************************************************

Spring 2025 Newsletter

Hello again from the New Bay Landing Board of Directors. We are sure you share our wishes for Winter to be behind us and for the warmer weather of Spring to take hold. We would like to share periodic newsletters with you, the members, to make sure you are aware of what’s going on in the community as well as events that affect the community.

As you know, five new board members were elected at our annual meeting on Nov 16, 2024. Dave Kristunas, Nancy Barnett, Rick Frank, Wendy Reber, and Chris Sheerin volunteered to take on this responsibility after there was no one willing to serve. We chose to do this after it was made clear that our POA (Property Owners Association) would have to initiate Receivership without a Board, and we would all experience much higher costs for attorneys and court proceedings. All of us have other priorities and obligations but we agreed to serve and committed to making the transition as seamless as possible.

The Board would like to share with everyone some details as it relates to the transition:

1. The current Board was notified by then outgoing President Michael Sevast just prior to the election, that the Bay Landing POA website was created by the Previous President Michael Sevast, and that he would be decommissioning the website no later than December 14th, 2024, one month after the election. This was certainly a surprise to all of us. It was also explained to us that a new website for the association would be costly and something that was not budgeted for 2025. We made a request to extend the deadline from December 14th, 2024, to allow us to find an alternative solution without any disruption to the homeowners but this request was denied.
2. We were informed that the Zoom Account was also owned by the outgoing President, and would no longer be available to the Board for conducting meetings (which is understandable but still something we needed to quickly resolve).
3. We were informed QuickBooks used for the Association for accounting had been offered to the Association at a discounted rate since 2019 but this discounted rate was now ending. The cost associated with continuing with QuickBooks was going to increase significantly.
4. Lastly, the New Board was advised by the outgoing President that he would assist with the transition up until December 13th, 2024, (4 weeks after the election).Beyond that date, we were essentially on our own or consulting fees would apply.

For these reasons, the New Board needed to act fast to avoid any disruption and/or added cost to everyone in the community. This was not a simple turnover from one Board to another. This involved every member of the Board stepping down and being replaced by a completely new Board. So having the additional time constraints and issues outlined above, has only made this transition more challenging, especially with the other responsibilities each of us have on a day-to-day basis.

The outgoing President did provide some options for us to investigate for replacing the website as well as QuickBooks. We worked diligently to assess as many companies as we could, to find the best possible solution for the Association in the shortest amount of time. The Board reviewed and vetted many companies.A decision was made by the Board with a vote of 5-0 to select the EasyHOA Management System. This is the system that we introduced to everyone on December 10, 2024, via email as well as on the Website. This system consolidates many of the functions of the POA into one platform.

Below are some of the features Easy HOA will be utilized for:

1. EasyHOA will host the Bay Landing POA website. We arranged to use the same URL address (www.baylandingpoa.com) used for the previous website that was decommissioned so nothing changed for anyone wishing to access the website. The appearance is just different.
2. A phone number is available for all members to call or text the Association and leave messages and is managed from the website.
3. The Email account for the Association is managed here (baylanding@easyhoa.email)
4. Improvement requests are submitted and tracked on this system.
5. Assessments can be paid using direct deposit or credit card on the website if desired. Some fees apply for direct transfer or credit card but you can still avoid fees by delivering or mailing a check, or sending an e-check from your bank.
6. Governing Documents and Financial Documents can be found on the website, like before.
7. Every Unit/Owner has their own page to review anything related to their property. We encourage everyone to familiarize yourself with this feature.
8. In the future, if approved by the homeowners, we will be able to vote on issues on the website without having to attend a meeting. We will send out a trial soon.
9. EasyHOA offers all these benefits along with new advantages without increasing the overall cost to the POA in 2025 and beyond (we would have had to pay more for the separate features and programs).

Over the first 3 months, these are some of the things that the new board has been working on during this transition:

1. Replacement of the website before a deadline of December 14, 2024.
2. Receive all POA files and organize appropriately on secure drives and on the POA website.
3. Transition the Bank account and Association Financials from QuickBooks to EasyHOA, finalize the 2025 assessment charge, and send out the invoices by January 1, 2025.
4. Reviewed financial records for 2024 and previous years as needed.
5. Set up member accounts and communicate with the members providing instructions without blasting members with too many emails during the holiday season.
6. Attend several training sessions and tutorials and resolve any “bugs” in the new EasyHOA system (EasyHOA Support has been very helpful and responsive).
7. Updated all license and insurance information from our contractors.
8. Sent out requests to confirm member contact information and preferences.
9. Answer all member emails and questions and take appropriate action as soon as practical.
10. Review all contracts from suppliers and contractors and consider improvements for 2025 and beyond.
11. Removed the dead evergreen from the front common area without cost to the Association except $35 for disposal (estimate by landscaper was $400).
12. Launched two volunteer workgroups, Landscape and Social & Welcoming, and recruited volunteers (all are welcome to volunteer).
13. Reached out to our state government representatives to identify potential sources of funding for our roads without turning roads over to the state (at great expense).
14. Replaced light bulbs at the front entrance, cleaned globes, and repaired flood light.
15. Consulted with an arborist (no charge) to identify potential trouble spots.
16. Held our first Regular Meeting on Feb 5, 2025, using the Microsoft Teams online platform (we have since decided to use Google Meeting instead).

We appreciate the reception we have gotten from many of you. We also appreciate your patience and understanding as we complete the transition. We apologize for any errors we have made but look to improve not only our own performance but the functions of the Association. We will continue to focus on the transition and doing what’s best for Bay Landing within our Governing Documents and consistent with Federal and State Law.

We also remain committed to doing all that we can to aide in maintaining or increasing our property values and less on guidelines that have no effect on the health, safety, and well-being of our members.

Please join us in welcoming a new member to the community, Olivia Ann Sheerin, the sweet baby girl of Chris and Marlana Sheerin (and sister of Owen) who came into this world on February 1, 2025. The Sheerin’s reside at 14801 Winding Brook Ct. Also, we are thankful that Angie Sipple (14775 Winding Brook Ct) was blessed with a successful life-saving kidney transplant in February, a gift that completely changed her life.

The next quarterly meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 7. Please check the website for details. Please feel free to contact us by email, text, or phone if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions. The board is very open to receiving suggestions from all members of the Bay Landing community. What do you think needs to be addressed? Improvements, ideas for social events, common areas?

The Bay Landing Board of Directors