Note: Washington State’s Stay Home-Stay Healthy directive places limits on all but very small gatherings. Sunland North’s normal meeting place, The Gathering Place, can accommodate a fraction of the normal attendance at our Board meetings and still meet social distancing guidelines. SLOA, which operates The Gathering Place, has elected to keep the facility closed at this time.
The Sunland North July 8 meeting was held virtually, via Zoom. In order to reduce the logistical challenges of running a meeting and running a meeting virtually, Committee leads provided their Board liaisons with all material they wished to report in electronic form. The committee leads also presented information via the virtual meeting.
Owner comment: owners wishing to offer comments on Board business were encouraged to write to sunlandnorth@gmail.com, or fill out the comment form at https://sunlandnorthownersassociation.com/contact-us/. There was also an opportunity for comment at the end of the virtual.
Sunland Division 17 Owners Association
July 8, 2020, 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
In accord with the Washington State Stay Home-Stay Healthy initiative, this meeting was held virtually via Zoom. The web link for the meeting was sent via email on July 6.
Call to Order
President Gary Fortmann called the meeting to order at 2:28.
Verification of Quorum
All Board members were present.
Review and approval of minutes
June 10, 2020 meeting minutes approved as amended.
Old Business
Newspaper tubes on mailbox posts
Several members contacted the Secretary to state they wanted to keep their newspaper tubes, while others wrote supporting their removal. The Board decided a notice would be inserted into the newspaper tubes and, if the notice was still there after a week, the newspaper tube would be removed.
Committee vacancies
Betty Gwaltney and Dianne Bresnahan have volunteered to run for the Board in September, and Lawrence Charters has agreed to run for reelection.
There was a discussion about the selection of a permanent chair for Exterior Maintenance, but no decisions were made.
Report on Long-range planning workshop – developed landscaping
Lawrence Charters hosted a June 18 Zoom virtual workshop on developed landscaping. Discussion started with a graph of current yearly Board expenses, showing that landscaping is currently the largest single budget item. Lawrence suggested that, long term, the budget would need to shift to other priorities. This initiated a spirited discussion, and a summary was posted on the website: https://sunlandnorthownersassociation.com/ownerinfo/2019-long-rang-planning-workshops/future-scoping-workshop-developed-landscaping/
The Board noted that, in addition to budget priorities, there needs to be a better understanding of how much Association work is currently done by volunteers, rather than more expensive contractors.
Corporate email accounts
Secretary Lawrence Charters asked for authorization to purchase nine corporate email accounts for Board members and the Committee leads for Architecture Control, Exterior Maintenance, Developed Landscaping, and Communications. The Board approved the request.
New Business
Nomination committee’s candidates for 2020-2021 Board
As noted previously, there are three candidates running for the three Board vacancies in September.
Review and approval of 2021 budget for annual meeting packet
The Board approved submitting the 2021 proposed operating budget to the membership for approval.
Review and approval of annual meeting packet documents
The Board approved the documents that will be mailed out to the membership for the annual meeting. Due to the ongoing pandemic, and the likelihood that an in-person meeting would not be possible, the Board approved amending the language in the packet to state that voting would be by mail, only, and requesting ballots be mailed no later than Sept. 5, 2020, in order to have results that can be announced at the September 9 meeting. A pre-addressed, stamped envelope will be included for returning the ballot. The annual membership meeting will be held virtually, with phone access and access to audio and video via computer.
Officer, Committee and Coordinator Reports
President Update — Gary Fortmann
No report.
Secretary Update — Lawrence Charters
No report.
Treasurer Update — Susan Hamman
Monthly Expense Report: The preliminary June monthly expense report showed our total operating expenses for the month were $18,292 which brings our total year to date expenses to $182,010.
Fire Trust Fund: The last fire trust fund payment was made to Belfor Property Restoration on June 10, 2020, in the amount of $197,274.19. This payment concludes the fire trust fund account according to the Statement of Loss. On June 19, with the closure and sale of 191 Cascadia, the HOA received the financial judgment awarded in November 2019, in the amount of $62,179.20, which included interest from November 2019 to June 2020. The money was deposited as an HOA reserve account. The Fire Trust Fund account was closed.
Financial Review: The Association has not received the final report from the financial review firm as of July 6, 2020.
Proposed 2021 Budget: Board and Committee chairs submitted their budget planning estimates for 2021. The Board held a working session on June 17 to review the proposed budget. Under the proposal, the annual assessment for each unit owner will increase from $2,840/year (or $710/quarter) to $2,968 (or $742/quarter), a 4% increase.
First Federal CD: The expiring CD at First Federal is being converted to a money market account until interest rates start to rise again. There is another CD account at Sound Bank that matures on August 11, 2020.
Vice President — John Lewis
The Cascadia Loop fire restoration work is essentially completed; one unit has sold. The Association is engaged in responding to document requests with regard to fire restoration.
John expressed thanks to owners who mulched their own lawns, and volunteers who participated in the annual exterior maintenance inspection, and volunteers who check on the health of sprinkler heads.
John noted that Estes has removed their sales signage at both the Sunland North entrance and a large one on the Sequim-Dungeness Highway. Removal of the highway sign revealed a Three Crabs Restaurant sign; the historical society has expressed an interest in recovering it for display.
Board Member at Large — Mike Johnson
Mike noted there was a good turnout for the annual exterior maintenance inspection. Inspectors uncovered “a good long list” of things in need of attention.
Architectural Control Committee — Richard Helmensteine
Richard referred everyone to the July newsletter.
Insurance Committee — Donna Carson
Susan Hamman is working with Donna for the transition of insurance documents to a new committee chair.
Developed Landscape — Gerry Hatler / Eric Mahnerd
Landscaping also had a report in the July newsletter. The committee is getting three or four requests a week for landscaping.
Exterior Maintenance and Inspection — Gerry Busch
Mike Johnson covered the exterior maintenance inspection above. Between Mike and Gerry, they logged over 50 items into the maintenance database, so far. Roughly 60% of issues found during the inspection involved gutter problems, often from trees and plants damaging gutters.
Moss treatment of roofs is in progress; scheduling is dependent on weather.
Natural habitat — Tom Hamman
Eradication of poison hemlock continues; there is some noteworthy progress. Mowing was done a month ago, but grass hasn’t been too aggressive in growing back.
Communications and Outreach — Kay Hatler
Lawrence reported the July newsletter was published on the website, and has been well received. Welcome visits are not possible due to the pandemic; packets are being left at the front door for new residents.
Sunland Water District Update — Al Frank
Al wrote to report that there is nothing to report.
Homeowner Comment Period
In addition to the Board members, eight other members attended via computer, tablet, or phone. The Board was sent a number of written questions and comments about the natural habitat, and a comment about the budget.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 3:49 p.m.