The Official Website of Blairstone Forest located in Tallahassee, Florida.
BFCA teleconference meeting on Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Mike McCrea, President; Llona Geiger, Vice President; Tracie Priest, Director.
Margaret Stephens, Secretary; Ben Clark, Treasurer. Association Members — Fred Willes, Karen Willes, Mario Lopez, Maritza Mousa, Sue Dinges, Virginia Sasser, Frank Roycraft, Charlotte Hicks, Ansel Bubel, Steve Wright, Audrey Johnson.
Guest – Jennifer Porter, City of Tallahassee Utilities
Meeting called to order at 6:00 PM via teleconference on Tuesday, June 2, 2020.
Roll Call
Agenda changes:
Sue Dinges asked to add “presence of alligators” to the Agenda. Maritza Mousa asked to have “speeding” added to the agenda. Mike is adjusting the order as there is a guest from the City of Tallahassee, and we will move the Treasurer’s Report up as Ben has to leave early.
Agenda adopted with changes.
Jennifer Porter, of City of Tallahassee Utilities, provided information on water pressure to address some reports of our water pressure being too high. She shared that there are 27 wells that pump water from the aquifer and 88 tanks storing and releasing water via gravity. Some places have higher pressure because of elevation but building code requires a pressure reducing valve (PRV) to monitor the pressure. Our neighborhood is about 80 ft above sea level and our houses should have a PRV. The city ran a pressure test on our neighborhood for about a week and found the pressure to be around 100-115 psi which is normal. A homeowner’s PRV can wear out though and sometimes need to be replaced. Jennifer said in general their lifespan can be from 5 to 20 years. The device costs around 50-75 dollars plus the cost of a plumber’s labor. Jennifer added that there is an income-based grant available to help with the emergency costs. The information can be found here: https://www.talgov.com/neighborhoodservices/housing-emergrepair.aspx
Fred reported that his house does not have a PRV and his plumber says the recommended pressure is 50 psi. Tracie said her plumbing has burst twice outside her home.
Jennifer’s contact info for further assistance is:
Jennifer Porter
Manager, Water Operations
4505A Springhill Road
Tallahassee, FL 32305
(850) 891-5271
Treasurer’s Report – Ben Clark
Noted expenses were the small bridge: $11,145 and beaver trapper: $2,635
On homeowner’s dues assessments, 16 houses owe 1 year’s dues ($500 each), 1 house owes over $900 and 5 continue to owe > 1000$. Ben will send the details to the board. A discussion followed on how to proceed. Mike shared that the policy has been not to file liens until homeowners owe more that $1000 but suggested a reminder is sent to the 16. Karen suggested that with the pandemic and having 16 this year, the board may consider that it will be a lot worse next year. Mike agreed and all should be evaluated in the budget. Mike motioned that reminders should be sent out. Llona seconded and motion was unanimous.
President’s Report – Mike McCrea
The former ACC Chair, Fern Senra, resigned. Volunteers were asked for and Bill was nominated to chair. He was accepted April 11 and Fern and Bill have been working on the transition. All is complete and now working on revising the form to require a signature. Votes and approvals cannot be done through e-mail anymore.
TPAM completed repairs on fallen tree limbs and fence at Orange Avenue and lights at the entrance sign. Also, replacement parts and a timer were added to the water pump timer. The water pump was managed manually before but now, with the timer, we should not have to manually turn it on or off.
Several beavers were caught and removed. TPAM has been notified of the current alligator. Llona said she contacted Fish and Wildlife about the alligator. They will send the trapper and relocate but do not have a timeframe. Audrey Johnson reported that there were two gators. Audrey also asked if the trees that have fallen into the pond will be trimmed up? Mike said the board decided to leave them as a nice habitat for the turtles and only trees blocking the path will be removed.
ACC report (Bill Walter) – not on the call.
Two requests were approved while Fern was still chair:
1743 Brookside approved to repaint the house
1685 Silverwood approved to apply stain to porches
Fred noted that the ACC requests are supposed to be public so homeowners can have input. Mike did not think so but will check with the lawyer.
Grounds report (Sylvia Ramos) — not on the call.
Discussion of pond path project: Things are moving slowly. The permit application was returned for additional environmental impact information. Mike reached out to Magnolia Engineering to see if they could assist. No response. We did get additional information from the city that permit waiver may be allowed depending on scope/impact.on qualifying for a grant. Mike introduced the idea of breaking up the project with Phase I being the completion of the boardwalk. The permit application could be redone to only include the boardwalk. Mike requested input and people agreed. Llona made a motion to move forward with only the boardwalk and the board unanimously approved.
Discussion of community tree removal: There is a large community pine tree looming over 1724 Silverwood that the board agreed to remove. Sam Hand confirmed this tree was a hazard. The AAA estimate was $3,300 and would use ropes. The timeframe to begin removal was about 3 weeks. Cricket’s estimate was at least $5000, and they would use a large crane and require two more trees to be taken down. Mike motioned to go with AAA and the AAA bid was approved unanimously.
Tracie asked if we could get a sign made indicating this was an approved tree removal and post it during the work. The board agreed and Tracie volunteered to design it. The next tree is a fallen tree into the pond and blocking the pond path near the water pump. AAA’s estimate was $1200. The board voted unanimously to move forward. There was discussion, and general agreement, on cutting a gap so people could walk through while waiting for AAA’s removal. Lastly there is a dead tree near a house on Brookside that needs to come down. The board has yet to receive any bids on removal and did not issue a motion regarding this tree.
Discussion on Board Walk Repair: There is a board with a hole on the big boardwalk about halfway between Silverwood and Brookside. Mike has reached out to TPAM to replace a board or two. Llona put a cone on the board with the hole. There is sloped section of the boardwalk going to the island that is rotting and unstable. Llona moved that the board pursue repairing this section and board approved unanimously. The board will get an estimate.
Other items: The contract with The Lake Doctors, our pond maintenance, is due for renewal, at $206 per month. This amount is unchanged from the current contract. Mike proposed that the contract be renewed, and discussion focused on current pond conditions, notably a blue algae floating on the surface.
Mike explained that recent confusion with the pump led to the pond reaching very low levels, and both green and blue algae were observed as we resumed pumping water from the well to restore pond depth. He reached out to The Lake Doctors, and they adjusted their schedule to observe the pond on Wednesday, June 3.
Ansel Bubel asked about water quality, and whether the pond maintenance technicians were adding nutrient to the pond, as it would cause algae to propagate. Mike advised that the board would inquire to confirm whether this was the case with the technician.
Fred Willes acknowledged that the pump may be adding phosphates to the pond and this makes algae problems worse.
Steve Wright spoke of the blue algae, noting that this is the first time in years that it is present. He expressed concern over the neurological effects, citing professional experience studying similar matters.
With regard to renewing the contract with The Lake Doctors, residents asked to meet with the technician to discuss whether they test water, have experience addressing conditions as our pond currently presents, and that they are not adding to the problem before we renew. (President’s note: Mike, Tracie, Ansel and Steve all were present and discussed the pond condition with the technician on June 3. The pond has a planktonic algae causing the green appearance and is naturally-occurring and beneficial to fish in the pond. Treating this bloom would be harmful to fish, and the technician opposed treating. The blue algae is a limbia and may be treated once the planktonic algae subsides. They do not add nutrient, but rather add nutrient control to limit the propagation of algae in the pond. We can add water testing for additional fees, but the technician confirmed it is likely not necessary and expensive. The technician stated that well water tends to contribute to blue algae growth, as well as more sun on the water surface due to the loss of trees. More vegetation and erosion control would be beneficial. Residents were satisfied at the conclusion, and Mike thanked the technician for speaking with us.) The contract will be renewed.
Beavers/Alligator in Pond: Sue withdrew the request to discuss as the topics were discussed as part of other topics presented earlier.
Speeding: Maritza Mousa spoke to cars speeding, notably the intersection of Brookside and Silverwood. Mike noted that Sylvia Ramos had recently proposed to personally deliver a paper to residents observed driving with excessive speed, and that he had reservations regarding the potential hazards involved.
Discussion by residents agreed that it would be preferable to draft a memo covering general Association principles and covenants for mailing to residents. Mike noted that this could also help with updating contact information in advance of elections and dues notices that will need to be sent later this year. Llona moved that we draft a letter and the motion passed unanimously. Llona volunteered to draft the memo.
Final note: Llona spoke with a former resident (Lynn ???) who had moved away, and recently visited. She was very complimentary on the state of the neighborhood.
Motion to adjourn — Mike moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:22 PM and the motion passed unanimously.