Sunland Division 17 Owners Association
August 14, 2024, 2:30 p.m.
The Gathering Place, 135 Fairway Drive
Call to Order, Verification of Quorum
President Gerry Hatler called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m.
Board members present were President Gerry Hatler, Vice President Mark Anderson, Treasurer Betty Gwaltney, and Secretary Lawrence Charters. Member-at-Large Warren Husman was absent.
Approval of Agenda
Gerry indicated he had added to the agenda, under New Business, the appointment of the Election Inspectors for the upcoming annual meeting; he asked for approval of the revised agenda, Lawrence so moved, seconded by Betty, the motion was approved.
Review and Approval of July Board Minutes
Gerry asked for approval of the July 2024 minutes, Betty so moved, seconded by Mark, the motion was approved.
Old Business
Committee vacancy
Gerry announced that Barbara Ross had agreed to chair the Architectural Review Committee. Betty moved for Barbara’s appointment, seconded by Mark, the motion was approved. Gerry asked Barbara Ross to coordinate with past chair Eric Mahnerd.
Questions and Answers about revision of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs)
There were no questions at the meeting from the Board or floor about the proposed revisions to the Division 17 CC&Rs. Gerry noted there had been discussion during monthly Board meetings since February (in addition to several email invitations to Owners to review the revisions posted online), and specific Q&A sessions were included as part of the July and August Board meeting agendas.
Lawrence said that a link to all the annual meeting materials, including the revised CC&Rs, appears on the Sunland North website home page (https://sunlandnorthownersassociation.com/).
Drainage issue on Blakely
Gerry & Mike Johnson on July 7 investigated a possible drainage issue reported at a unit on Blakely, where it appeared rain blew under the garage door (but caused no damage); however, a trench was dug alongside the driveway to facilitate runoff, and the situation will be revisited if it continues.
Ensuring quorums for Annual Meeting
To encourage sufficient participation in the approval process for the revised CC&Rs being voted on as part of the 2024 annual membership meeting, Board members and other volunteers agreed to divide up the ownership list and contact each owner who has not yet returned their ballot. Betty and Warren will contact Cascadia owners, Mike Johnson will contact Blakely owners, Barbara Ross volunteered to contact owners on Mendel, and Gerry and Mark will contact owners on Mt. Baker.
New Business
Financial Review Report
Financial Review Report: Betty reported that the Financial Review of 2023 had been completed by an outside accounting firm with HOA expertise, with no negative findings. The firm did recommend a change in how HOA assessments are categorized by our accountant, to be consistent with new federal law that better distinguishes assessments from other kinds of income. Lawrence moved for adoption of the report, seconded by Mark, and the motion was approved.
Betty had also researched the question of whether adopting the new Washington HOA law, as part of the revised Division 17 CC&Rs, would require more exhaustive (and expensive) annual audits, instead of the financial review traditionally selected by Owners as part of each year’s annual meeting ballot; she had determined that the usual review, conducted by an outside accounting firm using standard accounting practices, will meet the requirements.
Appointment of Election Inspectors
Volunteers Sue Purdy and Barbara Ross agreed to serve as Election Inspectors. Their appointment was moved by Betty, seconded by Mark, and the motion was approved. Election Inspectors check receipt of the ballots against the official Owner list, count the votes, determine whether the required majority has been met for each ballot measure (can vary by measure), and provide the final count to the Board during the annual meeting.
There was a question from the audience whether the Proxy Form is redundant if one attends the annual meeting in person; Lawrence clarified the different purposes of the Proxy form (“Proxy Designation Form”) to designate another Owner to vote in your place, vs. the Quorum form (“Absentee Attendance for Quorum at Annual Meeting,” which also uses the term “proxy” in its description, but is for the sole purpose of establishing quorums.) Submitting the “Absentee Attendance for Quorum” form helps ensure an Owner is counted toward the required quorums; but if the Owner also attends in person, they are still only counted once. Thus the “attendance proxy” may be redundant if one also attends in person, but it’s helpful.
Amendment to Bylaws
Lawrence proposed an amendment to the Division 17 Bylaws. He stressed that the Bylaws can be amended by the Board, unlike the CC&Rs, which are amended by owners, and the Bylaws cover how the Association is run, rather than what are the obligations and duties of the association as specified in the CC&Rs. His amendment proposes that the Bylaws change the date for the annual membership meeting from specifying September to specifying the fourth quarter of the year. This amendment was requested by the Treasurer, as outside accounting and auditing firms are habitually late with reports that need to be reviewed before the annual meeting, and a move to the fourth quarter would alleviate the problem.
The current Bylaws, in Article IV, Section 1, state that:
The annual meeting of the members of the Association shall be held in September of each year for the purposes of electing directors, presenting a financial statement showing in detail the current financial condition of the Association, proposing and ratifying a budget for the up-coming year, determining if a certified public accountant will conduct an audit or a financial review of the Association’s accounts, appointing two inspectors of election, and for the transaction of such other business as may properly be addressed at the meeting.
While the Bylaws merit a more comprehensive revision (which will be addressed after the CC&Rs are amended), the current amendment is more modest:
The annual meeting of the members of the Association shall be held in the fourth quarter of each year for the purposes of electing directors, presenting a financial statement showing in detail the current financial condition of the Association, proposing and ratifying a budget for the up-coming year, determining if a certified public accountant will conduct an audit or a financial review of the Association’s accounts, appointing two inspectors of election, and for the transaction of such other business as may properly be addressed at the meeting.
The amendment was approved by the Board for review by the membership. The amendment will be open to discussion by the members at the September member meeting and the Board will then vote on final adoption.
Officer Reports
President Update – Gerry Hatler
No additional items to report.
Vice President – Mark Anderson
No report beyond Exterior Maintenance items reported elsewhere in the meeting.
Secretary Update – Lawrence Charters
Lawrence reported that, as Secretary, he receives periodic Owner complaints of things “not done.” He emphasized the importance of Owners communicating directly with the coordinator or Board member who has the lead on various activities, or submitting your request via the Sunland North Website; he pointed out that if the Board is not aware of an issue, they cannot be expected to address it.
There was further discussion about the wide range of External Maintenance and Landscaping issues competing for attention and funds, and that not everything can be solved at the same time. To the extent Owners are willing to step up and provide the labor, and work within the HOA’s guidelines, the HOA may provide the necessary materials for an Owner to address many issues themselves.
Treasurer Update – Betty Gwaltney
1) Monthly Expense Report:
a. Operating expenses for July total $19533, year to date operating expenses $89,580. This is $11,142 OVER Budget year to date for Operational expenses due to maintenance expenses
b. Interest income YTD: 19,200
2) Total Funds on hand:
Operating Accounts $ 81,091
Reserve Accounts $ 911,113
TOTAL$ 992,204
3) Financial Review:
Final report received – conclusion: “Based on our review, we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the accompanying final statements in order for them to be in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the USA.”
Betty said she had sent out eight late assessment payment notices (though several of those were due to people being on vacation).
Member-at-Large – Warren Husman
Absent, no report.
Committee Reports
Architectural Control – position vacant
Previous Architectural Control Coordinator Eric Mahnerd was absent; Gerry reported he received no notes from Eric, whose practice was to advise him if there was something going on. Barbara Ross was appointed Architectural Control Chair at this July Board meeting (see elsewhere in these minutes).
Insurance – Susan Hamman
Susan was absent, but Owners were reminded to take advantage of the insurance presentation she had arranged for Friday, August 23 at 1:00 pm by Dianna Kaspar from Community Association Underwriters (CAU), to be held at the Sunland Golf Club ballroom. This is a presentation for several Sunland divisions covered by the same kind of policy, and is especially important for those who may not realize how the HOA-purchased insurance affects what kind of insurance coverage they need to secure individually. Currently about fifteen Division 17 Owners are signed up; anyone who would like to attend should send an e-mail to Susan or leave a message on her phone, so they can have an approximate count for purposes of handouts.
Developed Landscape – Tom Steffen
Irrigation
Our landscape crew and irrigation plumbing contractor continue to address issues that are reported. The replacement of broken sprinkler heads, adding or subtracting time to daily watering cycles, replacing control boxes and valves are ongoing issues being addressed. Large brown spots in lawns typically points to malfunctioning sprinkler head, due to debris in the line or a head buried. Owners should continue to report irrigation issues by submitting a maintenance request form via the Landscaping portal available on Div 17’s website.
Trees and Bushes
Our landscaping crew, in addition to a few owners, continue to remove dead plants/bushes from our HOA. Our contractor reports that 19 hours have been spent on this project (approximately 1/3 of the dead bushes have been removed). Special thanks to all owners who have help with the removal.
Escallonia Hedges (islands with electrical boxes)
Our contractor and two owners have removed dead hedges and cleaned up one of the islands on Blakely. New bushes have not and may not be planted; we will wait to see how the remaining escallonia responds. Mulch/bark will be applied to dress up the area.
Exterior Maintenance – Mark Anderson
Mark Anderson had agreed to chair the Exterior Maintenance Committee, with help from outgoing chair Mike Johnson, who will continue to participate. The scheduled repainting of six buildings this year has been completed, and seven additional buildings are scheduled for next year. The HOA launched a pilot program of professional roof inspections to include roof, gutters, flashing, attic and insulation, and has just received a report on the first 20 units inspected. The goal is to identify priorities and plan for key preventive maintenance, and thus avoid more costly repairs.
Mike Johnson encouraged the Architectural Committee Chair to coordinate with the External Maintenance Committee, since those kinds of changes often impact ongoing HOA maintenance responsibilities.
Natural Habitat – Sarah Miller
Most of our trees near the roundabout continue to do well. We’ve lost one, perhaps to disease, but the others look fine and have not needed supplemental water so far in this third year of growth. In the late fall once the rains start, we will transplant another Douglas fir from the detention pond into the spot now occupied by the dead tree.
Thanks to Susan Hamman and Rindy Hainstock for watering the few trees we transplanted in the last couple years.
And big thanks also to the Poison Hemlock Control crew (Tom Hamman, Gerry Busch, Diana Burns, Greg King, and Sandy Reed) who got on top of the infestation we had earlier this year. The Clallam County Noxious Weed inspector had sent us a letter to alert us to areas we’d already begun spraying in late spring. Thankfully these plants never got the chance to set seed due to the dedicated efforts of the crew.
Barry Burns continues to do his monthly litter pickup along our road frontages. The occasional discovery of a $5 bill is a nice bonus, but the continual upkeep of the beauty of our neighborhood is the big reward. Thanks again Barry!
We will have the natural habitat mowed for the third and last time in the next few weeks.
Welcome Committee – Kay Hatler
Kay was absent, but committee member Jann Hale said no new owners had been contacted since the last meeting.
Communications and Outreach – Kathy Gross
Kathy Gross was not present, but it was noted the quarterly newsletter was distributed in July, and that it is also on the Sunland North website, along with other past newsletter issues.
Owner Comment Period
There was one Owner question about locking mailboxes; it was confirmed that Owners can buy and install their own, if approved through the normal Division 17 Architectural Control process.
An announcement was made that a group was working on a canine calendar of dogs of Sunland North.
Adjournment
There being no further agenda items or Owner Comments, Gerry adjourned the meeting at 3:30 PM
The Board thanks Barbara Brooner for preparing notes for the meeting.