January 25th Officer Meeting Agenda
Lane, David, Eva, Melissa, Chris

1. Approval of meeting minutes
   1. Eva motioned to approve Lane second. All approved
   2. Meeting minutes will be sent out via email within 3 days of the most recent meeting; all board members must respond with their comments and/or approval
2. Community Comment
   1. (Name redacted) – created a list of known homeowner violations and she reached out to Lane for an update on what the board is doing to reach out to these homeowners
      1. Lane let her know that it’s on our agenda to create a form letter to send. 
      2. David will re-visit the list and revise as needed; has a form letter created
   2. (Name redacted) – emailed with concerns about 1) how votes were collected via proxy prior to meeting and 2) reimbursement of neighbors sidewalk repairs – he thinks the expense should be shown on the budget
      1. Expense cannot be listed in the budget because we are not aware of the cost in advance, but we will show it on the YTD expense report 
3. ACC Approvals
   1. No new approvals
4. New Homeowners
   1. No new homeowners
5. Website Updates
   1. Lane to go through updates
      1. ACC Approval form on website – Lane/David to discuss
         1. Concern about homeowners needing to choose which covenant is in violation – will this deter people from using it? – decided to make this not mandatory
         2. Do we need to add a ‘next steps’ – NO
         3. Can we setup an auto-reply to let them know that their request was received?
   2. Discuss additions – hold discussion until next month
6. Payment Methods
   1. Only ACH will be added as a payment option (HOA charged 1%)
   2. No credit card payments for fees because HOA is charged 3% + $.25 per transaction. The current QuickBooks setup doesn’t provide a way to address this.
      1. Chris would like to research this credit card option with Quickbooks for 2023 HOA Dues payments to allow more options for homeowners to pay their dues 
      2. Do we want to add a line item for this onto next year’s budget? If we do, and the entire amount isn’t used for fees, we have to claim that money as income on our taxes 
   3. Instructions on invoice for options – online bank pay, cashiers check, money order personal check, Chase bank pay (Zelle), and added ACH option 
7. Dealing with Violations
   1. Approval of website form
      1. Approved form without mandatory drop down to choose violations (see 1.a.i.1)’ 
   2. Discuss procedure for sending – below are some options
      1. Step 1: Send letter notifying homeowner of violation.  Within 10 days, if they do not respond either with proof of completion or steps to rectify…
      2. Step 2: Second letter sent giving them 30 days to complete
      3. Step 3: Attorney letter? Arbitration? Other?
      4. OR
      5. Step 1: Send letter notifying homeowner of violation.  Within 10 days, if they DO respond either with proof of completion or steps to rectify…
      6. Step 2: Homeowner and HOA rep schedule a time to meet on the property to approve completion 
   3. Approval of initial violation letter format – hold on approval
      1. Reviewed Lane’s draft of the letter
      2. We need to decide if this is a ‘courtesy’ letter or a ‘first notice’ – everyone submit a draft to discuss by Feb 1 
8. Mailbox Letter Discussion
   1. Chris would like to send an email asking anyone who thinks they need repairs to contact us
   2. Melissa thinks we should just send a notice that we are starting replacements and if someone wants to make a request they can reach out
   3. Chris will re-draft the letter 
   4. Need to gather an accurate list of what mailboxes/posts were replaced and in what year 
9. Stuffing Envelopes

Lane, David, Eva, Melissa, Chris

1. Approval of meeting minutes
   1. Lane motioned to approve
   2. Eva second
   3. Approved previous meeting minutes from 11/15/21 
2. Community Meeting Recap
   1. Communication – how do we notify people of new dues/assessment prior to dues letter?
      1. This will be done via email, FB, website, etc (not direct mailing)
      2. Specify difference between dues increase and special assessment
      3. This has been an issue that’s been becoming increasingly concerning over the years
      4. Cost effective but collective solution thats favorable for everyone 
      5. City has been contacted repeatedly and this is not a priority for them
      6. Whether it affected their property or not, the majority of people at the meeting determined that this was necessary
      7. For mailbox post portion, it was proposed that we would add an additional assessment in order to replace the remaining posts to get us to a position where we can focus on maintenance going forward
   2. Within the board, the goal for mailboxes is that the assessment will get us to the point where we should be able to have only a couple of thousand as a line item in the annual budget for emergency replacements, minor repairs, and posts/boxes that have reach their age limit 
   3. Covenants state that we need to call a meeting for a special assessment – this was done, regardless of the final amount that was voted on 
3. Woman who paid for her own sidewalks right before the special assessment vote (Jalene Huff)
   1. asking for the Board to excuse her dues for 2022 in some form
   2. Board needs to determine a policy for this situation 
      1. Lane suggested a 3 year window for reimbursement, Chris said 1 year, Melissa said 6 mths
      2. In previous meetings, we have always voiced that the sidewalks are not  the HOAs responsibility 
      3. Actual discussions and work on quotes began 6-8 months prior to the vote
      4. Chris motioned: $150 per segment up to 2 segments max with proof of scope of work from a licensed contractor and proof of payment within 1 year of Nov 15, 2021; Dues/special assessment need to be paid in full and then the Board will write a reimbursement check
      5. Lane seconded motion; All in favor
      6. Where is the reimbursed funds coming from? Reserves 

4. Mayor Meeting (Lane and Chris attended on Zoom) 11/17/21
   1. Per police chief, they will not ticket for driving under 30 in neighborhoods
   2. Parking options
      1. You have to have 18 feet between vehicles – request signage from city stating this – police can be called if in violation 
      2. Install non-enforceable signage reminding people to not park on the street close to each other
      3. Send a letter – we cannot enforce this so not a good idea
   3. FLOCK – license plate readers placed at entrance of neighborhood used to reduce criminal activity $2500 plus install 
   4. Plowing – city’s goal is to hit all roads 24 hrs after the snow; will not match or reimburse for any neighborhood expenses 
   5. Matching Grant – Sidewalk repair, maintenance, improvements are now included 
      1. What other projects could we use this for?
      2. Where will the matching $5000 come from out of our budget/reserves?
      3. Chris proposed using the mailbox line item plus matching grant to fix the back pond
      4. Board decided that the $15 mailbox line item plus $25 assessment 100% on mailboxes
      5. We have an extra $4500 as line item for sidewalks – what to do with this?
         1. If not used, it would go into the reserves
         2. We could use this toward the matching grant proposal for sidewalks – if we get it, we won’t need it for sidewalks since those are already covered by $75pp so we could purchase fountain aeration for it instead
      6. If we apply for the sidewalks this year, we still have the opportunity to apply for the fountain next year and have possibility to get a grant for both 
      7. Regarding the pond improvements, we need to get several more quotes to find out if aeration is the correct route to go
      8. Decided to apply for the matching grant for sidewalk project – if we get this, we need to be very transparent about the timing of when we found out about the grant vs when we took the special assessment vote and where the extra $4500-5000 is going to be used
5. By-Laws
   1. Voting
   2. Goal is to go through this in detail by July 
6. Other
   1. Policy for payment options (monthly payment fee, etc) – do we need to charge or budget for the admin fees associated with this? Can those route directly into Quickbooks?
   2. Discuss setting up an online payment option from website and pass fees onto homeowner – add option to invoice for 2022
   3. Might need to add a line item for online processing annual fees for Stripe or other company that we use
7. New Home Fee – covenants state that this is $100 – Eva will ensure this is is being charged
8. Items to include on agendas 
   1. New Homeowners – Can the board get a copy of new homeowners? Include list of new addresses?
   2. ACC approvals

Board Members

Lane, David, Eva, Melissa, Chris 

Board held a pre-meeting with CrossRoads to discuss sidewalk repairs

• Repair threshold is ¼ inch 
• Board approved vote to be added to agenda

1. Year ahead – Lane
   1. Major website improvements
      1. Meeting details
      2. Additional resident resources
      3. List of current vendors
      4. Online proxy form
   2. Streamlined reporting and enforcement program
      1. Online reporting tool
      2. Standardized enforcement protocol for all covenant violations
   3. Exploring new financial tools
      1. Further use of Quickbooks online to streamline collection
      2. Possibility of additional payment options
      3. Possibility of additional bank account to more clearly separate reserve fund
   4. By Laws Review 
      1. Verify that all By-Laws are in line with how we are or want to be running the HOA
      2. Examples of items that have been brought up during meetings that are not included in by-laws (ie: voting process by mail in vs in mtg, how mtgs are run)
   5. Open floor for questions
   6. Covenants were changed
      1. have already been able to deny several rental companies from purchasing in the area
      2. Air BNBs are now not allowed under the new by-laws
2. YTD Financials Update – Eva
   1. Estimated year end bank balance $20,000
   2. Collection of back dues:
      1. We keep records of past dues so that when a home sells, we can collect all outstanding fees from the seller; we can also put a lien on someone’s home to collect outstanding fees 
      2. July 2021 outstanding balance $12,000
      3. Current outstanding balance $7700 (of this $3000 is outstanding from 2021) 
      4. Is there a free collections service that we can utilize?
         1. There are places that we could use, but they will take a large cut of the collected dues
      5. What forms of enforcement can we use to collect back dues?
         1. $75 late fee is charged
         2. Denying trash removal has been tried, but not effective because Republic would just pickup any cans that were left out
   3. Budgeted vs actual spent
3. Budget Discussion
   1. Presentation of 2022 Budget – Lane
      1. Are dues raised because of outstanding dues – no, dues are raised because expenses have increased
      2. Are there any instances where HOA bills cannot be paid? No, this has never happened
      3. Snow plowing – substantially increased this line item; plan to only salt in an emergency situation because its very hard to predict when this is actually helpful; plowing is done 3in or above and will not plow if city has not come first
      4. Trash – will be bid out in 2023 once our contract is over
      5. Improvements – removed for this year
      6. Social events – hoping to hold several block parties
      7. No officer reimbursement again this year – but this was voted into the by-laws so can be done by future boards
      8. Sidewalks (common area) – liability issue and will be repaired
      9. Mailboxes – continue replacement rotation
      10. Reserve Fund – this needs to be built up again as its been lowered by different projects and unexpected repairs (covenant, emergency repairs, etc); regardless of expenses, we will make sure that dues reflect an increase in the reserve fund each year 
          1. Our goal is to have enough in reserves that we can cover catastrophic events and not completely wipe out all of the funds
      11. We are not required to vote on the budget since the change is less than 10% from the previous year (per the by-laws); the board encourages input regarding the proposed budget expenses
      12. If we find the reserves at a point that it is ‘adequate’, the reserves line item would be adjusted as needed to keep the level where it needs to be – that number has not been fully determined yet
          1. The board considered doing a study to determine healthy levels for reserves 
   2. Open floor for questions
4. Sidewalk Special Assessment
   1. Intro – Lane
   2. Presentation – Chris
      1. Chris has gotten bids from two companies (CrossRoads and Acculevel); He and his team have been extremely helpful in walking the neighborhood to 
      2. Repairs are needed due to liability issues, keeping up appearances in the neighborhood so it does not continue decreasing values
      3. 41 known trip hazards throughout the neighborhood
      4. Per city ordinance 94.26, homeowners must repair any potential safety hazards on their property including sidewalks
      5. Cost to repair each homeowners property individually is min. of $1000
      6. Cost to repair all 41 current hazards at the same time plus go through every sidewalk and address all repairs (more than ¼ in gap) plus will level every inch of the sidewalks so that they can last for many year
      7. The process that CrossRoads uses lifts each piece of sidewalk to level it; it lasts for decades, does not expand with weather, addresses areas with root issues; low pressure injection
      8. $75 per household with CrossRoads 
      9. CrossRoads will be allowed to market to homeowners to offer discounted quotes for individuals driveways and walkways
         1. Brochure sent with annual dues, posted on website, nextdoor, through emails, will go door to door (we will give notice), they will put signage at entrances 2 weeks prior, during, and after, our HOA will be a reference for them
      10. An additional $25 to repair the rest of the mailbox posts that are needed
      11. Board has 22 proxy votes in favor of the special assessment 
      12. After this project, if someone does something to crack or break their sidewalk they will be fully responsible
      13. If someone is doing work with a contractor they need to make sure they have liability from contractor to fix anything that is damaged during construction
      14. On the annual invoice, the special assessment will be listed as a separate line item
      15. Biggest reason for sidewalk cracks is tree roots – CrossRoads will inform owners that have tree roots that may cause damage in the future
      16. If something happens years from now, for normal wear and tear, it will need to be addressed by the then current board and homeowners
   3. Open floor for discussion
   4. Vote
      1. Neighbor (Mike) motioned to add $75 special assessment plus $25 for additional mailboxes
      2. Motion seconded by several people
      3. Vote of the 5 board members to bring the $25 additional assessment to the vote – voted 4 in favor and 1 against
      4. Passed out paper ballots for everyone present to use to vote on the total $100 special assessment (passed)
   5. Board to address the woman who paid for her sidewalk just before this came to the board for a vote
5. Open floor – Additional questions/comments not covered
   1. Are trash cans allowed to be outside of the garage or enclosure – covenants allow them to be ‘minimally visible’; not in front of garages
   2. Back pond – have done more algae treatments, have quotes for aeration ($8000), new fountain ($15,000) have been told that the size fountain we have is sufficient for our size pond; will bid out when our contract is up
   3. New sign – insurance covered the cost of replacement minus $500 deductible; just need to add wrap around the post and adjust the lights
   4. Future project – repair the path that runs along the creek
6. Close of meeting

Lane, David, Eva, Melissa, Chris

Officer Duties

• President
  • Meetings & Agendas
  • Resident Communication (ie: website, emails, social media)
  • Budget
  • Everything else?
• Vice-president
  • By-Laws & Covenant Enforcement
  • ACC
• Treasurer
  • Finances
  • Dues Collection
• Secretary
  • Meetings
    • Scheduling
    • Minutes
  • New resident welcome/contact
• Member At-Large
  • Vendor Contracts
  • Volunteer Outreach
  • Special Projects

Website Updates

• Meeting minutes – post on website as long as we have a member portal OR without vendor contract and financial info if we cannot have a member portal
• More resident resources? (ie: trash day, ACC approvals, snow removal, mailbox program, treasurer reporting) 
• Member login – this would be the easiest option
  • What should be public vs. private?
• Lane requested everyone review and send ideas/updates
• Next Door/FB link
• List of vendors that we currently use
• Proxy form

Snow Removal

• Reviewed history on what city’s process is (primary vs secondary street plowing)

Mailbox Expenditure

• Should we give full accounting?
• Chris proposed: HOA handles 100%; if someone is misusing (sprinkler system, weed whacking, bees, etc) or does not report issues that cause damage, HOA no longer is responsible for repairs/replacements – Chris to submit written policy for discussion
• To policy – include what happens when a box/post is damaged by a car, etc

Things we need to work on:

• Volunteer organization
• Financial Transparency 
  • Currently provide budget and a YTD in Nov
  • In mtg minutes, treasurer’s report to include monthly income/expenses, current bank balance
  • State Policy says we have to provide all financial documents upon written request, but board agrees its not necessary to post vendor contracts, every payment, etc.
• Dues reimbursement – per Chris, we cannot legally do this – have attorney review?
  • If paid, must state your specific duties and cannot vote on items related to those duties?
• Enforcement standard practices
  • FIRST: David send Violation letters (create template for easy use) 
    • Violation from covenants
    • Will follow up in __ days
  • David add to his ACC spreadsheet for tracking purposes
  • Process steps
  • Discuss all issues at monthly meetings and decide on next steps
  • The letter process needs to focus on direct covenant violations, permanent structures or exterior violations
  • At time of home sale, if we have documentation that we’ve reach out regarding violations, Eva can include those items in her notes to the title co. – do we need to have a monetary amount associated with this in order to recoup at time of sale?
  • Reach out to Lee (?) homeowner that has experience with liens
• Regular meetings
  • Each board member will present their report (ie: Treasurer’s report, ACC report, etc)
• Communication vectors
  • Who is responsible? Lane
    • Website
    • Next-door – use for sharing from a personal perspective 
    • Email
    • Facebook – use for general announcements 
      • People can comment on our posts but cannot add their own posts

Budget

• Chris’s sidewalk proposal?
  • Approx $15,000 to fix all necessary sidewalks in neighborhood (~$75/household)
  • If we do a special assessment, we only need majority approval at the in person meeting
  • Chris made a motion to plan on $75/household special assessment for sidewalk repair and present at the Nov meeting
    • Eva proposed to present current expenses and future costs along with the assessment option 
    • Lane asked Chris to find out cost of HOA property only and then propose separate cost for personal sidewalks
    • Chris revised to say we propose two options: one time assessment for all sidewalks OR common areas only which would be included in the budget (common areas need to be done in 2022 regardless)
      • Lane seconded this motion
      • Approved 

*Chris left at this point of the meeting*

• What are our savings goals?
  • Create separate reserve savings account 
  • At end of 2021, we will be over budget by $1000, but made this up by collecting extra outstanding dues and added extra $2400 from reserves line item
• Vote on landscape vendor
  • Brightview approved
• Budget
  • Reviewed all expense line items
  • Will adjust common area maintenance depending on what number Chris gets on the common area sidewalk repairs only 
  • Will submit worst case budget with common area sidewalk only and then a special assessment for the rest of the sidewalks (will email along with mtg reminder)
• Meeting:
  •  Start with major projects, planned repairs, social events
  • Will not vote on budget but will open up for feedback
    

Future Projects or large item repairs:

• Rip rap around ponds
• New fountain
• Electrical under sidewalk
• Something with apartments
• Irrigation in front
• Playground