Special Thanks to Jay & Nash Patel, Marcus Pointe Residents, for allowing the Board to meet without cost at their Days Inn location next to Kia Motors on RTE#29.

Special Note:  On Sunday May 24 (exactly 90 days after the Annual meeting) at 3:30-4:30 in Chef’s Restaurant at the Marcus Pointe Golf Club, the final proxy tally will be available for all to see and review if you desire.  For those who have still not completed a proxy to make your voice and choices known, please call Larry Clarke and he will bring one to your house for you to complete.

Attending:  Carol Wilson, President; members: KG Mani, Jim Witt, Jim Balthrop and Larry Clarke.  Melissa Buchannan represented Centre Group Properties Inc, Marcus Pointe Homeowners Association Administrator. 

For our membership: 
Your Board serves pro bono because we are genuinely concerned about our community.  Our goal is to maintain the appearance and upkeep outlined in the legal covenants that govern the operations of our community.  We encourage everyone to go to the web site download the Covenants and Architectural guidelines.  There are blank forms for addressing/requesting architectural changes to your property that require prior approval. Please do not sign contracts or begin work until you have checked this site.  We do not want to be confrontational or disagreeable, but covenant enforcement is required.  Spend a few minutes updating your family on the community requirements and avoid letters of violation.  We also encourage you to register for the Association blog where you can provide your comments any time you desire.  Our Board meetings are open to the Association membership and we encourage you to attend at least one while residing in the community.

Carol Wilson called the meeting to order and the minutes from the March meeting were approved.  .

Financial Report:  Centre Group presented the financial report.

• As of the end of March, $ 11,201.26 in 2009 and prior years dues, late fees, penalties and interest were owned the association..  Those in arrears will be notified by letter.  Penalty and interest is now accruing.  The Board receives a monthly list from Centre Group with the names and addresses and the amount due for our review.  It is good for residents to understand that when late fees, penalties and interest are due on an account, all monies paid by the account owner reduce those fees before any money is applied to the dues in arrears,
• After some discussion, the Board elected to seek liens on all properties that were $500.00 or greater in arrears.  The legal fee for such actions is $200.00.  We currently have 10 households that owe the Association over $500.00.
• Due to bankruptcy actions, the Association has had to write off as bad debts $312.15 in delinquent dues, penalties and interest.
• The Board voted to move $25,000 of the reserve fund and buy a five year CD.  This fund is for road resurfacing which is projected to be 7 years away and we agreed we need to maximize interest on these funds.  This action will be taken by Carol Wilson, Board President.
• The Board also agreed to transfer all funds in checking over $30,000.00 to a new money market fund to increase the interest on those dollars.  The risk was eliminated by the new FDIC insurance coverage of up to $250,000.00 being extended to money market funds.  We have several major expenses coming and need to retain the $30,000.00 level of checking to cover those anticipated expenditures.
• The Board raised two questions regarding that financial statements that were referred back to Centre Group of response
• A definition of what is included in uncategorized expenses on the profit and loss statement
• A question was raised as to why the accounts receivable was less than the amount of outstanding dues, penalties and interest.
• Centre Group presented the Board President with the paperwork for renewal of the Marcus Pointe Homeowners Association Property and Liability Insurance.  The policy is for three years (2009-2012) and costs $1,008.00 for the three years.
• For the record, Centre Group sent all Board members a letter affirming their integrity after the Pensacola New Journal article regarding embezzlement of funds by a property company of a local homeowners association (not Centre Group).
• The April Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss statement are attached to the minutes.

Architectural Control Committee Actions since last Board meeting: 

• Construction of the new Stanley and Elzbieta Golanta home, Block W, Lot 4, 2017 Hesperia Way is 70% completed.  Russell Homes is the builder and has done a good job of  keeping the site clean..  Both resident and builder have been fully compliant and cooperative with the MPHA Board and ARC during project review and approval.
• The ARC acted on the following requests.
• Ms Ann Cywanowicz, 2006 Downing Drive was approved for drainage and landscaping changes.
• Mr Jim Hardy, 3183 Marcus Pointe Blvd, was approved to remove several trees and re-sod his yard.
• Mr Jim Witt, 311 Lakemont Cir was approved to remove several damaged trees.
• Mr Jack Hertzog, 2062 Downing Drive was approved to make drainage and landscaping changes.
• A letter from a homeowner on High Pointe was discussed by the Board.  The letter offers that the items he was recently sited for in a Centre Group letter were approved by the homeowner’s association management company.  Here are the facts:
• The only people who can approve anything regarding landscaping, architecture, topography, etc are the ARC.
• The management company is just that, a management company.  The have no decision or jurisdictional authority over the association.
• Appeals of ARC decisions can be brought to the Board for review.
• Work done without approval that continues to be an issue can be resolved once and for all by submitting a request for review to the ARC.  If their approval is received, you have a letter for the record.  Forms for ARC requests are available on the MPHA website.
• Your Board and the ARC continue to be grateful for those who seek approval before beginning projects.

Board Discussion Items:

• Revising MPHA Covenants: We are still well short of the number needed for passage of the covenant changes.  The major disappointment has been people who refuse to come to the door, those who do not respond to repeated phone calls, and some who have just flat refused to vote.  Despite all the aforementioned, we still are going door to door before the May 24 deadline.  If you would like to invite us for a specific time to come to your home for you to complete the proxy, please send and e-mail or call (Phone number on web page) at least 2 in case of vacation for the following people.
• Carol Wilson: carol.a.wilson@navy.mil and  president1@marcus-pointe.com
• KG Mani kgmmarcus@gmail.com
• Larry Clarke larry.carol@cox.net
• Jim Witt jwitt65@bellsouth.net
• Jim Balthrop jamesbal@cox.net

Security:
.

• The Board continues to investigate alternate methods of providing security. 
• We asked Centre Group to formally solicit potential options from professional security companies.  In the solicitation they were asked to review the last three years of Escambia Sheriff’s Department crime reports in Marcus Pointe.  They were asked to visit the community and all surrounding communities.  The Board Secretary and Centre Group were made available to answer questions by interested parties.  It was the desire for the security professionals to review the situation and tell us what the best potential security options were.  They were also asked to provide costing for their options.  The solicitation went to 9 companies (many local security companies do not offer community security as a service).  We have two responses to date. Centre Group was asked to call the remaining 7 companies and ask if they intended to make a proposal.
• One Board member noted that there is nothing in the covenants or bylaws that direct the Association to be involved in community security.  We do serve at the pleasure of our members.  If you have not already signed up for the Blog, please do so.  It could save of a great expense in printing and postage if all with computers would sign up for the blog.

Irrigation:

• Your Board has reviewed all bids for the large irrigation project in the rear of our development on Marcus Pointe Blvd.  The project will require laying new pipe along the ~3000 feet common area, adding a new controller system to support the larger system and approximately 300 spray heads.
• We have selected the winner provided we received detailed answered to our questions.  We have also selected an alternate winner in case we do not get the required information.
• The work should being late May, early June.

Lawn Service:

• We were unable to award the lawn contract last meeting due to additional questions the Board had.
• Several companies were eliminated due to failure to comply with bid specifications (failure to provide license, insurance or bonding information)
• Bids ranged from $20,544.00 ($1,712.00 a month) to $36,000 ($3000.00).  The average bid was $26,754.64 ($2,229.56 per month)
• Our current company for the past 9 years, LawnPlus LLC, agreed to extend their contract until a winner was announced.
• After much discussion, the Board decided to award a one year contract to Eden Landscaping.
• There was one bid that was $58 less a month but the company lists its address as AL, was unknown to any Board member and should problems occur, we would prefer to seek relief here in Florida.
• The winning company bid was 9.7 % less than the incumbent and we felt that was sufficient decrease cost to allow Eden a one year trial.
• LawnPlus LLC has served us well for 9 years.  They are not being replaced for anything other than cost.  We appreciate the fine service they have provided over the past 9 years.

Other Discussions:

• A package consisting of a letter of April 16, 2009 to Mr. Anthony J Green, Sr from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection regarding Green Fill Dirt (GDF) Blossom Trail C&D Landfill was presented to the board by an interested homeowner.  The suggestion was made that we hire an attorney to represent Marcus Pointe in an effort to keep the pit from getting final permit approval.
• The letter is really a Consent Order to resolve compliance issues.  It specifically requests:
• Access to the property for hydrogeologic study to determine the extent of soil, surface water and ground contamination that may be present.
• Install direct push boreholes and /or monitoring well(s) clusters to sample ground water quality and define the vertical and horizontal extent of contamination.
• The package is quite large and I have not had time to digest it all, but scanning the package suggests that there has been some violation of dumping in the site on an expired permit. 
• Mr. Green had until May 1 to respond to the Consent Order.  We are trying to see if he did respond.
• The Board elected to table the hiring of any attorney until we are much better informed.  The process as outlined in the consent order is 180 days long.  Paying retainer fees to an attorney is not within the budget dollars we currently have.
• The Board discussed a possible petition and other civic actions to make our position known.  Again we feel we need more information before proceeding.
• Ms Wilson is in touch with the Crescent Lake Homeowners Association President who is monitoring the clay pit landfill closely.
• There is much history on this site.  One Board member is aware of previous EPA interest and actions.  We are seeking additional historical information to better cast a plan of action for the MPHA.  Members are encourage to stay aware of anything they hear and pass it to your Board

Yard Maintenance:  Larry Clarke is willing to respond to request for assistance from those families in violation with some education and guidance on how to easily come into compliance. To date we have had two requests for assistance.  Larry will additionally assist in getting it right from the labor perspective on a one time basis.  Contact Larry Clarke, MPHA Secretary, 850-476-5225 if you desire to take advantage of this free service.

The meeting adjourned at 5:30.

Respectfully submitted,
Larry Clarke
Marcus Pointe Association Board Recording Secretary.