Sunland Division 17 Owners Association
April 12, 2023
The meeting was moved from Gathering Place to Sunland Board Room on the second floor due to a scheduling error by SLOA.
Call to Order
President Gerry Hatler called the meeting to order at 2:35 p.m.
Verification of Quorum
President Gerry Hatler and Vice President Lawrence Charters were present, and Secretary Shirley Legg was present via telephone. The President declared the meeting had a quorum. There were 12 members present.
Review and approval of minutes
The President requested the March minutes be corrected to state that he had heard about the SLOA meet and greet of HOA presidents from another attendee; he was not present himself. The minutes were approved as amended.
Insurance Renewal
As the Secretary had to leave, the President addressed a new business item first: the renewal of the Association’s insurance.
Susan Hamman reported that the Insurance Committee contacted two dozen insurance providers, to compare their coverage with our past coverage with CAU. Most declined to bid, but said if they did, we could expect a 20% increase in the insurance premium for one year. The CAU package arrived a week ago, with a 6% increase over the previous year. Susan and the committee members looked over the contract, which did not include earthquake and flood insurance (the previous year didn’t, either). There is an exclusion is for Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems. These endorsements are being added to the Excess Liability policy and indicate that the policy will not provide Excess coverage for claims arising from “bodily injury” or “property damage to third parties.” These endorsements do not change any aspect of the property or liability coverage on the CAU package policy.
The Board voted unanimously to accept the CAU offer, and Gerry said he would sign the documents after the meeting. The special meeting scheduled for April 25, to consider the insurance proposal, will be canceled.
Shirley left the meeting. Gerry called Treasurer Betty Gwaltney in Hawaii in an effort to re-establish a quorum.
Old Business
Backflow Valves Update
No one was present to give an update on backflow valve inspections. Report deferred until next month.
Legal counsel search
No one present was able to give an update on the search for legal counsel. Report deferred until next month.
Records Retention Policy
Lawrence Charters and Susan Hamman talked about possible revisions to the Records Retention policy to cover electronic as well as paper records. Lawrence noted the group decided the website would republish many records for easy access by the members, but would not be considered an official records archive. Betty Gwaltney set up a virtual Shared Drive under the sunlandnorth.org domain for storing official electronic records. In testing, participants were pleased with the ease of use, and were working on recommending it as an official repository for those with a sunlandnorth.org email account (i.e., Board members and committee chairs).
The group is considering file and folder naming conventions to make electronic records easy to store and find, and to reduce or eliminate records duplication.
Treasurer Betty Gwalney called in at 2:44 p.m. PT.
Welcome Packet update
Several Board members and Committee volunteers have been working on updating the Welcome Packet. Susan Hamman reported that the group decided it had “too much stuff,” and the number of items had been pared down so as not to overwhelm new owners, and the documents updated.
There was a question about who was currently on the Welcome Committee. The Welcome Committee is a subgroup of the Communications and Outreach Committee, and it was thought the group might need new volunteers.
Gutter Cleaning contract
Mike Johnson, chair of External Maintenance, thought this might have been put on the agenda in error, as the contract was approved by the Board at a prior meeting.
New Business
Welcome Committee
Addressed in Old Business.
Insurance Renewal
Addressed at beginning of meeting.
Officer Reports
President Update
Gerry reported that he had nothing more to report.
Vice President Update
Lawrence received three phone calls about the SLOA survey questions concerning uses for the open space. The callers were emphatic that they did not want a dog park or playground in the Sunland North open space. Lawrence explained that the SLOA survey was about possible uses for SLOA’s open space, not Sunland North’s open space. Sunland North’s open space is covered, among other things, by a conditional use permit with the county that requires the space to remain undeveloped. This prompted a discussion on where this might be documented; Susan Hamman said she would look for it in the archives.
Gerry noted that SLOA is intending to go door-to-door surveying residents, and may reach Sunland North in the next few weeks.
There have also been complaints about unleashed cats in Sunland North. All pets — cats and dogs — are required to be on a leash in Sunland North when outside.
Secretary Update
There was no secretary update.
Treasurer Update
Monthly Expense Report: Preliminary March operating expenses $33,199 and total year to date operating expenses to $64210. This is $ $1,110 UNDER budget year to date for Operational expenses.
Note – Landscape contract April invoice paid in March
Interest income YTD: $3,535
Total Funds on hand:
Operating Accounts $ 259,805
Reserve Accounts $ 697,932
TOTAL $ 957,737
Member-at-Large Update
There was no member-at-large update
Committee Reports
Architectural Control
Gerry indicated that Eric Mahnerd would be returning next month.
Insurance Committee
Susan had nothing to add to her previous report.
External Maintenance
Mike Johnson said four homes will be painted, starting the first part of May. Twelve homes were inspected for needed work, and contractors would be working on repairs, dependent on weather.
Developed Landscape
No report.
Natural Habitat
Gerry said mowing will probably begin in May, and warned residents to be aware of fawns. Natural Habitat chair Sarah Miller is looking for volunteers for summer watering of treees.
Communications and Outreach
Lawrence said he had postponed moving the website several times to make sure it was available for residents to look up quarterly assessments, newsletters, and other items, but hoped to move it in late April or early May. This might result in a brief outage of a day or two.
Homeowner Comment
One homeowner complained that another homeowner was encroaching on their lawn in order to walk their dog in the natural habitat area. Neither the CC&Rs nor Rules and Regulations cover such access, though owners and residents are advised to respect one another’s privacy. Public access points are available from the driving range, RV park, the roadway on Blakely leading to upper Sunland, and the entrance off Woodcock. Several noted that the dog owner was using a 40-foot lead, which is not allowed as it presents a safety hazard to motorists, bike riders, and walkers, and doesn’t allow the owner to properly tend to their pet’s waste.
It was suggested that information on proper pet owner protocol be added to the welcome packet.
Several homeowners requested that Board meeting notices and agendas be distributed prior to the meetings, as this is a state legal requirement.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m.
Meeting notes were prepared by volunteer note taker Reverend Dr. Kathleen Charters.