Nottingham Country Newsletter

June 2007 …

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NCCIA BOARD NEWS

By the time you read this newsletter I will have sold my home in Nottingham Country and resigned from the Board in accordance  with the NCCIA By-Laws.  I wish to extend a very strong thank you to the members of your Board who have worked so diligently on behalf of the interests of the community.  You truly are fortunate to have such great people to address the issues of the neighborhood working together in harmony.  In Nottingham Country property values are rising, mostly because YOU maintain your property.  For that minority problem homeowners or renters it takes the combined effort of the surrounding neighbors to help the board with the tedious process leading to improvement. 

I would like to leave you with one request.  Nothing happens in the community without your involvement.  I solicit your efforts to volunteer some time to serve on the Board or a Committee. Together the community will continue to prosper.

I appreciate the opportunity to have served for nearly four years and thank you for your support. 

Ron Hudson

NCCIA BOARD Past President.

A LETTER FROM THE NCCIA LEGAL LIAISON:

The following is a status report of NCCIA Homeowner fee delinquency as of April 18, 2007:

                                                                                    Number          Amount Owed

Homeowners past due for only 2007                            106                  $28,490

Homeowners past due for two or more years                 21                  $35,093

Total delinquent homeowners                                       127                  $63,583

The NCCIA Board of Directors would like to thank approximately 2200 Nottingham Country homeowners who have paid their 2007 annual assessment on time.

Presently we have 21 homeowners in Nottingham Country that are past due for more than one year of annual assessments.  Legal action has been filed against three of those homeowners and we have a judgment against two of them.  One has agreed to monthly payments and the Board is in process of making a decision whether to foreclose on the other one who currently is past due in the amount of $3882.  Two homeowners are in bankruptcy and the Board just authorized legal action against two others.

The Association attorney recently sent a final letter to the other 14 homeowners who are seriously delinquent giving them a final chance to bring their accounts current or face legal action.   

By the time you read this article, the 106 homeowners who are past due for only 2007 will have received a final notice from the management company.  The cost of said letter is $30 and it has been added to the amount owed.  This means that a $200 annual assessment has now turned into approximately $250 due to late fees and notices.  If payment is not received shortly, a lien will be filed against the individual homes and that adds another $100 to the bill resulting in an amount due of approximately $350.  Needless to say this is a poor way to manage one’s finances!

As always, the management company and the Board is  willing to discuss delinquency matters and repayment schedules with any homeowner experiencing financial difficulties.  We highly encourage you to contact Nancy Callaway, our representative at SCS Management, at 281-463-1777 or NCallaway@scsmgmt.com

Finally, this is the time of the year to do home and landscaping improvements and power washing your home to control mildew.  We encourage all homeowners to take the necessary steps to maintain their homes in a professional manner which reflects positively on the community.  Unfortunately it appears that at any given time we have about 50 (plus or minus) homeowners who are constantly receiving notices for deed restriction violations.  Most of them are due to the following:   running a business out of one’s home, trash piled up in driveways and alleyways, dead landscaping, commercial and/or junked vehicles parked in the driveway, home in need of painting, rotted siding and fences, and broken windows.  Each of these are violations of our Deed Restrictions. Please note that the Board is taking a very strong stance against homeowners who are in constant violations regarding those items just mentioned.  We know that many of the violators are investment homes and the Board will not tolerate absentee homeowners who allow their rental homes to turn into slum properties.  We encourage all homeowners who see deed restriction violations to contact the management company or the Board representative for your section.  We cannot do it all and we need everyone’s assistance in order to maintain the value of our homes.

Don Mach

NCCIA Vice President and Legal Liaison

BOARD CHANGES

During the past month, Board member and President, Ron Hudson resigned from the Board of Directors of NCCIA.  The Hudson family recently sold their home in Nottingham Country and moved to a neighboring subdivision and as a result, Mr. Hudson is no longer able to service on the NCCIA Board.

Mr. Hudson has served on our Board for the past four years, the first year in the capacity of Board Secretary and the past three years as Board President.  Mr. Hudson has served this community well as evidenced by the amount of personal time he has spent on Nottingham Country matters.  His Board leadership has been instrumental in the Board accomplishing a great deal during the past three years.  Please note the following:

• In conjunction with the Mason Creek Utility District, Rennie Park has been outfitted with a soccer field and playground equipment for the usage of all Nottingham Country residents.

• The jogging track has been renovated with concrete curbing and improved materials.

• The drainage problem in Rennie Park has been recently eliminated.

• A comprehensive mapping of the storm sewers beneath the alleyways in Sections One, Two and Three has been completed along with filming of the interior storm sewer system.

• Needed alleyway repairs have been completed in Sections One and Two.

• The entrance markers at Kingsland and Dominion have been revitalized.  A new entrance marker for Westgreen at Cranfield is out for bid.

• The fence along Westgreen is in process of being power washed and re-painted.

• A number of lawsuits against delinquent homeowners have been settled during the past three years.  Delinquency of annual homeowner fees is well under control.

• The Association currently has a positive cash flow and excellent reserves.

While the current Board members do not always agree on all matters, Ron Hudson’s leadership has been instrumental in keeping the Board members focused and working together toward common goals that benefit the Nottingham Country community.

On behalf of the other Board members and the rest of the community, we thank you Ron Hudson for all you have done the past four years for our community.  We will miss you!

BOARD OPENING

As a result of the resignation of Board President, Ron Hudson, the current NCCIA Board of Directors consists of the following member and their areas of responsibility:

Don Mach                   Vice President, (Acting President), Website and Legal Liaison

Bob Wills                    Treasurer and Finance/Audit Liaison

Ken Gentile                 Secretary and Security Director

Carol Neef-Brown      Director and Deed Restriction Liaison for Sections 4 and 7

Bruce Hamelin            Director, Architectural Review and Deed Restrictions Liaison for Sections 8 and 9

Shanon Hole               Director, Community Services Liaison and Deed Restriction Liaison for Sections 1, 2, 3 and 6

Kim Svetlik                 Director and Landscaping Liaison

The Board is seeking a Nottingham Country resident to serve on the Board and fill the remaining term of former director Ron Hudson.  We will consider all qualified applicants but would highly encourage residents with an engineering background that resides in Section 1, 2, or 3 to consider volunteering. The reason for this is that one of the major issues facing our community in the next few years is the potential repairs to the storm sewers below the alleyways in those sections.  This will be a major and costly undertaking and we particularly need expertise in that area.  Residents living in those three sections should have a vested interest in the project and your input and assistance is needed. 

For anyone interested in joining the Board of Directors, please go to the community website: Nottinghamcountry.org and click on the forms section.  There you will find an application for Directorship.  Please complete and email or send it to Director Carol Neef-Brown for consideration.  If anyone has questions regarding this position, you may contact any Director by utilizing the website.

Don Mach

NCCIA Acting President and Legal Liaison

Web Site Report

Thanks to all of you who visited http://www.nottinghamcounty.org/ and offered suggestions and comments on the web site content.

If you haven't visited our web site lately, let me remind you that the latest happenings in Nottingham Country are posted on the Website first.  Items like Heavy Trash Pickup dates, Election Results, Lost Pets and Safety/Security Incidents in our neighborhood are posted on the site.  We also have applications and forms posted on the website – we will have our General Meeting and Election of Board Members coming up in November.  If you think you might be interested in serving on the Board of Directors for the Nottingham Country Community Improvement Association, please visit our web site and download an application form.  The forms can be found by clicking on the "Forms & Maps" link on the Nottingham Country Home Page: http://www.nottinghamcountry.org/.

In April, we had a couple of “successes” reported on our ‘Lost Pets’ link.  Please let us know if you have lost your “Fur or Feathered” family member.

Also, as a reminder, we do have a link to Sex Offenders on our site called Predator Check.  Please check it out if you haven’t already.  It’s good information especially for all parents and grandparents.

Please take a moment to visit our web site and Click on the “Suggestions” Link to offer your comments or suggestions or email the webmaster directly by sending an email to: WebMaster@NottinghamCountry.org.

We appreciate any and all ideas from our neighbors as to how we can improve our Internet presence and make our web site a useful tool for our neighborhood.

Remember, the “NEW STUFF” Button always denotes where the latest information is.

As a reminder, the Deed Restrictions for All NC sections, as well as, the By-Laws, are posted on the web site.