Monthly Board Meeting of Sunland Division 17 Owners Association
Wednesday, August 10, 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., The Gathering Place, 135 Fairway Drive
Call to Order
President Gerry Hatler called the meeting to order at 2:31 p.m.
Verification of Quorum
The President and Secretary were present in person; the Vice President attended via telephone. The Treasurer and Member-at-Large were out of area.
Review and approval of minutes
The Minutes of the July 13, 2022, meeting were approved as submitted.
Old Business
Annual Membership Meeting packets
Secretary Lawrence Charters reported that all 139 member meeting packets were assembled and mailed on Friday, August 5. Members were encouraged to send in their ballots and quorum forms by mail as soon as possible.
Lawrence said that it would be nice to have an additional election inspector, as the two who had volunteered had never done this and expressed interest in getting some help. John Wilson volunteered, and the Board approved him as an additional inspector.
Architectural Control Committee Chair
Mike Johnson, in addition to serving on the Board as Member-at-Large, has also been serving for several months as the ACC Chair. Gerry announced that Eric Mahnerd and Dan Huffman had volunteered to serve as co-chairs of the ACC. The Board approved their appointments.
Exterior Maintenance Chair
Mike Johnson has also been serving as acting chair of the Exterior Maintenance Committee. Gerry approached Mike and asked if he would be willing to accept a full appointment as chair, and Mike agreed. The Board approved the appointment.
Landscape Planning Committee Report
Vice President Shirley Legg said the planning committee has been dormant during the summer, but expects to get more active in the fall, especially now that we have a completed arborist report.
Lawrence asked if the arborist report should be posted on the website, and the Board agreed it should be posted.
Financial Review Report
The Association’s outside financial review report has still not been received and could not be reviewed.
Backflow Testing status
Gerry noted that the state is getting more serious about completing testing of irrigation backflow devices, and Sunland North still has an incomplete picture of where the devices are located. The mapping of the devices is complete except for Mt. Baker. John Lewis wants to work with Tom Steffen to see what can be done to complete the mapping.
New Business
No new items of business were introduced.
Officer, Committee, and Coordinator Reports
President Update — Gerry Hatler
Gerry thanked George Bannon, Ronnie Bannon, Rindy Hainstock, Wende Ang, Bob Eifant, Susan Hamman, and Tom Hamman for their work in getting the annual meeting packets assembled.
Secretary Update — Lawrence Charters
Lawrence reported that as meeting packets are getting delivered, two questions have come up, the first being: why is there an increase in next year’s assessment? Several members in attendance thought this was explained well in the treasurer’s letter of explanation, and others noted that, in addition to increases in labor and materials costs, there are also projected increased costs for insurance.
The second question was: will the annual meeting be a live meeting or a virtual meeting? The current plan is for a live, in-person meeting, to be held in the Sunland Golf and Country Club ballroom. However, as we are still in a pandemic, the meeting will be held virtually if necessary, on the same date and at the same time, via Zoom.
Treasurer Update — Betty Gwaltney
Betty submitted a written report:
Monthly Expense Report: The Preliminary July2022 monthly expense report shows our total operating expenses for the month were $ 30,340 which brings our total year to date operating expenses to $231,223. This is $8,692 under budget year to date.
Total Funds on hand:
Operating Accounts $ 191,180
Reserve Accounts $ 617,480
TOTAL $ 808,660
CD’s investment: Purchased a 13month CD at Sound Bank with a 2.27% interest rate.
Financial Review report: still awaiting receipt.
New Owners: one welcome letter was sent in July
Vice President — Shirley Legg
Nothing more to report.
Board Member at Large — Mike Johnson
No report.
Architectural Control Committee — Mike Johnson, acting
Eric Mahnard stated that at the present time the Architecture Control Committee does not have any open items.
Insurance Committee — Susan Hamman
Nothing to report.
Developed Landscape — Tom Steffen
Summer pruning: we are still behind schedule in completing this summer’s round of pruning; work is currently taking place in the Mendel-Cascadia Loop area. Tom continues to remove bushes and plants upon request of owners; probably thirty to date. He has received emails requesting specific pruning from approximately ten owners.
Irrigation: Tom has replaced up to eight sprinkler heads on busier weeks and simply removed debris from as many. Control boxes continue to malfunction on occasion. Lawns with large brown areas are being addressed as best as possible; some areas do not have the proper amount of sprinkler heads.
Escallonia hedges: three of the 26 hedges damaged this past winter have been pruned down. This is a very slow process, due to the limited time the crew has to give this project. Each location will require approximately 2.5 hours; this labor expense is not in the annual contract.
Roundup mishap: the evidence of the mishandling of Roundup (on lawns mostly in areas of Mendel, Cascadian Loop, and Blakely Blvd.) in mid-July is still noticeable and will remain with us for several weeks. Next steps are being discussed as to how best to address the situation.
Gerry understands the landscaper has suggested he will dye the lawn until the grass regrows.
Exterior Maintenance and Inspection — Mike Johnson, acting
No report.
Natural Habitat — Sarah Miller
Our little trees [planted as a sight and sound barrier along Woodcock and the roundabout] continue to do well, thanks to the volunteer waterers and weeders. Our hot weather would be so much tougher on them if they were thirsty. They’re growing very quickly.
Thanks to Barry Burns for picking up litter along Woodcock Road and Sequim-Dungeness Way in July. Once again this month, there wasn’t enough trash to field a full volunteer team to do the clean-up. We will next assemble a volunteer crew on the first Monday in October.
Communications and Outreach — Kathy Gross
There has been little activity; several requests for help came in, either sent to the Secretary or the Information account, and these were turned over to the relevant officers or committees.
Homeowner Comment Period
There was a question about roots growing into utility boxes; have any inspections been done to see if this is still happening?
Gerry noted that, when the Sunland Water District checks their flow meters, they are also checking to see if there is evidence of root incursion.
Adjournment
Gerry declared the meeting adjourned at 2:59 p.m.