NATCHEZ TRACE VILLAGE PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION Post Office Box 178 Madison, MS 39130 ntvillagel97S@gmail.com May 14, 2019 May Report & Update Dear Members: Welcome New Neighbors. We have many new property owners since last year. Welcome to the Village! If you need to do any construction, remodeling, or have any problems or questions about your membership, please direct them to the Board. Our Covenants and Charter dictates our purpose which is to protect our property values by formulating and enforcing rules and regulations which enhance the beneficial use and contribute to the safety and beauty of our properties. Consequently, our Property Owners Association is not a social club. We don’t host parties, sponsor floats in local parades, or participate in the local politics, but we do have committees for that! Announcing new board members. Consistent with our By-Laws, the Board has elected Paul Hudson and Willie Horne to fill the vacant positions created by the resignations of 2 members. Each new member has graciously agreed to serve until the conclusion of the 2019 election for the Board of Governors. In that regard, a lot of misinformation is being circulated by the same group who misinformed you last year. You can verify the facts yourself by referring to our Protective Covenants and By-laws, the ones still in effect and published for the last 44 years. Facts. 1) There are no board members whose terms have expired and there are five members legally serving on the Board. Terms do not expire in-between the Annual Meetings (see Covenant 10. and Article III C. of By-Laws). 2) You must be in good standing and current on your dues and fees to vote on Association issues, to vote at the Annual Meeting, or to be elected and serve on the Board of Governors (Article V. of the By-Laws). The 2019 maintenance fee hasn't changed, it is still just $150 per year per lot. 3) There is only one (1) vote per lot and only the owner has the right to vote. If a lot has more than 1 owner, said owners shall be entitled to only one (1) vote (Covenant 10). Household members and residents who are not owners are not entitled to vote. Mississippi is a “Common Law” state, and not a “Community Property” state. Your name must be on the property deed to be an owner.May 14, 2019 Page 2 2019 Special Committee. In response to recent suggestions from various members of the Association, and pursuant to Article IV. and Article VID. of the By-laws , the Board voted to reconsider its method for the nomination of the candidates for election to the Board of Governors. The Board shall appoint a Special Committee whose purpose will be to solicit eligible candidates from the general membership by issuing a “Call for Candidates” for the 2019 election. ‘The eligibility of any candidate submitting his/her name shall be consistent with the established guidelines and qualifications and shall be recommended by the Committee and confirmed by the board of Governors. The names of all such eligible candidates shall be placed on the 2019 ballot for the election of Governors. The Committee shall recommend and the Board shall establish such reasonable period of time for the Call for Candidates to be open and the date when such call shall close and the qualifying period for candidates shall cease. After the Committee issues its “Call for Candidates”, a timetable for the election may be established. Storm water drainage problems. Since we have had such a wet winter and spring, several residents have complained of storm water drainage problems. It seems the 3-5 “ increase in elevation created by the recent resurfacing of our roads may be redirecting storm water. The runoff that used to flow across the roads in certain places now flows into overloaded culverts and shallow ditches. ‘The Board is requesting a meeting with the City to discuss this problem as well as to request adding some striping to the edges of our roads where there are no shoulders with a sharp drop-off. Mowing grass next to the street in these areas is a big problem. C Spire construction. The construction started at the entrance on Arapaho Lane is progressing slowly with only minimal problems. Work in now underway on Village Drive. So far, the contractor has coordinated needed repairs with the other utilities and promises to replace or restore any damages to our entrances and your yards. Let us know if you have a problem. New City of Madison Ordinance. On December 4, 2018, the City of Madison adopted select portions of the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code. ‘The NTV Board of Governors have read this document thoroughly and have some real concerns. ‘The state of upkeep of your property is the principal aim of this code, but the parts adopted by the City are far stricter than our own covenants. If shrubs, trees, flower beds, grass or your grounds are deemed by the City to be out of compliance, you can be given a citation by the code enforcement officer. How- ever, no specific standards of upkeep have been defined. Without definitions laid out in writing, the standards and fines are solely up to the discretion of the code enforcement officer. There is no stated amount of fines published in the code and it appears that fines may be capriciously determined.May 14, 2019 Page 3 Under Section 302.8.2, you are no longer allowed to park your boats, work trailers, travel trailers or RVs in your driveway. In order to park these in your drive, you are required to obtain a letter from the POA (City’s requirement, not ours), submit it to the Permit Office, apply for an overnight parking permit, and pay the fee associated with this permit. Unless you have actual driveway space, you are not allowed to park it at all. Most concerning is the deletion by the City of your right to appeal a citation. As it stands in the altered form you have no right to appeal should you be cited for an infraction. In short, the adoption of this altered IPMC strips the power away from HOA’s to regulate themselves and does so in an arbitrary way. ‘The Board believes that the Maintenance Code adopted by the City is a good idea as a way to hold owners of derelict properties accountable, but portions of this Ordinance overreach homeowner associations and their authority to police themselves and should be repealed. The Board is working to address these concerns with our Alderman and the City of Madison. You can view the new code at w.madisonthecity.com/code-enforcement. More details later. Lake Remediation Agreement. The Board is scheduling an important meeting with the affected property owners residing in the South Finger of the Lake to discuss the status and recent developments regarding the Lake Remediation Agreement. These property owners will be receiving their meeting notice shortly and are requested to RSVP to expedite. This meeting will be reported at the Annual Meeting. Use of Lakes. When you purchased property that is subject to the Protective Covenants of Natchez Trace Village, you paid for and acquired a perpetual right to access the lakes. If you are having any problem accessing the Lakes, please contact the owners. Update on Appeal to MS Supreme Court. In March of 2018, the NTVPOA Board advised NTV Property Owners that it voted to appeal the Madison County Chancery Court's 2-20-2018 Opinion and Judgment with the stipulation that expenses related to the Appeal be paid by someone other than NTVPOA, Inc. The Board further advised that no NTVPOA, Inc. maintenance fees or any other monies would be used to pay for the Appeal. ‘The Appeal has been fully briefed and is now in a posture to be adjudicated by the Mississippi Supreme Court. No maintenance fees or any other NTVPOA, Inc. monies have been used to pay for this Appeal. Remediation Funds in the amount of $153,258.00 obtained from Rice Road, LLC pursuant to the May 14,