Monthly Board Meeting of Sunland Division 17 Owners Association
April 13, 2022, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
The Gathering Place, 135 Fairway Drive, Sequim, WA
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Vice President Shirley Legg at 2:30 p.m.
Verification of Quorum
President Gerry Hatler and Secretary Lawrence Charters were absent; Vice President Shirley Legg, Treasurer Betty Gwaltney, and Board Member at Large Mike Johnson were present, which Shirley confirmed constituted a quorum for purposes of conducting board business. Community volunteer Barbara Brooner took minutes.
Review and approval of minutes:
Betty moved to accept the minutes for the March 9 and March 29 board meetings as distributed; this motion was seconded and approved. The approved minutes will be posted on the Sunland Division 17 website by the Board Secretary.
Old Business
Arborist survey of trees in natural habitat area
Shirley Legg reported she has been trying to find an arborist to identify, map and assess trees in the Natural Habitat area that may pose a risk to buildings or people (such as those adjacent to part of the RV Storage Lot); she said arborists appear to be busy already and prefer larger ongoing jobs. However, she said she will have someone on-site on April 14 to look at what the job would entail.
Need chair for Architectural Committee
Mike Johnson, who agreed to chair the committee on a temporary basis, said the committee is now made up of four community members plus himself, for a total of five members; however, none has agreed to chair the committee.
New co-chair for External Maintenance Committee
Mike Johnson reported that homeowner Michael Paine, seated in the audience, had agreed to serve with him as co-chair of the committee.
Mike Johnson moved the Board accept Michael Paine as co-chair for the External Maintenance Committee, it was seconded and approved.
New Business
Moss abatement work for 2022
Johnny Tsunami is the contractor that did moss abatement last year. Mike Johnson said that Sonny, who was involved last year, will be doing a walk-through to assess the success of last year’s work before being able to submit a bid for this year’s work, which is expected to include cleaning an additional 13 buildings plus applying a zinc treatment to the 16 cleaned last year. The zinc treatment needs to be applied while the roofs are wet, so will be done either this spring or in the fall, depending on the weather. The cost last year for similar work was $25,000. See additional discussion under committee reports.
Possible change to governing documents regarding component roofs
Because the tile roofs are easily damaged by someone walking on them, the Division 17 Rules and Regulations (Section 10, also Appendix A, “Association Responsibilities”) specifically prohibit anyone except the Association from accessing the roofs for repairs, cleaning, or any other purpose. Mike Johnson noted that homes subsequently built in Phase 6 (Mt. Baker), which have composite roofs, would not be as vulnerable, and that the Association may want to look at modifying the Division 17 rules to address this difference, for example, to allow owners with composite roofs who want to, to clean and treat the roofs on their units. Discussion included how this could help reduce maintenance costs, as well as the issue of liability—for damage or if an owner or their contractor were hurt. Mike will draft a proposed language change to facilitate further Board consideration.
Related to liability, Mike also suggested the task of replacing bulbs on the street security lights, currently done by committee volunteers, may need to be transferred to an electrician or handyman, rather than incur the potential liability if a volunteer were to fall from a ladder.
Do-It-Yourself Reserve Study for 2022
The HOA is required to conduct an annual “Reserve Study,” which calculates projected major expenses for the upcoming 30-year period and assesses how well the association appears to be saving (setting aside “Reserves”) towards those major expenses. Although the study must be conducted by an outside specialist each third year, updates can be done at less expense the other two years by the Association providing data to a professional firm to “crunch the numbers” and generate the report, called a “Do-It-Yourself” Reserve Study.
Treasurer Betty Gwaltney moved to use Association Reserves, the firm used by the Association for the past dozen years, to conduct this year’s “Do-It-Yourself” update, for $359; the motion was seconded and approved.
Officer, Committee, and Coordinator Reports
President’s Update — Gerry Hatler
Gerry was absent, and no report was received.
Secretary Update — Lawrence Charters
Lawrence was absent, and no report was received.
Treasurer Update — Betty Gwaltney
Monthly Expense Report: The preliminary March 2022 monthly expense report shows our total operating expenses for the month were $14,612 which brings our total year-to-date operating expenses to $53,015. This is $7,946 under budget year-to-date.
Total Funds on hand:
Operating Accounts $ 228,589
Reserve Accounts $ 617,034
TOTAL $ 845,622
CDs (certificates of deposit) investment authorized from March Board meeting: Have contacted both Community Wide Credit Union, and Pentagon Federal Credit Union to initiate account and CD purchase. Both require multiple documents which are not readily available (a letter from IRS authorizing Tax ID for example). Will continue efforts to obtain the required documents.
Vice President Update — Shirley Legg
Shirley, conducting the meeting, gave her an update under “New Business.”
Board Member at Large — Mike Johnson
Mike Johnson reported under New Business, above, and Architectural Control and External Maintenance, below.
Architectural Control Committee — Mike Johnson (Acting)
Mike, as acting chair, reported construction of a privacy fence on Cascadia Loop, approved earlier, was almost complete; and that the owners of a unit in Mt. Baker have proposed a patio porch on a Trex deck; the committee is awaiting some additional details on this proposal before making a decision.
Insurance Committee — Susan Hamman
Susan said all required data had been submitted to our insurer and we have been assured everything looks in order. We should have the renewal invoice by the end of the month. Susan indicated that although the cost of our insurance has gone up close to 10% over last year, our final cost will be $647 per unit per year, which is a good price for “all-in” coverage.
Developed Landscape — Tom Steffen
Tom reported the transition from the Association’s long-time landscape maintenance contractor, Parsinen, to the new contractor, Cutting Edge, is going smoothly, with a full turnover to be effective May 1. Parsinen staff are checking and adjusting all sprinkler heads ahead of “irrigation season,” with four buildings done so far. Several owner requests to change the plantings were approved, and Tom said there are a couple of irrigation system issues in the Mt. Baker area to resolve, using Sanford Irrigation.
Exterior Maintenance and Inspection — Mike Johnson (Acting)
Acting Chair Mike Johnson thanked committee members Mark Anderson and George Bannon for cleaning the roofs of two Mt. Baker buildings. He said they used Wet & Forget, a product the Association used in the past that had been unavailable for some time. Mike said it may not be as effective as some treatments, but returning to its use may be a more cost-effective approach for the Association, including annual application on several more moss-prone buildings. Mike said Three Crowns used to have the needed application equipment, and he volunteered to see if it is available.
Mike also indicated there were about 50 additional maintenance items that the Association’s contracted handyman will start addressing as soon as weather permits. There are also several concrete patching jobs to be done; Mike indicated he is meeting with a concrete lifting company Friday to better assess a severe slab tilt at a unit in Mt. Baker.
Natural Habitat — Sarah Miller
No report was received from chair Sarah Miller. In discussing the need for volunteers to help water the new trees planted near the roundabout (and possibly the five new trees promised by the county, as well), it was suggested that the Association dig a shallow trench and lay PVC pipe and soaker hoses to accomplish the watering, and separate this water usage from the neighboring unit’s water supply. Mike encouraged Dan Armesto to get together with Sarah Miller to explore this idea further.
Communications and Outreach — Kathy Gross
Betty Gwaltney reported there had been about a dozen responses to the March 1 letter that went out under Gerry Hatler’s signature requesting volunteers, although not everyone who responded would be able to help, for various reasons. The Association’s regular quarterly newsletter was distributed on April 8, and is also available on the Sunland North website.
Sunland Water District — Tom Hamman
Tom indicated nothing to report. It was noted earlier that Sunland Water District Manager Brian Scott will attend the Sunland North Board meeting on Wednesday, May 11.
Homeowner Comment Period
There were about a dozen owners present in the audience, including several committee chairs. Several owner questions were answered.
One owner concern was that the Sunland North entrance sign on Woodcock cannot be read above the plants that are currently growing there. It’s expected the plants will be trimmed soon by a homeowner who has taken on seasonal maintenance for that spot. Another person wondered if the lettered part of the sign could be moved or recreated at a higher spot on the posts.
Two owners reported they had recently been unable to log into the Sunland North Board meetings via Zoom. Board member Betty Gwaltney volunteered to make a troubleshooting “tech” visit.
During the meeting, another owner had suggested a shallow trench be dug and PVC pipe laid to facilitate watering of the small trees planted near the roundabout. Mike encouraged the owner to meet with Sarah Miller, Natural Habitat Chair, to explore the idea more fully.
One owner said they noticed excessive water flowing over the gutters of their unit; it turned out to have been during the January cold snap this past winter, when melting snow re-froze in the gutters and created “ice dams.” Mike indicated gutters are cleaned of debris annually, but encouraged anyone who notices a problem or is concerned to turn in a maintenance request form to have it checked out, or even call him directly to minimize possible damage if left uncorrected.
Adjournment
Betty Gwaltney moved that the meeting be adjourned, the motion was seconded and approved, and the meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m.
Many thanks to Barbara Brooner for taking excellent notes at the meeting in the absence of the Secretary.