ANNUAL POA MEETING TONIGHT

Tonight's meeting will be held at the Courtyard Marriott at 7pm. The pool issue will be discussed.

For future reference and posts regarding the pool committee, please refer to our community website at http://www.thepinnaclenb.com

Pool Meeting

Tomorrow’s meeting will be held at the pavilion at 6:30 pm. It will be no longer than 45mins long. Please come and bring a neighbor!

April 2011 Pool Exploration Committee Meeting

We will be conducting a brief meeting on April 18 6:30-7:30pm to update everyone on our progress. The meeting location will be determined shortly.

We hope to see you there!

Update

Hello Neighbors!

With the start of school, the holidays and such, the pool exploration has been a bit slow, but please do not mistake this for dwindling interest and/or steam!

We are still focused on this project and hope to have some concrete ideas in place after the new year when everyone's life has settled a bit from the holidays.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and blessed New Year!

Surveys

Well, the surveys are rolling in and I'm pleased to report that so far, the majority of owners are in favor of, and support of, a community pool. Please take this information for what it is worth...just a sample of the entire neighborhood. We still need to get ALL of the surveys completed - not just for the surveying purpose, but also for gathering contact information to be included in the neighborhood directory.

It is becoming more and more apparent that there is a great need for a neighborhood directory. I received a "complaint" email from an owner who was irritated that some "stranger" would come to her door and scare her elderly mother by showing up with a survey. I very nicely pointed out that the "stranger" was actually a fellow neighbor and that this is a wonderful example of why we need a bit more community interaction.

On a personal note, last week I had an emergency when my youngest fell and went unconscious. When it was decided that the ambulance would transport him and me to SA, I desperately needed someone to stay at my house and watch my 2 year old until my husband could get home. Luckily I do know several of my neighbors, but in that type of situation, a directory may have been helpful in case I didn't have phone numbers handy. I would like to see a lot more interaction in our community and I think that a directory is one important step to getting to know your neighbors and welcoming new ones.

Thanks again to the volunteers who are getting these surveys out. If you would like to help, please contact me.

Regarding Liability and Insurance

Hi Everyone-

I have some new information to share that I think we will all benefit from knowing.

One of the biggest objections or concerns I am hearing is the issue of liability and the cost of insuring a pool. Apparently this has been the biggest issue that has come up in past attempts to get a pool (or so many of us have been led to believe).

I contacted a commercial insurance agent with Barnard-Donegan today (Chris Stansel). He has had extensive experience in underwriting policies for HOAs such as ours. What he told me really surprised me considering that the board members at our last meeting kept citing insurance costs as a kill factor for a pool.

Chris explained to me that most HOAs (or POAs) already have a liability policy in place (and yes, The Pinnacle does too), especially if the neighborhood has any kind of amenities. If a neighborhood should decide to build a pool, it will add approximately $100 per year to the existing policy.

This sounded ridiculously inexpensive to me, so I asked more questions and here is what I found:

A typical liability insurance policy for HOAs will include around $1 million in coverage. This generally covers accidents, injuries, etc…related to neighborhood-owned amenities. If someone gets hurt playing tennis on our courts and sues, then this policy would cover it.

Surprisingly, these types of policies are not very expensive (The Pinnacle paid $3,637 in 2009) – and here is why: As members of a POA, we are OWNERS. We not only own our homes or lots, but we also own the amenities in our neighborhood. Therefore, the liability insurance policy does not cover injuries, accidents that happen to owners…..because YOU CANNOT SUE YOURSELF.

So what is the purpose of having an insurance policy? It is to cover the liability where non-owners (guests) are concerned. In simple terms, if you (an owner) get hurt playing tennis on the neighborhood courts, the neighborhood is not liable because you cannot sue yourself. However, if you bring a guest to the tennis courts and he/she get hurt, he/she CAN sue The Pinnacle (YOU). In that scenario, our insurance policy would pay. Because the majority of amenity usage is by owners, the policy premiums stay low.

The addition of a pool is simply the addition of an amenity and does not significantly impact insurance premiums. There ARE certain things that need to be done with the pool in order to “CYA” (aka: reduce liability). These are such things as signage (“Swim At Your Own Risk”, etc…), self-locking gates, fencing, depth markers, etc…

I also asked if having a lifeguard impacted insurance rates at all and the answer is “no”.

I don’t know about you all, but I find this entire bit of information extremely interesting. It is very apparent that in the past, no one has actually researched the insurance cost of a pool and just assumed the liability was just too great. At this last POA meeting each board member kept “pooh-pooh”-ing the idea of a pool, mainly giving the reason insurance costs would increase too much. Well, that is obviously incorrect and this is something that we need to make sure and address when the question comes up during the surveys.

Action Plan/Facts/Hurdles

PINNACLE POOL EXPLORATION COMMITTEE

Mission: To explore the possibility of building an accessible neighborhood pool for The Pinnacle

Facts:

1.       POA board has historically been against a pool but has never seriously explored the idea.

2.       According to POA, an environmental study was done and a pool is not possible in the quarry area due to its proximity to the aquifer.

3.       Approximately 250 properties in The Pinnacle

4.       POA dues = $125 per year

5.       Currently approximately $60K in bank account

6.       In order for any changes to be made to dues, or anything to be built in the neighborhood, 2/3 of ALL PROPERTY OWNERS would have to vote FOR it.

7.       Currently ALL neighborhood amenities are only easily accessible by Quarry Point via Hoffman Ln.

Hurdles:

1.       Funding

2.       Support of property owners (2/3 vote)

3.       Location (environmental impact, accessibility)

4.       Liability

Action Plans:

1.       Canvassing – contact each property owner to determine interest/support level

a.       Develop short questionnaire (also collect contact info – could be used for directory?)

b.      Recruit committee members/helpers

2.       Research –

a.       Come up with wish list – (best case and lowest-budget scenarios)

b.      Contact pool companies/contractors, etc…to get bids and determine approximate costs to build

                                                               i.      Utilize property owners’ expertise/knowledge/experience

c.       Contact other POAs to ask what their building/maintenance costs are

d.      Determine liability issues and how to overcome them (attorney? Insurance company?)

e.      Comparable neighborhoods, properties sold, price per square foot. Do neighborhood amenities have an impact?

f.        Contact other neighborhoods to ask how they funded amenities. Memberships? Stocks?

3.        Explore Funding Options –

a.       Raising dues

b.      Assessments

c.       Cost threshold for property owners

d.      Sell memberships – invite other neighborhoods, make it public

                                                               i.      Rolling Oaks, Country Hills, etc…

e.       POA transfer fees – one of the only neighborhoods that does not charge this (typically $100-$200)

4.       Location –

a.       Does an environmental study exist? Ask to see it.

b.      Make quarry more easily accessible to the neighborhood.

                                                               i.      Easements? Bike paths?

c.       Lots currently for sale.

d.      Empty lots – contact owners.