Division 17 Board Meeting
December 13, 2023, 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Gathering Place
Call to Order
President Gerry Hatler called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m.
Verification of Quorum
Board members present were Gerry Hatler, Mark Anderson, Betty Gwaltney, and Lawrence Charters. Absent was Warren Husman.
Approval of Agenda
Gerry called for approval of the Board agenda. Betty made the motion, seconded by Mark, and all approved.
Approval of Minutes
Gerry asked for approval of the November board minutes, Betty made the motion, seconded by Lawrence, and all approved.
Old Business
Back Flow Valve Update
Tom Steffens reported that approximately 40% (24) of the backflow preventers (BFPs) passed the 2023 annual inspection; as expected, most of these are installed on Mt. Baker. Approximately 6% (4) failed the 2023 annual inspection, and these BFPs were reported to the Sunland Water District (SWD). The majority of the BFPs, 56% (36) were untestable, due to improper installation or bad condition. Tom stated that we are a long way off from full annual compliance with the State and SWD.
Tom suspects that many of the untestables and the fails that the irrigation plumber lists concern BFPs are tied to an owner’s domestic water line. At this time, he does not have a list of those locations, so he doesn’t know exactly how many this involves. 25? Hopefully fewer. If in five years or so, the SWD moves to charge owners/HOAs per actual gallons used, SWD (or HOAs, or owners within HOAs) may prefer separating domestic from irrigation water into separate lines. This will involve a significant amount of digging and the relocation of BFPs, which will be costly.
Recommendations for 2024:
- Replace/repair the “failed” BFPs that are installed on designated irrigation lines. This will cost up to approximately $2,400.
- Replace/repair up to five “untestable” BFPs. This will cost approximately $3,000.
Tom believes that if we continue to show some progress on moving our HOA toward compliance with the State-required program of the annual testing of BFPs, SWD will be happy with our efforts. Tom has been told that we are the only HOA that has gathered data on its BFPs, replaced a few, and started moving toward compliance. We can always move faster if required by SWD.
Betty moved to approve the allocation of $5400 for BFPs replacement in 2024, seconded by Lawrence, and all approved.
As a related landscaping issue, Gerry brought up the issue of the multiple deciduous trees that need to be pruned within Division 17, a subject that was brought up at the November board meeting. Tom will discuss this with the landscaper.
Field Mowing Contract
Jim Rossi, the field mowing contractor had previously requested a contract; he withdrew that request.
Governing Documents
This discussion has been tabled since October; Gerry has been in contact with the law firm reviewing the HOA governing documents. The CC&Rs must be voted on by the membership. The Bylaws can be approved by the Board. Lawrence recommended taking the law firm documents and turning them into a web page so members can look at them online.
Betty stated that a cleaner copy was needed from the law firm to reflect additional changes in the insurance section. Once the law firm has produced an updated copy, Lawrence can post it. Division 17 members must be notified of the changes but the law firm stated that the HOA does not have to provide a paper copy to each unit owner if the changes are on the website.
The Board discussed having the CC&R vote either at the annual meeting or vote by mail. If it is sent out via U.S. mail at some time not tied to an annual meeting, a quorum may not be reached. The Board agreed that it should be voted on as part of the 2024 annual meeting. Gerry stated that the Board will need to be actively engaged in contacting unit owners to review the changes in advance of the annual meeting.
The annual meeting will be changed from September to October in 2025; as this requirement is contained in the Bylaws, it doesn’t require unit owner approval.
Lawrence and Betty brought up the Rules and Regulations which are not part of the legal review. Since SLOA extensively revised their R&Rs, Lawrence stated that Division 17’s Rules and Regulations no longer make sense, as they have repeated references to the old SLOA document. Betty stated that if there is a conflict between SLOA’s R&Rs and the HOA’s, the HOA’s R&Rs take precedence over the SLOA ones.
Gerry made the motion to hold next year’s annual meeting on September 11, 2024, Betty seconded it, and all approved.
New Business
2023 Reserve Fund Contribution.
Betty recommended a reserve contribution of $110K this year. Division 17 has already contributed $75K to fund the reserve (including anticipated reserve expenses of painting, mulching, and concrete repair). She recommended purchasing a $75,000 (9-month) CD at Kitsap Credit Union at the current rate of 5.40% and maintaining that as a reserve account.
$20K is kept in the operational account for current expenses. 2024 assessment checks have already started arriving at Bell & Bell; they will be cashed starting January 2, 2024.
Betty also recommended purchasing an 18-19 month $100K CD in Feb. 2024 when the current Washington Federal CD matures, the current rate is 5.12%.
Lawrence moved to accept Betty’s recommendations, Mark seconded it, and all approved.
Bid for brush removal
Sarah Miller received an unsolicited bid to remove the blackberry bushes on Division 17 property along the Sequim Dungeness highway and the base of the south hill behind Cascadia Loop. The bid along Sequim Dungeness was for $1350. The south hillside was $1750 (may not have included tax for either bid). The Board discussed whether the blackberries need to be removed. Are they a fire hazard? Betty would like Sarah’s point of view and discussion before spending money on blackberry bush removal; Gerry will contact Sarah.
Susan Hamman asked that no blackberry bushes be removed along Woodcock behind Mt. Baker since that is the only barrier residents have from the road noise and access. Mike Johnson was concerned about fire danger. The existing Douglas fir trees can be pruned from the bottom (canopied) to reduce that risk. Susan will discuss this with Sarah Miller since this is part of the natural habitat area. Resident Rindy Hainstock requested that some trees be planted on the NE corner of Mt. Baker adjacent to Woodcock Road, as there is currently no natural vegetation barrier to shield the units from Woodcock.
NW Gutter Pro bid
Mike Johnson presented the NW Gutter Pros bid for roof treatment and gutter cleaning in 2024. External Maintenance set up a four-year roof/gutter rotation program for Division 17. The company performed treatment and cleaning this year; Mike said they have been very responsive and very careful to not damage the roofs while on them. The pricing was very similar to 2023’s work. The total bid with tax was $11,548.52 for 15 buildings. Lawrence moved to accept the bid, Betty seconded it, and all approved. Gerry will sign the estimate and return it to Mike.
Officer Reports
President – Gerry Hatler
Gerry remarked about the lovely Division 17 holiday party at 7 Cedars on Dec. 7; good food, festive decorations, responsive wait staff. 40 people attended (note: the highest attendance in the past was 70).
Vice President – Mark Anderson
Nothing to report.
Secretary – Lawrence Charters
Lawrence asked for holiday party photos for the website. Submissions for the quarterly newsletter need to be in by Dec. 25. He asked that Board members and committee chairs recap their 2023 major accomplishments and discuss some upcoming 2024 tasks/events under their responsibility.
Treasurer – Betty Gwaltney
Betty reports that the Operating expenses for November were $14,958 and total year-to-date operating expenses were $310,494. This is $39,496 UNDER year to date for Operational expenses. Interest income YTD: $15,258. Total Funds on hand:
Operating Accounts $ 135,322
Reserve Accounts $ 784,606
TOTAL $919,928
2024 assessment invoices go out by December 15. Betty will send out an e-mail blast to the unit owners as a reminder.
Member at Large – Husman
Absent – no report
Architectural Chair – Eric Mahnerd
No ACC requests this month.
Insurance – Susan Hamman
No insurance issues this month.
Developed landscape – Tom Steffen
In addition to the backflow preventer report under Old Business, Tom reported that the Landscaping crew has been making steady progress on the winter pruning and doing an excellent job.
Exterior Maintenance – Mike Johnson
After the recent heavy rains, there was a roof leak at 120 Cascadia that has been fixed. There was a problem with a garage door at 60 Cascadia Loop after the owner backed into it. The owner reported it to his insurance company but the damage ended up being less than $150. While this would have been an item to be fixed by the HOA, the owner declined to be reimbursed for the expense of fixing it.
Mike said that what HOA takes standard care of with garage doors is the mechanism to raise and lower it and paint the garage door.
Mike applauded Tom Steffen and the landscaping crew for their excellent work.
Natural habitat – Sarah Miller
Absent – no report
Welcome Committee – Kay Hatler
Kay wants to reduce the amount of packet information and point new residents to the website instead since it contains a wealth of information about Division 17.
Communications – Lawrence Charters
Lawrence is still trying to track down who owns the Sunland North owner’s association website domain. It appears that the owner of record may still be the original website developer.
Homeowner comments
Eric Mahnerd asked the HOA to remind unit owners about cleaning their hot water tanks (draining, cleaning out the calcium, and replacing elements as necessary). Mark Anderson will write an article for the newsletter.
Adjournment
Gerry adjourned the meeting at 3:39 p.m.
Meeting notes recorded by Susan Hamman, with the thanks of the Board.