MINUTES OF THE MONTHLY MEETING

SECTOR 2A AT SNOHOMISH CASCADE ASSOCIATION

7:00 PM

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2003

 

CALL TO ORDER / APPROVAL OF MINUTES
  1. Jen Stout called the meeting to order at 7:08 pm.  In attendance were Jen Stout, Steve Yandl, Sue Ann Goldman, Bill Malowney, John Patterson, and Betty Malowney.
  2. John Patterson moved to accept the corrected minutes of the September 10 meeting as presented by Steve Yandl.  Jen Stout seconded the motion.  Motion carried 6 – 0.
GROUNDS AND MAINTENANCE REPORT
  1. Bill Malowney reported a slight delay in the Eagle Scout project (picnic tables) but it should still be finished within the month.
  2. Bill approved a $600 fix for Skinner Landscaping to put in service recently discovered sprinkler zones.
  3. Bill will finalize a check list form to use when groups want to reserve the ball field next season.
ARCHITECTURAL CONTROL COMMITTEE / CC&R REPORT    
  1. John Patterson reported multiple letters sent regarding lot 3-0-117 with vinyl siding on the side of the shed.  No responses have been received.  First letter was sent June 26 by Mike Summitt.  Response was received, including handwritten description of the project and a statement that he would use cedar siding.  The suggestion was made that John send a new letter regarding his non-compliance and to use registered mail.
  2. John Patterson summarized his letter exchanges and other contacts with the owners of lot 2-1-020 regarding the bright “canary yellow” color they’ve painted.  The owners contend that they had used the original color which had faded considerably prior to painting.  Since they failed to request approval of the color, the CC&R committee was not afforded the opportunity to view and document the difference between shades.  Bill Malowney reported that he recalls the Developer (Leavitt) forcing the builder to repaint the house to a lighter color and he suspects that the owner has utilized the original objectionable shade of yellow, rather than the more subdued yellow that was the previous house color.  John Patterson will use registered mail to the owner and request copies of the builder’s worksheet showing paint supplier and color codes for the initial painting.
  3. John also reported that he has made some inquiries to obtain feasibility information and approximate costs of adding a sport court to the ball park (boat park) area.  This is for information purposes only.
TREASURER’S REPORT
  1. Sue Ann Goldman presented her usual array of reports, including profit and loss, balance sheets and budget overview.  She also pointed out that she is now including a year to date cash flow summary.  Reports will be considered part of these minutes.
  2. In summary, we have $3,941 in checking and CDs totaling approximately $36,355 which will mature at various times.  The next CD to mature will be converted to funds to cover upcoming bills that are expected prior to receipt of 2004 assessments.
  3. Bill Malowney and others raised concerns about the naming of certain categories and the fact that certain values are reported as negative numbers.  Sue Ann has noted the concerns and will be working with the accountant doing our audit to find ways to present the values in ways that are less of a struggle to track and explain.  The current report presentation is a consequence of using the QuickBooks program for accounting.
  4. Sue Ann reported that so far this year she has income of $650 paid by various Title Companies as compensation for preparation of paperwork for selling homeowners to verify information regarding assessments, assessments owed, and any outstanding fines or liens against the owners.  We have agreed that $50 per transaction is a fair charge for this service and thus far it seems to be well accepted by Title Companies.  We have also agreed that the Treasurer will not demand the paperwork to force collection of the fee in an instance where someone moves but the Title company either knowingly or inadvertently fails to request the information from the Board.  Sue Ann reported that no Title Company requested information on the sale of Mike and Betty Summitt’s home (sold to Monty and Suzanne Lind who already own a home in Sector 2A), which closed on September 17, 2003.
  5. Sue Ann reported on a number of income items other than dues such as late fee collection, compensation for attorney fees, and collection of fees for July 4 event (which ended up with a net cost of only $309).  She also reviewed all the actual expenses on our standard budget items. See the reports for full details.
  6. Sue Ann reported that her initial session with Mr. Duncan, the auditor, went very well.  She had all the paperwork he needed with the exception of the governing documents (Declaration, Bylaws, and Articles of Incorporation) which were not specifically requested in his initial letter, and some missing monthly minutes (which actually don’t exist because the board was not having meetings on a monthly basis at the times in question).  Sue Ann will deliver or mail the governing documents requested.
  7. The auditor provided Sue Ann a sample of an analysis of long term capital needs which she shared with the group.  After a bit of discussion, we agree that the only items we need to be concerned with for such an analysis would be the two storm water detention ponds and the common area fence.  We do own two areas of playground equipment, baseball backstop, and the sprinkler system but with routine maintenance, these should last indefinitely without the need for periodic large upgrades or rebuilds.  He requested that Sue Ann do a year to year cash flow analysis in Excel.
  8. Bill Malowney moved that we accept the Treasurer’s report with the qualifier that Sue Ann check with the auditor about ways to eliminate the appearance of negative values or label the values in a way that makes their significance more apparent.  Steve Yandl seconded the motion.  Motion carried 6 – 0.
  9. Sue Ann reported that at the auditor’s request, in the future she will close the books as of the end of the month.  This will eliminate generating reports the day of the meeting resulting in reports that are in sync with bank statements etc. but the board will be reviewing reports that are not current to the day of the meetings.
NEW BUSINESS:  2004 BUDGET AND ASSESSMENTS
  1. We reviewed the budget prepared by Sue Ann Goldman.  This budget should be considered an attachment to these minutes.  The budget total is $64,715.  Budget is based on $255 annual assessment.
  2. We discussed the amount needed to collect for capital improvement fund.  The big question is what we actually plan to do with the fence over 20 years, i.e. replace in 20-25 years or paint and repair again in 10 years.  We also questioned the need to depreciate the playground equipment.  We also discussed whether we want to collect enough to fully fund the worst (most expensive) case scenario or partially fund one of the less expensive scenarios.  Detention pond cleaning will run about $20k each 10 years and there are no shortcuts.  Fence replacement would run $120k (6,000 ft. x $20/ft in today’s dollars); fence painting and repair would be about $20k in today’s dollars.  The consensus is that we establish the capital improvement fund sufficient to fully fund cleaning the detention ponds and fund one more painting / repair of the fence before we start planning fence replacement.  Future board may alter the ultimate plan for the fence but the capital improvement fund will remain protected for those two projects.
  3. Steve Yandl made the motion that the 2004 annual assessment be $255 and the new special assessment for capital improvement be $20 for a total assessment of $275 per household.  Sue Ann Goldman seconded.  Motion carried 6 – 0.
  4. Steve Yandl will prepare a ballot to include along with the 2004 bill and the budget statement.  This ballot will be used to ratify the budget and will include comments that the dues stay the same, regardless of the vote.  Failure to vote will count as a yes for ratification.  The ballot will also include the option of awarding a proxy for the year 2004 and improve our odds of getting a quorum for the next election for a new board.
JEN STOUT ADJOURNED THE MEETING AT 8:50 PM.