General
Association Organization
Q. How was
the Griers Fork Homeowners Association created?
A. LandCraft Properties is the developer of Griers Fork.
They purchased the land, laid out the lots, and built the
streets and other infrastructure. LandCraft then sold the
lots to the builders, Eastwood and Pulte, who built the
houses and sold them to homeowners. LandCraft prepared and
recorded the documents that created and govern the
association. LandCraft, along with Eastwood and Pulte, are
the Declarants in the documents and were in control of the
association until the homeowners became organized in January
2000.
Q. What are the association documents?
A. Griers Fork has three formal documents:
1. The Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and
Restrictions. This sets forth certain restrictions
regulating the use and occupancy of properties within Griers
Fork and are binding on all properties. It also grants the
association powers to maintain the common area, to enforce
the restrictions, and to collect and disburse assessments.
The Declaration was recorded with the Mecklenburg County
Register of Deeds on October 13, 1998.
Every property owner should have received a copy of the
Declaration from their closing attorney. This document is
available online by clicking on the link above.
2. The Articles of Incorporation. This establishes GRIERS
FORK OWNERS' ASSOCIATION, INC. (our legal name) as a
non-profit corporation under the laws of North Carolina and
basically allows the association to function. The Articles
were filed with the Secretary of State on July 10, 1998.
3. The Bylaws. These specify how meetings of association
members and the Board of Directors will be held as well as
the powers and duties of the board and officers. They were
adopted by LandCraft Properties on June 18, 1998.
The Board of Directors also adopted a set of guidelines for
the interpretation of the Declaration and for setting up the
architectural application process. These were distributed to
homeowners in March 2000. The Board of Directors and
Architectural Review Committee reviewed, updated, and
redistributed the guidelines in March 2001. (See the
Architectural Review page.)
Q. Have any of these documents changed since their adoption?
A. Yes, the Declaration was amended in November 1999 by LandCraft
Properties to bring the 32 lots in the new section at the
end of McGloughlin Way Court into the jurisdiction of the
association.
The Bylaws were amended at the 2001 association meeting to
change Board of Directors terms from one to two years. Terms
will be staggered so that at least two members will remain
on the board and maintain continuity each year.
No other changes or amendments have been made to the
Articles, Declaration, or Bylaws.
Q. How can I get a copy of these documents?
A. Request these from Dave Wiggins, Griers Fork Secretary by
e-mail to
contact@griersfork.org or by phone at 704-504-5403.
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Property
Management
Q. Who is the
Griers Fork property manager?
A. Effective October 1, 2007, Cedar Management Group is
the new property manager for Griers Fork, This section will
be updated soon.
Prism Real Estate Services. Angela Short is the president
of Prism, and she has a staff of several property managers,
bookkeepers, maintenance staff, and others. Devi Hunter is
the property manager who works with Griers Fork. You should
direct questions to Devi, as she is most familiar with
Griers Fork issues, or Angela, if Devi is not available.
(See "Contacts" page for contact information.)
Q. What does Prism do?
A. Prism provides a variety of services, including:
-Collecting homeowner assessments, including mailing out
notices and pursuing past due accounts.
-Reviewing and paying bills.
-Maintaining financial records to document income and
expenses and maintaining association bank accounts.
-Preparing annual budgets and regular reports.
-Working with the landscaper and other contractors to
arrange for products and services for the community and to
monitor those products and services.
-Negotiating and maintaining contracts with various
contractors.
-Performing minor repairs and maintenance.
-Maintaining a current list of property owner names and
addresses.
-Maintaining files of meeting minutes and other association
records.
-Preparing and mailing meeting notices and other information
to association membership.
-Attending at least one association meeting and four board
meetings annually.
-Locating and contracting for meeting space for association
meetings.
-Responding to inquiries and advising the Board of Directors
and residents on various legal and other association issues.
-Receiving Architectural review applications, transmitting
these to the Board of Directors or Architectural Review
Committee, and preparing responses to applicants notifying
them of board or committee decisions.
-Receiving complaints and questions from association members
and transmitting these to the board.
-Preparing and mailing letters to individuals concerning
association violations and other issues at the direction of
the Board of Directors.
-Serving as liaison between the association and various
local government agencies, the developer, and others.
-Providing continuity for association operations when board
membership changes.
Q. How much does Prism charge for these services?
A. $3 per month per property, or $36 per year. Total charges
are $546 monthly or $6,552 per year for 182 properties.
Q. Could one or more Griers Fork residents provide these
services and save the association the expense of a property
manager?
A. This is possible, but it is unlikely that anyone would be
willing to take the time necessary to perform these
services. Additionally, it is unlikely that residents would
have the knowledge, experiences, skills, and contacts that
Prism staff has. If Griers Fork became self-managing, it is
likely that maintenance and financial standing would suffer,
and architectural changes and rules violations would go
unchecked. Retaining an experienced property manager is
necessary for an efficiently functioning association.
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Finances
Q. What are
the annual association dues?
A. Dues for 2002
are $100 per property. The Board of Directors sets the
amount but cannot increase the dues by more than 65 without
approval by the association members.
Q. What are the
association's expenses?
A. Expenses for
2001 (excluding legal fees) were as follows:
| Management
Category
Front
Entrance Category
-Landscaping Service
-Water (Irrigation)
-Electricity
-Repairs
-Flowers
-Christmas Wreaths
Administrative
Category
-Accounting/Tax Preparation
-Postage
-Copies and Printing
-Meetings
-Bank Charges
Insurance
Category
Stop
Signs and Stripes Category
Total |
6,552.00
5,656.14
3,450.00
1,183.91
187.11
568.34
246.78
20.00
1,254.46
200.00
365.68
603.78
75.00
10.00
860.00
1,210.68
15,533.28 |
|
The association's bank balance on January 1, 2001 was
$9,188.67. The balance on January 1, 2002 was $10,675.46.
Q. What changes
are expected for 2002?
A. Most of the
association's expenses occur regularly each month are
somewhat predictable, but special expenditures occur
for repairs and special projects.
The $1,210.68
for stop signs was a one time expense.
Repairs are hard
to predict. The association paid $350 to have loose stones
reset at the gazebo, and upgraded the sign light and
irrigation system. Repair expenses for 2002 could be less,
but this is unknown.
The association
hopes to participate in Charlotte's tree co-op program,
which will cost about $800 to have the city plant trees
along the front entrance.
If the
Hospitality Committee becomes active, the association could
have expenses for picnics or other activities.
Q. What is the
association's annual income?
A. If everyone
pays promptly, it would be $18,200, but many people don't
pay promptly and collections don't always occur in the year
they are due. Eventually, except for bankruptcies, all dues
will be collected.
Q. What steps
does the association take to collect dues?
A. The steps are
as follows:
Steps by Prism
Realty:
- Annual bills
are sent out by December 1.
- Assessments
are due on January 1 and late on February 1.
- Late fee of
$25 is charged for all accounts not received by February
1. (All late fees collected are deposited in the Griers
Fork account. Once a month, Prism is paid ½ of fees
collected that month.)
- 1st
notices are sent approximately February 15 by regular
mail. These are reminder letters and show the $25 late
fee.
- 2nd
notices are sent approximately May 1 by regular mail.
These state that payment is due by June 1 and delinquent
July 1.
- 3rd
notices are sent in mid-July by regular and certified
mail. They state that if payment is not received by 15
days from letter, account will be turned over to an
attorney for collection and a lien will be placed on the
property.
- Note: If
homeowner has difficulty paying by the due date AND calls
Prism to arrange for special payment schedule (such as $50
in January and $50 in July) AND homeowner makes payments
as agreed, late fees are waived and no legal action is
taken. Generally, an owner who pays $50 in January without
arranging for a special payment schedule will receive a 1st
notice by May 1 that $50 is due June 1 and delinquent July
1. The $25 late fee is charged on July 1.
- Prism
provides list of delinquent accounts to the attorney
(Sellers-Hinshaw) by September 1. The list includes the
last known owners name and address and the property ID.
- Prism will
refer all questions concerning assessment payments to the
attorney from this point.
Steps by the
attorney:
- The attorney
will do a title search, which could take up to a month.
- The attorney
will send a demand letter stating a lien will be filed if
payment is not received in 5 days.
- The attorney
will file the lien 2 weeks after sending the letter.
Copies of the lien go to the attorney, the owner, and
Prism. (Original to the court.)
- A lien means
that a property cannot be sold unless the debt is paid
off. Liens that are not paid off in a timely manner may
affect credit ratings.
- The attorney
will add a one-time 8% annual interest charge as specified
in the DCC&R on the day the lien is filed.
- At this
point, owner owes $100 assessment, $25 late fee, 8%
interest, and legal fees, including a $45 lien filing fee.
- If the owner
pays promptly, attorney will deduct the legal and filing
fees from the payment and send a check for the balance to
the association. The balance to the association includes
the assessment, the late fee, and the interest.
- If the owner
does not pay promptly, the attorney will bill the
association for the legal and filing fees. When the owner
pays, the association gets reimbursed for the attorney
bill it paid. (The account may have accrued additional
legal fees, however, and these are retained by the
attorney.)
- If the
homeowner offers to pay in installments, the payment
schedule is forwarded from the attorney through Prism to
the board for approval.
Prism will
- Prism will
request board approval to authorize foreclosure by the
attorney.
- Prism will
send a notice of foreclosure to the owner and offer time
(generally 2 weeks) to settle the account by. Owner must
contact and contact with attorney.
The attorney
will:
- If still
unpaid, the attorney posts a notice of sale in the
newspaper.
- The property
(actually the equity in the property) is sold to the
highest bidder at the Mecklenburg County courthouse.
- The attorney
will bid on behalf of the association an amount to cover
funds owed. This ensures other bidders will bid a
sufficient amount to cover the amount owed.
- Usually the
bank or mortgage company will bid, as will speculators.
- Once sold,
the association gets amount owed out of the sale price.
General notes:
- Legally,
certified letters are not necessary. If a letter does not
come back from the post office as undeliverable, it
legally was received.
- When a house
is sold, it is the closing attorneys responsibility to
inform the purchaser that the property is subject to the
DCC&R and homeowners dues will be charged. The closing
attorney also must provide a copy of the DCC&R.
- If a
homeowner files bankruptcy in the same year a lien is
filed, the association generally will not receive any
payment. If a homeowner files bankruptcy in the year
following a lien filing, the associations account
generally is paid, although likely not in a timely manner.
- If a payment
check bounces twice, Prism adds the bank fee to the
homeowners account.
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Greenway
and Landscaping
Q. What common
area does the association own?
A. None, actually. When LandCraft subdivided Griers Fork, the
county required them to set aside area along the creek to
protect it from development. Known as the greenway, this area
includes all of the front entranceway as well as a strip along
the creek behind houses along Griers Fork Drive. On December
19, 2000 the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners
approved conveyance of the greenway to the county Park and
Recreation.
All land within Griers Fork is either in individually owned
lots, street right-of-way, or the greenway.
Q. Will the Parks Department maintain the greenway as a public
park?
A. Not likely. The purpose of the greenway is to protect the
stream from development. The Parks Department's preference
would be for the greenway to remain as natural as possible.
There currently are no plans to maintain it as a park, but the
creek is on the county's master greenway plan. It is possible
that the county would build a greenway trail, but it also is
possible that a trail would be on the opposite side of the
creek.
Q. Will the Parks Department allow the association to continue
to maintain the entrance sign, lawn, and other landscaping?
A. Yes, they have given the association permission to continue
to maintain the entranceway. However, the Parks Department
prefers native plants on park property and frown upon
non-native ornamental trees.
Q. Who is the landscaper and what do they do?
A. L.P.I. Landscaping is now the landscaping company for
Griers Fork. They will maintain the grass, shrubs, and other
plants at the front entranceway. They will maintain the
grassed area from the Griers Fork sign and gazebo at
Brown-Grier Road to just past the drainage ditch. They also
mow the area along Brown-Grier Road where the Pulte and
Eastwood signs used to be. Additional services include regular
aerating, reseeding, weed control, and fertilizing in lawn
areas.
They will charge $275 a month. This is a reduction of $50 a
month from the previous landscaper. (Monthly payments are
constant, which is standard for landscaping services. They
lose money in the summer but make it up in the winter.)
Q. Could the association hire a different company or a
resident to maintain the entrance area?
A. Yes, but they would have to provide full landscaping
services, not just mowing. If you know someone who can provide
the required services and would like to make a bid, have them
contact Prism Realty.
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Green
Thumb Committee
Q. What does
the Green Thumb Committee do?
A. The committee planted spring annuals and fall pansies at
the entrance monument in 2001, but could do almost anything
else involving plants or community beautification. Ideas being
discussed include enlarging the flower bed at the
monument and adding ornamental trees and other plants. It's
really up to the committee to decide what direction it will
take and what projects it will concentrate on.
Q. What else could the Green Thumb Committee do?
A. Other possibilities include the following:
-Being liaison with the landscaper concerning their services
and charges.
-Investigating possible alternate landscaping service
providers.
-Being liaison with the Parks Department concerning use and
maintenance of the greenway.
-Being liaison with the Charlotte City Arborist for the Tree
Co-op Program.-Providing gardening tips in The Fork in the
Road.
-Recognizing residents who have especially attractive yards
with "Yard of the Month" or other awards.
-Organizing
special projects, such as planting annuals or other flowers
around the Griers Fork sign, stream cleanup, or
decorating the entrance sign for holidays. The committee
could organize these projects as community work days.
Q. How do I volunteer?
A. Call Dave Wiggins at 504-5403 or send an e-mail to
contact@griersfork.org.
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Streets
Q. Who owns the
streets?
A. The City of
Charlotte took ownership of the streets on October 1, 2001.
Although the city annexed Griers Fork on July 1, the city
Engineering Department had to review the subdivision plan and certify
that the streets were up to standards before the Charlotte
Department of Transportation (CDOT) would accept maintenance.
(Normally, the
developer, LandCraft Properties, would have transferred
ownership of the streets to the North Carolina Department of
Transportation for maintenance. The state, not counties,
maintains all public streets in North Carolina outside
municipalities. Upon annexation, city acceptance would have been
automatic. However, the streets never were taken over by the
state.)
Q. What could the
city do about speeding and cut-through traffic?
A. The city has
programs in place to reduce speeds and traffic. These include installing speed
humps and 4-way stops, and setting the speed limit at 25
mph. The lower speed limit requires support by petition of at
least 75% of the property owners on the street. Speed humps
require a petition but also require a large traffic volume.
4-way stop signs
also require a large volume of traffic as well as 75% support of
property owners along the street. However, according to its web
site, the city does not install 3-way stops.
The homeowners
association obtained petitions to request 25 MPH speed
limits on Griers Fork Drive, McGloughlin Way Court, and Dingess
Road. Sufficient signatures were obtained from Dingess Road and
Griers Fork Drive
residents, and CDOT installed speed limit signs on Dingess Road the week of
November 12, 2001 and on Griers Fork Drive in March 2003. Petitions for McGloughlin Way Court
have not been circulated.
For more
information on the Charlotte Neighborhood Traffic Programs for
Residential Traffic Calming, see the following web site:
Neighborhood Traffic Management
Q. What other
effects will city ownership have on Griers Fork streets?
A. City
ordinances prohibit the placement of basketball goals within
city right-of-way. CDOT will request residents to remove
basketball goals that it becomes aware of. CDOT will remove
them if they remain.
Q. Who installed
the stop signs on Griers Fork Drive at McGloughlin Way Court and Dingess
Road at Meadhaven Drive?
A. The
association. Since the state would not put these in, and the
intersections probably do not meet city's traffic volume criteria
for additional stop signs, the association paid to have them
installed in early 2001 before annexation occurred. The local
CDOT inspector has said that the signs are acceptable to the
city.
Q. What did the
association do to bring about the installation of street
lights?
A. It was a long,
long process. It began in June 2000 when residents met to learn
about Mecklenburg County's street light program. That effort got
off to a slow start and eventually fizzled when volunteers
didn't come forth to collect petition signatures.
A second effort began in March 2002 after Charlotte had annexed
Griers Fork. This time, the association decided to go with the
city street light program and quickly submitted a request for a
plan from Duke Power through the Charlotte Department of
Transportation. At this point things bogged down, and Duke Power
didn't provide the plan until January 2003.
The next step was to collect petition signatures. This went
surprisingly well as a small but determined corps of volunteers
combed the neighborhood until they found enough people home and
got the required signatures. Step one was accomplished!
The second objective was to come with $18,794.88 to pay for the
lights. The association had enough funds to pay about half, but
needed a way to raise the rest. The board decided to apply for a
loan because this would be easier to accomplish than a special
assessment. A special assessment would require approval of at
least 2/3 of property owners at a meeting. Getting a 30% quorum
to show up was not a strong possibility, and proxies would be
required, which meant more signatures.
The bank approved the loan, but it was put on hold until the
outcome of a third alternative was decided. The association
applied for a Neighborhood Matching Grant on March 15 through
the Charlotte Department of Neighborhood Development. In a mild
surprise, the city notified the association at the first of May
that the grant was approved. It took another month for them to
provide the grant, but $9,397.44 was worth waiting for.
Duke Power finally received both halves of their payment on June
12, 2003. It took another few weeks for the city to review and
review the plans and for Duke Power to order materials. But the
end in almost near. The lights are going up!
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Parking
Q. What can the
association do about cars parked on the streets?
A. The association
does not have jurisdiction over parking since the streets are
public. The association can send "Please be a courteous
neighbor" letter, but only the city can enforce parking.
The following are
questions from the association and responses from the
Charlotte Department of Transportation from September 2001:
GFHOA: Is it
illegal for people to park where they block neighbors'
driveways?
CDOT: I would
think parking to obstruct driveway access is illegal, because
no legal access (legal driveway) of someone's lot (residential
or commercial) to a public street adjacent to that property
can be denied - not even by CDOT.
GFHOA: Is it
illegal for people to park within a certain distance of an
intersection or stop sign?
CDOT: I am not sure - however we resolve parking too
close to an intersection by signing (no parking here to
corner) to clear intersection sight distance triangles or
sightlines, and would also sign as far back as necessary to
prohibit obstructing stop sign visibility on approach, which
sometimes happens when the street grade would allow parked
cars to obstruct the sign.
GFHOA: Is it
illegal for people to park at the end of a sidewalk such as
where it turns to the street at the beginning of a cul-de-sac?
CDOT: This could
be a handicap access issue, or just a pedestrian access issue,
but again we would resolve by signing to restrict parking.
GFHOA: Is it
illegal to park on one side of the street when people are
parking on the other side, meaning that cars cannot pass each
other at that point?
CDOT: Parking on both sides of any city street is allowed,
unless the lanes are too narrow and congestion is so great
that side-swipes are happening or potential, or mostly if
emergency vehicles can't access, then we would restrict one
side by signing. Usually the fire department advises us
of that situation and makes the request. Some of the
newer subdivisions are being built by developers who are
squeezing streets in with minimum width to have more space for
lots, and it is beginning to be a problem with the newer,
longer ladder fire trucks to maneuver through.
GFHOA: Is it
illegal to park in a cul-de-sac in a manner that hinders turn
arounds? We have some people whose guests double park in
cul-de-sacs during parties .
CDOT: Yes
double-parking on any city street is illegal, and fire
truck/emergency vehicle access is an issue. Again we
would sign to restrict and have enforced to bring into
compliance.
GFHOA: Is it
illegal to park in front of a mailbox during mail delivery
hours? Is that an issue to take up with the post office?
CDOT: I guess so, we have had to sign for garbage pick-up days
on certain streets that some people were violating the
directive by the sanitation department for pickup. I
have had people complain of neighbors causing their mail not
to be delivered because the drive-thru mailman (woman) don't
not get out - we have signed to clear. You might also
get input from the Postmaster.
GFHOA: What can I
do if someone parks in front of my house with the tires on the
grass in the right-of-way? Since this grass is my
responsibility, is it considered mine? Can I have them towed?
CDOT: Because
you are required to maintain the right-of-way adjacent to your
property, you do not own it - however it is illegal to park on
the shoulder, sidewalk, curb or right-of-way - but lots of
people do it, especially in the absence of sidewalk. We
sign for this also, and I don't think the police would even
cite without a sign.
GFHOA: At our
front entrance, we have a grassed common area. Can we
have people who park in this grass towed or take some other
action?
CDOT: If it is in
the intersection sight triangle, I would talk to the owner and
explain they can not park there and yes, I could have it towed
when found, because it is a safety issue ... if not in sight
triangle, then it is on city or state right-of-way, and again
would probably need a sign for police to feel comfortable
enforcing.
GFHOA: If any of
these are illegal, what recourse do we have. Can we get police
to issue citations? Can we have cars towed?
CDOT: Again, some
or all of these are probably, or could be illegal and covered
by code/ordinance by circumstance, if not directly violating a
code (congestion must be present or safety compromised), but
again most of the time we sign to restrict and the signs can
be designed to cover certain circumstances, and then police
will enforce.
There are many
reasons citizens complain of their neighbor's parking habits
(unsightly vehicles, cluttering the street, making unsafe for
unseen small children crossing, difficulty in backing from
driveways with vehicles parked on opposite side, obstructing
sight exiting from driveway, forces traffic over center into
opposing lane with parked vehicles on hill/curve, difficulty
in turning into street w/parked vehicles too close to
intersection, sight at intersection obstructed, blocking easy
driveway access/turn radius, businesses taking all on-street
parking during working hours, emergency vehicles can't access,
parking in front of my house instead of their own, neighbor
with too many cars to fit into driveway and park on street,
etc) and usually we sign to restrict, either by petition
designed for their needs (the petition allows them to choose
the restriction) [CDOT did not provide the "or"] and
then ask police to enforce whatever the sign designates.
I suggest you
discuss these problems openly at your meetings, and find a
consensus of what you ALL are willing to endure yourselves as
a whole neighborhood and then contact me to implement.
We and you cannot target any particular person, without
restricting others. Sometimes time restrictions work
well to confine business parking and allow residents evenings
and weekends, however they must also comply with the
restriction during the day. The ONLY parking we have that
restricts some and not others, is the PERMITTED PARKING
PROGRAM, and that would not work here. Again, it is for
urban neighborhoods mixed with business properties, and they
pay for that privilege ($30/yr, $3/bumper sticker or hanger
with a 2-vehicle minimum/property).
You might want to
advise the neighborhood that if all can't be courteous, and
respond to requests either by talking directly to them, or in
newsletters (although I have had violators say they don't read
the newsletters), that you will need to restrict by signing.
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Meetings
Q. When are
meetings of association members held?
A. The first association meeting was held on January 6, 2000
when the first homeowner Board of Directors was elected. The
second meeting was held on January 8, 2001. An annual meeting
will occur each January for the purpose of electing board
members and conducting other association business.
Additional
meetings have been held to discuss street
lights and Community Watch. Generally, meetings other
than the annual meeting in January will be called from
time to time to discuss specific community issues and no
association votes will be conducted.
The next association meeting is scheduled for January 8, 2002
at Good Shepherd Methodist Church.
Q. Can additional official association meetings be held?
A. Yes, any board member or at least 20% of the property
owners can request a special meeting of association members.
The request must be in writing, and a notice of the meeting
must be mailed by the association secretary (or by Prism
Realty, if the secretary delegates this task) to all property
owners at least 30 days before the meeting. Only actions taken
at duly called annual or special meetings are considered
official association actions.
Q. When does the Board of Directors meet?
A. The board meets monthly, generally on the fourth Tuesday.
Q. Can association members attend board meetings?
A. Yes. If you have an issue you would like to present to the
board, contact Prism Realty at 535-8558 for further
information
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