http://www.cambridgetownhomes.org
Monday,
February 12th, 2007, 6:30 – 8:30 PM
DRAFT (final approval at annual meeting 2008)
NB. 3 of 4 BOD Officers absent, all excused for family reasons (Dock Brown, Bryan Dreyer, & Jakub Oleksy)
Board Members present: Rich Molitor, Ingré Randolph, Julie Hackett, & Alex Gelsey
Call Meeting to Order: Rich Molitor, Secretary
a.
Roll Call
—initially short 2 homeowners,
two attendees returned to campus to obtain more proxies
b.
Proof of Notice
--Given by Secretary Molitor
c.
Confirmation of Quorum
A total of 55 attendees and proxies represented
d.
Drawing for 1 month’s waived assessment
Awarded to unit 21.4 (good karma, owner who won was one of two who helped obtain additional proxies)
Approval of Minutes from 2006 Annual Meeting:
--moved
by George, second by Sherry, unanimous approval via oral vote
Report
of Officers – all reports given by Rich Molitor, Secretary
a.
President’s report:
A summary of the year’s highlights presented by Rich. Bird barrier project completed and final construction warranties received. Reserve study showed funding of reserves at 44%. Board acted on this by implementing a program of planned dues surcharges over a decade (to be modified as per future reserve studies if needed) in order to get reserves fully funded. Groundskeeping issues continued to require much attention, ultimately leading to a decision to change landscaping company doing routine maintenance. In 2007 it’s hoped a long-term plan for landscaping will be formulated. Repairs to the Cabana were approved and the overall project shouldn’t cost more than $75-100K, leaving an additional $100K in leftover construction funds to be funneled into the reserves, further mitigating future dues surcharges. Compliance and disciplinary issues also took a great deal of time. Due to the disproportionate number of problems coming from rented units a draft proposal for a rental cap was developed to be presented to the HOA. The board has also identified problems associated with second-hand smoke as requiring attention in the near future and will seek input from HOA members. The budget for 2007 was prepared in September, and ratified by the Board in October. There being no quorum at the November meeting the budget is accepted.
Projects identified in 2007 will include road work (funded from reserves), landscaping, the cabana repair, and development of fair and responsible smoking and rental policies.
b.
Vice-President: No report
c.
Secretary:
Meeting minutes have generally been approved on-line and are available
within a week of Board meetings. Rich
has also helped maintain the web site where, along with the kiosks, the minutes
are posted. Web site traffic is very
minimal along with e-mail traffic.
While the cost of the web site is minimal the previous incarnation was
free but came with a cumbersome URL.
d.
Treasurer:
--The Association continues to operate within its
day-to-day budget, finishing the year with slightly more income than
expenses. Thanks to investing
reconstruction money into interest bearing CDs we were able to generate additional
cash to help boost reserves. As with
last year there will be a small tax liability due to excess income. With the remaining construction funds the
Cabana will be repaired and the remaining monies routed into reserves. This should help jumpstart the “reserve
recovery program” which the Board undertook 2 years ago and which now is
resulting in the reserves receiving funding every month. Insurance reserves are also fully funded. Ongoing projects for 2007 will include
maintaining CDs so that amounts do not exceed FDIC insured limits (which means
occasionally renewing a CD into two smaller CDs. Total assets in December were slightly over $800,000 (not
including value of the common areas and limited common areas).
Reports of Committees
Landscape (Julie
Hacker): Desperately needs more
homeowner involvement. Julie has been
walking property with landscape maintenance representative as well as with
Morris Management representative Beth Zollars.
Problem areas have been identified and recommendations for repair within
funding limits have been made. Much
work remains as a long-term plan needs to be developed.
Parking (Rich Molitor): Aggressive enforcement early in year declined as committee members moved on or were no longer available. Some improvement has been noted and from time to time other problems were uncovered as a result of parking enforcement (illegal unit conversion, improper garbage storage, improper satellite dish installation, etc.). Committee needs additional members!
Cabana
(Ingré): Project approved and
construction has begun. May take longer
than anticipated due to difficulty finding enough employees to work on project
(many projects around the area experiencing this same problem due to storm
repairs and other major construction projects). Every attempt to keep exercise equipment functional for as long
as possible is being made.
Election
a. Election of Directors:
There being no individuals sending in their names ahead of the meeting volunteers were solicited from the floor. The following slate of homeowners were elected by unanimous acclamation from those present: Alex Gelsey & Rich Molitor were reelected and Brandon Mason and Gail Aanestad were elected to replace Bryan Dryer and Jakub Oleksy (stepping down early due to new addition to family).
Unfinished Business
Three issues identified as being unfinished:
1)
Reinstatement of FHA loan eligibility. This has been submitted to FHA and is in
process.
2)
Smoking policy – to be formalized as an
amendment to our declarations
3)
Changing fire monitoring service—savings
could be significant
New Business:
The rationale for developing a rental cap amendment was discussed with the group followed by a very lively discussion. Reasons for such a cap include:
1)
Maintaining
an adequate supply of on-site residents from which to draw board/committee
members from
2)
Reducing
the above noted problem with rules compliance
3)
To
assure a maximum amount of funding options from lenders.
4)
To
reduce risk to HOA from repairs caused from damage by renters or lax landlords
Concerns regarding implementing such an amendment included:
5)
As
proposed (with a 10% cap on total rentals), there is only the opportunity for
2-3 more owners to lease their units without having to go on a waiting list.
6)
The
process for hardship guidelines needs to be clarified
7)
A few
homeowners felt that this impinged on their right to use their property
maximally.
After discussion, ballots were cast by those in attendance and via
proxies received to date. Voting will
continue until all ballots returned to Morris.
HOA will be notified once final results returned (must obtain 67%
approval).
i) Concerns about pet waste becoming a bigger
problem. Group reminded to report abuse
of this. Mutt mitts are relatively inexpensive
(costs about 20 cents/unit/month).
There is a 30lb weight limit on pets that has been in place for 2 years
which is one enforcement tool available to the Board (as well as fines for
nuisance generation).
Set Date of Next
Board of Directors Meeting:
Next monthly meeting is Monday, March 13th,
in the Cabana from 6:30PM – 8:30PM
Organizational
Session (to 8:40PM)
1.
Election
of Officers
Dock re-elected president. Gail elected Vice President. Brandon elected Treasurer. Rich re-elected Secretary. Members-at-large include Julie, Ingré, and
Alex. Next meeting date to be
determined via e-mail.