SUNLAND DIVISION 17 OWNERS ASSOCIATION
Board of Director’s Meeting February 10, 2016
Location: Sunland’s “The Gathering Place” Ground Floor Meeting Room
Approved
Homeowner Forum: Per established Board procedure, the meeting began with an open Homeowners’ Forum. Three people spoke; 18 people were in attendance.
Call to Order: The regular meeting of Sunland Division 17 Owners Association was called to order at 2:39 P.M.
Roll Call and Quorum: The chair confirmed a quorum with four Board members present: President Gene Ross, Treasurer Jim Jones, Member at Large One Jill Hummel, Member at Large Two Roger Briggs; Secretary Tom Steffen was absent. Judy Field served as Recording Secretary.
Review and approval of minutes: Draft minutes from the January Board meeting had been circulated to the Board in advance. There were no corrections.
MOTION: Jill Hummel moved to approve the minutes as written. The motion was seconded and approved.
Old Business
1. Four-way stop request to County Roads engineer; SLOA/Division 17action:
Two residents of SLOA (including Phil Merlin of the SLOA Board) and two residents of Division 17 will meet on Tuesday, February 16 to develop a strategy that will move the County Commissioners to act on our concerns regarding issues at the intersections of Sequim Dungeness and Woodcock, Medsker and Sequim Dungeness, Taylor and Sequim Dungeness; plus the reduction of speed on Sequim Dungeness from Woodcock to the city limits.
2. Attorney review of proposed R&R Appendix A:
Jim Jones delivered a packet to attorney Alan Millet, listing the pertinent questions needing to be answered and a note indicating the maximum amount Division 17 authorized to be spent on this consultation ($1000.00). Mr. Millet has not responded as of this date.
3. Insurance Committee recommendations; procedures for deductibles:
The renewal date for our insurance with CAU is May 1, 2016, which gives us more time for discussion. There are two main issues: (1) should Division 17 renew with CAU; (2) who pays the insurance deductible. This committee will meet Tuesday, February 16 and make recommendations to the Board. Further discussion was postponed until the March Board meeting.
4. Questionnaire results for split rail fencing problems:
Roger Briggs reported that the response rate to his questionnaire was 41% (45 of the 109 residents). The results are as follows:
Option #1: removal of failed fencing….22 residents; Option #2: replace removed failed fencing….17 residents; Option #3: removal of failed fencing with limited landscaping replacement (shrubs/trees)….1 resident: Option #4: recommend other (specify)…5 residents.
Roger concluded that the choice of policy regarding split rail maintenance has to be weighed against the economic stability of our community and the aesthetics we want to maintain. The choices in this survey represent a split opinion among the residents. This issue was postponed to enable further discussion.
5. Architectural Control Committee Accountability and Responsibility: There had been a recommendation that a Board member be appointed to the Architectural Control Committee. Gene Ross found no relevant references to cover such an appointment and offered instead a draft Bylaw amendment calling for a Director to serve as liaison to the Committee. Gene will add provisions for owner appeals. Because further definitions are needed, no decision was made at this time.
New Business
1. Proposed appointment of Director as liaison to the Insurance Committee:
Gene Ross recommended that a liaison be appointed to the Insurance Committee. The liaison would act as a channel between the Board and the committee; that is, bring the Board’s questions and concerns directly to the committee, while the committee could share their issues, concerns and questions with the liaison.
MOTION: Jill Hummel moved to approve the appointment of Jim Jones as liaison to the Insurance Committee. The motion was seconded and approved.
2. Division 11 request for change in Greenbelt access procedures:
MOTION: Jim Jones moved to retain the current agreement with Division 11 that the Board President of Division 17 be notified in a timely manner any time Division 17 property must be crossed to access Division 11 property. The motion was seconded and approved by a vote of 3 -1, with Roger Briggs abstaining.
Officer, Committee, and Coordinator Reports
1. President Update: Gene Ross talked with SLOA board member Phil Merlin regarding County road issues, presenting him with Division 17’s letter supporting a joint effort by all Sunland divisions to demand action by the County.
2. Secretary: Tom Steffen submitted a written report. There are three units for sale, all on Mt. Baker; two new units are under construction (#s 81 and 91 Mt. Baker). Division 17 has 115 units built or under construction with 24 units yet to be built.
3. Treasurer: Currently we have $21,180 in our checking account and $229,502 in Reserve Fund accounts for a total of $250,682. We moved our checking account to an Advanced Business Account o avoid monthly fees. We ended the year with a $979 surplus.
4. Member at Large One: Jill Hummel reported on the SLOA meeting: the location of a new cell phone tower is still being debated; nominations for the SLOA board are now being accepted.
5. Member at Large Two: There was some discussion of banks of mailboxes as opposed to individual mailboxes.
6. Architecture Committee: there was one inquiry.
7. Developed Landscape: Valerie Holland stated that most of her information could be found in the newsletter. She has received two bids for removal of two trees. This request must be approved by the SLOA Architecture Committee. If both bids are approved, it will exceed the 2016 budget for tree removal.
8. Exterior Maintenance: Richard Helmenstine submitted a written report. The estimate from Lopez Painting for 2016 (eight buildings and 2 triplexes) is $43,847.80 (after sales tax of 8.4%); we have budgeted $44,000.
9. Greenbelt: Tom Hamman announced that the Hemlock is back but the committee has plans to take care of it.
MOTION: Jim Jones moved to approve the movement of soil from the new building site to smooth out the uneven areas between the building site and Woodcock, as this will help with future mowing. Kevin Estes will direct his workers to move the soil. The motion was seconded and approved.
10. Newsletter: The next newsletter will come out in May.
Homeowner Comments: Two people spoke.
Adjournment:
MOTION: Jill Hummel moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded and approved.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Judy Field
Recording Secretary