Hello neighbors,

At the 2017 Lochmeade HOA Annual Meeting your Board of Directors shared with you the fact that we had discussions with the new owners of the old Lochmeade Phase 3 about the possibility of rejoining with Lochmeade. At the time we said the merger was unlikely since the new developer showed little interest but that we planned to continue pursuing the matter. At our last meeting we reported the likelihood of rejoining appeared better in that there was now some interest being shown by the developer and builders. Today we’re informing you the developer and builders of Phase 3 have agreed to rejoin Lochmeade, if you’ll have them. This had always been the board’s goal – to give the residents of Lochmeade that choice.

There are pros and cons to the merger and we plan to have meetings to discuss those and share information. The reason the board pursued the matter in the first place is that a local real estate agent and real estate broker in Memphis, on separate occasions, both highly recommended merging with Phase 3. Their logic was simple – the more control you have over your neighboring areas the higher your property values. We did have to make a few concessions to get builder interest:

1. Builders prefer not to work with Architectural Control Committees for the simple reason committees take time to make decisions. We agreed to use an independent architectural firm selected by the builders, but one that works for us. HOA’s do this regularly. After the houses are built all future changes/modifications go through our Architectural Control Committee as per normal.
2. We also agreed to accept more duplication. In the 45 new lots there might be 5 or 6 houses with the same floor plan, but with variances in bricks, entries, etc. We will ask them to encourage diversity.
3. In our Architectural Guidelines, Guideline 4 requires a minimum 20” floor height. We still suggest 20” but we will accept less if the new homeowner doesn’t want it as it adds more expense.
4. We agreed builders will not pay HOA fees. Fees will be paid by new home owners, pro-rated for that first year.

Those were the concessions we made to get the builders on board. We think they are acceptable but that’s for you to decide, otherwise, all Lochmeade covenant rules and architectural guidelines apply.

Here’s the plan. Our covenants will have to be changed/modified/rewritten to allow for the additional lots and then we will vote on whether to accept the change to the covenants, and because it is a change to the covenants a 67% majority is required for approval. The new covenant will be mailed to each home and ballots will be provided for us to vote by mail. Our attorney tells us this ‘process’ will take about 3 – 4 months and cost us about $5,000, but in the end, if you approve, we’ll have 45 more dues paying residents in Lochmeade. We’ll keep you updated as information becomes available and meetings are scheduled.

Lochmeade HOA Board

(from the Lochmeade HOA Board)

Thursday night several HOA board members met with Paul Frazier, the new developer of the old Lochmeade Phase III, and we discussed the possibility of joining his development with Lochmeade. We discussed dues (he was surprised how low our HOA fees were) and architectural control.

Paul says he is busy in the planning and development stage of the property and thinks it premature to discuss joining Lochmeade at this time. He did say it remains a possibility that he will consider. He does plan to have larger, nicer homes built in the development but has yet to write the Architectural Guidelines. We gave Paul a copy of the Lochmeade Architectural Guidelines with the suggestion he might start there.

For your information, Paul was told by the city planning commission that Johnsborough must connect to the Walker Lake subdivision. If Paul does ask to join Lochmeade, the HOA will have to vote on it. We’ll update you as information/changes become available.

LOCHMEADE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Happy autumn, everybody. It’s been three months since our last letter and we feel it’s time for an update.

Fountain. You probably noticed our lake fountain ‘died’ a couple of weeks ago. The committee researched options such as repair ($3786.50) and various replacements. We decided to replace the old fountain with a nearly identical one. The new fountain will cost about $8500 and should be in place by month’s end.

2017 HOA Fees. The good news is we had the money to replace the fountain; the bad news is that the unexpected fountain replacement along with the planned pier and gazebo repairs will pretty much deplete the reserve fund we had been trying to create. The Board has subsequently decided to leave HOA fees at $650 for 2017. We know we have some erosion problems that may have to be addressed next year and we still need to have a reserve fund for emergencies. Did you know that on the Lochmeade HOA’s website you can review our monthly financial statements? It’s your money, you should know where it goes.

Atoka city street repair guidelines. According to Daniel Lovett, Atoka Public Works Director, city streets are paved/repaired according to need; there is no 10-year repaving rule. When one of our streets in Lochmeade is the worst street in the city, it will be repaired. The city regularly inspects all streets and are well aware of our subdivision street situation.

Garbage cans. Please remember that garbage cans, storage bins and other similar personal items must not be left in view of streets and commons areas. Several residents are remiss in this. Remember, your committee only hears your neighbors’ complaints. Letters have been sent, on behalf of the community, and fines can be levied. Please, store garbage cans and personal items out of sight.

Architectural Committee. As per our Covenant, certain changes to property must be approved by the Architectural Committee; some residents on occasion have forgotten this. Questions or submissions can be sent to: LochmeadeACC@gmail.com to ensure compliance. And don’t forget routine repairs. Shutters and fences must kept stained/painted and brick entrances to driveways in good condition.

Over the coming months. Once the election is over, political signs should be removed within 2 days. For our residents needing trees (2 per front yard, 3 for corner properties as per Covenant), December and January is the best time for planting. Mid-South Tree Farm has good prices for self-service and full-service tree planting/replacement.

Finally, thanks again to all committee members who volunteer their time and energy for the benefit of our community.

Your Lochmeade Board of Directors