Board Meeting Minutes (November 8th, 2006)

November 8th, 2006

The meeting was called to order at 7:30pm at 1607 Woodstream Ln.

Present

• Robert Butler - President
• Howard Fisher - Treasurer
• Stephanie Butler - HOA Management

Items discussed

• Review meeting minutes and action items from the last meeting.
  • Yesika - Reserve a meeting room for the December 4th open forum.
  • Yesika - Contact DMN and Allen American, arrange for advertisements for the fall garage sale. Done.
  • Yesika - Get hay and pumpkins for the Halloween party. Done.
  • HOA Management - Determine status of foreclosure on Oak Brook. Stephanie talked with Beth Cline and Danny Vess; the last action that had been taken was the mailing of a 20-days notice to the homeowner late last year, not quite the "sale on the courthouse steps" we were told. Stephanie also found that Beverly with NMI never took any action on this until late August when she requested that the Blend Law Firm file a lien, despite the fact that we had previously told Beverly on several occasions that there is already a lien and we wanted the foreclosure to take place immediately. Stephanie will contact lawyer to begin the 'turnkey' foreclosure.
  • HOA Management - Determine status of bankruptcy and any additional delinquency on Woodstream. Bankruptcy is from 2005, we are listed as a creditor and receiving small monthly payments ($34.04). There is additional new debt from this homeowner that is not covered under the bankruptcy, and Stephanie is working on determining the status and will file a lien if necessary.
  • HOA Management - Complete paperwork to be listed as a creditor on Elm Spring. Filled out and submitted paperwork (but it has not been processed yet).
  • HOA Management - Investigate which properties may already have liens filed. Have reviewed some of the properties, and determined the process required to file new liens. We discussed, and all properties that are currently overdue will have their existing liens updated, or new liens filed.
• Rob and Howard stopped by NMI's office on 9/25 and picked up the collection of documents and materials Beverly had assembled: 10 boxes, a CD containing our records exported from TOPS, three checks totaling $21,583.76 (closing out the debit card and money market accounts and the majority of the checking account), and the P.O. box key. NMI had already written themselves a check for October. She said that once the outstanding checks clear she'll close the checking account and send a check for the remaining balance.
• Rob stopped by Chase later that evening and deposited the checks. The largest for $15k won't be available until it clears since it was a printed check without any security features.
• Rob hadn't heard back from Andrea Smith on Monday 9/25 about her discussion with Steve Massey. He left a voice message on 9/26.
• Rob transferred $8k from the checking (0.20% interest) to the savings (2.76% interest) account. We're still waiting on the other $15k to clear, he'll transfer that to savings as well.
• Rob set up online payments for TXU and paid both of the September bills.
• Yesika ordered and paid for advertising in the Dallas Morning News and Allen American newspapers on 10/3 for the fall garage sale on 10/7.
• Rob still hadn't heard back from Andrea Smith, so he called and left another voice message on 10/4.
• Rob transferred another $10k from checking to the savings account on 10/4.
• Rob modified the mail filters on 10/5 to block some of the new spam messages we've been receiving.
• Rob modified the mail filters again on 10/9 to block some of the new spam messages we've been receiving.
• Rob called to talk with Steve Massey with the City on 10/9 since he hasn't received a return call from Andrea Smith in the last two weeks, and sat on hold for 15 minutes. Rob attempted to schedule a meeting, however was told that it isn't possible to schedule the meeting without speaking with Mr. Massey prior. Rob left a message with Steve's admin, Allison, to call him back.
• Stephanie received a call about additional damage to the brick fence along Shelley. She called in a report to the APD and spoke with officer T. Wasden #4246, case 06-056084.
• Rob received a call back from Andrea Smith about setting up a meeting with Steve Massey. The meeting was scheduled for 10/11 at 4pm.
• Stephanie called Beverly with NMI to ask about the status on closing the remaining funds in the CAB accounts, since three weeks have passed since any checks should have been written on the account. Beverly said that it will still take some time for those checks to clear, although she wasn't clear why there is such a delay.
• Rob met with Steve Massey and Andrea Smith from the City for an hour and fifteen minutes on the afternoon of 10/11. They talked about the water citations that had been issued in September (and discussed at the last board meeting) as well as a number of other topics affecting the neighborhood and the surrounding area. Much of the conversation centered around the points that Rob expressed to Andrea Smith on 9/22. There were a total of two warnings and four citations issued; after our discussion that number is now down to two warnings and one citation, the last of which Rob will discuss with the City prosecutor on 11/2. Andrea and Steve discussed in general terms issuing more than one warning, with Steve being of the opinion that one warning is sufficient. Andrea explained that she has been issuing one warning for each water bill, since some HOAs around the city (Twin Creeks was mentioned specifically) occasionally have different landscape companies responsible for different areas. Andrea also explained that she had been at a conference and had asked someone in the water department to follow up with Rob on the several voice messages he left, which didn't happen. Among the other topics discussed (not necessarily in this order):
  • Sewer line construction and damage to the common areas along Malone.
  • Bethany road construction and damage to the common areas along Bethany.
  • Steve will have the watering schedule checked at the sewer lift station on Elm Spring Ct. since Rob mentioned that he had seen it watering twice during the day.
  • A suggestion that Rob write a letter to the NTMWD about getting the fence and property around the sewer lift station on Malone and Summerside repaired / stained / replaced / cleaned up.
  • We briefly touched on the sewer lift station lawsuit.
  • Steve asked about the traffic from and around the school on Bur Oak.
  • We discussed the new neighborhood, lakes, and park south of Shelley. Steve mentioned that Mr. Shelley is now out of the picture.
  • Rob asked about the ownership of the old Country Day School lot, and we briefly discussed code violations on that lot.
  • We discussed the current drought situation, upcoming weather forecasts for the fall and winter, potentially more strict watering restrictions (state 3 enhanced and stage 4), and lake levels. Steve mentioned that he had lobbied for the stage 3 enhanced restrictions, but that all 13 of the area cities needed to go along if it was going to be effective; only 3 of the 13 agreed to go along so the proposal died.
  • Steve asked about Rob's history with the HOA, how long has he been involved, who was the previous and the new management company.
  • Steve asked about HOA volunteer levels, homeowner populations, cars parked on the streets, and dues amounts.
  • We discussed vandalism of the brick fence along Shelley.
  • We discussed sprinkler system types, the number of zones for each system, and electrical costs and supplies.
  • Rob asked about running the soaker hoses along Maxwell Creek Dr. in the center median, and was told that we may need to get a pressure limiting valve.
  • Rob asked about replacing the sprinkler heads on Bethany given the suggestions from Chris Kinney earlier in the year.
  Andrea will send Rob an email with contact information for the individuals mentioned that may be able to assist with various issues.
• Rob sent Chris Kinney an email about turning the sprinkler systems back on:

  Chris, I had a long conversation with the City this afternoon about the citations and the sprinkler systems. They agreed to drop two of the citations, but the one I already signed will have to go through the prosecutors office since it's now in the court system.

  As a result of that discussion, please turn the sprinkler systems in all the common areas back on, and please verify that the timers are all set to run sometime between 1am and 6am on Thursdays.

  One additional note from the meeting was that you may need to install a pressure reducing valve on the soaker hoses in the median on Maxwell Creek Dr.; a maximum pressure of 20PSI was recommended.

  Finally, when you have an opportunity, please do an audit of all the zones / connections / heads that are battery powered. I'd like to put us on a schedule of replacing all the batteries each year.

• Stephanie set up bank auto-drafting on the two TXU accounts.
• Rob cashed out the two $2500 Comerica CD's that matured in October (at $2,621.69 and 2,581.29), and purchased a new $10k CD at Chase at a 5.30% APR. The new CD matures on 5/20/07. Also, even though he had already requested that all of the Comerica contact information be changed when he spoke with Lupe Galdzmez in September, NMI and Beth were still listed. He watched Betsy Pena make the changes on all of the remaining accounts.
• Stephanie sent Marty Brandon with Perfecto an email about trimming the trees along Shelley. Rob followed up with an additional message to Marty about trimming the trees along Malone as well, and removing the stakes on the trees.
• Stephanie called Marty Brandon and asked him to pick up and dispose of the left-over hay from the Halloween party.
• Rob noticed that Verizon was out digging up Malone again on Wednesday, and called the City to inquire. He spoke with Drew (forget the last name), and she will check whether there is an ordinance requiring notice prior to beginning work. Rob received a call back on Thursday that contractors are only required to notify owners of private property (eg. homeowners), not businesses, and to contact Janet Moeri if the contractor fails to repair or restore the areas after construction is completed. Rob is going to talk with the City and see whether the ordinance can be revised to require contractors to contact all property owners.
• Rob called Chris Kinney to remind him about the court date on 11/2 to discuss the watering citation. Chris said that he wasn't going to be able to make it because he had a new fence job he was starting on, but he would send an email containing the actions he took and invoices generated for repairing the sprinkler system.
• Rob went to the courthouse on 11/2 for the hearing on the watering citation. After passing through the metal detector and waiting about a half-hour, he had a very brief consultation with the city prosecutor about the citation. Because Rob is pleading not guilty, the process requires him to set up a later court date for a trial with the judge. The prosecutor said he would contact Steve Massey and/or Andrea Smith about the citation and previous history, and may be able to dismiss it without Rob having to go to trial. The next court date is Thursday, November 16th at 10am.
• Rob noticed a $35 service fee on 10/4 on the Chase checking account, and called to inquire. Joshua wasn't familiar with that fee amount or transaction code, and verified again that the accounts do not / should not have any service fees. He reversed the service fee and credited the account.
• Rob asked Howard to follow up with Beverly on why we still haven't received a closing check on the CAB checking account since NMI's contract was terminated. Howard responded Rob, Beverly says one check for $5.18 for postage hasn't cleared. The account balance is $1,787.00. She'll send us the final report and check as soon as everything's reconciled. and later She indicated that we should get our check early next week.
• Rob updated the board member info page with new information and changes that have occurred over the past month.
• Rob sent Andrea Smith a question and update on the watering restriction violation we received:

  Andrea, I thought of a question this morning that I don't remember us addressing during the meeting on 10/11: what is the expiration period on warnings / citations?

  Specifically, since we've already received a warnings and citations, and it's doubtful the watering restrictions will be lifted any time soon, what happens when there's a problem with one of our sprinkler systems next year? Do the warnings & citations expire after 3 months / 6 months / a year / never?

  On another note, I had my court appearance on the remaining watering citation this morning, and the prosecutor said he would try and contact you about it. He didn't dismiss, and said it was necessary for me to set an actual trial date (currently Nov 16th).

  Andrea replied:

  The warnings and citations will stay in place as long as the Drought Plan is initiated. We anticipate that we will be under some sort of restrictions under the Drought Plan until the first quarter of 2008, when new water sources are added to our water supplies.

  which is bad news, since it means that basically any problem over the next year and a half will automatically lead to us being fined. Rob replied back:

  OK. So, what process to I need to go through to have the policy changed? By leaving the warnings in place for the next year and a half, it changes this from an conservation issue to a revenue generating plan.

  For example, we lose power probably 6 times a year on average. If it occurs in the middle of the night, the sprinkler clocks reset and the system starts going off at the wrong time. I'm not going to call our landscape company at 3am and have him rush out to reprogram everything. Alternatively, I turn off the water, and kill $50k in landscaping.

  Or, as I mentioned in my call to your office yesterday when I spoke with Drew, we have a contractor tearing up our common areas without providing us with any advance notice. They damage the sprinkler system and water is jetting into the street. BAM! I get a $280 fine, and spend at least 3-4 hours working through the system just trying to pay it.

  As I expressed in our meeting, my goal is to work with the City on this issue, but I believe there needs to be some accommodations made for our circumstances.

  Rob hadn't received a reply by 11/8, so he sent a follow-up message. He received an auto-reply that Andrea is out of the office, and forwarded the message to Kay Drescher and Alison Schneck as suggested. Alison replied: Thank you for your e-mail to Kay and I in Andrea's absence. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to answer your questions regarding water citations. However, rest assured that when Andrea gets back in the office next week, she can further discuss this matter with you.
• Rob sent a message to Stanton Foerster with the City:

  Mr. Foerster, could you let me know what the plan is to install street lights in the median in the eastern-most portion of Bethany? Between Malone and 2551 there are no lights, and I've received a few complaints/questions over the last few months from homeowners in our neighborhood asking when they were going to be installed.

  John Baumgartner with the City replied:

  Thank you for your note regarding the installation of continuous roadway lighting along Bethany from Malone Road to (Angel Parkway (FM 2551). It is the City of Allen's long range plan to install roadway lighting on this section of Bethany. Currently this project is not funded (approximately $150,000 required) and thus there is not a formal schedule for the project to proceed.

  It appears we have approximately $50,000 escrowed for this project and need to determine a funding source for the remainder or make a specific request to fund this project through the normal budget process that will start in May of 2007.

• Stephanie spoke with Brian Reynolds with Grand Homes (469) 693-7510 (his boss Lincoln Stromness (214) 869-7729) regarding trash issue and was advised they currently have no homes under construction so it is a First Texas issue.
• Stephanie spoke with Jana at First Texas homes and left a voice mail for Wade Smith (buider) regarding trash along Shelley and Jana advised it would be taken care of.
• Rob noticed that the Arbor Lakes HOA finally has a web site; previous searches always came up negative. Is there an interest in trying to get the two boards together for a meeting to discuss common problems, issues, etc?
• Rob sent Chris Kinney (Perfecto) a new message about the sprinklers:

  Hi, Chris, I know I just wrote you about turning the sprinklers back on, but I think we need to go ahead and turn off all of the systems through early next year (probably February / March).

  We've got new construction on Malone that's tearing up the lines again (and I don't want another violation there because of it), and we're getting more rain now anyway, plus everything is starting to go dormant.

• Rob noticed that another service fee, this time for $23 was on the Chase checking account on 11/3. Rob called and spoke with Joshua again on 11/7, he will reverse the service fee and said he wanted to investigate why the fees were being applied. Rob hadn't received a call back from Joshua, and the service fee still hadn't been credited on 11/8, so he called again; Joshua said that he had submitted a ticket to their internal support organization so they could try and determine why we were being charged. Joshua also stated that we 1) shouldn't be subject to any fees as a non-profit, and 2) they were currently running a no-service fee special for all new business customers for 13 months, and that should have overridden any fees as well. Joshua said that when he hears back he'll call Rob.
• Stephanie reviewed the two bids she's received for repairing the brick wall on Shelley. Howard will send Stephanie the contact information for the brick layer we used before on Shelley even though he had mentioned at the time possibly getting out of the business. Howard also asked whether it was possible for us to hire an off-duty police officer to watch the area along Shelley and the fence. Howard also asked about whether it's possible to add any type of reinforcement (rebar?) to the fence to try and prevent future damage.
• Stephanie contacted Stanton Foerster with the City about installing 'no-outlet' signs on the necessary streets: Mapleleaf Falls, Woodstream, Briarhollow Ct., Elm Spring, Woodhaven, and Fir Harbor. The City will pay for and install the signs. Howard asked about the installation of fencing in the cul-de-sacs that had been talked about previously, Rob said it would probably be best to wait until 2008 when the water restrictions are lifted since we are planning on installing landscaping with the fences.
• In going through the HOA paperwork boxes that we received from NMI, Rob discovered that we are indeed a tax-exempt organization, and thus are not required to pay sales tax. Rob had previously asked Beth about this in 2004, but at the time she had said we were not. So, Rob has started contacting companies that we are currently paying sales tax to (VRI, Perfecto, TXU) and on other purchases (such as Halloween candy from Costco) we are now providing the tax exempt certificates. This should save us around $1,000/year overall (the biggest expense being Perfecto). VRI and Perfecto have already been notified and received certificates. TXU apparently has their own form, and once we receive it in the mail it will be completed and mailed back.
• Rob met with Chris Collins from TruGreen LawnCare on 11/7 about their proposal for landscape service after exchanging several emails over the last few weeks. From reviewing the documents (schedule, prices, example contract) it looks like it'll be a savings of about $75/month over the current cost with Perfecto, however he thinks the repair costs (labor) are higher. Rob will send a few follow-up questions to Chris Collins and we'll continue discussing their proposal via email. Specific questions that need an answer are:
  • Are we receiving a discount because of the existing contract for fertilizer services? If so, what is the discount amount?
  • Is there an additional discount for paying the entire year in advance, like we currently receive on the fertilizer service? If so, what is the discount amount?
  • What is the hourly rate for repair and labor costs (normal, emergency, holiday, and any other rate differences)? The cost mentioned in the sales brochure ($75/hour) is different from the $65/hr mentioned in our conversation.
  • In our conversation you mentioned that while repairs would be billed, simple fixes (such as needing to come out and turn off a malfunctioning valve) would not be charged. This is contradictory to the text in the sales brochure.
  • What / who is our contact point, and what type of response time are we guaranteed?
  • This section will need to be struck from paragraph 12 of the contract: In addition, it is understood that due to seasonal fluctuations of services rendered, that in the event of termination of this Agreement for whatever reason, Contractor will be compensated for the actual services performed up to the date of termination as per the attached Proposal and Cycles Calendar. Payment will be determined by adding the accrued value of services from the commencement date of this Agreement up to the termination date of the Agreement less any payments previously made.
  • We need a specific warranty on all plants installed by TruGreen.
  • We need a specific warranty on sprinkler repairs and parts.
  • You mentioned in our conversation replacing the existing battery-powered zones and valves. What benefit is this to us, what amount of work is required (the entire length of Malone is battery-powered, for instance), and what estimated cost is there?
  • We have had a few warnings and violations from the City under the current water restrictions. What steps is TruGreen taking to prevent these problems in other properties, and if necessary, is a representative available to discuss these issues with the City when they occur?
  • What other HOAs does TruGreen currently maintain?
• We discussed the current draft of the 4th quarter newsletter.
• We discussed the HOA annual dues rate for 2007, we will leave it at $230 for next year. Invoices will need to be printed and mailed to homeowners during the first week of December.
• Howard wrote:

  Now, Julie Cobb, who I guess is NMI's bookkeeper, tells me that financials will be e-mailed before our board meeting tonight.

  And the $1,787.72 check, which Beverly assured me would be in last Friday's mail, has not yet been issued by the bank. It will now be in their office by Friday and mailed to MWC-HOA. We could go by and pick it up (along with some hard-cover insurance binders?) that she says are there, but I don't see why we should spend our time and gas money to do that.

• We talked about cleaning and painting the two stone signs at the neighborhood entrances on Bethany and Shelley. Rob mentioned trying a monument company, and Howard suggested that sandblasting should work.
• Stephanie said she mailed out violation letters twice in October.

Action Items

• Rob - Finish the newsletter, print, and distribute.
• Rob - Get quotes for new signs specifically for the neighborhood garage sale, open forum, block party, and Halloween party.
• Rob - Contact City and try to get ordinance changed on contractor construction notification.
• Rob - Contact City and try to get water restriction ordinance changed to allow for issues with commercial property.
• Howard - Send Stephanie the contact information for the bricklayer used previously on Shelley. Done.
• HOA Management - Contact Yesika, find out if she has reserved the meeting room at the library / school for next meeting. Otherwise, Stephanie will reserve it.
• HOA Management - Get bids for having the stone slabs (with the neighborhood name) at the entrances on Bethany and Shelley cleaned and repainted.
• HOA Management - Find contact info / get bid from an off-duty police officer or security company for watching the area along Shelley and the brick fence for damage.
• HOA Management - Investigate payment history on house on Woodstream, there should not be any delinquency since the owner just purchased in January, but the records from NMI show ~$380. Done, all funds were not collected at close, legally the house was not sold with a clear title. Will investigate what can be done to collect, technically old homeowner (or mortgage company) still owes.
• HOA Management - File or update liens on all delinquent properties. Write off the small charge still listed on Hackberry.
• HOA Management - Send Perfecto out to mow 1615 Oak Brook; the house is vacant and unmaintained, even though it is still listed and owned by the homeowner and has not been foreclosed. Previous attempts at contact have not been successful.