May HOA Board Meeting Highlights

• The treasurer’s report stated that the cash balance in checking as of 4-30-13 was $13,343.94 and the business saving account balance as of 4-30-13 was $2,203.04.  We received no payments in April.  April expenses were a $30.00 Corporation Fee, $20.00 Corporation Tax, and $58.28 to GA power, $285.00 Maloney’s Landscaping, $50.00 Irrigation Fees, and $225.00 Lighting Maintenance.
• Liens were placed on two properties for non payment of homeowners dues.
• Members of the Board met with our HOA Attorney about matters concerning our covenants and how to better serve our community and proceed with violations.
• The new directory will be complete by Friday, May 31st.
• The county extension service will be coming out to check the health of the trees in "The Park" area.
• We will be purchasing 4-5 signs for the front entrance for announcements of events.
• Our next social event will be on June 29th.  We will be having a 4th of July Parade and Ice Cream Social.  Time will be announced at a later time.

Being a Great Neighbor

Don't we all want to be the best neighbor and have the best neighbors?  Well, I am always looking for ways to be a better neighbor and ideas to make our neighborhood even better than it is today.  Recently, I ran across an article that had some wonderful ideas on helping bring neighbors in a small community closer together.  As you know, the board is working hard on planning events to get more people involved and trying to provide information to keep everyone informed.  I thought that after reading this article I would share some of the ideas with you. Even though most of them are common sense, it never hurts to be reminded that some of the most simplistic ideas are still the most effective in being a GREAT neighbor.

How can you be a courteous and great neighbor?

• Pick up after you pet while walking them in our neighborhood especially when they need to relieve themselves in a neighbors yard.
• Keep your dog on a leash if it has a tendency to run off.
• Drive slowly through our neighborhood and watch for children playing.
• Promptly remove trash bins from the curb on your designated trash day.
• Keep barking dogs inside especially at night.
• Have visitors park in your driveway or in front of your home instead of your neighbors home unless your have asked prior to their visit.
• Don’t run machinery early in the morning or late at night.
• Don’t play loud music.
• Inform your neighbors when you’re planning a party. If they know what to expect, they will tolerate it better. What time will it start? When will it end? Adhere to this schedule for your neighbors’ sake.
• Keep your yard tidy, grass cut, house pressure washed, etc.
• Speak to your neighbors and build a rapport
• Expressing an interest in something he or she values, a prize rose or a weed-free lawn, for example, or comment on the good manners their children use when they come over to retrieve their soccer ball from your yard. 
• Inviting a neighbor over for ice tea one warm afternoon or plan a neighborhood gathering for everyone on your block.
• Take a bouquet of flowers from your garden to a neighbor who has just moved in or who needs cheering up.
• When you see a neighbor struggling with a project, offer them the help. Just last evening, in our neighborhood, a boy was walking up the street pushing his bicycle. A neighbor asked why he wasn’t riding it and he explained that something was broken. The neighbor took a look at the bike, was able to fix it and the boy rode off with a big smile on his face.
• If you see suspicious activity around a neighbor’s property, tell him about it.
• Offer to watch your neighbors’ homes when they’re away.

How can you connect with neighbors?

• Neighborhood Watch is a good place to start. Many cities have volunteers who work with neighborhood leaders in setting up these programs.
• Create a neighborhood directory for each resident. (which should be ready in a couple of weeks) =)
• Discuss emergency measures with your immediate neighbors.
• Be aware of elderly or disabled neighbors who might need special attention in case of emergency.
• Visit new neighbors and give them your phone number in case they need help with anything or want information about community services.

Good Morning Everyone,
I am now following a group on Facebook that has a lot of great local information and earlier in the weekend they posted some important information about a break in next door at The Settlement East.  I have included the information below.  If your are interested, you can "like" their page and get the updates too.   The link is https://www.facebook.com/WilmingtonIslandGA or you can follow them on Twitter at https://twitter.com/WilmingtonIs_GA

Have a great day and let's keep an eye out for each other's property.
Thanks,
Wendy

 

From the WilmingtonIslandGA Facebook Page...
Heads up Islanders: Wilmington Island Peeps: We had a burglary in our neighborhood (Settlement East) yesterday afternoon in broad daylight. Front door of the house was pried open. Electronics and jewelry stolen. Be on the lookout for an ivory or cream-colored vehicle, possibly a Buick Enclave or a Ford Escape. Keep your doors locked and set your alarms. If you see unfamiliar vehicles parked in driveways, please notify the homeowner and/or the police.

Mosquito Control Update - 9 May 2013

From Jean Soucy

The County Mosquito Control Tech came by today and walked “The Ditch”. All seemed very healthy and clean with no man made debris in the ditch. There is lot of natural decaying going on and that is good. We do have a couple of areas that fallen trees need to be pushed around to allow water flow and for fish to better thrive. I will work on doing that before the Tech returns.  There are of course a lot of mosquito eggs, although I have not seen any adult mosquitos this season. The Tech put some pellets down to retard mosquito growth. There are fish still thriving in the water but “B” plans to return Monday, May 12 with a couple of gallons of newly hatched fish and continue to come once a month to monitor the Mosquito population. We get excellent support from the Chatham County Mosquito Control people.

Hello neighbors,
This Saturday, May 11,  postal workers will participate in the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive to benefit local food pantries. We hope that everyone will make an effort to help with this worthy cause by placing a few cans of food in a bag and hanging it by the mail box before our letter carrier arrives.

Thanks in advance for demonstrating that The Settlement is a caring community.

April HOA Board Meeting Highlights

• We currently have 29 homeowners that have returned their forms for the new directory.
• We have 14 residents that have signed up to get automatic alerts from the website.
• Mac’s Landscape and lighting replaced 8 bulbs at the front entrance and repaired a cut wire. 
• The Architectural committee reported that we still have one homeowner in violation of the covenants and after a discussion by the board it was decided to turn the matter over to our attorney.
• The board voted to place a lien on two properties because of nonpayment of dues.
• The board discussed ideas for neighborhood events for the summer and fall.  Ideas for an ice-cream social, 4th of July kids & pets parade, and a pumpkin patch were some of the ideas discussed.
• A board member will research the prices for purchasing signs for the front entrance for events and announcements.
• A board will call the extension service to come out and check the trees in the "park" area to make sure that they are healthy.
• A request was made for articles for the website.  If anyone is interested in sharing something on the website, please email it to thesettlementonwilmington@gmail.com.
• The treasurer's report stated that the cash balance in checking as of 3-31-13 was $14,012.22 and the money market account balance as of 3-31-13 was $2,203.04. March expenses were $54.96 to GA power, Maloney’s $235.00, and office expenses of $113.25.  This included paying $60.00 for our PO Box and supply reimbursements.  A website expense line was added to the budget and reflects as zero since it had not previously been an item in the budget.  The cost per year is $9.16 for one year.  The 2012 Federal Taxes were mailed on March 12, 2013, no balance due. The corporation was renewed on March 26, 2013, and the fee of $30 will be noted in the April report as the payment had to be made by credit card and the reimbursement check for the payment will be cut during April.

Other Announcements

If anyone lost a garage door opener, please contact Jean Soucy.

If you have something that you would like to put in the announcements, please contact a board member or email us at thesettlementonwilmington@gmail.com

Have a great week!

 

Hello neighbors... It's not too late to get those directory forms turned in.  We have had a lot of people turn in forms already, but still have many that need to be returned. If you haven't turned one in, you can drop it off  at Wendy Amerson's house at 4 Settlement Ct.  She will be working on the new directory in a few weeks. We really hope that everyone participates, so please remind your neighbors about the directory and also joining the website.   For those of you who have joined the website, we hope that you are finding it full of useful information.   Please remember it is a work in progress and we welcome any new ideas.  Just email us... Have a great day!

If you need another form please follow the link below to print out a new one. 
http://thesettlementonwilmington.blogspot.com/p/homeowner-documents.html