Sunland Division 17 Board Meeting
February 14, 2024, 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, and Betty Gwaltney. Absent were Warren Husman and Lawrence Charters.
Approval of Agenda
Gerry asked for approval of the Board agenda. Mark made the motion, seconded by Betty, and all approved.
Approval of Minutes
Gerry asked for the approval of the January 2024 board minutes to which Betty had made one correction. Mark made the motion, seconded by Betty, and all approved.
Old Business
Draft revision of the CC&Rs
Gerry said he had not received any comments on the draft revised CC&Rs provided to the Board and committee chairs. Barbara Brooner volunteered she sent comments to Lawrence Charters, especially concerns related to the definitions of common areas that included an apparent contradiction to what had previously been established. Gerry emphasized the law firm was asked to review the existing CC&Rs for conformance to current law, not to make other changes, and asked Barbara to send her review to him.
Backflow valves update
No update is available.
Approval of New Owner packet
The Board reviewed the changes to the new owner packet at the end of 2023. No approval is needed for the changes.
New Business
One unit on Cascadia had significant repairs done, the expense of which required board approval. The expenses totaled $15,642. Another Cascadia unit also had repairs which totaled $5,291.00. These were water damage repairs that had occurred over a long period due to the roof construction. Mark made the motion to approve the expenditures, Betty seconded the motion, and all approved.
Sidewalk repair on Cascadia Loop is needed. The first bid came in substantially higher than expected. Mike Johnson will seek a second bid. Root intrusion caused the sidewalk to rise to about 1.5 inches higher than it should be.
Officers Reports
President – Gerry Hatler
Kathy Mahnerd and Renee Jubien have volunteered to organize the December holiday party.
Gerry brought up Washington State HB2252, which will allow small businesses to operate in residential areas, and HB2243, which concerns homeowner reimbursements for costs related to street, water, and sewer projects.
Gerry received a call from a CERT volunteer who wanted to do a presentation for Division 17. CERT is looking for Division 17 volunteers to be in a squad in the event of a major earthquake/tsunami or other disaster. Two unit owners, Colette Cavaleri and Kathleen Charters, are currently part of the CERT team.
Vice President – Mark Anderson
Nothing to report.
Treasurer report – Betty Gwaltney
Monthly Expense Report:
Operating expenses for Jan 2024 $30,890 and total year-to-date operating expenses $30890. This is $15,485 OVER Budget year to date for Operational expenses.
Interest income YTD: $2421.
Total Funds on hand:
Operating Accounts $238,195
Reserve Accounts $886,799
TOTAL $ 1,124,994
CD Activity
CD at WA Fed matures 2/18/24; current balance $77859. Checking at WAFD $35,985. Total Deposits at WaFd: $113844. Current CD rates at WaFd for 19-month CD = 4.5/4.6%. Verify Board approval to open a new 19-month CD with $112,500 (approved in December 2023).
New Owners
One new owner in January
Committee Reports
Architectural Control Committee – Eric Mahnerd
Six buildings will be painted in 2024; three building owners have indicated they want to change colors and are in the process of selecting the colors. One handrailing is in the works to be approved. Eric will be stepping down as chair so will be looking for a new chair to replace him.
Insurance – Susan Hamman
The HOA has not received renewal documents yet from Community Association Underwriters (CAU).
Developed Landscape – Tom Steffen
The lawn crew has been busy preparing our planting beds for the scheduled application of mulch/bark. Cascadia Loop, Mendel, and most of Blakely have been completed; the north side/back of Blakely and most of Mt. Baker will be completed by the middle of March. It appears that the final cost will be very close to the estimated bid the Board approved.
We should expect to see mowing begin by the end of February, depending on the amount of rain we receive.
Chris Dahl of Town and Country Tree Experts has looked at the stand-alone tree in the front yard of a unit on Mt Baker. It has been topped by wind over the years but is otherwise pretty healthy with no sign of disease. Top branches will continue to break in the wind and fall to the ground. The cost to remove would be just over $2,000. Chris also indicated that his crew will soon be pruning two plum/cherry trees in the HOA; one will be representative of the smaller/more convenient trees, and one will be representative of the larger trees that are farther from street access. The Board can inspect and decide it if is worth investing dollars in this project. There are approximately 90 cherry/plum trees in the HOA.
Exterior Maintenance – Mike Johnson.
Mike showed new sheet metal caps that he purchased for the tops of some of the privacy fences to prevent water and water damage from getting to the wood.
He addressed the decorative wood trusses on Mt. Baker units; 65 in total. These trusses did not have adequate protection from water damage. 9 or 11 these trusses were on one building and cost $2000 to repair. In the future, $20 sheet metal pieces will protect these trusses from water damage; Mike bought 60 to put on the trusses.
There were roof leaks in two units on Cascadia, one on Blakely, and one on Mt. Baker. These were taken care of by a contractor.
Natural Habitat – Sarah Miller
No report. Gerry briefly discussed the idea of removing some of the 130 trees in the retention pond on the east side of Cascadia to replant them on the northeast side of Mt. Baker/Woodcock.
Adjournment
With no further comments from the attendees, Gerry adjourned the meeting at 3:31 p.m.
Meeting notes by Susan Hamman for Secretary Lawrence Charters