Summary of the Homeowners Meeting
April 25, 2013
These are not official minutes, approved by the Board
After calling the meeting to order, Durel Burke introduced Mayor Mike Yenni. The mayor indicated that plans are underway to tear down most of the buildings in the sewer station across the canal from the tennis courts. He went on to explain his 2030 Strategic Plan for a Prosperous Future. Of immediate interest to residents of Chardonnay is the plan to remove the two bridges over the Duncan Canal and replace them with a box culvert. Following this the area between the Canal and at least as far as Chateau Blvd., an area he termed the major shopping corridor of Kenner, would be landscaped, art work installed, lighting improved, and pedestrian walkway developed. Overall the plan call for the beautification of all of the major arteries in the area with an eye toward both making Kenner an attractive location for new residents and attracting entertainment dollars from all of the metropolitan area. This will be done by refinancing current bonds and selling new ones, taking advantage of the very low interest rates now in effect. There will be no new tax dollars used in completing the project.
Dectective McGregor, of the Kenner Police Department, indicated that in the past year and a half, Chardonnay has had one residential burglary, 22 calls for domestic disturbances which ranged from domestic violence to loud music, and vandalism of four cars. He reminded everyone to lock their cars. Currently it takes about two minutes for police to respond to a call and residents who want to report something but do not want their neighbors to see the police come to their condo, can request that the police not visit them. He did admit, however, that sometimes the police will come to talk to them despite their request.
Councilwoman De Franchese talked about ongoing efforts to recruit desirable companies to relocate to both the Esplanade Mall and the Pavillion Shopping Center. The owners of the Pavillion have indicated that as soon as a big box company has signed an agreement to relocate to the area from Rousse through where the Academy was, they will renovate the area. She also said that after underground problems with sewer and drainage lines, the movie theater project is moving forward and plans are to open it on November 13. There will be 14 screens, all fully digitalized, and one of them will be the only 3 story screen in the area.
Durel Burke and Diane Allen presented a report on the roofing project which is ongoing and noted the improvements to the pool area and the cabana. They informed homeowners that the architect, Doug Mayo, is drawing up spects to go out for bids on installing insulated siding on the fifteen buildings indentified as the worse. The siding can withstand 200 MPH winds and is what Mr. Mayo chose for his own home. The project is expected to begin in June and be completed before the peak of the hurricane season. The money for this will come from the funds in the Regions flood account. Once these building are completed, an assessment will be levied to complete the remaining unrepaired buildings. Those that have already been completed using Hardi-plank will not be resided. Mr. Mayo indicates that they will be visually indistinguishable from the siding.
We have a contract with Labor Ready, a firm which provides skilled labor for various maintenance work. We pay them by the hour and they take care of the salary, benefits, insurance, etc. on their workers. This way we are paying only for what we need.
In the near future, we will contract to have a trash container on the property for one day. Residents will be able to dispose of those items which garbage does not pick up.
You can respond to this summary or ask for clarification by clicking the "comment" button below. Your comments will be emailed to the president and secretary of the board, and will be visible to anyone who reads this blog.
