CHP HOA Meeting Minutes – 03/30/2020
Due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak and Stay-at-Home orders from local and state government officials, tonight’s Monthly HOA Meeting was held via phone conferencing with only HOA Board members, David Peterson of CAMS Services, and meeting notes recorder Renée Cabaup of the Communications Committee in attendance.
Meeting start: 6:30 pm
Board Members in Attendance: O’Neil Gilliam, Jan Talkish, J.J. Gentry, and David Bergeron
Board Members Absent: 0
Attendee: David Peterson Of CAMS Residential Services
Clubhouse: Effective immediately, Jan Talkish is ready to resume her role as clubhouse coordinator, following a personal leave of absence. Jan and the Board thank Becky Jones, who stepped in and took over clubhouse duties for a while.
In March, there were a total of 5 clubhouse rentals. Currently, April has three scheduled bookings, however neither Becky nor Jan has heard from people about canceling. Under the current Stay At Home ordinance, the City of Columbia will not allow social gatherings of any type until after April 12th – which means clubhouse booking up until that time period will need to be cancelled. If the City of Columbia renews the Stay At Home ordinance, the HOA cannot allow social gatherings during any extensions
The question arose….Can the clubhouse keep/begin taking reservations again for after the 12th of April?
J.J. Gentry spoke earlier with City Councilman Davis and Captain Yates of the Columbia Police Department, and – based on their discussion – he feels it would not be a violation to book the clubhouse after the 12th, as far as the city of Columbia is currently concerned. However, it would go against federal and state government recommendations that still mandate the closing of schools, non-essential businesses, public parks, etc.
Thus arose the question – could the HOA be open to lawsuits if we allow clubhouse rentals and gatherings during the state and federal government shutdown recommendations? J.J. feels that there is always a possibility. Therefore, the Board has made the decision to cancel all reservations through April 30th. David Peterson of CAMS agrees that this is the best idea.
Clubhouse rentals after May 1st will be made based on governmental guidelines at that time – but, people who inquire about renting the clubhouse need to understand that the current situation is fluid and can change. All reservations in the foreseeable future during the COVID-19 outbreak are subject to change.
Becky received a lot of complaints from renters about the lighting on the walkway outside of the clubhouse over the last few months, especially when it was getting darker earlier, The Board needs to look into getting the lighting fixed during this downtime. The original plan was to have a meeting with the electrician a couple of months ago, however that was postponed. It is hoped that the meeting can be rescheduled ASAP.
Stay At Home Ordinance: Starting at midnight on March 30, the City of Columbia enacted a stay at home ordinance for all residents, which extends through April 12. During this time, the City of Columbia asks residents to stay at home and in their yards unless they need to get something of necessity (groceries, doctor’s appointments and such). The City has posted an informational page regarding the Stay At Home Ordinance recently enacted. J.J. suggests that residents take a moment to look at the page, which includes the ordinance itself. A comprehensive listing of the ordinance rules, as pertaining to residents, can be found on page 2 of the ordinance. The site also includes links to a list of essential businesses (those that are open), non-essential businesses (those that are closed), and a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) link.
www.columbiasc.net/headlines/03-30-2020/stayhomestaysafeordinance_essentialbusinesses
Within the neighborhood, people may work in their yards, take walks (for exercise or recreation) and are welcome to use the trails and tennis courts, as long as they follow the six-foot social distancing rule (families residing in the same household do not need to follow the six-foot rule).
Out of an abundance of caution, the playground will be CLOSED indefinitely. Residents will be updated if the situation should change.
Driving vehicles, including golf carts, within the neighborhood is fine as long as you have a specific destination (example: heading to the tennis courts), however cruising is not allowed. The Police will still be continuing their normal patrols of the neighborhood, but their other objective at this time is to look for groups of people who are breaking the ordinance by loitering or partying, and disperse them.
Residents are still allowed to go fishing at the lakes and ponds – please remember to practice social distancing (unless you are a family residing in the same household). For people taking boats out into the lake, please do not have more than 2 to 3 people per boat, and maintain the 6 foot rule.
Monday bulk pickup is still taking place. Tuesday garbage collection will continue per regular schedule, but all trash must be contained within trash cans and recycling bins – the sanitation department will not be picking up any trash that is sitting in bags next to cans.
J.J. was told by City Councilman Davis and Captain Yates that the HOA Board members can gather for executive and monthly meetings, as both pertain to the operation of the HOA, and are exempt from the Stay At Home ordinance. Board members would be required to observe the social distancing rule.
Communications Committee: Due to the volume of emails sent to the HOA Board members and CAMS, the Communications Committee will be assisting the Board with answering questions that are of a general nature. It is hoped that this will improve the response time to resident questions, and also free up Board members and CAMS to reply to more complicated issues. All emails answered by members of the Communications Committee will be copied to the Board members and CAMS in order to maintain a complete record of communication.
It is anticipated that with this new procedure, general questions will be answered within 24 hours by members of the communications committee, and those questions that require Board member or CAMS attention will be addressed within 72 hours.
The Comm Comm and the Board have started a new, official HOA Facebook page. This information only page contains news, updates, and notifications of importance to residents, including links to information that is placed on the website. The page will be closed to commenting. This will offer an alternative for residents who wish to receive official HOA news and information without general chatter.
The group is currently open for residents to join – it is expected that there will be no more than 2-3 postings a week, if that. The group can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChestnutHillPlantationHOAOfficial/
Landscaping: Herbicide spraying has taken place in the public areas of the neighborhood, and residents should already be noticing the yellowing of weeds. Due to the amount of rain in the area of late, the decision was made to also do both the pre and post-emergent spraying. Pine straw has also been installed within the community.
If you have any landscaping concerns, comments, or questions, please contact O’Neil via the Board email form on the CHP website: https://chestnuthillplantation.org/contact-chestnut-hill-plantation/
Boat Ramp: A tree near the Broad River boat ramp was falling down, so it has been removed. Plans are still in place to spread new gravel by the boat ramp parking as well as fill a couple of holes in the road to that area.
Trails: According to Ward Squires, there’s still a lot of debris on the trails, which at this time are about 90 to 95% recovered from flooding.
Tennis Courts: The mud on the tennis courts was recently pressure washed away. The Board would like to thank Keith Sarto for his assistance.
CHP Lake: The boat ramp and pavilion at the lake, which had previously been pressure washed on the same day as the tennis courts, have since become dirty and muddy again due to water overflow. These will need to be re-cleaned.
J.J. reports that the dock next to the pavilion has some rotted boards that need to be replaced. J.J. has placed a safety cone over the weakest area to alert residents to the danger, and asks that the cone please not be removed. David Peterson will get in touch with a contractor to make repairs.
Clubhouse Parking Lot: O’Neill plans to fill in the parking lot hole temporarily with either leftover gravel from the boat ramp parking area, or possibly with slag (stony waste matter separated from metals during the smelting or refining of ore) which he can receive for very little cost, and which has a reputation for holding up well. These would only be temporary fixes until the HOA is able to get a paving company in to do permanent repairs.
CAMS: David Peterson reports that, with the current Covid virus and city ordinances, Sage is the only employee working in the office. Sage is currently available only Tuesdays and Thursdays as she needs to be home the remaining days with her children (childcare closed).Because of reduced staff, the office is currently closing at 4 PM in the afternoons, as there has not been a lot of foot traffic of late.
David is currently pursuing a sewerage issue with a home on Lost Creek Place. The lid is off of a sewer box in the yard, and raw sewage is trickling out on to the lawn. The house sits approximately 100 yards away from the lake, so sewerage has not reached the water yet. David states that he sent pictures to O’Neil and also to the City of Columbia Code Enforcement office. Anton Williams, of Code Enforcement, came to take a look at the problem and says that the residents and homeowner (this is a rental property) will both get warning citations. David has previously attempted to reach the homeowner, but has received no response. The Board inquired as to whether or not they needed to contact DHEC, but David Peterson states that Anton Williams said that this is a problem he will address.
On March 10th, late notices were sent out to residents who have not yet paid their dues. Residents may pay their dues via the CHP website (www.chpsc.org) or by going to the contact page, and looking for the payment button under the CAMS information. If you need additional assistance, please call Sage at the CAMS office on either Tuesday or Thursday, or leave a message for a return call. CAMS may be reached at: 803-732-9644
Due to the Covid-19 virus, and current economical strain on many individuals, the office of the Attorney General has stated that all foreclosures are being suspended until May 1.
The leak around the chimney at the clubhouse has been fixed-new flashing and adhesive was put in place to cover the site of the leakage. David Peterson needs to contact a stone mason to come in to cover the flashing with mortar and finished the job.
David Peterson has also recently talked to Joe Logan about going forward with fertilization in the lake and ponds. Joe will also be doing a fish count sometime in June on the lake (the ponds do not need to be counted).
Jeremy Catoe reports that, while fishing in the lake, he saw a gar (long, sleek fish with an alligator like jaw and teeth). Gar are dangerous to the fish population within the lake, as they eat a great many fish for survival. If the gar are not removed from the lake, they will continue breeding and consuming the other fish species. Residents who catch gar are asked to kill and dispose of them, or consume them. Please do not catch and release live gar back into the lake.
Meeting End: 7:47pm
Minutes reviewed and authorized by: David Bergeron, HOA Board Member
Renée Cabaup / Comm. Comm.