Westbrooke Condominiums Community

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER NEWSLETTER ARTICLES

Grounds and Pool Update

Another Leaf Pick-Up Is Scheduled

Mowing season is over.  A-1, our lawn service, will have another leaf pick-up once all the leaves are off the trees on Monday, December 21.  The Bradford Pear trees still have quite a few leaves left on them, so an exact date will be announced once those leaves are off the trees.  We will try to remind you a few days before the pick-up day to give you time to rake your leaves to the curb. Thanks to all the homeowners who participated in Adam’s first leaf pick-up.  We have hired a new company to service the pool next season. With our pool getting older, we felt like we needed a company with more experience and one that could keep a watchful eye out for any problems we may encounter. Campbell Pool & Spa will be taking care of the pool; they also will service it twice a week. –from  Mary Ann Johnson

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

This will be our last newsletter until “next year.”  WOW, what a year we have had!  I want to recap some of the important issues that our board accomplished this year. The board has worked extremely hard on trying to keep our community beautiful.  Recently, we had our roads resurfaced and they look great.  Last summer, we had “Carlton” removed from our by-laws since he no longer is a part of this community.    The Board is currently removing “Carlton” from the Westbrooke signs.  Also, we have worked with Adam throughout the year to help us maintain our common areas.  Adam has also done many “extra” things for our homeowners.  Thank you, Adam!

Lately, the biggest task the board has been working on is our dues.  As you may or may not know, the Board called a “special” meeting on November 14 concerning our roofs.  The board felt that we needed to start collecting more money as our roofs will need replacing in the near future.  After several homeowners felt we needed to have someone inspect our roofs, and the vote was in favor of no, the Board decided to regroup and rethink our roof situation.  Therefore, the Board will start looking for someone to do inspections on all our roofs.  We would also like for these inspectors to look inside the attic of each home.

We will make sure they can do this in the evening so you can let them inside your home.  Please understand that we will try to accommodate everyone, but we need everyone’s cooperation in the matter.

On a more personal change, for anyone who doesn’t know, I have sold my unit and have moved.  After talking with the board — and with their approval — I will continue in my position until June.  I feel that I should finish my term and try to complete projects that are in the works.  I have truly enjoyed living here and have made many dear friends; I want everyone to know that I always tried to make the right decisions that would be best for our community.    – From Your President, Tammie Slagle

A Special Thank You to the Board

I want to give a special “thank you” to all the Board members.  As the President of this association, I have had many trying times.  You, the Board has been especially supportive of and with me.  Thank you for helping me with every suggestion, complaints, and whatever came my way.  I could not have done the job (good or bad) without each and every one of you behind me.  Again, thank you for working hard and supporting not only me, but also this community.  You do a great job!    – From Tammie Slagle

Monthly Dues Information

The coupon books for the 2010 monthly dues have been ordered and will be distributed by the middle of December, if all goes as planned.   –from Jan Hinshaw

Maintenance Report

A roof repair was completed on Gate Post.  Then we had a dry spell and no roof problems were reported.  When the rains returned, two roof problems occurred on Tinsmith which were repaired.   I was disappointed in the poor response to our called meeting to address roof problems.  With the fee increase defeated, the next step will be community-wide roof inspections.  No further action will be taken until the May general meeting.  –from Ebb Judd

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL RESIDENTS:

Here is an early reminder:  residents need to put a covering or a “boot” on outdoor faucets to avoid them from freezing this winter.  If water freezes in the faucet, it could burst when you turn your faucet on; and it WILL flood your condo. The HOA is not responsible for your faucets or the damage that might result, so please cover them when the weather gets colder. These “boots” and other coverings can be purchased at stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot for a small cost.

THE STATE OF THE COMMUNITY      from HOA President, Tammie Slagle

I hope everyone has noticed our roads.  The paving company resealed our roads recently.  I know that this was an inconvenience for us all, but I want to thank all of you who were patient and understanding.  I hope everyone will enjoy the new look of our roads.  This resealing should help our road maintenance for 4 to 5 more years.  Many thanks go to Board member Ebb Judd who made all the initial contacts with various paving / resealing companies and who made arrangements for the work.  As we all know, we have not had any major renovations in our community for many years.  Unfortunately, the time is coming when we will need to address those major repairs.  The board will try its best to choose what repairs or renovations are the most crucial, hoping that all homeowners will trust the board with those decisions.  At our special August community meeting, we were able to vote on accepting the revised Covenant and By-Laws for our development.  Now that the community has voted to accept the revised documents, we are in the process of filing them with the Knox County Registrar’s Office.  Residents can now refer to the revised documents when looking for information or rules.  Board member Dick Biannucci thanks his street representatives who worked diligently to get the proxies collected for the August community meeting.  I would like to thank the board members who have done a wonderful job so far this year.  They work hard to maintain our property’s high value!

CONCERNS ABOUT THE GROUNDS’ APPEARANCE

At the June annual meeting several homeowners asked about what could be done about the yards that were not being maintained.  A committee of several homeowners has been asked to “take notice” of the yards in the community that need attention and cleaning up. When the list of these yards is submitted, the Board will review the list; then a letter will be sent to the owners, asking them to please clean up their yards.  This does not require landscaping; we may request that you trim your shrubs and trees that have hanging limbs, pull the weeds in your flower beds, clean the debris and trash off your front porch and back patio, and / or put your trash can away. Please note:  If residents need some help and are not able to do this work themselves, call Board member Mary Ann Johnson so that the Board can work something out. Let’s all work together to keep our community looking nice and neat because Fall is the perfect time to clean up and put away.  Residents, please remember that Waste Management will not pick up debris such as tree limbs unless they are bagged, tied in bundles, or placed in the company’s trash cans.  Any resident who would like to hire someone to do yard work can contact Board member Mary Ann Johnson who has a list of “handymen” who have worked for others in the development at reasonable rates. She also has a list of other tradesmen for other repair work.  Recently, a large dead tree was removed from our property close to the intersection of Bob Kirby and Chesney.  The surrounding area that was on our property was also cleared away.

ISSUES INVOLVING MAINTENANCE

Repairs and replacements have been completed for three faulty street lights. Some gutter problems and minor roof problems were addressed after being reported.  Also, minor repairs were made to the small fence between the upper end of Gate Post and Greylock.  We have addressed the issues involving our roads.  As everyone is aware of by now, the company cleaned the roads, repaired the cracks, and sealed the asphalt.  Anyone who has maintenance issues should contact Board member Ebb Judd.

ARCHITECTURAL CONTROL  ISSUES

Once again, please remember that any exterior changes (including satellite dishes and landscaping) must be submitted in writing first.  Then, this written request must be approved before the resident starts the project.  Compliance to these rules maintains the value of your property as well as your neighbors’ properties. Please call Board member Ed Axelrod if you have any questions.

REZONING ISSUE BEING MADE BY NURSERY IN OUR AREA

The nursery at the corner of Lovell and Hickey is petitioning the city to have its zoning changed from agricultural to commercial (business).  A meeting has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on September 10, 2009, at the Knox City / County Building.  The other posted information directs people to call Michael Brusseau at 215-2500 with questions concerning this rezoning.  The File Number is 9-A-09-SP 9-A-09-RZ (James McCain).

A resident here at Westbrooke has questioned whether we residents should be concerned about this rezoning and whether it could be a problem for this subdivision since the nursery is so close to our property.

Upon preliminary investigations, there are various questions we might want to explore/clarify:  1)  How will the nursery change if it is rezoned as Business (commercial)?  2) Will it increase in size and be selling equipment and other products?  3) Will this change increase traffic, noise, and possible vandalism in our area?  4) Once the Nursery is rezoned as Business, would any further land that it purchases automatically be zoned as Business also (In other words, could the business grow in size to actually reach our property lines)? 5) If the land would be rezoned, could the nursery then sell the property to another commerical interest?

Concerned residents should call the number above or go to the meeting.

Hello to Homeowners and New Comers!  I just want to say thanks to all the homeowners who participated in our annual meeting Satuday, June 13th.  We had about 80 homeowners at our meeting.  This was the best turn out we have ever had.  Our main discussion concerned the roofing situation at Westbrooke.  We will need to start replacing roofs in the next few years.  As always, the board will continue to strive saving monies for this expense. 

We will need to have an extra meeting for the By-Laws that were changed early this year.  The ONLY changed that was made is the name Carlton was replaced by Westbrooke.  Carlton is no longer a part of this and we felt it should be deleted.  We did not reach the number of votes we needed to make this change, so we will need another meeting to get this passed.  That date will be annouced soon.

We also want to hear from you….. the homeowner.  If you have ideas or something you need the board to look into, please contact the board.

I hope everyone has a wonderful summer and please stay in touch with Westbrooke using this website. 

Thank You – Tammie Slagle / President