March Beacon:

March 2020

Next Board Meeting: March 2nd at the Bay Hills Golf Course Clubhouse at 7:30pm

Are you interested in joining the Bay Hills Community Association Board? We are actively seeking someone for the Secretary position! Please email beacon@bayhillsonline.com if you think you would be a good fit.

THINKING ABOUT DOWNSIZING?…

A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Hello BCHA Members,

First I want to remind everyone that we have had to move our monthly board meeting because of issues with location availability. The March monthly BCHA will be Monday the 2nd at 7:30 at the Bay Hills Golf Clubhouse. We will send out an update if this has to continue on different dates.

Now for some good news. The basketball courts replacement project is finally finished. We have been working on this for 9 years now. Last week the locking dock gates were finally installed. The taller fences and secure gates are meant to address a long running complaints from residents regarding trespassing and not feeling safe in general. There is a link in this email for residents to sign up to receive the access code. We will be doing the same for the new gate at the tennis courts. We ask that the access code not be shared. If someone wants it refer them to the sign up link on the website.

We will start projects to add landscaping around the basketball court area this spring. We will hopefully approve phase 1 of the project at the next board meeting.

I also want to let you know that Board has approved a new insurance policy for the community. During a review by our Treasurer, Bob Ray, he discovered that the old policy lacked coverage for several of our assets and other basic coverages that are standard for communities like ours. The new policy now covers all our properties and equipment and saves $1,700 annually.

Lastly, during our transition to our new billing company for our dues collection there were some questions and issues that came up. We sent an email message out last month with additional information and have included that in this month’s Beacon as well. If you still have any concerns please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

I can assure you next year the process will be much smoother from the start!

Enjoy the early start to spring,

Dave

WANT ACCESS TO THE BASKETBALL AND/OR TENNIS COURT GATE CODES?

Please fill out the TENNIS COURT MAILING LIST FORM and/or the BASKETBALL COURT MAILING LIST FORM on the website by clicking these links! Links to these forms can also be found on the Amenities page of the website. You must be a resident to be added to these mailing lists. Once added, you will receive an email with the gate code and an email blast anytime the code is changed in the future! Please do not share the gate code with anyone. If a resident would like access simply refer them to the website to be added to the list.

BAY HILLS COMMUNITY DUES QUESTIONS ANSWERED:

Bay Hills Community Members,

We are sending this letter to clarify the new process for paying your dues! Basically, there are 4 options to pay:

1) You can mail your dues ($150) to ProCom with the coupon they sent you. This is exactly what we've done for years with BayWest.

2) You can register online with Union Bank and make a one-time E-Check payment from your bank account. There is no fee associated with this process.

3) You can establish a direct debit payment, this ensures your dues will be paid on-time annually, and should there be any change in dues, it will automatically be adjusted. Just FYI, we do not anticipate another dues increase soon!

4) You can make payment by credit card. If you choose this option, please understand there is a convenience fee of $14.95. While convenience fees on credit card charges are fairly common these days, we regret that this was not made clear up front. However, once you go into the registration process and identify that there is a fee, you do have the option to back out and pay by one of the other options, if you do not want to incur the fee.

We hope that providing the electronic options for payment provides some convenience for everyone. While the dues increase was a difficult thing to ask, we are confident that we are now positioned to do some positive things in our community, rather than just try to keep up with everything, and even that was at times a struggle.

ADDITIONAL NOTICE:

We are moving our monthly Board meetings to Monday nights, to take advantage of the availability of the Bay Hills Golf Course Clubhouse. Please keep an eye out each month for the date of the meeting, as it can vary depending upon board members schedules. We encourage community members to attend and let us know your thoughts.

LINK TO PROCOM WELCOME LETTER

Bay Hills Community Association, Inc.

Minutes of Board Meeting- February 10, 2020

The February Board meeting was held on February 10, 2020 at the Bay Hills Golf Clubhouse in Arnold. The meeting was called to order at 7:37 p.m. by President Dave Eckels. The following members attended: Dave Eckels, Amanda Rambo, Bob Ray, Steve Sheesley, Jeff Burkhardt, Ed Dawson, Don VanHassent and Oliver Perry.

The following people attended the meeting as guests: Annie Kersey (Editor) and new resident John Haakenson

Welcome & Approval of Meeting Minutes/Treasurer’s Report:

· January 2020 meeting minutes approved

Social:

· There are no social events this month.

· Doug Butschky is the new Social Chair for the Community. Doug will meet with previous chair Amanda Rambo to discuss the transition into this role.

· As always, suggestions and participation at events are welcome.

Treasurer:

· Budget approved.

· As of this month residents are able to pay their dues electronically through ProComm, our new Management company. What we were not aware of is that there is a $15 fee to pay dues online. Residents can still mail in their payments to address provided on the invoice.

· Audit reconciliation complete. This was performed by Jon Swerdloff, CPA.

· We have new insurance policy through Nationwide.

Communications:

· Annie Kersey discussed the helpful links on our website.

· Website looking great; email notices are helpful but NEED MORE EMAIL ADDRESSES.

Capital Improvements/Long-range planning:

· Discussed the need to repair or possibly replace the sand volleyball court by pavilion. There are metal clips that were previously feet under but have, over the years, become exposed.

· Want to plant something in front of playground as it is very open and exposed since we took the trees and overgrown bushes out. Worried about rain and pool water run-off. Possible erosion area so need to plant.

· Doody calls box was moved from one area of playground to the other as there were water drainage issues

· Would like to poll the community on what projects they would like to see done next.

· Discussed the possibility of the County Agriculture Department helping us with landscape design. Need help at both the basketball court area as well as the pavilion area.

Property & Grounds:

· Property and Grounds chair Don Van Hassent discussed planting of trees over by the basketball courts. Suggested we plant them in springtime. He will research and get us some suggestions and quotes.

· Landscaping at new basketball court area on hold until project is complete.

· Installed 2 new security cameras down by pavilion and playground area. These cameras will be on from 7 pm until 7 am. If needed, we will be able to access photos/videos of the area during these hours.

· New combination locking system to be installed at both tennis and basketball courts, once repairs are complete.

Old business:

· NEED TO REPLACE THE BAY HILLS ENTRANCE SIGNS.

· NEED TO UPDATE OUR COVENANTS.

Adjournment:

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:48 p.m. The next meeting will be held Monday, March 2, 2020 at the Bay Hills Golf Clubhouse, 7:30 pm.

PLEASE NOTE OUR MONTHLY MEETINGS HAVE RECENTLY MOVED FROM THE FIRST TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH TO THE FIRST MONDAY. OUR LOCATION IS NOW THE BAY HILLS GOLF CLUBHOUSE. THANK YOU!

If you are interested in having information in the Bay Hills Beacon or on the website, please email me at beacon@bayhillsonline.com