BELMEADE AT RIDGELY MANOR CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING

March 25, 2014

Covenants’ Hearing

Beverly Jacobson, President, convened a Covenants’ Hearing at 6:10.

Homeowner 1: The issue has been resolved. Should it recur, the homeowner will be fined $10 per day.

Homeowner 2: The board will offer the homeowner a solution to the issue.

I.  Call to Order: Beverly Jacobson, President, called the meeting to order at 6:30.

The following Board Members were present:

a.  Beverly Jacobson, President

b.  Billy Ballou, Vice President

c.  Monika Bradley, Treasurer

d.  Kathie Fowler, Secretary

e.  Ken Klein, Board Member arrived 6:34

Management representative: Cortney Bright

II.  Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting

Monika Bradley made a motion to accept the minutes of the January 25, 2014 meeting as written. The motion was seconded and approved: aye: 4 nay: 0

III.  Financial Report

Monika Bradley, treasurer, identified the need for pre-paid insurance to be adjusted from 2013. This has been done.

IV.  Unfinished business: action list

  1. 1153 Belmeade – work order to Roby for repair - scheduled
  2. Farrcroft – meeting with Helen Dragas
  3. Ms. Jacobson is trying to set up a meeting with Helen Dragas, developer of this community.
  4. Purpose behind meeting is to better understand the concepts behind community design based on experience with multiple communities.
  5. Ms. Dragas may be able to offer her experience with communities that fail to maintain their properties, thereby negatively impacting an adjacent community, as is the case with Farrcroft.
  1. Landscape
  2. Jim Fowler submitted his landscape report, presented by Kathie Fowler in his absence.
  3. The report is appended to these minutes.
  4. The board approved reimbursement of a pruning tool, materials for water control between houses and fertilizer to Mr. Fowler.
  5. Mr. Fowler has donated his labor in pruning crepe myrtles.
  6. In connection with Evergreen Landscaping, Mr. Fowler will identify the cost of various options for water control, considering differing amounts of sunlight and amount of run-off water.
  1. Fencing – update on progress
  2. Phase II of fence maintenance is almost complete. Weather has impeded progress.
  3. Mr. Roby will begin Phase III as soon as Phase II is complete.
  4. The remaining properties on Averham Dr. will be done as Phase IV in 2015.
  1. Maintenance of pond – Solitude proposal

Billy Ballou made a motion to postpone consideration of the Solitude proposal for work on the storm water management pond. The motion was seconded and approved: aye: 5, nay: 0.

  1. Pool house
  2. Monika Bradley will locate a lockable thermostat cover for the pool house.
  3. This will enable us to maintain a steady temperature.
  4. A community member is handling the logistics of pool house rentals.
  1. Rental update
  2. The 20% rental cap has been reached.
  3. One homeowner is on the waiting list for the next available spot.

V.  New Business

  1. Pool Furniture
  2. Restrapping of pool furniture is needed due to wear and staining.
  3. Our Replacement Reserve Study identified this area for action in 2014.
  4. The cost will come from our Replacement Reserves.
  5. Monika Bradley made a motion to approve the proposed from Coastal Carolina Supply to restrap the pool chairs at a cost of $1690, inclusive of freight and tax. The motion was seconded and approved: aye: 5, nay: 0.
  1. Bus stop parking
  2. Some cars are parking in the entrance to the community at school bus times. These cause difficulty in visibility and maneuvering space as well as creating a potential safety hazard to pedestrians.
  3. Drivers will be asked to utilize the pool parking area for bus stop drop-off and pick-up.
  4. Ms. Bright will investigate Virginia law with reference to parking distance requirements to Stop signs and corners.
  1. Hydrant inspection
  2. Ms. Bright has scheduled this annual inspection for April, 2014.
  1. Spring inspection
  2. Ms. Bright will communicate with homeowners the timing of the property inspection as well as the major upkeep items that TCG will be inspecting.
  3. Notices for necessary work will be presented on hang tags placed on the front door of the home.
  1. Newsletter
  2. Kathie Fowler and Cortney Bright will write the Spring Newsletter to share information with the community to include:
  3. Towels on pool chairs
  4. Bus stop parking
  5. Landscaping notes – pruning
  6. Drainage issues – information about progress toward addressing issues

VI.  Homeowner Forum

  1. Bill Hogge, 1112 Daventry Place:
  2. street light out : get number on pole and report to Dominion
  3. Is there a line item in the budget for legal fees? If this is depleted, would the community have a special assessment to cover additional legal expenses?
  4. There is a line item in the budget which has been sufficient in the past.
  5. Should expenses exceed the budgeted amount, there is a general operating reserve fund from which we would draw.
  6. The board endeavors to avoid special assessments and to keep fees as low as possible.
  7. Kathie Fowler, 5204 Averham Dr.:
  8. What is the status of the Verizon box repair (Norwell) from tow truck damage?
  9. Verizon has to order a new box cover.
  10. Aristocrat Towing has accepted responsibility for the damage and is following up with Verizon.
  11. The seal coat is showing wear, particularly at the entrance and turns.
  12. This is normal wear and tear.
  13. Jeff Croniser, 5216 Norwell Lane: cited for having a large dog.
  14. Would have preferred to have someone come to the door and ask about the dog.
  15. It belongs to his daughter who visits with it.
  16. Ms. Bright noted the requirement to have a record of contacts with homeowners.
  17. Amil Turkhia, 5208 Norwell Lane
  18. Who interprets the By-Laws?
  19. Board is responsible for clarification
  20. All By-Laws were developed by the Dragas Corporation and included in the documents recorded with the City of Virginia Beach.
  21. In 2009 and 2010, the board at that time provided clarifications to the rules.
  22. These clarifications were examined by a lawyer before dissemination.
  23. How does the board ensure that rules are applied in the same way to all residents? For example, would a wheelchair be allowed?
  24. A wheelchair is covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  25. This would never be subject to community rules.

VII.  Executive Session

Monika Bradley made a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss legal matters.

VIII.  Adjournment

As there was no further business, Beverly Jacobson adjourned the meeting at 7:19.

______

Beverly Jacobson, President Kathleen Fowler, Secretary

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Belmeade BOD, 3/25/14, kaf

LANDSCAPING REPORT 3/22/14

Mulching should have been completed. Weather caused a delay in completion. Need a couple of dry days to avoid damage as the mulch gets spread. Care was taken to edge all beds and a heavier layer of mulch applied for better weed and moisture control.

Mark from Evergreen has suggested we forego aeration this year. This would save about $400. I concur with his recommendation.

We did experience some winter kill damage to plants but not as much as it could have been. We also had some animal caused damage. I will be applying 10-10-10 fertilizer to plants to help them recover. This is not covered by the basic contract. Fertilizer cost about $16/bag. Could take 5 or so bags.

All crepe myrtles were trimmed. Care was taken to shape trees and to remove branches that could hit houses. Will monitor them as the year goes on and do additional trimming as needed.

I noticed that a mat intended to control erosion in the pond has come loose. Don’t know if the engineering study highlighted this or not. When the weather warms up it should be possible to enter the water and resecure the matting. May enlist one of our resident divers to assist.

Water and mud control between houses

The goal is to provide solutions which will continue to enhance the appearance of the community. It is clear so far that no single solution will solve the problem. We may need to consider a phased implementation similar to the fence painting.

Have been experimenting with adding additional length of black piping to redirect downspout water. So far not a complete solution. One of the problems is the soil itself is not very permeable i.e., clay under layer. Will continue see what can be done. Cost is fairly cheap $6 per 8 ft length. At max of four downspouts between houses its $24 per area.

Have had discussion with Mark of Evergreen on using sod to correct some of the problems. We can’t conduct that experiment until things warm up and the Bermuda sod is available. Mark pointed out that Sajo farms had installed new sod between houses with mixed success. A major factor is the amount of sun the area gets. Another factor is if there is any soil beneath the sod. This is likely to be a case by case issue. Sod runs $180/pallet installed. Would like to get one pallet when it becomes available to experiment with. Another option is to consider a fescue grass that will grow in shade. Fescue sod should be cheaper than Bermuda. The different grasses don’t look as uniform but beat bare ground.

Note: The cutting edge seed which was planted last fall at the end of Averham has survived the winter and appears to be doing well. We will have to see how it does as the growing season progresses.

Another option is to install mulch and stepping stones in area which will not support the growth of grass. Need to do a little more research on this. A subset to this would be to install some permeable stepping stones in areas that will support grass that still get wet. We have requested additional information on these stones. The company info we have seen so far calls for a fair amount of preparation before installation.

The most expensive option would be to install a “French drain” solution. Do not have a good number for doing this and would recommend holding off on this until we have tried some of the other options.

R/ Jim Fowler

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Belmeade BOD, 3/25/14, kaf