Directors hear payment options

During a board work session on Thursday, the POA board of directors heard about a new payment portal that should make life easier for members.

The payment portal will be available for both assessment payments and water bill payments with the same log-in, controller Stacie Higgins said.

The portal will be provided by Regions Bank, so the bank will be responsible for storing all banking and credit card information.

Higgins said members have been asking for a more convenient method to pay those fees. Access to the new payment portal will be added to the POA app so members will be able to pay on their smartphone. They will be able to set up recurring payments themselves on their own devices instead of working through membership services. Each member’s payment history will be accessible.

The POA had been absorbing credit card fees as well as fees for paying electronically, Higgins said. The association will continue paying fees for electronic payments or ACH payments, but members using credit cards to

pay fees will need to pay a 3.5 percent convenience fee. Members can continue to pay by check via the mail or one of the POA drop boxes with no fee. They can also call membership services.

Higgins explained that some people use credit cards because it’s a way to earn points. It doesn’t make sense, she said, for the POA to finance members’ credit card points.

Also, the fee to use the water department’s payment portal will go away with the new system.

The new portal will probably be ready in July, she said. A marketing campaign will be used to let members know all the details.

The board also heard about a plan to license land to the owner of a storage facility on Rogers Road. The business recently paid for a new survey and discovered that some of the asphalt that surrounds one of their building was inadvertently placed on property that belongs to the POA. They are unable to complete a sale of the property because of that mistake.

The common property covered by the lease is only ten or fifteen feet wide, General Manager Tom Judson told the board.

The POA can’t sell a common property without a vote by the membership, but they can commit to a long-term lease. The storage business will pay $5,000 for that lease which will enable it to sell the business.

The board will meet on March 25 to vote on issues discussed during the work session.