Halloween in Enka Village

For those of you new to the neighborhood, you may not yet be aware that Halloween is a busy evening in Enka Village! We get many, many trick-or-treaters from around the Enka and Candler area. If you plan to participate, be sure to stock up on lots of candy. If possible, you may also want to park your car in your alley rather than on the street, as traffic jams are common during trick-or-treating hours.

Hillcrest Street will be using a blockade at the end of the street to prevent the usual chaos caused by auto traffic during the evening of Halloween as well. Pedestrian traffic, of course, will be welcome!

Happy Halloween!

Park Beautification Day

Thanks goes to our volunteers who beautified the park on Saturday: Tiffany Salido, Robin Silver, Emily Dezio, and new residents Katherine, Rosalee, and Shephard of 37 Enka Orchard!! John Young and pup also stopped by and offered to donate and plant a new tree in the coming weeks. We pulled weeds, laid ground fabric, re-mulched, dug up the dead tree, and planted spring bulbs under the sign. Take a look on your next neighborhood walk!

Minutes from 10-16 Meeting

Enka Village Community Meeting October 16, 2008
Minutes Submitted by Emily Sutton Dezio

A word from the board: We want to thank all the homeowners for their concern and support for our assessment change vote. We realize this is not a traditional format for a vote, and that may cause some concern. However, the homeowners attending the August 28th meeting voted to bridge the reality of low homeowner participation with the mandate to have a majority of homeowners approve any change. Prior to the August 28th meeting, homeowners were given written notice that assessment changes were to be discussed. During the meeting, the homeowners arrived at a $25 flat rate through discussion and examination of our current income and expenses and approved this as Option 1. (The August 28, 2008 minutes reflect that 26 HOUSEHOLDS WERE REPRESENTED; 14 households voted to approve and 12 households voted against this. No household was double-counted). To further incorporate community desires, the homeowners attending the August 28th meeting voted and approved to assign a failure to vote as a vote for Option 1. We have notified homeowners of their options and have provided proxy voting for those unable to attend this meeting. As a board we are simply attempting to facilitate a sustainable solution to our budgeting requirements and will gain no personal benefit from whatever outcome the community votes on.

If you have deep concerns as to the validity of the vote, we welcome you to have our ballot system reviewed by your lawyer within the next two weeks. Unless a legal petition is filed by October 31, the board will proceed with enacting OPTION 2. We are setting this limit to allow each homeowner a chance to challenge to vote if so desired, but also to allow us to move forward with the changes if unchallenged. We will be implementing your choice before the upcoming assessments, due in February 2009.

We want to recognize the overwhelming participation in this vote and thank the community members for “getting out the vote.”

1. Vote on assessment change: OFFICIAL VOTE WAS FOR OPTION 2.

a. 52 VOTES (PAPER VOTES) FOR OPTION 2: Donate the Park to City of Asheville, Spend Down assessments on beautification projects; no further assessments.
b. 12 VOTES (PAPER VOTES) FOR OPTION 1: Raise assessments to FLAT rate of $25 per household per year
c. 5 VOTES FOR OPTION 3: Ignore the expense vs. income problem. And deal with the deficit when it occurs. We estimate as early 4 years without any unforeseen expenses, circumstances or otherwise.
d. 32 HOUSEHOLDS DID NOT VOTE
e. Even though there was a majority vote for Option 2, a motion was made and seconded to re-vote on the issue of whether households who “failed to vote” should be counted for option 1. With 15 households represented, 12 voted to strike that and 3 voted that the August 28, 2008 approval should stand.

2. Our next step will be to initiate discussions with the City about donating the Park to the City of Asheville. Assuming they accept the responsibility of the Park; Mike Lloyd volunteered to assist the Board in drawing up the necessary documents. Our deed of ownership of the Park requires that it remain a Park forever. Our donation, if accepted, will contain language to maintain the Park as a park.

3. Treasurer’s report – Andre Fisher
CD $5,501.52 and Checking Balance: $2,168.93

4. Come make our park more beautiful! Mulching and Spring bulb planting on Saturday, October 25th from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. We will be planting bulbs around the sign, mulching our plants and replacing a dead tree. Free handful of bulbs for all who volunteer! Plant them around your mailbox at home to spread the cheer throughout the neighborhood! Call Emily Dezio at 242-6754 for more information.

5. Halloween set-up on Enka Hillcrest Street. Proposal accepted and passed to place physical barriers to block vehicles on Hillcrest to allow trick-or-treaters on foot while eliminating the hazardous traffic.

6. Leaf pick-up day for city vacuum is during the two weeks following November 3, 2008 and two weeks following January 5, 2008. Please rake your leaves to the curb, but do not block any drains. You can find more information online at the City of Asheville’s website. http://asheville.nc.us/residents/public_services/sanitation.

Let’s keep our new fall tradition alive by helping neighbors who are unable to rake their leaves.

7. If you're interested in buying an Enka Village license plate, contact Amber Cook at 665-1914 or ambercook714@yahoo.com. They're ready, so you can take one with you tonight! They're $12 each (payable to Enka Village Commission). Proceeds go toward beautification projects.


Board members:
Tiffany Salido, President 14 Enka Hillcrest 423-5390
Emily Sutton Dezio, Secretary 6 Enka Oak 242-6754
Robin Silver, Beautification 11 Enka Oak
Andre Fisher, Treasurer 19 Enka Orchard

Look for minutes, details, and updates on our website http://enkavillage.blogspot.com/
(Maintained by Amber Cook –Thanks!)

Topic for next meeting (as suggested by a resident at the 10/16 meeting): Possibility of making Enka Park streets one-way

Results of Assessment Change Vote

From the Commission:

The vote tally as of 10/16:

12 votes for option 1

52 votes for option 2

5 votes for option 3

The names and addresses of these votes were verified last night to ensure no double-voting within a household. Because the votes for option 2 represent a majority of the households, option 2 has officially won the vote. The Commission will continue to accept votes through October 31st, but mathematically, those votes cannot change the outcome.

Full minutes of the 10/16 meeting will be available soon!

Meeting Minutes: August 28, 2008

Enka Village Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2008
26 Homeowners in attendance

1. Introduction of new board members

Tiffany Salido, President 14 Enka Hillcrest
Emily Sutton Dezio, Secretary 6 Enka Oak
Robin Silver, Beautification 11 Enka Oak
Andre Fisher, Treasurer 19 Enka Orchard

Treasurer’s Report: CD $5,501.52 and Checking Balance: $2,153.10

2. If you're interested in buying an Enka Village license plate, contact Amber Cook at 665-1914 or ambercook714@yahoo.com. They're ready, so you can take one with you when you're ready! They're $12 each (payable to Enka Village Commission). Proceeds go toward beautification projects.

3. Old Enka bus stop – there was discussion about whether we could save the bus stop – but the costs outweigh anyone’s particular interests and the work/costs involved. The Construction Company, Taylor & Murphy, advised that it would not be demolished until Spring 2009. At that time, they can assist the Commission in recovering bricks for homeowners who would like a memorial keep-sake.

4. Community Picnic: Please consider ideas for community gatherings or picnics in the park; or street parties for our next meeting. We are seeking volunteers to organize!

5. Assessment Discussion: Because of the annual expenses (rental fees for PO Box, Maintaining Insurance for Park, Mowing for Park, Hillcrest Streets and Lights etc) the Commission can no longer operate under the assessments at $0.15 per road footage per household. The annual expenses outweigh our annual income. There was an extensive discussion analyzing what expenses we have – including whether or not we actually and in fact own the park, thereby making it necessary to pay for mowing and insurance. Enka Park Commission actually owns the Park. Reference Deed Book 806/Page 231 of Buncombe County Register of Deeds office.

The requirement to pay assessments is derives from the covenants which were adopted when each and every household was first sold to the community members. Failure to pay assessments gives the Commission authority to collect the fees owed by lien against the property. The restrictive covenants run with the land and attach to the house. Should you have any questions about your individual homeowner’s rights, please contact an attorney for a complete and thorough title examination.

We discussed three options for dealing with the dilemma of not having enough annual income to cover the annual expenses:

• Option 1: Raise assessments to a flat rate of $25 per household per year and continue business as usual

• Option 2: Donate Enka Park to the City of Asheville and eliminate assessments; Use the remaining funds on beautification of the neighborhood and an amount would be reserved for Hillcrest Lights

• Option 3: Ignore the expense vs. income problem. And deal with the deficit when it occurs. We estimate as early 4 years without any unforeseen expenses, circumstances or otherwise.


MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!!

Vote will be conducted at the October 16th Community Meeting.

Vote may be made by proxy if you unable to attend meeting. To vote by proxy, Seal your vote in an envelope and mail to PO Box 2 Enka, NC 28728, or hand deliver to a board member. You can also appear at the October 16th community meeting at Enka Baptist Church at 7 p.m.


PLEASE BE ON NOTICE:

Our restrictive covenants, which are recorded in the Buncombe County Register of Deeds Office, require that there be a majority vote (at least 51 households) before any change to restrictive covenants. Raising the assessments to a FLAT RATE is a change to the covenants. In the event OPTION ONE passes, we will re-record the new covenants in the Buncombe County Registrar’s office. Accordingly, the homeowners in attendance of the August 28, 2008 meeting voted by majority vote that: Failure to participate or, in other words, failure to vote will be considered an automatic vote for Option 1.

ONLY ONE VOTE PER HOUSEHOLD.


___________________________________________________________________________

HOUSEHOLD NAME: ___________________________________________________________

HOUSEHOLD PHYSICAL ADDRESS: _____________________________________________

VOTE:

______ OPTION ONE: Raise assessments to FLAT rate of $25 per household per year
(FAILURE TO VOTE IS AN AUTOMATIC VOTE FOR THIS OPTION)


______ OPTION TWO: Donate the Park to City of Asheville, Spend Down assessments on beautification projects; no further assessments.


______ OPTION THREE: Option 3: Ignore the expense vs. income problem. And deal with the deficit when it occurs. We estimate as early 4 years without any unforeseen expenses, circumstances or otherwise.

Look for minutes, details, and updates on our website http://enkavillage.blogspot.com/
(Maintained by Amber Cook –Thanks!)

Enka Village Community Meeting August 21, 7:00 p.m. at Enka Baptist Church

The new commissioners will introduce themselves, and topics will include assessments for 2008-2009 and the idea of saving the Sand Hill Road bus stop from demolition.

New Commission in Place

Welcome to the 2008-2009 Enka Village Commission! These folks will be taking over the reins effectively immediately:

Tiffany Salido, President
Andre Fisher, Treasurer
Emily Sutton Dezio, Secretary
Robin Silver, Beautification

Thanks to Glenn Satterfield, Jo McGill, Amber and Brian Cook, Anthony Devore, and Emily Sutton Dezio for the hard work over the last year! Here are the year's highlights:

--Seeing through the completion and unveiling of the new Enka Village Park sign
--Holding a community yard sale
--Advocating for and getting home postal delivery for the village
--Organizing a bulk order for new mailboxes
--Organizing a clean-up day to help residents in need with yard work
--Ordering dumpsters for neighborhood use
--Overseeing the planting of trees on Orchard Street
--Creating an Enka Village blog and Web site
--Landscaping and maintaining the park

We're excited to see what the new commission has in store!