January 2009

12.18.2008 Board Meeting Minutes (PDF)

Approximately 75 residents attended last night’s special meeting where the GHPOA board of directors voted to not pursue the purchase of the Geist Clubhouse property for the last time.

Residents of GHPOA were mailed a letter earlier this month asking for their feedback on whether or not the 2,380 member association should pursue the purchase of the Geist Clubhouse facility and accompanying 10+ acres. In the letter, residents were informed that the purchase of the facilities would entail a special assessment of “approximately $300 per lot owner” plus a dues increase and possible future assessments to cover the ongoing costs associated with running and maintaining a clubhouse.

Included with the letter was a “Geist Harbours Recreational Facilities” information sheet which was jointly prepared by the proponents and opponents of the purchase.

From the 12 neighborhoods, 1,348 votes were cast which equates to 56.6% of all the homeowners. Of those 1,348 votes, 882 residents voted against the purchase of the Clubhouse (67%) compared to only 435 residents that voted for the purchase (33%). Thirty-one feedback forms were returned and deemed invalid.

If you break out the vote by neighborhood, the vote to pursue the purchase carried in the Admirals (Woods, Pointe, Sound, and Bay) while the other neighborhoods all voted against the purchase (Crossing South, Diamond Pointe, Feather Cove I, II, and III, Masthead I and II, and Beam Reach). Directors voted in line with their individual neighborhoods with the exception of Jonathan West of Admirals Sound and William Longardner of Diamond Pointe who was not present. West cited that he was voting in line with the popular vote of all residents when questioned by an audience member.

By subdivision, here is how the votes came in from the feedback response forms:

Clubhouse Vote Summary (PDF)

Thanks to the efforts of our city Councilor Ginny Cain, she and Jonathan West, President of the GHPOA, met with Larry Jones and Warner Anderson , the lead engineers for the Department of Public Works for the city of Indianapolis. The GHPOA Board members representing neighborhoods in Indianapolis have jointly established a long-term paving prioritization schedule for streets in our neighborhoods. The plan was established based on current street conditions and traffic utilization. This priority list was presented to the city officials at a meeting held on January 12, 2009 in the Public Works office.

Most of the GHPOA streets were originally installed in the early 1990s and are nearing the end of their useful life. With Ginny Cain’s help, one of the older, high traffic streets in Beam Reach was paved in 2008 as the first of this long-term project. City officials cautioned the budgets are extremely tight but are appreciative the GHPOA Board was able to provide a priority list. They also discussed the long-term need to consider improvements to the 79th/82nd Street corridor to Hague Road.

With budget resources being tight in Indianapolis, GHPOA President West believes the plan to repave GHPOA streets will take years; however the meeting is a good first step to build their awareness of the repaving needs of the GHPOA community.

With the onset of pothole season, neighbors are encouraged to report potholes to their GHPOA Board members. The city officials also noted the Mayor’s Action Line is in the process of being upgraded to allow more prompt reporting of potholes.

Jonathan West was re-elected to represent Admirals Sound on the GHPOA Board of Directors for 2009. Congratulations and thank you Jonathan!