SHADOWBROOK AT TOWN CENTER COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

2007 ARCHIVED COMMUNITY NEWS

 

DECEMBER 21, 2007: BOARD VICE-PRESIDENT RESIGNS
Vice President Shane Turner has resigned his post, effective today.

DECEMBER 20, 2007: BUDGET STATUS
The Board is carefully considering all input received at last night's budget meeting, and will update the community soon.  The slides from last night's meeting are posted here.

DECEMBER 17, 2007: NEW BOARD DIRECTOR APPOINTED
The Board is excited to welcome Kathy Hedrick to the Board of Directors, who was unanimously approved in our December 16 meeting to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Director Betsy Buechner.  The By-Laws provide for the Board to appoint someone to the Board to fill a vacant position.  She will be completing the remaining days of Betsy's 2-year term, which ends November 2008.   

Kathy brings many unique and valuable skills to the Board.  She is semi-retired from her role as a media specialist with Gwinnett County Public Schools since 1984, and has lived in Gwinnett County for over 30 years.  As a townhome owner, she can represent the unique perspectives of that section of the community.  Kathy was selected by the current Board among several candidates considered.  In selecting her, the Board noted her reputation for intelligence, fairness, outspokenness, and a lack of bias.  

Her personal goal and her reason for agreeing to serve out the term?  She believes we have a wonderful neighborhood and she hopes she can contribute to making it a strong community as well.  What is the difference?  According to Kathy, the neighborhood is the multiuse concept we inherited from Bowen and the city of Suwanee.  The community is relationship of the people who live in those homes.  

She will be assuming the role of Secretary from Warner Coffman, who will return to his single role as Member-at-Large.  Welcome Kathy! 

DECEMBER 14, 2007: RESERVE STUDY AVAILABLE
We have finally received a final copy of the reserve study for the community's review.  You can view it in the 2008 Budget section of the Financials page.  Note that the reserve numbers are lower than in the original budget sent November 16, as the original numbers included maintenance of the decks.  Since that time, the Board has determined that the townhome decks are not to be included in the maintenance performed by the Association.  The Board will be adjusting the 2008 assessments accordingly.  The change should only affect the townhome assessment amount.  More information will be coming soon.

DECEMBER 11, 2007: NEW LETTER FROM HOA PRESIDENT
Check out the Community Forum where Rob has posted a new message with his thoughts about the 2008 budget. 

DECEMBER 10, 2007: P.A.C.T. UPDATE
P.A.C.T. is a program of the Suwanee Police Department that deters crime by strengthening the bond between the community and the police that serve it.  Read more on the new P.A.C.T. page.

DECEMBER 7, 2007: DEC 19 BUDGET MEETING TO BECOME PETITIONED MEETING
The meeting that the Board of Directors scheduled for December 19 to discuss the 2008 Budget will now become the "Special Meeting" requested by the homeowners.  Notices of the Special Meeting were sent to all homeowners today.  Enclosed with the Notice is a Q&A document that will aid in your understanding of how the Board came up with the budget.  

The Board wants the community to know that this meeting was not originally scheduled as a result of the petition.  We were always planning to have a meeting to discuss the 2008 Budget, as we have stated in several previous communications.  We don't want you to think that you have to petition the Board to have us explain something as important as the budget.

Having said that, we did receive such a petition, and thus the Covenants require us to have a meeting if at least 10% of eligible homeowners have signed the petition, which they did.  The petition calls for the following:

1.  Calling for discussion of the Budget for 2008 including the Reserve Study
2.  Vote on the Budget
3.  Discussion of other alternative solutions

So we will present the 2008 Budget to you, and then open up the floor for questions and comments.  As requested by the petition, we will also have a discussion of alternate solutions.  Come prepared to share any alternate ideas you may have for how to fund the needed monies.  Read more about the 2008 Budget on the Financials page.  Sign-in starts at 6:30pm, and the meeting will start at 7:00pm.

DECEMBER 5, 2007: BUDGET MEETING SCHEDULED
Mark your calendars for December 19, 2007, 7pm - 9pm when we will be having a special meeting to discuss the 2008 budget increases.  The meeting will be held at the Suwanee Branch of the Gwinnett Public Library.  The Board of Directors will be presenting the budget and how it was determined.  Also on-hand to answer your questions will be Jessica Mooney from GW & Associates, John Leuder from the law firm The Leuder Law Firm, and Wayne Johnson from Ray Engineering.  Sign-in starts at 6:30pm, and the meeting will start at 7:00pm.  UPDATE: Read updated information about meeting in the December 7th news item.

DECEMBER 4, 2007: BOARD OF DIRECTOR CHANGES
It is with sadness that the Board announces the departure of President Betsy Buechner who has resigned her post.  Former Secretary Rob Rohloff will assume the role of President, while Secretary duties will be taken-over by Warner Coffman, who will also keep his current Member-at-Large role.  Eleanor Love will continue in her role as Treasurer and Shane Turner will continue to be Vice President.  The Board wishes to thank Betsy for her tireless service to the community during her tenure; she will be missed.

NOVEMBER 29, 2007: GREENWAY BRIDGE RIBBON-CUTTING
The Suwanee City Council will host a ribbon cutting for the new Pedstrian Bridge/Town Center Connector on Friday, December 14, 4:30pm, on the new bridge.  All Shadowbrook residents (and non-residents) are invited to attend.  See you there!

NOVEMBER 29, 2007: TREE UPLIGHTS UPDATE
Many of you have been wondering what is going on with all of the tree uplights that are out throughout the community.  The Board has been replacing the bulbs regularly, only to find them burned out again in a short period of time.  An investigation of the root cause of the issue indicates that there is a problem with water getting into the lights.  We do not know if they are the wrong type of lights for this application, or if they were installed incorrectly.  Either way, the Board decided it's not in the best interest of the community to continue to replace bulbs until the larger issue is corrected.  We are working with the management company, the builder, and the installer to come to resolution.  We will keep you posted. 

NOVEMBER 27, 2007: INDIGO JOE'S OFFERS 25% OFF FOR SHADOWBROOK RESIDENTS!
Indigo Joe's announces its "Gift That Keeps Giving" by naming every Wednesday night "SHADOWBROOK NIGHT".  Residents enjoy a savings of 25% off their food tab from 5 p.m. until close!  See the press release or visit their website for more information.

NOVEMBER 27, 2007: THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE A SUCCESS!
The members of the Shadowbrook Social Committee would like to extend thanks to the many residents of our community for their generous contributions to our recent food drive.  On November 21st, we delivered 217 food items to the Food Bank of the Shadowbrook Baptist Church.  The staff was very appreciative for your donations since they usually distribute 100 boxes of food monthly to needy individuals.  They also expressed a need for any contributions of clothing items for men, women, or children.  If you can help with these items, please contact Shadowbrook Baptist Church.  Here is a letter of thanks we received from Shadowbrook.

NOVEMBER 26, 2007: BIG WEBSITE UDPATE!
The Board has been working hard to update the website.  Changes include a Documents section with many of our important documents, including the covenants, a Newsletters & Mailings section with copies of newsletters and letters sent to homeowners, a Web Poll that will be updated periodically, and much more!  Take a look around, and let us know what you think by signing the Guest Book.

NOVEMBER 26, 2007: NEW!  COMMUNITY FORUM
We now have a community forum where you can ask the Board questions, or share ideas as a community.  Check it out by following the Community Forum link on the left. 

NOVEMBER 24, 2007: COVENANTS POSTED ONLINE
You can find a copy of the Shadowbrook Covenants and Supplemental Declaration on the Documents page. 

NOVEMBER 21, 2007: 2008 BUDGET
The 2008 budget is complete!  All homeowners should receive their copy of the budget this week, along with an explanatory e-mail and a memo from GW & Associates regarding the change of fees.  You can find a copy of the 2008 Budget on the Documents page.

OCTOBER 30, 2007: BOARD RESPONSE TO RECENT RUMORS
It has come to the attention of the Board of Directors that an e-mail, authored by one of the homeowners, is circulating and causing a great deal of anxiety in the neighborhood.  The e-mail, though based loosely on real facts, is riddled with exaggerations and inaccuracies.  Due to the extreme nature of the accusations, the BOD felt it necessary to respond to the allegations head-on.  Read the memo here.

OCTOBER 1, 2007: WATER RESTRICTIONS - UPDATE
As many of you have heard by now, a "Drought Level 4" has been declared for the northern part of the state of Georgia. “Drought Level 4” does not allow for any outdoor watering. 

Under the state law, commercial exemptions allow Fall Seasonal Color or overseeding to be watered for 30 days ensure proper establishment of the plant/ grass. Thereafter, cooler temperatures and typical rainfall patterns should maintain the plantings through the winter season.

Nature Scapes’ services our common areas irrigation system and  our property is in compliance, since we have turned off all irrigation systems unless instructed otherwise.  For properties with a 30 day exemption, then just the zones on the system that had the New Landscape Installation Exemption will be activated: this applies to aerating/overseeding, landscape installations AND will apply to the Fall Color Installations.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2007: IMPORTANT INFO REGARDING FIRE HAZARD IN THE COMMUNITY MEMO!
The following memo is in regard to the memo sent to All Shadowbrook at Town Center Homeowners on the subject of Fire Hazard in the Community sent September 18, 2007.  

AUGUST 17, 2007: PARKING REMINDER
Parking is an issue in the neighborhood.  Remember that vehicles are to be parked in your driveway or in your garage.  The "cut out" spaces are for parking and they are located in the front of the townhouses.  Parking is not allowed on the side streets between the main streets and the alleyways, or at the beginning of streets next to the curb. Parking in front of single family homes is for visitors that are visiting the single family homeowners.  Single family homeowners may park in front of their house for unloading or loading of the car, but you may not park your car on the street overnight.  Parking is also not allowed on the grass.  Notices will be sent and if the violation continues, a $25.00 a day fine will be charged to the homeowner for violations.

AUGUST 8, 2007: WELCOME TO THE NEW WEBSITE AND NEW BOARD ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Parking is an issue in the neighborhood.  Remember that vehicles are to be parked in your driveway or in your garage.  The "cut out" spaces are for parking and they are located in the front of the townhouses.  Parking is not allowed on the side streets between the main streets and the alleyways, or at the beginning of streets next to the curb. Parking in front of single family homes is for visitors that are visiting the single family homeowners.  Single family homeowners may park in front of their house for unloading or loading of the car, but you may not park your car on the street overnight.  Parking is also not allowed on the grass.  Notices will be sent and if the violation continues, a $25.00 a day fine will be charged to the homeowner for violations.

Welcome to our new website!  Your new board of directors has been hard at work for you!  You will be seeing lots of improvements in the neighborhood starting very soon.

Listed below are a few of the things we have accomplished so far!

 

1.       The installers of the uplights in the trees have been out and all lights should be functioning properly. 

2.       We have turned over several delinquent homeowners homeowners to our attorneys for collections.  We currently have over $16,000 in delinquent fees.  When homeowners are delinquent in paying their HOA dues it ends up costing EVERYONE in the community.

3.       We have started a monthly newsletter.  If you are reading this, you got your first newsletter and we hope you are enjoying it.  You should expect to see a newsletter every four to six weeks in your mailbox. 

4.       We have adopted our ACC Guidelines and the guidelines will available to you on our website by September 1, 2007.

5.       We have adopted our Collection Policy for delinquent HOA dues.  With this new policy, we hope to get our delinquency reduced quickly.  These also may be found on our website beginning September 1, 2007.

6.       We are currently reviewing all contracts with current vendors and making sure our budget money is being put to good use.

7.       We have met with the City regarding parking issues and will meet again with them at the end of the concert season to plan for next years season. 

8.       We have started our community newsletter and you should be receiving copies every four to six weeks. 

9.       We are beginning to prepare for our 2008 budget.

10.   We are working with Bowen and the City in regards to our street signs.