SUNLAND NORTH DIVISION 17 OWNERS ASSOCIATION
Quarterly Newsletter October 2018
Email: sunlandnorth@gmail.com
Website: https://sunlandnorthownersassociation.com
The next three Division 17’s Monthly Board Meetings are scheduled for October 10th, November 7th, and December 5th at the Gathering Place, 135 Fairway Drive.
Welcome to all our new residents: As a reminder, please review Division 17’s Homeowners Association Governing Documents (CC&R’s, By-laws, and Rules and Regulations) available on Sunland North’s website.
The Annual Board Meeting was held on September 12th at the Sunland Golf and Country Club Ballroom. There were three positions open on the board and the following is the new board for 2018-2019:
President – Gary Fortmann
Vice President – John Lewis
Treasurer – Jim Jones
Secretary – Lawrence Charters
Member at Large – Mike Johnson
Outgoing Board Members: Jim Jones, John Lewis, Gary Fortmann, Mike Johnson, David Walp
Congratulations to all of you and a huge THANK YOU for the many hours you devote to serving! Did you know: Volunteering two hours a week can boost your well-being (research shows this helps combat loneliness, which has been linked to dementia).
Volunteers “Certifying election and other ballot issues”
Vice-President’s Report – John Lewis (Volunteer)
First, thank you to all the members who voted and those who attended our annual meeting. At the Board organizing meeting I agreed to remain in the position of Vice-President. If you read our governing documents you will see that the VP has only one designated duty; to assume the duties of the President when he is not able to. Normally that means I will have little to do other than as a voting member of the Board.
However looking to the future, I will continue to offer whatever help and support I can provide to special projects such as technical advice to the External Maintenance Committee and a plan to improve our irrigation system. I also want to encourage the Division to develop some long range plans.
Treasurer’s Report –Jim Jones(Volunteer)
The August, 2018 Expense Report (available on the Sunland North website) shows Division 17 total expenses for the first eight months of the year were $240,173 with Operating Fund expenses $15,424 over Budget due primarily to our insurance premium for 2018/2019 and our legal expenses being higher than planned. At the end of August the Operating Fund balance was $44,862, and the Reserve Fund balance was $289,686. There have been no expenses from the Fire Trust Fund since March so the Fire Trust Fund balance was $529,133 at the end of August. More detailed information is available in the financial reports on the Sunland North website.
Division 17 received the final report of the 2017 Financial Review in early September. The CPA who performed the review made no recommendations in the report and concluded that the Division 17 financial statements are in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
The special assessment of $140 per unit for 2018 that was on the annual meeting ballot received 73 votes in favor and 6 votes against. The Division 17 CCRs require that annual assessments of less than $25,000 (this special assessment was $18,620) need to be approved by at least 60% of the total voting power (139) which is 84 votes. However, there is a question as to whether RCW 64.90, which became effective July 1, 2018, supersedes the Division 17 CCRs on the issue of special assessments. The Board of Directors will investigate and discuss this issue at the October Board meeting. As a reminder, 4th quarter assessment payments were due October 1.
Secretary’s Report – Lawrence Charters (Volunteer)
Our Board of Directors meeting is normally held at the Gathering Place, 135 Fairway Drive on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, beginning at 2:30 p.m. The remaining scheduled dates for 2018 are: October 10th , November 7th and December 5th at 2:30 p.m. Your volunteer Board of Directors really appreciates your input as we execute our duties to represent our interests as Sunland home owners. The board encourages owner attendance to observe our efforts on behalf of the owner community.
Please use the e-mail address sunlandnorthsecretary@gmail.com to contact me regarding board business.
Architectural Control Committee’s (ACC) Report – Susan Hamman (Volunteer)
The Architectural Control Committee processed 24 exterior change requests from September 2017 to September 2018.
In the spring of 2018, SLOA began requiring all exterior changes to any residence in Sunland (including Division 17) to go through its Architectural Control Committee. Division 17’s and SLOA’s Architectural Committees have a memorandum of understanding for this process; an exterior change request is first reviewed and approved by Division 17’s ACC and then sent to SLOA’s ACC for final approval. Division 17’s community of homes are different than single family residences; within a Planned Unit Development (PUD), its exterior change requirements are equal to or more stringent than SLOA’s requirements for single family residences.
To request a change to the exterior of your unit, please go to https://sunlandnorthownersassociation.com and fill out the three forms for the ACC process: Exterior Change Request, Hold Harmless Agreement, and Neighborhood Consent forms and then follow the instructions for submittal to the ACC.
Many thanks to committee members Gerry Hatler and Cindy Rhodes for their work this year on the ACC!
Welcome Committee’s Report – Leah Prince (Volunteer)
Leah Prince has volunteered to take over as the Welcome Committee Chair. She will be visiting new homeowners to welcome them into Sunland North and provide them with packets of information about living in Division 17. This provides a great time for new homeowners to ask questions, get to know the community and volunteer to help serve on one of the many committees!
Thank you to Artie Stone O’Kelly for being the Welcome Committee Chair this past year.
Landscape Coordinator’s Report – Eric Mahnerd and Gerry Hatler (Volunteers)
Gerry Hatler and Eric Mahnerd have volunteered to take over as Landscape Coordinators for Division Eric will be handling all landscape issues from May 1 to October 31. You can reach him at 360- 477-1314, eric777@olypen.com and 111 Mount Baker Drive for mail. Gerry will be your coordinator from November 1 to April 30. He can be reached at 206-290-9501, gohatler@gmail.com and 201 Mount Baker Drive.
Eric and Gerry would like to thank Valerie Holland for the great job she has done as Landscape Coordinator and hope she enjoys her “retirement”!
Sunland North Lending Library
The board has approved the addition of a lending library for Sunland North.
Thank you Eric and Kathy Mahnerd for initiating this idea for Sunland North and following up by building and installing the little lending library.
It is located behind the pod of mail boxes on Mount Baker Drive. There will be a bench in front of it so that residents can sit and see what’s available to “lend a book”, and/or “take a book”!
Holiday Party
The Sunland North Holiday Party is December 6th. The party starts at 5:00 PM at 7 Cedars Casino. The 7 Cedars Casino bus will pick up Sunland guests at 4:30. Flyers with details will be delivered to the front doors the first week of November.
Website Coordinator’s Report – Barbara Brooner(Volunteer)
Don’t Forget We Have a Great Online Owner’s Manual! There’s lots of useful information for HOA residents, so check it out at (https://sunlandnorthownersassociation.com). The website now has a search function which should simplify finding things on the site. Enter a search term into the box next to the magnifying glass. The site is now encrypted which makes it safer to visit and helps to ensure identity, authenticity, and reliability to our Website. Please note that this changes the website URL slightly from www to https://. If you do a google search for Sunland North Owners Association, the search will provide the site and you can click on that.
Preparing for the Fall Season
Cooling temperatures and falling leaves remind us that the fall season is here! A few things the experts suggest are having your furnace inspected, turn off the faucets and store your hoses. Dick Helmenstine (former Exterior Maintenance Coordinator) also recommends hiring a plumber who can vacuum out the sludge that accumulates at the bottom of the water tank.
2018 – 2019 Division 17 Board Members
President – Gary Fortmann
Vice President – John Lewis
Treasurer – Jim Jones
Secretary – Lawrence Charters
Member at large – Mike Johnson
Kay Hatler – Newsletter Editor, kay.hatler@gmail.com