Minutes

           
Whittier Community Associates HOA, Inc.
Regular Meeting Minutes
August 24, 2009

The Board of Directors of Whittier Community Association met at the Whittier Elementary School, Frederick, Maryland on August 24, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.


Present

Bill Watt, President
Eric Struntz, Vice-President (joined @7:18pm)
Paul Zimnik, Director (left @ 8:11pm)
Michael Brown, Director
Jenny Marino, Director
William Lukens, Director
Gary Simon, Treasurer

 

Absent

Josh Bokee, Director
Erlene Moser, Director
 

Others Present

Nancy Keen, Vanguard Management, Community Representative
Shelly Henning, Recording Secretary
Jeremy Holder, Ausherman Development
Unnamed Resident
Blaine Wilson, resident

 

 

I. CALL TO ORDER
  Mr. Bill Watt, President of Whittier Community HOA called the regular meeting to order at 7:01pm with a quorum present.

 

II. MINUTES

  The Board discussed the June 22, 2009 minutes.
Motion: To approve the June minutes with correction of the typos.
Zimnik/Lukens Vote: Unanimous

 

III. HOMEOWNER FORUM

 

A. Violation Hearing: XXXXX W. Greenleaf Drive

The homeowner did not attend the meeting. It was noted that the house looks like it has been abandoned. The Board and Management discussed what steps they wanted to take towards the homeowner. They discussed issuing a penalty for the violations.
Action: Management is to report the issue to the city.
Action: Management is to speak with the attorney about issuing a penalty or billing a cost administrative fee to the homeowner for having to deal with this issue.
Motion: After the city comes out and inspects the property, we will send the homeowner a 10 day notice that if they do not fix the problem (grass, weeds, and trim shrubs) we will have Classic come out and do the work and they will receive the bill.
Struntz/Simon Vote: 6 for 1 oppose

 

IV. MANAGEMENT REPORT

 

A. Marvin Ausherman Landscape Request:

The Board discussed with Jeremy Holder the Ausherman Landscape request. The Board requested they wanted a 2 year warranty for the plantings on the berm and 1 year warranty for the trees that are place throughout the community. They will plant the trees in late fall. Mr. Holder will call 1 week in advance before trees are planted. He said he would probably call Classic too. It was noted that a lot of the trees are going in the townhouse area which will eventually cause a screen. The Board also mentioned the trees that are going in at Greenleaf Pool – they wanted to make sure they will be placed off to the side towards the back fence.
Motion: That we approve the plan as presented for the plantings of the trees.
Zimnik/Simon Vote: Unanimous    

B. Landscape Improvement Proposals:

The Board and Management discussed they had the money in the budget for the landscape work. They discussed in years past the money for landscaping had been rolled into other areas. They thought it was time to do this since the landscape hasn’t been redone since the beginning of the community. It was suggested not to do everything that had been proposed in the packet (pages 23, 24, and 25). There were three additional proposals given to the Board members at the meeting.
Motion: That we approve the landscaping proposals as submitted including the three tonight removing the items on pages 23, 24, and 25. With a total amount of $14,049.00.
Simon/Struntz Vote: Unanimous

C. Pool Bathhouse Flooring:

The Board and Management discussed the benefits of installing the flooring at the pools. The flooring in Greenleaf is fairly new. The Board selected the color Forrest green for the flooring in Cobblestone.
Motion: That we approve $6,100.00 for Cobblestone this year.
Simon/Lukens Vote: Unanimous

 D. Shed Variance request:

XXXXX would like to install a shed that is 14 x 20 in size and would have the same exterior as his home. He said he had spoken with his neighbors and that they were okay with the shed. He has a single family home and his lot size is approximately ¼ acre. In the past, when the Board had considered other sheds of different sizes they would look at the lot size. The Board wants to keep a consistency for the neighborhood. The Board is open to looking at changing the guide lines. It should depend on the lot size and also how the house sits on the lot. The Board discussed allowing the change of shed size up to 216sq feet and also allowing the roof height to increase to 12 feet high for single family homes.
Motion: Move that we disallow as submitted.
Zimnik/Brown Vote: Unanimous
Motion: That we agree to a variance of shed size up to 216sq ft. until the guide lines are changed for single family and also going forward that there is a maximum of 1 shed per lot.
Struntz/Zimnik Vote: 1 abstain, 1 opposed, 5 for
Action: To put the new shed size on web site.
Motion: Up to 12 ft height for roof of shed.
Struntz/Simon Vote: 1 abstain, 6 for

E. 2010 Operating Budget:

The Board and Management decided to have a separate meeting to discuss the 2010 Budget. The meeting will be on September 14, at 6:30pm at the Coffee Table. The board members not at this meeting would either get a phone call or email to let them know of the meeting.

E. Payment Plan Requests:

 XXX E. Palace Terrace (XXXXX)

Motion: That we hold off on pursuing any action providing they make minimum monthly payments of $100.00 until the total due of $606.50 has been paid in full. If there are any missed payments resume collections at that time.
Simon/Struntz Vote: Unanimous

XXXX Wetherburne Way (XXXX)

The Board discussed that they would like to see that it is paid off before the next dues is due. The homeowner stated in her letter that the home was vacant and going into foreclosure.
Motion: That they pay us $125.00 a month and we won’t pursue them as long as they make each payment. If there are any missed payments resume collection at that time.
Struntz/Simon Vote: Unanimous

 

V. COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

A.  ACC: none

B.  Pool Committee:
It was mentioned that the life guards were noticed text messaging while sitting in the chair.

C.  Townhouse Committee:  none

D.  Condo Committee: none

E. Landscaping Committee:none

F. Communication Committee: none

G. Social Committee:
The Lakeside Festival event went very well.

H.  Treasurer’s Report:  none

 

VI. OLD BUSINESS

 

There was no old business discussed.

 

VII. NEW BUSINESS

 

A. Barricade at the end of West Greenleaf: The Board discussed with Mr. Holder the barricade. The entrance was approved years and years ago. Fire and rescue have also pushed extremely hard for the road to be opened. The county won’t open it they are concerned about a site distance to the south.

B. Notification of Increases in Carroll Creek 100-year Water Surface Elevations: Management took the opportunity to ask Mr. Holder questions regarding the flood plan possible changes. He thought it would relatively little impact on the community. The Board thought they should put the plan on the web site for all residents to view.
Action: Management to call Wayne Swift with Fox to get a copy to put on the web site.

 

VIII. ADJOURNMENT

  There being no additional business for the Board to conduct at this time, the Board meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.
         Motion:  To adjourn the meeting.
         Simon/Struntz   Vote:  Unanimous 
 

 

Please note the next scheduled meeting is September 28, 2009 at 7:00PM.

 

 

Respectfully yours,

 

Shelly Henning
Recording Secretary