2021 Quail Hollow Property Owners Association
Annual Report
Jan. 18, 2022
Quail Hollow property owners and residents,
It’s been another busy year in the neighborhood as we wrapped up long-delayed repairs to the clubhouse, began to deal with the tennis courts, and grappled with outdated governing documents and spotty records.
The clubhouse – In January, we had a new privacy fence installed between the pool and parking lot. In the spring, the exterior of the clubhouse received badly-needed repairs and a new paint job. This wrapped up a 2-1/2 year effort costing about $62,000 to get the clubhouse in shape for the next 20 years. It included a new roof, extensive repairs to the decks, railings, walkways, stairways and landings (thanks to the Hlavatys and Lisa Vezzosi!), a new (and much more efficient) heat pump, new insulation under the floor, new lighting, new plumbing throughout, and the aforementioned exterior repairs and paint. Still to come sometime in the next few years – new flooring, interior painting, new appliances, and additional repairs to the pool bathrooms. We’ll be in good shape for many years if normal, regular maintenance is performed.
The pool – In the spring before opening, extensive repairs were done to the pool deck. During opening, several problems with the aging equipment cropped up, which took a few weeks to straighten out. This coming spring, we must do additional repairs to the pool itself, which may require fixing leaks and repainting. The heater, filter, chlorinator and pump are showing their age; the chlorinator will definitely have to be replaced, and other components may give up the ghost at any time. As the pool ages, patching and fixing gets harder and more expensive, and this is getting worrisome.
The pond – It was a rough 18 months with the pond, culminating in the failure of the old aerator fountain and its replacement in the fall. We’re finally in good shape and back to normal. We purchased a small inflatable boat which will allow us to do maintenance on the aerator whenever needed. It will pay for itself after 2 uses. How often the pond needs dredging is entirely weather-dependent, and we have been through the wettest multi-year period on record. With any luck and normal weather, the pond won’t need major work for at least 5 years, probably longer.
The creek – After years of neglect, we started cleaning up the overgrown, dead and dying trees along the creek. Much progress has been made, and 2 more trees, 1 dead, 1 dying, are under contract to be removed this winter. Safety and erosion control are factors, but aesthetics is the major concern. We will be careful not to remove any trees or trim away branches that don’t need to go.
The roads – Property Manager Ken Gough finally figured out how to patch the potholes, and updated and fixed all of the road signs in the neighborhood. We are OK for the time being and have money in the bank for the next round of repaving. We are closely monitoring Quail Hollow Drive, which will probably be first up, but don’t anticipate doing it this year.
The tennis court – We finally got serious about the tennis courts. We consulted with a number of tennis court builders to determine our options, sent out 2 surveys to the membership, and debated the issue extensively in the Board meetings. 2022 should be the year when we finally take action. Ken was instructed to obtain quotes for 2 options: First, to demolish the courts. Second, to put a snap-together plastic tile system on one court, which will be marked for tennis, pickle ball and basketball half-court, and defer action on the other court for the future. Either option will be expensive, costing tens of thousands of dollars. A third and potentially more cost effective option is to convert the tennis court to a raised bed community garden. This was my idea. I have a hard time rationalizing spending our reserves on demolition. If you have interest or support this idea, please email me! While we have enough money in the bank to do the work, there is concern about depleting our reserves. The Board will keep you closely informed and solicit your advice before any final decision is made.
The charter and bylaws – I wanted to give you some perspective about why we are changing our corporate documents. This Summer I was cruising into the neighborhood one evening and wanted to look at the tennis courts to see if they might be transformed into pickleball courts. Walking over to the courts, I met a member who informed me about some abrupt changes to the board of directors and that a lawsuit was being considered to sue the POA out of existence. Naively, I volunteered to be a replacement board member. At my first meeting I was asked to be President. I accepted and immediately started nosing around to see what I had gotten myself into. I called a long time insurance agent friend and learned he is the QHPOA’s insurance agent. We had some long conversations and I got educated. He said “you need to follow the by-laws to avoid any issues if there is a claim”. That is the long version about why I pushed the board to recommend these changes.
If you read our corporate documents posted on our webpage, you noticed they were drafted by the Developers of Quail Hollow over forty years ago. There might have been changes along the way, but deciding how all these pieces fit together is challenging. We hired a lawyer experienced with HOAs to help us figure it out. Until and unless our amended corporate charter and by-laws are approved, the board has elected to follow his advice to follow our old documents.
I expected some push back from our members about these changes. Recently, I received emails from a member with over ten questions about annual meeting procedures and why we were changing this and that. I received other emails questioning my performance and Monday morning quarterbacking many prior board decisions. It is my impression the board did the best they could with the information they had at the time.
You are being asked to approve the updates at the 2022 Annual Meeting, and the Board recommends that you do so. This is a heavy lift and your assistance is needed to push this across the finish line.
The budget – Due to the extensive repairs and maintenance carried out in recent years, the POA has been unable to add to its reserves for the last 3 years. Nonetheless, it remains in good shape, with over $100,000 in the bank. The approved 2022 budget is very conservative; revenue (almost all dues) will be $63,000, and $18,000 is set aside in new reserves. As noted above, there is concern about depleting our savings to fix or demolish the tennis courts, and this will be a major item for discussion in 2022. Like everyone else, the POA is suffering from inflation. While the Board has no plans to increase dues, that isn’t to say it’s not possible. Stay tuned.
Sincerely,
Mike Miller, President
Quail Hollow Property Owners Association
Quail Hollow Property Owners Association 