Meeting was held by Zoom
The Board of Directors of Whittier Community Association met virtually on April 21, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.
PRESENT:
Frank Hackett, President
Jackie Parks, Vice-President
Tim Sweeney, Treasurer
Sally Hoague, Director
Robert Calahan, Director
Nancy Sweet, Director
ABSENT:
Elizabeth Hoover, Secretary
Patrick Berry, Director
Bernarda Jackson, Director
OTHERS PRESENT:
Linda Blum, Legum & Norman Homeowners (On file with Management)
Guests: Shraddha Praharaj, PhD., Traffic Engineer, City of Frederick
Ms Praharaj discussed with the Board the North Branch Trail Project status.
The City has an easement intent and would require a formal easement to put the North Branch Trail shared used path in motion.
The plan is to install about 25 to 28 trees if this is amenable to the Whittier HOA.
The City would pay for and maintain the trail and the trees and would provide a formal document that details their responsibilities.
There are plans to install top-down lighting similar to what we find in city streets, This is the new standard the City is trying. North Branch trail might be the first ones to install this. There would be less light refraction into townhouses/houses that might be in the vicinity.
The sidewalk will be a 10-foot-wide shared use path adjacent to the trees that are there.
Ms Praharaj indicated that the way the modeling was done the trail would not impact stormwater system and a bulkhead located in the vicinity of the trail.
Per the request of Mr Parks, Ms. Praharaj agreed to provide our contractor with the elevation drawing for visibility and so that they would have a reference when they do the work that the HOA has already contracted to be done. The HOA would be updated If there were any changes.
Ms. Praharaj indicated they could send something out before the end of May once they had their Design Engineer on board who will be preparing the easement documents and the formal letter which the Mayor and the HOA would sign for it to be recorded
Frank Hackett requested the board have a walk-through of the purposed project area from point A to point B.
Approval of Minutes: February 1, 2025, Board Orientation minutes, March 17, 2025, HOA Board Meeting minutes and March 27, 2025 Board Training minutes were not available for approval.
Committee Reports:
Treasurer’s Report – Tim Sweeney
There are no major issues. Every now and then we find an issue with some of the invoices. One of the water bills from the City looks way out of line to me for Wetherburne. We will check on that to see if It might have been an estimated cost versus something else. We’re on target of where we want to be, and we’ll get a better idea versus budget when we finalize for March.
Frank Hackett stated upon his research that the City has a onetime forgiveness program for absorbent bills. The water pipe break at the pools could be reason to receive the onetime forgiveness from the City.
A vast majority of people pay their HOA dues. We have a few people that continue to either not pay or delinquent for extended periods of time, which drive up some of the dollars. Later this evening we’re going to have a discussion about delinquencies.
Pool Committee – Tim Sweeney
We had a water pipe burst at Wetherburne Pool. That’ll be fixed this week by Eagle Plumbing
All the pools have been painted internally. There’s new lighting installed at all the pool houses. All the outside lighting for the pools has also been updated. The front desks at all 3 locations are being taken care of and the partitions for the toilets.
We’re working on the Cell Badge App for the Pools with L&N to get the App up and operational. The system hasn’t been updated in a long time. We’re finding residents that probably have 14 or 16 people assigned to their house number. some of those are probably wrong, and it may be simply the system hasn’t been purged from previous years about people moving in and out. All information will be updated on the Whittier Online website.
The process of collecting fees for outside memberships and the setting up of Vista View Apartments in the database are being updated.
The decision to go with Verizon as our internet provider at the community pools was based on the best cost for the community. Comcast prices of $100+ a month, and their wanting a year contract was not cost effective and Glow Fiber could only service 2 of the 3 pools.
A shout out to Buddy Dean, he has been one of the biggest helpers in terms of fixing all the electrical problems at the pools. The pools haven’t been lit that well in 20 years.
Architectural Control – David Latch
No report available
Social Committee – Beth Hoover
No report available
Townhomes Committee – Jackie Parks
There haven’t been any additional meetings of the Townhomes Committee.
We are still following up on the dog waste/ nuisance that a Townhome resident has been experiencing.
Dog Park Task Force – Jackie Parks
We are at a point where now we need to do another survey to ensure we’re doing what the community wants. We have about 5 or 6 questions that we need to pose to the community. We will be working with L & N to determine the best way to conduct the survey.
Map Review Task Force
We met with Erin from Ruppert. She provided the link to the system that they use and some screenshots. We are working on a PowerPoint presentation.
A shout out to George Prygocki who suggested utilizing Google Earth. We’re trying to put together something that really depicts what we’re seeing on these maps.
Newsletter Report – Sally Hoague
For the May Newsletter we have the pool schedule. Leanna sent me the schedule for the entire month of May for the food trucks, the dates, the times, and also the trucks that are participating.
The Garden Club is meeting this Thursday in person, and I will be attending that meeting, and hopefully I can get something for the May Newsletter about the Yard of the Week.
Frank will be sending the President’s message
If there’s anything that management or anyone else has that would be beneficial to put in the newsletter, please send that to me this week,
Stormwater Management – Jamie Parks
Mr. Parks asked about the status of the contractor, as far as proposed start date of April 15th . L & N had no information to share from the contractor.
Mr. Parks will reach out to Mr. Pembroke on the proposed date and get back with Frank. Some different resources have identified to get things fixed for the stream in the community…more to come in the future.
Frank Hackett touched on cleanup at the stream that enters our forebay…we had about a dozen guys and Sally was there as well. There was at least a truckload of debris removed out of that area.
Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped out it was an excellent morning, and we really accomplished a lot.
Management Report:
Master Insurance Policy
The Master Insurance Policy is up for renewal by April 25th The Board will need to approve the renewal.
Towing:
Dorsey promised me they would provide feedback on getting that back in place by Friday, however we have not heard back from them. We do have at least one, maybe 2 vehicles that need to be towed. But we can’t do anything because we don’t have a contract.
Collection Attorney Proposals
The Board has been provided with some proposals to be reviewed for collections.
We’ve had a lot of exterior modification requests coming in. Most of them have been as a result of the hailstorm that happened in March.
Rodent Problem in Community
Frank discussed the rodent problem in the community, mentioning that squirrels were ripping open trash bags and rats were also present. He suggested that the Townhome Committee should explore trash receptacles and address the issue of trash being placed out before collection day. Jackie mentioned that the City offers trash receptacles, however they are not free. The person she spoke with at the City level indicated that the HOA could require residents to use them. She also mentioned pursuing a neighbor with an excessive dog poop problem as it could be a feeding ground for rodents. The main action item is to encourage residents to use trash receptacles to combat the rodent problem.
Covenants Inspection
The community inspection that we are looking to begin either end of May or beginning of June, so we will be sending out a notice to the community about that ahead of time, and I’ll also send that to something to Sally, to Sally, to put into the newsletter to let people know about you know what’s happening there
New Business:
Collection Attorney Proposals
The Board discussed potential alternatives to their current collections process. Linda presented two proposals, one from Gregory Alexandrita’s office and another from Excella. Both options involve the collection agency directly contacting delinquent owners, reducing the association’s financial burden. The board expressed interest in learning more about these options and decided to invite representatives from both companies to a meeting in May to answer questions and provide further information.
The board also agreed to schedule a workshop meeting for May 15th or 20th to discuss these proposals in more detail.
Master Insurance Policy Renewal
The master insurance policy renewal date is 4/25/25.
L & N received the renewal proposal from the association’s broker for board approval. Linda reported that the overall, the increase is about a 9% increase on the Philadelphia package policy. The overall premium is increasing by about 29%. Umbrella premiums have been drastically increasing across the board, and that is the case for this renewal. They did market the umbrella coverage to McGowan Insurance but because of the nature of the association, since it’s a master association with 1,590 units an alternative carrier isn’t an option. They said you could lower the umbrella limit. The current limit is 15 million. Lowering it to 5 or 10 million could have slight savings. L & N would not bid this out, because that’s the job of the association’s broker, the Baldwin group, who L & N received all the information from. The Baldwin Group did bid it out to other companies.to do a comparison. Philadelphia continues to be the most competitive.
Based on questions about the type of coverage L & N was asked to check to make sure that one, there’s not they’re not looking at the pool houses as a 3-story building, and to make sure that the workers’ compensation is included does it impact the premium.
Since the policy was expiring on April 25th a motion to approve the expense for the insurance coverage for the community, for 2025 to 2026 was made by Tim Sweeny and Seconded by Jackie Parks after a discussion by the Board had concluded.
Pool Parking Lot Issues:
Tim proposed the installation of new signs at all three locations, stating ” HOA Members Only and No Overnight Parking”.
Tim made a motion to get new signs made with a second from Sally.
The Board discussed parking issues within the pool areas. There were concerns raised by Robert about the potential impact of a blanket policy on homeowners however Tim suggested that there is ample parking available. The board also discussed the liability of allowing vehicles to park overnight in the community.
The motion passed 6-0-0
Homeowner Comment Period – Open Forum
No comments or concerns were expressed by residents present on the call.
Nancy Sweet made a motion to adjourn the meeting Jackie Parks seconded the motion
The motion passed 6-0-0
The meeting adjourned at 8:27pm Next Meeting:
The next meeting of the Board of Directors is June 16, 2025, 7pm via Zoom.
Minutes prepared by: Jackie Parks (HOA VP)