CH Residents clean up Causeway

Cumberland Harbour residents joined together on a sunny but brisk Saturday morning on Nov. 6 to clean up litter on the North River Causeway.  The volunteer litter clean-up occurs every several months with CH residents and owners pitching in.  The effort is coordinated through the City's Public Works Dept., and CH's volunteerism is acknowledged by a sign on the Causeway.  Lunch was provided afterwards by Sam & Peni Colville.

Bernie Huber Resigns from POA Board
It's been an open secret here for awhile, that Bernie Huber has submitted his resignation to the POA Board, apparently effective after tomorrow's board meeting.

Harbour Lights would like to join Cumberland Harbour owners in thanking Bernie - and Mary - for their faithful & valuable service to the Community. Bernie and Mary have selflessly served Cumberland Harbour owners in many ways in their years as residents. Thank you, Bernie & Mary.
The Board is reportedly working behind the scenes to recruit a new board member. One wag has suggested it's harder than originally thought to find someone to do all that Bernie was doing and who would be acceptible to certain members of the Trails Committee, however, Harbour Lights doubts that's the issue. Being on the board involves considerable time & effort, particularly if he or she is the only one on the board who is also a resident.

Harbour Lights wishes the Board well in it's search for a replacement, and would encourage the board to find openings for several residents, so the burden of on-site administration doesn't fall on only one person.

Neighborhood Nights
On Friday nights, weather permitting, there is a casual get-together at 6pm of Cumberland Harbour property owners and their guests at the Pool House. If you’re free and in the mood to drop by for a visit with your neighbors, come join us! Bring your beverages of choice and a snack to share, if you like. It’s very casual and come-as-you-are.

Message from Coastal Georgia Film Alliance

Here's your chance to be in the movies. The production team of "Eye of the Hurricane," now filming in St. Marys, is inviting the public to be a movie extra for a day. This is an all-volunteer day, (meaning no compensation), but a great chance for bragging rights to your friends. We need you (actually 125 of you) this Saturday, October 23, at 1 pm at the west end of Conyers Street in St. Marys. This is where we have the FEMA village set up for the movie. You'll be on set for about 3 hours.

Please show up in casual clothes (no white/red/stripes/or plaid please or obvious name brands showing like Nike, etc.) Check in at the first tent you see. But first, please email me and let me know you'll be there. We're counting on you!
Thanks so much.
Barbara Ryan
Coastal Georgia Film Alliance
barbara@coastalgeorgiafilm.org

http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2010/06/16/news/top_stories/1topstory6.16.txt

Cumberland Harbour deal breaks, infrastructure progress is back in holding

CHANGES IN THE deal between a prospective developer of Cumberland Harbour, an upscale subdivision in St. Marys, and Cleveland-based KeyBank, the note-holder on the development, mean infrastructure might not be completed by November 2011. (Tribune & Georgian file photo)

By Ellen Robinson

Published: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 10:16 AM EDT

The completion of Cumberland Harbour's infrastructure is back on hold after a deal fell through between the prospective developer and the note-holding bank.Due to complications in the deal between developer Bryce Grafton and Cleveland-based KeyBank, which holds the note on Cumberland Harbour, residents and property owners of the upscale subdivision may have to wait beyond the November 2011 deadline on which Grafton had agreed to deliver infrastructure.

For the City of St. Marys, Mayor Bill DeLoughy said, this means the city has also been put back into a holding pattern. The city stood to not only collect the back taxes owed for the development, but also the estimated $600,000-$700,000 in fees and taxes that another 30 new homes would generate once the infrastructure is finished."We have 30 people who are ready and want to build right now, but they can't," DeLoughy said. "After learning that the deal isn't going to happen, we haven't heard back from Bryce Grafton. We were just trying to do what was best for the city."

The city agreed in May to accept Cumberland Harbour's unsold lots as collateral in exchange for releasing its call on security bonds. The bonds were intended to complete the infrastructure, such as roads and utilities, after the subdivision's original developer, Orlando-based Land Resource, filed for bankruptcy protection Oct. 30, 2008.

DeLoughy said the deal hinged on Grafton's purchase of the neighborhood from KeyBank. In the deal that Grafton drafted with the city following a May 14 special called meeting, Grafton agreed to invest $1 million into finishing the installment of utilities and roads. He also agreed to place another $500,000 into an escrow account as an assurance of his intentions."At this point we are back to square one. Everything is at a standstill because it was predicated on him owning the property. When the bank changed the agreement, that didn't happen, so we are now back to where we started from," DeLoughy said.

The deal apparently went south between Grafton and KeyBank for the purchase of the development. Grafton had proposed offering $4 million for Cumberland Harbour, however DeLoughy said the bank may have changed the parameters of the deal.

Council member Chuck Trader said that just like when an individual pursues buying a house, there are many phases in the process that can break a deal such as this one."This agreement was by no means a done deal. All contracts are always subject to a number of terms and items, and when those requirements aren't met, or fall through, the deal is broken," Trader said.

Trader said that the city was willing to take the risk of winding up with lots in Cumberland Harbour to sell in an effort to complete the infrastructure that was left incomplete in the final seven phases. However, the city was only going to be willing to accept the property as collateral if the appraised value for it came back at more than $1 million."We were looking for it to have a cushion over $1 million because had the deal progressed, once Bryce Grafton had invested $1.5 million into the infrastructure, there would be another $1 million needed to complete the project. We would have wanted the collateral of the land that we would have accepted to be greater than what we would need to complete the final phases," Trader said. "Our pursuit was also contingent on Grafton's company covering costs, appraisals and other associated costs. But the deal never got that far, so that's why were back here at square one."Phone calls made to Grafton on Monday morning were not returned by press time on Tuesday.

City Council agrees to release Cumberland Harbour performance bonds in exchange for unsold lots as collateral
Tribune-Georgian story here:
http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2010/05/26/news/top_stories/1topstory5.26.txt

oOSpring arrives at Cumberland Harbour!

Weekend News Wrap-up
CHPOA Annual Meeting
The Association annual meeting, held this past Saturday at the St. Marys Middle School auditorium, went smoothly with around 100 people in attendance. The remote listening function unfortunately did not work possibly due to the building's metal frame.

CHPOA President, Paul Gommo presided. Speakers included other members of the CHPOA Interim Board, Michelle Deis, David Cohen, Helen Ownby & Bernie Huber; Joe Gregory, Chairman of the Design Review Board; Buddy Mays, Team Leader-Securitas Security company; Heritage Property Management's Kyle Waidner & Gavin Cobb; and Community Solutions Management's CH on-ground manager, Melodye Pitts.

Questions from the floor and previously sent emails were answered. Afterwards, a well-attended pizza part for owners was held on the property at the Spring House from 6:00 until after 8:00 p.m.

St. Marys River Celebration and Cleanup
The St. Marys River Cleanup was a great success. Bill Bruce, who coordinated participation by Cumberland Harbour's owners, reported, "There was a great turnout and a generous spirit from the Cumberland Harbour participants, and many, many, many bags of trash and recyclables were collected. I look forward to our participating in this event again next year, although perhaps with fewer boats and more shore-based activity."

Brian Timberlake suggested next year CH participants hold their own cookout here on the property, rather than drive or boat to White Oak for lunch. Apparently, by the time several CH participants arrived at White Oak for lunch, there was no food left.

Annual Meeting Advance Question Reminder
Don't forget the Thursday, Mar. 18, 5:00 p.m. deadline for emailing questions in advance for the CHPOA Annual Meeting to be held this Saturday, Mar. 20, 1:30 p.m., at St. Marys Middle School Auditorium.

Email advance questions to on-ground Property Manager Melodye Pitts: mail@communitysm.com.

Cumberland Harbour POA Website
A copy of the Notice of Annual Meeting, sent to all property owners, can be found at the Association website under the "Resource Center" tab, and also under "Stay Connected/Community News & Announcements."

Annual Meeting Information
Note, you can participate in both the St Marys River cleanup, which runs from 8am to Noon, and the POA Annual Meeting, which doesn't begin until 1:30 pm.

Georgia Bicycle Group visits Cumberland Harbour
Bicycle Ride Across Georgia ("BRAG"), a non-profit group dedicated to cycling and bike safety, visited Cumberland Harbour during their 2010 Winter Ride. Coordinated in advance through the CH POA, the St. Marys Tourism Center and the Camden Bicycle Shop, 35 riders arrived at Cumberland Harbour on the morning February 17 to take part in an escorted bike tour of the community. On the same day, the group also toured the Navy Base and other locations throughout Camden County.

For its annual Winter Ride, BRAG chooses a hub, from which they do daily rides, returning to the hub each evening. St. Marys was this year's hub, and other daily tours included the Okefenokee Swamp and Amelia Island.

In addition to promoting cycling by its members, BRAG supports several worthy causes, such as the Team Special Olympics Georgia, and the BRAG Dream Team. More info about the group can be found at its website: http://www.brag.org/ and at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_Ride_Across_Georgia


Terry Landreth of the Camden Bicycle Shop leads group into
Cumberland Harbour
BRAG group near War of 1812 historic marker
Rest break in front of of 2004 HGTV Dream Home

New On-ground Property Manager
Melodye Pitts, of Community Solutions Management, located in St. Marys, has been hired by the POA Board as the new 'on-ground' property manager for Cumberland Harbour.

Community Solutions Management will handle:

Working with Contractors

Assisting the POA Board and Design Review Board

Ensuring Community Covenants and Restrictions are followed

Scheduling Facility Reservations

Managing RV and Boat Storage in Storage Lot

And other tasks which require local presence.

Contact Melodye Pitts at mail@communitysm.com or (912) 729-4336
Heritage Property Management will continue to handle:

Processing of Association Dues (Please continue sending your dues to Heritage.)

Accounting Issues

POA Mailings

POA Website

And other related financial and membership tasks

Contact Kyle Waidner at Heritage at kwaidner@heritageproperty.com or (770) 200-8270

Annual Meeting - How to submit questions in advance
In addition to being able to ask questions during the annual meeting, owners can submit questions in advance, by emailing them by Mar. 18 to Melodye Pitts at mail@communitysm.com

CHPOA Annual Meeting to be held:
(Back to Harbour Lights mainpage)

• Saturday, March 20, 2010
• St. Marys Middle School auditorium
• 205 Martha Dr., St. Marys, GA
• 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.

St Marys Middle School website w/ map

Directions:
Coming from I-95, on Hwy 40 go past Charlie Smith Jr. Hwy (a/k/a Spur 40). Just after Flash Foods convenience store, turn left onto Martha Dr. On Martha, St. Marys Middle School parking lot is on left just after the TDS Bldg.

Pizza Party Afterwards
A Pizza Party for owners will be held from 6 - 8 pm at the Spring House (near Pool Pavilion) on the CH property.

St. Marys River Annual Cleanup

A contingent of Cumberland Harbour residents and owners will participate in this year's St. Marys River Celebration, the annual Spring cleanup of the river, held on March 20.

Last year, over 1000 volunteers from Camden and Charlton Counties in Georgia, and Nassau and Baker Counties in Florida, removed 56,000 lbs of trash from the waterways and banks of the River and its tributaries.

Organized by the St Marys River Protection Committee and Keep Nassau Beautiful, the cleanup takes place from 8:00 to Noon, followed by a Celebration lunch at White Oak Plantation until 2:30.

Cumberland Harbour's contingent, with other volunteers from St. Marys, will focus on the lower St. Marys River and its tributaries, particularly the North River, which abounds Pt. Peter peninsula & Cumberland Harbour. (No. 19 on the Site Map, below.)

Anyone wishing to join Cumberland Harbour's contingent may contact Bill Bruce. Bill can be reached at brucewr@comcast.net .

2010 River Cleanup News Release
2010 Site Map & Fact Sheet

Photos by J.Means

New POA Website Up & Running!
Link to POA website

Property Owners,
The new Cumberland Harbour website through Heritage Property Management and Association Voice (software company) is now up. The site may be accessed at http://www.cumberlandharbour-poa.org/ . This web address was also listed in the letter you received from Heritage with your account information.

When you access the website, click on Sign In in the top right corner. Then you will need to create your sign in the first time you sign in. Heritage has informed us that you should use your street address for your Cumberland Harbour lot when you create your sign in, especially if you own more than one lot (however, some people have also signed in using their present billing address). If you own more than one lot, you will need to sing in for each lot, using the street address for each lot, which can be found on the account statement mailed to you by Heritage. You may use your email address for your sign in name or another sign in name you create. If you own more than one lot, you need to use a different sign in name for each lot. You also need to create a password once you have created a sign in name. Your password can be the same for all your lots, if you own more than one lot.

Once you have signed in, you can access your billing account for each lot under Resident Services, Check Account. When you try to access your billing account, there will be instructions on how to receive an access number (that will be emailed to you) to access your account. This access number is the last five digits of your Heritage account number for your lot, which can also be found on your Heritage account statement that has been mailed to you. After you access your account with the access code,you can see your account statement and you can also pay your CHPOA assessments online using a credit card; however, there is a fee ($14.97for amounts between $300 and $500). You must pay for each lot separately onlineand the system will only accept amounts up to $500. So, if you are paying a delinquent assessment that is over $500, you will either have to make several payments online (each time incurring the $14.97 charge), or you can mail your assessment to Heritage at the address provided with the letter and account statement that was mailed to you. Mailing your assessment amount to Heritage is always an option and there is no additional charge for mailing. Also, you can set up an automatic withdrawal of your assessment from your bank account andthere is no charge by Heritage for this (however, your bank may or may not charge you for this). To set up an automatic withdrawal for your assessment from your bank account, contact Cumberland Harbour's property manager at Heritage, Kyle Waidner, at 770-200-8270 or kwaidner@heritageproperty.com .

We are very excited to have this new website. Soon, I will be tailoring it to Cumberland Harbour, by using photos of Cumberland Harbour as the header and uploading Board Meeting Minutes as well as our CHPOA Bylaws, CC&Rs, andpolicies. For security, all Board Meeting Minutes in the future will only be uploaded to this site (starting with the Jan. 9, 2010 Board Meeting Minutes).This site contains tremendous functionality including the ability to have discussion groups on topics (as we have been doing on this yahoo forum) and an online calendar to schedule events, including lessons offered at the tennis courts, pool, or Fitness Center. I will be working with Heritage over the next few weeks to personalize the site for Cumberland Harbour. If there are any events or information that you would like to add to the site, please email me at mdeis@columbus.rr.com , and I will forward the information to our site administrator at Heritage, Megan Shaw, or you can email or call Megan directly (at meshaw@heritageproperty.com or 770-200-8561), so that she may add yourinformation to the site.

Thank you,
Michelle Deis
CHPOA Secretary

November Sunrise - Point Peter
Photo by J.Means

Message from POA on Paying Dues
originally posted 12/31/09

Property Owners,
I have just been informed by Heritage Property Mgt. that the online payment system for Cumberland Harbour through their website is down. So, if you are trying to pay online today and cannot, you may contact Tom Norris at Heritage at
770-200-8251 and tell him you could not pay online. He is taking the names of all those who are trying to pay online and cannot. The online payment system will likely not be functioning until the middle of next week, due to the New Years holiday. Owners also have the option of mailing their assessment to:

Heritage Property Management
P.O. Box 580104
Charlotte, NC 28258-0104

Lot owners have until Jan. 30, 2010 to pay their Jan. 1, 2010 assessment before late fees will accrue.

Additionally, the CHPOA Board has decided to extend the deadline for the removal of late fees accrued due to delinquent assessments for the year 2009 or earlier, due to the present malfunctioning of Heritage Property Management's online payment system. Thus, if delinquent assessments are paid by Jan. 30, 2010, then late fees attached to these delinquent assessments (for the year 2009 or earlier) will be removed. The previous deadline for payment was Jan. 1, 2010; however, since some owners may be attempting to pay online and Heritage's online payment system is down, the deadline is being extended.

The CHPOA Board apologizes for this inconvenience. If you have any questions, you may contact me by email at mdeis@columbus.rr.com or Paul Gommo at cumberlandharbourowners@yahoo.com .

Have a Happy New Year,
Michelle Deis
CHPOA Secretary