Monthly Board Meeting of Sunland Division 17 Owners Association
December 8, 2021, 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., at The Gathering Place, 135 Fairway Drive
Note: While Washington State health officials are permitting such meetings, please note it is recommended that unvaccinated folks avoid such meetings, and everyone should wear a mask when in such gatherings to protect others. Clallam County is currently seeing a High rate of COVID-19 infections. https://www.clallam.net/coronavirus/
Call to Order
President Gerry Hatler called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m.
Verification of Quorum
Vice President Shirley Legg was absent. Mike Johnson arrived at 2:39. All other members present.
Review and approval of minutes
Minutes of the November 10, 2021, meeting approved as submitted.
Old Business
Update on bookkeeper search
Treasurer Betty Gwaltney and former treasurer Jim Jones have been looking for a bookkeeper that can provide longevity and continuity, redundancy within the firm, an appropriate range of services, experience with HOA accounting, and timely response. The search narrowed down to two, and both were interviewed. Betty is recommending Bell and Bell, a Sequim-based accounting firm meeting all the criteria. The annual assessment letter for 2022 will be sent out by our current bookkeeper. Our current bookkeeper will close their office for the year on Dec. 23, and the transition must be completed by then. The Board approved Betty’s motion that we engage Bell and Bell.
Betty noted that, at our last Board meeting, we approved crediting unit owners $11 against their 2022 Division 17 assessment as their share of the proceeds from the sale of land taken by the county for the Sequim-Dungeness and Woodcock Road roundabout. This required a slight amendment of the approved 2021 budget, with the total budget remaining the same but unit contributions reduced by $11.
Update on rental documentation
While Washington State law requires Division 17 to collect contact information on renters, some ambiguity in our governing documents makes it unclear how this should be done. SLOA has a similar requirement, but no arrangement exists to share such information. Secretary Lawrence Charters has approached SLOA about sharing renter information, and the results so far are positive.
New Business
Speed reporting signs
Lawrence has been approached, via both messages and individuals walking up and talking to him, about the need for speed signs (i.e., electronic signs that both display the speed and also tell drivers their current speed), especially with the changed traffic flow due to the roundabout construction. SLOA has two speed signs, but is currently using them both, as SLOA has also experienced changed traffic flow.
Gerry will talk to SLOA about getting one of the signs moved to Blakely, or see if they could purchase an additional sign to be placed in Sunland North.
Planting in common areas
Several unit owners are planting things in common areas. This, however, creates both additional work and expense for our landscaping contractors as well as genuine hazards, as sometimes the plantings create safety issues for the landscaping crew, and sometimes the plants are invasive. The Landscaping chair will write a message on the subject for the next newsletter, along with a definition of “common area.”
Storm damage
The powerful November 15 rain- and wind- storm resulted in mostly minor damage to the neighborhood, with one exception. A very large fir tree branch broke off, crashed into the RV park fence, and landed lengthwise down a trailer in the park. The owner of the trailer, coincidentally a Sunland North member, had only recently purchased the trailer. An investigation is ongoing.
Association records project
Now that we have a records retention schedule, Susan Hamman is going through 20-odd years of Association files and pruning old records. Susan was concerned about our records held by our current bookkeeper. Betty said our new bookkeeper would take over the records, convert them to electronic records, and retain them in electronic format.
Officer, Committee, and Coordinator Reports
President Update — Gerry Hatler
Nothing to report
Secretary Update — Lawrence Charters
The Communications Committee identified updates that need to be done to the Welcome packet, and these updates have been completed.
Similarly, the new Board, new Budget, and other changes required a number of website updates, and these, too, have been completed.
The website itself has some fundamental design issues that require a complete infrastructure update. There is a long list of technical and security issues that can’t be addressed with the current software. Lawrence has sketched out a plan for creating a new prototype site, retaining all the current information, but has been slowed by family health issues. The Board requested that a call be put out in the next newsletter for volunteers to assist in the effort.
Lawrence noted that he gets repeated calls for additional copies of messages sent out to the entire Sunland North community. Members either accidentally delete the messages or lose track of them. To help address this problem, these community-wide messages are being reposted in a new Announcements section.
Treasurer Update — Betty Gwaltney
Monthly Expense Report: The preliminary November 2021 monthly expense report shows our total operating expenses for the month were $13,653, which brings our total year to date expenses to $295,251. This is $7,568 over budget year to date.
Total Funds on hand:
Operating Accounts $ 114,338
Reserve Accounts $ 526,564
TOTAL $ 640,902
No new owner letters were required in November.
Vice President — Shirley Legg
No report.
Board Member at Large — Mike Johnson
Mike expressed gratitude and appreciation that we are very fortunate to have members in our neighborhood with exceptional experience. In his capacity as a Board member and volunteer, he is regularly impressed with the talent and skills our members bring to the various tasks that keep our neighborhood vibrant.
Architectural Control Committee — Jim Rozanski
No report.
Insurance Committee — Susan Hamman
Susan noted that our insurance investigator asked if we have had a tree survey. Sunland North did have a tree survey several years ago, but it is unclear if it covered trees in the natural habitat.
Developed Landscape — Tom Steffen
Since Tom’s November report, he has been active in the following ways:
He remains in weekly contact (personally, by email, and by phone) with our principal landscaping maintenance contractor.
Strong winds in November brought down leaves and limbs; they have been removed from Division 17.
End of the year pruning has begun.
A commercial tree service removed a tall evergreen tree (leaning toward building) behind Blakely Blvd.
Tom made visits to two units to discuss pruning requests and irrigation questions.
Tom approved a request from an owner on Blakely Blvd to trim the lower branches (and remove from the property) of an evergreen in the common area behind the house.
Tom had email conversations with three owners concerning various landscaping issues and questions.
Exterior Maintenance and Inspection — John Lewis
John noted this is the quiet time of year for maintenance issues. Three gutter issues were addressed, one mailbox was fixed, three streetlights were fixed.
John noted he inherited two lists of things to be done; they do not match. Some of the items are quite old, and may no longer be relevant. He is working on creating just one list, and then will prioritize items on the list.
John is seeking a volunteer to co-chair the committee and administer some of the technical tasks. The Board requested he put a call out in the newsletter.
Natural Habitat — Sarah Miller
Winter storms continue to bring some impacts to the Natural Habitat. We were fortunate to be able to get some assistance from a certified arborist. Even though he was busy with downed trees all over the region, he made time to stop by Sunland Division 17 to assess the situation with the tree that had blown down and damaged the RV fence and trailer. He recommended that we no longer choose Douglas firs to plant, due to their tendency to get brittle and drop large branches. He mentioned that Leyland cypress or other Arborvitae trees would be better choices.
Early this year, we assembled a volunteer team to clean up all the fallen branches from the winter storms. Sarah would like to do that again, beginning Monday, January 17th. Martin Luther King’s Birthday Holiday is a great day to devote to public service, so let’s serve the Natural Habitat! Please bring gloves, chainsaws, pruning saws, and loppers and meet at 10 am at Blakely Blvd & Woodcock Road. We will gather up the branches to maximize efficiency for loading a pickup truck to haul the branches away. If you can help with this effort, please let Sarah know via email (sarah0458@gmail.com) or phone (206-947-1347).
We are still seeing poison hemlock growing in the Natural Habitat. Please notify Sarah if you happen to see any. It is important that we remove these correctly to prevent injury to those who come in contact with it, and to limit larger infestations. Thanks to Mike Johnson for the most recent report, and to Tom Hamman for the removal.
Communications and Outreach — Kathy Gross
Betty Gwaltney announced that last year’s Christmas Parade will have a repeat this year, on Friday, December 19. This year we will be partnering with Division 7. Participants will gather in the SLOA parking lot at 4:15 p.m. Flyers will be sent to everyone.
Sunland Water District Update — Tom Hamman
Tom noted that fees for 2021 were raised; all owners should have received a notice.
Homeowner Comment Period
There were no homeowner comments.
Adjournment
Gerry adjourned the meeting at 3:38 p.m.