Oxford Place   

Fort Mill, SC          

2008 Summer Newsletter 

Oxford Place Cul-de-sac Party

On Halloween 2007, an informal gathering of neighbors came together at the end of the cul-de-sac on Kingston Way. At this gathering the idea of having Oxford Place cul-de-sac parties was born. On Saturday, July 26, at 5:30pm, the cul-de-sac homeowners on Croyden Court are kicking off what they hope to be is the start of semi-regular Oxford Place cul-de-sac parties. Everyone in the neighborhood is invited. Just bring the meat you want to grill, drinks, and a chair if you need one. Several residents of Croyden Court will provide the grills, the paper products, and the bathrooms. If you would like, you can bring a side dish or a dessert to share. This will be very informal. RSVP to Kathy Sandvoss at ksandvoss@aol.com or phone number is 803-233-xxxx.

Ballot Results

The first ballot item was a ratification of the initial volunteers for the 2008 board. It was provided on the back of the 2008 annual fee invoice form. Although, the neighborhood dues are almost 100% collected, only 35% of the residents marked and returned the ballot item. Some residents paid with online banking and others likely overlooked the item since it was on the back of the form. Per the bylaws, the quorum level is 30%. 33 voted for the board volunteers and 4 voted against. As you are aware from the last newsletter, several of the initial volunteers have changed. Since the board only has four volunteers, the current plan is to hold the next elections at a full neighborhood meeting in January. This way the 2009 board will be in place at the time of the annual meeting around March 1, 2009.

Item 1 passed 51 to 2. "Instruct the board of the Oxford Place Property Owners Association to informally grant a grace period of 10 days to allow homeowners to park a boat, RV, or camper in their driveway to prepare for a trip or to clean the vehicle." The board will be sending letters to 3 property owners who have parked boats in their driveways for more than ten days

Item 2 passed 49 to 4. "Authorize the board of the Oxford Place Property Owners Association to engage in a contract with local resident Mike Mead (or another contractor) to replace the existing 24 high voltage halogen light fixtures with Xeon low voltage light fixtures in Oxford Place East and Oxford Place West. This would also include adding electric receptacles to the entrance timers. The total cost would be approximately $4200. In addition, an item for Upgrading Entrance Lighting would be added to the 2008 Budget. (no increase in dues)." The board has contacted Mike Mead to give him the go ahead with this project.

Item 3 passed 35 to 18. "Instruct the board of the Oxford Place Property Owners Association board to further explore adding low voltage lighting (24 fixtures total) to the medians in Oxford Place East and Oxford Place West. The approximate cost would be $8200. This involves extensive work boring under the roadway and may require landscaping to be replaced. If the neighborhood is interested, a board member will work with Mike Mead to further develop a proposal to be presented at the next full neighborhood meeting." The board will present one or more proposals to be voted on at the January 2009 meeting. Since there were many residents both for and against developing a proposal, please be sure to attend the January 2009 meeting, so that your concerns and desires are heard.

Item 4 passed 49 to 4. "The budget presented at the annual meeting included $9000 for electricity, $1500 for insurance, $12,000 for landscaping, and $5000 for legal expenses, and $550 for printing and postage. The board would like to reduce the amount allocated to legal expenses to $2000. We don’t foresee having any legal expenses this year, and have reduced the amount to a more reasonable allocation. The other items would remain the same." The board does not anticipate that the one owner who has not paid dues will require further action, such as a small claims action or a formal recording of a lien. The property involved with the C&R situation we previously pursued through the courts is being foreclosed upon by a bank.

Recent Concerns

Since the board has repeatedly received questions about certain properties, we are providing the information below. The house on Doe Ridge with the overgrown lot was sold at foreclosure auction on July 7, 2008. A bank is also attempting to foreclose the incomplete house on Cabin Creek. Regarding the overgrown lot on Croyden Court, we are sending a letter to the owners referencing the overgrown vegetation ordinance and offering alternatives for taking care of the lot.

Neighbors also recently expressed concerns that some residents are not properly securing their garbage when they take it to the street. Please take steps to prevent your refuse from blowing away.

Recreation Lot

Residents continue to ask for improvements to the recreation lot. In addition to replenishing the mulch under the playground equipment, the board is also exploring adding one or two picnic tables to the lot. Please contact a board member if you can help us find a heavy duty picnic table at a bargain price.

2008 Board Members

We would like to thank Jay Schwartz of Oxford Place Drive for volunteering to join the 2008 board. The board still has one vacancy. Serving your neighborhood is a great way to meet your neighbors and to make a contribution to your community. Please call a current board member or send us an email at oxfordplace@gmail.com if you would like to become a board member for the remainder of 2008.

Jayne Guchone     547-4019 
Winston O'Reggio  802-5577
Kathy Sandvoss    233-3668 
Jay Schwartz      548-2929

Oxford Place Directory, Email, and Website

The Oxford Place POA needs your email address. Currently 72% of residents have provided us with an email address. Occasionally we send out time critical information. We will protect the privacy of your email address and will only email you with issues relating to the neighborhood. We will never send advertisement. Please send an email to oxfordplace@gmail.com to be added to this important mailing list. Also be sure to visit the Oxford Place website at www.oxfordplace.us.

The board would like to distribute a neighborhood directory with our next mailing. The directory will contain names, addresses and phone numbers. Most of this information is readily available through local telephone directories and on www.yorkcountygov.com . Email or call us if you would like to check the telephone number we have, update the name we use with your mailing, or if you do not want to include your telephone number in the neighborhood directory.