Division 17 Annual Membership Meeting – September 13, 2023
Sunland Golf Course Ballroom 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Board Attendees
President Gerry Hatler, Treasurer Betty Gwaltney, Member at Large Warren Husman, Vice President Lawrence Charters. Absent: Secretary Shirley Legg (taking minutes in Shirley’s absence: Susan Hamman).
With registration still open, Gerry Hatler announced at 2:45 p.m. that the homeowner’s forum was opened for questions or comments. No homeowners asked to speak.
Gerry asked for the appointment of election inspectors, Kay Hatler and Kathleen Charters; Betty approved the motion, Warren seconded it. Susan Hamman was appointed as recorder of meeting in Shirley’s absence. Mark Anderson, one of the 2023 – 2024 candidates, was absent due to a cold.
Before the meeting started, one unit owner asked if some of the greenspace could be used for a community garden space. Lawrence stated that it was a natural habitat area and could only have limited use, but the board could take this under consideration.
Another unit owner asked about Division 17’s emergency preparedness, whether there were any stockpiles of equipment needed in an emergency. Kathleen Charters said that the neighborhood had been mapped, there was a CERT team in place for Sunland, and the golf course ballroom is an emergency Red Cross location.
Gerry called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. He verified the quorum of 75 ballots which met the required 34% quorum to hold the meeting. He also verified the board quorum with four of five members in attendance.
Gerry stated the purpose of the annual meeting was to approve the 2024 budget, elect new board members, and other issues that may be on agenda. He requested approval of the agenda with Lawrence making the motion and Betty seconding the approval. The Board approved.
Gerry asked for approval of the August 9, 2023 meeting minutes; Lawrence asked for one correction to the minutes, website ”invasion” should be replaced with website “attacks.” Betty moved to approve that edit, Warren seconded it, and the board approved the correction.
Old Business
Reserve Study results: Betty Gwaltney. An outside professional did the reserve study on-site this year as is required every three years. Results were that the projected reserve balance for January 2024 is $762, 400. A fully funded reserve balance includes replacing roofs, painting, siding, etc. The study showed that a fully funded would be just under $3M, which means that Division 17 is funded at 25 – 26%. Betty noted that our HOA is in much better shape than most for its reserve funding. The finance committee and board have a strategy for the reserve funding, part of which was factored into the increase for 2024’s budget.
Financial Review results: Betty stated that the HOA hired Olympic Tax and Business Consulting, an independent firm to conduct the 2022 financial review. The firm examined Board minutes, bank statements and reconciliation reports, general ledger, reserve study, accounts payable aging reports, schedule of dues and assessments, and any legal items. Olympic Tax and Business stated: “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.
New Business
Gerry stated that the HOA has $125K at Kitsap Credit Union in a 17 month CD, maturing in February 2024 at a rate of 2.25%. First Security bank has a 13 month CD at a rate 5.05%. Gerry recommends cashing in the Kitsap CD with the $1400 penalty because at First Security, it would yield more than twice the current rate and extend the maturity by approximately nine months. Gerry asks for board authority to cash in the CD and open a new one at First Security, Warren made the motion, Lawrence seconded it and the motion carried.
Introduction of 2022 – 2023 board members and 2023 – 2024 candidates
Gerry introduced the current 2023 board. Shirley Legg and Gerry Hatler’s terms ended with this meeting. Gerry Hatler ran again and new volunteer Mark Anderson is also a candidate for the 2023 – 2024 board.
Officer Reports
President: Gerry thanked the board members and all the other volunteers for their hard work this past year. He noted that there are about 10 – 12 active volunteers out of 139 unit owners. Shirley Legg was instrumental in contracting with a new landscaper. Shirley also assisted in finding a law firm to review the governing documents. Apex Law firm, specializing in HOA laws, has begun their review of Division 17’s governing documents and expect to have the results soon.
Over the last year, the board initiated an effort to get a higher yield for the HOA investment funds. Accounts are now earning about $1000 per month now compared to lower previous interest rates. Inflation is still a problem and impacts the HOA because it is more expensive to get things done. The HOA is addressing aging infrastructure problems. Approximately 6 buildings a year will be painted; the cost to paint in terms of materials and wages have gone up significantly. There has also been difficulty in finding reliable and reasonable contractors.
Secretary: No secretary report.
Treasurer: Betty Gwaltney.
Monthly Expense Report: The operating expenses for August were $37,075 and total year to date expenses are $255,193. This is $38,912 UNDER budget year to date for operational expenses. The interest income YTD is $9,782. Total funds on hand in operating accounts is $188,785, reserve accounts $779, 085 for a total of $897,870.
CD’s
| Kitsap CD #001 | 17m 2.22% | 2/19/24 |
| WA Fed CD #716 | 13m 3.925% | 2/28/24 |
| Sound Com Bk CD #4375 | 12m 5.15% | 5/16/24 |
| Sound Com Bk CD#5076 | 18m 4.2% | 11/22/24 |
| US Bank CD #514 | 19m 4.83% | 2/14/25 |
| Kitsap CD #002 | 27m 3.49% | 1/17/25 |
Vice President: Lawrence Charters thanked Tom Steffen and Mike Johnson for not only dealing with current landscaping and maintenance issues, but also anticipating potential future problems and working to deal with them now.
Lawrence transitioned the Division 17 website away from original web developer to a new provider. The new website seems to be working well. There have been some challenges with the corporate Google e-mail addresses. Google just sold domain service to a Canadian firm.
Lawrence thanked Kathy Gross, the newsletter editor, who also took on the role of website editor. She’s also been on the Welcoming Committee. Thanks to Kay Hatler for planting and maintaining the entrance landscaping.
The next newsletter is coming out the first week of October; Lawrence would like the board and volunteers to submit their recaps of this past year and start thinking about plans for next year.
Member at Large: Warren Husman also thanked the volunteers for their work. He stated that some things take longer than one would like (e.g. backflow preventers), but volunteers helped. John Lewis was instrumental in helping locate the backflow preventers.
Architectural Control Committee; Eric Mahnerd. Besides Eric as chair, there are three members on the committee, Mark Anderson, Rob Crombie, and Dave Huffman. Eric briefly explained the process to submit architectural change requests. He said the biggest requests are for handrails, fences, and storm doors.
Insurance: Susan Hamman. The HOA insurance policy with Community Association Underwriters or CAU was renewed for the year 2023 – 2024 in the amount of $95,641. This was a 5% increase over the previous year’s policy of $90,413. With changes in the insurance industry and disasters around the globe that continue to multiply, the premium is expected to rise significantly for the 2024 – 2025 policy.
In August, divisions 7, 11, 16, and 17 had Dianna Kaspar from CAU come here to give a presentation on our insurances (all four are insured through CAU
The HOA had one claim this policy year after four years of no claims. The claim was investigated by CAU and a check issued, minus the deductible.
Landscaping: Tom Steffen. Tom prefaced his report with his appreciation for Paul West , Cutting Edge Landscaping, and his crew (Jake Parsinen is the lead on the crew, a crew member carried over from the previous contractor). Tom also read a statement from Paul letting the HOA know that at this time of year, there are a lot of bees’ nests around. Two crew members have been stung, one several times. If a unit owner sees a lot of bees, look around for the nest and take care of it or ask for assistance in dealing with it. Paul also said that he and his crew appreciate the compliments and encouragement they get from the residents.
- Plant and tree removal
- Removed approximately 35 plants/bushes (diseased, dead or unwanted).
- Cut down 6 trees (danger to irrigation plumbing or buildings).
- Did not remove any stumps this year.
- Demolition and Renewal Projects
Major remakes were performed this year at three locations: trees and bushes were removed by owners and/or volunteers, with assistance from the Cutting Edge crew. The owners have graciously paid for the replanting of the sites. On behalf of the HOA, Tom expressed his thanks to them.
- Irrigation
- Over approximately 10 sprinkler heads have been replaced by owners/volunteers.
- Brett Romano, a new irrigation plumber, made 10 visits.
- Sanford Irrigation has made 3 visits.
- Control centers/boxes are adjusted on nearly a weekly basis (for a number of reasons). This week we dialed back the amount of irrigation water used to 50%; the 3-day watering regiment will continue for a few more weeks.
- Sunland Water District has spent many hours in our HOA repairing a major leak in one driveway; mitigating major root damage in two utility islands, and relocating two meters and setters, all at the district’s expense.
- Locating, digging out and testing BackFlow Preventers remains a major priority, now that the State is enforcing annual inspections. All the BFPs have been located and many have been tested; most of them have failed. Brett Romano has been hired to complete the inspections and create a spreadsheet with dates, serial numbers, etc., that will guide us in our efforts to comply with this annual requirement.
- Escallonia hedges were damaged again this past winter; a few owners have worked to re-energize new growth and many are flourishing.
- Summer Pruning is approximately 75% completed.
- Please continue to use the Landscaping link on our website to report, request and ask questions about landscaping issues.
Gerry reminded the attendees that Board Officer and Volunteer hours are 9 – 3 Monday through Friday.
External Maintenance: Mike Johnson. Mike reported that external maintenance is making good progress with the backlog of maintenance requests (accumulated during the pandemic shutdown). Unit owners Mike Bresnahan and Bill Bombardier have been helping with neighborhood projects as well as an outside contractor.
Natural Habitat: No habitat report. Gerry said the evergreen trees along the northwest side of the HOA property are flourishing, thanks to the watering and mowing efforts of volunteers. Fences surrounding the trees may come down next year.
Communications: Lawrence. Reiterated about sending in submissions for the October newsletter.
Sunland Water District Liaison: Al Frank stated that the City of Port Angeles is at level three water shortage. Sunland North’s aquifer is doing fine and the water district is looking good. The State of Washington has established that the Sunland Water District has the Senior water rights on the aquifer we draw from.
Results of election
Gerry announced the following election results
- Budget 73 accepted, 1 to reject and 1 no vote. Budget has been approved.
- Financial records review 69 in favor, 5 for a full audit and 1 no vote.
- Candidates Mark Anderson 72 votes, 3 no votes, Gerry 73 votes and 2 no votes.
Gerry asked for board action to adopt the budget. Lawrence made the motion, Betty seconded it, board approved.
Gerry asked approval of the Financial review, Lawrence made the motion, Betty seconded it, board approved.
Gerry asked for a motion from audience to adjourn the meeting, Eric Mahnerd so moved, Tom Steffen seconded it, all approved.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan Hamman