Division 17 Board Meeting
July 10, 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 President Gerry Hatler, Vice President Mark Anderson, Treasurer Betty Gwaltney, Secretary Lawrence Charters, and Member-at-Large Warren Husman.
Approval of Agenda
Gerry asked for approval of the agenda, Betty so moved, seconded by Warren, all approved.
Review and Approval of the June 2024 Minutes
Gerry asked for approval of the June 2024 minutes, Betty so moved, seconded by Mark, all approved.
Old Business
Committee Vacancies
Mark Anderson volunteered to chair the External Maintenance Committee. Gerry asked for board approval of Mark as chair, Lawrence so moved, seconded by Betty, all approved.
The ACC Chair is still vacant and the Board is still looking for a volunteer to take that position.
Update on irrigation accounts
John Lewis was authorized by the Water District Board to speak on this issue. The question on the table was “if and when” the water district would require separating irrigation meters from unit use. The water district responded that there are no plans or timetables for this action at the moment. It recognizes that the cost is going to be very expensive, no matter who pays it, the water district or the HOA.
A second question was there a projected timeline for unit owner consumption billing (instead of the flat rate currently being paid). The water district has no active discussion to adopt meter-based consumption.
The third question was how the irrigation water billing amount is determined. The water district takes the individual meter charge, based upon water consumption, and divides it by the number of accounts in Sunland, approximately $509 per month. There is a 5% surcharge for irrigation meters.
Back Flow Valves Update
See the landscaping report. Warren read Tom Steffen’s report.
Questions and Answers about revisions of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs)
Lawrence responded to a question from the audience about “common areas” and “limited common areas.” Everything outside of a unit is a “common area,” of which each unit owns 1/139th. A “limited common area” is a portion of the common area that will primarily be used by the unit owner, such as the sidewalk, patio, or driveway.
There was also a question about ratifying the amended CC&Rs. The HOA will need 60% of the unit owners to vote in favor of the CC&R revisions.
New Business
Nominations for Board
Gerry called for nominations from the floor. With none forthcoming, he announced that there are three candidates for the three positions that will be on the ballot.
Posting Documents on the Website
The Board discussed when is the appropriate time for posting minutes on the website. Each month’s draft is currently posted as soon as it is completed. The question is whether the board should review them before they go on the website. Gerry said he looked at several legal sites; minutes should be reviewed and approved by the board before they are posted. Betty stated that the draft goes on the shared drive for the board/committee chairs to review and make changes. Lawrence stated the draft minutes go on the website to reach people before the next month’s meeting, as many Board actions take effect immediately and announcements are made of near-term events.
Betty proposed that the draft be on the shared drive for two weeks for the board and committee chair to review and edit before the draft is posted on the web. The board agreed upon that solution.
Pet Care and Maintenance
The Board received a letter of complaint from a homeowner regarding a neighbor with a dog barking at all hours. Under CC&R 14.1.d, animals will not be allowed to run loose or bark to the point of annoyance. The Rules and Regulations contain a section about fines for owners whose pets create a disturbance/annoyance. Division 17 will respond to the offending party with the section about annoyance. Betty will draft a letter for Gerry to sign.
Proposed 2025 Budget
Betty stated that there is a significant change to the maintenance estimate on the 2025 proposed budget. The 2024 maintenance budget was for $60,500. We are on track to spend $70,000 year to date and may reach $100,000 by the end of the year. The proposed 2025 maintenance budget was raised to $85,500. The assessment increase is less than $50 a month.
Gerry asked for a motion to approve the proposed 2025 budget, Betty so moved, seconded by Mark, all were in favor.
Approval of Annual Meeting election forms, timeline, process
Lawrence sent the annual meeting packet draft documents to the board for review. The packet includes the president’s letter, candidate biographies, the explanation of a financial review vs. an audit, quorum form, instructions for voting, proxy designation, the proposed 2025 budget, the budget summary, a statement about CC&R changes, and a contact information form.
The president’s letter says the revised CC&Rs will be sent out but they are 21 pages long. There was a discussion of the copying, printing, and postage cost of sending out 21 pages to each unit owner, in addition to the other required material. Betty stated that the new HOA law says we can provide the documents electronically. The board agreed. Lawrence asked if the Board wanted to send out the contact form. Betty and Gerry stated that the contact form may not be necessary to include as few people have changes. The board agreed that it did not need to be included, but could let people know that the form is available on the website if they have changes.
Gerry asked for approval of the annual meeting packet, Warren so moved seconded by Mark, and all were in favor. The documents will be printed and then assembled by a group of volunteers.
Officers Reports
President – Gerry Hatler
No further update
Vice-president – Mark Anderson
No further update.
Secretary – Lawrence Charters
No further update.
Treasurer report – Betty Gwaltney
1) Monthly Expense Report:
a. Operating expenses for June $16,710 total year-to-date operating expenses $260,203. This is $32,320 OVER Budget year to date for Operational expenses due to maintenance expenses.
b. Interest income YTD: $16,679
2) Total Funds on hand:
Operating Accounts $ 84,505
Reserve Accounts $ 824,878
TOTAL $ 908,558
3) Transfer of funds:
a. June Transferred $30,000 from Operation MM to Operation Checking
b. June Transferred $20,000 from Operation MM to Reserve MM (Spruce) in error – this was intended for Operation Checking
c. July 5 Transferred $20,00 from Spruce MM to Operation Checking to correct the previous transaction
4) 2025 Budget DRAFT– See attached updated (corrected totals for previous years)
Member at Large – Warren Husman
Warren reminded everyone to keep track of the sprinkler system around one’s unit; broken sprinkler heads may indicate a lot of excess water being wasted.
Committee Reports
Architectural Control Committee – Eric Mahnerd
Nothing to report.
Insurance – Susan Hamman
Dianna Kaspar from Community Association Underwriters (CAU) will give an insurance presentation to Divisions 7, 11, 15, 16, and 17 on Friday, August 23, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. at the Sunland Golf Club ballroom. Many new owners may not understand how CAU’s master policy works for their division or what kind of personal insurance they will need to purchase on their own (known as an HO6 condo policy). If you would like to attend, please send an e-mail to SusanRainsHamman@gmail.com or leave a message at (360) 683-1800. We would like to get an approximate count of how many people plan to attend so that Dianna can have the appropriate number of handouts.
Developed Landscape – Tom Steffen
Irrigation— Our landscape crew and irrigation plumbing contractor continue to address issues that are reported. The replacement of broken sprinkler heads, adding or subtracting time to daily watering cycles, and replacing control boxes and valves are ongoing issues being addressed. Large brown spots in lawns typically point to malfunctioning sprinkler heads, due to debris in the line or a head buried. Owners should continue to report irrigation issues by submitting a maintenance request form via the Landscaping portal available on Div 17’s website.
Backflow Preventers (BFPs)— As earlier reported, our 64 BFPs have been categorized as follows: 24 checked and passed; 4 checked and failed; 36 assessed/untestable. The plan for 2024 is to check and hopefully pass the 24 that were passed in 2023 and address the issues of the five (5) “assessed/untestable” BFPs on Mt. Baker (and hopefully pass them). If all goes well, this will bring Mt Baker (21 BFPs) into compliance (of the required annual inspection). If all of the 5 BFPs in question need to be replaced, the replacement cost will be approximately $5,000
($950 each).
Amount summary: Cost of testing—$1,080 ($45 per BFP); Cost of replacement—up to $5,000 ($950 per BFP). Total BFP cost in 2024—$6,080. A possible plan for 2025 would be to continue to ck/pass the 29 BFPs previously passed, and repair/replace 9 BFPs, which have designated irrigation lines, that are currently categorized as “assessed/untestable” or “failed.” The location of the 9 in question are as follows: 1 on Blakely Blvd; 5 on Cascadia Loop; 3 on Mendel. If all of the 9 BFPs in question need to be replaced, the replacement cost will be approximately $8,550 ($950 each). This would result in moving Div 17 into 60% compliance. Amount summary: Cost of testing—$1,305 ($45 per BFP); Cost of replacement—up to $8,550 ($950 per BFP). Total BFP cost in 2025—$9,855.
Summary and Projections— (2024-2028 @ 2024 prices)
2024—46 % compliance $ 6,080 (test 24; replace 5)
2025—60% compliance $ 9,855 (test 29; replace 9)
2026—75% compliance $11,210 (test 38; replace 10)
2027—90% compliance $11,660 (test 48; replace 10)
2028—100% compliance $11,310 (test 58; replace 6)
2029—100% compliance $ 7,120 (test 64 @ $55; if necessary, replace 3 @ $1,200)
Escallonia Hedges (islands with electrical boxes)— PUD painted the various warnings for buried cables and wires for the island in front of 320 Blakely Blvd. In the next week or so, our contracted landscaping crew will remove the dead escallonia (and any other bushes that are too close to the electrical boxes). Replacement plants have not been selected. Mulch will be reapplied.
Exterior Maintenance – Mike Johnson.
It has been a pleasure to serve the community in the last six to seven years in various positions; Member at Large, briefly as the Architectural Change Chair, and often as the exterior maintenance chair.
Volunteering and helping our neighborhood seems to be good for the soul. If you are thinking about it, let me encourage you to step up to the plate and take a couple of swings. I struck out a few times and hit a few home runs while engaging as a volunteer.
So far this year we have completed our house painting on twelve homes. Lopez Painting stayed on task and from all appearances has done a great job.
The landscape coordinator’s efforts with the contractor have had the additional benefit of slowing down the deterioration of the exterior of our homes. Keeping trees and bushes away from our buildings helps in the overall maintenance of the home exteriors.
Natural Habitat – Sarah Miller
Nothing to report.
Welcome Committee -Kay Hatler
Kay Hatler and Jann Hale met with a new Mt. Baker neighbor. There are four or so new unit owners to contact.
Communications and Outreach – Kathy Gross
July Newsletter was distributed to unit owners the first week of July.
Owner comment period
With no further comments from the attendees, Gerry adjourned the meeting at 3:48 p.m,
Meeting notes by Susan Hamman, with thanks from the Board.