JANUARY 2022
CONTENTS
A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD
COMMUNITY UPDATES
PET OF THE MONTH
EXTERIOR HOME IMPROVEMENT
LAWN CARE
VOLUNTEER EVENT SUCCESS
TRAFFIC SAFETY
TRASH CANS
UPCOMING EVENTS
January 27
National Chocolate Cake Day
February 8
Board Meeting 5:30 PM @ 4032 Longwood Circle
February 14
Valentine's Day
FAIRWAYS PETS
Exterior Home Improvement Projects
With the spring, comes the urge to spruce up our homes inside and out. If you are planning exterior updates to your homes, please check out the Architectural Committee section on the Fairways website.
You can see the guidelines for exterior changes, e.g. including roofing shingle replacements, and construction of additions or buildings or landscaping that requires clearing, excavation or grading, as well as, addition or removal of large trees.
You can review the procedures and download an Architectural Request Form @ www.fairwayshomeownerassociation.com. If you have any questions, you can contact a member of the Architectural Committee @ gbfairwayshoa@gmail.com.
Requests must provide plans and details sufficient for the Architectural Committee to assess their compatibility with the FHOA Architectural Guidelines and CCRs. The 30 day clock to get approval by the Board for such requests does not start until all the required details are provided.
Lawn Care
Late winter and early spring is also an excellent time to get your lawn ready for the summer heat. Now is the time to get rid of weeds. Since most of hold off on watering in the January /February months, it is a great time to eliminate Dollar weed, a water loving pest, which is showing its nasty self in many yards.
Neighbors with the beautiful yards recommend Scotts Turf Builder Southern Weed & Feed or Scotts Turf Builder/Southern Triple Action or Spectracide Weed Stop for Lawns Concentrate. Dollar weed cannot grow in drier soil conditions, but your lawn will develop deeper roots, helping it to better outcompete weeds. Whatever you get, make sure that the weed killer is SAFE for lawns.
Trash Cans!!!
Please put your trash cans out of sight except on Pickup days. It is unsightly, not fair to your neighbors who have to look at them and attracts unwelcome wildlife. Let's start the New Year with a resolve to be respectful of your neighbors and the Covenants.
A Message from the Board
Happy New Year!
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2021 was a very busy and ambitious year for Fairways. But, thanks to your response, feedback and support our Community has charted a path to protect, maintain and improve the neighborhood, our capital assets, as well as, our property values. The Covenants were brought up to date and the recommended changes were overwhelmingly supported by the Homeowners, in the General Meeting and Vote on December 1, 2021. The changes have been recorded with the County and the documents should be ready for the website shortly. As part of those CCR changes, the new annual dues schedule and Capital Asset Funding Plan also were approved with strong Homeowner support. 2022 Dues
Invoices were mailed to all Homeowners on January 3, 2021. The due date for paying the annual dues is
February 28, 2022. Dues are considered late after February 28.
There was no need to borrow from the Road Fund in 2021, so there is no need for a 2022 special
assessment to pay back any funds. Thanks to Scott Mitchell watching every penny along with no HOA
funding for social activities, slashing of General Meeting expenses, limiting our reliance on the Attorney to manage the CCR update process, we were able to pay for legal fees and the storm survey with
existing funds.
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The storm sewer survey was completed on December 14, 2022 with the documents expected before the
end of January 2022. At that time, we hope to secure the continued guidance from our pro-bono
Engineer to determine the best strategy to protect and maintain the storm sewer / drainage easements
now and in the future. Eventually, we expect to have some input to the Santa Rosa County Storm Water
Engineering group who currently plans and designs upstream flows across our property without any
knowledge of our system or the condition of the drainage easement.
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Changes in Board Membership
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Scott Mitchell has ably handled the duties of FHOA Treasurer, as well as, picking up whatever duties might have been needed due to Board vacancies over the last, approximately 13 years. Fairways has been most fortunate, for over a decade, to have someone of his caliber and dedication watching after our FHOA business and neighborhood wellbeing, Scott has decided it is time to pass the torch and take a well-deserved break. He will continue to be an active volunteer and valued voice in the neighborhood.
Kevin Price has volunteered and was elected by the Board to complete Scott’s term which will run until the 2023 General Meeting. Kevin brings some knowledge of the banking industry and fresh enthusiasm for keeping our Association on track. Scott is working with Kevin to complete a smooth transition by the end of February.
We are also thrilled to announce that Jim Brownlee has volunteered and was elected by the Board to complete Jill Teston’s term which is also expiring in the spring of 2023. Congratulations on the new success in real estate and most importantly the birth of that beautiful little girl, Jill. As with Scott, Jill had been a dedicated Member of the HOA Board since at least 2006. While there is a lot of change underway, the remaining Board Members are looking forward to working with Kevin and Jim. Both have moved in within the last couple of years and will bring fresh perspectives, energy and ideas to the FHOA.
All Volunteer Christmas Walkabout Success!
The Board made the commitment in 2021 that no FHOA funds would be used for social activities; the private contributions and huge effort to make the Christmas Walkabout happen are a great example of the volunteer spirit. Carol Alford, Kimberly Price, Scott Mitchell organized, shopped and prepared a wonderful Christmas Walkabout.
The private contributions from Carol Cross and Terry Hicks made the food and drink possible. The Mitchells and the Prices opened their homes and welcomed everyone attending. We all hope that this community spirit continues into 2022 with other neighbors joining in to keep the spirit going!
Traffic Safety
There are more children in the neighborhood than ever before; therefore, it requires an extra degree of caution for all.
Drivers, please be mindful of children playing, riding on scooters, getting off school buses, and just being kids!
Parents, please be mindful of your children's responsibility to watch out for people driving in the neighborhood.
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