Newington Plantation Homeowners Meeting
Held on 10-22-2007 at the Newington Pool
1. CALL TO ORDER. Meeting was called to order by Randy Sadler at 7:10 pm. The following Board members in
attendance were introduced: Randy Sadler (President); Mike Gobin (Treasurer); Mark Lavigne (Past President); Fred
Gleffe and Pete Haas (Mbrs-at-large). Absent were Debbie Lawrence (Secretary) and Doug Fetchen (Vice-President).
Georgia Sadler recorded the minutes in the Secretary’s absence. 33 people were in attendance representing 25 voting
households.
2. REVIEW OF MINUTES. Minutes from the 4-30-2007 general NPEA meeting were reviewed and unanimously
accepted by a voice vote.
3. TREASURER’S REPORT. Mike Gobin presented the financial report provided by our account manager (R&B
Properties). Account Balances (As of 9/28): POOL: $16,375; GENERAL: $13,076; COVENANTS: $26,108. The
Treasurer’s Report was reviewed then unanimously accepted by a voice vote.
4. ELECTION: No nominations were presented from the floor. The slate of candidates provided by the nominating
committee was unanimously elected by a voice vote. The newly elected board included the following officers: Randy
Sadler (President); Doug Fetchen (Vice-President); Mike Gobin (Treasurer); Debbie Lawrence Secretary; Ben Hough
(Member-at-Large); Doug Wedderspoon (Member-at-Large).
5. OLD BUSINESS.
a. NEW NPEA DIRECTORY AND WEBSITE. At the last meeting, members asked the NPEA Board to develop
and provide a password protected Newington directory on the NPEA website, and to develop other website
enhancements. Members felt the use of a website-based directory will help avoid the expense of constantly updating
and reprinting it. Ben Hough volunteered to head up this effort and he developed a password protected Newington
directory on a new website: www.newingtonplantation.com. Ben answered questions about the new site and residents
were encouraged to call him with any updates or suggestions to improve the site.
b. NEWINGTON AMENITIES CENTER. The Association owns 6.8 acres of land in the vicinity of the pool.
NPEA has spent $16,235 for planning by engineers and consultants, and has site plan options and potential locations
for community amenities. NPEA has also developed a plan to sell some home sites to help defray project costs.
Before proceeding further, NPEA is awaiting a final wetland delineation letter to resolve an “isolated wetland” issue
with the Army Corps of Engineers. NPEA is also awaiting a final decision on a land transfer proposal from John
Murphree. Members suggested that the Board look at improving the parking area near the pool as soon as practicable.
Parking is totally inadequate during swim meets and other special events.
6. NEW BUSINESS.
a. VOTE FOR HOUSE DISTRICT 94. Members were encouraged to vote in a run-off election scheduled for
October 30, 2007. For an absentee ballot, members were urged to call the St. George voter registrar at 832-0132.
Candidates are Heyward Hutson and Jenny Horne.
b. CHANGES TO OUR RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS. The NPEA Board proposed two covenants changes that
will require the written approval of a majority of the property owners in Newington Plantation Estates. These changes
will remove the exceptions for Phase 1 for Covenants paragraphs 21 & 22. This would result in Phase 1 homeowners
paying the same mandatory dues that are currently paid by the other homeowners in Newington Plantation Estates.
This covenants change proposal was presented in the recent newsletter, and it was thoroughly discussed.
Thom Nolan made a motion to “Put the NPEA Board’s proposed amendment to covenant paragraphs 21 and 22 to a
vote of Phase 1, 2, 3, and NG homeowners. If it is approved by homeowners, the change to remove the Phase 1
exception from restrictive covenants paragraphs 21 and 22 would become effective in January 2009.” This motion was
seconded by Paul Conant and it passed by a vote of 20 to 4.
NPEA Meeting, 10-22-2007, Page 1
Gene Cowan made a motion to “Let Phase 1, 2, 3, and NG homeowners vote to preserve the exception to paragraphs
21 & 22 for all current Phase 1 homeowners, and to remove the exception to paragraphs 21 & 22 from each individual
home in Phase 1 only when each home is sold to a new owner. In this way, current owners would be grandfathered.”
Mike Green seconded the motion. The motion failed by a vote of 4 for the motion, 19 against the motion, and 1
abstention.
c. LANDSCAPING COMMON AREAS. At start of 2007, the NPEA Board hired Arlene Weeks (4Seasons of
Color) to add plant color and beauty to common areas. This fall, NPEA planned to ask Arlene will finish up the
Gardens by adding plants to the entrance area and to Thames Court. However, this has been placed on hold until the
Board is able to conduct a search for a trained, experienced, insured landscaper. NPEA is awaiting one bid from
professional landscaper (Todd Morris). Future landscaping projects may include:
LEE STREET ENTRANCE
Install a complete brick or block border around the new raised planting bed and add dirt to low spots.
AXTELL COURT AREA
Install a brick or block semi-circle border around front of area. Fill in low spots with dirt. Clean out unwanted growth.
NEWINGTON GARDENS ENTRANCE
Create a planting mound of soil that slopes outward from center of bed. Large enough for 4 crape myrtles, 50
daffodils, and 25 day lilies. Remove bushes and vines in rear of area. Possibly add palm trees.
THAMES COURT (IN NG)
Clean out unwanted growth and plastic. Create a mulched area in center. Possibly add a couple of benches.
ANNUAL COMMON AREA MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT--Looking for bids ($2,705 was paid for this year’s
agreement).
d. MEMBER CONCERNS. Several member concerns were presented. These will be dealt with by a newly-formed
covenants committee. The concerns identified by homeowners to the Board were:
1. Street parking, parking on sidewalks, RVs & trailers.
2. Unkempt yards.
3. Leaving garbage cans out by street for extended periods, excessive yard debris on the streets.
4. Burning household and yard debris.
5. Draining pools into neighboring yards.
6. Parking in front of driveways (especially behind the schools on Boone Drive)
7. Affixing objects to street and entrance signs.
8. Satellite dishes.
e. ARC/COVENANTS COMMITTEE. Currently, Board members handle all plans and all covenants compliance
matters, as well as covering all the other NPEA matters. NPEA wants to organize a committee to review building
plans and oversee covenants issues. Per the covenants, this committee is limited to no more than seven members. The
following people have volunteered to serve on this committee:
1. Fred Gleffe (Chairperson)
2. Pete Haas (Vice-chairperson)
3. Mike Green
4. Thom Nolan
5. Kent Lee
6. Basil Jones
7. Mark Kelly
8. Lyle Amos (alternate)
9. Ben Hough (alternate)
7. ADJOURNMENT. Adjournment was at 9:25 pm.
RANDY SADLER
NPEA President
NPEA Meeting, 10-22-2007, Page 2