THIS YEAR'S FEE IS $50 IF YOU PAY EARLY

[WHFHA's membership and board met Feb. 24 and adopted the association fee set out below. The front entrance is to have major landscaping work done this Spring. A yearly fee will be needed to establish and maintain that landscaping and to maintain administration subdivision covenants.]

WINDY HILL FOREST HOMEOWNER’S ASSOCIATION
DUES NOTICE FOR 2007

Payment Due Date: Due No Later Than April 15, 2007
We have landscapers to pay this Spring, so please get your checks out right away.

2007 Assessment: Fifty Dollars ($50.00) if paid on time.
You get a discount if you pay on time.

2007 Assessments Paid Late: One Hundred Dollars - $100.00!
Actually, the official assessment is $100 but the board is motivating timely payment by granting a discount for fees paid by April 15, 2007.

Make Check Payable to:
Windy Hill Forest Homeowners Association, Inc.

Mail Check to:

WHFHA c/o M. Groves,
PO Box 725167
Atlanta, GA 31139

Hand Deliver Check to:

Slot in Top Left box in USPS Mailbox near 1406 Springleaf


**In 1985 the Windy Hill Forest Homeowner’s Association recorded a declaration of covenants affecting its townhomes and their owners. It made the Association responsible for maintenance of common grounds and the lawns of each homeowner. That declaration included the right to assess $216 for lawn maintenance for 1985, and the right to annual increases of 5% of the prior year amount. The WHFHA Board of Directors has calculated an ongoing annual increase of 5% of the prior year amount from 1985 forward, and for 2007 the maximum that could be assessed is $631.

The Association’s policy is to entrust proper lawn maintenance to the Association members (which is consistent with Article IX of the WHFHA Bylaws - a copy is attached and is available at www.windyhillforest.com by clicking the “WHFHA documents” link). Instead of assessing $631 for lawn maintenance, the Association is assessing $100 per townhome for the entire 2007 year, and giving early payers a discount down to $50 per townhome. Owners that get their payment in by April 15 can claim the discount. Otherwise the full $100 is due; we need to get funds in this spring to pay for major landscaping work at the front entrance.

By paying the 2007 Assessment, owners are consenting to the Article IX bylaws, including the duty to take proper care of their lawns. If you are an owner that neglects lawncare or insists on having the Association care for your lawn, then please pay $631 to WHFHA right away, so lawn-care arrangements can be made.

Failing to pay has consequences. Members, please understand that the Association is no longer dormant. It is in good standing with the Georgia Secretary of State, it has had annual membership meetings at which a board of directors and officers were elected, and it has every right to make this assessment. A member that is delinquent in paying is subject to interest, late fees and attorney fees – those fees can add up to many hundreds of dollars and end up being filed as a lien on the member’s home. Further, the Association reserves the right to contact a delinquent member’s mortgage company to give them a chance to cure the delinquency before a lien is filed. Also, under the bylaws, a delinquent member delegates his voting rights to the Association. We look forward to your support and cooperation.

[Excerpts from bylaws & covenants follow - to enlarge, click on image and wait for downloading to complete.]

VERY POSITIVE ANNUAL MEETING

The 2007 WHFHA annual meeting was held at 3:30 pm at the Smyrna Community Center on Saturday, February 24, 2007 after notice was mailed and posted at the front entrance. A quorum was present and the following business was conducted: i) the minutes from the 2006 meeting were unanimously approved, and ii) the following persons were unanimously elected to serve as directors until their successors are appointed -- Haywood Franklin, Rochelle Martin, Susie David, Sandy Vazquez, Rene Lisby and Mark Groves.

Susie David provided a treasurer's report, Haywood Franklin provided the president's report on the year's accomplishments and the coming year's objectives, Rochelle Martin urged the membership to work within their respective townhouse clusters to keep up their properties, Mark Groves started the petition which adopts the Georgia Property Owners Association Act into our covenants, and Rene Lisby gave a very informative report on the pricing for new homes and homeowner fees in Smyrna. Windy Hill Forest is quite a bargain.

A number of important issues were discussed, including street parking problems, driving speeds, mischievous children and the need get Mark's Property Owner's petition signed up in the subdivision so WHFHA can better address some of these problems. Members wanting specific issues to be addressed are invited to bring their concerns to a Board of Directors meeting. Our pattern is to hold meetings on the 4th Monday of each month at 8pm at 1442 Springleaf Circle.

The 2007 Fees were discussed and announced by the Board. The fee is $50 if you pay by April 15, 2007, otherwise the fee is $100. This is discussed more on this blog's next article.