SUNLAND DIVISION 17 OWNERS ASSOCIATION
Board of Director’s Special Meeting April 29, 2015 2:30 PM
Location: Sunland’s “The Gathering Place” Ground Floor Meeting Room
Minutes
Call to Order: A special meeting of Sunland Division 17 Owners Association Board of Directors was called to order at 2:30 PM by President Susan Hamman.
Roll Call and Quorum: The chair confirmed a quorum with four Board members present: Susan Hamman, President; Terry Main, Treasurer; David Jelin, Board Member at Large One; and Tom Steffen, Board Member at Large Two. JudyField, Treasurer, was absent.
Purpose of the Special Meeting:
Chairman Susan Hamman explained that the purpose of this special meeting was solely to consider recommendations from the Insurance Committee re: the Association’s purchase of a new earthquake insurance policy. (The meeting has been announced at the April 8 board meeting, with formal notification to owners on April 15 and on the Division’s Web site.)
She confirmed that the 2015 Master Policy through CAU (CommunityAssociation Underwriters), approved at the April 8 board meeting, had been signed and would continue in place through April 30, 2016, but without the earthquake coverage previously included. She also noted that CAU was no longer carryingany earthquake insurance directly. They are also no longer offering the kind of three-year policy the Association had previously purchased, thus insurance review and renewal would now be required annually.
Susan recapped the work undertaken by the board and insurance committee members since November 2014 to resolve the earthquake insurance issue, and stated that several important areas of ambiguity in the Association CC&Rs had onlyrecentlysurfaced.
Earthquake Insurance Committee Report and Recommendations
Lindsay Busch reported on behalf of the insurance committee that had been appointed at the April 8 board meeting to build on the previous committee’s work and make specific recommendation to the board re: earthquake insurance. (The committee will also continue as a standing committee on all insurance issues) She said that the provider of our previous earthquake coverage, CAU, denied the Association’s request to grant a temporary extension of the previous policy beyond its current expiration on April 30, 2015; CAU had actually made the decision get out of the earthquake insurance business in January of 2014, but had continued to provide our previous earthquake coverage because of the contract already in place. She summarized the committee’s research, which included looking at the recommended criteria for choosing an insurance provider and insurance characteristics applicable to homeowner associations, as well as soliciting four quotes and an additional 5th, estimated premium.
She read a letter from committee chair Ron Payne recommending that the board purchase earthquake insurance, and referred the board to the letter to owners, packet of information and ballot proposed by the committee and provided to board members in advance.
MOTION: David Jelin moved that the board accept the insurance committee’s report and recommendation. The motion was seconded. Discussion included the need for additional work to reconcile two sections of the CC&Rs defining unit boundaries, and to clarify responsibility for deductibles. David Jelin restated his motion to accept the recommendations and the findings of the insurance committee to purchase earthquake insurance with a special assessment forthe period of one year, pending a vote of the homeowners, with the enclosed ballot as edited during discussion. The question was called, and there being no objections, a vote was taken. The motion was seconded and approved.
MOTION: Terry Main moved that the board distribute the revised packet to the owners, including the ballot to approve a special assessment of $330/unit to pay for it. The motion was seconded and approved.
The chair said the packet will be assembled and mailed by Friday, May 1, with a return due date of May 20, 2015 (with the goal that a new policy, if approved by the homeowners, can be in place by June 1). Email notification to owners will also go out this week, offering the option of an electronic ballot for owners who may be offsite and unable to receive or respond to a written ballot by the specified due date.
Homeowner comment period:
The chair opened the floor to questions and comments from the audience, to which the board and guests responded.
MOTION: David Jelin moved to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded and approved. The meeting was adjourned at 4:15 PM.
Submitted by
Barbara Brooner, Volunteer Recorder