CSHOA Community News

Letter from Jim Mulder, President, Chesapeake Station Homeowners Association:

Aren’t we blessed to be living so close to this wonderful, relaxing, scenic Bay? With such a great community it’s too easy to take it all for granted, but it takes a lot of folks to keep it that way. Each of us has a responsibility to be a good neighbor as well as a good steward of the environment. Please do your part and volunteer for our community efforts for the Chesapeake Beach Fireworks Celebration on Thursday, July 3rd. Volunteer opportunities are explained later in this newsletter.

This is the first year that CSHOA has set up a quarterly payment method for annual assessment, and we are well into the second quarter. Most everybody is doing their part to keep CSHOA finances in good shape, but several CSHOA neighbors are late in paying their duties, including a few who, as of mid-May, have not paid anything for 2008, and have not responded to reminder notices. If an attorney gets involved, it gets really expensive because the delinquent homeowner pays all the extra collection, recording and attorney’s fees. Please call Brenda Conway, of Summit Management at 703-360-0904 to settle your account if you are not current on your assessments.

I have several other examples of what being good neighbors is all about. First, Please put your household trash and yard waste out only the day before trash day, and put it by the curb at your home. Some folks have been putting it where the town doesn’t expect trash to be, and they will more than likely not pick it up. Make sure your trash is secure. On windy days it will blow right into the Bay. Note that the town only picks up yard waste in clear bags (not black), and tree limbs, branches and twigs must be tied in bundles. In addition, if you have something that won’t fit into your trash can (larger or odd size) you must call Town Hall (410-257-2230) for special pick up. Be a good neighbor and make the proper arrangements so it doesn’t sit there for days or even weeks.

Second, parking on our streets is tight. The streets are public so we as CSHOA cannot limit who can and cannot park on the street. But please obey the existing laws: Do not park on the wrong side of the street, do not park closer than 30 feet to a stop sign and do not park in front of a fire hydrant. We have talked with the sheriff’s department and they have given several warning citations for some of these violations. Be courteous and a good neighbor, and remember there is nothing that gives you any special rights to a parking place on the street.

Third, no matter what, it is trespassing to go onto, or instruct somebody to go onto, your neighbor’s property to trim a tree. No matter how bad you think that tree is (diseased or blocking your view, etc), and how much you think you know what your neighbor wants, unless you have their permission, you could be cited by the sheriff’s office for trespassing (at the very least).

Fourth, keeping your grass mowed and your weeds pulled and your house in good shape are just a few of the responsibilities of homeownership. In addition, our covenants require that you maintain your home. A number of homes in the community need some serious attention: siding boards falling off, decks and/or fences falling down, and peeling and chipping paint. Please if your home is one of these needing attention don’t wait, be a good neighbor and a law-abiding member of Chesapeake Station and fix up your home.

Finally, the Sheriff’s Dept has increased bicycle patrols in our community. If you see Deputy Tilley please thank him for his good efforts. Being a good neighbor means that if you see suspicious activity please report it to the Sheriff’s department. You can either call 911 or the Sheriff’s non-emergency number at 410-535-2800 and leave a message for Deputy Brian Tilley. If you want to email him, he can be reached also at tilleytb@co.cal.md.us.

The board has been reviewing financial statements, audits, and the updated reserve study to provide a sound strategy for future replacement funding of CSHOA necessities. We will be glad to provide the updated study to anybody interested in looking at it. Later in this newsletter you’ll find more discussion of this subject.

One final bright note is the “Beach Trolley” which has begun running and will continue through Labor Day, according to the President of the Beach Trolley Association, Stewart Cumbo. The trolley route is from the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum to Skipper’s Pier in Deale. It will run on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays each week and also on Labor Day. It stops at several restaurants and businesses including North Beach Pier, Herrington Harbor South, Rose Haven, Herrington Harbor North, Tracey’s Landing and finally Skipper’s Pier. Please go to www.beachtrolleyassociation.org to get times and more details. What a great way to take a relaxed ride around our little corner of the Bay.

Your 2008 Board tries to meet the 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 and dates. If you have any concerns or suggestions, feel free to call or email.

– Jim Mulder

Board faces Reserve Fund Issue

Where do your assessment payments go? We all know they’re used for current needs, from lawn-mowing to tree-trimming to fence-mending. They also pay for the costs associated with events such as the July 3 celebration, and they help the CSHOA board and committees communicate with you by means such as this newsletter.

But year-to-year expenses are only part of the story. Sound management requires us to maintain a Reserve Fund to cover repair and replacement of our infrastructure, including walkways, steps, parking lots and the beachfront. Right now most of the money that would normally go into the Reserve Fund goes instead to pay off the Small Business Administration loan that helped us repair the damage caused in 2003 by Hurricane Isabel.

The Board recently commissioned an update of our Reserve Fund study by Mason & Mason of Reston, Va., a highly respected firm in the field of capital analysis. Those receiving this newsletter by email also have received an attachment containing the updated study. Board Treasurer Roland Schlehuber will be happy to answer questions about the study.

The study makes clear that we are not putting sufficient resources into the Reserve Fund, and won’t be doing so for several years, even if assessments are raised annually by 10 percent, the maximum allowable without approval by two-thirds of the membership. However, the by-laws empower the Board to impose, without seeking membership approval, a special assessment for a specific purpose, such as paying off the SBA loan to facilitate growth of the Reserve Fund.

Your Board does not believe in using this power without consulting the membership. At the same time, we’re mindful of our responsibility to provide for the future as well as the present well-being of the Association. We’re looking at formal ways for the membership to express its opinion, perhaps through a non-binding advisory referendum at this year’s annual meeting in September. In the meantime, we welcome comments. Board members’ contact information appears at the end of this newsletter.

Grounds Committee Update

It has been a beautiful spring. The lawns and flowerbeds have been prepared for the approaching summer season and they are looking good. Kathy Scott has again designed and planted a beautiful array of flowers for the entrance garden at Mears and C Street. Let me take this opportunity to compliment everyone in the community for how nice your flower beds are looking.

Continuing with the work that was started last fall, we have planted five Magnolia Virginiana, two in the bed along Mears Avenue adjacent the first townhouse on C Street and three at the entrance to C Street to provide a shield between us and the parking lot for Rod n’ Reel. We have three Service Berry bushes remaining to be planted in the bed with the two Magnolia Virginiana. We planted two Eastern Pines on either side of the sidewalk running from the townhouse parking lot to the shopping center at 7832 and 7834 C Street.

The split rail fence behind the entrance garden at Mears and C Street was rotting and falling down. We removed the fence entirely because the Leyland Cypress have filled out nicely and are providing the privacy for which the fence was originally intended.

The Berm clean-up has been completed. We planted three Maple Trees, two Skip Laurels, eleven grasses throughout and 200 English Ivy plants on the North side of the Berm. In accordance with Andino’s contract, the Berm will be maintained on a continuing basis.

Various trees and shrubs encroaching on private property and/or walkways have been trimmed throughout the community.

Tent caterpillars at the top of the walkway from Carousel to the Overlook were bagged and/or cut out. According to Andino’s, tent caterpillars are mostly a nuisance and most trees recover nicely from any damage they may have sustained.

Approval has been given to shore up the walkways leading to the shopping center at 7834 and 7792 C Street with landscape timbers to stop ground and mulch erosion.

If you have a common ground concern that you would like addressed, please do not hesitate to call me, Pam Johnson, at 301-812-1748 or email me at veritysailor@aol.com.

Architecture Update

After a quiet winter for the Architectural Committee, spring has brought a number of requests for permission for painting, landscaping and other changes. The committee is pleased that CSHOA residents are making it a habit to contact us before they begin work that would alter their appearance of their home or grounds.

One problem we’ve run into is that the original list of approved paint colors includes some that are no longer being manufactured, at least not under the original name. We’ve been taking requests for painting on a case-by-case basis, and recently approved a project where the paint will match an approved color for vinyl siding. We’ll be working on trying to clarify this further.

We’re grateful for the good cooperation we’ve had, and would like to emphasize again that when you’re planning renovations, please bring our committee into the picture as early as possible. If you need an application form, please ask me. I can supply either a hard copy of an electronic one. You can reach me at 410-286-3922 or newfair@verizon.net — Barbara Fairchild, Architectural Committee chair

Thanks to all for beach cleanup help
As these pictures by Jax Photography demonstrate, two-legged and four-legged residents of Chesapeake Station joined May 3 to clean up our beach. Big thanks to all! We had lots of muscle, participation and enthusiasm. (I wish I knew all your names!) Rob and Sharon Crow led our efforts, while Jim Mulder made sure we had our chainsaw, wheelbarrow etc. Rudy Fimbres and Jack Shearin tackled the rocks, and others raked the beach and fed the dumpster. Thanks to Pat Friel, Jackie O’Shea, Shirley Bealor and Sharon for the 5-star breakfast. And as always we are grateful to our most generous hosts, Mary and Sven Thulin. See you on the beach. – Heidi Daniels