October 8, 2025 Annual Meeting
Sunland Division 17 Owners Association
October 8, 2025, 2:30 p.m.
Sunland Golf Course Ballroom, 109 Hilltop Drive
Homeowner Forum – Time Divided Among Those Signed Up to Speak
No members offered to speak.
Call to Order, Verification of Quorum
President Gerry Hatler called the meeting to order at 2:46 p.m. At 3:00 p.m., registration and voting ended. Gerry verified the quorum of five Board members present, Gerry Hatler, Betty Gwaltney, Beverly (Sunny) Stern, Mark Anderson, and Susan Hamman. He verified the receipt of 85 quorum forms which more than met the requirements for a quorum for the annual member meeting.
Purpose of the Meeting
Gerry explained the purpose of the meeting. The annual meeting is held for the purposes of electing directors, presenting a financial statement showing in detail the current financial condition of the Association, proposing and ratifying a budget for the up-coming year, appointing two inspectors of election, and for the transaction of such other business as may properly be addressed at the meeting.
Approval of Agenda
The meeting agenda as circulated earlier was approved, so moved by Betty, seconded by Mark, and all approved.
Review and Approval of August Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the August Board meeting were approved, so moved by Betty, seconded by Mark, and all approved.
Old Business
Approve Bylaw change regarding new RCW financial audit requirement – Betty Gwaltney
Betty read the proposed bylaw changes, first presented at the August meeting. Previously, the Bylaws Article IV stated “determine if a certified public accountant will conduct an audit or a financial review of the Association’s accounts.” The revised RCW requires an audit; financial reviews are no longer accepted.
The second change revised Article VII 5 Financial review. The proposed change is to delete financial review and replace it with: “Financial Audit: At least annually, the Board shall prepare, or cause to be prepared a financial statement of the Association. The financial Statements shall be audited at least annually by an independent certified public accountant.”
Gerry asked for a motion to approve the change, so moved by Sunny, seconded by Mark, and all approved.
Financial Review Results – Betty Gwaltney
Betty submitted the 2024 financial records to an outside accountant for the annual financial review. This includes bank statements, general ledger, minutes of Board meetings, budgets and other documents. See the report conclusion under Betty’s treasurer report (below in minutes).
Reserve Study Results – Betty Gwaltney
See the reserve study results under Betty’s treasurer report (below in minutes).
New Business
Ratify purchase of Sept. 2025 replacement CD – Betty Gwaltney
A CD was due to expire in September; Betty requested the Board granted approval via e-mail to renew it. The CD was renewed for 30 months at 3.10%. Betty asked for a motion to approval this renewal, so moved by Gerry, seconded by Mark, and all approved.
Introduction of 2024-2025 Directors and 2025-2027 candidates
Gerry introduced the 2024 – 2025 directors: Sunny Stern, Mark Anderson, Betty Gwaltney, Susan Hamman, and Gerry Hatler. Gerry’s term is up and Mark Anderson is running again for a board position.
Candidates for the two vacant positions are Lawrence Charters and Mark Anderson.
Officer Reports
President Update – Gerry Hatler
Community Volunteers 2024 – 2025 Thank You
Sunland North operates primarily on home owner volunteers to run the HOA. There are at least ten opportunities to volunteer, including the Board of Directors, Architectural Control Committee (ACC), Exterior Maintenance, Landscaping, Natural Habitat, Welcome Committee, the Sunland North Happy Hour (summer only), the December Holiday Party, the Newsletter, the Website, and the Insurance Committee. 20% of the unit owners volunteer out of 139 homeowners.
Sunland North’s assessments would be considerably higher if the HOA had to hire outside contractors to perform many of the tasks done by this small number of volunteers. Please consider volunteering!
2024 – 2025 Review/Comments
Our financial condition has significantly improved by investing in favorable CDs over the past couple of years. The budget and reserve accounts continue to grow.
We made a significant revision to CC&R to be in accordance with the new Washington State RCW governing communities such as ours. Outside legal counsel was brought in to review and make recommendations, but the lion’s share of work fell on the Board.
Our previous landscaping crew retired and it took time to go through the process to find the great crew we have now, Cutting Edge Landscaping.
Gerry extended his thanks to the homeowners for attending the meeting and said he was excited for the future.
Secretary Update – Susan Hamman
This year, the annual meeting documents were hand delivered by volunteers to the unit owners, partly because of increased postal costs and partly because timely mail delivery has been inconsistent over the past several months. Only ten ballots ended up having to be mailed, thanks to the following volunteers: Kathy Gross, Colleen Weston, Ilse Long, Rob Crombie, Sue Purdy, Eileen and Pete Farley, Terri Green, Barbara Ross, Sarah Miller, and David Breeding. Not only were the packets delivered, but volunteers and neighbors got a chance to meet each other!
Treasurer Update – Betty Gwaltney
Monthly Expense Report:
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- August Operating expenses: $17,490 YTD $316,826 UNDER budget $ 29,129
- August Interest income YTD: $ 22,870
- Sept Operating expenses: $30,822 YTD $ 347,648 UNDER budget $ 18,337
- Sept Interest income YTD: $ 26,884
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Total Funds on hand September 30, 2025:
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- Operating Accounts $ 196,140
- Reserve Accounts $ 997,219 (85% in CDs)
- TOTAL $ 1,193, 359
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CD’s :
Purchased 3-month CD (2.71%) with operational funds ($50,000) at First Federal matures 11/18/25
Financial Review:
“Accountant’s Conclusion: Based on our review, we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the accompanying financial statements in order for them to be in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.”
Reserve Study Report:
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- Projected Starting Reserve Balance as of Jan 1, 2026:$980,000*
- As of July 31, 2025, Reserve Balance is 980,000 so Reserve Study underestimates our Reserves after end of year deposits (additional ~$60-70,000)
- Percent Funded 8%
- Average Reserve (Deficit) per unit($17,394)
- Risk of Special Assessment HIGH (<30% funding)
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Note: Repeat Reserve Study completed in August removing Unit Painting from component list since we budget each year painting expense rather than using existing Reserve $$ – Results showed Reserve Acct is actually 37.5% funded.
Vice President Update – Mark Anderson
Mark oversees both the ACC and External Maintenance Committees. Mike Johnson reported that seven buildings were painted in 2025. He has already put in the request for the 2026 painting. Lopez Painting has the contractor for most of the paintings over the past several years and they’ve done a great job. The External Maintenance job list continues to be worked on.
Member-at-Large – Beverly (Sunny) Stern
Sunny read Sarah Miller’s Natural Habitat report (see below).
Committee Reports
Architectural Control – Barbara Ross
This past year, the ACC committee approved and did final inspections on the following requests: 1) location of a satellite dish, 2) a locking mailbox, 3) a front door, 4) a storm door, 5) a privacy fence, 6) a temporary VA Ramp, 7) a motorized screen, 8) 9 metal handrails, 9) wooden railings for a front porch, 10) and sidewalk pavers.
Additionally, seven buildings (14 owners) were painted in 2025. The ACC helped those owners who selected new colors for their buildings and gave approval on the final choices before turning over all selections to Mike Johnson in External Maintenance.
Barbara extended her thanks to Rob Crombie, who is taking over as ACC chair for the next year.
Insurance – Susan Hamman
Sunland North had no insurance claims this year. Our Community Association Underwriters’ (CAU) insurance was renewed in May with an approximate 11% increase in the premium.
CAU’s Dianna Kaspar gave a presentation in August regarding the HOA’s insurance. For those of you who are new to the association or current owners who may not be aware of the extent of the HOA coverage, it is recommended that you review your personal insurance policy, known as an HO-6 with your insurance provider. Since the association carries “all in” insurance, you may be paying more for your personal coverage than you need to.
Coverage under CAU is for immediate and direct damage but it does not cover rectifying a maintenance problem that caused the damage. Dianna provided an “annual maintenance checklist” for homeowners, which I recently sent out via e-mail to owners. It will also be made available on the website under the Insurance tab. It gives you a good list of items to check in your home to make sure appliances and fixtures are in good repair and also provides a list of items to either inspect yourself or have inspected on annual basis.
Developed Landscape – Tom Steffen
Tom completed his fourth year as Landscape Coordinator and continues to enjoy working with Paul West (and his crew), who is the owner/operator of Cutting Edge Landscaping, our landscape contractor. Tom also relied on the support of the Board and owners who care for our plants, lawns, trees and irrigation systems. Tom is particularly indebted to John Lewis, who is a valuable resource for strategizing and analyzing data, especially in the area of irrigation and water consumption.
Throughout our HOA, a growing number of owners are investing their time and money in renewing the landscaping around their property, and many lend a hand to neighbors who are limited because of a lack of mobility or shortage of tools. This year, Tom received a record number of affirming emails from owners who have asked him to express their thanks to our landscaping crew for the outstanding job the crew provides in taking care of our lawns and plants.
Irrigation:
Since the beginning of spring, we have invested in our irrigation systems by repairing broken sprinkler heads, backflow preventers, control boxes, and water lines. Two irrigation plumbing companies have made a total of twelve service calls, which cost nearly $4,600.00. Our HOA is supplied irrigation water via an elaborate network of 67 control boxes, over 4,500 sprinkler heads, and approximately 650 valves in underground boxes.
Sunland Water District and Conservation:
Sunland Water District continues to be a good resource and partner, supplying us with safe and available water. This summer, at the District’s expense, it supplied multiple crews and many hours of labor to eliminate large roots growing near water lines, meters and backflow preventers throughout our HOA. We continue to be good partners with our water district by doing our best to conserve irrigation-water usage whenever possible; conservation is possible when we fix leaks and closely monitor gallons used. As a result, thanks to the analysis of John
Lewis, our projected irrigation water savings will be approximately 2,300,000 gallons, which is a 28% savings compared to 2024.
Trees:
We have an extensive and varied collection of trees in our HOA. This year, the tree experts we have employed for years made five visits to prune and thin out several deciduous trees, remove a few large evergreen trees that were damaged or diseased, and grind stumps in four locations. The total cost came to just over $4,700.00.
Pruning and Island Hedges:
Summer pruning has already transitioned into fall pruning; our contracted crew stays busy almost year around. Thanks to mother nature and the extra efforts of several owners, our escallonia hedges are looking better than ever. Most of the approximately 400 bushes that died over the last two winters have been removed.
Moles/Voles/Shrews/Field Mice:
Tunneling just under the roots of many of our lawns are small creatures with large claws, with an estimated metabolism that is 60 times the rate of a human’s. Several owners have reported success in trapping voles, or maybe shrews, totaling over 100. Moles continue to be very illusive.
Please continue to use the Landscaping Link/Portal on our website to report concerns, request assistance and ask questions about landscaping issues.
Exterior Maintenance – Mike Johnson
See Vice President report
Natural Habitat – Sarah Miller
This has been a year of big projects in the Natural Habitat. In February we worked with Paul West and his Cutting Edge Landscape crew to haul away many large piles of brush that we had accumulated from under the Woodcock Road Tree barrier over the winter. Paul and his crew were available during the slower part of their season and approaching the work in this method allowed us to get it done in a much more cost-effective manner than if we had hauled many pickup truck loads to Cascade Soils.
In April, we were trained by Sam Fischbein (Noxious Weed Inspector) on a much more effective herbicide mixture to utilize for controlling the Poison Hemlock within our Natural Habitat. The team members who have used both the new mixture and the previous chemical have noted a much-improved performance with the new one. The new mixture specifically targets Poison Hemlock, rather than killing all plants in the sprayed area. In addition, it inhibits the germination and growth of seeds that we might have missed on initial spray application. Partnering with the Clallam County Noxious Weed group ensures that they know about and appreciate the efforts we are making to meet the requirement that we control this plant.
Our Field Mower, Jim Rossi, performed the usual three mowings right on time. The tall green grass looks nice in the breeze, but once it dries, it presents an increased risk of fire. Mowing helps us manage that risk. We do have to coordinate the field mowing activities with our Poison Hemlock herbicide application. We spray two weeks before mowing, and two weeks after mowing. This schedule gives us the best treatment results as the plants have time to take up the herbicide while they are actively growing.
Natural Habitat volunteers worked on the pocket park behind the Little Free Library and the USPS Kiosk to remove the moss that had grown on the concrete pathways. The pavement has been pressure washed and looks great!
Barry Burns continues his regular monthly (plus) patrol and litter pickup along our
frontage roads. He also worked with Mark Anderson to remove some large items that were found when we cleared out under the tree line.
Special thanks to volunteers Alan Alana, Gerry Hatler. Julie & Mark Anderson. Jim Jansen, Dianne Bresnahan, Gary Jubien, Bill Bombadier, Greg King, Barry & Diana Burns, John Meyer, Gerry Busch, Bill Murphy, Teresa Frank, Steve Romberg, Susan & Tom Hamman, and Elaine Mae Starz-Brown.
Welcome Committee – Kay Hatler
No report received. Kay not only chaired the Welcome Committee but she also planted and maintained the entry way plants along Woodcock/Blakely. Many people have remarked on the attractiveness of the entryway.
Communications and Outreach – Kathy Gross and Lawrence Charters
Lawrence runs the board/committee email system and the website. Lawrence made request for a volunteer to train to serve as a backup website person to him. He’s looking for someone with a technical background. The website had over a million- and one-half visitors, many from Russian Federation entities!
Voting Results
Board Actions
Gerry read the election results:
Approval of the 2026 budget received 85 ballots, 1 said to reject the budget, 83 voted to accept the budget and one ballot returned with no vote marked.
Board candidates: Mark Anderson received 83 votes, 2 ballots returned with no vote marked; Lawrence Charters 83 votes, 2 ballots returned no vote marked.
Adoption of 2026 Budget.
Gerry asked for a vote to approve the 2026 budget, Susan so moved, seconded by Betty and all approved.
Owner Comment Period
No members offered to speak.
Adjournment
Gerry asked for a motion from the audience for adjournment, Tom Steffen so moved, seconded by Gerry Busch, all were in favor and the meeting adjourned at 3:51 p.m.
Board Organizational Meeting followed the conclusion of the annual meeting.
Officers for 2025-2026 are as follows:
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- Susan Hamman – President
- Mark Anderson – Vice President
- Betty Gwaltney – Treasurer
- Lawrence Charters – Secretary
- Sunny Stern – Member-at-Large
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