Lochan Mor Residents Committee
Annual General Meeting of Proprietors and Residents
Aviemore Highland Resort Conference Centre
Tuesday 21 May 2013 : 7 pm – 8.30 pm
Minutes of Annual General Meeting 2013
Present :- Mr Iain and Mrs Joan Bain; Mr Alan Brattey; Mr Graeme and Mrs Shona Pringle; Mr R Doughty; Mr David and Mrs Catriona Murdoch; Mr David Orr; Mr Gavin Baird, Factor, Ross+Liddell; Mr Roger Tozer; Mr Iain and Mrs Diana Wallace.
Apologies :-Mr and Mrs Bill Smith; Mr and Mrs William Gregory; Mr and Mrs Nick Dawson; Linda Milne, Vice Chair; Anne Butler, Committee Secretary;
Welcome : -
Meeting was opened by Iain Wallace, chairman of the Residents Committee thanking proprietors and residents for attending. Thanks also given to Linda Milne for setting up the website and for her hard work maintaining it.
Introduction :-
Mr Gavin Baird was introduced and welcomed as the new factor for Lochan Mor Estatehaving taken over from Mr Simon Fitzpatrick. The Chair introduced fellow members of the Residents’Committee; Shona Pringle, minute taker for the evening, and Roger Tozer.
Election of new or continuation of the existing Residents Committee :-
It was proposed by the Chair that, as the meeting was not quorate and therefore unable to vote for changes to committee membership, the present committee should continue until the next Annual General Meeting in 2014. There were no objections to this proposal.
Linda Milne was unable to continue as Vice Chair and had formally resigned from Committee. She was thanked for the considerable efforts she had put into supporting the Committee in the previous 12 months.
The committee will co-opt new members as necessary in due course.
Property Manager’s Report:- New to role, introduced to site on 08/03/13 by chairman and 1 committee member and has had contact with a handful of owners individually.
- Landscaping- grounds maintenance fortnightly, routine specification changed for this year, strimming to be done 3 times a season and grass cut 1m from path edges. This will reduce costs going forward. Weedkilling was done on half the relevant areas last visit and the rest will be done next time. Contractor would like rabbit wire to be removed from around the shrub beds to make them easier to look after, concerns that this will cause gravel to be spread out of beds. Aware of litter problem.
- Gas Tank- gate broken, tank covers not locked, litter in compound and self-seeded trees growing in compound. Ross Liddell have written to Avanti regarding these issues but have not received any reply.
- Play Area- Inspected 28/03/13, passed so no work needed. Sign with Ross Liddell phone number to be erected at play area to enable repairs to be carried out in a timely manner.
- Orbital Path repairs- Assurance from COAT that any damage caused by machines or materials during path repair work will be fixed when works finished.
- Flats- Rotary driers: no majority agreement so another letter is going out to flat owners. Main door locks fixed; roof, render and roughcast repairs needed to sort problem of water ingress –quotes requested.
- Routine site visit next month. Gavin would appreciate any questions or feedback beforehand.
- Thanked Iain and Roger for their hard work.
Financial Report:-
Costs reduced compared to previously due to changes to the maintenance contract. Includes repair to play surface.
Questions:-
Gas compound gate fixed by resident but hinge screws removed again soon after- is this done by Avanti driver to gain access? No reply from Avanti in response to Ross Liddell letter of April 2013 .Could MP Danny Alexander help get a reply? Calor Gas have approached Committee Chairman to offer more competitive service. Committee to follow up on this and report accordingly.
Flats not mentioned on financial report, why? Intentional as too many variables to make this feasible.
Water ingress to flats, is cost being recovered through NHBC? No, as although 10 year guarantee after 2 years it is structural only and minimum claim amount applies. Amount in question is way below this threshold.
Common Area Maintenance:- Committee members have been allocated shrub beds to monitor weeding, conditions of shrubs etc and grass cutting is monitored too. Currently not happy with service provided and will be discussing with contractor.
Grit bins were filled in February - too late really, request for this to be done in November instead. Factor received notification from Albyn Housing Association requesting snow clearing for resident. The committee haveto discuss and clarify winter maintenance.
Property Maintenance :- No comments
Boundary Fence Painting:- Individual owners to decide when/if painting needed.
Dog Fouling and Littering:-Problem in the estate .Red bins on the Orbital Path. Suggested Highland Council may be able to supply more to encourage better use.
Litter- bin lids not properly closed, so reminder to all not to overfill bins and to ensure lids close properly. Problems in the last year with recycling bins not having correct contents due to regional differences in what is recycled. Some bins left out for a long time before and after collection, blowing around and blocking roads so absent owners should make arrangements to prevent this.
Football field :- Chairman has been assured by Highland Council that this is almost ready, and the area in front of pitch can be used at the moment. Suggested that “ No Ball Games” signs could be erected in common grounds; nuisance behaviour should be reported to local police on new 101 number.
Website :- has minutes of all committee meetings and other relevant information.
email addresses :- for data protection reasons all email communications will be done via Ross Liddell.
AOCB :- Highland Council announced energy saving measures switching off alternate street lights, not happened yet, is this still going to happen? To be investigated
Next Meeting :-AGM will be in May 2014. Committee will meet quarterly.
Annex 1 Property Manager’s General Report
Annex 2 Property Manager’s FinancialReport 2011-2012
Annex 3 Property Manager’s Financial Report 2012-2013