New Columbia Owner’s Association

Quarterly Meeting Minutes

August 28, 2018

Attendees:

Board Members / Management / Vendors / Membership/Guests
Rachel Langford / Alana Wilson / Mike Nielson, ValleyScapes / 20+ guests – contact management for a list of attendees
Simon Williams / Carrie Lewis / Officer Matt Boyd, PPD
Juli Garvey / Robert Coleman / Officer Elise Temple, PPD
Keith Karlsen

The meeting was called to order at 6:40 PM bySimon Williams.Attendees introduced themselves.

  1. Approve May 2018 Quarterly Meeting Minutes
  2. Meeting minutes are approved.
  3. Police Update
  4. Simon Williams has several concerns:
  5. There recently was a mortar that sounded like a gunshot. He called it in but never heard back from the police.
  6. There was almost a riot recently. He felt there was no response from the police. An officer responded to this by saying they did respond to the incident. They talked to the mother. The incident deescalated by the time the police showed up. She advised that in the future if you want a follow up, you need to request it from the officer you speak with.
  7. Vandalism, loitering, drinking, smoking at pocket parks.
  8. Transient population has declined because of tighter patrolling at the railroads, and because homeowners have been calling them in.
  9. The police are still doing weekly meetings with management.
  10. A homeowner was concerned that people are playing basketball behind his house. They previously broke a window. An officer responded that if they know who it is who is playing/broke a window, they can notify the officers, who can talk to the people.
  11. The hours for the community police officers are typically 2PM – midnight. Other officers are available all hours.
  12. During the May meeting, the police officer handed out a cheat sheet for who to call for transients, people living in RV’s, and broken down vehicles. Homeowners can email Carrie to get a copy of this cheat sheet.
  13. A homeowner called police because her daughter was being targeted because she was being mistaken for somebody else. The homeowner said there was no follow-up from the police.
  14. An officer said that if there ever is no follow up, talk to the manager and they can bring it up at the weekly meeting with officers.
  15. A homeowner said there is a household that has somebody living in an RV on the street outside their house. Simon requested that they email him the house’s address.
  16. A homeowner mentioned that when they called 911 for a small fire, they got sent to the Vancouver police department. The police officers agreed that there is bad reception in that area, and calls do sometimes get sent to Vancouver.
  17. Simon said that any other police-related concerns can be emailed to him.
  18. Mike from ValleyScapes
  19. Water has been slowed down, and they are getting ready to put grass to sleep for the winter. There are about six weeks until leaf season.
  20. Most homeowners agreed that there have been improvements in the grass this year.
  21. One homeowner said her grass is still brown, and she has pics and has emailed them to Mike.
  22. Home Forward said that any communication with Mike has to go to IPM too so they can see trends and track it.
  23. Another homeowner said that ValleyScapes have cut the grass back about a foot so they have room for their equipment to mow, and that has created a lot of mud.
  24. A homeowner requested some type of credit for bad service.
  25. There was a discussion about creating a landscaping subcommittee to address issues such as these.
  26. Member comment
  27. A homeowner brought up some issues with the garbage containers. They said there are dumpster divers going through the garbage. They also said renters are bring their garbage down the block to the homeowners’ bins. There used to be locks on the containers, but there are not anymore.
  28. A homeowner asked if the “three strikes” rule is still in effect for renters violating the lease, specifically dealing drugs. Home Forward and Alana clarified that there is no such rule, but we will move towards eviction for drug use. Alana explained that we need documentation in order to evict, and that courts don’t like to evict in this climate, so we need great evidence. Simon requested that people let him, IPM, and police know if they suspect drug activity.
  29. A homeowner asked what can be done about barking dogs, and if there are size restrictions for renters. Home Forward responded that yes, there are restrictions for pets, but people can have Reasonable Accommodations for Companion/Service animals, and that is not something we can restrict. Simon said that the two items we can take action on are noise complaints and aggressive/dangerous behavior. If people have noise complaints for dogs, they can get the general location and report it to management, who can pass along the information to the police officers.
  30. A homeowner said there is an abandoned home that has people squatting in it. They called the police, but they couldn’t do anything about it because they need to get the complaint from the homeowner. Home Forward said to give management more information because they can follow up on it.
  31. A homeowner brought up the topic from the previous meeting that some of the street lights are connected to the residents’ power. Simon said to email him if you are one of these homes.
  32. CC&R – Maintenance of Structure and Grounds
  33. Home Forward brought up the topic of what is the homeowner’s responsibility and what is the HOA’s responsibility when it comes to maintenance items such as trees. Tree trimming/maintenance has never been part of a landscaping contract. Common area tree trimming is covered by the HOA. Tree trimming on properties is the responsibility of the homeowner.
  34. Committee Training News
  35. Home Forward said we would like to do a committee training. We took a rough vote and people would prefer to do a committee meeting in the evenings rather than the weekends. Home Forward suggested doing the meeting in September.
  36. Pocket Park Maintenance
  37. The parts for the repairs are onsite, and we are now just waiting for the contractor to have available to complete the work.
  38. Financial Review
  39. July variances
  40. Courtesy patrol – this was over for the quarter, but includes May’s charges.
  41. Admin expenses – over budget, but included excessive copies because of a lot of demand letters.
  42. Water was over.

Meeting is concluded at 8:00 PM.