Emerald Hills Homeowners Association - Spring
2019 Newsletter
MESSAGE
FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
There
are currently three ongoing neighborhood
initiatives that are
summarized below. During the next several
months there will be
continued communications regarding each of
these initiatives so as to
involve as many homeowners as possible.
Communications will be by
e-mail, U.S. mail along with the billing
for the annual assessment
fee and my word-of-mouth. If you or one
of your neighbors is not
already receiving EHHOA e-mails please direct
them to the webpage and
sign up to
receive E-mail
(listserv) notifications
regarding neighborhood activities or contact
Jack
Cameron at Webmaster@ehhoa.info.
Your
volunteer Board Members are committed to
continuing the unique
setting that we enjoy here in Emerald Hills.
Thank you very much for
your assistance and cooperation in making
this an excellent
neighborhood. If you have an interest in
serving on a homeowner’s
association committee, please let one of
the board members know.
Ongoing
initiatives:
Neighborhood
Watch
At
the March 2nd Quarterly
HOA Board meeting we
had a very informative discussion with a
representative from the
Augusta County Sheriff’s Department
regarding establishing a
Neighborhood Watch in Emerald Hills. Sergeant
Josh Graves described
the program as an informal organization of
informed citizens who are
alert to recognizing unusual activities in
the neighborhood and who
have a willingness to report suspicious activities
to the County
Sheriff’s Office. Sergeant Graves
provided his business card
to 20+ homeowners in attendance and clearly
conveyed his interest in
preventing crime in our community.
The
consensus of attendees at the meeting was
to move forward and
formally establish a Neighborhood Watch.
On March 30th
two “Neighborhood Watch signs”
from the County were
posted at each of the main entrance roads.
Additional signs have
been ordered. There is expected to be follow-on
discussion regarding
the Neighborhood Watch Program at the next
quarterly Board of
Directors Meeting that is scheduled for June
2nd.
The
newspapers and television news have been
full of reports regarding
local crime incidents; unfortunately, our
neighborhood has not been
immune from automobile break-ins and vandalism.
Although the
neighborhood has a no solicitation policy,
salespersons and other
strangers are sometimes seen in the neighborhood
walking from house
to house. Always be alert and mindful of
who may be traveling
through the neighborhood. As a precaution,
keep your cars locked
(especially at night) and make use of outdoor
lights. In addition to
stealing and vandalism, we also discussed
the high incidence of
speeders in the neighborhood and specifically
requested increased
surveillance by the Sheriff’s Department.
There
is specific concern about Wyndham Hill Drive
where most of the
speeding occurs.
Do
not hesitate to call the Sheriff’s
Department at 540-245-5333
with issues dealing with speeding traffic,
ATVs, mini/off-road bikes,
illegal fireworks, and other illegal behavior.
The radar trailer set up for 2 weeks last
year appeared to have had positive results
in slowing down traffic. Use of this trailer
has been requested again for later this year.
Always
call 911 in case of an emergency
Augusta
County Wetlands Initiative
As
part of the Virginia Department of Environmental
Quality initiative
to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, Augusta County
has applied for a
government grant to increase the number of
wetlands areas that it
manages. The County is interested in taking
over maintenance of the
wetlands area located between Molly Court
and Peterson Drive. Last
fall an engineering firm, hired by the County,
conducted soil boring
analysis in the proposed retention pond area.
The County has
requested government funding for the project.
Once their plan has
been further developed there will be an opportunity
for a review of
the plan at a special Homeowner’s Association
meeting.
Overall the County’s proposal has the
potential of being a
win-win situation wherein the EHHOA annual
landscaping costs will
likely be reduced if the County takes over
maintenance responsibility
for the proposed storm-water pond. As additional
information is
received from the County it will be shared
with all concerned.
Updating
the Home Owners Association Governing Documents.
For
the past year and a half the BoD has been
working with APMS and their
attorney to update the governing documents
for the HoA so as to bring
them into compliance with current Virginia
Code. If there are no
unforeseen developments, the ongoing initiative
to update the
governing documents may be completed by the
Annual Homeowners meeting
that is scheduled for September 9th.
A summary of the proposed changes (as of April 2019) are
as follows:
The fiscal year of the Association shall
be the calendar year beginning January 1,
2019. …
Annual meetings … The annual member’s
meetings shall be held each year for the
purpose of electing Directors and of transacting
any other business authorized to be transacted
by the members.
Notice of meetings. …. At least fourteen
days advance on any annual or regularly scheduled
meeting and at least seven days in advance
of any other meeting…
Signing of checks must be approved (signed)
by at least two directors.
Final
review and approval of the amendments prior
to the end of the year
appears to be doable.
Neighborhood yard sale
The
date for the annual neighborhood yard sale
is Saturday June 8th.
This was discussed at the March BoD meeting.
In the past the yard
sale had been scheduled for Mother’s
Day weekend when there are
conflicting priorities; accordingly, the
annual yard sale has been
moved to later in the year.
Pot
Hole Repairs
Several
of the pot holes have been reported to VDOT
using their web page.
Anyone is welcome to report their concerns
to VDOT. Several
neighborhood concerns were posted on the
VDOT deficiency list were
repaired last month.
Neighborhood
reminders
Property
Improvement Requests
According
to our covenants, owners are required to
obtain approval from the
Architecture Review Committee (ARC) before
starting any new building,
performing exterior modifications to existing
structures, or altering
your property. This includes new construction,
exterior painting
which changes the color scheme, structural
additions, fences, walls,
sheds, pools, etc. Please contact a member
of the Board or the ARC,
or visit our "http://ehhoa.info/"
website to obtain a
“Property Improvement Request Form”.
Please note that
Modification Forms should be sent to "EHHOA
ARC, P.O. Box 1024,
Fishersville, VA 22939" rather than
to APMS.
Semi-annual
Neighborhood Inspection in April
APMS
will be conducting its required semi-annual
inspection in April.
Items of concern in the past have included:
faded shutters, algae
growing on dirty siding, untrimmed shrubbery,
peeling paint on porch
railings and RV and trailer parking. Homeowners
with areas of
concern which detract from the overall neighborhood
appearance and
value of homes who have been sent notification
letters by APMS will
be rechecked.
Barking
dogs
As
responsible pet owners please control your
dogs and be considerate of
your neighbors who may be working night shifts
and sleeping during
part of the day. Persistent barking is annoying.
There shouldn’t
be a need to say more; let common sense prevail.
MANAGEMENT
SERVICES
Association
& Property Management Services (APMS)
continues as our management
service. Please contact APMS for neighborhood
questions, concerns,
or violations. Their contact information
is provided below.
ANNUAL
MEETING IN SEPTEMBER
The next annual homeowners association meeting
is currently scheduled for Monday September
9, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Preston L. Yancey
Fire House.
Contact
Us:
Emerald
Hills Homeowners Association, Inc.
PO Box 1024
Fishersville, VA 22939
Board
Email: Board@ehhoa.info
ARC
Email: arc@ehhoa.info
Website:
http://ehhoa.info/
Association & Property Management Services
(APMS)
PO Box 2182
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
(200 High Street Bridgewater, VA 22812)
Phone:
540-423-3879
Email:
office@apmsva.com
Website:
http://www.apmsva.com/homeowner-central.
EHHOA
Board of Directors
President,
Jacques L’Heureux,
Vice
President, vacant
Treasurer,
Brent Adams
Secretary,
Frank Battaglia
ARC
Chair, Nicole Baucom
Click HERE for a printable / downloadable copy
4/12/2019