Back to Archive Index

Fearrington Homeowners Association
Annual Report of the Board of Directors
November 14, 2004

CONTENTS
(Click on Office to go directly to report)

PRESIDENT'S REPORT – JERRY GAUDET

The 2005 FHA Directors have performed extraordinary services for our membership this year. I want to personally thank each Board member for these services. You see many of their successes as you go about your daily activities in Fearrington. I also want to thank Lisa Steward and her volunteers for updating the Gathering Place to the standard we enjoy today.

COUNTY LIAISON COMMITTEE - AL LEBEAU

As my nearly five years on the Fearrington Homeowners Association Board draws to a close, I reflect upon the many dedicated people I have meet and worked with and who have given generously of their time and talent to make Fearrington Village a better place in which to live. The work has not always been easy and at times controversial but I feel it was done with the best interest of Fearrington and its residents at heart.

In July, 2001 I participated in an event, which in my opinion has forever changed the way the FHA Board will conduct business in the future. That was the announcement of Briar Chapel; however, it is just the tip of the iceberg as the county continues to transition from a rural to a more urbanized environment. With Briar Chapel the residents of Fearrington became aware of the need to become more involved with issues external to the village and to make their concerns known to the county commissioners and others. Fearrington Village has found its voice, and this involvement needs to be sustained in the continued involvement of the County Liaison position.

Commission - Cary’s proposed annexation of part of Chatham County prompted a meeting between Cary and Chatham County officials. An agreement was reached to consult with each other when the next development with border issues occurs.

* The ‘04/05 capital program was approved; a budget and financial policy was adopted.

* A bond issue to support development of three water districts was advanced.

* Because some voters were disenfranchised, the State Board of Elections will permit the county to hold another vote on the northwest water district. Citizens request public forums to discuss Briar Chapel which the Commissioners did not attend. Commissioners set October 7^th as the date for the public hearing on Briar Chapel.

* After a flurry of Draft “A” and Draft “B” of the Compact Community Ordinance the Commissioners finally adopted the final ordinance.

* Tommy Emerson was elected as Chairman for another two years.

* A consulting firm was hired to study governmental efficiency.

* Commissioners decided the deer issue is a county wide problem.

* Following the failure to attract the state’s new mental health hospital to the county, the Commissioners took action to improve economic development in the county.

* Public Works Director Steve Talbert’s contract was not renewed.

* The Finance Department was able to reduce the county’s bond interest rate.

* Clyde Harris was appointed to the County Planning Board to replace George Lucier.

* Proposed amendment to the NC Constitution.

Citizen Corps - The first meeting created an advisory board and the election of a chairman.

County - Chatham County ranks as one of the 100 fastest growing counties in the country.

Court - Chief District Judge Joe Buckner, considering the anticipated growth of the county over the next several years, presented a need for a district court building.

Crime - Based on the county’s anticipated growth in the next few years Sheriff Webster described his department’s personnel needs and the need to replace many vehicles.

* The Sheriff’s Department continues to destroy marijuana plants found in the county.

* According to a State Bureau of Investigation report crime in Chatham County has increased only slightly from 3,449 to 3,542 incidents between the years 2002 and 2003.

Economy - The county held an Economic Development Summit attended by 75 people.

* The county’s Director of Economic Development reported the county experienced 169 new commercial starts this year as compared to 69 new starts during the previous year.

* To attract more development to the county the Commissioners agreed to sell some of the 457 acres of commercial near Siler city and use the proceeds to make infrastructure improvements such as roads, lighting and water. The county has also received a verbal agreement with a property owner for private road access to the 457 acre site.

* The Director of Economic Development reported a 2.6% unemployment rate.

Education - Architects will evaluate possible modifications to existing schools.

* A split developed among school board members over the need to pursue a bond issue for the construction of new schools. To address the issue the school board hired an outside consulting firm to determine the county’s school needs. The consulting firm determined the county was growing faster than the state average and to accommodate this growth will require two new elementary schools and a new high school.

* The Board of Education presented a $18 million budget. It represents a 7.5% increase.

* Superintendent of Education Larry Mabe announced his resignation for retirement to be effective December, 2004.

* The Board of Education’s legal counsel, Ed Holmes, is retiring after 35 years service.

* The process to fill the Northwood High School principal position is underway.

* A study found that county teachers’ salaries are behind those of other counties.

* Cadle Cooper, a member of the school board for more than 20 years decided not to run for the office this year.

* The Governor signed a bill changing the beginning and ending dates of the school year so schools will open later in the year.

Elections -Due to redistricting the primary election was held July 20th instead of in April.

* District 1 and 2 seats on the Commission, currently held by Bob Atwater and Margaret Pollard, are up for re-election in November.

* County Commissioner Bob Atwater has decided to run for the state Senate seat instead of County Commissioner.

* Two seats on the Board of Education are also up for re-election this year.

* Elections spawned the creation of the Chatham Coalition, a county wide political action committee.

Environmental -The Moncure portion of Chatham County was listed with 32 other counties in NC in EPA’s “dirty air list.” The designation is intended to promote improved air quality.

Espionage - Immigration and Customs agents arrested Juan Manuel Reyes-Also, a Cuban born Chatham County resident, who failed to disclose that he once worked for the Cuban Directorate of Intelligence. He was taken to jail where an immigration judge will determine his immigration status.

Health - The County’s Health Director issued the county’s first annual report on the county’s health.

Historic - Crist Holden of Chatham County discovered a 14,000 year old flake knife believed to have been used by the Clovis Culture for many years. The find is considered extremely rare and the county is considered a hot bed of artifacts, many more of which may come to light as the County continues to develop.

Land Use - The 28 acre Chatham Downs, site of the proposed Harris Teeter food store, was approved by the Commissioners. Hoyt C. Collins filed a petition with the Chatham County Superior Court alleging the Commissioners approval of Chatham Downs was arbitrary because they did not follow their own established procedures.

* Duke University owns land along the Haw River which it no longer needs and is considering selling to the NC Division of Parks and Recreation for development for canoeing, fishing and hiking.

* The proposed Homestead project, to be located south of The Preserve, stirred some controversy because of its proximity to Jordan Lake. It was advanced to the county planning board which requested additional information pertaining to its affect on schools. The planning board rejected the project’s rezoning request, but the Commissioners approved it.

* Fearrington received approval of development of 28.96 acres for the Camden South and Millcroft Cluster Homes projects.

* Booth Mountain, the latest new community development, is interested in building 180 homes on 248 acres of land located between Old Lystra and Jack Bennett Road.

* The county estimates there are 6,673 mobile homes in the county but they don’t know how many are abandoned.

* Capkov Ventures is seeking an official opinion from Chapel Hill regarding the possible development of 150 acres on 15/501 across from Southern Village. They are interested in constructing about 500 homes and business that would appeal to a college town. Mayor Foy has established a committee to study the proposal.

Lawsuit - A former county deputy brought a lawsuit against then Sheriff Ike Gray for a wrongful termination of his employment. The lower court dismissed the case; it was taken to the appeals court which supported the lower court ruling and dismissed the case because a public official could not be sued for doing his official duty. However, it did determine that a civil suit to be brought against Ike Gray as an individual could go forward.

Legal - Advocates for the Centralized State Mental Hospital group have retained an attorney to investigate legal action against the state for a decision to locate a new mental hospital in Butner instead of Chatham County, a more central location than Butner.

Library - Helen Ewing Gardner’s estate left $700,000 to the NC Regional Library System. The funds will be used to establish a trust fund for the annual purchase of books.

* The Chatham County Library Board proposed a $10 million bond issue to construct a new library and renovate the county’s existing libraries.

* Friends of the Pittsboro Memorial Library asked the Commissioners to increase the library staff’s funding to include one part time position to serve all the branches. The Commissioners reinstated the county’s children library position as a part time position.

Pittsboro - Earlier this year the NC DOT presented its Major Thoroughfare Plan to year 2025 to the town for consideration. It contained 10 possible corridors to serve as a 15/501 bypass around Pittsboro. Upon inspection of the proposed sites the county’s planner found an alternate route further west which would impact fewer homes. The Pittsboro planning board meanwhile strongly objected to the states 15/501 bypasses and other improvement contained in their Major Thoroughfare Plan and sought inclusion of the more western by pass as recommended by the county planner.

* The Pittsboro Christian Village contends that Pittsboro is violating its civil rights by assessing their village the cost of reconstructing the waste water pumping station which server only PCV. They contend that as part of the town of Pittsboro they should be treated no differently than other residents of the town.

* The town board held a public hearing to consider a zoning amendment which would permit a food store in an M-1 District. This would permit establishment of the Chatham Marketplace, a proposed food cooperative. The issue was forwarded to the planning board for consideration.

* While ground was being broken on Powell Place the Town Commissioners were reviewing the preliminary engineering plans for the first phase of the development.

* A public hearing was held on a one year moratorium for new developments while the town seeks a solution to its waste water problem. The moratorium was later approved.

* The size of the planning board was recently reduced to six members from ten. Apparently, the planning board always consisted of six members but several years ago the state recommended it increase the board by four positions because of the town’s increased population, however, the ordinance was never changed to reflect the change.

* Pittsboro has undertaken improvements to its sewer system to improve its capacity.

* The Town Commissioners approved a pay increase to the Town Manager from $60,000 to $70,000 to make his salary comparable with similar positions in neighboring towns.

* Pittsboro experienced three water main breaks this year. Two of them were due to the deterioration of 50 year old pipes. The third occurred to a 15 year old pipe which was incorrectly installed.

* During the summer E. coli bacteria was detected in a location during a routine sampling of the town’s drinking water. The system was flushed and chlorine added. No one became ill and it was assumed the bacterium was only at the single location and not a town wide concern.

Recreation - The Commissioners approved $255,683 for development of Phase I of the Southwest Chatham County Park which, when completed will contain walking trails, a ball field, volley ball court, tennis courts, outdoor basket ball, playground equipment and parking.

* On June 5th the National Trails Day was celebrated at Lake Jordan with the opening of a new 5.3 mile New Hope Trail which is not the longest trail inside the park.

Redistricting

* For many years Chatham County had two representatives in the General Assembly but redistricting has redrawn the states election districts and Chatham County will now be represented by one senator. The redistricting does not affect the state house seat.

Solid Waste - Faced with a $125,000 short fall the county’s solid waste management division has prompted the commissioners to investigate long and short term solutions to the county’s solid waste problem.

* As part of the Commissioners investigation into solving the county’s solid waste problem they requested proposals from private firms as a means of comparing those costs with the cost of privatizing the county’s waste management and disposal operations of the county’s only land fill.

Taxes - County Manager Charlie Horne recommended to the Commissioners that the tax structure for the current year remain at 64.64 cents/$1000 of property value. This years budget of $53,251,385 represents a 6.4% increase over the last budget and contains development fees in an attempt to reduce the county’s reliance on property taxes.

* Chatham County’s tax office discovered that the Food Lion at Governor’s Club was paying $6,000 to $7,000 in personal property taxes to Orange County instead of Chatham County. The error was attributed to the stores Chapel Hill postal address. The tax office is working to correct the situation.

Transportation - The Jones Brothers Construction Company reported that the 15/501 construction project will be complete by end of 2004. A reason given for the delay was the ten months needed to redesign the level of the road to satisfy Allen & Sons and residents of Bynum.

Water - County officials held a watershed workshop to develop water quality tools to make high density/mixed use developers. The importance of the water quality tools listed in the Compact Community Ordinance was stressed.

* To obtain federal funding to expand the county’s Jordan Lake water system to areas not currently served by water the county needed to advance the creation of three water districts and a bond issue to support these districts. At the July 20th referendum, however, the creation of a northwest water district was defeated by voters. An examination of the voting record revealed that about 94 people were denied the opportunity to vote due to misinformation both to the residents and at the polls. The county appealed to the State Board of Election for permission for a revote in November. The state Board of Elections agreed with the county so the issue will be in front of voters again.

* The Commissioner approved $184,000 for the first phase of upgrading and modification of the county’s Jordan Lake water treatment plant which is expected to result in increased capacity. Consultants later found a hydraulic problem at the Jordan Lake water treatment plant which has existed since the plant began operation in 1996. The Commissioners approved $30,000 to correct the problem.

* The Commissioners approved $49,650 to purchase new water meters which permit county employees to read meters via radio.

* The development of the water districts in the county prompted the Chatham Citizens for Effective Communities to create a task force to monitor the county’s water issues in relationship with new developments in the county.
[Return to Table of Contents]

DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE – ANNE BIGELOW

The Covenants committee embarked on a fact finding mission in the spring to clarify the nature and scope of the covenants. We met with Mr. William Bayliss, the attorney for RB Fitch since the beginning of Phase I of Fearrington Village. He explained that the covenants are legal documents and registered with the deeds at the courthouse in Pittsboro, but the specific terms of the covenant for each phase were varied somewhat according to the nature of the houses and lots in the new phase. Thus, while many of the covenants are similar from one phase to another, there are differences, so the lot owners should not assume uniform regulations.

FINANCIAL OFFICER'S REPORT - RICHARD BIRD

So far during 2004 the growth of the Fearrington Homeowners Association has followed pretty much the pattern of the last several years. The number of properties included in the Association at the end of each of the last three years and as of October 31 this year is shown in the following table:

This pattern of an increase of about 20 new properties added to the Association each year is expected to change considerably at the end of next year and the beginning of 2006. At that time the residences at Galloway Ridge will begin to be occupied. The owners of each of the 233 units at Galloway Ridge will also be members of the Homeowners Association. Occupancy of these units is expected to begin in late 2005 and by early 2006 the FHA should have experienced about a 20% increase in membership.

During the course of the year 2004 thru October 31, in addition to the sales of new properties, there were 76 resales of properties that were already a part of the Association. This gives us an ownership turnover of about 7% so far this year. This is substantially the same as the turnover rate during the same period last year when 72 property resales had occurred by October 31.

Of the 1,048 properties that were a part of the Association at the beginning of 2004, 584 of the property owners, or about 56%, had signed up to have their dues paid by automated debiting of their checking accounts. Understandably this immensely simplifies the task of dues collection and we encourage homeowners who have not already signed up for this simplified method of payment to consider doing so. As a consequence of ownership turnover during the course of the year, many owners who previously had their dues debited have moved from Fearrington. The number of people signing up for the first time has not offset this loss with the result that as of October 31 the number of properties for which dues are to be automatically debited in 2005 stands at 558 or only 52% of the total properties. A breakout of properties by Phases and the number for which dues are to be automatically debited are indicated in the following table:

We urge all property owners to sign up to have their dues debited and thus simplify the payment process for both themselves and the Fearrington Homeowners Association.
[Return to Table of Contents]

FACILITIES AND GROUNDS – STEVE BODNER

We competitively bid a new contract to mow the sides of the state roadways, to maintain the shrubs and lawns at the Gathering Place and at three of the mail kiosks, and to collect the spring and fall yard debris. The new contractor is motivated to do the best possible job and has done excellent work overall, with the grass clippings now kept off the roads, and the plantings all neatly trimmed. The hillside behind the Gathering Place was cleaned up and replanted. More needs to be done next year on the Gathering Place landscaping: replanting of two trees that were lost in a storm, plus new shrubs at the entrance way and in the four pods.

TREASURER'S REPORT - FRANK J. CHUT

Starting 2004, the net liquid assets of the Association were $143,571.00 held in a checking account, bank certificates of deposit and money market accounts. As of 9/30/04 the net liquid assets were $143,096.93.

As of the end of the month of October we have income of $81,245.00 with a budgeted year target of $112,000.00. Since a third of our dues payments come in the month of December, we should make our budgeted income for 2004. Our major shortfalls came in divided and interest income and a somewhat lessened copier income, but in these two categories, the actual dollar shortfall with be around $2,500.00

The picture for expense is not as good. As of the end of October, our total expenses are running around $83,000.00 with a yearly budget of $96,000.00. We still have one major expenditure in ’04, an insurance payment in December, which could run as high as $8,000.00. Thus, we are projecting a deficit of around $9,000.00 over budget, which will limit our contribution to reserves for the year to about $6,000.00 to $7,000.00

The major over-budget expenditures came as the result of needed repairs and renovations to the Gathering Place. Major work had to be done to the floors, ceiling, kitchen and restrooms. These needs were not anticipated in preparing the 2004 budget. However, with a building as old as the Gathering Place and with the constant use it receives we must be prepared to respond to the need to upgrade or replace aging or obsolescent facilities. In addition, we should anticipate a continued increase in the cost of electricity, gas and water.

Other major expenditures were the paving of the parking lot at the Smokehouse kiosk and major repairs to the asphalt and drainage system at the Gathering Place kiosk. However, by merging the “mowing” and “grounds and facilities” budget lines into one item, as we did in the past and have done in the 2005 budget, we should be within budget or just modestly over budget.

In addition to having to meet these rising costs, prudence also dictates that adequate reserves be build to meet unexpected future emergency needs. Therefore, to meet anticipated costs, but as importantly to continue to build an adequate reserve fund, the Board at its November meeting approved an increase in the annual dues by 4.5% to $92.00 and approved a budget for the year 2005 based on that amount.

The approved FHA provisional budget for 2005 is attached to this report. [Click here] Every effort was made to keep costs down and to maximize the effective use of income. As shown in the budget, we hopefully project that about $20,000.00 will be added to the reserve accounts. This is a very optimistic projection based on a perfectly normal year with no surprises. However, even this will keep our reserves well below $100,000.00. This is a very modest amount for a community our size, which continues to grow at an accelerating pace, and might not be sufficient if a major emergency arose. Since the Board can only raise dues by a maximum of 5% per year, it may be necessary at some time in the future for the members to vote a special assessment if some crisis develops.

In summary, the total budgeted expenses for 2005 are largely comparable to those in last year’s budget, and budgeted income shows a modest increase of about 7%. I hope that at this time next year these projections will have proved to be mostly accurate.
[Return to Table of Contents]

FHA OFFICE, COMMITTEE REPORTS, VP REPORT – TOM HAUCK

We held a Newcomer’s Welcome Party ten days ago. Thirty-eight Newcomers came to sample 42 Clubs, Organizations and Groups available in and around Fearrington. Jim Granger and Marilyn Band introduced the FHA Office services and Fearrington Cares nurse Joyce Baird and volunteers provided information about services they provide.

Thank you to everyone who helped me fulfill my duties as Vice-President and particularly Bert Crouchley who, with 19 other volunteers, provides many services to Fearrington residents at the FHA office in the Gathering Place.

Bob Comey, wrote a very succinct, yet complete, explanation of the many services provided in the FHA office by Bert Crouchley, Jim Granger, Marilyn Band, Mary Lou Einloth, Else Duemmler, Betty Sher, Alex Graye, Tom Steward, Ed Giess, Bob deSherbinin, Ray Mones, Snuffy Howe, Karen Vernon, Diane Lyons, Suzanne Connolly and Terrie and Tom Doyle. (See page 16 of the November 2004 Fearrington Homeowners Newsletter.)††

† Dik Van Iten has the overall training responsibility of the volunteers and acts as a consultant on all matters relating to the office.† Dik, along with Don Reilly, prints and handles the distribution of the monthly Newsletter to all residents, a very time consuming job.††Don Reilly also keeps the Vendor List updated at least once a year.†

Henry Castner†makes certain we have updated maps of Fearrington and the surrounding areas available for sale.

The Emergency Response Committee, with the help of the Chatham County Citizen Corps who provided the trainers and Mr. RB Fitch who provided the venue, was able to hold an initial Community Emergency Response Team or CERT training session with 26 Fearrington volunteers in 2004. CERT is a program under the Homeland Security Department that trains neighbors to help neighbors until the First Responders can arrive in natural or manmade emergencies. There will be at least one other training session with 26 more trainees early next year. The Committee also provided a booklet to help with weather emergency preparation and a health emergency red plastic sleeve with health information cards to each resident. The new style red plastic sleeve is the modern version of “Vial of Life”. The booklet was a donation to every Fearrington resident by The Weather Channel through the Chatham County Citizen Corps and the red plastic sleeve and cards were a donation by Lowes Foods.

The Annexation/Incorporation Committee of Chairman Bill Sommers, Bob DeVido, Steve Fairchild, Bob Goetz, Tom Hauck, Bob Steen, and John Wait has recently begun intensive work preparing a position paper with options for Fearrington residents. We will provide a very preliminary status report at our December Board meeting. There are many facts to gather and the Committee is spending many hours doing so. We are aware of the community’s keen interest in this subject and we are working to provide a comprehensive report of all our options.

Gathering Place - There were significant renovations undertaken in the first half of 2004 under the able direction of Lisa Stewart. We thank her and her volunteers for their hard work on everyone’s behalf. Edith Lange has taken over responsibility for the Gathering Place after a short stint by Tom Hauck.

The Gathering Place - with its meeting rooms, kitchen and FHA Office - is one of the most utilized buildings in Fearrington. There are between 60 and 75 meetings per month scheduled by various Fearrington organizations.

Thank you to volunteer Clairbeth Lehn for assuring that the monthly schedule does not have conflicts and for issuing the correct billing to the 36 organizations that hold regular meetings. Thank you also to Rosemary Giess, Barbara Berke, Mary Heisserman, Kay Atwater, Caroline Resnick, Libby Coombs and Jeanne Hagen, who assure that the key to the Gathering Place is always available to the authorized club. Thanks are also due to Lee Caldwell for maintaining the audiovisual equipment and to Jules Samitz and Don George for their continuing maintenance work.
[Return to Table of Contents]

COMMUNITY AFFAIRS - CYNTHIA JONES

Area Captains - A newly revised and updated list of Block Captains’ responsibilities and duties was distributed to all Block Captains, accompanied by an updated Newcomers’ packet. This packet includes a welcoming letter from the FHA Board, an FHA Directory Questionnaire, Authorization for Bank Debit of Dues form, Emergency Registration Forms A & B, a summary of FHA Covenants and Guidelines, an information for the Resource database.

Easter Egg Hunt - Again this year, we were lucky to have a dry, if cloudy, Easter Sunday for our Easter Egg hunt. Lucky in that within 15 minutes of the finish of the hunt, the rains came! But in the meantime all children under the age of 9 had collected 620 eggs which had been stuffed with jelly beans and marshmallow bunnies by the committee. All children age 9 or older had been invited to help hide the Easter eggs in and around the playground and to help the younger ones hung for the eggs. It was a cooperative venture which proved once again to be popular with all age groups. Multi-colored balloons added to the festivities while 3 gallons of lemonade and 3 tins of Moravian Easter cookies were consumed. Mac Pullen once again was back in his role of Mr. Easter Bunny; a grand time was had by all, with many thanks to the committee: Bunny Shillito, Pat and Bob Goetz and Janet and Warren Eckman.

Smokehouse Library - November 1 marked the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Smokehouse Library, located in the Old Smokehouse next to the mail kiosk on Villageway. The library is available to all residents who wish to donate books or borrow books for their own pleasure. Thanks to the faithful support of Co-chairmen Don George and Jim Granger, additional shelves have been added and the books have been sorted regularly. The FHA has funded additional lighting, as well as repairs to the foundation of the Smokehouse, and is preparing to have a new door installed by Don and Jim to keep leaves and small animals out of the building. Because of the popularity of the library and its limited space, we request that no textbooks, magazines or outdated telephone directories be left in the library. There will be an information sheet in the building for comments. We are interested in trying to determine the number of visitors. We continue to receive very positive comments from Fearrington residents about the Library.
[Return to Table of Contents]

SECRETARY'S REPORT- JANET LORANT

Regular duties performed this year have included taking the minutes at monthly FHA Board meetings, the Town Hall Meeting in May and the Annual Homeowners Meeting in November. Minutes are posted by volunteers in the mail kiosks and the secretary mails a summary of each meeting for publication in the monthly newsletter.
The Secretary also prepares a mailing to notify non-residents of the FHA Annual meeting. Non-residents mail proxy votes to the secretary for inclusion in the vote. Other Annual Meeting responsibilities include preparing and distributing notices regarding the Annual Meeting and ballot development as required by the bylaws.
The Publications and Communications Committee, chaired by the Secretary, met to review publications. The Newsletter continues to be a good source of Village information with our editors, Mary Hammond and Bob Comey, doing an excellent job. The Print Directory, designed by Michael Cotter, was produced and distributed and is very user friendly.

One of the difficulties of the secretarial position continues to be the lack of alternate secretaries to fulfill secretarial duties in the rare absence of the secretary. It is recommended that the Board review the secretarial position and take action to address this issue.
[Return to Table of Contents]