On Thursday, January 28th, the Seven Lakes North/South Board of Directors held a meeting via phone which lasted three hours.
A petition had been signed by a portion of the community before the meeting regarding several agenda items which involved putting a fence around Sequoia Lake in order to keep non-residents from using it without permission. The petition was against the fence.
Due to the amount of concern within the community regarding the fence, the agenda items involving it were removed immediately at the start of the meeting.
Danny Bowers, head of security, had suggested the fence, but received backlash from the community regarding it before the meeting was held to discuss it. His tires were flattened, and he had been assaulted as a result.
“I felt the solution was a good one. If someone has a better solution, please volunteer,” he said. “If you can’t be civil, then we don’t need you to participate.”
During the meeting, the Board discussed having a fence installed on Firetree to prevent non-residents and drug dealers from coming into Seven Lakes North.
“We’ve spoken with Deputy Sheriff Tyler Cheek, and he says we do have a drug problem here,” Danny said. “That’s an easy place for them; they can cut through the fence. It happens more than once a week.”
Danny explained that vehicles stop along Holly Grove to participate in drug deals, and that there have been multiple incidents involving young adults as a result.
“We do have a problem here. It’s not going to stop… What we’re trying to do is get our community back to what it was,” he said.
While the Board and residents agreed that the issue must be resolved, they were skeptical that a fence would not be enough to stop drug dealers from entering the community.
“Conceptually, I get the fence,” said Community Manager Jeanette Mendence. “I have concerns over whether it will do the job we need it to do. It takes nothing to go over a fence… I don’t know what the answer is, but I would be happy to help with that.”
“A 6-foot fence really isn’t that difficult for teenagers,” Board Member Steve Sikes agreed.
The Board considered ideas of being more watchful as a community and reporting situations and whether putting up a fence would just move the problem to a different location rather than resolving it.
“If you see something going on that clearly should not be occurring, dial 911,” said Board President Kim Doolittle. “Call the gate for permission to come in or to have roaming patrol to swing by. That’s for non-emergent. Contact Danny or whoever is in charge of Security to volunteer or make recommendations, or email Jeanette@casnc.com.”
A motion was made to have a fence installed on Firetree. The motion failed.
The Board discussed having signs installed at Sequoia Lake saying “No Parking Allowed” for vehicles without bar codes. The Board considered all other vehicles being towed or having a boot installed.
“This makes it hard for [non-residents] to come and stay here,” the Board explained.
Vehicles without bar codes would have to be parked at the HOA office, the marina, or at a resident’s home.
The Board passed a motion that no more than two powerboats may be registered to a lot with a house on it.
At the meeting’s conclusion, a couple of residents commented that emails were not adequate for the Board to communicate by since some with busy lifestyles and work may not get to them. The Board responded by saying it currently uses six different avenues of communication and that those who have better solutions may join the Communications Committee.
For more information, contact the Seven Lakes North/South HOA at (910) 673-4931.
