In the meantime, routine Property Owners Association business goes on. The POA Board discussed the pending solid waste disposal contract and modifications to the current Rules and Regulations regarding rental dwellings in its monthly meeting Sept. 17. Eighteen property owners, many of whom serve on POA committees, attended the 50-minute meeting.

Amenities Director Jim Story presented Chef Tulio Navarro with a plaque at the September POA Board meeting, recognizing his five years of service in Big Canoe restaurants.

By Ann Dickerson
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All ballots for the proposed amendment to the covenants that would establish a reserve fund were due Sept. 25 (Click on "Capital Reserve Fund fails to pass.")

In the meantime, routine Property Owners Association business goes on. The POA Board discussed the pending solid waste disposal contract and modifications to the current Rules and Regulations regarding rental dwellings in its monthly meeting Sept. 17. Eighteen property owners, many of whom serve on POA committees, attended the 50-minute meeting.

General Manager Roger Klask said the POA is on track to sign a new solid waste disposal contract in January 2009, when the current contract expires. Annual savings could exceed $60,000, Klask said, thanks to implementing single stream recycling and reducing the availability of the open top dumpster bins to two weekends per month.

Single stream recycling allows people to put their recyclables - such as newspaper, plastic and glass - in one container, which encourages more people to recycle. The materials are sorted later.

Board Director John Seferian noted that the Cove Road recycling facility would still be available for Big Canoe residents. "If folks choose to keep going there, it will save us money," Seferian said.

Public Safety Director Bill Bates said a committee continues to work on modifications to the current Rules and Regulations regarding owners/agents and renters of vacation rental dwellings (homes rented for 30 days or less fall into that category). The three areas that are most in need of clarification are parking, identification of guests and 24-hour accessibility to an owner or agent for each property, in case a problem arises.

In other news, the Board did the following:

• Presented a plaque to Tulio Navarro in appreciation of his five years working as a chef at the old Sconti Clubhouse, Sconti at Disharoon and now Mountains Grille. As those gathered in the Dogwood Room at the new Clubhouse gave Navarro an enthusiastic round of applause, the chef smiled broadly. "I'm very happy to work at Big Canoe," Navarro said, before heading back to the kitchen to get ready for the lunch rush.
• Extended thanks to Dave Holty upon his retirement from the chairmanship of the Lakes and Marinas Committee. Dr. Charles Pollard, a retired Georgia Tech faculty member, will replace Holty, who served as chairman  for four years.
• Extended thanks to Bobby Shepard for his many years of excellent volunteer management of the Storage Yard. The POA Public Works is now responsible for the Storage Yard, an area across from the North Gate where property owners keep recreational vehicles, boats, motorcycles and other items.
• Extended thanks to Dr. Bert Prater for serving as chairman of the Pandemic Committee, and appointed Dr. Bert Loftman to take his place.
• Heard from Joanna Ciliberto, a property owner since 1992, who said that the new entry sign at the North Gate was done "at minimal expense" and doesn't match the rest of the newly renovated area, which includes stone walls and extensive landscaping. "The AECC sets minimal standards for houses," said Ciliberto, who said she has had a career in graphic design, "and I don't feel the standards were met in this instance." Ciliberto said the letters in the sign are "way too big" and the material used "gives the impression of plastic or some composite." Ciliberto made her remarks after the meeting had been adjourned, but board directors were receptive to her comments and looked closely at several mock-ups she designed and brought to the meeting.