In a few days a contractor hired by the HOA will begin repairing sidewalks and driveway aprons (the portion of the driveway between the sidewalk and the street) throughout the entire community. Almost all the damage being repaired has been caused by tree roots. If a tree on your property has caused damage, please read this carefully to learn how you can act now to avoid having to cover the cost of the repairs. 

Over several years and especially during 2019 and 2020 the Board held several meetings with homeowners to sort out financial responsibility questions for this project, as well as how to best handle the problem with tree roots in the future. After many Ground Committee meetings and Board meetings including lengthy discussions and input from residents, board members and the HOA attorney, it was decided at a Board meeting in April of 2020 that the HOA would cover the cost of repair of all sidewalks that needed it at that time at a cost of $170,000, which is in excess of $162 per homeowner. It was determined during those meetings that more than 80% of the repaired sidewalk sections have been in the exact same location during multiple repairs over the years. 

Due to the chronic repetitive repairs or replacement of sidewalk panels It was made clear to residents verbally at that meeting and several subsequent meetings that in the future, damage caused by tree roots would be the financial responsibility of the homeowner whose property touches the sidewalk or apron being repaired. To help residents, the Board provided a six-month grace period during which residents could remove trees causing damage without having to get the approval of the Architectural Review Board.

In the fall of 2022, over a period of several weeks, staff inspected the entire community for sidewalk and apron damage and a list of needed repairs was compiled.  At the March 6, 2023 meeting, the Board voted to have the necessary repairs done and have the homeowners whose tree caused the damage be responsible for reimbursing the HOA the cost. The Board also determined that, only for this round of repairs, if a homeowner removes the tree causing the damage prior to the repairs being done or within 90 days after, then the HOA will not charge the homeowner for the repairs. 

Some sidewalk sections can be fixed by grinding down the edge of the sections in question. The cost for that will be $150 per section. Some sections will have to be taken out and replaced at a cost of $900 per section. Apron repairs will be priced individually based on the amount of damage. 

We hate to lose trees in the community, but the sidewalks must be maintained so they are safe to walk on and are aesthetically pleasing. 

If you have any questions about this project, your financial responsibility or the removal of trees, please contact Laurie Bihailo, Association Manager, at 407-207-0520 or send your email to lbihailo@accessdifference.com. 

The Board of Directors met at 4:00 p.m. on March 6th to conduct HOA business.  All four current board members (the fifth seat was filled by appointment at that meeting) were in attendance as well as Association Manager Laurie Bihailo, Compliance and ARB Manager Tanner Mews and the HOA lawyer, Jennifer Englert. They were joined via Zoom by 21 homeowners. 

The Board approved an agreement with a General Contractor who will review and provide on-site inspections of homeowner construction projects costing $50,000 or more to ensure that all work on these projects are following the guidelines established in the CC&R’s. This is part of the Construction Policy approved by the Board at the August 2, 2022 meeting.

 A new Exterior Maintenance Policy was also passed by the Board. It reaffirms that the HOA can have work done on the exterior of homes, including landscaping needs, for homeowners who fail to do so after going through the compliance process. A handful of homeowners have inaccurately assumed  in the past that if they receive a fine for a compliance violation and pay it, they don’t have to cure the violation. The HOA CC&R’s, as well as Florida law, have always allowed for the HOA to have the necessary work done and assess the homeowner for the cost plus an administrative charge. This new policy just codifies the procedures for that to occur.

The Board voted to amend the existing Committee Policy by adding language that will automatically remove a committee member if they miss three or more committee meetings in any calendar year. This is especially important for the Compliance Committee as there have been instances in the past where the committee meeting could not be called to order because there was not a quorum. This is not fair to homeowners who have prepared and are in attendance at the meeting. Not being able to call the meeting to order means the homeowners have to reschedule and the HOA staff has to send out new Hearing Notices.

As you may already know, the Board approved the sidewalk and driveway apron repair project, scheduled to begin around the middle of April. The Board reaffirmed that homeowners will be assessed the cost of repairing sidewalks in front of their home, as well as any needed driveway apron repairs, if the damage was caused by a tree at their property. This includes trees in the area between the sidewalk and street in front of or along the side of homes. The Board also agreed,  as a one-time courtesy to homeowners, to not assess the costs of repairs if the homeowner removes the tree which caused the damage before the work begins or within 90 days of that date.  

Four homeowners had completed the proper required paperwork and asked to be on the agenda for the Board to consider reversing fines previously assessed to them after the Compliance Committee had agreed to the fines. Two of these requests were denied by the Board and two were tabled until the next Board meeting at the request of the homeowner. 

Also, homeowner Bert Pearsall was appointed to fill the one open seat in the HOA Board. Two homeowners spoke and the meeting was adjourned at 5:13 p.m.

The community’s observation dock was recently subjected to acts of vandalism totaling
$10,000 in damages and we need your help identifying the responsible parties.  

On the evening of April 14, a Friday, at approximately 5:55 p.m., three young males riding a motorized  bike and a scooter caused  burn marks along the dock walkout as well as on the observation deck. This was done intentionally by “burning rubber”, or riding very fast on the deck causing the rubber in the bikes and scooters to heat up, thus leaving rubber imprints throughout and damaging the dock boards. At least 70 boards were affected which will require the custom-made benches to be taken out and reinstalled in order to fix them. Total costs could exceed $10,000.

These individuals  also climbed on the roof of the shelter on the dock, which creates a significant safety and liability issue which we must guard against. They  appear to be the same group that has been pulling doggie bags from the pet waste stations, playing ding-dong-ditch, removing items from residents’ front yards, and driving motor bikes recklessly throughout the NSLH communities and along the Boulevard.  

Footage of the events has been  handed over to the Orange County Sheriff Office. Per our videos, the descriptions of the alleged perpetrators are:

• Male 1: Appears to be approximately 6′ tall, Caucasian or Hispanic, short black hair and wearing a red and black baseball cap with a Cincinnati red logo, tie-dyed blue, purple and black Hollister t-shirt and black shorts. He was driving a black sitting scooter with silver shocks in the front.  
• Male 2: Appears to be approximately 5’8″ tall, Caucasian or Hispanic, buzzed-cut black hair and wearing a navy blue LNYS Heroes Lacrosse t-shirt and black shorts. He was driving a black miniature dirt bike with silver front shocks with a blue/green race plate on the front with the racing #199. 
• Male 3:  Appears to be Caucasian and was not riding a motorized vehicle, He does not appear to have gone on the roof. He seems to be approximately 5’8″ tall with shoulder length dark brown hair.  He was wearing a gray Nike crew neck sweatshirt and navy blue shorts. 

In an effort to not hold members of the HOA responsible for these damages by using your assessments to pay for these repairs, we are looking for the community to help identify the alleged perpetrators. If you are aware of who they are, please contact the HOA in person, by phone calling 407-207-0520 or by emailing lbihailo@accessdifference.com.  

Your tips and information can remain anonymous.

By now,  homeowners have received an Annual Meeting packet sent out by staff. It includes:

1.  The 2nd Notice for the meeting
2.  An agenda listing the topics of business for the meeting 
3.  An Absentee Ballot listing the names of the qualified candidates hoping to get elected to the Board
4. A Proxy that will allow each homeowner who can’t attend the meeting in person to count toward quorum and giving someone else the right to vote on items of business (other than the election of board members)
5. A Ballot Envelope that you will need to seal after you put the Ballot in it to be mailed back to or hand delivered to the HOA office and a Return Envelope that you will put the executed Proxy and Ballot Envelope in to return to the HOA office

The meeting is scheduled to be called to order at 5:00 p.m. on May 2nd. If there is a quorum, which is defined in the Bylaws as 15% of the voting membership (around 157 homeowners), then the ballot envelopes will be opened and counted to determine who will be seated in the open seat. If quorum is not reached then the current person occupying that seat will continue to serve. Each homeowner (one per property) can count toward quorum by attending the meeting in person by sending in (or delivering in person) a completed Proxy.  You may attend the meeting by Zoom, but you must send in your proxy if unable to attend in person to be counted toward quorum. 

We are fortunate to have multiple candidates running for the open seat and willing to serve a three-year term if elected. Being on the Board is a tremendous responsibility. It requires a serious dedication and a willingness to spend a lot of personal time volunteering for the HOA. The Board carries out all of the duties assigned to them  by the Association Governing Documents including the Charter, Bylaws and CC&R’s (Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions).  

Mark your calendars to attend the  May 2nd meeting at 5:00 p.m. Be there!

The audit of the HOA’s 2022 Financial Statements has begun. We are required by state law to have this audit performed each year.

The audit will be carried out by CPAs who works for BDO USA, a prestigious independent accounting, auditing, tax and consulting firm with national and international reach. The audit examines all aspects of the financial statements as well as the financial condition of the HOA. It  will  include an opinion letter signed by a BDO partner, various financial statements, schedules and footnotes explaining HOA accounting policies and important items concerning the financial condition of the HOA. 

You can look on the official website of the HOA at northshoreatlakeharthoa.com to find audited financial statements beginning with the 2016 audit.

As soon as the audit is complete, BDO will prepare the annual tax return, a legal  requirement for all corporations including HOAs. There is a lot of work on-site staff members and Access Management personnel will do, as well as the HOA Treasurer, in order  to assist the audit team with everything they request. This extensive audit is a valuable service to all homeowners and indispensable to maintain and strengthen transparency in everything we do as a community.

It is infrastructure projects galore at North Shore!

Our staff has been very busy and spent countless hours the past several months getting these projects underway. Here’s a recap of several of the projects that have already  started or about to start: 

WATER AND ELECTRIC LINES AT THE DOCK – This project began in 2022 at the end of the Mallard Landings neighborhood, where the dock is. The water and electricity are needed so that our staff can power wash the walkout and observation deck on a regular basis, which will eliminate the significant expense of having these done by outside vendors. Electricity will also give the HOA options regarding  future lighting on the walkout and deck. The project has been ongoing for several months due to the time it takes to obtain permitting from Orange County and have meters installed by the utility companies involved. We are nearing the end of the project and expect to have it completed by the end of May.

SIDEWALK REPAIRS – Over the last three months Laurie and Irving have inspected all residential and HOA Common Area sidewalks as well as all residential driveway aprons noting areas that are in need of repair. These  may be in the form of grinding down an edge or removing and replacing complete sections of sidewalks and aprons. Please see the accompanying article in this newsletter about the financial responsibilities of these repairs. The Board reviewed several bids and chose a vendor at the March 6th meeting. Work should begin this month.

RAMP REPAIRS – As a result of the recent engineering study, Irving inspected all curbs and sidewalk ramps throughout North Shore, including The Verandas, to identify those needing repairs. Laurie has requested an estimate from the contractor secured to do the sidewalk repairs.  Once received, if acceptable, it will be considered at a future Board meeting so we can get that project underway.

STORM DRAIN REPAIRS – Also as a result of the engineering study, Irving inspected all 125  storm drains throughout the community  looking for damage to  the concrete (often caused by heavy trucks running over them or by shifting sand underneath) and drains that may have sunk resulting in improper drainage. Laurie is in the process of compiling the details that need to be sent to the contractor we use for this type of work. As soon as we receive a bid back it will be considered by the  Board..

STORM DRAIN CLEANOUT – These will be inspected to determine which ones need to be cleared of trash and debris. The engineers doing the study spot checked a sample and told us that several contained trash such as cans and bottles,  yard clippings and landscape trimmings, which could slow down the rate of drainage during heavy storms. 

SPRINKLER SYSTEM RELOCATION AREAS – You may have recently noticed some major dirt work being done in two locations along North Shore Golf Course Boulevard. There has been a project on the island in the middle of the Blvd. located between Heron Point and Osprey Landing and a second project along the trees on the Blvd. half way between the Autumn Creek gate and Kirby Smith Road. Because tree roots had done so much damage to the sprinkler lines in those two areas, Servello (our landscape contractor) recommended that we move the lines in those areas away from the trees. It took some heavy machinery to dig up the old lines and dig new trenches to put new lines down. This project is just about completed and should result in fewer future repairs.

MALLARD LANDINGS RETENTION POND SKIMMER REPAIR – One of the Mallard Landings retention ponds (the one you can see from the Blvd. in between Mallard Landings gate and Kirby Smith Road recently needed some maintenance work done on the pond skimmer at the pond drain. This was spotted by staff, during their regular and frequent inspections of these areas. 

POWER WASHING AND SEALING OF THE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE, WALKOUT AND OBSERVATION DECK – Because  permitting to install water and electric at the dock has taken so long, a contractor was hired to power wash and seal the pedestrian bridge, walkout and observation deck. The contractor also repaired damages in this area caused by vandalism since 2021. This included repairing the gate to the walkout that someone recently vandalized while apparently trying to steal it. The gate weighs over 300 pounds so it is likely that it took more than one person to attempt this. While they didn’t succeed, they did quite a bit of damage to it. All repairs have been completed and the bridge, walkout and deck have been power washed and sealed. It looks great. To prevent this from happening again, cameras have been installed in  that area. 

SOFTBALL FIELD – The softball field is now completed. A new backstop was installed as well as new netting down the first base line, new bases and pitcher’s mound. Weeds were cleared and Benny drags the infield almost every day Monday- Friday to keep a smooth surface and keep them  from coming back. 

These type projects are not always obvious  to residents, but they are extremely necessary. They are time consuming for the staff and expensive for the HOA but keeping the infrastructure repaired and functioning properly is paramount.  The next time you see Irving or Benny out in the community or the next time you stop by the clubhouse, take a minute to thank the staff.  Together with the Board, they work very diligently to keep North Shore in tiptop condition.