MINUTES OF THE MONTHLY BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

SECTOR 2A AT SNOHOMISH CASCADE ASSOCIATION

7:00 PM   WEDNESDAY    April, 12, 2006

 

CALL TO ORDER / APPROVAL OF MINUTES

  1. Jen Stout called the meeting to order at 7:02pm.  Present were Jen Stout, John Patterson, Bill and Betty Malowney, Bill Steenis, Trina Coleman, Steve Yandl and the owner of our landscaping company, Brian Skinner.
  2. Steve Yandl conducted a brief review of the March minutes.  John Patterson moved to accept the March minutes, Jen Stout seconded and the motion passed 5 – 0.

YARD OF MERIT

  1. Bill Steenis distributed samples of the judging sheets for yard of merit this year and asked for feedback.  This year, Bill will establish winners by adding ranking (1-15) for each judge rather than summing scores.  This will lessen the impact of variations in how individuals determined points, effectively giving each judge equal “weight” in choosing winners.
  2. Bill is trying to get a few more judges for different time periods.  He is asking judges to have score sheets to him by the 21st of each month so results can be tallied and submitted for the newsletter on the 22nd.  Judging will begin in April for an award in May.
  3. Four new signs were ordered to replace those lost or broken last year.

SKINNER LANDSCAPING COMPANY PRESENTATION

  1. Brian Skinner attended the meeting to provide an overview of recent projects.
  2. Pavers and ends of gravel trail are complete and holding up well.  We can extend the length of the project on the west side trail if desired later.
  3. Additional wood play chips have been added to the areas under climbing toys and both tot park areas.
  4. New plantings, including replacement of several quaking aspens with excelsior red cedar have been completed in the common area as well as application of new bark mulch.
  5. There is a water flow issue at the boat park causing major erosion of the gravel trail above the parking area and adjacent planting areas.  Drainage pipe that was initially placed by the developer appears blocked or inadequate.  Plants are doing poorly because of drowning.  Skinner has been planning with Bill Malowney for some trenching and drainage corrections that could route much of the problem water to an existing storm drain to preserve path, hillside and plantings.
  6. Old abandoned tires along the trail east of 72nd Drive were removed and taken to the dump.
  7. Skinner re-painted about 200 ft of common area fence where homeowner(s) applied stain so heavily on the house side of the fence that the stain bled through cracks and knotholes.  Brian asked if we could use a newsletter message to discourage over application of stains.  Skinner reports that some of the unapproved gates placed in the fence by homeowners wanting shortcut access to Snohomish Cascade Drive are in poor repair.  The board instructed the maintenance committee to encourage homeowners with gates to do needed maintenance or the committee should have Skinner do the repairs and the board would bill the appropriate homeowner.  Where a gate is a chronic problem, the ACC may elect to remove or permanently shut the gate.
  8. Public works damaged some of our sprinkler system at the north end of Snohomish Cascade Drive where it now enters the new park.  They attempted repairs but since our water was not yet on, they could not properly flush lines.  Bill Malowney has contacted them and they are willing to reimburse us for our cost to repair properly.
  9. Bill Malowney asked Brian to observe how the parks and public works teams were landscaping the south entrance and to give us a proposal on improvements we might make in that part of the common area to integrate with the park and make a good impression.

ELECTION PLANS, NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  1. Steve Yandl reported that so far we have no new candidates wanting to run for a position on the board.  Betty Malowney and Amy Key have chosen to not run again, other board members will.
  2. Ballots will be sent out to all homeowners to arrive on or before April 29.
  3. We will either need to find a volunteer with bookkeeping experience to take over duties being done by Amy Key or consider hiring someone to handle our books.  Estimated cost for this was $100 - $200 per month unless we hire a property manager to do books and other duties.
  4. Steve Yandl reports that the ongoing election for the CC&R amendment to allow expanded list of roofing materials was still short about half a dozen votes required for a super majority approval.  A third set of ballots will be printed and board members will hand deliver to neighbors where possible.  Of the votes received so far, 92% were in favor of the amendment.  The budget passed easily, 178 to 10 and the board was awarded 155 proxies.  So far, 195 ballots have been received.

PLANS FOR ANNUAL SPRING MEETING

  1. Jen Stout reports that to use the new park headquarters building rather than Totem Falls Elementary would cost us $25 - $45 per hour plus about $30 to have someone close up the building.  This is compared to approximately $35 flat fee to use the grade school.  For this year, we’ll stick with the school for the May 10 annual HOA meeting.
  2. Steve Yandl reported that Rob Beidler with the sheriff’s department would like to speak briefly and ask questions regarding police issue and his candidacy for sheriff.  The board felt that a “community meeting” emphasis over Association business might attract more homeowners and since the primary piece of business (election of new board) is done over the month by mail this shouldn’t cause a problem.  It was felt that all candidates for sheriff should be invited and presentations limited to about 5 minutes although questions from homeowners might extend the discussion.  John Patterson made the motion to invited candidates, Trina Coleman seconded and the motion passed 5 – 0.
  3. In light of the new park opening and a pending school levy, it was felt we should also extend invitations to those agencies.  Bill Malowney will contact Parks and John Patterson will contact schools.  Those invited will be advised of our typically moderate turnout and also told presentations would be limited to 5 – 10 minutes.

TREASURER’S REPORTS

  1. Amy Key wasn’t present and we didn’t have reports at meeting time.
  2. The usual set of financial reports were provided by email the day after the meeting.  Those reports should be considered part of these minutes but it should be noted that there has not yet been an opportunity to discuss the content as a group.

MAINTENANCE COMMITTEE REPORT

  1. Much of Bill Malowney’s usual report was covered in Brian Skinner’s presentation.
  2. Bill requested three bids for our proposed new lighting for the boat park and received two responses.  The low bid was with Clark Electric for approximately $6500.  This would include all installation and permits plus follow-up visits to adjust light to minimize disturbance to adjacent neighbors.  Both contractors were concerned about the possibility of cutting sprinkler lines, as they don’t show up for the making service and our maps show very approximate location of lines.  Bill agreed that we would assume the risk and felt that maximum repair costs if they did cut some lines would be a couple hundred dollars.  Steve Yandl made the motion to proceed with Clark Electric, John Patterson seconded and the motion passed 5 – 0.
  3. Jen Stout and Betty Malowney inquired if we could gain some efficiencies by having Skinner do trenching for correcting our erosion problem at the park at the same time as the required trenching for electrical line run to feed the new lights.  Bill felt this might be a great way to save some time and possibly money, particularly since Skinner was the subcontractor that would be doing that work for Clark Electric if they got the business.
  4. While discussing park issues, Bill Malowney suggested that Jen change her application for reservations to include a reminder that no commercial selling was allowed at the park (keeps our insurance liability lower).  He also asked her to remind the little league that the sand they brought in to dress the infield area was being washed down the slope and they might want to utilize it before it all ended up in the parking lot.
  5. A group of Sector 2A parents has asked Bill if it would be possible to keep the portable toilet brought in by the little league for their use beyond their season.  Assuming a normal season and no post season play, this would be August and September.  Bill checked and if we can avoid the setup charge since the toilet would already be here, the cost would be $45 per month including weekly service.  With such a low cost for the benefit both to the parents and anybody else who doesn’t want kids using the woods as a toilet, it was decided to pay for the two months or possibly less if the little league requirement goes later this year.  Jen Stout will work this out with the league officials when she next contacts them.  Trina Coleman asked Jen to also remind little league that individuals wanting to retrieve balls hit over fences need to obtain homeowner permission before climbing fences into yards.
  6. John Patterson inquired about which house was lot 30 of phase III.  The lot number sign was discarded in the green belt area along the trail east of 72nd Drive.  The house address turned out to be 15217 72nd Dr.

ARCHITECTURAL CONTROL COMMITTEE REPORT

  1. Trina Coleman reported that she finally got owners of lot 2-1-014 to accept a certified mail.  The did paint their shed as requested but shed color was not approved and they chose a color that isn’t a compatible match.  The plan is to send a follow up letter insisting on an approved color.  If the long term plan was to paint the house the same color as the shed, that information needs to be provided by the homeowners so a decision can be made.
  2. Homeowners at lot 1-0-015 had refused to accept their certified letter regarding gravel driveway and a shelter with metal roof but had recently contacted the secretary for information on their status.  The letter sent by certified mail was then sent as an email attachment so they have the information which includes an April 30 deadline for corrective action.
  3. It is probable but not yet verified by the post office that the owners of lot 1-0-015 are refusing their certified letter dealing with accumulated junk in their back yard.
  4. One of the owners of lot 2-1-001 had provided a rental agreement that he apparently felt was sufficient for the board to grant approval for their renting of the home.  The rental was not approved in writing prior to renting the house and there have been ongoing complaints over extra vehicles being parked in the driveway and curbside.  If the owners provide an appropriate request to allow a rental, the board will consider it because other than the parking issues, the current tenants have been good neighbors.  However, the board is opposed to allowing renting or leasing in nearly all situations and does not plan to grant any permission to rent that extends longer than a single year.
  5. The homeowner at lot 3-0-017 removed a truck that was parked in the driveway with a flat tire for over a month.  However, the fence which is falling over is still in poor repair, the lawn and garden is in very poor condition and it appears there is an unapproved addition being constructed on the back of the house.  In the ACC’s next letter, one of the demands is to be a photocopy of the building permit issued by the county for the house addition.
  6. The daughter of the homeowners of lot 2-1-007 wrote a emails on behalf of her parents asking for clarification on a letter received on their shed.  The secretary has sent her an email response explaining the issue with T-111 siding (not lap siding as required).  Hopefully this clarifies the issue and it can be corrected.  The family is trying to make corrections but they were not clear on the construction material restrictions.
  7. Homeowner at 3-0-099 contacted Steve Yandl after noting a number of people stopping by to take a look at the collapsed corner of his driveway.  He had not been sent any letter and just wanted to know what was going on.  He explained his long dispute with his builder, Gordon Reykdal, over getting an appropriate remedy after what he considered an improper job on pouring driveway and walkways.  The board encouraged the ACC to notify the homeowner in writing what the maintenance issue was but to suspend any demands if the owner is involved in any litigation to force the builder to make the correction.  Otherwise, the homeowner should be given a timetable to correct the issue on his own.  The board was very sympathetic but decided the issue needs to be resolved one way or the other.
  8. The ACC expressed concerns that with the number of homeowners painting without prior approval or asking for approval as the paint job is on the verge of starting, we may run into an unfortunate situation where we force some homeowner to do a paint job over in a different color.  If a color is really outside what would have been approved, we can’t allow it simply because the job is done and it would cost a lot to do over.  We discussed establishing a fine to be assessed for failure to obtain approval, even if the color ends up being acceptable.  The fine decided on was $200 and if the color was unacceptable we could assess further fines to force a remedy.  Steve Yandl made a motion to make the fine part of the ACC rules, Bill Steenis seconded and the motion passed 5 – 0.  Notification of members will be through the newsletter.  In accordance with Section 3.6 of the CC&Rs, this rule will be effective May 12, 2006.
  9. The ACC reported on a number of routine approvals and other routine business.  There were nine letters sent out on garbage and recycle bins out beyond acceptable times.
  10. Bill Malowney will be contacting the owner at lot 1-0-049 regarding commercial vehicle parking to see what the status is, in particular regarding a large truck.

MEETING ADJOURNED AT 10:02 PM.