HOTWG Meeting Minutes September 30, 2009

Transcription

1 HOTWG Meeting Minutes September 30, CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. and was chaired by John Lewin. residents attended the meeting. Eleven 2. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA The draft agenda was approved with the following additions which may be discussed in the open forum: 1) Possible article by HOTWG for the Breeze; 2) Discussion on s sent to the community, Board and the Transition Committee by HOTWG and HVRAC. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The draft of the Minutes of the August 17, 2009 meeting was unanimously approved. 4. COMMITTEE REPORTS Finance Committee meeting discussion: Dave Weiss attended the most recent meetings. There were two meetings in September on the budget (9/10, 9/28). The committee still does not have the final version of the reserve study. The reserve study is a major driver of the budget requirements for 2010, up 40 to 50% over the previous study. Even though the study is a major input to the budget, they would not allow Dave to see it. To his knowledge, only the committee chair, Pat Metro, has seen the draft study and has included numbers in the budget for the reserves based on the draft study. Pat was about to go on vacation for two weeks and the committee was trying to get the budget to the board by October 15. They may have the final version of the reserve study from the engineer by today (September 30). Dave said that the bottom line is that this year s budget and the previous year s budget were based on reserve study requirements from That was for a contribution to the reserves of about $228,000 for the year. This draft reserve study has a requirement of $369,000. By applying all of the excess funds that the Association collected from us in 2008 and the likely surplus in 2009, spread over the next five years Pat was able to bring that requirement down to $324,000. That is still almost $100,000 more than what it was for the previous budget. It was asked what those drivers are that raised the requirements and the committee s response was that there are, for example, more roads than we had in 2006, but they also said that this engineering firm has been much more conservative in terms of estimating replacement costs than the previous firm. Page 1 of 9

2 Dave said that they are also changing the way that they report taxes. HOA s have two options when reporting/filing taxes and it turns out that it is more advantageous now that we have large interest income to file the other way, rather than the way they have been filing. There was discussion about a onetime write-off of late fees that are $25.00 or less. Dave said that at the first budget meeting in September, Mel Bellinger had recommended that $4,000 be budgeted toward the volunteer fire department, and that has been removed. Several CD s are coming up to be rolled over. The committee will be reviewing investment management firms and they will provide the Association s investment policy to potential investment advisors. Dave said he was provided with a delinquent account summary that traces changes in the delinquent accounts from December through September. In December 2008 the delinquent accounts of 90 days or longer totaled $18, As of September 2009 the total was $27, There is money budgeted in 2010 for the attorney to pursue collecting some of those funds, which may or may not be successful. John Lewin added that there was discussion of a $25.00 fee which will be charged to any homeowner who does not get the required approvals before making modifications. Transition Committee meeting discussion: At the August 3 meeting several HOTWG and HVRAC members attended the open session prior to the committee s adjournment into executive session (ES). Several objections were raised as to the legitimacy of the ES in order to discuss the engineering/transition study draft. The explanation for the ES was that there may be potential litigation against the developer, as well as attorney-client privilege. The HOTWG and HVRAC members were of the opinion that potential litigation issues should be discussed in private, but those issues not in dispute should be discussed in an open meeting. A point of contention was when the committee and attorney were asked when the final transition study will be released to the community to which the attorney responded that it may never be released. This was later corrected at the September 22 board meeting when the attorney stated that it would be released once there are no potential claims against KHov. At the September 10 meeting several HOTWG and HVRAC members attended the open session prior to the committee s adjournment into executive session (ES). In addition, a group of homeowners from Phase 9 attending this meeting said they had contacted both the County and the developer in reference to drainage issues (complaints) and wanted to discuss the situation with the committee, but were unable to do so due to the ES. The homeowners were told that the committee would bring it up in the ES, but there was no way to know if this occurred. At 8:30 p.m. the committee was still in ES according to John Lewin. Page 2 of 9

3 HOTWG and HVRAC provided the committee with a written list of issues, at their request, but no written response has been received. However, at the September 22 board meeting it was stated that the issues raised by these groups were brought to the attention of the engineer. 5. SEPT. 22, 2009 BOARD MEETING Summary of highlights: Drew Main stated that there are 7 houses left to sell. Eric Burch has replaced Keith Minter on the board. Minter no longer works for KHov. Eric will take over for land development issues in the community. Drew spoke about beautiful Historic vs. ugly Historic. He said that work had been done on the dry pond, but not much work done elsewhere. All, including management and the landscaping company, are aware of what needs to be done. Brendan Cox and Eric, except for the pond, are tasked with getting these issues done along with management. Drew said he had discussions with Mel and met with the Transition Committee about things that can be done in the community on this subject. They will do what can be done. It is a priority for KHov and the Association to do what they need to do. He said that the large easement area along the power lines cannot be touched to his knowledge. Drew discussed what could be viewed as KHov control of the community and said his role now, as President, is to push responsibility into the community. KHov does not need to make all these decisions. Drew said he is hands off as far as the day to day operation of the community. Management Report (Jene Lyons): 1) the pond between the clubhouse and sales office has been plagued with bubbles and scum. It has been undergoing treatment with chemical combinations attempting to address the high ph. The high ph was caused by a combination of summer heat, landscaping nutrients in the form of runoff and rapidly procreating large goldfish (apparently dumped into the pond by someone). It is a slow, conservative process and will be tried first before having to drain the pond, which is expensive. 2) A question submitted asked who is paying for the gate repairs and the answer was that the Association pays for the repairs. There is a preventive maintenance contract in place, but it does not cover the cost of parts or any costs related to repairs. She said no preventive maintenance contract covers repairs or parts. 3) Since June 21 (when the guards left) repair costs for the gate total approximately $5,000. She said that if there had been guards in place the costs would have included their services and the repair costs would not have necessarily been avoided. 4) The clubhouse will now have yearly window cleaning. 4) FiOS installation will resume and she announced the September 29 presentation. Association counsel said that the board will be approving the election committee charter and the election procedures policy and will unveil it to the League of women Voters as they will be involved in the initial election (transition). Transition is expected in the first quarter of The goal of the procedures is to outline for everyone the procedures for running for election, what the process will be to get their name on the ballot, how the Page 3 of 9

4 ballots will be tallied, who is eligible and ineligible to vote, etc. The board decided to engage the LOWV to be sure there was a third party involved in the event of a challenge to the procedures. As a requirement of the Bylaws, a member of the Board of Directors must serve as Chair of the committee. She stated that it appears that we ll have a Declarant as Chair of the elections committee. That person will hand off or delegate responsibility to one of the resident members designated as Vice-Chair. The Association will be soliciting interested residents who would like to serve on the committee. Anyone interested in serving in that capacity must not be interested in running for elections. As part of adopting the election procedures the Board has been working on a memo that will be detailing the transition process, the timeline of events. When finalized there will be a cover letter that will accompany the policy when it is distributed to the community, probably in a week or two (from Sept. 22). The attorney also stated that the Board asked counsel to prepare a series of complaint procedures in reference to the new Ombudsman s Office legislation. She said that upon the adoption of regulations as to what the ombudsman will do, expected in about a year, the matters will get forwarded to the Common Interest Community Board. All Virginia associations must adopt similar policies. The attorney stated that in terms of the timing they are getting questions as to why transition is happening now and not when there is an owner elected board. She said that our community is unique in that the developer is not transitioning until 100% of the lots have been sold. That is their choice to make. They can do it sooner or at 100% sell out. Most community associations typically have a 75% threshold. Four Season s community documents are different. The clubhouse has been conveyed to the Association. With aging infrastructure, now several years old, now is a good time to get an assessment of what its condition is. Many policies, resolutions and appointments were approved or ratified at the meeting as follows: 1) Protocol to write off certain accounts for collection purposes (accounts owing small amounts) 2) Recommendation of FC for investment in CD s 3) Don Montanaro s appointment to the Board 4) Sue Hebert s appointment as Board Secretary 5) Amendment to Design Guidelines ($25 fee if modifications done w/o approval) 6) Affirmed approval of the Audit 7) Affirmed Delegation of Duties between Meetings (President or VP can make decisions on behalf of Association if management is unavailable). 8) Approved the Investment Policy 9) Clubhouse cleaning contract (going to the current contractor, Clean Advantage) 10) New contract with Broadview Security (formerly Brink s) for an alarm system for the gatehouse due to the technical equipment now being housed there 11) Resolution regarding Executive Committee: Establishes an executive committee of the Board of Directors comprised of Mel, Don and Sue. They will represent the Board in all matters related to the transition process. The reasoning for this action is to clearly Page 4 of 9

5 separate the Board from KHov throughout the transition process and all decisions will be determined by those 3 resident Board members and the transition committee. KHov does not have a role in that process. 12) Resolution regarding the complaint procedure (Ombudsman s Office) 13) Resolution changing all committee charters allowing committee chairmen to be appointed by the Board of directors. 14) Resolution establishing the gate committee & appointment of Ray Aarons as Chair 15) Appointment of Judy Hart to the Covenants Committee 16) Reaffirmation of appointments Bill Thomas, Martin Munoz, Greg DeMesones to the Modifications Committee 17) Appointment of Ron Bucholz as Covenants Chairman 18) Reaffirmation of Insurance Contract 19) Election Committee policy Mel Bellinger announced that there will be a community meeting with all three resident board members to be held on October 20 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. related to transition, election policy and more. Rules will be set up for the meeting. He also said that a grounds and landscaping committee will be established. KHov will be completing the big pond as a dry pond which is the way it was specified in the original plan. A water pumping station is going to be built by the PWC Service Authority in an easement on the south end of the Four Seasons property near the nature trail that will take about 2 years to complete. Discussion: It was asked when the guards left, which was June 21. Barbara Parker said that the repair invoices for the gate from April 8 through July 9 actually total approximately $7, Dave Weiss said this was discussed at the finance committee meeting and the actual numbers are around $9, Tom Dibbley actually stated at the board meeting that he believed KHov was trying to transition out by the end of January This will likely be when elections take place. If any of the three resident board members (Mel, Sue or Don) do not chair the election committee that leaves them free to run for an elected position. About a year ago the board had approved a donation on behalf of the Association in the amount of $1,000 that was paid to the League of Women Voters to review the draft election procedures. Dave Weiss said he asked the finance committee at their last meeting if the elections line in the budget includes funds for the LOWV and the response was no. Dave Weiss commented, in reference to the new complaint procedure, that several Four Seasons residents, himself included, recently attended a presentation on this subject. The State Ombudsman said that they were in the process of drafting the regulations to be implemented and would allow that office to actually function. She said it would be Page 5 of 9

6 approximately 18 months before those regulations are approved and in place. She said it s not that we don t want to help you, we can t help you. Whatever our Association is implementing, it is unlikely to be acted upon in Richmond for at least 18 months. Bill Selfridge stated that he thought the attorney s final comments regarding attorneys fees were outrageous. Another resident pointed out that the attorney never directly attributed either HOTWG or HVRAC to the referenced legal bills. The two groups were only brought up in the question, but not in her response. All agreed that the question and response could have been presented a less confrontational and accusatory manner. There was discussion about the resolution giving the board authority to appoint all committee chairmen. It was assumed that this was brought about due to the fact that no one on the transition committee wanted to assume the role of chair when Paul Smith stepped down so the board intervened and appointed Tom Dibbley. Everyone agreed that Tom is working hard in his new role as chair. 6. HELPING HANDS REPORT Ron Homan had suggested at a previous HOTWG meeting that HH assist the residents in disposing of some hazardous material (such as fluorescent bulbs, paint, computer parts). The first collection took place on September 12 and John Lewin said he received so many items that his truck was full (it was about half computer parts and half paint cans). He took the items up to the landfill. The next collection will probably take place on Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. in the clubhouse parking lot. John said he welcomed a new HH member, John Cahalen. HH received requests for help with such things as replacing fluorescent bulbs, fixing nail pops, installing a garbage disposal, hanging curtain rods, installing an adapter to convert a recessed light into a pendant light (there is a kit you can buy), and replacing air conditioner filters. During the holidays, HH volunteers will assist those residents who need a hand to hang a traditional wreath or strand of lights (or two) and can no longer perform these tasks without some assistance. 7. OPEN FORUM A. Possible article for the Breeze John Lewin asked what would be achieved by submitting an article to the Breeze in response to the comments made about HOTWG and HVRAC at the board meeting by the board members and attorney. HVRAC did not even exist when the bingo issue started. What role, if any, did HOTWG play in the bingo issue? There were individuals who questioned the legality of bingo who also happened to be HOTWG members at the time, but HOTWG as a group was not involved. Many community leaders have been involved with HOTWG and have attended Page 6 of 9

7 HOTWG meetings over the years, including former and current committee and board members. Bill Selfridge said he interpreted the attorney s comments to mean that no group or individual should ask questions of this board. On the subject of legal costs, John Lewin said if one makes a legitimate request for documentation there should only be associated administrative costs. Something is wrong if they decide they need to consult with legal counsel for each document request. Everyone in this community has the right to request documentation. Dave Weiss said there were other situations besides bingo where documents were requested, for example, his request for documentation on all repairs relating to the indoor pool Dectron air system. They had already spent $70, in repairs in two years. The end result of that request was a change in contractors and repair costs were significantly reduced. The more people that have access to the records of the community and ask questions the better off this community is. Barbara Parker reminded everyone of when her husband was ordered to appear at a hearing before the covenants committee to defend himself against unsubstantiated claims by a former board member in his use of capital letters in an (and the charges were dismissed). What about those legal bills? Is that responsible use of the attorney? Barbara also reported that, to date, since the last dear neighbor was sent out to the community there was only one request to unsubscribe, four positive s were received from homeowners with significant problems and concerns, and that no negative comments have been received. A resident suggested that a short article be submitted to the Breeze and if, for reasons we do not understand, it is turned down to then send out a community e- mail. As homeowners and neighbors you have a right to understand the discussion that occurred at the board meeting. Even if only a few read it they deserve to know. However, another resident said he did not see what an article would accomplish, but what the board does should be made transparent to the community. Bruce Parker said we should have access to the decisions they make and the information they used to make those decisions. Legal counsel appears to have discouraged people from asking questions because it costs the association money to respond to those questions. You could approach the article that way. An informal vote was taken and by a show of hands it was decided by the majority that HOTWG not submit an article to the Breeze at this time. B. What is the role of HOTWG in the election process? Page 7 of 9

8 Ron Homan said that we need to wait until we see the election procedures. Barbara Parker said we also need to wait until we see the election committee charter. Bill Selfridge said one thing you can do now is to volunteer for the election committee. John Lewin said that whoever chairs the committee should be able to devote the time and not delegate responsibility to someone else (in reference to what was said at the board meeting). John said that much has to occur in such a short time frame such as volunteering for the election committee, consider running for the board, interviewing candidates, have a candidates forum, schedule the election, etc. when you have an election that may occur during the holidays or could be as soon as January. The election committee is going to have a lot of responsibility. Bruce Parker pointed out that a significant number of residents are not here during the winter months. John added that there is also a significant number who will not get involved in the election process and will simply just vote. This will be discussed further at the October 19 HOTWG meeting. C. Important events: Getting notification out to homeowners Tony Mercogliano pointed out that other than the announcement at the board meeting about the Verizon FiOS presentation on the 29 th, an notification was sent out by the clubhouse the night before the meeting. This gave the community very little time to receive word about the meeting. How much advance notice will the community have for the meeting with our three resident board members on October 20? Barbara Parker said that the clubhouse is becoming more and more dependent on sending out electronic notices. Unfortunately, about 25% of this community either does not own a computer or does not have or use . The other 75% may have , but some may only check it weekly or monthly. How do you communicate with them? You do it by providing them with printed notices or making phone calls. Otherwise, they are charged with the responsibility of coming to the clubhouse to read the notices or depend on interested neighbors for information. If more people had known about the FiOS presentation attendance would likely have been higher. This situation applies to most events. They could probably get volunteers to at least call those homeowners without if they wanted to. Another idea would be an event marquee like they have in front of churches, but the board has previously rejected that suggestion. Bill Selfridge said that those residents who are really interested and involved will know what is going on. Bruce Parker said he would put a notice about the October 20 meeting on his web site home page. John Lewin suggested that he add something to ask residents to alert neighbors without as to the importance of attending this meeting. Page 8 of 9

9 D. Verizon FiOS Construction should be starting up again within the next two weeks and is expected to be completed before the holidays are over. If interested, you can sign up for the service now in order to have them also install the drop line from the main line to your house. Your land line copper phone cable will be cut when the FiOS service is activated for your house. Barbara Parker said that she posted a summary of the FiOS presentation on the message boards. Barbara said she already purchased white landscape flags and provided a link in her summary. Anyone who needs flags may contact her. Dave Weiss said he forwarded the link to Jene Lyons suggesting that the Association buy flags and provide them to homeowners who want them. 8. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m. /BSP Page 9 of 9