National Night Out 2008 Date 8/5/08
Target on South Tryon is going to support our event with a gift card and volunteers to help run the event. We need your help with distributing flyers to your neighbors. For everyone that helps pass out flyers, and then signs the time sheet with a commitment of 1 hour, we will get 13.00 dollars paid toward our grant match. This is the first time we distributed any event info that we can actually get paid for doing it. Please sign the time sheets and take a stack of flyers. Please make sure you include all information asked for on the time sheet. It is required in order to have it count. Pass the flyers out to your neighbors along your block or Entire Street. If you are reading this online, or in an email, and can help with this project please contact President Doss at Martydoss@aol.com or 704.519.0677. Leave your name, address, how many flyers you can distribute, and when he can deliver and have you sign the time sheet. The grant requires each volunteer to sign their name on the time sheet.

On 8/5/08 we can use volunteers to help set up our event. All residents in the effective street closure zone have been contacted with special directions for the day of the event.

Most importantly please come out to our National Night Out. It will be on Fairbanks from 6-9pm. We have all types of attractions; things to eat and drink - that will keep you cool, and entertainment. Since we obtained the grant we want to meet last years attendance of 500 plus. Hopefully this year we will have great weather and huge crowds. Even if you just drop in at the event and stay a few minutes it is important you participate. You are welcome to invite family and friends to attend with you. This location provides plenty of adjacent street parking. You can enter from Fairbanks at Valley Forge entrance or the Wedgewood Drive at Fairbanks entrance. You can park along Valley Forge, Seacroft, Eastern end of Fairbanks Road, Wedgewood. You can also safely cross and walk to the event at Wedgewood Drive and Tyvola Road cross walks. The board and officers will all be working to help staff this fun event. Most likely in 2009 we will have the choice of a fall event if we choose for National Night Out.

Montclaire has been invited to attend as our guest. They decided to not do an event or officially participate this year.

This year we have Charlotte Thunder, Music by Holly Harper, Target Volunteers, Several Attractions coming from YES Your Event Source, Giant Genie, Sue Valentine-Plyler Prudential Realtors, Keller Williams - Realtors living in our community, Park and Recreation, CMPD, and Madison Park HOA (event producers), all participating this year.
There will be a special entertainment performance starting at 7:45 PM you will not want to miss. Charlotte Thunder Marching Band will perform starting around 6:15 PM. Bring a lounge chair and set back and enjoy the three different performances we have booked for your entertainment. Holly Harper and Friends will play between the two acts. Remember tip our performers for donating their time. Many do not live in Madison Park.


Quality of Life Study Area 196 Name Change
Cynthia Woods, Neighborhood Development, contacted President Doss with the following message on June 27th, 2008. ?“I've been told that Montclaire voted Monday night to accept the NSA 196 name change from Closeburn/Glenkirk to Montclaire/Madison Park in the 2008 Quality of Life Study. I will contact Mark Francis and take care of the necessary paperwork and make the arrangements with the researchers at UNC-C.?”
What does this mean? Both our area will still be divided as they currently are from both our boundary maps on area 196. This just means the study area will be called Montclaire/Madison Park now instead of Closeburn/Glenkirk. Our two areas have the most properties in the study zone and this will make it more identifiable to our two group?’s members/residents.
When inspectors from codes and zoning have complaints in the area they will be listed in the future as Montclaire/Madison Park if they happen in study area 196.
Area 197, (the area North of Tyvola for the most part), is called Madison Park and will remain as it is currently named.
Hopefully in the future around 2010 the 250 homes left off area 197, that are on the 196 area map, (South of Tyvola being renamed to Montclaire/Madison Park), can be added to the map called 197. At that point we will work with Montclaire to remove our name from 196 studies completely since we will then have no properties on the 196 area once the boundaries are corrected
Parking Concerns and Questions
On Street Parking Clarifications
The HOA has had several different types of complaints / inquiries about parking on the streets over the last few months.
#1 the city, CDOT, states to us that parking on the streets calms traffic. Speeding is a main concern in our community so parking on the street is not discouraged in Madison Park. You can even park vehicles across from each other as long as one vehicle and any emergency responders can get through the street. This is on any unmarked painted streets in Madison Park.
(Remember if you choose to park on the street you should only park with all 4 tires on the payment or at the gutter edge). Having two wheels partially on the grass is considered parking on the lawn and can result in a 25 dollar tickets if reported to 311, or the city inspector sees this, or police choose to issue a citation. After my recent drive around with our new inspector over codes he noted several violators with wheels on the grass. He will be making regular rounds, and addressing repeat violators.
#2 it is illegal to park next to fire hydrants. It is illegal to park closer than 15 feet to a hydrant. This also applies to Seneca Place where you will find hydrants with parking lanes next to them. This is a safety issues and once again could result in a citation if someone reports you to 911.
#3 it is illegal to park near or in front of Stop Signs. It is illegal to park on a street within 30 feet upon the approach to any flashing signal, stop sign, or traffic control signal located at the side of a roadway. 911 is the proper number to call
# 4 it is Illegal to park on a street in front of a public or private driveway. Several people have complained recently that people are parking across from their driveways making it difficult to exit their private driveways. If you can avoid parking directly across from your neighbors driveways please do. Most of the road frontage in front of our homes is wide enough that this should not be a problem. 911 for blocking private driveway
#5 it is Illegal to park on a street other than parallel with the edge of the roadway, headed in the direction of traffic, and with the curbside wheels of the vehicle within 12 inches of the edge of the roadway, unless authorized to do otherwise by appropriate signs.
#6 Residents should not park partially or fully on sidewalks. We have limited sidewalks as it is. Residents should call 911 to report.
There are many other parking regulations. The above are the most common concerns we hear about from our residents with parking concerns. Most of these should either be directed to 311 or 911 to handle. Try speaking with your neighbor if you are having problem with any of the above. This will probably take care of most issues.
Thanks in Advance for Parking Correctly!
Door to Door Salesmen
President Doss learned from a member that salesmen pushing the ornate address yard signs have been using him as an endorsement in their sales pitch. Apparently residents are being told that as President of Madison Park that he wants all our residents to purchase these signs. For the record President Doss does not have, nor did he purchase these signs. They do look nice, and all homes are required by City Ordinance to have their address posted on their property for safety reason. That said how you choose to comply with this requirement is your choice.

Remember that if any salesmen seem suspicious or will not leave when you tell them to leave just dial 911. Also remember it is best to let someone knocking on the door know you are inside your home. You can do that by letting them see you inside, making noise, or turning on lights. You don?’t need to open the front door to do let someone know you are inside your home.

Queens Sports Complex Update
Update:
The University?’s planned welcome center, field house, grandstand and site work are currently under contract. Queens plans to break ground on these facilities/projects in September. All construction should be completed by summer 2009.
-
Mallory C. Benz
Assistant Director for Media and Public Relations
Queens University of Charlotte
704 337-2452 direct


New Members Welcome

Concerns/Issues/Open Discussion
NO concerns or issues were brought up at this meeting.

Adjournment