BALLYMEADE

Spring 2003 Newsletter

Mar 30, 2005

SPECIAL EDITION - Spring 2003


A Message From The President
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We listened! We heard! The annual meeting was a huge success! Our Annual Meeting was held on January 23, 2003. Approximately 55 people attended and with proxy votes, the total was 166 votes, enough for a Super-Quorum. Five by-law changes were voted on an approved. They are: 1) Number of board members was increased from 3 to 5, 2) The quorum to hold the annual community meeting is now 10% of homeowners rather than 34%, 3) Each year, the board will meet after the annual meeting to elect the President, 4) board members are NOT required to chair committees; board members MAY attend committee meetings, and 5) the community?’s annual meeting will be held in January with two weeks notification to homeowners instead of a pre-set day in January as in the past. We elected three Board members at the annual meeting?—Tony Quarterone, Lisa Genovese-Mintz and Bruce Bird, each for two-year terms. They joined Cyndi Funk and Charles Jabbour who are in their second year. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, both Lisa and Bruce had to resign their seats. Happily, Peter Haggerty has agreed to be a Board member, leaving us one Board member short. We also need a Treasurer! If you would like to help your neighborhood, this is a way to serve. Volunteers should call Beth Webb at BC Consulting, at 302-731-7710. There was much talk at our annual meeting about removing dead trees, bushes, etc. and really upgrading our landscaping efforts. Residents also want a lighted entrance sign. BC Consulting, our management company, is contacting Miss Utility to determine if electricity is available at the sign island. Our neighborhood pride is strong and the Board will be recommending increased landscaping money for future budgets. We have very active committees and I am proud to list them: landscaping?—Chair?—Mary Henderer, Architectural Review?—Chair?—Wayne Whitaker, and Neighborhood Directory?—Chair?—Rick Nordenson (our Past President). We have active tennis enthusiasts who keep an eye on the tennis courts and tell the Board of problems, desires, etc. A Handyman Group replaces swing set seats, tennis nets and other repair jobs; Rick Nordenson and Charles Jabbour head this. In addition to the above, our community really needs to get a committee of Block Captains organized. Your Board met in March and discussed some new topics, such as a neighborhood website and a new plant watering brigade. If you have any interest in these areas, call Beth Webb at BC Consulting. We also discussed having Board meetings every other month instead of monthly. Jim Weldin of BC Consulting attended the meeting. He itemized all the areas in which BC Consulting earns its money! Items on the April Board meeting agenda will be grass cutting, snow plowing (including MAJOR storm plowing) and landscaping contracts. Future meetings will address the Reserve Fund that last year?’s Board worked so hard on. This will be presented at our next annual meeting in January 2004.

See you in the neighborhood!

Cyndi





ANNUAL CLEANUP DAY: APRIL 26TH!
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Ballymeade residents are asked to join in on a fun morning of doing something for your community. Clean UP Day is when residents clean up the debris along the edges of the ponds and wetlands. The other community open space will also be cleaned up. Please join your neighbors at the big pond off of Ballymeade Drive at 9 a.m. Large plastic bags will be provided, but please brig GLOVES and wear water-proof shoes. Clean Up Day is a fun time for everyone, including children. If you can spare an hour, that would be great. Rain date is Sunday April 27th at 3 p.m.




LANDSCAPING IMPROVEMENTS
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The second stage of landscaping improvements outside the fence along Naamans Road was completed in December 2002. Additional forsythia was planted to replace the spruce that died over the summer. Forsythia seems to be a good answer to the problem of planting along Naamans Road as it is quite easy to grow as well as being quite drought resistant?—as evidenced by the fact that all of the first batch of plantings survived the summer! The next areas of landscape improvements within the community will center on the parking pad at Seabury, the parking pad on Rockmeade and W. Oakmeade. If funds allow, we will try to do a bit more around the entrance at Naamans Road. Continued kudos to those homeowners who have assumed responsibility for the maintenance of those community common areas directly, and sometimes not so directly, adjacent to their properties. Help of this sort reduces the fees paid to the professional crews who would otherwise maintain the property, and frees up needed Maintenance Corporation money for future landscaping projects.




NEW COMMUNITY MANAGER
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The new Ballymeade Community Manager at BC Consulting is Beth Webb. Beth joined BC in October of 2002. She brings with her over five years of community-related experience. Prior to joining BC Consulting, Beth worked as a Legislative Aide at New Castle County Council. Beth?’s biggest responsibility at County Council was to stay in touch with the community leaders in the District in which her boss represented. If you have any questions or need assistance with anything, Beth can be reached at 302-731-7710 or bwebb@bcconsulting.org. The Board is looking forward to working with Beth.


MARY?’S LANDSCAPING TIP FOR THE SEASON
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Now is the perfect time to apply fertilizer to your lawn?—especially one with a pre-crabgrass emergent. It does help if the lawn is raked of winter debris, and perhaps even mowed, before the initial application of this fertilizer. Regular applications of fertilizer AND weekly mowing of the lawn (including edging along the sidewalks!) throughout the growing season, can do wonders for the appearance of any house. This is also a good time to mulch those front, side, and back garden beds. Mulch is a relatively inexpensive way to ensure the health of your trees, shrubs, and flowers as it helps to collect and retain moisture?—as well as enhancing the appearance of your house. Now is also a good time to fill your flower containers with those colorful cool weather annuals, such as pansies or primroses. Placing packing peanuts in the bottom of any large containers, prior to adding soil will reduce the overall weight of the container and conserve soil. Just remember that your containers, be they terra cotta or plastic, will need adequate drainage, will need to be checked daily for water, and fertilized weekly.


DOMESTIC ANIMAL PROBLEM
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All Ballymeade residents are once again reminded to please be considerate of your neighbors, and make sure that your cats and dogs are not allowed to roam the neighborhood. New Castle County Code states that dogs must be on a leash or under the voice command of their master. County Code also mandates that dog excrement deposited on someone?’s property must be removed by the dog?’s owner within one hour. The areas along Ballymeade Drive between Seabury Drive and Naaman?’s Road and the areas around the pond located between Ballymeade and Shrewsbury Drives are particularly subject to ?“dog walker?” abuse. We suggest that when you walk your pet, you carry a plastic bag for your convenience as well as your protection. Not only is the removal of feces from private property an enforceable law, be mindful of the serious health risks associated with animal excrement.




Are you Moving?
REMINDERS TO HELP WITH THE TRANSITION
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1) Inform your Real Estate agent that Ballymeade is a Maintenance Corporation run, deed restricted community. Have the agent contact BC Consulting for copies of the Governing Documents.

2) Inform the settlement attorney that there is a yearly assessment due. BC Consulting will provide a settlement certification.

3) Contact BC Consulting when you decide to list your home. That way they can update their records and provide the necessary information needed to facilitate a smooth transfer. Remember, if you are planning on selling your home, you will have to disclose all of this information to your potential buyers. If you have questions or require further information, please contact BC Consulting at (302) 731-7710.




BALLYMEADE DIRECTORY
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All you need to do to get a Ballymeade Residents Directory is agree to be in the Directory! Residents who are interested in becoming a part of the Ballymeade Neighborhood Directory can do so by submitting your name, address, telephone number, email address (if available), and hobbies and/or interests in writing to BC Consulting. You can mail your information to 2035 Sunset Lake Road, Building A, Suite 2, Newark, DE 19702 or you can fax it to BC at 302-731-7013.




WHAT IS AN ASSESSMENT?
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Your annual maintenance corporation assessment is a yearly fee that covers the costs of the Maintenance Corporation. These costs include landscaping and mowing the open space, snow plowing, tennis court repair, playground repair, entrance sigh maintenance, legal fees (if necessary), insurance for the Maintenance Corporation, and any other improvements to the open space in the development. By accepting the deed to your home, you agree to pay the annual assessment. BC Consulting sends out all statements for payment of the assessment and maintains a record of all payments. The assessment for 2003 is $155. The assessments were due on March 3rd. If you have not already done so, please send your payment in as soon as possible. The assessments pay for the things that the community needs! If you have any questions about your assessment, please do not hesitate to contact BC Consulting so they can assist you with any questions or concerns you may have.