Welcome to the Sleepy Hollow Lot Owners Association Website
This website is dedicated to servicing the Sleepy Hollow community located in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. Here lot owners can access the SHLOA By-laws, Restrictive Covenants, a roster of the SHLOA Board of Directors, SHLOA newsletters, Lot Owner's Resource/Information Packet, and relevant news and events.
Current SHLOA Board of Directors (as of October 2024):
Alex Stewart - President
Julie Blum - Vice President
Bob Steele - Treasurer (Contact him at: 703-625-1780 or Srstreasurerwv@yahoo.com)
Kate Conradt - VP Communications
Roseanna Mordesovitch - Secretary
Ervin Barnes - VP Roads
Rose Carpenter - VP Common Facilities
To Contact the SHLOA Board
All official business should be addressed to the Board in writing via U.S. Mail to SHLOA, 65 Audubon Road, Hedgesville, WV 25427. General inquiries may be sent via email to: Sleepyhollowhoawv@yahoo.com. To Contact members of the Board of Directors, please see the contact information posted pm the bulletin board at the ball field. The SHLOA Board does not communicate via unofficial channels, such as the independent SHLOA community Facebook page.
SHLOA Rental Guidelines and House Rules
The Board finds that the manifest purpose and intent of the covenants governing the lots in the Sleepy Hollow community, when properly read as a whole, is to preserve the character and nature of this development as a stable residential community, free from transient use and occupancy, free from commercial like activities and free from uses that may become an annoyance or tend to interfere with the security of lot owners in their property. (Click HERE to read full text of Rental Guidelines and House Rules)
Resolution to Adopt Interpretative Rule Regarding Campground Development Sites
Incident to the Association's covenant enforcement responsibilities, the Board of Directors has been met with questions regarding the proper interpretation of the restrictive covenants as they relate to the use of lots for purposes other than for "one residence." Specifically, the Board has been asked whether a lot or combination of lots may be used as a location for multiple individual camping site or as a campground. After careful consideration, the Board adopted an interpretative resolution on this matter. Please click the following link to review the Interpretative Rule Regarding Campground Development Sites.
NEW!
__________________________________________________________________________________________
NEW OPTION TO PAY YOUR DUES ONLINE
The 2025 and past due property assessments can now be paid online via SwipeSimple. This payment system was established through SHLOA bank, Bank of Charlestown (BCT). The secure weblink and information that you provide here, https://swipesimple.com/links/lnk_225022ca53d1c2ff6ad88302393ebd03, will not be used or distributed for other purposes. If you have any issues or suggestions, please contact the SHLOA Treasurer, Bob Steele.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Assessment Fees and Liens
Per the Declaration and By-Laws of Sleepy Hollow, annual property assessments are to be paid on or before January 31 of each year. If the assessment is not paid, the debt becomes a lien on the land, securing the debt. The Association may also file suit and obtain a personal judgment against the lot owner. Such a judgment will then be enforceable by sale of the land, and the Sheriff of Berkeley or Morgan County, respectively, can execute the judgment by seizing and selling personal property. If required to seek judgment, the Association is entitled to recover its reasonable attorney fees in addition to the unpaid assessment(s) under Chapter 36B of the West Virginia Code, which will increase the total amount owed to the Association. SHLOA has been successful in obtaining judgments against delinquent lot owners in the past. Please do not force SHLOA to seek a judgement, as this is not something we want to undertake.
SHLOA understands that some lot owners may desire to pay the assessment fee debt owed to the Association but are not currently in a financial position to make a lump sum payment. SHLOA is amenable to entering into a payment plan agreement with members to avoid legal action. If you would like to set up a payment plan, please contact SHLOA Treasurer Bob Steele. The payment plan will permit the Association to seek and record judgment against you, however, the Association will not execute upon the judgment (i.e., Sheriff’s seizure of personal property) if payments are made in accordance with the payment plan agreement. Once all payments are made, the judgment will be released.
During 2024, invoices for the collection of the property assessment were sent out three times. Final invoice notifications are currently being sent out (end July or early August 2024). As of August 1, 2024, 90 lot owners have not paid their 2024 assessment fees or, in some cases, assessment fees for prior year(s). In September 2024, SHLOA will begin initiating legal actions to collect the outstanding assessment fees
Dock Repairs
On July 29, 2024, the lake attendant reported an issue with the small dock at the lake. One of the floatation barrels came unattached because one of the underneath straps was undone. For safety purposes, red caution tape was placed to prohibit access to the walkway and ladder. Subsequently, on July 31, a handyman who lives in the community happened to go the lake and saw the caution tape. He subsequently replaced a support beam and re-strapped the barrel so that it is sturdy now. Much thanks to the community member who stepped up and repaired the dock for no charge because he just wanted to help.
Sedimentation Pond Restoration
By action of the Board of Directors, the dredging of the silt pond and rebuilding of the berms at the back end of the lake was performed in 2018. This periodic maintenance is necessary to protect water quality within the lake. Sediment has again accumulated in the pond to a level that requires removal actions. A scope of work will be prepared to obtain competitive bids from local contractors to perform this work in the Spring of 2025. Contractors will submit their bids to the SHLOA email address.
Save the Trees 2025
Spaying of the trees for gypsy moths within the Sleepy Hollow Community during 2025 is not an activity being sponsored by the Board of Directors nor will SHLOA funds be used to pay for any spraying that is may be performed by individual lot owners. Helicopter Applicators, Inc. (HAI), the company that had been contracted by eight groups of lot owners in 2024 to spray their properties was recently contacted to determine if they were willing to work with SHLOA going forward.
Given the circumstances that occurred during 2024, which resulted in cancellation of the eight moth spraying contracts, HAI has developed a revised approach for working with HOA communities. The new requirements set a very high bar for community participation for HAI to provide services to our community. Provided below is the response that HAI provided.
HAI reviewed your request and they are willing to work with your community to spray for 2025. All community members must be contacted and provided a reasonable timeframe to object or determine buffers/accommodations/objections. Your association should plan to educate the community regarding the following topics that caused contention and confusion last year:
- A helicopter may fly over a property if it is not being applied/sprayed, as some objectors thought anywhere the helicopter was, [spray] was used, which is not correct.
- All applications in the association by private landowners will be BT. Several residents/landowners in this community highly objected to the use of Mimic.
The association board should contact all property owners and record any objectors, and landowners that will elect to spray in 2025. You noted the association owns mapping software and you plan to color code the objectors and elections to spray. Once you collect all property owners' results on a map you will provide a timeframe, ex: 60 days for any objections/accommodations/buffers of the map data. If landowners have objections, such as do not fly over my house, or 500 ft is too close to the property line, you will work through those objections/accommodations to find a solution or determine properties that are not sprayable because a solution among landowners is not possible. After the 60 days and all the objections/accommodations are reviewed/approved by the association and all landowners you may pass along the map and information to HAI to begin our portion of the mapping and contract paperwork.
You must have one group contact/one invoice/one check payment to HAI.
In closing, because some community members are opposed to spraying for gypsy moths, it seems conceivable that efforts to pursue spraying on a community-wide basis would be undermined. HAI will not provide services to lot owners unless the above provisions are met. If individuals or groups of lot owners decide to pursue spraying for gypsy moths in 2025, they would need to find an alternative contractor and undertake such measures on their own. It would be advisable to make the public aware of such plans.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
UPDATES FROM THE BOARD
CURRENT SHLOA NEWSLETTER
4th Quarter 2024 Newsletter: (Note: Personal phone #s and email addresses have been removed from the online version to protect personal privacy. Owners/Residents can contact the Board by email at sleepyhollowhoawv@yahoo.com.
BOARD MINUTES
January 2025
November 2024
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
Annual Meeting
May 2024
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In Case of Emergency
REMEMBER: SHLOA is not a law enforcement agency. Call the proper local/state authorities when you need law enforcement or emergency assistance:
911 - Fire or Emergency
304-258-1067 - Morgan County Sheriff (Non-emergency)
304-267-7000 - Berkeley County Sheriff (Non-emergency)
304-267-0000 - State Police/Martinsburg
304-258-0000 - State Police/Berkeley Springs
304-558-2784 - Division of Natural Resources; Enforcement
Mailboxes at the Ball Field: If you want your mail delivered to your Sleepy Hollow address, you can purchase a mailbox at the ball field for a one-time fee of $100.00. Upon sale of your home, the mailbox conveys to the new owner; however, the new owner will be responsible for having the box re-keyed through the post office for a small fee. For additional information or to purchase a mailbox, please contact Treasurer Bob Steele by phone or via email at Sleepyhollowhoawv@yahoo.com.
Lot Owners Information and Resource Packet
Tips for Safe Disposal of Ash from Fireplaces and Wood Stoves
SHLOA Snow Removal Informational Flyer
Upcoming Events and Information:
Board Meetings: Meetings of the SHLOA Board are generally held the 2nd Saturday of the month at 10:00am. During warm weather months, Board meetings are held at the ball field and owners are welcome to attend. During the winter months, meetings are held at the home of a Board member or remotely via ZOOM. If owners have any questions about an upcoming monthly Board meeting, please contact the Board President by phone or via email at Sleepyhollowhoawv@yahoo.com.