Rory Clark, President
Gary Cammarata, Vice President
Rob Sheppard, Treasurer
Al Sheffield, Director
Eric Arnold, Secretary

Moon Shadows Property Owners’ Association Annual Meeting: Lakelands Country Club; Thursday, April 26; 7:00 p.m.

Please attend the Thursday, April 26 Annual Association Meeting at Lakelands Country Club, 8760 Chilson Rd., Brighton, Michigan, across from Winans Lake.

We will discuss completed projects and planned projects for our community. Our financials will also be presented.

Provided we have a quorum, we will vote on Board members. Remember, we must have a valid DVR form on file for your lot to allow your vote. A DVR form can be printed from our website and submitted at the meeting. Please include all required signatures.

Our Annual Meetings provide an opportunity to meet your neighbors as well as your Board Members. You can also express your concerns and suggestions for assuring our community is a place you’re proud to call home.

Annual Dues Are Due April 1

Annual dues are essential to assuring a beautiful and well-maintained community and are due April 1st every year. Dues are $610.00 and should be mailed to the following address:

Moon Shadows Property Owners Association
P.O. Box 251
Pinckney, MI 48169.

Late dues (received after April 1) will be assessed a 7% late fee retroactive to January 1, so please mail yours in time to be received no later than April 1. Please note that we regret having had to file liens and lawsuits on lots with outstanding balances. We encourage residents with outstanding balances to contact rob@moonshadowshoa.org to set up a payment plan to avoid legal proceedings.

Calendar

Amy Arnold has generously volunteered to chair the Easter Egg Hunt this year. Thank you, Amy! If you can help Amy with this event, please call her at (734) 878-0142. Thank you also to Amy Powers, who has volunteered to chair the 4th of July party. This is a big event, and Amy will appreciate all volunteers. Please contact her at akhpowers@hotmail.com. Watch for details at the entrance as these events get closer.

Road Fund

The present Board of Directors considers the entire “Investment Account” as the MSPOA Road Fund. In other words, the present Board has earmarked all funds in our investment account, along with targeted annual deposits, to be applied toward replacement of our roads. However, please note that annual deposits are dependent on funds required to repair/and or replace sections of the roads annually. Funding for needed annual road repairs may reduce targeted 13% deposits to our road fund. Our hope is that through annual repairs, we won’t have to replace all of the roads at one time later. We will discuss the Road Fund at the Annual Meeting to determine we are meeting the needs of our residents. Your participation in this important discussion will be appreciated.

Please Consider This…

Curb and Yard Maintenance: Please clear your grass clippings, leaves, twigs, etc. from the curbs. Curb maintenance is the homeowner’s responsibility. If a drain is in front of your lot, please keep it clear. Not maintaining curbs leads to blocked drains. Blocked drains then cause road problems and will contribute to increased maintenance cost and decreased life of our roads. Please look around; many of our drains are covered with debris. Dead trees are becoming an issue as well. If you have dead trees, they need to be removed. They’re a safety risk as well as unsightly.

Fertilization: Use phosphorus-free fertilizer only. As of January 1, 2012, the State of Michigan requires that all fertilizer be phosphorus free. Use of anything other than phosphorus-free fertilizer causes weed growth in our lake and ponds.

Community Directory: Our Community Directory needs to be updated. Tracy Schultz has offered to distribute forms to gather your information. When you receive the form, please complete it and return it ASAP. We will attempt to create a password-protected, on-line directory.

Volunteers Needed: We always need volunteers. If you would be willing to initiate and chair a committee, please contact Rory Clark, rory@moonshadowshoa.org or 810-333-2746. Your Board is pleased to serve the community, but we can’t do it all ourselves. Your input and participation are requested.

Movies at the Beach: “Movies at the Beach” was a nice community activity when it started a couple years ago. To continue Movies at the Beach, we need volunteers. Please let Rory know if you can chair these fun evenings.

Community Teams: In the past, we’ve had both volleyball teams and horseshoe teams competing weekly. We encourage your participation. Horseshoe competition is scheduled to begin again in May. Watch for specifics at the entrance.

Goose Round Up

Goose Round-Up is scheduled for Father’s Day, June 17, at 6:00 a.m. Please watch for announcements at the entrance to our subdivision. The geese population has exploded in the last year, and we will need to address the issue again this year to keep our beach and yards clean and safe to use.

RLPOA

All residents of Moon Shadows Property Owners’ Association are also members of Rush Lake Property Owners’ Association. Please stay informed about RLPOA by attending their meetings and voting on important issues. Their Board of Directors’ meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. and are open to all Association members. Their Bi-Annual meetings are held in May and November. Watch for mailings. All meetings are held at the Hamburg Township Senior Center.

Woof Woof

On October 18, 2011, James A. Neilson, Hamburg Township Clerk, signed approval of Ordinance No. 87, “Domestic Animal Control Ordinance.” Among the requirements of this ordinance is control of barking dogs. The ordinance states, “All persons are prohibited from harboring or keeping any dog or other domestic animal, which by loud, frequent, or habitual barking, yelping, howling, or crying causes an annoyance or disturbance of the peace of any person or neighborhood.” We realize all dogs bark, but the barking should not cause our neighbors undue annoyance or concern. It’s our responsibility!

Architectural Form

Architectural Request forms are required for all improvements, including landscaping. Failure to get prior approval may delay projects and/or result in fines or penalties. Please make your project description specific. Include drawings and specifications, location of house on site, dimensions of project, list of materials, descriptions and samples of materials, color samples (paint chip, etc.), and estimated completion date. To submit electronically, visit www.moonshadowshoa.org/architectural-request-form/ Choose option 1 or 2 to submit. To submit hard copy, complete the form and mail to MSORL, P.O. Box 251, Pinckney, MI 48169.

And Speaking of Improvements

Last year, we asked everyone to take a look at their homes and their property. Have you taken time to do that? In some cases, we’re sorry to say, it appears it hasn’t happened. Our home values are affected by many factors. Among those is the maintenance of our neighbors’ properties. Some of the homes in our subdivision need paint badly. Several yards are not maintained properly. Our homes are an important investment. Home values have plummeted because of a bad economy. Let’s not worsen an already bad situation. Make it a priority to paint, to maintain, to help assure a beautiful place to live.

Speed Limit 25

Please remember to drive safely.
The Hamburg Township Police patrol our neighborhood to assure we obey posted signage. Our children are our first priority!

Joey Thorington

Thank you to Joey Thorington, who so generously served as a member of our Board as Secretary. Joey’s professional and personal responsibilities made it difficult to continue his Board responsibilities; and as a result, he recently resigned. We are very sorry to have lost Joey’s participation and hope, someday, he will return to serve our community as a Board member.

We are pleased to announce that Eric Arnold agreed to replace Joey as secretary. Welcome to the Board, Eric!

• There are only 6 major holidays that we observe each year.
• In order for pick-up to be delayed, the actual holiday must fall on a weekday (Mon-Fri).
• If the holiday falls on the weekend (Sat-Sun), there will be NO delay in your pick-up.
• Please review the detailed pick-up schedule to see if your service will be delayed during the holidays.

2012 Schedule: Trash, Recycle, & Yard Waste

• There are only 6 major holidays that we observe each year.
• In order for pick-up to be delayed, the actual holiday must fall on a weekday (Mon-Fri).
• If the holiday falls on the weekend (Sat-Sun), there will be NO delay in your pick-up.
• Please review the detailed pick-up schedule to see if your service will be delayed during the holidays.

2011 SCHEDULE: Trash, Recycle, & Yard Waste

Please contact Monroes Office at 734-213-6755 if you have further questions about the holiday pick-up schedule.

The Permit we obtained 4 years ago for this extremely successful project will not be valid in 2011. Some rules and requirements have changed (ie. Nest removal and egg destruction is mandatory now). We need to obtain signatures from 70% of Rush Lake lakefront property owners, as we did 4 years ago. It is extremely important that we get this done or there will be no Goose Round Up in 2011. We need help.

Download and view the Canada Goose Permit (.pdf download 1.18mb)

A crew of us went door to door last week (Thanks to Mike Getsoian, Rick Conlin, Ken Powers, Jack Powers, Courtney Clark and the other usual suspects). We obtained about 40-50 signatures so far.

We still need:

1. Approximately 50 more door-to-door attempts;
2. Approximately 50 letters (and envelopes stuffed) to be mailed to summer cottage owners at their winter mailing address; and some phone calls to be made in follow-up to “1″ and “2″ above.
3. Number “1″ above needs to be done now. Numbers “2″ & “3″ above need to be done over the next month, and can be done with flexibility from your home. We have all the materials and forms you will need, and will provide you with all the necessary information. It is easy, but just a little bit of time consuming.

IF you can HELP, please reply.
Thanks!!
-Moon Shadows Board of Directors

PS: Please feel free to forward this to any of your neighbors, or to recruit any of your children (over 18 years).

Rory Clark

The system is designed to deprive undesirable weeds of sunlight for thirty days, after which the weeds will die and be gone for the season. After repeated use for several years, the weeds may cease growing each spring entirely. For more information, visit www.lakebottomblanket.com. We will install them sooner in the season next year (May) in order to have them fully removed by July.
Rory Clark - rory@moonshadowshoa.org

• Starting: Tuesday June 3rd
• Time: 6:30pm
• Location: The Beach

Come join your neighbors down at the beach for some friendly horseshoes. No need to reserve a spot, just come down and have some fun. Horseshoes are played every Tuesday at 6:30 through summer and into the fall.

“ROAD FUND” at Article II, section 13:

a, The Association shall maintain a “Road Fund.”  The Road Fund shall be deposited and invested with a financial institution pursuant to Bylaw Art. XIV, section 3.  The amount earmarked for and deposited into the Road Fund shall be a percentage of dues collected annually, determined by the Board of Directors each year, but shall be a minimum of 13% of the overall dues collected each year.

b. The monies designated and deposited into the Road Fund, and interest accrued thereon, may only be withdrawn, applied to and/or used as necessary for the safety, aesthetics, functionality and general welfare of the roads of the Association for the following purposes:

i. replacing roads and/or large (over 150’ road sections x width of road) road sections;

ii. repairing roads only when the Board determines insufficient funds exist in the general funds to cover the cost of such necessary repairs.  However, because it the purpose of the Road Fund to be available for the eventual replacement (not merely “repairs”) of all association roads when inevitably necessary, the Board must first apply existing general funds for repairs. If such an expenditure of Road Fund money necessarily occurs, the Board must then recoup such expended funds from the Association members, by assessment or otherwise, to return such funds to the Road Fund;

iii. emergency road repairs necessary to prevent imminent danger to life or property.  In the event of such withdrawal of funds through this subsection, the Board shall collect and return such funds to the Road Fund as soon as practical from general funds or special assessment.

 c. The monies from the Road Fund shall not be utilized for “road maintenance.” “Road maintenance” used herein means the regularly anticipated annual needs of the roads, such as plowing, cleaning, tarring/patching, repairs to signs, curbs, cracks, drains, etc, which the Board shall include in its annual budget funded by Association dues. The repair of small road sections (less than 150’ in length x the width of road) is considered road maintenance.

d. In the event the Road Fund balance exceeds the estimated cost to replace Association roads, the excess will be reverted back to the Association general funds and, if necessary, annual dues adjusted accordingly.

Download the Road Fund Bylaw draft#11D927

Download the Road Fund Bylaw Absentee Ballot

• Only one watercraft/trailer per lot. Two Jet Ski style personal watercrafts on a single trailer are allowable.
• The watercraft must be stored on its trailer at all times unless the watercraft is in use.  There is a maximum of three days for a vacant watercraft trailer while the watercraft is in use.
• The watercraft/trailer must be kept in the driveway at the furthest, most practical location from the road.
• The watercraft must be less than twenty-six feet in length.
• The watercraft and trailer must be in working condition, registered, insured and have a well maintained appearance.
• “Boating season” is defined as Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day.

The SEASONAL BOAT STORAGE Bylaw Amendment will be discussed in detail at the JUNE 3, 2008 MSPOA Bi-Annual Meeting and all co-owners will have an opportunity to comment.

If you cannot attend the June 3, 2008 Bi-Annual Meeting, it is IMPERATIVE that you submit ballots prior to the meeting.

Remember, only the DVR (Designated Voter Registration) for your lot may vote (in person or by ballot).  The ballots are available on the website.

If you do not have internet access, please call the hotline and ballots will be delivered to you along with the proposed Bylaw Amendments.

Download Seasonal Boat Storage Bylaw Absentee Ballot

If you would like to discuss the seasonal boat storage amendment in the “MSHOA forum” please click here

Note: if you are not a member of the forum you will need to sign up first before posting, a website admin will need to also confirm your details as a security precaution so it could take up to 24 hours in some rare cases.