Harpeth Trace Services Association

Meeting Minutes 06-06-06

Jun 08, 2006

The meeting was held at Le Peep restaurant. It was called to order at 7:05 a.m. by President Steve Roche. Board Members in attendance: Ken Darby, Mary Ann Dorris, Stephen Helmey, Jim Mathieson, Sanford Payton, Stuart Schmidt, Steve Roche, and Bill Wainwright. Ghertner and Company was represented by Rick Eatherly. Joanne Katcher, president of Treetops, also at-tended the meeting.

Steve Roche opened the meeting by introducing our new Account Manager, Rick Eatherly, and ex-plained that our former manager, Steve Kravitz, had resigned his position at Ghertner to have more time with his family. Steve then asked each Board member to report on his or her area of re-sponsibility.

Sanford Payton, the director responsible for Landscaping, reported that no major work is be-ing done at this time. Thompson Irrigation is scheduled to begin installing a branch line from the Upper Knolls?’ existing irrigation system along the Harpeth Trace curb between the two en-trances of the Upper Knolls on June 25. When that work is complete, Glass Lawn Management & Landscaping, Inc. will schedule the installation of a ground cover on the bluff. Due to the deep shade on that bluff, the most practical ground cover will probably be Vinca Major.
The areas where Oriental Honeysuckle was recently removed have not been properly cleaned, and some of the old roots are beginning to send up new shoots. In addition, weeds, deadwood, concrete chunks, and crosstie scraps and a bro-ken limb or two need to be removed from the com-mon areas. These problems have been reviewed with the owner of Glass Lawn who said they would be taken care of on their next regular visit, which is scheduled for Thursday, June 8.
The lawn maintenance company has also been asked to cut all bamboo that emerges in the common area behind 313 Harpeth Ridge Drive. The owners of 309 Harpeth Ridge Drive have also been asked to aid in keeping the shoots cut until the roots die. The maintenance company will also remove all pine needles from the catch basin grates in front of 200 Harpeth Wood Drive on their weekly visits.
Mary Ann Dorris, a member of the Upper Knolls?’ Board of Directors has been asked to in-struct their lawn service to cut the weeds at the edge of the trees on top of the bluff. This should continue as a part of their regular maintenance to prevent reemergence of undesirable plants.

Bill Wainwright, the director responsible for Street Lighting, Signage, and our Neighbor-hood Cleanup Days, reported that most of the street lights around the entrance and along the first long hill are working again after being out for about three weeks. Bill explained that he had sev-eral meetings with Anchor Electric?’s management and engineers to develop a plan to make tempo-rary repairs, but our lighting system has serious problems and a long-term solution will be costly.
Bill had asked another Board member, Stephen Helmy, an architect, to work with him to develop a long-term solution to the lighting prob-lem. Stephen reported that in May he and other Board members had met with Ralph Parsons, the owner of a well-respected electrical engineering firm in Nashville, and commissioned him to plan, specify, bid, and oversee the work necessary to rehabilitate our lighting system.
Stephen also reported that he, Mary Ann Dor-ris, Sanford Payton, Steve Roche and Stuart Schmidt met with Ralph Parsons in June and re-viewed his recommendations which include: re-placement of the outdated switchgear mounted on a pole near the guardhouse and at a second loca-tion near 700 Harpeth Trace Drive. Mr. Parsons explained that the original wiring for our street lights was not installed in conduit, and that the wires have been cut and patched many times. Each patch added resistance in the wires, until they were finally overloaded. Somehow, wires were apparently crossed, allowing doubled voltage to reach some light fixtures, burning out several bulbs and ballasts, and causing our recent black-out.
Mr. Parsons explained that the best solution is to install new, larger wire, in conduit, and to re-place the fixtures that have been severely dam-aged. He also recommended that all of the light fixtures on the first long hill be moved to the right side (the side with the walking path) to minimize street crossings which require cutting the pave-ment. This will put more light along the walking path and save significantly on installation costs.
The Board authorized Mr. Parsons to prepare specifications and to bid the work he recom-mends, but to separate the cost of work on the lower half from the upper half of the hill, and to bid new light heads as separate items. This will allow the work to be done in phases if the entire cost exceeds our current funds.
We expect the bids to be received in 3 weeks, and hope the work will be completed by October 1, 2006.

Ken Darby, the director responsible for Drain-age, reported that all catch basins in our neighborhood have been cleaned to improve drainage. He also reported that our former Ghert-ner account manager had not produced a solution nor estimate to stop storm-water runoff from Tree-tops Condos. The runoff is eroding the property at 505 Harpeth Trace Drive. Ken reported that he would consult with a contractor in an attempt to solve this problem.

Mary Ann Dorris, the director responsible for Irrigation, reported that our irrigation system has not worked since our street lights failed because the irrigation timer is fed from the same source as the street lights. Anchor Electric was notified, and the problem has been resolved.

Jim Mathieson, the director responsible for Streets and Curbs, reported that all of the pot-holes he is aware of have been filled. He said the repainting of the centerline was not satisfactory and that he has stopped payment of the invoice until the line can be repainted satisfactorily. He expects that work to be complete within 10 days.

Linda Shoun, the director responsible for Le-gal Matters, was unable to attend the meeting due to complication resulting from an automobile accident. However, Stephen Helmey, who has been working with Linda, reported that there seems to be very little support for an Architectural Committee because of the potential for abuse. He recommended that the current content of our Covenants and Restrictions For Harpeth Trace Estates be reviewed by the Board to determine if any changes should be made. The Board ap-proved this action.





Stephen Helmey, the director responsible for Financial Records, reported that as of 4-30-06 our association had total assets of $84,778.58.

Stuart Schmidt, the director responsible for Financial Planning, distributed a copy of the 6-year Proforma Budget prepared by Susan Mitchell for our January, 2006, annual meeting and pointed out that while $40,000 had been estimated at that time to refurbish our street lights, no funds were actually allocated in the budget. As a result, our Proforma Budget will be off by the amount of the actual rehabilitation cost. A copy of this Pro-forma Budget may be reviewed at our website: www.harpethtrace.org.
Stuart also requested that he be allowed to chair some other assignment because he had nei-ther the knowledge nor the computer equipment needed to accomplish his present task.
Stephen Helmey volunteered to assume Stu-art?’s current responsibilities until other arrange-ments can be made.

With no further business, the meeting was ad-journed by President Steve Roche.

The Board asks you to remember that overnight parking on the streets of our subdivision is against the rules, and could be disastrous if a fire truck or other emergency vehicle were blocked by your vehicle. Since the rule is against you, your li-ability could be high. Also, when you park in places where people can?’t see on-coming traffic, you are endangering everyone involved. Please be considerate and we will all enjoy our time in Harpeth Trace much more.

Pick up after your dogs, especially when you are on the walking path. No one has yet claimed to enjoy stepping in your doggie?’s do. Try to keep those dogs quiet during the night.

The next regular Board meeting will be at Le Peep restaurant Tuesday, September 5, at 7a.m.


Respectfully Submitted,
Sanford Payton, Secretary/Treasurer