York Farms Community

YORK FARMS MAINTENANCE CORPORATION FALL 2007 NEWSLETTER

Sep 19, 2007

I. Attention: Important announcement regarding future newsletters
On September 14, 2007, the corporation was advised by NCC that the NCC partnership initiative will no longer be printing and mailing community newsletters. To reduce costs to corporation members, the York Farms Maintenance Corporation board will no longer print and mail newsletters. The board will post all future newsletters on the York Farms Community web site. The web site can be accessed on NeighborhoodLink.com. Please follow the following steps to access the newsletter. Enter the zip code at the find your neighborhood prompt, click on York Farms Community, and click on York Farms Maintenance Corporation Newsletter under Neighborhood Information. Please notify the board in writing if you do not have access to the internet so we may mail you a hard copy of the newsletter. Written correspondence is to be sent to P.O. box 229, Kirkwood, DE 19708. Please send us your e-mail address, and we will e-mail you the newsletter. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this new process.

II. July 7, 2007 York Farms Maintenance Corporation meeting minutes
A. Call to order
Marika White called to order the Community meeting along with the York Farms Maintenance Corporation at 10:00 a.m. on 07/07/07 at the Bear Library.
B. Attendees
The following board members were present: Marika White, Reggie Thomas, Julianne Gray, Darryl Wilford, and Maureen Davis of the board. There were (11) attendees from the community present. No NCCO officials were present.
C. Meeting Agenda
1. Budgetary Update - maintenance corporation expenditures (year to date)
- Julie presented an update of bills and expenses paid, amnesty program, and the retention pond maintenance.
2. Discussion regarding upcoming Budget (2008)
- Marika gave a line by line account of the proposed budget for 2008 based upon historical expense data, cost averaging, forecasting, and board recommendations. Members of the community present were in general agreement of the proposed budget. [2008 Budget will be altered as members voted to repair and not replace front entrance signs. Please refer to revised budget.]
- Underscored that we have a 90% success rate on assessment collections. Community was pleased and concurred that follow up should be continued with the other outstanding 10%.
- A letter from a community member expressing concerns about the proposed budget was shared and discussed.
- Discussion and agreement for cuts of the central landscape ?–once/week is sufficient. Will look into additional weeding maintenance (possibly twice/month during June and July). [Bi-weekly weeding has been initiated.] Members agreed that mulching of the front entrance beds twice per year is sufficient. Board will contact vendor to ensure replacement of weed preventer fabric with each mulching. Maintenance corporation members agreed that the budgeted reserve (one year?’s expenses) was sufficient. Members did not wish to arbitrarily increase the reserves. Members agreed that the budget would be increased as the need arises. Board encouraged all corporation members to express concerns regarding maintenance of the community throughout the year as opposed to waiting to voice concerns at the budget meeting so that the board is given an opportunity to rectify issues in a timely fashion.
3. Discussion of maintenance of front entrance signs
- Proxies were available for voting on the new sign proposal options. After thorough discussion by all present, a decision was made to table replacement of the front entrance signs. Members voted to repair the current signs that we have. This would be economical as well as aesthetically in synch. The board will follow up with Valerie Longhurst?’s group to see if they will still contribute funds for the repairs. [State Rep., Valerie Longhurst has agreed to fund the repair of the front entrance signs. Del Dot will perform the repairs. We will update you later regarding the scheduling of the repairs.]
4. Approval Committee Update ?– No one was present from this group, invitation had been sent. Additional discussion ensued. We will make efforts to try to bridge the gap, close the impasse. Perhaps new members should be added here. No volunteers for the approval committee at this time. [We invite the members of the Approval Committee to attend and update the community regarding the activities of the committee at the next York Farms Corporation meeting.]
5. Civic Association Update ?– Theresa Hunter and Andrea Thomas were present. They both expressed interest in renewing the enthusiasm for participation in the group and the community.
- Participated in discussions regarding: ?“Community Watch?”, and Community Day.
D. Comments & Open Discussion
1) Graffiti ?– Neighbors at properties 153, 155, 157 have experienced problems or vandalism. Jerry Heisner of Reybold (Hunter?’s Run) should be notified.

2) Video surveillance ?– Should this be considered? Costs? Who would monitor, set up? Would a decoy work?

3) Delinquent assessments pursuit ?– A neighbor who was burdened with back assessment dues upon moving into the community voiced his issue. Marika shared some points on NCCO laws regarding and how handled. Essentially, except for foreclosure, past due assessments must be paid by property owners. Although the burden is upon the homeowner, the homeowner?’s settlement attorney should be held accountable by said property owner to pursue the previous owner?’s outstanding assessments.

4) 140 Cornwell Drive -Continued failure to comply with deed restrictions regarding building materials on property and unfinished shed for a very lengthy period of time. Lawn is now not being cut regularly. Homeowner has been extended grace period by the corporation and is still out of compliance.

?• Lengthy and passionate discussion amongst all present. Additional legal pursuit in question (Chancery court issues). Attorney can not guarantee victory in court or reimbursement of court fees by defendant. Minimum court costs would be $3000. Several of the community members expressed a desire to approach homeowner in a ?“good neighbor?” fashion and express the desire to have the entire community maintain curb appeal. If we can peaceably have this resolved, no further ill will may ensue, and we can avoid further legal fees. We also discussed drafting a letter to this neighbor.
E. Action items/Close of Meeting
a) We briefly mentioned/handed out ?“10 Helpful Tips?” ?“Who to Call?” to aid in community irregularity issues and reporting.
b) Community Day ?– The board will work with the Civic Association in getting this done.
F. Adjournment
Marika White adjourned the meeting at 12:30 p.m.

III. July-August 2007 Expenditure
Delmarva Power Front lights $167.15 Pond Care and Front Entrance Weeding $649.99 Attorney Fees $185.75
Weed Killer for Front Entrance $9.86 Insurance $1067
Lawn Cuts $444.40 (4 cuts in July) New Castle County Taxes $48.67
Total Expenses $2572.82
Deposits $125.88

IV. Property values:
The time to be concerned about our property values is now not when we are experiencing a crisis and have to move from our homes quickly. You can not always predict when your situation may change and you may need to move or refinance your home. Let's all make a concerted effort to increase our property values. How? By taking care of our homes now. The board encourages you to make the following improvements to your home if your home is in need of such repair:
1. Replace missing shutters. Repair loose shutters. Paint faded shutters.
2. Paint exterior doors and door moldings, eaves, and any other structure with faded or chipped paint.
3. Repair cracks and seams in driveways and walkways to avoid more expensive structural repairs later.
4. Seal driveways regularly to avoid costly repairs later
5. Repair fences.
6. Weed beds and trim bushes and trees regularly. Remove dead plants and bushes.
7. Cut grass weekly and as needed during periods of excessive rain.
8. Pick up your pet?’s feces during walks through the development.
9. Throw trash in receptacles and not in common areas. Encourage your family and visitors to avoid littering in our community.
10. Bag all of your trash so it does not blow into your neighbor's yard on windy days.
11. Place your trash in receptacles; do not leave exposed trash bags for animals to tear and make a mess.
12. Pick up trash in common areas.
York Farms is a beautiful community. We want our community to stay beautiful! We encourage all of you to do all you can to make sure that our visitors and prospective home buyers see and appreciate the beauty and value of our community. Thank you for your efforts to maintain our community?’s property values!
V. You are cordially invited to the next York Farms Maintenance Corporation meeting to be held on September 29, 2007 @ 10:00 A.M. at the Bear Library. Please refer to the agenda below. Elections will be held for board offices. Please be advised your assessments must be current in order to participate in the election. We invite you to become a board member or to nominate a corporation member who is interested in holding a position on the board. We welcome your assistance. Open positions are president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and standing board members.
I. Financial Update
II. 140 Cornwell Drive
III. Approval Committee Update
IV. Civic Association Update
V. Update on retention pond repair by Janice Catherman, New Castle County Dept. of Special Services
VI. Election
VII. Remarks from state rep., senator & NCC
VIII. Comments ?– (Open)
VI. Civic Corner
1. Block Watch is being organized in your community. Training is scheduled for Sept. 24th, 7p.m., Bear Library. There is still time to sign up. Please call 838-5644. Thank you for your support.
2. Don't forget the community garage sale on Sept. 22nd. Great opportunity to organize the garage and get paid for doing so....
3. Help is needed to start up a civic newsletter. Please call 838-5644 or email:rosebud5203@aol.com
4. We would like to reduce the cost of copying and mailing information to residents. This can be accomplished if each household makes available an email address. It will be used for civic related matters.
5. Raffle tickets will soon be sold by the civic association. Please support our efforts to fund future, community activities such as Community Day.
6. Several stray cats have been roaming far and about. Please respect your neighbors?’ property and control your pets.
7. Please send your suggestions or questions to the above email address.
8. Thank you to the officers of the Maintenance Board for attending the Block Watch orientation meeting on July 31, 2007 and for joining the program. Their support and cooperation is greatly appreciated by the civic association
VI. Board contact information
President: Marika White, 216 Cornwell Drive, home # 838-1292, email: marika0824@ yahoo.com
Vice President: Reggie Thomas, 215 Cornwell Drive, home #838-5644, email: RegThomas@aol.com
Treasurer: Julianne Gray, email: juliannegray01@comcast.net
Secretary: Darryl Wilford, email: dwilf5@comcast.net Maureen Davis, email: mdavis550@aol.com
YORK FARMS MAINTENANCE COPRORATION PROXY
NAME______________________________________________________
ADDRESS___________________________________________________

____Marika White

____Reggie Thomas

____Darryl Wilford

____Julianne Gray

____Maureen Davis




__________________________________________________________________