This POA Bd. Report has been posted as a courtesy to lot owners.
Harbour Lights is not connected with the POA, the property manager, or any other entity. -Editor

Correction: 2nd sentence, 2nd para. of the Board Report, below:
The City gave no timeline to the Board. The 'end of the year' reference originated solely with the Board and represented the Board's estimate of when the preliminary engineering and development costing work might be completed. -Harbour Lights Editor.

POA Board Report
Printable version

CUMBERLAND HARBOUR PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
REPORT AS OF May 22, 2009

Dear Fellow Lot Owners;

We are pleased to report that the Board of Directors has been working diligently over the past several months on many issues facing the association. We acknowledge that this has been a difficult and frustrating time as we all have faced the uncertainty created by the bankruptcy of the developer, Land Resource. As we previously reported, the bank holding the main mortgage on the community took back the property and they have been marketing it to several development companies. At this time there is still no final determination on this issue however the Board will continue to monitor the status and provide an immediate update to everyone as soon as information is received.

The Board has been monitoring the status of the bond with the City of St. Mary’s and can report that the most recent update from the City is that they continue to work with the bond company and are still going through the process of reviewing work needed with various engineers as well as development cost estimates on having the work completed. When asked whether there was a timeline they could provide on when the work would be done, they declined to give anything specific, however estimated that the work would be completed before year’s end.

We also have received information regarding new legal activity related to the marinas to be built as part of the community. Information on this can be obtained at: http://www.cumberlandharbor.blogspot.com/
(Marina update: here. -Ed.). The recent ruling did not change the status of the marinas, but basically resulted in a ruling on several motions by the Administrative Law Judge.

With the state of the current economy we are all aware of the need to carefully control expenses, and to attempt to reduce those where possible, without having an adverse affect on the quality of the community. We believe that all owners purchased their lot with an anticipation of the type of community Cumberland Harbour was to become and the Board of Directors is committed to maintaining, as best possible, the concept conceived for the community. While we cannot control the effect of the economy on real estate values, we do want to ensure that the services and facilities of the community are not diminished in any way that could further affect those values. To this end, the Board has been keeping a careful watch on expenses and has placed a hold on spending any funds on items which are not crucial to maintain the facilities and services. This review included taking an in-depth look at all contracts and making determinations on what services are being provided. The Board has appointed a Building and Grounds Committee to assist them in reviewing the current landscape contract, developing a complete list of all services and making plans to obtain competitive bids for landscaping and other services. They are also working with a landscape designer to develop a landscape plan for the entire community.

The Board will continue to look at all services provided to the community and will obtain competitive proposals in anticipation of the preparation of the 2010 budget. We are also seeking out information from other communities on their fees and services so that we can make a comparison of the operating costs of our association and the level of fees paid by lot owners.

The upkeep of the community is extensive. The landscaping alone requires maintenance of 20 miles of roadways (of which 13 are paved), 25 acres of ponds, 30 miles of irrigation and 80 acres of grass which is mowed and maintained throughout the development.
The Association also maintains four pools (three swimming pools and one reflecting pool) which require daily cleaning, chemical balancing and inspection of operating pumps and controls. The swimming pools were recently required to be updated to comply with a federally mandated retrofit of the drains to install anti-entrapment drain covers. Additionally, we have six clay tennis courts of the highest caliber which require constant grooming and maintenance. There are five buildings in the community that need routine upkeep including cleaning, painting, HVAC maintenance, repair to the interiors and exteriors, annual fire extinguisher testing and tagging, routine pest control, and maintenance of the equipment. We are looking at ways to reduce the utility costs of these buildings and will install controls on lighting, heat and air conditioning, and other appliances to reduce electricity costs.

As part of the finances of the association, the Board must look at income in relation to expenses. Unfortunately, there are quite a number of owners who have outstanding balances on their association dues accounts. The Board is taking active steps to ensure that these balances are collected and have authorized the Association’s collection attorney to pursue every means available to reduce the balance of outstanding assessments. Such action may include placing liens and/or foreclosure on lots by the Association where unpaid dues are excessive. It is essential to have the funds available to effectively operate the community and, the Board has a legal duty to collect these fees and we will continue our efforts in this endeavor.

The Board has engaged an independent professional Certified Public Accountant to perform a review of the Association’s financial records and copies of the report will be available to lot owners once the review has been completed.

We will continue to keep everyone informed as we move forward with the future of the community. Updates are always available at the Cumberland Harbour website: http://www.cumberlandharbor.blogspot.com/; or at the AIM website: http://www.aim-services.net/.
You may also email the Board of Directors at: Boardchpoa@aol.com. To help save on mailing costs, we ask that you check the websites frequently for news and updates.

The work of the association requires the assistance and support of a great number of individuals and we would like to thank all the committees and their members for their hours of volunteer service to the community. The current committees include: Design Review Board – charged with oversight of home design in the association; Building and Grounds Committee – responsible for the oversight of the physical property and grounds; Social Committee – organizes social gatherings in the community to allow owners to have an opportunity to meet each other and welcome new residents to the community; Rules Committee – charged with assisting the Board in the development of rules for the use of the amenities and other areas. The volunteer members of these committees work with great effort to help ensure the quality of life in the community.

As you can see, the operation, maintenance and organization of Cumberland Harbour takes a great deal of time and effort. The future success of the Association will require the support and assistance of everyone to help to build Cumberland Harbour into the quality development that we all envisioned when we purchased here. We anticipate that a new developer will purchase the community and we look forward to working with the new company in a spirit of cooperation to bring the potential of Cumberland Harbour to fruition. We appreciate your interest and concern and ask for your support to help move the Association forward in a positive direction.

Sincerely,

Glenn Saare, President
Board of Directors
Cumberland Harbour POA

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