726 Waterfall Way

Yes we all feel deeply bad for this family that suffered a fire last week. This was a rental unfortunately the owner has no homeowners insurance to rebuild and likewise the tenants had no renters insurance to replace their valuables that were lost.

Today 10/23 they have been there cleaning up and salvaging what they can and dumping what they can't salvage on the ground around the dumpsters. This is clearly marked that they cannot do this. When asked nicely by another homeowner to remove the garbage they dumped on the ground including a mattress and chair they became irate, they claim they have permission from the HOA to do this. We checked and were told they called Kuester and asked for permission to leave their unneeded furniture outside the dumpster and were told no. A few miles down the road is a County drop off site where they could easily take all this unwanted stuff and drop it off with no problem.

This case we fell is egregious they called for permission and were told no, they moved all these items during a weekday when the county site was open, they had vehicles large enough to carry these items to the county site, and than were asked to correct this, but instead of being good neighbors got ugly about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR_ndtcHbvw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m2RieO2JTs

And in case you missed it here is a link to the Lake Wylie Pilot article about the fire.

We know the fire was started by a female cooking on a grill to close to the house

After a search of York County Court Records reveals the female living at 726 Waterfall Way Christie Filomena Johnson has several pending criminal charges against her all filed earlier this month including LITTERING, Driving with a suspended license, her license is suspended due to a DUI,  and she also has a pending charge of Criminal Domestic Violence. 

In the last 3 years she has been charged with 3 separate DUI's a Disorderly Conduct, and habitual traffic offender. 

This leads to some interesting questions 1) Was alcohol abuse possibly a contributing factor to the fire. and 2) Was Ms. Johnson even legally allowed to be at the residence of the time of the fire. Normally when you are arrested for Criminal Domestic Violence upon arrest the court issues a restraining order to ban you from returning to your residence with the victim in the case, and from being around the victim or having contact with them in any way. Was Ms. Johnson violating this court order at the time of the fire? 

Dumpster Area

1) Last week a couch was dumped along with a dresser draws, both were infested with bed bugs, they were left in front of one of the dumpsters, which meant Waste Management could not empty the dumpster.

2) A witness came forward this morning and reported the homeowner at 2066 Shady Pond Dr was the culprit. 

3) Another homeowner notified the Sheriffs Department about people leaving trash outside of the dumpsters, they would increase patrols of the neighborhood, and ticket anyone leaving trash on the ground.  

For those that do not know the dumpster is for PHASE 1 homeowners only PHASE 2 homeowners are not allowed to use the dumpster as the HOA pays for private trash pickup for PHASE 2 residents.

Here is the law in SC, which includes leaving garbage on the ground outside of a dumpster, and even includes blocking the dumpster from being accessed just like the couch.

But the highlights are:

leaving trash on the ground of less than 15 pounds is a misdemeanor punishable by a $200 fine plus court costs, 5 hours minimum of litter gathering labor, and up to 30 days in jail.

leaving a couch or any other garbage totaling more than 15 pounds is punishable of up to a 90 days in jail. 

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                                                 SC Littering Laws

SECTION 16-11-700. Dumping litter on private or public property prohibited; exceptions; responsibility for removal; penalties.

(A) No person may dump, throw, drop, deposit, discard, or otherwise dispose of litter or other solid waste as defined by Section 44-96-40(46) upon any public or private property or waters in the State whether from a vehicle or otherwise, including, but not limited to, a public highway, public park, beach, campground, forest land, recreational area, trailer park, highway, road, street, or alley except:

(1) when the property is designated by the State for the disposal of litter and other solid waste and the person is authorized to use the property for that purpose;

(2) into a litter receptacle in a manner that the litter is prevented from being carried away or deposited by the elements upon a part of the private or public property or waters.

(B) Responsibility for the removal of litter from property or receptacles is upon the person convicted under this section of littering the property or receptacles. However, if there is no conviction, the responsibility is upon the owner of the property or upon the owner of the property where the receptacle is located.

(C)(1) A person who violates the provisions of this section in an amount less than fifteen pounds in weight or twenty-seven cubic feet in volume is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than three hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days for each offense. In addition to a fine and for each offense under the provisions of this item, the court shall also impose a minimum of five hours of litter-gathering labor or other form of public service as the court may order because of physical or other incapacities, and which is under the supervision of the court. One hundred dollars of the fine imposed by this item must be deposited in the state's general fund and used by the Office of the Governor to fund a litter control campaign.

(2) The fine for a deposit of a collection of litter or garbage in an area or facility not intended for public deposit of litter or garbage is one thousand dollars. The provisions of this item apply to a deposit of litter or garbage, as defined in Section 44-67-30(4), in an area or facility not intended for public deposit of litter or garbage, but this does not prohibit a private property owner from depositing litter or garbage as a property enhancement if the depositing does not violate applicable local or state health and safety regulations. In addition to a fine and for each offense under the provisions of this item the court shall also impose a minimum of five hours of litter-gathering labor or other form of public service as the court may order because of physical or other incapacities, and which is under the supervision of the court. Eight hundred dollars of the fine imposed by this item must be deposited in the states general fund and used by the Office of the Governor to fund a litter control campaign.

(3) The court, in lieu of payment of the monetary fine imposed for a violation of this section, may direct the substitution of additional litter-gathering labor or other form of public service as it may order because of physical or other incapacities, under the supervision of the court, not to exceed one hour for each five dollars of fine imposed.

(4) For a second and subsequent convictions under the provisions of items (1) or (2) of this subsection, a minimum of twenty hours of community service must be imposed in addition to a fine.

(5) In addition to any other punishment authorized by this section, in the discretion of the court in which conviction is obtained, the person may be directed by the judge to pick up and remove from any public place or any private property, with prior permission of the legal owner upon which it is established by competent evidence that the person has deposited litter, all litter deposited on the place or property by anyone before the date of execution of sentence.

(6) Magistrates and municipal courts have jurisdiction to try violations of subsections (A), (B), (C), and (D) of this section.

(D) Any person who violates the provisions of this section in an amount exceeding fifteen pounds in weight or twenty-seven cubic feet in volume, but not exceeding five hundred pounds or one hundred cubic feet, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than ninety days. In addition, the court shall require the violator to pick up litter or perform other community service commensurate with the offense committed.

(E)(1) Any person who violates the provisions of this section in an amount exceeding five hundred pounds in weight or one hundred cubic feet in volume is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. In addition, the court may order the violator to:

(a) remove or render harmless the litter that he dumped in violation of this subsection;

(b) repair or restore property damaged by, or pay damages for damage arising out of, his dumping litter in violation of this subsection; or

(c) perform community public service relating to the removal of litter dumped in violation of this subsection or relating to the restoration of an area polluted by litter dumped in violation of this subsection.

(2) A court may enjoin a violation of this subsection.

(3) A motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, container, crane, winch, or machine involved in the disposal of more than five hundred pounds in weight or more than one hundred cubic feet in volume of litter in violation of this subsection is declared contraband and is subject to seizure and summary forfeiture to the State.

(4) If a person sustains damages arising out of a violation of this subsection that is punishable as a felony, a court, in a civil action for such damages, shall order the person to pay the injured party threefold the actual damages or two hundred dollars, whichever amount is greater. In addition, the court shall order the person to pay the injured party's court costs and attorney's fees.

(5) No part of a fine imposed pursuant to this section may be suspended.

(6) [Repealed]

(F) For purposes of the offenses established by this section, litter includes cigarettes and cigarette filters.

SECTION 16-11-710. Acceptance of cash bond in lieu of immediate court appearance in litter control prosecutions.

When any person is charged with a violation of 16-11-700 or any county ordinance relating to litter control, any officer authorized to enforce such law or ordinance may accept a cash bond in lieu of requiring an immediate court appearance. Such bond shall not exceed the maximum fine provided for a conviction of the offense charged and may be forfeited to the court by the enforcement officer if the person charged fails to appear in court.

SECTION 16-11-720. Dumping trash in or along shoreline of Lake Greenwood; penalties.

It shall be unlawful for any person to dump, leave or throw any rubbish, trash, garbage, cans, bottles, containers, paper, oil, grease or other similar substances or dead animals into the waters or along the shoreline of Lake Greenwood.

(2) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars or be imprisoned for not more than thirty days.

Dumpster

Here are some pictures of the dumpster area this morning December 1st, There is one large pile of garbage topped of with a couple of pizza boxes clearly marked as belonging to 745 Waterfall Way, apparently they had no problem just dropping their garbage on the ground and walking away. Kuester is supposed to fine anyone leaving garbage outside of the dumpsters a $100 fine.

If you have excess garbage or the dumpsters are full, you should either wait until they are emptied which is Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, or take your trash to the closest York County drop off site which is free to all residents. The two closest garbage collections centers are:

Bethel 3150 South Paraham Rd, south of Hwy 55 in Clover

Allison Creek

5725 Campbell Rd, at the intersection of Campbell Rd (County Rd 80) and SC 274

We realize with the Holidays the regular pick up schedule is going to be interrupted but again there are other options available. 

Phase One Plumbing

A homeowner had a pipe burst last night, luckily he was able to get a Plummer right away, the pipe coming out of the hot water heater had a pin hole leak in it, enough to cause a leak all the way to the first floor damaging insulation and sheetrock. Two years ago a section of pipe a foot from this section on the other side of an elbow joint split in half causing significant damage to the same home.

This time however the Plummer had informed the homeowner that all of the pipe in is home is defective, yes defective there has been several law suits including at least one class action suit and there may be another one, basically if you have the terracotta colored DURA PEX pipe and connectors in your phase one home you have the defective pipe.

After doing a lot of research on the internet it seems to be a lot of people in the Charlotte area that have the most problems with this pipe, it is susceptible to getting pin hole leaks, cracking in half, and the connectors are known to completely fail.

The experts say its not a matter of if it will fail but when, most failures seem, to happen on the hot water side coming out of the hot water heater first but can occur anywhere in the line. The only real fix is to completely replace all of the pipes in your entire home.

Many homeowners have had this problem in our community before some have had 3 or 4 leaks like this, but we are only now learning that the pipe is considered completely defective.

My first suggestion is get a plumber to replace the first several feet of the old pipe coming out of the hot water heater as this has been the most common first point of failure, this should be relatively inexpensive, and could save you from a big headache later on.

Here are some links discussing this issue further:

http://audetlaw.com/investigations/nibco-pex-products-breach-warranty-investigation/

http://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/why-would-nibco-cpi-durapex-pex-split-lengthwise-and-leak.21075/

http://gotaclassaction.com/nibco-inc-named-in-class-action-lawsuit-over-cross-linked-polyethylene-plumbing-tubes/

http://www.nachi.org/forum/f54/dura-cross-linked-polyethylene-nibco-problems-38109/

Maintenance Items

FORWARDED FROM KUESTER REAL ESTATE:

Dear Owners,

Please find attached a few updates:

We will be cleaning gutters in just the 1st Phase Section this Saturday and Sunday. Owners do not need to be home for this service. The scope of work includes hand cleaning the insides of each gutter (front and back) and then hauling away the debris. If any 2nd phase owner is having a problem with water cascading over the top of their gutters during rain, please let us know, otherwise we will clean the gutters in both phases this Fall. 

Pine Needles will be distributed the week of June 9th, the coverage area will be all common areas, front tree ring, and front beds. Pine needles will not be placed on the sides. Please remove any breakables from the immediate work area. If you have a question or concern about this service please let us know.

More pool chairs are coming, we hope to have more loungers delivered by this weekend. We would like to thank everyone for their patience.

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Harpers Mill
-Board of Directors

Spring Time Reminders

This is just a reminder, now that spring is here were doing spring cleaning and going outdoors more, there has been an increase of people leaving garbage outside the dumpsters, it is a $100 fine if you leave garbage outside the dumpsters, if you have something to big to fit you are responsible to bring it to the York County Garbage Collection and Recycling drop off center which is free to all residents.

York County Solid Waste Management

Collection Center Locations

Also remember the dumpsters are for phase 1 home owners only.

Also there has been an increase of people with dogs off their leash and homeowners not picking up after their dogs.

Remember not picking up after your dog and a dog not being leashed is both a violation of HOA rules and York County Ordinances and both actions are subject to a $470.00 fine and or 30 days in jail.

We can all help each other and kindly remind new homeowners and tenants about these rules.

Bond is not right for the community’s future

This is from the Lake Wylie Pilot follow link here:

http://www.lakewyliepilot.com/2014/03/10/2328446/vote-no-to-a-bad-bond-plan.html

With the possible exception of community incorporation, this bond referendum may represent the most important community decision the residents of Lake Wylie will make in the next 20 to 30 years.

On March 22, we will be asked to approve or reject a $67 million bond referendum to make up a major portion of a $99 million school capital plan.

I encourage you to vote no.

The school board and Superintendent Marc Sosne have stated a 3,400 student high school will add diversity to high school educational offerings; lower operating costs; and “unify” Lake Wylie and Clover. I believe these contentions are wrong on all counts.

CHS already has a diverse and rich educational offering. Clover High School is ranked highly statewide. Now the board is proposing to radically change and jeopardize what has made the school great by nearly doubling the current population of the school, thus defying overwhelming evidence that doing so will likely destroy what we have. The probability is that even more offerings will take away from the core curriculum, have little student acceptance and add unjustified costs. Beneficial relationships between and among students, teachers, staff and parents will decrease significantly.

Regarding operating cost of our high school(s), most evidence shows cost per graduate is equal or lower in smaller high schools as compared to larger ones due to lower drop-out rates and fewer transfers-out. It may be slightly less expensive to contain students in larger boxes on an annual basis, but are we looking for cheap containers or high quality education leading to graduation?

Dozens of national, statewide, regional and local studies in rural, suburban and urban areas done by major universities, state departments of education including both South Carolina and North Carolina, and various highly-respected independent research organizations all over the United States have shown that high schools with more than 2,000 students have: lower test scores, lower grades, lower graduation rates, and higher drop-out rates; more truancy, and more problems with gangs, substance abuse, bullying and violence; much lower opportunities for participation in extra-curricular activities such as athletics; greatly reduced student-teacher-parent interaction; more levels of bureaucracy and less educational community resulting in decreased student loyalty; decreased likelihood of going on to college and other advanced education; and a significantly lower quality of education.

Regarding community unity, Clover and Lake Wylie are and have been for many years different in character and history. We should be celebrating the unique and desirable characteristics of each, not trying to eliminate them through so-called “unification.”

The board is using deceptive and misleading tactics in the packaging and marketing the referendum. The proposal is structured to make it appear to be an “all or nothing” proposition.

It has been said taxes will not increase because current bonds will mature and go away. The fact is current debt will not be paid off until 2027 (13 years from now), and the new bonds (probably issued in 2017) will likely add as much as 60 percent to the current property tax millage rates for 20 years including 10 years of overlap with current bonds.

The school board admits to having no backup plan. The arrogance of such an ill-considered proposal should be obvious.

For the future benefit of Lake Wylie and Clover, I believe the bond referendum as currently structured, should be soundly defeated.

Don Long is a Lake Wylie resident.

Kuester sent out an email blast today, we are posting it here for those of you that do not receive the email blast:

Dear Owners,

 Please note temperatures are projected to drop into the teens tonight and over the next several days. Therefore, we encourage everyone to take every step to safeguard your pipes from freezing.

·  Please insure your heat is set to at least 70 degrees

·  Insulate any piping that may be contained in a storage shed.

·  If your unit is vacant, we encourage you to turn on the water to a slow drip.

 If you have an after hours emergency that requires our assistance please contact our maintenance service at 803-802-0004 and follow the maintenance prompts.

Sincerely,

Rita Barrett CMCA® AMS®

Community Manager

Annual Meeting Report!

So the annual meeting was held this past Wednesday night. Things went well Rita Barrett from Kuester hosted the meeting, there is a new landscaper starting January 1st they promise to take a little more care when working near siding, fences, pine needles and lave rocks. They also will be trimming branches on the river birches that are within 12 feet of the ground whenever needed.

The HOA attorney spoke about the current situation, basically BnA would not proceed with the purchase of the lots without declarant retaining control of the HOA. The Advisory Board reviewed plans for the new houses and had several issues of concern about how they would fit into the neighborhood, BnA was not taking any suggestions for changes and is proceeding the way they want, ignoring all feedback from the community.

There was some concern raised about the quality of the houses BnA is building, several homeowners feel the quality is well below that of the homes Mercedes built. It also appears although the new homes are still two stories with a garage based on the square footage they are quite smaller than the existing phase 2 homes.

Phase 2 residents are concerned about their lack of parking spaces and would like to use parking spaces in phase 1, or even have a parking area installed next to the pool at home owners expense, opposition was quick on these ideas, it was stated phase 1 does not want to be a parking lot for phase 2, and that phase 2 homeowners have two spaces with the extended driveways and have a 3rd space by utilizing their garages.

Phase 2 residents also would like a club house built somewhere, something they were promised by Mercedes when purchasing their homes.

Volunteers were asked to sign up to serve on a new board which is expected to be selected by the declarant in January, the declarant wants to have control in relation to selling the existing lots to BnA and completing the development, but does not want to be involved in the day to day operations of the HOA and intends to appoint a board and change the covenants to give them the authority to make those day by day decisions.

This is good and welcome news. It is estimated BnA will take just less than 2 years to complete the remaining lots as soon as the declarant sells the last lot to BnA than full control will transfer to the HOA board.

Also it was noted that BnA has their own contract with the declarant that requires them to complete the paving of the roads in Phase 2.

Developer Disolves HOA Advisory Board

We have learned that the Developer, Harpers Mill Community Developers, LLC the company still controlled by Mercedes Homes and their Creditors, has dissolved the Advisory Board which started out as our Board of Directors.

So now the homeowners have no representation and say in any matters concerning our HOA......

The annual meeting is December 4th at 7pm registration starts at 6:30pm

We urge everyone who can to attend, let them know we care about our neighborhood and we are watching what they do!

HOA Fee Increase

Starting January 1st HOA fees go up for all homeowners by $10 per month, this includes both phase 1 and phase 2.

Even though we the homeowners have no control over our HOA, it is important all homeowners go to the annual meeting, if we show up, we send a message that we care and that we want to be heard, and let the powers to be that we are watching what they do.

It was actually mentioned at the special meeting a few weeks ago that the attorney was gauging the level of interest from homeowners to report back to his clients, it doesn't send much of a message when 3 or 4 homeowners show up.

Please try to mark your calendar and show up to the annual meeting this December, we all need to be involved and we all need to be heard!

HOA Special Meeting Results

So the proposed changes did pass, to give the declarant now listed as Harpers Mill Community Developers, LLC which has been listed since the last change in 2007 although still ultimately the Buescher Family in Florida and their creditors full control until all lots are 100% complete.

BnA Homes is the builder but control of the HOA will stay with the developer. Several at the meeting did voice concern about BnA's involvement considering their track record this is understandable, once it became clear their was a lot of opposition to BnA, Rita Barrett from Kuester and Sandy Brink the President of our Advisory Board made claims that the BnA Homes that is going to build here is not the same BnA Homes associated with the Pasquinelli Family, or Portrait Homes in anyway, it was stated by them that the Pasquinelli Family is associated with BnA Management Company and not BnA Homes, someone has been seriously mis-informed.

Go to: http://www.bnahomes.com the official BnA Homes website scroll to the bottom of the page you will see it states copyright 2013 BnA Management, LLC so we know BnA Homes and BnA management are one in the same.

Also go to http://www.chicagorealestateforum.com/2011/04/13/well-known-chicago-home-builder-packs-it-up/  and read the last paragraph about the Portrait Homes Bankruptcy and you will clearly see that BnA has been around and is run by the Pasquinelli Family and the now defunct Portrait Homes.

It was also asked at the meeting by one homeowner about who would pay for the completion of the needed development, like paving the roads and finishing common areas in phase 2. There has been to date no money set aside by the developer and no claim of responsibility by them either, many homeowners are afraid those costs will be passed to them in the way of dues or even a special assessment, the costs of which could be over $500,000. The attorney for the developer seemed to say it was the county who would decide if paving the roads etc is required to be done by the developer or not. It appeared that Kuester seemed to think since the roads are private the county would have no say. Kuester is going to inquire and report to the homeowners at the annual meeting what they find out. One of our readers has also reached out to the county and we will update you when he receives a response.

This blog was mentioned at the meeting one homeowner stated they felt some of the information posted here was not accurate, the blog is here to inform homeowners and is written by homeowners, and has a stated goal to inform all homeowners so we can all be informed and be united to help make this neighborhood successful.

If you question any content or have concerns you can always leave a comment below any posting or you can privately email us at harpersmillblogger@gmail.com we accept all submissions, suggestions, tips etc.

So Just Who is BnA Homes, LLC Anyway?

We did an investigation to see what we could find out about BnA Homes, LLC and we got a lot of information, none of which is very encouraging. BnA Homes, LLC is actually BnA Management, LLC. BnA is supposed to stand for "best, new, affordable" but is best known in the  home building community as "Bruno and Anthony".

The background here can be somewhat complicated as there have been so many company names they have done business under but most notably the company was started as Pasquinelli /Homes, and is best known as Portrait Homes and just like Mercedes Homes they suddenly stopped building in 2009 and eventually filed bankruptcy. One of the few remaining businesses not included in thier bankruptcy was BnA Management. 

You can do Google searches using these names and you will find very few positive comments about the Pasquinelli brothers and their home building enterprises. Bankruptcies, lawsuits and investigations into their activities including a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, which names BnA as a defendant, alleges that a complex corporate structure enabled Bruno and Anthony Pasquinelli to transfer $87 million
from Pasquinelli Home building LLC to their own trusts and to various children and grandchildren
between 2005 and 2009. read more here -> http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-23/business/ct-biz-0624-builder-suit-20100623_1_pasquinelli-brothers-anthony-pasquinelli-bruno-pasquinelli

You can read about the details about their bankruptcy here -> http://www.chicagorealestateforum.com/2011/04/13/well-known-chicago-home-builder-packs-it-up/ lucky for them the bankruptcy stopped several lawsuits including one where a judge ordered the company to pay five families who bought new homes in Lake in the Hills a total of $1.1 million for violating the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

Some of the other Pasquinelli Businesses include:

Normandy Homes and CB Jeni, interestingly enough after Portrait Homes ceased operations Bruno Pasquinelli Jr started CB Jeni and tries to convince people he had nothing to do with the demise of Portrait Homes, the company his father started and which he worked at for 20 years. 

Here is a link about their practices in Indian Land, SC included in this article is a response from their own superintendent of construction who clearly states they use HOA money to pay for repairs and other things that they as the builder are responsible for, and we wonder why they want 100% control of our HOA until the neighborhood is 100% complete, here is why we should be scared very scared:  http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Portrait-Homes-Pasquinelli/Charlotte-North-Carolina/Portrait-Homes-Pasquinelli-Avoid-Portrait-Homes-at-all-cost-Quality-issues-untruthful-317574

And just when we thought there couldn't be a worse builder than Mercedes Homes!

A CALL TO ACTION!

Looks like we got rid of one bad builder just to be replaced by another one. BnA Homes, LLC wants to hijack our HOA, here is the scoop and what you can do about it:

They have sent homeowners a letter stating our HOA cannot function properly unless we vote on their proposal, this is simply not true, legally we should have a board made up of homeowners who control our HOA, the declarant was Mercedes Homes, Inc.,. which was dissolved back in 2011 legally at that point the HOA should have called a meeting and elected homeowners to the board to replace the declarant, but this did not happen the Buescher Family of Melbourne Florida, who owned Mercedes Homes kept control using Kuester Real Estate Management as their pawn, since they not us the homeowners hired Kuester in the first place, it did not matter that Mercedes Homes was a family owned business, because the declarant was Mercedes Homes, Inc a corporation that cease to exist when they filed bankruptcy and deregistered with the South Carolina Secretary of State.

The remaining unsold lots remained under the control of another Buescher family business named "Harpers Mill Community Developers, LLC" they have sold these lots to BnA Homes of Chicago Illinois.

Fast forward to today, BnA Homes hired a local attorney which is who is holding this vote next week they have not been very forthcoming with our current advisory board our insiders have told us, in fact they have pretty much pushed them aside stating that they just don't need or want their input at this time.

What the change in the covenants is for is so that control of OUR HOA can be transferred from Mercedes Homes to BnA Homes, and that they KEEP CONTROL until every last house is built and sold, meaning if anything happens to BnA Homes, like they go bankrupt and do not finish the last house they would still retain control of the HOA.

This is all about MONEY Harpers Mill Community Developers, LLC aka the Buescher family can get more money for their unfinished lots by also turning over our HOA to the new builder, we also suspect Kuester which also owns a real estate business is in on the sale and making a percentage.

This change gives our new builder complete control of the HOA, including how much we pay every month in dues, violations, and community rules as examples.

I do not think there would be a large opposition to this at this point if their request was somewhat reasonable like retaining control until 85% with a drop dead date which is normal in a situation like this. To remind those that do not know we had a drop dead date back in 2007, the first homeowners moved in to Harpers Mill in 2003. when 2007 came Mercedes changed the covenants and removed the drop dead date, but no BnA Home, LLC wants control until 100% of the neighborhood is down and has no drop dead date.

At this point our concern is BnA Homes has now come in, has shunned our advisory board and is requesting control until they decide the neighborhood is 100% complete, they have not reached out to any homeowners to introduce them selves or tell us their plans, it has all been kept secret between them and our good friends at Kuester Real Estate, this is un-acceptable.

HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO:

There has been some talk that the vote does not matter, do not buy into this talk, if it truly did not matter they would not have a vote, however more than likely if just a few home owners vote yes it will probably give them enough votes to move forward, the only way to counter this, is for EVERY HOME OWNER TO VOTE ABSOLUELTY NO! either in person or by proxy!

VOTE NO ON OCTOBER 31st, 2013 at the office of Palmetto Law Associates, 1171 Market Street, Suite 2014 Fort Mill, SC 29708 or by proxy.

Police Activity!

Police were called to Shady Pond Dr several times today, for a landlord tenant dispute and neighbor dispute, apparently an eviction for the tenant there is in progress, the renter never put the utilities in his name as was required by his lease the homeowner had the utilities disconnected after the tenant had already agreed to move out on September 15th and didn't. The tenant started using one of his neighbors water and electricity by taping into the outside fixtures.

Police were called in the morning and took a report by phone from the neighbor, than the tenant called the police and tried to press charges on the owner for having the utilities turned off. Later in the day after another neighbor saw the tenant taping into and using another homeowners utilities police were called again, this time the tenant was put on trespass notice from his neighbors yard by the Sheriffs Department.

Shots Fired

Police recieved a report of a disturbance at a residence on Shady Pond Dr between a female and her x boyfriend a resident here around 11pm tonight, a few minutes later a second call came in stating that the female was trying to break into the home and shots were than fired. It appears the original address given out was incorrrect the incident took place on Water Fall Way, no one was actually shot.

We will post any updates as they come in.

Breaking News: New Builder; BnA Homes

From Kuester: You will note the new builder signage at the entrance to the 2nd phase.  BnA Homes is currently under contract to purchase some or all of the lots from the Declarant.  It is our understandings the homes will closely miror our existing homes.  We will continue to bring you more information as this matter develops.

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Keep in mind any new builder who buys the unfinished lots from Mercedes Homes, will also take control of the HOA and our finances, we don't have an opinion yet of BnA Homes, but we hope for the best, but we need to keep up with what they are doing and how they are doing it, to ensure we do not get taken advantage of.

BnA homes appears to be a small company based out of Chicago, which fairly recently opened an office in Charlotte. A Google search reveals very little about them, although it does not appear they are a licensed business in SC at this time, we will investifgate further and keep you posted.

Phase 1 Tree Trimming

UPDATE: Tree Triming was delayed by one day, and should start tomorrow July 17th.

A-1 Tree Stump Grinding will begin trimming all of the trees in the 1st Phase on Tuesday July 16th, they will begin on Harpers Inlet, Waterfall Way and finish on Shady Pond.   You don't have to be home for this service but we ask that if you are home and note that they are working in your area that you temporarily move your vehicle from the work area.  They will knock on doors to alert owners as well.

If you have any questions please contact Kuester Mgmt. at support@kuester.com or by calling (803) 802-0004

Arrest Made in Harpers Mill

According to a York County Sheriff's Department report a 19 y/o female who was visiting Harpers Mill, met a 17 y/o black male who is stayimg with a relative on Water Fall Way for the summer, the female asked the teen boy if he knew where she could buy some marijuana, he told her to wait by the pool for him. A few minutes later he returned to her and said it was ok to come with him, he brought her to 1446 Harpers Inlet Dr while at the home she purchased marijuana from a white male at this residence.

After buying the marijuana she stayed at the residence and used the drugs with several subjects. One of which was a 16 year old male whom she and the others at the home pressured into trying the marijuana with them.

Later that evening the parent of the 16 y/o contacted the Sheriff's Department about the incident. The female was arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, she is currently being held at the Moss Justice Center, the court denied her bond on the charge, she faces 3 years in prison and up to a $3, 000 fine, her next court date is in October.

The Sheriff's Department has an ongoing investigation into the matter and also into drug activity in the neighborhood.

If you see anything suspicous report it to the YCSO by calling 803-628-3059 and press 1 at the prompt.

Police Blotter

Police recieved 2 seperate calls for fireworks being set off to close to their homes on Shady Pond Dr tonigjt at 11pm.