PRIVATE TO PUBLIC WATER CONVERSION

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Once again, you will soon be receiving information and asked to sign petitions/acknowledgements that will allow the Board to begin a process that will turn our Water/Sewage over to Anne Arundel County.

Right now your water bill is paid through your monthly dues. The conversion will mean that you will begin to receive a water bill from A.A. County payable by YOU. Most of you recently received a pamphlet in the mail from the American Water Resources of Maryland. It came in a brown envelope and, at first glance, appeared to be junk mail. IT WAS NOT JUNK!  Hopefully you did not throw it away. It contained extremely valuable information pertaining to your rights and obligations if we convert to county water. If you did throw it away, clink the link above. You will be surprised at what you may be responsible for.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR BOARD

Will there be a reduction in your monthly association fees? Don't settle for a soft obscure answer. Make them provide a specific dollar amount. And remember, they have raised the dues and reduced service before. How long will the alleged reduction last?

What is the cost for the conversion, and who pays for it? If you are told that each home will be assessed an equal portion of the cost....think about it and then refer to your last news letter. Look at the delinquencies. If these people can't or won't pay pay monthly dues, do you think they will pay their fair share for this? Then who will pick up that cost?

How will the cost for the pool be allocated? Get a solid answer without the tap dance.

Will a qualified representative from A.A. County Dept. of Public Works address you, the home owners, to answer your questions? This will mean YOU WILL HAVE TO COME TO A MEETING!

If a survey is done and work actually begins, this will require a meter at each home. Is there a cost for this? Again...get hard facts. There will be an increase in your county tax bill. Cost for this conversion can be very expensive. Don't be lulled to sleep by amortising the cost over the next thirty years. My home is almost paid for and I am NOT interested in another thirty year bill.

I'm sure you have many more questions. I urge you to start attending the meetings (once every two months).You may also get some answers from the Dept. of Public Works.

DO NOT SIGN OR AGREE TO ANYTHING UNTIL ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED!

LOG onto  http://hh1community.blogspot.com to share your information and receive updates.

Home Owner's Meeting 8-16-2011

Unfortunately, the turnout at tonight's meeting was disappointing. Four board members showed up and three homeowners decided to take part in the management of our community. By the way....did you know that there are NO ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS for board members. I'm not sure how long Mr. Dave Weaver has been a "Member-At-Large", but he has not been present for at least the past 4 public meetings. I can't speak for the closed door, private, phone call, email, text meetings and votes the president alluded to.


IF YOU HAVE A FENCE....you should be interested to know that the board president attempted to "change the fence guidelines" that would REQUIRE you to replace your wooden fence with a more expensive vinyl fence of beige or darker color whenever you decide or are required to replace your existing fence. If you don't already have a fence, all new fences would have to be vinyl. His position was simply that it would be better for the community. However, as a lengthy discussion ensued, he concluded that it was a maintenance issue and that he, nor the board was willing to walk the neighborhood to ensure the wooden fences were maintained. They could not vote on it because there was no quorum of board members. Home owners weren't allowed to speak, as one elderly homeowner was very rudely and abruptly informed! The board president stated that a vote would be taken in "cyberspace". Is anyone thinking, "no transparency...no accountability." Keep writing those checks!


PRIVATE-vs-COUNTY TRASH PICKUP was presented in the "Heritage Hill Herald" as possibly saving you, "at least $10 monthly". While the board affirmed that your AA County tax bill would increase by $315 annually, they really weren't sure about your monthly condo fee savings of $10 per month. One board member actually said there would be no savings. At any rate, lets do the math! A tax increase of $315 to possibly save $120???  Recycling may be a good idea, but I can do that without paying the county an additional $195 per year. THE BOARD NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU! ...and don't forget to send your check!


THE COUNTY WATER issue is still circling around out there. You were warned in an earlier post to be very careful about what you agree to on this matter. You need to ask the right questions. Will the folks on Allen Road, Heritage Drive, Colonial Knoll, and Lamplighter Ridge who are responsible for the $95K delinquency pay their fair share of the survey cost and the possible conversion cost? It won't be the first time the paying homeowners carried additional financial burdens via a monthly fee increase.


THE COMMUNITY YARD SALE scheduled for Saturday (8-20-2011) should be interesting. Its a good time to come out and meet your neighbors and discuss some of your mutual concerns. Meet your board members. Who knows...you may come across some future board candidates. The annual elections are not that far away! Oh yeah...don't forget to make that $175 check out to Heritage Hills I Condo Association. Thank you for your support.

MY EXPERIENCE AT THE BOARD MEETING

The Home Owners meeting held tonight was a partial success as far as I’m concerned. There were six Board Members and six Home Owners. Pretty sad turnout but, since I showed up, my concerns were at least addressed verbally. I’ll keep you informed if there is any REAL progress. Unfortunately, other than possibly board members, there was no representation from Lamplighter Ridge or Heritage Hill Drive. Keep staying home, keep writing those checks, and keep getting the results you have always gotten.

The Board prefers that you contact the management company with your issues. Toni Fowler (410-654-4444) is our community manager from Residential Realty Group, INC. While a very pleasant and professional young woman, you will most likely speak with her assistant if you call. Just a suggestion to the Board; with so many FREE email accounts available, setting up one for the community should be a small price to pay to establish some good will and approachability! If you don’t want to interact with the community you serve, why are you on the Board?

Your Board members are:       Bob Bellas – President

Maureen Yonker – Vice President

                                                MaDonna Perry – Treasurer

                                                JoAnn Sanner – Secretary

                                                Martha Bonilla – Member At Large

                                                Becky Weibley – Member At Large

                                                Dave Weaver – Member At Large (not present again)

Based on the minutes from the February meeting (reconvened from the November Annual Meeting because they couldn’t get a quorum of home owners to show up), this is the same Board as last year. It took a 5 (FIVE) minute meeting to pretty much vote themselves back in by default. Since the home owners could not make themselves available…who really knows what happened! Keep staying home, keep writing those checks, and keep getting the results you have always gotten!

As of right now, the pool will only be opened on the weekends and holidays. Heritage Hills I portion of the savings will be only a few thousand dollars. ….And NO, that savings will not be passed along as a reduction in monthly fees. Keep staying home, keep writing those checks, and keep getting the results you have always gotten!

Be very careful about signing anything having to do with the water survey. Get all the facts. I doubt if the infrastructure (water lines) here has been replaced since the development was built with the exception of emergency repairs for main breaks. Have you wondered why you have been receiving solicitations in the mail from companies trying to sell you warranty insurance for your water lines? If you become independently metered by the county, you may also become financially liable for water line breaks in your front footage. Also, we need to have some honest and open discussions concerning the individual home owner’s special assessment to have the survey done, and another special assessment to individually meter your property if they move forward. Based on the “Delinquency Report” (monthly fees unpaid), I don’t know how those households in arrears are going to pay their portion. Who takes up that slack? Keep staying home, keep writing those checks, and keep getting the results you have always gotten!

Apparently, the Management Company and the Board are conducting a walk-through of the community. This is as it should be. Not sure what the agenda is, but I hope folks don’t get cited for having rips in their window screens when they have bigger issues of poor roofing and bad or missing siding. Just a thought!

Lastly, it appears that we cannot adequately service the maintenance needs of our community because of delinquent fees. Our fees keep going up to cover the delinquencies. Times are more harder for some than others. I do not advocate people having to go into foreclosure, bankruptcy, or liens to collect these delinquent fees, but something has to be done. I don’t know the legalities of this, but has the Board or management company considered accepting temporary partial payments to some degree while keeping the unpaid balance on the books? Some payment may be better than no payment.

Pending further updates, I’ll see you all at the next meeting…..OR NOT!

HOME OWNERS MEETING- April 19, 2011

DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE IS A HOMEOWNERS MEETING TUESDAY EVENING (APRIL 19, 2011 @ 6:00 PM) AT THE BROOKLYN PARK POLICE STATION?

You probably didn’t receive any notification either! The address is 939 Hammonds Lane, Baltimore, Md. 21225

DID YOU KNOW THAT OUR “ELECTED” BOARD IS CONSIDERING OPENING THE POOL ON WEEK-ENDS ONLY?

School will be closing and there will be a lot of idle teens walking the streets! Also, didn’t our fees just go up again in January? Why was that again?

DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO OUR BOARD MEMBERS ARE AND HOW TO CONTACT THE BOARD WITH YOUR CONCERNS?

Most of us don’t! We simply write a check for $175.00 each month and hope for the best!

HOW MANY OF YOU KNEW THERE WOULD BE TWO SPRING CLEANING DUMPSTERS?  DID THE “WORKING” FAMILIES HAVE TIME TO PREPARE?

It is not coincidence that we don’t know the Board or what they are up to. It is by design. Some of you have attended meetings in the past and came away disappointed & frustrated due to the unresponsiveness and indifference of the people we have blindly elected to represent us. We have been treated rudely, talked down to, and discouraged from attending meetings.

There are 152 registered units in the Heritage Hill I community. Each homeowner is a member of the Council of Unit Owners. WE HAVE A VOICE! However, our voice cannot be heard if we continue to passively and blindly allow such a small percentage of owners to conduct business on our behalf without consulting us with full disclosure. Maybe they believe this is how we want it!!!

It is vital that you all do everything you can to attend this meeting. You can expect that the issues will be minimized and some not even discussed if we are present. You can expect to be rudely talked down to once again. Who knows…they may even cancel the meeting if a large turn-out is expected. This only means we must attend the “next” meeting in mass to send the message that we will not be ignored. There will be no miraculous turn-around as a result of this one meeting. However, if we remain vigilant and persistent once every other month, we will prevail. If you are a renter, you are also a stakeholder in this community. You better believe that the monthly fee is included in your rent payment! Attend the meeting and notify your landlords.

Talk to your neighbors and encourage them to attend the meetings. Let’s be very clear…this is our community. We are NOT mere subjects to the throne (the board). Our community consists of Allen Road; Colonial Knoll; Heritage Hill Drive (east side); and Lamplighter Ridge.

As of this writing, the police department did confirm a reservation for Heritage Hill I. You can call the management company to confirm the meeting (Residential Realty @ 410-654-4444). If the Board members would publish contact information for themselves, we could confirm it with them.

IF  WE  CONTINUE TO DO WHAT WE  HAVE ALWAYS  DONE, WE  WILL CONTINUE TO GET THE RESULTS WE  HAVE  ALWAYS  GOTTEN!