June 2019 Meeting Minutes

CHP HOA Meeting Minutes – 6//24/2019

Meeting start: 6:30pm

Board Members in Attendance: J.J. Gentry, Jeremy Catoe, and O’Neill Gilliam

Board Members Absent: Jan Talkish

Attendees: 8 Residents and David Peterson, CAMS

New Board Member: Long-time HOA Board Member Larry Newton resigned a couple of months ago, and since his departure, the Board has been seeking a fifth person to join the ranks. Recently, the Board members met with a suggested new candidate who expressed interest in further serving the CHP community. The Board would like to officially announce that long-time resident Dave Bergeron has been chosen to fill the vacated position. Dave is very familiar with the ins and outs of the community as he also serves on the Communications and Social Committees. Welcome, Dave!

Larry Newton was one of the original board members back when CHP came into fruition. The HOA Board is planning a special recognition event for Larry to thank him for all his years of service to the community. This event will be advertised in advance.

The Board is now back to five members, and will be undergoing another change soon. JJ Gentry, who has been the HOA President for 20 years, plans to begin rotating the President position among the current Board members. This change will begin by November, and will allow for better distribution of duties and responsibilities.

Road Work: The HOA meetings have proven to be beneficial in regard to getting things done within the community! At last month’s meeting, which was attended by a member of the City of Columbia Public Works Department, residents commented that the island on Lost Creek Drive in front of the clubhouse was difficult to see at night when driving. It was requested that a center line be painted in front of the island, to help with visibility. This was done the next day. The City has also started paving up to the sidewalk on Stable Ridge.

Parking: After complaints last month of residents parking overnight on roads, which blocks the flow of traffic in some area, J.J. spoke with Captain Yates of our local Columbia Police precinct about the problem. Captain Yates states that the Department has been dealing with continued parking issues here in the community. Per the City of Columbia, there is no parking on the roads from 2 AM to 6 AM… if you remain parked on CHP roadways, you are subject to ticketing. This rule exists because our roads are very narrow, and during the overnight hours, when residents are sleeping, the roadways must remain clear for the passage of emergency vehicles. If you receive a ticket from the City of Columbia, the HOA cannot ‘fix it’ for you – it is out of the Board’s jurisdiction.

If you need to report a car that is parked long term on a street, or is blocking traffic flow, please call the Columbia Police Department’s NON-emergency line at: (803) 252-2211 or use the Columbia Police Department’s online Traffic Complaint Form to report ongoing issues: https://columbiapd.net/traffic-complaint/

Residents are reminded that parking on the grass (both residential and on greenways), is not allowed – this is both a City of Columbia and HOA rule.

Residents should park in their driveways. If the number of cars at a residence exceeds the driveway space, residents have the option of expanding their driveways, in accordance with HOA covenants and permission from the Board. Driveways must be concrete, or paved – again, with Board approval. Gravel or mulch driveways are not allowed!

Pool: The past few weeks, we’ve had a few ups and downs with the pool. The pool pump decided to quit a couple of weeks ago, and the Palmetto Pool Management technician who came out to look into the problem started working on it very early in the morning and stayed until late at night to make sure the job was done! He had to do a lot of custom work to get the pump operational again, but he repaired the system in a much shorter time than the Board anticipated.

We have also had a problem with key fobs not working at the gate. The fob verification system works via the Internet, and due to the clubhouse’s issues with the net, the gate system went down. This caused much distress among neighbors, as some resident fobs worked, while others did not. According to David Peterson of CAMS, residents who used their fob prior to the system going down already had their information updated in the system for this pool season, and thus, their fobs worked. Residents who had not used their fobs prior to the system collapse – and thus were not updated for the pool season – were unable to gain entrance to the pool.

The only residents who should be denied access to the pool are those who have lost privileges due to failure to pay HOA dues or those who have been banned due to behavior issues. Pool attendants/lifeguards were provided with a list of residents who have lost their pool privileges. If you are a resident in good standing, and your fob does not work, just ask the attendant for assistance. If your name is not on the list, you will be allowed into the pool area. Residents who encounter problems with their fobs should contact CAMS so that their fob can be updated.

We also had a problem with the landline (telephone) at the pool being down. DHEC rules state that every HOA community pool must have a working landline in case of emergency, as landlines provide accurate address information to emergency services. DHEC graciously allowed the CHP pool to stay open while the landline was being repaired as long as the attendant/lifeguard on duty had a working cell phone; however, the pool could not remain opened if no staff was present. This caused early morning and evening hour swim times to be shut down for a few days.

The Board is actively looking into new Internet options for the clubhouse and pool areas, as the cameras, wifi, and the fob system operate off the Internet. Attempts to reach someone at AT&T to discuss putting in fiber optic access have been unsuccessful, so J.J. is going to reach out to a contact he has within the company.

Palmetto Pool Management has been getting stellar reviews here at CHP, and the Board is very pleased with the maintenance and repair services they provide. Residents are very pleased with the attendants and lifeguards, and state that the staffing changes have been working out very well! Residents also report that the pool area is well maintained and supervised, and that negative resident behavior (arguing with staff, leaving messes, failure to supervise children, etc.) has decreased dramatically. Overall, it has been a very positive change!

Landscaping: Pre-emergent spraying for weeds was done Memorial Day weekend, and O’Neill is already seeing less weeds and healthier greenways. After a continued period of hot and dry weather, there were worries about the grass and plants dying…luckily, much needed rains arrived. Unfortunately, not long afterward, the irrigation system went down and the pump system was not pushing water up the hill by West Way. Usually, when the system encounters an error, the pump system will reset itself, but it failed to do so this time. After a manual reset, the irrigation system is back in working order.

The only other big landscaping project to be done is the laying of new mulch within the playground, which will happen soon. With the exception of regular mowing, all scheduled landscaping projects will be finished for the year.

Social Committee: The recent Neighborhood Nerf Gun War was a huge hit! The event was well attended by residents of all ages, and – despite the extremely hot weather – a great time was had by all! The company that ran the event, Nerf Commander of Columbia, comes highly recommended by the Board, the Social Committee, and attendees. It was good, clean, inexpensive fun for all!

Coming up next from the Social Committee: Movie Night on Saturday, August 24, (the weekend following back to school). A family friendly movie will be announced at a later date.

**Also, On July 4th, there will be unofficial, resident organized games between 12pm and 2pm at the pool, put on by Linda Catoe and friends. All residents are invited to attend. There will be games for both kids and adults. Further information can be found on the unofficial CHP Facebook page.

CAMS: David Peterson would like to remind residents that neighborhood signs from the Bluff and Chestnut Woods are expected to be removed within the next couple of weeks so that they can be repainted due to rust and mineral damage (from irrigation system). If you happen to see the signs are missing, please do not worry.

Also, David reports that CAMS has been busy sending out letters to homeowners found to be in violation of HOA rules and covenants. If you have received a letter, but do not believe you are in violation, or have an extenuating circumstance, please contact the Board via the CHP website at: https://chestnuthillplantation.org/contact-chestnut-hill-plantation/ or contact David Peterson of CAMS at: 803-732-9644 or their email at: halcyon@halcyonres.com

Resident Concerns: Two concerns were raised by residents in attendance, one having to do with mowing in a particular area, which O’Neill addressed and will discuss with the landscaping company.

The other concern regarded the upcoming school year, and vehicles parking on both sides of the roads at bus stops as parents wait to drop off and pick up children. The resident mentioned that when cars park on both sides of the road, it often causes problems with traffic flow, both for other cars and also for the school busses. All residents in attendance, who live in different sections of CHP, agree that this is been an ongoing problem.

The Board states that the issue arises because our neighborhood roads were built too narrow, and thus are prone to congestion. In this particular matter, the Board urged residents to talk to their neighbors about parking issues at the bus stops, and see if they are able to come up with a solution among themselves.

The HOA has no rules regarding parking (or ’standing’) at bus stops, however, there may be City of Columbia rules about parking/standing near a stop sign. The Board reminded residents that if solutions cannot be found, and congestion continues at the bus stops, it may be advisable to notify the police department, so that an officer can come out and speak to residents about where to park when dropping off/picking up students.

Meeting End: 7:17pm

Minutes reviewed and authorized by: Jeremy Catoe, HOA Board Member

Renée Cabaup/Comm. Comm.

Attendees: 8 Residents and David Peterson, CAMS

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