Minutes

           
Whittier Community Associates HOA, Inc.
Regular Meeting Minutes

April 26, 2011

The Board of Directors of Whittier Community Association met at the Somerford House, Frederick, Maryland on April 26, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.


Present

Bill Watt, President
Bernarda Jackson, Treasurer
Jenny Marino, Secretary
Paul Zimnik, Director
Gary Wass, Director

 

Absent

Eric Struntz, Vice President
Bill Ryan, Director
Michael Brown, Director

Others Present

Nancy Keen, Vanguard Management, Community Representative
Shelly Henning, Recording Secretary
Dave Fowler, ACC Committee
1 Homeowner

 

 

I. CALL TO ORDER
 

Mr. Bill Watt, President of Whittier Community HOA called the regular meeting to order at 7:00 pm with a quorum present.

 

II. MINUTES

 

The Board discussed the March, 2011 minutes.
Motion: To Approve the minutes.
Zimnik/Jackson Vote: 4 For 1 Abstain

 

III. HOMEOWNER FORUM

 

A. Homeowner replacing shingles:
A homeowner wanted to discuss with the Board an upgraded roofing shingles. She wanted to change to the Architectural Shingles. The Board discussed that the Architectural Shingles is being approved by the ACC Committee as long as the homeowner is using the same color that they currently have. The Architectural Shingle is an upgrade from the 3 Tab currently on her roof. The Board discussed the advantage of changing this so the ACC Committee would not have to continue to approve each case and now Management can directly tell homeowners they can do this without having to go thru the ACC.
Motion: The Board is approving the Architectural Shingles are a valid upgrade as long as the color stays the same from 3 Tab Shingles to Architectural Shingles.
Zimnik/Jackson Vote: Unanimous

B. Fencing for the Vistas:
A homeowner brought in a fence sample that is a brand new option. It looks more like real wood. The Board liked the vinyl fence. The Board would need to know the model of the fence. The board wanted to make sure that the fence would have the same lengths in the fence.
Action
Motion: Approve this product as an alternative to the wood fence product for the Vistas and will get the technical description for the guidelines.
Zimnik/Wass Vote: Unanimous
Action: Homeowner to send Management an email of the fence specifications.

 

IV. MANAGEMENT REPORT

 

A. Bat Boxes:
The Villages of Urbana has put in Bat Boxes to combat the stink bugs. The Board discussed the possibility of using them also. The Board wanted to get a professional opinion of how many would be needed and where to place them.

 

B. Ratify Email Votes:
Since the March Board meeting, the Board voted by email on 2 issues.
Financials:
For the Board Members to receive the financials electronically.
Vote: 7 For 1 Against
*** Dunmore Ct. Variance Request:
For a variance to have a decorative window on the front door.
Vote: 5 to Deny the variance 3 to Accept the variance.

C. Collection Decisions:

1. ******Hemingway Dr. :
The Homeowner is requesting an extension on paying her annual dues to Whittier. She is asking to pay the whole amount in May. She is also asking that the $45.00 Notice of Intent fee be waived. The $45.00 is a hard cost. Granting the extension but the $45.00 is a cost we have already incurred.
Motion: Move that we approve the extension until May but disapprove of the Notice of Intent Fee being waived.
Zimnik/Jackson Vote: Unanimous

2. ******** Shelley Circle:
The Homeowner would like the $45.00 Notice of Intent fee waived. The Homeowner was in the hospital for several months. The Board stated that this was a charge the community incurred.
Motion: Deny the waiver of the Notice of Intent Fee.
Zimnik/Jackson Vote: Unanimous

3. *******Yates Drive
An absentee owner said they did not get the coupons. They would like the $45.00 Notice of Intent Fee waived.
Motion: Deny the waiver of the Notice of Intent Fee.
Marino/Wass Vote: Unanimous

4. ***** W. Greenleaf:
Bank of America sent the payment to the Baltimore address. They would like the $45.00 Notice of Intent Fee waived and a $35.00 returned check fee waived a total of $80.00. Management had told her not to stop payment. It would eventually come back to them. Bank of America then sent it onto the Las Vegas address and then because a stop payment had been put on a check then the charges were incurred.
Motion: Deny the $45.00 plus the $35.00 waivers based on the fact this was not the fault of the community and it was also a hard cost that we incurred.
Watt/Zimnik Vote: Unanimous

5. ****** W. Greenleaf:
The homeowner is asking for a waiver of the $45.00 fee.
Motion: Deny the waiver of the $45.00 Notice of Intent fee.
Zimnik/Marino Vote: 4 For 1 Abstain

6. ******* Carrington Way:
The homeowner has a balance of $543.00. They would like to pay $100.00 per month to pay off the outstanding balance.
Motion: Accept their payment plan.
Jackson/Wass Vote: Unanimous

D. Attorney Fees discussed in the February meeting:
In the February meeting the Board discussed pursuing law suits as long as the legal fees didn’t exceed $1,500.00 without the Board’s approval. The Board asked that Management keep their eye on it.
If the homeowner owes us $1,000.00 or more the attorneys can go up to $750.00 in fees for collection cost for a lawsuit.
Motion: We direct the lawyers to pursue legal lawsuits for any account $1000 or more and not to exceed $750.00 in legal fees without seeking the Board’s approval to go over the $750.00 fees.
Zimnik/Marino Vote: Unanimous

E. New Homeowner’s Flyer:
Action: Management to put the flyer into a word document and send to Mr. Zimnik to post on the web site.

F. Maintenance Violations:
Management confirmed with the Board that they are not withholding the pool passes for trash can violations.

 

 

 

V. COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

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: none

H.  Treasurer’s Report:  None

 

 

VI. OLD BUSINESS

 

There was no old business discussed.

 

VII. NEW BUSINESS

 

A. The original owner’s of the Whittier property have passed away.

B. Have the No Solicitation Signs been removed?
Action: Management to check on.

C. Frederick High Athletic Dept. has been using the Cobblestone Parking Lot to distribute mulch from there. They need to contact the Management before doing so in the future.

D. Cobblestone Pool had trash thrown into the pool that had dog feces in it. This was done right before the Spring Inspection and did not pass the inspection. The Board discussed the possibility of installing cameras at the pools to deter vandalism.

 

VIII. ADJOURNMENT

 

There being no additional business for the Board to conduct at this time, the Board meeting adjourned at: 9:05pm.
Motion: Move to close the meeting.
Zimnik/Jackson Vote: Unanimous

 

 

Please note the next scheduled meeting is May 24, at 7:00PM.

 

 

Respectfully yours,

 

Shelly Henning
Recording Secretary