Santa came to Centennial Commons on Dec. 8 and so did many children and adults with cameras! Over 60 people attended and by appearances, everyone had a great time except for a few toddlers who weren’t real thrilled with Santa! A couple of tables were set up for the children to do crafts and a table of sweet snacks and drinks were close by. Thanks to Elaine Drake and her social team for planning and running the program. If you’re interested in joining the social team, contact Elaine through her HOA email @ cchoasoc@gmail.com
2019 is coming to a close and overall it has been a very good year for the community. Financially we are in good shape for many years to come barring any type of catastrophe. We had many volunteers step up and help us throughout the year which makes the Directors work much more manageable and enjoyable. Speaking of those interactions I personally have met some nice, hardworking residents who I might not have met if not for this HOA position. I feel blessed for those opportunities.
I would be remiss if I didn’t reach out to all of you once more to consider a position for the Board. We have a ballot of four volunteers currently. Our covenants say we need 5 and the work distribution quantifies a 5 director Board. Please contact us if you find you can provide that help to your community.
As the year closes I do wish everyone good health, wealth, family and brotherly love for now and the future. Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a joyous New Year. Thanks to all of you that support us and provide us with constructive feedback.
Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of the letter and the information in it. We try to provide our homeowners who cannot make it to the open meetings the information they need to keep abreast of the activities that they pay for.
Thanks for reading,
Don Roach, President
News in the Neighborhood
Time To Think About Being A Board Member
The Board will be losing two very special people this year, Kathy Andregg, Landscaping Director, and Cindi Endsley, ACC Director. We need to have 5 directors so I’m asking and begging some of you to step up and help the community. We have help from many residents as volunteers but we need one more full-time director help now. We will try to find a fit for your skills so you will be comfortable.
Upcoming Social Events
New Year’s Eve Casino Party – Dec. 31, 2019, 7:30 pm
The White Tie vendor will be hosting our New Year’s Eve party for the second year in a row. We plan on having 4 black Jack tables up and running between 7:30 to 10:30 PM. The clubhouse will open at 7 PM for residents to arrive. A $5 per person charge will be collected at the door. We ask you to bring your drink of choice and a snack dish to share. The HOA will provide ice and ham plus paper plates and plastic ware. The casino event will end at 10:30 PM, and then prizes for the top two money winners and a raffle drawing for gifts will be held. Then we will watch the ball drop and have a toast for the new year with some fellowship immediately afterward. The festivities will end promptly at 12:30 AM.
Bunco Night – Jan. 11, 2020, 6:30 pm
Bunco is a dice game that is fun and easy to play. Bring $5 per person, a snack dish to share and your drink of choice. We have a social half-hour between 6:30 and 7 to meet and greet. The game usually lasts from 7 to 9 or 9:30 dependent on the crowd. Come meet your neighbors.
Game Day for the Ladies – Jan. 23, 2020, 12 pm (noon)
Elaine Drake, Social Leader, sets up a day once a month (Thursday usually) for the ladies to get together to chat and play games. Elaine normally posts the dates, times and particulars on Facebook. Watch the calendar on our website and Facebook for the next date. As info Jan. 23, 2020 is the next date at noon.
Attention All Homeowners who Decorated Their Homes for the Holidays
The Social Committee for the first year will be having a contest for the best Holiday decorated home. There will be a $50.00 Home Depot gift card to the winner. The social committee will decide among all the participating sub-division homes.
We will post the winner on the community bulletin board, Facebook Post and this newsletter. Good Luck!
Reminder
Please do not call Kathy Andregg for landscaping issues after the first of the year. All landscaping issues will be submitted to our email centennialcommoner@yahoo.com We will then forward to the 4 Seasons managers for attention and remediate action.
Annual Board Meeting Date – Jan. 20, 2020
January 20 will be our annual vote and meeting date. The clubhouse will be open from 8 AM to 6:45 PM to accept proxies from residents that didn’t send them via mail or drop them off at the HOA mailbox. We will have copies of the proxy there if you lost yours.
Annual Meeting Format
Just a reminder the annual meeting is an election meeting and usual Board business will not be done. The ballots will be counted by CMA and volunteers to determine first if we have a quorum and if so then we can continue with the election of Board members. Last year we had a Q&A session during the count of the ballots. Once the new Board is presented to the attendees the meeting will adjourn and the new Board will hold a brief executive session and determine the officer holders (President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary). After which the responsibilities will be assigned (Landscaping, Amenities, Social and ACC).
New Webpage
A new webpage will be on our site before the year is out. Our Secretary Shirley Cox is working with Tracy Gibson to finalize this important resident page. Included on this page will be information on how to file a complaint with CMA or Cobb County and important phone numbers. Thank you, ladies, for your efforts in this project!
New Volunteer
Colin Ferguson has volunteered to be our communications person who will help the Board with issues that require interactions with city, county, state and police personnel, just to name a few.
We welcome Colin who has plenty of background and expertise in many issues that seem to affect our small area of Cobb and Cherokee counties. If you have an issue that you are not sure which way to go you can reach him by using our email centennialcommoner@yahoo.com We will forward the inquiry to Colin and he can address it with you. Thank you Colin!
Financial Information
Monthly fees will stay at the current amount of $87.50 for 2020. Remember you have to get your payment in by the 10th of every month or expect a $10 late fee. Our current income and costs for Nov. 30, 2019, are as follows:
Total Equity $473,582.73 of which includes Operating, Reserve, high-interest cash and a CD of $100 K.
Expenses $258,094.77
Admin – $34,742.61 – that is 13.5% of our budget costs, inclusive of legal fees and legal income
Landscaping – $145,836 – that is 56.5% of our budget costs, inclusive of aeration and pine-straw distribution
Recreation – $30,703 – that is 12% of our budget costs
Repairs & Mtce – $36,000 – that is 14% of our budget costs, inclusive of reserve spending
Utilities – $10779 – that is 4% of our budget costs
We plan on purchasing 2 to 3 CD’s of $100,000 in January of 2020 to increase our interest income.
Other News
Replacing the Spin Bike
The new spin bike is operational at the fitness room. Enjoy! The old bike was sold to a resident and the money was deposited in the general fund.
Rental Homes
We have 38 homes being rented in the community. 17 homes are owned by LLC and 21 are owned by non-LLC owners. Our maximum allowed rentals are 45 homes. Once we reach that maximum number, no more homes will be allowed to rent unless they can show hardship to the Board.
In Case You Missed It…
Bike Rack
If you haven’t noticed, we had a bike rack installed at the tennis court by the walkway to the playground. This will eliminate bikes or other wheeled items from being stored in the breezeway. Remember to lock your stuff at the rack to prevent theft.
Roofs
As I’m sure you’re aware of we’ve had problems with the roofing shingles that the original builder installed. Many residents have replaced theirs but there are many more homes that may need it to be done. The insurance companies and roofers are well aware of our issues so be careful with both. Review your insurance contract yearly as some insurance companies are writing in a different coverage for roofs that may raise your deductible for a replacement. Others are insisting on partial replacements (that most likely would be unacceptable to the HOA) or temporary repairs until what time the roof runs out of life and or they will only pay a small portion of the cost. Also, be very careful of whom you hire as some of these companies go out of business within one or two years and who would you go back against for poor workmanship if they no longer exist.
Tennis Court Usage
The tennis courts are made for playing tennis and pickleball. Any other activities can result in damage to the courts, nets, and fencing. Skateboarding and roller blades will result in damage to the surface. Additionally, proper footwear is required to protect the surface and the user. The costs to maintain the courts are in the thousands and therefore we need to follow the procedures for playing at the courts. Please respect this amenity.
Dog Feces
We have received many complaints regarding homeowners who walk their dogs and do not pick up after their dog. The residents have asked us to do something about this. As much as we agree that this is a very inconsiderate action, neither the board nor CMA has any recourse to this action without specific information.
In order to notify CMA to issue a violation, we must have either the dog owner’s name and/or address. Also, if possible take a photo and include it, It would be helpful. Just a photo by itself, without any other information, renders us helpless to pursue the homeowner. All names of those filing a complaint are kept completely confidential as we protect the privacy of our homeowners.
Parking
The covenants prohibit parking on the street. Consistent violators will be fined. Also if you’re unavailable to move your car at any time you are in violation of the fire code and could be ticketed according to Cobb County Police. Our streets are too narrow to allow parking in the street. If you need to park your car short term, try to park on one (right) side of the street. Don’t create a blockage (where two vehicles are face to face) on the road and be mindful of your neighbor’s ability to get out of their driveway.
Homeowners Must Be Present with any Visitors Using the Amenities
If you or your family bring or allows visitors to use the HOA amenities, some adults from your household must be with them continuously while they are using the amenities. We have had numerous occasions of visitors who are unaware of our rules and become offended when we tell them to follow the rules and procedures. Please help us with this issue.
Facebook Page
Our Facebook page is the best and fastest way to get immediate information regarding the subdivision, i.e.; looking for recommendations on home issues, posting events in the community, lost dogs, found dogs, and yes, even our recent bear sighting! If you have not already done so, please go to CCHOA in Acworth on Facebook and ask to join the group. We need to remind homeowners that this page is not somewhere to post a personal grievance that you feel the board should handle. The board does not handle the CCHOA business via FB. If you want the board to act on a complaint, make sure to send an email to centennialcommoner@yahoo.com. Your email will be forwarded to the proper person to handle. (Make sure to take the time to read the conduct policy regarding all posts.)
The other way to get information is to join our email list. You are getting this because we have your email information and can send you important information quickly. If your neighbor doesn’t know why they are not getting this, it’s because the Secretary, Shirley Cox, does not have their info. Tell them to drop her a line at shirleycchoa@gmail.com. And she will add you to our community email list.
Thanks for reading!
Don Roach, President and the Board of Centennial Commons, Directors, Kathy Andregg, Landscape, Chuck Whitaker, Amenities, Cindi Endsley, ACC Coordinator and Shirley Cox, Secretary