Sunland Division 17 Owners Association
August 12, 2026 2:30 p.m.
The Gathering Place, 135 Fairway Drive
Owner Comment
John Lewis talked about fences and patios. Complex issues dating back to previous boards and, before that, the developer. John suggested the Board appoint a group to research existing patio extensions, fencing, etc., and report to the Board.
Call to Order, Verification of Quorum
President Susan Hamman called the meeting to order at 2:32 p.m.
Approval of Agenda
The agenda was amended to move the call for nominations to old business. Permission by Division 17 to remove a tree on Division 17 property was added as new business. Member-at-Large Tom Steffen moved approval of the amended agenda, Vice President Mark Anderson seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
Review and Approval of July Meeting Minutes
Treasurer Betty Gwaltney moved approval of the July minutes, Mark seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
Old Business
Concrete Repairs/Estimates
Mark said the Association has done two surveys of concrete repair needs, and evaluated them in line with vendor capabilities. The Board will review these findings before making a decision. There was a discussion of how to schedule this work in line with the budget for concrete work. David Breeding will go back to the contractor for adjusted estimates and more limited scope of work for this year.
Water Damage Claims (2) – Status
Susan stressed again the need for owners to be proactive in guarding against water damage, starting with the purchase and installation of water leak detectors. In the last five weeks, six owners discovered leaks that they were not aware of after installing water leak detectors. One water damage repair is underway; the repairs will total more than $30,000. A different incident is projected to cost over $49,000 in damage. The second owner elected to use their own contractor. Susan said one contractor is waiting for payment for mitigation tasks of over $8,000; Secretary Lawrence Charters moved that the bill be paid, seconded by Tom, and the motion passed.
Several owners asked about who is paying for damage, HOA or the owner or the insurance company. CAU has paid both claims, with the owners each paying the $10,000 deductible. However, since claims impact our insurance rates, we all pay as members of this HOA.
Fences and Patio Extensions Issue
John and Jere Wilson presented a synopsis of their concerns about private fences and the cost to maintain them.
Assessments have increased approximately 60% over the last 6 years, from $237 to $419. If this trend continues – our assessments will go from $419 to $747 or more over the next six years. We don’t have any amenities such as swimming pool, clubhouse, tennis courts etc. so this level of increase is a concern. We don’t have any control over expenses such as insurance and contractors. But we do have control over approving privately owned fences on common area and then passing the cost to insure, maintain, and replace to all unit owners.
I understand the history of these decisions but cannot find anything in the CC&Rs or Washington state law that support them. This is why we’ve asked the Board to obtain a written legal and financial review and share the results with the community.
In Oct 2022, John Wilson addressed this issue with the Architectural Committee and received considerable push back. When presented to the Board, instead of discussing at an open meeting, they went into Executive session and decided not to take any action.
Since then, fences continue to be built, expenses continue to increase, and the common area continues to be divided into private lots. This is a very complicated issue that requires professional advice.
Another member expressed concerns about their existing privacy fence and concerns about preserving their privacy, and having received the builder’s assurance that the HOA would handle maintenance.
John Lewis noted the association has 66 acres, and of this area, 47 acres are not covered by buildings or roads, affording a high degree of privacy.
Several members noted that COVID-related expenses, labor shortages, inflation, and other issues were major contributors to the rise in assessments. Recent Boards have also made a priority of increasing funding to reserves, which were historically underfunded, in order to fund future maintenance as our homes and neighborhood infrastructure age.
Betty noted that we do not expense fence maintenance separately, and are not able to come up with figures on how much is spent on fencing.
There were questions and claims about whether privacy fences are covered in CC&R or in Bylaws or other documents.
It was suggested we have a moratorium on new fence requests until we can clarify fencing issues. Susan so moved, Tom seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
The Board is preparing documentation and a letter to an HOA attorney asking for legal guidance on this matter.
Call for nominations from the floor
Susan called for additional nominations for this fall’s Board election. There were no nominations.
Election forms – Lawrence Charters
Lawrence gave an overview of the various documents that will be included in the annual membership meeting packet. To get around issues with slowed postal service and higher postal costs, meeting packets will be distributed door-to-door where possible. Owners are also encouraged to return their ballots via the Sunland North drop box, installed on the Mt. Baker mail kiosk.
Betty moved that the election packet be approved, Susan seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
Roof Sag Issue
A contractor, working across the street on an unrelated project, noticed a roof sag on a unit on Blakely. The owner of the unit and other entities sent teams to investigate the issue. The HOA insurer denied coverage for fixing the roof sag because it is a building defect, and not a HOA maintenance issue. Even though the insurer denied coverage, the incident will go against the Association record as a claim. Sunland North will contact the owner.
HOA Central Software
Mark led a discussion on purchasing a subscription for HOA Central, a cloud-based software package designed for managing homeowner associations. Mark’s interest in the package is to support the volunteers in maintenance duties, as our current tool is more of an unstructured closet than a database for tracking issues on a unit-by-unit basis.
Betty moved that we purchase a subscription, Lawrence seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
New Business
Increase water damage insurance deductible to $30,000
Susan and Betty discussed our Association insurance, what the Association is mandated to cover, and the claims that have come up this year. Susan proposed that we increase the per-incident deductible and shift more of the responsibility for preventive maintenance measures on owners. They noted that we have had over $60,000 in preventable water damage claims this year. Tom moved to increase the deductible, Betty seconded the motion, and the motion passed. Owners will be notified of the change in advance, in order to allow them to make adjustments to their individual homeowner policies. The effective date of this change will be October 14, 2026.
Treasurer Assistant Proposal
Betty has been treasurer for six years and is very motivated to find a replacement. Betty proposed having a treasurer assistant, a non-board volunteer position to assist in carrying out the treasurer duties and, in the process, learn what is required for the treasurer position. Lawrence moved to create the position, Mark seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
2027 Budget – Approval by Board
Betty and other Board members discussed the 2027 Association budget and reviewed how it was created in collaboration with Board members and Committee members. Adjustments to how some activities were accounted for and changes in some processes are intended to reduce financial pressures in the coming year and allow for a relatively modest assessment increase. As many of these topics were discussed earlier in the meeting, there were few questions.
Lawrence moved that we adopt the budget, Mark seconded the motion, and the motion passed. The budget will be submitted to the membership at the Annual Membership Meeting in October for approval.
Officer Reports
President Update – Susan Hamman
Nothing further to add.
Vice President – Mark Anderson
Mark summarized that there are 27 pending external maintenance projects.
Secretary Update – Lawrence Charters
Nothing further to add.
Treasurer Update – Betty Gwaltney
- Monthly Expense Report:
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- July 2026 Operating expenses: $40,284 YTD $336,815 UNDER budget $11,740
- Interest income YTD: $ 24,738
- Total Funds on hand July 30, 2026:
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- Operating Accounts $ 326,800
- Reserve Accounts $ 1,155,209 (79% in CDs)
- TOTAL $ 1,482,009
- Insurance Claims
290 Blakely
Total Payments received (Deductible + Insurance) $30,439.22
Total Payments $ 7,605.75
Balance $ 22,833.47
21 Mount Baker
Total Payments received (Deductible + Insurance) $ 49,536.81
Total Payments $ 0.00
Balance $ 49,536.81
Motion made and seconded to approve invoice payments to Serv Pro and Strait Flooring related to water claim at 21 Mount Baker.
CD Management
First Security CD #1680 21 month @ 3.75 Mat 07/22/26 Renewed 15 month @3.9%
US Bank CD #524 Matures Aug 7, 2026 Renewed 9 month at 3.25% matures March 7, 2027
First Fed CD $101,879 matures Recommend moving funds to Operational checking, then buying 18 month CD at Sound Community with $100,000. This will go towards Reserve Fund contribution for 2026. Mark moved, Tom seconded.
Member-at-Large – Tom Steffen
Nothing to add.
Committee Reports
Architectural Control – Rob Crombie
Rob said two architectural requests have come in; one is the addition of a Starlink dish and railings; the second is for railings.
Insurance – Susan Hamman
Nothing to add.
Developed Landscape – Tom Steffen
Irrigation
July was a busy month for irrigation issues. New control boxes were needed at two locations. Sanford Irrigation has replaced broken and/or relocated or repositioned sprinkler heads at some 15 locations. In addition, many volunteer hours are being spent working throughout the HOA looking for buried sprinkler heads.
Landscape Debris
A growing number of owners are benefiting from placing their landscape clippings on their driveways the evening before their weekly mowing. Please remember to:
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- use sturdy plastic containers with handles (one large or two small per week). No more plastic bags.
- put out containers Wednesday and Thursday mornings; leave until picked up. If debris is not removed by Friday noon, move container into the garage and put out the following week.
- Only put out clippings from bushes/trees. NEVER put out soil, indoor plants, food scraps, bottles, cans, paper, etc.
- Do not put debris container on lawn, which has to be moved before mowing can resume.
Tree Trimming
Town and Country Tree Experts recently removed or pruned several trees and will be working at locations in our HOA in the next few months.
Exterior Maintenance – Mark Anderson, Acting Chair
Our exterior maintenance requests are separated into categories, and each category has a volunteer with expertise in their area.
27 pending projects (22 identified/submitted in July), 34 projects completed.
House Painting & Paint Touch Up
6 buildings are scheduled to be painted this year. Oscar Lopez Painting will begin power washing and painting on Saturday, August 1. Homes will be painted in reverse order of the bid. The project should be completed by the end of August (weather-dependent). Owners have all been made aware and provided with instructions to prepare the home for painting.
1 pending project for touch-up painting on recently installed flashing at garage, contractor has been assigned; 1 completed project.
Privacy Fences
2 pending projects, contractor has been assigned; 8 completed projects.
Roof Issues
1 pending project, contractor has been assigned; 0 completed projects.
Rain Gutters & Fascia Repair
1 pending project, contractor assigned; 5 completed projects.
Chimney Chases
1 pending project; 0 completed projects.
Concrete Repairs
19 projects pending. Projects identified through survey. Bids for repairs have been submitted to Board; 14 completed projects.
Lighting
0 pending projects; 1 completed project.
Exterior Maintenance Miscellaneous
2 pending projects, contractor assigned; 5 completed projects.
Natural Habitat – Sarah Miller
Sunland North has received a request from Division 7 to remove a white pine on Sunland North property at Division 7 expense. Lawrence moved that we agree to the request, Mark seconded, and the motion passed.
Welcome Committee – Colleen Weston and Ilse Long
Susan noted that one home is close to closing, and others said that two more might be offered for sale soon.
Communications and Outreach – Kathy Gross
Nothing to add.
Owner Comment Period
There was a discussion about the outcome of the goat meeting. [Irreverent note from the Secretary: being able to write the “outcome of the goat meeting” as part of meeting minutes provided much joy.] The general impression was that, while goats might be an excellent, and ecologically sound, way to control unwanted shrubbery and undergrowth, renting goats is not inexpensive, and goats do not follow schedules.
The Board was thanked for facilitating complex discussions in a civil and collegial manner.
Executive Session (If required)
No executive session.
Adjournment
Susan adjourned the meeting at 4:38 p.m.