A. Membership. The owner or owners of every Lot and/or Living Unit shall be a voting member of the Association. However, only one vote shall be allowed per Lot with Living Unit. To the extent that there is more than one owner of any one Lot and\or Living Unit, said owners shall determine among themselves, and designate, one voting member, which voting member shall cast the vote allocated. If the owners cannot agree among themselves, the Board of Directors of the Association shall determine and designate a voting member from among the owners. The Association shall be governed by a Board of Directors, selected in accordance with the By-Laws of the Association, and the Association shall operate and do business in accordance with the terms of its By-Laws. The Board of Directors of the Association shall select the Committee in accordance with the By-Laws.
B. Streets. Declarant shall construct all streets within Taberna to standards specified by the City of New Bern for residential streets. Upon completion of construction of such streets, and to the extent that such streets are dedicated as public streets, the maintenance thereof shall be assumed by the City of New Bern in accordance with the policies and ordinances of the City of New Bern. Declarant shall maintain such streets to standards imposed by the City of New Bern until the earlier of the following:
(1) Transfer of the maintenance responsibilities for any street to the Association or to any other Association chartered to administer any Community within Taberna, which transfer shall only be made at such time as said streets meet all applicable standards so as to qualify for acceptance by the City of New Bern; or
(2) Acceptance by the City of New Bern of maintenance responsibilities for such street.
Nothing contained herein shall prohibit Declarant from constructing private streets, not offered for dedication to the City of New Bern, which streets are to be owned and maintained by the Association, or by another association created for the purpose, in part, of maintaining such private streets. Any such private streets shall be constructed in accordance with the standards for private streets established by the City of New Bern.
C. Street Lighting. The Association shall further at all times maintain in good, working condition all street lights or area lights constructed within any Community and constructed for common benefit, to the extent such street lights or area lights are not owned and/or maintained by a public utility or by the City of New Bern. The Association shall further have the responsibility of maintaining a sightly appearance along all street rights-of-way, utility easements adjacent thereto and the Pedestrian Access System.
D. Association Property Ownership and Maintenance. The Association shall have the responsibility of maintaining in good condition all Association Property and improvements thereon when and if conveyed to the Association in accordance with the provisions of these Protective Covenants, and thereafter shall be responsible for adopting rules and regulations governing utilization of such Association Property (subject to the limitations contained herein). To the extent deeded to the Association, the Association shall be obligated to accept ownership of all Association Property designated on any recorded subdivision plat of any portion of Taberna made subject to the terms and provisions of these Protective Covenants. Declarant is not obligated to and will not convey to the Association the Taberna Golf Club or any of its property (real or personal).
Unless maintained by the City of New Bern, the Association shall maintain in good and sightly condition all components of the entrance to Taberna leading from Highway 70, including but not limited to landscaping, fencing, fountains, signs, irrigation systems, lighting, and Pedestrian Access System associated therewith.
E. Services and Assistance of the Association. To the extent necessary, the Association may employ personnel necessary to perform its obligations, or needed to benefit the owners of Lots and Living Units within Taberna. The Association shall have the obligation to provide for itself and for the benefit of each owner all necessary professional services to promote the proper maintenance of all Association Properties and to provide the smooth, proper and legal administration of the Association. These services may include services of an engineer, lawyer, accountant or other professional. The Association is specifically authorized to provide such other incidental services for the benefit of Taberna and in the management of the Association as deemed reasonably necessary by the Board of Directors of the Association. The Association shall maintain specific Association Properties in accordance with standards established by Declarant in any amendment to these Protective Covenants or in any deed of conveyance to the Association.
The Association shall have the optional authority to provide any service it believes desirable, including, but not limited to cable television, waste collection or utility service. Such services may be provided by the Association directly, by a subsidiary owned by the Association or by contract with a third party. Assessments may be collected from Lot and Living Unit owners to pay for the provision of such services. Such services must be for the benefit of owners of Lots or Living Units.
F. Reserves. The Association need not maintain a capital reserve fund for public street replacement because of the likelihood that the City of New Bern will assume maintenance responsibilities for all streets at or soon after he time of relinquishment of such maintenance by Declarant. However, to the extent that the Association owns or is responsible for the maintenance of private streets, a reserve fund for private street maintenance may be maintained by the Association. Reserve funds for Amenities located on Association Properties need not be maintained until such time as an Amenity is constructed and conveyed to the Association. Following such construction and conveyance, the Association shall maintain reasonable reserves for replacement of depreciable tangible assets, including, but not limited to structures, parking areas, bike paths, lakes, and Amenities located on Association Properties. Reserves shall be maintained based on an estimation of the life of an asset, and may, at the discretion of the Board of Directors, be based on estimated replacement cost utilizing current values as of the date of the then budget year. The Board of Directors of the Association shall not be liable to any owner or to any third party for failure to maintain adequate reserves to the extent that said Board of Directors in good faith attempts to comply with the reserve obligations contained within these Protective Covenants, notwithstanding the fact that a significant expenditure is required in a greater amount or at an earlier date than had been reasonably anticipated. Declarant, at time of conveyance of Association Properties to the Association, shall convey the Amenities thereon in good and usable condition, such Amenities need not be “like new,” however.
G. Dues and Assessments. In order to fund the Association’s obligations, the owner of every Lot and\or Living Unit is obligated and bound, whether or not expressly stated in any instrument of conveyance, to pay to the Association the following:
(1) annual charges or dues, including Supplemental Dues; and
(2) special assessments; and
(3) fees, charges or deposits as specifically authorized by these Protective Covenants.
All such assessments, dues and fees, together with any interest thereon, shall be a charge on the Lot and\or Living Unit and shall be a continuing lien upon the property against which such charges are made. Liens shall be perfected in the manner of a mechanic’s or material men’s lien under North Carolina General Statutes, and any lien for dues unpaid shall be filed within nine (9) months after the due date of the payment of such assessment. The due date shall be the first day of the fiscal year of the Association, as to annual dues and Supplemental Dues; and the date established for payment of a special assessment, as more fully set out hereinafter. Any such lien may be enforced in the manner of a deed of trust with power of sale, as allowed by North Carolina General Statutes, through a foreclosure proceeding. This instrument shall be deemed to give to the President of the Association, or his designee, said power of sale.
Annual dues shall be in an amount determined by a majority vote of the Directors of the Association. Supplemental Dues shall be an amount as specified by these Protective Covenants and amendments hereto. The initial annual dues for each Lot shall be $50.00 per Lot. The annual dues may be altered for any fiscal year of the Association beginning with the fiscal year commencing January 1, 1998. The amendment to these Protective Covenants subjecting a development site to the provisions of these Protective Covenants shall specify the beginning date for dues payments per Living Unit when constructed thereon. As more fully set out hereinbefore, Declarant may convey multiple Lots or unsubdivided sites to a builder or developer for the purpose of constructing Living Units thereon for sale to the ultimate users; to the extent such election is made by Declarant, the collection of dues for such Lots or properties may be delayed until after the Living Units are constructed thereon and such Living Units are offered for sale, to the extent the amendments subjecting such Lots to the terms of these Protective Covenants so specifies the commencement date for the payment of dues.
The Association shall have authority to collect as a surcharge additional dues (not in the nature of a special assessment) on an annual basis against Lots particularly benefited by the existence, location or use of Association Properties, which benefit is over and beyond the benefits to other members of the Association (“Supplemental Dues”). Such surcharge shall be included within the budget of the Association each year, and shall be due and payable by each owner benefited thereby. These Protective Covenants, or an amendment hereto annexing additional properties, may specify properties subject to such Supplemental Dues, but it is expressly authorized for the Association to charge the owner of any Lot with frontage on any pond maintained by the Association annual Supplemental Dues of $25.00 (commencing with the 1996 fiscal year of the Association). Such Supplemental Dues for pond maintenance shall increase or decrease annually in an amount equal to the percentage increase or decrease in the regular dues (without consideration of the Supplemental Dues) due and payable by members of the Association from year to year. All such receipts from Supplemental Dues shall be considered general funds of the Association, and need not be maintained in a separate or designated escrow account. The Association shall maintain all lakes or ponds to the extent that the same are Association Properties and are not owned by the owner of the Taberna Golf Club. The owner of each Lot adjoining any lake or pond owned by the Association shall be responsible for maintaining such lake or pond .to its high water mark as a part of the property owned by said owner; however, no such owner shall take any action within any reserved maintenance easement adjoining any such pond or lake so as to interfere with the ability of the Association to send representatives onto such easement for any purposes required relating to the maintenance and upkeep of such lake or pond.
A special assessment may be levied from time to time by vote of a minimum of 70% of the total votes cast in any regular or special meeting, called in accordance with the By-Laws. A special assessment may be made for any purpose for which expenditures are allowed in accordance with this Declaration. The resolution approving a special assessment shall specify the date payable. All special assessments shall be assessed equally against all Lot owners. In no event shall any regular or special assessment be levied against the owner of Taberna Golf Club.
Notwithstanding any provisions of these Protective Covenants, including this Section 6, the Board of Directors shall have authority to levy any special assessment against the owners of Lots (but in no event against the owner of Taberna Golf Club) if, in the sole discretion of said Directors, the assessment is reasonably required to protect properties impacted or about to be impacted in case of an emergency, such as a storm. In such event, the Directors shall give written notice to the members so affected as promptly as possible after the determination of said assessment and the action shall be binding as though ratified by the requisite vote of the owners.