Preston Homeowners Association

2010 Mid Year President Updates

Published Jul 27, 2010

Dear Fellow Homeowners:

This letter is provided to inform you of some significant changes in our community during the first half of 2010:

1. BOARD MEETINGS: In response to homeowner requests, our Board meetings were moved to the evening and to a location closer to our neighborhood. We meet on the third Thursday of each month in the Searstone conference room conveniently located across the street from Goodberry's on Davis Drive (yum!). The space was generously donated for our use by the Searstone community. Please join us at a future meeting.

2. PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: In March, the Board hired a new management company, Professional Properties Management of Raleigh. PPM has a longstanding record of success managing other premier neighborhoods in the Triangle (e.g., Wakefield Plantation, Wessex, Preston Village). They have a wonderful professional staff and created financial software for managing homeowner associations that is so impressive that one of the local banks licensed it for their use in supporting other associations. The bid process enabled us to reduce our expense by almost $16,000 over three years.

3. LANDSCAPING: In July, the Board hired a new landscape company, Bland, which it should be noted is a family name and not an adjective for the level of service they provide. Indeed, their service quality is tops in the area. Bland is responsible for some of the most beautifully landscaped areas in the Triangle including Governor's Club, Weston Parkway, and Macgregor West. This is the largest expense in our budget and the bid process took many months. The Vendor Committee visited other premier neighborhoods, and spoke with board members and management companies at these neighborhoods to solicit their input on the top landscape companies. Bland received high marks for the quality of their service and the level of their commitment. Our neighborhood will benefit from their expertise. Beyond routine mowing, edging, fertilizing and weed control, Bland will begin removing dead plants and thinning overgrown areas. New pine straw will be applied in the autumn after the leaves have fallen.

4. PUNCH LIST: We are beginning work on a neighborhood "Punch List.” Many of you have strong opinions about the landscape of our common areas and entrance ways. This is your chance to help influence their appearance. Between now and the end of the year, each subdivision is welcome to develop a Punch List of items they would like changed in their common areas. Please kindly send these lists (one per subdivision) to Jennifer Burch (PPM), Tom Morris (head of the Landscape Committee), and me (I don't actually do anything, but I'm nosey). The Landscape Committee will collect this input and prioritize it based on the funding we have available in 2011. Anyone interested in joining the Landscape Committee for a first row seat in making these prioritizations is welcome to do so.

5. TREASURER: Our Treasurer, Mike Hyland, left the Board in June. We are grateful for his many months of committed service to the neighborhood. Please buy Mike a cocktail in the Red Fox the next time you see him. He deserves it. Steve Delmar, a new Preston resident with an impressive financial background (former CFO of two public companies) was selected by the Nominating Committee and confirmed by the Board to complete Mike's term which expires in December 2011. You might also buy Steve a drink so he doesn't regret what he's gotten himself into.

6. STREET LIGHTS and STREET SIGNS: You may have noticed new street lights, street signs, stop signs, and speed limit signs in some of the older Preston subdivisions. These neighborhoods existed when the Preston Community Association was formed in 1994 and they are not part of our Association. The lights and signs are increasingly found in some of the newer upscale neighborhoods, and many residents have expressed their view that they would be a nice upgrade to our community. Mike Hyland did an incredible amount of work researching the cost and guidelines for making this switch (yet another reason for you to buy him a cocktail). The street lights are covered by interesting rules. After 20 years, Progress Energy will replace the light poles for a nominal fee. Some of our subdivisions will qualify relatively soon. Newer subdivisions will not qualify for many years. We can stage this, but we're hoping to convince Progress Energy to either: (i) ensure we will have the same style light available when the last of our subdivisions qualify; OR, (ii) waive the 20 year wait period for our newer subdivisions and convert all subdivisions to a common style at the same time. Some of our subdivisions are contiguous to older subdivisions which have already converted and these newer subdivisions have asked to expedite their conversion. The Board approved this for two such subdivisions that agreed to fund the early street light conversion on their own. If your subdivision has a similar interest, please contact the Landscape Committee. Let us hear from you on this and other Punch List items.

7. OUTREACH: Our neighborhood is challenging in many respects. Preston Community Association maintains 700,000 square feet of turf, 122,000 square feet of shrub beds, 49 medians, 59 entrance signs, lights, two ponds and a playground. However, other property within Preston is not maintained by our Association. We share responsibility with the Prestonwood Country Club, the Town of Cary, the Town of Morrisville, and other Preston associations (Fairways, Highlands, Point, Pines, Greens, and Trace). Gordon Munro has been heading our Outreach Committee which is forging better relations and coordination among our neighbors. Tom Morris has done the same with the Prestonwood Country Club. They both work very hard. As long as you have a tab running at the Red Fox for Mike and Steve, please buy Tom and Gordon a cocktail as well.

8. SECOND HALF 2010: It was a very busy first half of the year. The Board would like to thank Bill Oliver, Joyce Jennings, and the other Vendor Committee members for the many hours they devoted to qualifying our new property manager and landscape company. Please add their names to your list of people that should not pay for drinks in the Red Fox. In the coming months, the Board will begin work on the 2011 budget where we hope to secure enough funding to make a dent in our Punch List. The Nominating Committee will also be searching for a new Board Member to replace David Campbell who has decided not to seek re-election when his term expires at the end of this year. David has been a voice of calm reason on the Board during the past 18 months and he will be sorely missed.

9. KEEP OUR COSTS LOW: If you have not registered on our website, please do so now. Visit www.prestonhoa.com. It's a terrific website thanks to the efforts of David Campbell (which reminds me...David shouldn't pay for his drinks either). If you register, we can save money we otherwise spend printing, collating, stuffing, and mailing things…like this letter. That's money that can go toward your Punch List items. We don't share the email addresses and we don't clog your in-basket. In the last six months, we've used the email list to send security notices about break-ins in the neighborhood, which is a very good reason for you to register. Plus, it’s better for the environment. Trust me on this. I live with a teenage Eco-Warrior. She's adorable and she wants you to register for email even more than I do.

10. WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND: Let us hear from you. Jennifer Burch is our PPM representative and you can reach her with your ideas at jburch@ppm.com. Feel free to contact any of the Board Members via the website.

Ken Hammer on behalf of the Board.

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