Sunland Division 17 Owners Association
February 13, 2019 2:30 p.m.
The Gathering Place
Call to Order
President Gary Fortmann called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m.
Verification of Quorum
Present were President Gary Fortmann, Vice President John Lewis, Treasurer Jim Jones, Secretary Lawrence Charters, and Member-at-Large Mike Johnson.
Approval of Minutes
Minutes of the January 9, 2019 meeting were approved as submitted.
Old Business
Results of owner survey
The January 2019 Owner Survey was reviewed. A full report can be found on the website at: https://sunlandnorthownersassociation.com/ownerinfo/owner-survey-2019/
There were a number of suggestions on how to address the the findings of the survey. One suggestion was to have themed open forums talking about perceived priorities in Sunland North.
Acquisition of $250,000 bond – plan of action
The court ordered Division 17 to acquire a $250,000 injunction bond for the Cascadia Loop restoration. Acquiring such a bond through normal means was not possible. Under our bylaws, Division 17 can use the Reserve Fund to create an escrow account, using $250,000 from the fund to cover the bond requirement. This required two motions: 1) Motion to move $25,000 from 2018 end of year funds from operating fund targeted for reserve into Reserve Fund. Motion approved. 2) Motion to use $250,000 from Reserve Fund to provide cash collateral for the court-ordered injunction bond. Motion approved. A notice of this action will be sent to Division 17 owners.
New Business
2019 Painting Program, Moss Treatment Program
John Lewis stated that 13 units were slated to be painted in 2019, and the bid for the work came to $45,582.20. The board approved a motion to proceed with the work. Jim Jones stated that 31 units required moss treatment, at a cost of $10,900. The board approved a motion to proceed with the work.
New firm to perform financial review
Jim Jones stated the firm performing past financial reviews was slow to respond to questions, and delivered the reviews well after deadline. He stated he had found a Sequim-based CPA to do the review of Division 17 finances for $2500. The board approved his motion to contract with the new firm.
Proposed Amendment 5 to Division 17 Bylaws
Cindy Rhodes outlined required changes to the Division 17 Bylaws to bring them into compliance with revisions in Washington State law. These proposals are a minimalist approach, just to address the revisions. The Board moved to adopt the revisions. Notice of this action will be sent out to owners (see proposed changes at https://sunlandnorthownersassociation.com/governing-documents/sunland-division-17-bylaws-proposed/). Pending owner review, the Board will vote to approve the proposed changes at the March 2019 Board meeting.
Officer, Committee and Coordinator Reports
President Update — Gary Fortmann
No report.
Secretary Update — Lawrence Charters
There were lots of complaints about snow, by phone, via email, and in person. The HOA is not involved in snow removal, but events such as this should factor into every homeowner’s contingency planning and emergency preparedness.
Treasurer Update — Jim Jones
Monthly Expense Report: The preliminary January, 2019 Expense report shows our total Operating Expenses for the month were $22,077, which is $539 under Budget. The annual Sunland Water District fees for Division 17 irrigation water was less than planned at $8,352 but additional fees for new homes are expected later this year, and attorney fees were higher than planned at $3,384. At the end of January our Operating Fund balance was $200,014, and our Reserve Fund balance totaled $318,631.
Fire Trust Fund: As shown in the Fire Trust Fund Summary report, we earned $171.51 in bank interest during January, and our Fire Trust Fund balance was $510,971 at the end of January.
Total Bank Balance: Our total deposits of Operating Funds and Reserves at First Federal are approximately $280,000 which is $30,000 over the FDIC insurance limit. Each of our three other banks have deposits of Reserves and Fire Trust Funds that are quite near to the $250,000 limit as follows: $248,327, $249,785, and $249,930. This issue will disappear once we start spending Fire Trust Funds for the restoration work, and certainly no later than May 1, 2019 when we pay our annual insurance premium which we have estimated to be approximately $75,000. The alternative is to open an account at another bank for this 2 -3 month period. My recommendation is to not open an account at another bank.
Correspondence: Letters of welcome were sent to three new owners since our last Board meeting, and two late payment letters. Correspondence was also sent to one owner whose check bounced and one owner whose check has not arrived even though it was mailed in December from out of state. SLOA, Sunland Water District, and SG&CC were contacted to ensure this missing check had not mistakenly been sent to one of these Sunland entities. The owner put a stop order on their check and mailed us a new one.
Vice President — John Lewis
SLOA is forming a committee to review SLOA CC&Rs, prompted by some recent court precedents. Lewis volunteered serve on the committee as a Division 17 representative.
Board Member at Large — Mike Johnson
Sunland Water District is continuing to investigate water use mysteries. Mike did some investigation of his own, and could not resolve unexplained high water use as recorded by Sunland Water District.
Insurance Committee — Donna Carson
Donna looked at insurance underwriters providing bond for construction. The amount of litigation convinced them not to provide bond. Donna is continuing work on renewal of insurance.
Architectural Control Committee — Susan Hamman
The committee discovered a fence that was not approved by Sunland North. The owner reported that the fence was approved by SLOA, which if true was done without contacting Division 17. The fence is not in compliance with Sunland North specifications.
A potential buyer also asked for pre-approval of a fence, which we declined, as Sunland North only reviews owner requests.
Developed Landscape — Gerry Hatler / Eric Mahnerd
No report.
Exterior Maintenance and Inspection — Doug Hale
There were a couple of minor roof leaks; these were fixed.
Open Space — Tom Steffen
Susan Hamman stated Sunland North volunteered to provide the labor and SLOA agreed to provide gas trimmers (and to haul away to debris) for trees around the RV park.
Newsletter — Kay Hatler
Reminders for material for the next newsletter will go out March 15.
Welcome Committee — Leah Prince
No report.
Website Coordinator — Lawrence Charters
Mike Johnson asked if “the endless list of agendas and minutes” on the website could be made more manageable. This is one of several projects slated for work.
Sunland Water District Update — Al Frank
No report.
Homeowner Comment Period
Lawrence Charters answered some questions about the owner survey, and repeated that the full report would be posted on the website [see link under Old Business].
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 4:01 pm.