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Southern Walk HOA ANNUAL MEETING -- October 30, 2017

Discussion in 'Southern Walk Announcements' started by Chsalas, Oct 3, 2017.

  1. Chsalas

    Chsalas Active Member

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    The Board is asking for nominations for the two (2) positions available at the 2017 Annual Meeting. Any lot owner in good standing is eligible to serve on the Board of Directors. The Nominating Petition/Application for Candidacy shall be signed by at least three (3) other Southern Walk HOA owners.

    If you are interested in running for election to the Board of Directors, please complete the attached Nominating Petition/Application for Candidacy and return it to The Secretary, Southern Walk at Broadlands HOA, c/o FirstService Residential, 11351 Random Hills Road, Suite 500, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, fax to 703-591-5785 or email to traci.tranquilli@fsresidential.com, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 13, 2017.

    Please remember to mark your calendars for October 30, 2017 at 7:00 P.M. for the Annual Meeting of Southern Walk at Broadlands Homeowners Association, Inc.

    Your attendance at this meeting is most important. A quorum of 10% (113) of the eligible owners must be present, either in person or by a properly executed proxy, before any business can be conducted. The Association has contracted with HOA Vote Now for coordinating of the voting process. Homeowners will receive further communication requesting their official vote for the election.

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    Attached Files:

  2. Chsalas

    Chsalas Active Member

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    BUMP The meeting is tonight from 1900-2000. Please feel free to join the meeting and ask your questions.
     
  3. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    I wanted to thank the Board for their efforts and hard work on our behalf. The meeting was very helpful and there were many good questions and the dialogue was beneficial. I generally agree with the direction we are going and look forward to having more options and being done with these easement payments.

    Thanks to all who contributed.
     
  4. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    summary?
     
  5. Cog

    Cog New Member

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    If you wouldn't mind, I would very much appreciate a quick breakdown of the meeting. Unfortunately I was stuck in a work emergency at the time of the meeting.
     
  6. shim

    shim shim

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    Did Pedro win? Status of OB legal bill debacle refunds?
     
  7. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    I was not able to stay until the end so I do not know the final outcome of any nominations or elections.

    However, from what I remember, here are a few highlights...

    • SWHOA remains on track to collect the funds it needs to purchase the exclusivity rights from Openband by end of Dec 2017.
    • Special Assessment payments go away starting in Jan 2018
    • Plan is to secure a contract with a Vendor to provide wired internet service (speed of 1 gigabit up/down) as a bulk billing contract (time is TBD I think, but happening in mid 2018?) for a period of 3 years
    • Bulk billing is required for Internet Service only. Provider will be able to offer TV and Phone for an extra charge or you choose another provider (e.g., Openband, DirecTV)
    • Bulk billing requirement plus SWHOA fee will be between $75-$99 a month
    • After Bulk billing period, SWHOA will be a completely open and competitive market... with a residual (minimal, like $1) fee to keep the SWHOA alive on paper only (to prevent Developer access again).
    Openband price control ends around July of next year I believe, which was part of the settlement when they terminated the contract and asked for the easement payment. So, many of us expressed concern about Openband's intention on prices and generally, the business viability of Openband in general... assuming that we finally get an internet option.

    If we did nothing... and only purchased the Exclusivity, Verizon made it clear to the Board that they would not wire our neighborhood. They feel that they have met their legal obligation with the county and their franchise requirement. Comcast is likely to wire the neighborhood...but at a slow pace over the course of years. That is why the Board felt that our best option is to get a short-term deal for the community, with guaranteed revenue/incentive for the provider but on a much shorter implementation schedule... and with performance metrics/SLA elements as well to make sure we get what we pay for. While we are under a bulk billing arrangement, the SWHOA will have to operate similar to how it does now, acting as a manager of the contract and performing collections (fee around $12 - $25).

    The price we are likely to pay for gigabit internet is around $75-$80 a month. That is similar (slightly cheaper) than we pay for 100 mbit from Openband. So, arguably, we are already going to get a much better deal. Yes, every home will have to pay this fee for internet, if you use it or not.... but I like the idea that we are not forced to get a triple play or TV as well.

    Please correct me if I am wrong if someone else has different notes.... hope that helps.

    Thanks - Dave
     
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  8. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    If we are paying bills directly to the service providers, any reason given as to why our HOA fee should be anything more than the $1 "keep SWHOA alive" payment from the outset? And for $1 dollar, can we get rid of First Residential too?
     
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  9. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    I don't think the details of this end game have been worked out yet...just a concept at this point. The concern is leaving Southernwalk open to another contract... because Openband will still own a blanket easement over the whole neighborhood... and theoretically, leave us open to another "agreement" like we had before. To keep the HOA in place... it is assumed that we will have some kind of minimal fee required to keep it in place. I am sure this will require some more investigation...and planning. I think the idea is to keep the HOA there as a legal shield.
     
  10. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    Okay, keep the SWHOA. But when the Openband extortion $$$ is payed off and there no need for the various "we've been/gonna sued" legal funds, why pay anything to a completely volunteer board?
     
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  11. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    The only thing that should be paid at that point... in my opinion, is only what is minimally required to keep the Board in place legally. I don't know what that would actually look like or require but that is what I would expect to happen and should not have anything to do with some other legal fund. We have time to figure it out... cart before the horse maybe.
     
  12. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    Just what i suspected and it confirms what I’ve thought all along—that SWHOA will never cease to exist in our neighborhood as long as this community exists-

    A friend of mine said this neighborhood is like a toxic dump since OB has contaminated it by having a blanket easement throughout and I even thought it was an accurate description.

    I doubt the HOA will ever go away and we always will be charged fees by them beyond the service costs-
     
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  13. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    Not sure what you mean by "toxic neighborhood", but homes for sale sure do not last long on the market.
     
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  14. Excelsior

    Excelsior Broadlands emeritus

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    Toxic neighborhood is really a pretty bad slam. As far as comparing Broadlands to where I grew up, this is pretty darn nice- irrespective of any telecom issues. Most people I talk to are envious of Broadlands.
     
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  15. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    The idea that the second how has to exist as a shield does not pass the sniff test. the swhoa existence should only be tied to the three way agreement. All other representations should be transferred to the BHOA.

    I'm sure there is some legal work to untangle things... but a perpetual shadow governing body is a rediculously bad idea... like movie plot territory
     
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  16. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    Tho the bull agreement at such a short duration is welcome news. 3yrs is a gift...
     
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  17. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    With Van Metre voting power on the BHOA... and I am not claiming to know the numbers, but it would be very hard for the Broadlands resident voting members to organize against a Van Metre action affecting the Southernwalk. If there was no SWHOA... Van Metre could open the doors to another bulk agreement using Openband's blanket easement. Again, I am not claiming to know if this scenario is feasible but I would like to know more... and it makes sense as a consideration to keep the SWHOA in place (as a shield) against this.

    Someone else is free to comment on the toxic comment... not gonna be me.
     
  18. Jeddie Busch

    Jeddie Busch Member

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    Southern Walk/Broadlands South is actually a very desirable neighborhood. Homes when priced appropriately fly off the market. If anyone would like data to back these claims up please reach out.
     
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  19. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    This is going into 'really need a lawyer' zone really fast... so this can't be said for certain. But my concerns
    - The original 3 party agreement was signed by the homeowners with Openband and SWHOA - that shouldn't have any applicability to another party like Verizon
    - I'd SERIOUSLY want to see the arrangement around this release of the prior easement if someone argues it can be rescinded/overridden because the SWHOA wasn't active. That's a HUGE red flag. The easement rights shouldn't vary like that.. as the SWHOA isn't the one who owns the property AFAIK. The long standing issue has been rights given away... if you are only buying a agreement that can be later recinded... that's a BUM F@%@$% DEAL. How can someone say Openband releases a right.. and then on a whim picks it back up? That points to someone really overselling what this million dollar buyout really is. If it were my million dollars... I'd be asking for an independent review of the deal.
    - I'd question the ability of the SWHOA to enforce a new bulk agreement like this.. and who is liable if customers don't pay. My guess is they would have to go the path of just making it straight up SWHOA dues.. like trash collection would be, etc. But again, this goes back to the premise and entitlements the swhoa really has.


    Van Meter does not have a majority on the BHOA and hasn't for years. AFAIK they hold 2 of the 9 seats.. maybe 4? Think it's 2. @vacliff or @Mr. Linux could clarify. Where they held significant power was they had the ability to cast a lot of votes in elections. But with the more recent build outs.. and arrangements that have been made between VM and the board.. I don't even know if that is still a factor.
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2017
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  20. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    Well, I wonder if buyers are fully aware of the fact that SWHOA will not go away due to the OB mess and that they will enter into another bulk billing contract-

    I’m sure they will have a WTF moment when they find out they will be entering into a bulk billing arrangment and who knows what will happen after the 3 yr arrangment expires- will we enter into yet another bulk billing arrangment and SWHOA fees again in the long term? Most buyers don’t want two HOA fees- most buyers would prefer one and pay the internet/cable providers directly instead. I as heck would never buy into a smart neighborhood again with the same set up as they did with OB. Too many problems and I don’t want each resident to have to pay legal bills if some homeowner refuses to pay the SHOA fees for cable then all of us have to bear the costs of the non-payers like we did under the OB bulk billing arrangement-

    Toxic meaning that we are stuck with OB owning the blanket easement for the life of the community- how can we totally eliminate OB then????


    ats
     
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