Whittier Community Associates HOA, Inc.
Regular Meeting Minutes
April 26, 2010
The Board of Directors of Whittier Community Association met at the Somerford House, Frederick, Maryland on April 26, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.
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Present
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Absent
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Others Present
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| I. CALL TO ORDER | |
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Mr. Bill Watt, President of Whittier Community HOA called the regular meeting to order at 7:18 p.m. with a quorum present. |
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II. MINUTES |
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The Board discussed the March 2010 minutes. |
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III. HOMEOWNER FORUM |
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There were no Homeowners present to address the Board. |
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IV. MANAGEMENT REPORT |
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A. Classic Landscaping: Scott Hall, owner of Classic Landscaping came to the meeting to discuss the new season. He was pleased with the turf. A Board member was concerned about some of the damage to the grounds from the snow removal and Mr. Hall said he would check it out and if it was where they removed the snow (could have been done by the city’s snow removal on city property) they would repair it. Classic will be inspecting for the broadleaf weeds. A Board member mentioned there is a tree on the West side of Christopher’s Crossing along the right side that needs to be taken out. They said it does not need to be replaced with another tree. Another Board member mentioned that there is clover inside one of the pool areas and it needed to be taken care of because of possible bees and the residents that will be barefoot. Mr. Hall stated that the edging and mulching for the school had been done. They had made some changes in the grass cutting. Mr. Hall also mentioned that the Association has a new account manager and that he would like to introduce her to the Board. Her name is Donna Lee. Mr. Hall will schedule a walk thru with Mrs. Marino within the next couple of weeks. Classic has also rebuilt their website: www.Classiclandscaping.com. B. Collection’s Attorney: Donald Weisfield was invited to speak to the Board about the possibility of representing the Association for collection on some of the larger delinquent accounts. Mr. Weisfield’s practice is 100% collections. Mr. Bill Lukens (a former Board member) had referred Mr. Weisfield to the Board. Mr. Weisfield is willing to work on a contingency basis and take a percentage of the monies recovered. Mr. Weisfield is also willing to work on a trial basis for the Association. He would send a 30 day demand letter, if there is no response he files immediately. The Association would only be responsible for the Court cost and a Serving summons. The cost to the Association is about $70.00 per account. He is able to attach a lien if he knows where the person works or banks. There would be no incentive to go after the accounts that have filed bankruptcy or are in foreclosure. Mr. Weisfield stated that he usually needs their social security number and the Board said the Association does not have that information. The Board discussed with him that they already have a firm that handles this and that they were not able to collect on many accounts and didn’t understand what he could do different. At the end of his meeting he said that he would probably handle the accounts for 25% of the monies collected. C. Drainage Basin Maintenance: The drainage basin along Whittier Drive/ Wetherburne Way in front of the Lakeside Drive townhomes is again not draining properly. In 2007, John’s Labor Group was contracted to do the work and at that time they recommended that the work be repeated every 4-5 years. It appears the work is needed again probably due to the extremely wet fall and winter. The cost is $3,500.00. The last time this had been done the cost was about $3,000.00. The Board asked if we should budget for this over the next few years. D. 2009 Audit: The Board discussed the 2009 Audited financial statements that were prepared by Goldklang, Cavanaugh and Associates, P.C. It seems that the only problem is delinquent accounts and a lot of that is from foreclosures. E. Restripe & Number Parking Spaces/Prentice Court: The Homeowners have made many complaints to Management that guest are parking in the spaces reserved for the Homeowners. The numbers are too faded to read. The Board reviewed the bids and discussed the proposals with Management. F. Community Yard Sale: There have been several inquiries about the community yard sale. It has been held the 2nd Saturday in June in previous years. The Board discussed putting an ad in the Frederick News Post. Mr. Zimnik will put the information on the web site. Mr. Watt agreed to do the signs. G. Homeowner Fee waiver Requests:
The homeowner is requesting a waiver of the $45.00 fee. He has stated he did not receive the bill at his absentee owner address and that this has happened each year since 2006. The Certified Notice of Intent is sent out once the payment is 30 days past due. The Board discussed that this is an actual cost to the Association.
They are making an effort to make payments. The Board discussed that unfortunately these are actual cost that the Association has had to pay.
A homeowner accidentally backed their car into the brick wall around the mailbox pad. The homeowner reported this to their insurance. Management obtained an estimate for the repair and has received a check from Erie Insurance for $1,280.00. |
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V. COMMITTEE REPORTS |
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A. ACC: none B. Pool Committee: none C. Townhouse Committee: none D. Condo Committee: none E. Landscaping Committee: none F. Communication Committee: none G. Social Committee: Lakeside Festival: The police are eager to use Whittier again. The Board will discuss at a future meeting. The Board is assuming that it will be similar to last year. H. Treasurer’s Report: none I. Ad Hoc Committee FAST Proposed Bubble Enclosure: The Committee will have a meeting soon. The Board seems to think there are too many unknowns.
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VI. OLD BUSINESS |
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The Lake Treatments: The City has committed to one treatment in May and one treatment in June. Last year there were a total of ten treatments that went thru August. The Board discussed sending another letter to the City. The Association had committed to three additional treatments for this year but thought the City would be doing more. The lake would only receive half of the treatments that it did last year with the two treatments from the City and three from the Association. The Board does not want to see the lake revert back to the problems with algae that it had prior to the new system that was put in. The Board discussed if they were to do additional treatments when a good time would be. They were wondering if it would be better to double up in the beginning and then double up in July and August. The Board did not want to let the lake get out of control again but also did not want to take on the financial responsibility of the lake’s maintenance - but the Board thought it was important to the community to keep up with the lake. The Board decided to do two treatments in May and June with the city’s treatments and then see where the City stands at that point. It was also mentioned that a fountain in the lake is not working. Management is going to contact the City again about the fountain repair. Action: Management will notify AEC of the change of when the treatments will be.
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VII. NEW BUSINESS |
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There was no new business discussed. |
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VIII. ADJOURNMENT |
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There being no additional business for the Board to conduct at this time, the Board meeting adjourned at: 9:00p.m. |
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Please note the next scheduled meeting is May 24, 2010 at 7:00PM. |
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Respectfully yours,
Shelly Henning |
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