CSHOA Community News

The seasons go by so fast, soon it will be time to enjoy the Bay in the warmth of the springtime sun, but these cold crisp nights are beautiful. We truly are blessed to live at the Bay‘s edge.

The Board and I owe you all a big apology for the way the 2008 assessments and the coupon mailings were handled. There are lots of circumstances that aligned to cause this to not work out the first time, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear about that. It is important to know that the mistakes are fixed, both with the coupons and with our 2008 budget. The corrected 2008 budget is on Pages 5-6 of this newsletter. The mailing of the new coupons was completed and everybody was given extra time to pay the first installment on the 2008 assessment. If you have paid using the first set of coupons, or sent in your payment without any coupons, please call Brenda Conway at 703-360-0904 or send her an email at Brenda@summitmanage.com and she will help you get things straightened out.

Brenda has brought significant experience and input into how we as CSHOA should be conducting our business. The Board of Directors is very pleased to have her continue as our financial services provider in 2008. Please feel free to contact her if you have any questions.

The 2008 assessment includes the increase that was discussed at the September meeting. The 2007 amount for Town Houses is $719.80 and for other homes it is $678.00. This includes the SBA loan payments as well as the extra that townhome owners pay to cover part of the expected repair/replacement for the parking lots. Brenda’s suggestion of a quarterly payment was a good one and I believe it will help Chesapeake Station and our community all the way around. There are no additional fees to the homeowners if 2008 assessment is paid in four installments or if it is paid all at once.

We would like to update our Chesapeake Station Directory. We need volunteers to gather information, organize the data and then distribute the directory to homes in Chesapeake Station. If you are interested in helping please contact one of your board members. It’s easiest to contact us via email; see our addresses later in this newsletter. If you received this newsletter by email, you are already on the list kept by our secretary, George Newman. Printed newsletters now go only to those who request them. Please let your neighbors know about the convenience of electronic delivery. We use the email list only to help homeowners in Chesapeake Station with information necessary to keep our neighborhoods informed and connected. We don’t share your email address with anyone, and that includes the others on the list.

CSHOA seriously needs you to consider running for the Board of Directors. Some of the current members have been on the board for five years, and many of us are discussing not being available for the board in 2009. The CSHOA by-laws require a board to oversee the affairs of Chesapeake Station, and the laws of Maryland require that there must be a board for a corporation such as CSHOA to enter into contracts. So if nobody volunteers in 2009, there can be no contract for financial services management, no contract for grounds maintenance, no contract for tree trimming, no contract for snow removal, no contracts for auditing the books and no contract for doing our CSHOA tax returns. If that happens, it would be a disaster for our property values. No experience is required to be a board member – just willingness to attend one evening meeting a month and put in some time in planning and decision-making. Any board member would be happy to provide more details.

Your 2008 Board tries to meet in the first or second week of each month. Sometimes there are conflicts so it is not always on the same night of the week. The meetings are open, so if you would like to attend, contact a board member for time, date and location.

Jim Mulder
President, Chesapeake Station Homeowners Association

Don’t Lose Your Homestead Tax Exemption!

Chesapeake Station homeowners recently received notices of new tax assessments from the State of Maryland. Valuations are rising sharply – about 30 percent a year for most of us. But if your home here is your principal residence, the Homestead Tax Credit limits the annual increase to 10 percent.

Here’s the catch: The homestead credit is no longer automatic. You have to verify your eligibility. It’s easy to overlook the instructions for how to do so; they’re at the bottom of the assessment notice. You can fill out and mail the “Application for Homestead Tax Credit Eligibility” that came with your notice. Or you can go to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation website, www.dat.state.md.us, and click on the Homestead Eligibility Application link. We recommend the on-line route. It’s quicker and easier, and you get a verification page you can print out. The deadline for filing the application is April 1. Don’t delay. Protect your exemption now!

From the Grounds Committee

We started the new year by picking up where we left off last year. The town finally issued the permit we needed to remove the trees along Mears Avenue and on the Overlook. By the time you receive this Newsletter all of the trees will have been removed. The next step will be to plant replacement trees in these areas as well as on the Berm (the area next to the boat racks).

Everyone should have already received an email concerning the large White Oak tree on the Overlook next to 4034 17th Street. I am pleased that we will be able to extend the life of that 100-plus-year-old tree by reducing its weight, resulting in less stress for the tree. Also, the tree next to the White Oak has a hole in the trunk about 20 feet up from the ground. The hole will be plugged, eliminating the possibility of damage to the tree from insects and water.

We have several new projects that we would like to tackle this year. They include:
1. Remove the junipers in the center island of the “C” Street Townhouse parking lot and replace them with sod. The junipers are obstructing drivers’ view to the south when exiting the parking lot.
2. Shore up both sides of the walkways at 7834 C Street and 7792 C Street to keep the soil and mulch from washing away.
3. Plant shrubs on the back side of 4008 Band Shell Court. That is the common ground area where our children, grown-ups and dogs play.
4. Trim various trees in common ground areas that are impeding pathways and/or encroaching on residents’ homes.

The new year so far has been very good to us weather wise. Lets hope Mother Nature continues to be nice to us. If you have a common ground concern that you would like addressed, please do not hesitate to call me at 301-812-1748 or email me veritysailor@aol.com. — Pam Johnson

From the Architectural Committee

The Architectural Committee has been working closely with the owners of the houses on C Street damaged in last summer’s fire. As you can see when you go that way, reconstruction is proceeding nicely. Otherwise, winter has been fairly quiet for the Committee, but we expect that to end as homeowners plan spring projects.

The rules governing siding, colors and similar issues are spelled out in some detail in Resolution Three, but they can be summarized in one sentence: If you do anything that changes the outside appearance of your house, including landscaping changes, you need authorization from the Architectural Committee. The Committee wants to be a help, not a problem, but to help you we need to be informed as early as possible when you’re planning work. If you have questions or need a copy of Resolution Three, please contact me at 410-286-3922 or newfair@verizon.net — Barbara Fairchild.

Your car is naked without a parking sticker

A walk around CSHOA parking areas reveals many cars lacking permit stickers. To be sure, we usually enforce the sticker requirement only during the July 4 celebration, but it is strictly enforced then. More important, when all residents display parking stickers, it’s immediately clear which cars belong in the neighborhood and which ones may not belong.

Please note that parking stickers are issued to homeowners only. Tenants who need them should let their landlords know. Stickers are available from Margie Hunter, 410- 257-5647, or Jim Mulder, 410-257-0626.

Newsletter E-Delivery
This is the first CSHOA Newsletter being distributed mostly by email and by posting on the chesapeakestation.com website. Paper copies will be sent to those who have requested them. We don’t want to leave out our neighbors who don’t have access to email and the Internet. However, copying and mailing are significant expenses for your Association – expenses that must be paid from your assessments.
If your neighbors don’t know they can receive this newsletter electronically, please ask them to send an email to newfair@verizon.net.
Being on the email list means not only newsletter delivery but also prompt notification of important matters affecting the community. Be assured that we won’t send you frivolous messages, and your email address will not be visible to anyone else.

CSHOA Board of Directors

President, Jim Mulder, jmulder3@verizon.net, 410-257-0626
Vice President, John Friel, jafriel@verizon.net, 410-286-8626
Member at-Large, Heidi Daniels, heidi@chesapeake.net, 301-943-2245
Secretary, George Newman, newfair@verizon.net, 410-296-3922
Treasurer, Roland Schlehuber, bebopster1@aol.com, 410-286-2421

Chesapeake Station HOA 2008 Budget

2008
Account Description Budget Notes
INCOME:
06000 Assessment Income 59,030.40 All Homes $528, 48 TH $41.80 Additional
06030 Special Assessment Income 16,200.00 SBA Loan Portion ($150 per home * 108)
06205 Boat Rack Fees 500.00
06220 Miscellaneous Income 0.00
06400 Interest Income 500.00
______________
Subtotal Income 76,230.40

EXPENSES

General & Administrative
07000 Accounting/Audit 1,960.00 Audit/Tax Return Preparation
07050 Interest Expense 2,425.00 Loan Interest
07061 Legal Fees - General 2,100.00
07065 Miscellaneous expense 500.00
07070 Permits/Licenses 225.00 Town of Chesapeake/Calvert County Health
07080 Postage and Delivery 492.00
07085 Printing and Copying 250.00
07090 Social Events 582.00 October Fest
______________
General & Administrative 8,534.00

Contracts
07240 Grounds Maintenance Contract 30,000.00 Lawn Maintenance
07260 Management(Financial) Contrac 5,040.00 Financial Management
07270 Snow Removal Contract 1,500.00
______________
Contracts 36,540.00

Maintenance
07311 Beach Improvements 250.00
07315 Common Property Maint/Improve Deleted this account from 2008 budget
07366 Grounds Improvement Maint. Deleted this account from 2008 budget
07365 Landscaping/Watering 1,500.00
07370 Miscellaneous Expenses 150.00
07375 Tree Removal 3,500.00
07380 Sidewalk Repairs 3,000.00
______________
Maintenance 8,400.00

Insurance
07830 Insurance 1,000.00
______________
Insurance 1,000.00

Reserves
08000 Reserve Contribution-General 6,000.00
08005 Reserve Contribution-Townhous 2,006.40
08010 SBA Principal Loan Res Contr. 13,750.00
______________
Reserves 21,756.40

TOTAL EXPENSES 76,230.40

==============