MINUTES OF THE 2009 ANNUAL MEETING

SECTOR 2A AT SNOHOMISH CASCADE ASSOCIATION

7 PM  TUESDAY  MAY 5, 2009

 

CALL TO ORDER / APPROVAL OF MINUTES

  1. Bill Steenis called the meeting to order at 7pm.  Present were Board members and spouses; Bill and Cindy Steenis, Steve and Barb Yandl, Allen and Debbie Kerr, Joyce Bowen and Cheryl Carlson; other members Brian and Patricia Keene, Steve Randolph, Craig Walker, Richard Tickle, Ryan Blume, Jeff and Charity Vale and Jim and Jan Laird.

  2. Steve Yandl presented the Minutes from the April meeting which had been prepared by Trina Coleman.  Allen Kerr moved the Minutes be accepted, Steve Yandl seconded.  Motion passed 5 – 0.

TREASURER’S REPORT

  1. Steve Yandl reported that the most current report from the bookkeeper didn’t include information on our March 4 deposits, so it won’t be posted on the web page until that information is reflected in an updated version.

  2. In lieu of the regular P&L and other reports, the most current bank account information plus a summary of anticipated expenses through the year was presented.  Current balance in checking (operating funds) is $68,489.  Of that, $9,880 needs to be transferred to the long term capital fund.  There is $9,220 in outstanding checks.  We have an dues check to deposit for $325 and we’re expecting $1,478 from Verizon to compensate for the recently damaged cluster box unit we had to replace when their subcontractor knocked it over.  Subtracting anticipated expenses that couldn’t be deferred would take the balance down to $11,109 by the end of the year.  Other anticipated expenses (certain fence repairs, gratuities etc) would bring the balance down to $6,859.  The large unbudgeted expense we’ve seen has been legal costs associated with the rental situations where we’ve spent approximately $5,400 year to date.  We could draw from the operational reserve for the legal expenses thus far and for the remainder of 2009.

  3. Operational reserve has a balance of $23,659.  Long term capital reserve has $58,304 which will go to $68,184 with the addition of the 2009 contribution from dues.

  4. We discussed the situation of our neighbors, ‘The Falls’.  They had expected to finish last year $30k in the hole and it now appears their common area lawn isn’t being mowed.

  5. Ryan Blume inquired why we didn’t attempt to move some of the large amount of operating expense into accounts that generated more interest.  The challenges of doing so when there is no property manager to handle the transfers and duel signatures are required for transactions were raised.  There was still interest in doing some transfers to the extent possible to capture “free money”.

    MAINTENANCE

  1. Cheryl Carlson reported on fence section replacements.  To the degree possible, only damaged boards are being replaced and post replacement avoided if possible to keep down costs.  She reports that we could all save money if homeowners bordering the common area fence kept dirt and other material pulled back so it doesn’t contact the wood fence.

    ARCHITECTURAL CONTROL COMMITTEE REPORT

  1. Joyce Bowen reports that it has been a fairly quiet month for project reviews and CC&R violations.  There were three violation notifications sent out.

  2. There have been several small construction projects and a few paint color approvals that all looked good and got approved.

    YARD OF MERIT

  1. Bill Steenis reported that the program started this month.  One house that was to receive an award based on judge review was in the process of replacing all grass and some plantings as awards were made and the owner opted to not display the sign while the yard was torn up for renovation.

  2. Bill made his appeal for more judges and explained the new simple process for doing the judging.

  3. Bill reported that we only had 10 winners this first month but expected that to go up as people repaired damage from the harsh winter.  Last year there were 56 different winners.

    OLD BUSINESS

  1. Bill Steenis summarized the rental situation for members who are not also Board members.  Board members explained the reasoning for moving forward on at least one lawsuit against a non compliant homeowner and answered questions on the situation.

  2. Allen Kerr brought up examples where a failure to enforce CC&Rs consistently has made the restrictions unenforceable which is the primary rationale for our firm stance on the no rental under almost any conditions policy.  A suggestion was made that we amend the CC&Rs to prohibit rentals under any circumstances and the Board explained why they felt that would not be practical and probably wouldn’t make enforcement any easier.

    NEW BUSINESS – SOME NEW ACC RULES TO CLARIFY PORTIONS OF CC&RS

  1. Allen Kerr presented a set of new rules drafted to make more clear some of the interpretations and reasoning in how the ACC enforces certain portions of the CC&Rs.

  2. The rules address a number of target areas.

    1. Holiday decorations

    2. Obstacle free sidewalks.

    3. Accessory items attached to structures on the property.

    4. Fence colors.

    5. TV dish antennas.

    6. RVs, boats and other recreational equipment items screened behind a fence and what an appropriate cover for these items might be if they are covered.

    7. Display of the flag (note: the portion on display of the flag is an advisory intended to be educational rather than punitive.

  3. Concern was raised that restrictions demanding compliance with US code when displaying the flag were too intrusive.  The concerned members were assured that despite some strong feelings on both sides of the issue, the purpose of this section was to encourage appropriate display of the United States flag by educating, not to discourage its display by imposing lots of rules.

  4. Steve Yandl made the motion to accept the rules, post them on the website not later than Friday, May 8 which would make them effective June 7, 2009 unless portions were overridden by Association Action before then.  Allen Kerr seconded.  There was brief discussion and the motion passed 5 – 0.

  5. Consideration was given to mailing copies to each homeowner but group consensus was that posting on the web page after notification in the newsletter was sufficient.

    NEW BUSINESS – REVITALIZE THE NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH PROGRAM

  1. Allen Kerr discussed the actions he is taking to make our neighborhood watch program active and effective once again.

  2. Allen and his wife have attended multiple meetings offered by the Sheriff’s office to gain insights into making the program effective.  He has been sharing what they’ve learned in several newsletter articles and will continue to do so.

  3. Allen announced that former neighborhood watch block captains Richard Tickle and Kelly Sooter have remained active and are already working with him.  He will begin contacting other previously active block captains to see if they will still participate as well as recruit new volunteers.  Ideally, each captain (or ‘watcher’) would have responsibility for a group of homes within line of sight from their own home.

  4. Allen presented some of the crime statistics for our specific area.  He also shared some tips on crime prevention, some of which had already been presented in his two newsletter articles.

  5. Neighborhood incidents were discussed a bit.  Clearly, the membership is interested in keeping us as crime free as possible and some in attendance were motivated to volunteer to work with Allen.

    MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:22PM