Cheltenham HOA’s Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

Date/Time: 1/6/13 6 p.m.

Location: Corinne Smith’s home

Members Present: Corinne Smith, President; Walter Baab, First VP; Annie Stitgen, Second VP; Cathy Frank, Treasurer; Carrie Ellzey, Secretary. Also present, Calvin Frank, volunteer coordinator.

Treasurer Update

  • Cathy presented the treasurer’s report. Walter motioned to approve the report. All in favor. As of 12/30/12, our balances were as follows: Checking $634.38 and Savings $27,651.01 totaling $28,285.39.
  • Cal presented receipts totaling $147 to Cathy for repairs he made to the street lights at the Penridge entrance. He will repair the street light on Briggs once the weather clears.
  • Corinne and Cal submitted receipts for the holiday lights used at each entrance.

Welcoming Committee

  • There have been no new homeowners since our last meeting.

Landscaping

  • Cathy reviewed Brad Kavalunas’ contract for weeding the flower beds. Brad was hired last May to weed the flower beds in the common areas. We paid $78/mo. Our November bill was $157 which included a fall clean-up (cutting down ornamental grasses, clearing out beds, etc.) for a total of $625 for the season. Since this clean-up was done, we should not need him to do a spring clean-up. The board agreed to have Brad start again in April and end with a clean-up in October. His bill should stay approx. the same. Cathy will follow-up with him regarding a new contract.
  • Corinne was responsible for purchasing the entryway flowers this past year. She says she may have a wholesale place she can buy from in the spring.
  • The ownership of 2 Pin Oaks at the Wilmington entrance is still in question. Cal is continuing to follow up with the city to determine who will be responsible for a treatment this spring. The trees were planted on the West side of the sidewalk while all others were clearly planted on the city’s side. We are trying to get the city to accept responsibility for them.

Fencing

  • Cal and Walter reported that the fence gates are all in disrepair from being drug along the grass (i.e., hinges are coming loose and gates are breaking). Cal requested funds to purchase additional nuts and bolts to complete the repairs. They will be raising each gate several inches to allow them to open freely when there is a crew mowing. The rest of the fence is ok. Rails and posts were replaced last June under warranty.
  • Walter will complete a green compliance card to be given to a resident on Tedbury whose property backs up to Wilmington requesting repairs be made to the residents’ fence.

Lamppost

  • The Ehret residence on Washum is still missing a driveway lamppost. A decorative floodlight was installed and the lamppost was not replaced during landscaping redesign last year. Corinne has sent 2 letters and an email informing the resident they are not in compliance with our covenants and must install a lamppost for safety. The resident has not responded to any correspondence. Corinne will call and attempt to speak with the residents before taking this issue to the associations’ lawyer.

Dues

  • We currently garner $44,240.00/year in income from homeowner dues. It is anticipated that we will have approx $4500 left over after the remaining bills are paid with this year’s dues. New dues will be collected in March. We should have approx $27,000 in reserve at that point.
  • The board was split on whether or not there is a need to raise dues this March. It appears that the association is incurring a 10% increase in expenses each year.
  • The board recognizes how valuable Cal and Walter’s volunteer efforts have been in saving the HOA money (i.e., tree removal, light repairs, etc.).
  • Annie inquired about the high cost for landscaping and whether or not multiple quotes were solicited for a company to mow the common areas. Cal shared that multiple quotes were requested and Buckeye has been the best priced for the quality of work. Buckeye does not weed flower beds or do a fall/spring clean-up which is why we have had to hire a separate contractor to do that work. Homeowners were asked to volunteer their time to do this work last spring but we were unable to get the help to do this ourselves.
  • Corinne will be following up with Nestle Creek to see if there would be a financial benefit to our joining together for pond services.
  • A committee was formed to research what type of reserve an association our size should have. Several members have expressed concern over future repairs to the fencing and irrigation system which would be costly. While some members feel we should be raising dues to increase our current savings, others feel that may not be necessary at this time. Carrie, Annie and Walter will research what type of reserve is appropriate and share their findings with the board by June.
  • Cathy called for a dues increase of $6 in March which would be a $0.50 raise per month, bringing dues to $286/year. Walter seconded the motion. Motioned carried. 4 in favor, 2 opposed.

Corinne will send an email out at the beginning of March to set up our next board meeting. We are looking at the week of 3/10-3/17.