September 14, 2011 Board of Trustees Meeting
The meeting was held at the Firehouse. In attendance were: Beth Blackmer, Kent Meager, and Bob and Valerie Wright, Andrew Ernemann and Bruce Anderson. Also in attendance were owners Dan Harris, John Burke, Gib Gardner and Manager Keith Edquist
Meeting topics: ACA Ernemann shed additions and Wright sign-offs, discussion regarding pond diversion, water storage tank painting and related drainage, current financial reports, curb stop search update and next steps, draft asked for HOA work on private property, approve snow plow contract, greenbelt walkway proposed and discussed.
Approval of Minutes—the Board approved the minutes from the August 17, 2011 Board meeting without changes.
Architectural Control Authority- Andrew Ernemann presented plans regarding changes to his previously approved work involving the addition of three small shed structures. He had some neighbor signoffs on this work, but others were required. These are to be obtained and 2 fully signed copies provided to President Blackmer and one copy to Manager Edquist. Trustee Bob Wright provided similar signoffs regarding his garage addition project approved in the August meeting. Based on property walk through by Manger Edquist, the Trustees authorized return of the $3000 construction deposit to owner Holly Timms.
Owner Gib Gardner attended the meeting to encourage the Trustees to have a look at the interior work being done on the old Pate property, now owned by Greg Ricker and Kyle Vanderhorst. The construction deposit on this home is still being held awaiting clean-up of the site. Gib said the owners are working hard and making great progress on the home interior, and hope to move in by early November.
Water Operations update-Dan Harris discussed the water storage tank and work necessary there, and provided an overview of the proposed diversion of water over the winter from the upper pond to allow ground freezing and vegetation kill. Owner John Burke attended in regard to the proposed diversion.
Dan said the water tank painting was completed by Mannix Painting, that he had inspected the work, and authorized payment for the contractor. He said also that he had looked again at the retention pond and drainage from the storage tank to it that is located on the Weissner property. Dan now feels that the retention area should be eliminated altogether and a more natural drainage re-established. He will continue talks with Weissner but expects less expense in completing work at the tank than previously anticipated, as Mr. Weissner has agreed to a 50/50 sharing of expense. He said he would advise the Board before this work was done, and obtain an appropriate written agreement from Mr. Weissner.
In respect of the diversion of water from the upper pond, Dan believed this would be undertaken after the ditches were shut down and allowed to dry out. Mr. Burke said he had no issues with the diversion, but did want the work done by a professional excavator. There followed a motion, seconded and approved after discussion, to have Mr. Harris and Aspen Earthmoving excavate to dry out the upper pond this winter to see if freezing the bottom will kill the vegetation there. Dan said there were enough funds in water operations to address the water storage tank cleanup, the work at Weissners, and this diversion, and the Trustees are acting on that information.
Dan said he had spoken with Aspen Earthmoving about the potential expense of excavation of the ponds, and that to do both ponds would mean moving 2450 cubic yards of earth, at a little more than $10.00 per yard, with hauling to the LEC greenbelt. Again, the question arose as to where this material would/could be placed. There was some discussion of hauling this to the Monastery grounds, which is to be pursued. This discussion relates both to vegetation control and to water production at the wells, and has been visited several times over the last 2 years. At this time, the Trustees chose to defer consideration of this excavation until the spring, after the upper pond has dried out and better expense figures are available.
Financial Reports –Current aging matters were discussed. Management reported a Notice of Default had been sent to an owner in arrears. Bruce reported that information had been provided to the Reese Henry accounting firm for production of the LEC tax returns for 2010. He said also that he had charged participating owners for their approved electrical locates and Mr. Gering’s work in searching for curbstops. There were no questions regarding the balance sheet or income statement provided, reporting through the end of August.
Curbstop update –Manager Edquist reported the curbstop search had located only 2 of 13 missing stops. The Board discussed the next steps and agreed to engage Environmental Process Control/Alan Leslie to use more sophisticated equipment to trace water lines, with agreeing owners being charged a $60 per hour rate. Also agreed was Manager Edquist’s participation in this, with that expense being billed to water operations budget. In addition, the Trustees believed it was necessary to begin testing found curbstops to determine if they work. This work is to be undertaken by Mr. Edquist and Mr. Gering as soon as possible, with those expenses being billed to water operations.
This prompted a brief discussion of a document Trustee Meager produced for Board review and approval. This was a draft protocol for use when the HOA must work on the water system, or other HOA concerns, on private lots. Authority for this comes from the LECVHOA covenants at items 16 and 17, which were reviewed at the meeting. See http://www.littleelkcreekvillage.org/
After discussion, Trustee Meager agreed to re-write this with specific reference to the noted covenant items above and re-submit it to the Trustees for further consideration.
Unfinished Business—Manager Edquist had sent the Trustees the snow removal proposal for the 2011-2012 winter from Good Earth Landscaping. As it was the same as the previous year, and as there has been good response from this contractor, Edquist was directed to sign the proposal/contract with Good Earth
President Blackmer updated the Board on condition of two properties horse pasturage, which the Board will continue to monitor per LEC covenants. Mr. Edquist asked for designation of authorized persons to address the LEC insurance policies, at the request of the Neil-Garing Insurance agency. The Trustees determined President Blackmer should be such a designee, and Edquist is to return the authorization form to the agency.
Trustee Ernemann discussed a possible boardwalk area to bridge a perpetual soggy area of the greenbelt walking path. The Trustees determined they did not have enough information and determined to look at the area and discuss possible solutions at the October meeting.
Next meeting- There being no other business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Keith M. Edquist, Association Manager
Beth Blackmer, President