The meeting was called to order by chairman Tony Taffar at approximately 9:07am.
Board Members present were; Tony Taffar, Eddie Carson, Rodney Matthews, Russ Mixon, Robbie Brown, Randy Eblen, Charlene Wentworth and Rick Penniston
There was a prayer to bless the meeting. All joined in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Tony Taffar welcomed everyone to the 2017 meeting. He reminded the attendees that this “was their meeting” and that we would have an open discussion time at the end of the meeting for everyone. Tony also recognized various members who had volunteered throughout the year for maintenance, hurricane recovery, organizing events as well as donating time and/or goods.
Tony asked that the membership join him in a moment of silence for the members that have passed since the last meeting.
Tony asked that each of the new homeowners / members please stand up and introduce themselves.
Approval of the minutes from April 23, 2016:
Tony Taffar asked if everyone had seen the minutes from the last annual meeting and asked if we wanted to dispense with the reading of the minutes to save time, if so, would someone make a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes. A motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes was made from the floor, a 2nd on the motion was made from the floor, a vote was taken and the motion to accept was approved. Tony then asked that we vote to accept the minutes as distributed. A motion to accept the minutes as distributed was made from the floor, a 2nd on the motion was made from the floor, a vote was taken and the motion to accept was approved.
Tony Introduced Eddie to start the reports.
President’s Report:
Eddie Carson expressed thanks for everyone who helped out throughout the year with the events. Eddie then went through the events for the year in summary and stated that this is just part of what makes Tansi unique and if you aren’t participating, you are missing out. The 4th of July Event, including karaoke, live band, Beaufort stew was at no cost to the members. We had several pot luck dinners and a wine tasting which also included a spaghetti supper. Our Halloween event for kids was enjoyed by all. Also, we had our 3rd annual pig pickin this year where the Mathew’s and Carson’s provide the BBQ and the community brings covered dishes and desserts. We had our 2nd oyster roast, oysters provided by Joe Todd Bradley. All of these events make us a unique community and cost Tansi Village nothing.
Hurricane Matthew has been tough on everyone, but we are Tansi Strong. We have seen a lot remodels and new homes in our community. Matthew was God’s way of pruning Tansi. Tansi is looking as good now as I have ever seen it. From the floor, Mark Williams was recognized for “riding the storm out” and making sure someone was on the island. The pool was opened quickly after the storm, thank to Lee Willet. Lee cleaned the pool out, put the chemicals in and got it going. The dumpsters that were scattered throughout the village that everyone saw was an expense to Tansi Village of approximately $12k, but we could not have done without them.
This year we went through and re-evaluated our assessments. We had several multi lot owners that had adjoining lots paying different rates and now we have everyone on the same scale. We have set it up so that the assessments are broken into 2 payments, end of January and end of July. Eddie stressed that we need to always be consistent for us to be successful. Tony and Eddie both thanked Robbie Brown for the work he did at the courthouse on this project.
There was a question from the floor about whether or not the assessment fee change was recorded in the bylaws. Tony answered that it was not change to bylaws, as the bylaws state that the fees are to be set by the board and do not break out itemized fees.
Eddie mentioned that since the storm the number “strangers” come through the village has increased and asked everyone to be on the lookout and ask them their business if you don’t feel they should be here.
Eddie brought up that we may still have some renters on the island and renting is prohibited even if its just overnight. If we feel anyone is renting their property please let the board know so we can address.
Treasurer’s Report:
Robbie Brown stated that a financial report was handed out and shows our current financial situation as of March 31st, 2017. He stated that we currently have $131,863 in three accounts including the reserve account. We have created proposed budget for this year but since we are in the middle of switching management companies there still maybe changes to the budget based on our needs. With the increase in the regime fees we are seeing more revenue coming in allowing us to build up our reserves for emergencies. The budget has been adjusted to reflect the regime fees being collected 2 times per year. If anyone has any detailed questions, please let me know and I can meet with you after the meeting.
A question from the floor, “So is the $200 increase in the regime fee permanent then?” Robbie stated that, “Yes it is until it is changed by the board”. Tony also commented, stating that the change was made to increase fees based on what was needed at Tansi because they had not been changed in many years, not because of the storm activities. Eddie stated that no it was not permanent because in the future it will more than likely go up again.
A question from the floor, “Of the $132k that we have in the bank, does any of that include this year’s, January’s billed regime fees?” Robbie answered, Yes. “and probably what % has been paid of the January billing?” Robbie stated that we ended the year around $90k, so the difference between that and the $132k less expenses is what has been collected. Our expenses have increased year over year do to the hurricane. “and as treasurer, are you happy with the level of accounting we received from the previous management company”? Robbie stated that as we move to the new management company we will be moving to a cash accounting basis vs accrual so we can get a better picture of our expenses as they come in.
Committee Reports
Pool:
Rodney Matthews reported that the pool opened up on April the 1st. We have had some problems with the codes on the gates due to the hurricane damage, we have had it repaired this past week. If you have any problems or need a code, please come see me. We had to replace two of the sensors on the pump for the salt system. Eddie fixed the pump by combining two to make one good one, so eventually we will have to purchase a pump. Please remember no horseplay in the pool. Also per DHEC, no smoking or no bottles in the pool area.
Dock:
The dock will be discussed in new business
Roads:
Tony stated that not much has changed with the roads. We will have the issue at the causeway and the rippling. There will be another speed bump going in down the long stretch of Tomahawk. Tony remined everyone that they need to focus on golf cart safety. The best thing is for us to self-police, because if we do have an accident or issue, then we will have to put some regulations in.
From the floor, “there is a hole in Arrowhead that needs to be looked at, near the speedbump at Terry’s treehouse”
From the floor, “can we use the speedbump that we used before with the splits, so bicycles can make it through?”
Tony thanked them for the comments and let them know that the new board will be addressing.
Codes:
Eddie Carson stated that a lot of property has been bought and sold in Tansi over the last year with that, lot of upgrades have been done. Eddie reminded everyone that even if the Tansi B.O.D. approves of a change that ALL changes must meet the county codes and be approved by them. There are a lot of things that we may approve that Beaufort County may not approve. Campers on lots while the repairs are being made to the homes after hurricane was approved, but the time is up. Anyone that still has a camper “up and in use” must seek approval from the board.
Grounds:
Russ stated that we still have a few lots in here that need to be cleaned up from the storms. Letters were supposed to be sent out, but with the issues with the last property manager we are having to send them out again. If you know someone with one of these lots, contact them and let them know what we are doing. Also, if one of your neighbors can’t do anything about the debris or cleanup please write the board a letter stating that fact.
Clubhouse:
Charlene Wentworth stated that we looked at surveys from last year and tried to incorporate events that you had requested. We just had one of those, a Ladies’ Coffee Hour, where we got together and discussed different projects and things they said that would like to do. This year we have had a lot of help from the community in the clubhouse as you can see. One of the tasks I was asked to take on this year was the mailboxes. With the help of several members of the community we have them so that they will get us by for another couple of years. Tara checked into the cost for new mailboxes and it was at least 12k to replace which did not include set up or delivery. We went through all the keys in the office and got the keys to the appropriate mailbox owners. We are no longer keeping keys in the office for he mailboxes. There are about 8 or 9 empty boxes and we have all the boxes relabeled with the help of Veronica the post lady. All of our activities and events are posted on the Facebook and website calendar.
Old Business;
No old business from the floor.
New Business;
Property Management
Tony stated that at our February 2017 B.O.D. meeting we terminated the contract with CCAM. That termination was based on the fact that we were not getting what we paid for and based on some fraud and liability issues. To touch on a couple of items that they were asked to do but did not do. One was the insurance on the Dock that they failed to properly secure when they were supposed to. They had actually told they had done it, in the annual meeting last year, but they had not. Second was the insurance on the Clubhouse. They failed to make the premium payment in a timely manner and the coverage lapsed a week before the hurricane.
As of May 1st, we have a new management company, Seaside Residential Management [S.R.M.]. We, the B.O.D. looked at three different quotes and offers. The other two were B.A.M.M. [Bundy] and Sam Kirkland and his wife. We chose the one that best suited our needs as community and the one that we thought would be better suited to how we operate as a business. We are looking forward to working with Greta Maddox and S.R.M. Seaside will be sending out a Welcome Package very soon. SRM will be maintaining all of our financial records and they welcome anyone to make an appointment and come take a look at the books.
Seaside will be sending out a Welcome Package very soon. SRM will be maintaining all of our financial records and they welcome anyone to make an appointment and come take a look at the books.
From the floor, “is CCAM going to be held accountable for the issue with the insurance.”
We are considering CCAM liable for not taking the insurance out on the dock as well as failing to renew the insurance on the clubhouse based on the documents of proof we have. We are in the process of working with all parties involved to establish liability and move forward. We retrying to work it out with them before bringing legal counsel into it. But if this approach fails, we will be forced to seek counsel.
From the floor, “What is a realistic timeframe for us to hear something?”, Tony stated 2 months ago, but seriously they are moving slow and we are ready to bring legal counsel in if need be.
From the floor, “Have we made a formal complaint?”, we have not made a certified legal complaint, we are working with the owner of the company to try to resolve as he also finding that Patricia Miller did not report the status of the appeal with insurance company properly, apparently there was no appeal pending. If we need to, we will move forward with legal action.
Tony stated, that once we get the new property manager in place and transfer all of our financial and other information over we ill be able to become more aggressive with our actions against CCAM.
From the floor, “Anyway we can make a motion and vote for the board to move forward with legal action against CCAM?”, Tony stated that is already one of our options now. We just need to transfer all the data over.
From the floor, “Aren’t we at the point where we need to have an attorney take this over?”, Tony stated we are there, real close. “We are working with them, I think we are kind of beyond working with them and need to get some legal advice”
Eddie stated that we have met with an attorney and shared with him all the evidence including the emails and the recordings and his advice was to get everything transferred over while we give them the chance to make it good and settle out of court, if they don’t, after the transfer, move forward with an attorney. Once the new management group is in place, we will set a deadline for them to settle, if that is not met we move forward with legal action. The new board will set the deadline.
Dock Repair
Tony stated that “It is our assumption that everyone wants the dock replaced”, the crowd cheered and clapped.
As you know it was almost 100% destroyed.
Eddie stated we have 3 quotes on replacing or rebuilding our dock. Our quotes range from $160k to $200k. We had to get these quotes to have a reference to see what CCAM is liable for. These quotes are for replacement as it was.
There may be a chance for us to reduce some of the cost because a resident may be able to help us with lumber costs. We are looking at every option, it will be a major expense no matter which direction we choose.
From the floor, “Has Beaufort county changed codes, could we use some of the remaining pilings?” Eddie stated that we would rely on the professionals to keep us up to code.
From the floor, “Do you have the names of the dock companies that you have contacted?” Eddie stated yes, we do and they are, O’Quinn, Sea Island Dock Builders and Carolina Coast.
Tony explained that we have the funds to pay for the dock, but since we feel CCAM is liable, they should pay.
From the floor, “So Tony, you are holding CCAM accountable for the dock as well as the clubhouse?” Tony stated yes, we are.
Tony went on to explain that we may have to repair the dock prior to the lawsuit being settled due to the timeframe of the lawsuit and it taking a long time. We need to decide what we need to do today with regards to the dock.
Tara made a motion from the floor to pursue the loan for the dock repair prior to the settlement being settled with CCAM. There was a 2nd from Gerald Lindley, there was a vote and it was unanimous to pursue the loan for the dock ASAP with no limit restriction.
Oliver made a motion from the floor that the B.O.D. should have the approval to make the down payment as appropriate to get the dock fixed, Frankie Haygood 2nd the motion. A vote was taken and all in favor to make a one-time down payment for the dock replacement loan with no limit restriction.
Open Discussion from Members;
- We have an issue with cars and trucks, including UPS, USPS and FedEx coming into the village too fast.
- Please clean up YOUR pet poo!
- Can we look into options for a gate for the Island?
- Can we look into Cameras and or other options for video picture?
- Maybe we can look into an Island sticker.
Election of the board members;
New board member nominations were taken. The following people were nominated; Randy Eblen, Charlene Wentworth, Keith Harris, Kristen Bowers and Robbie Brown. The election was conducted and the following people were elected to the Tansi Village POA, BOD; Randy Eblen, Charlene Wentworth, Keith Harris
Adjourn:
The motion to adjourn was made at 11:27am by Kristin Taffar and Dena Sessions 2nd, a unanimous vote was taken.
Respectfully submitted,
Randy Eblen
Recording Secretary