Long Point Property Owners Association
2023-2024 Annual Assessment with Community Updates - March 13, 2023
Community Updates:
1. New Management Company - This past year has been full of change. Lanier notified us in November that they were going to stop providing association management. After a competitive bid process, where we interviewed several companies, Sentry Association Management was selected to provide management services for Long Point. They are still on-boarding our community information so everyone will be receiving information from them soon on how each resident can access their accounts via Sentry’s portal. If you turned in checks that have not been deposited, Sentry is holding them to add to your account once they complete this setup.
2. New Website for our neighborhood – We have a new website up and running that can be a resource for all things Long Point. This website is solely LPPOA owned and managed. A lot of the LPPOA forms can be filled out online, including car registration, pavilion rental, pool waivers, etc. The website has an online concern form to submit requests for mailbox repairs or notify Sentry and the Board about community concerns or needs. Most community documents are on the website as well as a community calendar. A members-only area for items such as the directory, budget, meeting minutes, etc. will be available within the next two weeks. www.longpointpoa.org
3. Aging Facilities - We continued to address issues throughout the neighborhood that are a result of living in an aging community. We resurfaced the pool decking with pavers and painted the building and pavilion. We were notified that our pool stairs were out of compliance with County regulations. So, the pool company is currently building new evenly spaced stairs across the shallow end.
4. Board positions - There will be three open Long Point POA Board positions for the 2023-25 term. If you are interested in serving, please send a short paragraph describing your skills and interest to longpointpoa@gmail.com.
Annual Assessment and Treasurer’s Letter
A $180 annual / $15 per month increase is being implemented to cover the increase in our general costs and to help maintain our reserve funds in accordance with the Reserve Study completed in 2020.
‘Dear Residents of Long Point,
As this year's treasurer, I would like to add a specific note in addition to the dues increase request. We have been asked to be more specific about the increasing dues other than stating the obvious massive inflation every household has been subjected to for the last three years. Below is a list of increased expenses we have incurred and absorbed as a whole property owners association: This is not all inclusive and there are other fees and increases we have incurred. If you want more details or specifics, you can email me at middmidd@gmail.com. Our monthly meetings are open to the community. Our books are open and maintained by the community management company, audited annually by certified accountants, and reviewed monthly by both the LPPOA board and myself.
-Insurance increase of 10% (liability and officers’ insurance)
-Pool upgrading (stairs and entry handles) for Chatham County compliance
-Lighting for the front gate
-Pool chemicals up 40%, Pool staffing up 20-30%
-Mailbox repairs for many which are approximately 30 years old
-Deteriorating pool chairs, umbrellas, and television replacement due to coastal proximity
-Gate attendant company cost increase
-Electricity bills have increased by 15% for the pool facilities, ground lights, gatehouse, and front pond fountain
-Lagoon maintenance fee company contract increases
-Landscaping price increases
-New management company fee increase
Sincerely, John Middleton’
Annual Assessment payments are due by April 30, 2023 and should be paid in the amount of $1,940.
If you would like to pay your Assessment quarterly, please remit quarterly payments, due on the 1st of the month of each quarter (April, July, October, and January) in the amount of $485 (an increase from the $440 quarterly amount last year for those who need to adjust their bill pay). If you own a lot in Long Point and are not in the building process, the fee is one half of the homeowner’s assessment. Sentry will be mailing out vouchers once they have completed the resident account on-boarding process.
*The 2023-2024 Budget has been finalized and will be available for review on the community website within the next two weeks in the members-only section. Please sign up at www.longpointpoa.org
Covenants Rewrite Update:
At last year’s annual meeting, there was a lot of confusion about the covenant revision process. We are moving toward being able to present a new draft of the covenants for consideration by the entire neighborhood. Before that happens, we will convene a covenants committee so that actively interested participants can review the draft and make contributions. Here are the highlights of the proposed changes in the current draft version of revised covenants:
Streamline and shorten the covenants from the current 172 pages to about 50.
Remove all references to the original developer, who is no longer involved in the community.
Allow personal, non-commercial pickup trucks to be parked in driveways—this common practice is currently forbidden by the covenants.
Cap the LPPOA Board’s ability to raise annual dues at 10% instead of the current 25%.
Lower the threshold of homeowners required to approve changes to the covenants to 66.7% from the current 75%.
Clarify contractor and lawn-maintenance hours. Currently M-F 7AM-7PM, Sat 8AM-7PM
In short, the goal of the covenant revision project is to make things clearer, simpler, and more transparent to homeowners. The goal is not to introduce a bunch of new rules or make this a more restrictive neighborhood to live in. But we are operating under out-of-date covenants created by and for the benefit of the original developers and builders of Long Point. We need a document that better serves the current community. Thanks to everyone who has contributed ideas thus far and aided in the process of revision. The current draft of revised covenants will be available for your review in the members-only section of the website.
Please reach out for any issues, longpointpoa@gmail.com or file any concern/need on the new website, www.longpointpoa.org.
Sincerely,
Your volunteer Long Point Board of Directors
(Holly Adams, John Middleton, Brett Wagner, Janet Bradham, Clark Bristol, Brittany Campbell, and Jake Maxwell)