SADDLEBROOK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC. Board of Director s Meeting Saddlebrook Clubhouse 3412 Furlong Way, Gotha, FL 34734 April 15, 2013 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER: Mike Williams President Bob Hartley Vice President Sam Curro Director Margaret Black - Director CERTIFYING QUORUM ROLL CALL Four Board Members were present. Also Present: Alba Sanchez Several Residents PROOF OF MEETING NOTICE A notice was posted at the entrance to the subdivision prior to 72 hours of the meeting. RULES OF CONDUCT FOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGS Meeting Rules Everybody please sign in. The same rules apply as before. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES March 18, 2013 BOD Meeting Minutes Bob Hartley made a motion to approve the minutes of March 18, 2013 seconded by Sam Curro with all in favor the motion carried unanimously. Mr. Williams reported a request from Eileen to correct the February 18, 2013 minutes to indicate there was an Enforcement Committee last year. However, the Enforcement Committee did not meet in 2012 and did not decide to, or pass on, any fines to anyone. Mike Williams motioned to delete the sentence referring to the Enforcement Committee from the minutes of February 18, 2013, seconded by Bob Hartley with all in favor the motion carried unanimously. 1
FINANCIAL REPORT (S) REVIEW It was confirmed that the 4 th CD was purchased Mr. Williams reported we have $18,919 in Cash Reserves and we have four CD s; each of them are $10,000, plus. Financially we are in excellent shape. We have $59,000 in Reserves. We will arrange to have Iris from Severn Trent meet with some Board members, as she cannot attend a regular Board meeting. An update on the RJS Law Group was explained by Mr. Williams. We had some discussions with them concerning some slow responses from Roland s assistants. They were told they are in jeopardy and we might be looking for another law firm if it did not change. Severn Trent was also involved and they offered suggestions of other law firms. The slow response has now turned around and we now get answers within an hour of asking. Right now the situation is as good as it can be; they have been put on notice. In 2010 homeowner s paid them $3,000, in 2011 $3,900 and in 2012 $10,500 and so far this year $1,900. This does not include the HOA pays for monthly reports etc. On top of that the amount paid to Severn Trent was $450 in 2010, $75 in 2011, $300 in 2012 and $13.75. This is a $75 administrative fee, which we don t have to pay; the previous Board agreed to do it. All the Severn Trent contract requires is a $75 administration fee if it goes to the attorney, but it is not in our contract so we waived it out and we are not paying anymore. COMMITTEE REPORTS AND REVIEWS ARB Christine Calloway Ms. Calloway reported she had no denials except one that has just been submitted and she will contact the homeowner. Ms. Calloway indicated she prefers the ARB requests be dropped off to her instead of going thru Severn Trent. Clubhouse Linda Swisher Ms. Swisher had no clubhouse issues to report. Mr. Williams discussed an issue reported to him by the cleaning service regarding the clubhouse restroom. He also reported the clubhouse septic tank will need to be drained in a few years. Spa Removal it was reported the State says the spa cannot be taken out until the propane tank is removed. The tank was put in during 1994 and we don t know who put it in. Tank removal must be done by a state certified company and it must be signed off on. The tank is empty, but the company that put it in will not return phone calls. We can abandon the spa, but we have to fill it with concrete or fill it with water. We need to take it out. Our lawn maintenance company will fill in the hole for us, for free once we take the spa out. It was also reported the State will approve the removal of the tank since no gas company has come forward indicating they owned it. A proposal to have it removed will be coming and the cost quoted was $88 per hour for labor at approximately three hours of labor for approximately $363. 2
Mike Williams motioned to contact Farrell Gas to have the propane tank removed once ownership is taken care of, seconded by Bob Hartley with all in favor the motion carried unanimously. Mr. Williams reported the water fountain is working except the cartridge is bad and on order. Property Inspections Questions and Answers: How often? Weekly Which day? It varies Who does them? Alba and Valerie. Valerie is contacting Alba on new violations to see if it is ok to put it on the list. Once the list is made it comes to the Board before certified letters go out. Do they just drive by or stop at the houses? They stop approximately 40 times going thru the neighborhoods to check the list and check inspections. Do they stop at all houses, or just some? No, they don t stop at all houses. They look at every house in the neighborhood. If a home has never been served with a violation letter for a color and that color has been there for years, might they still get a violation? Yes. Is there a statute of limits on what might be a violation if noted within a certain period of time? No, there is no statute of limitations on violations for HOA s. Mr. Williams read from the HOA documents regarding Covenants and Restrictions. A resident (3527 Furlong) expressed her concern regarding receiving certified letters regarding a violation she received for having faded mailbox numbers. Mr. Williams explained the procedure for inspections, violation lists and the procedure to be followed before any letters go out to homeowners. OLD BUSINESS We continue to have problems with the pool gate; it is rusted, broken and does not work. A gate company has suggested a new, taller, gate with a closure that doesn t slam. Instead of a locking mechanism it would have a combination lock. It was suggested to the Board, by Mr. Williams to pursue getting bids for a new gate. Alba Sanchez noted she will get the scope of service gate information from Celebration to use as a reference for the Board to review. Mr. Williams referred back to the financials regarding delinquencies; we received a check on the one delinquency of $16,975. The money has been deposited but does not show up on the most recent delinquency report. We also received a check for $1,034 from the Rezo s property. 3
All but two people who owe money have been called by Mr. Williams; some will be sending checks in this week. All is being done to keep this from going to the attorney. Mr. Williams reported there are 3 or 4 houses that appear to be abandoned. A letter was received regarding lot 57 on Bridelwalk regarding the owner s attempts to pay their homeowner s dues. The owner requested the $25 late fee be waived. Mike Williams motioned to waive the $25 late fee of the owner of 1707 Bridelwalk, seconded by Margaret Black with all in favor the motion carried unanimously. Mr. Williams reported he prepares all the meeting agendas; Severn Trent does not do that any more. Email copies of the agenda are sent out on an email blast. Mr. Williams stated Florida Law says HOA s are not required to do an agenda; COA s are required to prepare agenda s but not HOA s. A request to rescind a fine for a sod issue from the homeowner of 3393 Furlong Way was received. Mr. Williams recommended the Board consider waiving the $1,000 fine of the owner of 3393 Furlong Way. Mike Williams made a motion to waive the $1,000 fine assessed to the owner of 3393 Furlong Way, seconded by Bob Hartley with all in favor the motion carried unanimously. Yards Homeowner s can water twice per week; there is no excuse for the appearance of some of the yards in our neighborhood. An email blast will be sent out informing owners to be prepared, letters will be sent out for unacceptable yard appearance. Sod and roofs need to be the owner s primary focus. Mr. Hartley noted the new owners of Mitch s old house will need some time to take care of the sod in their yard; they had to install new irrigation before the sod. Everyone was reminded that an ARB form needs to be submitted to the ARB committee before the work is done. Parking in the streets was discussed at length. 4
NEW BUSINESS It was noted the Community Garage Sale is scheduled for Saturday, May 4 th. DATE AND TIME OF NEXT BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING May 20, 2013 at 7:00 P.M. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Bob Hartley motioned and Mr. Sam Curro seconded to adjourn the meeting. Alba Sanchez, LCAM, CPM Community Association Manager 5