January Meeting Minutes

The Orchards Home Owner’s Association Meeting

December 1/18/18

Start: 7:05 pm

            Meeting called to order by Tom.

Present

Tom Neubauer

Rachel Blom

Janet Prendergast

Philip Sinelli

Brian Crow

Ashley Watts

Treasurer Report

December 2017 Ending Balance                                                        $10,420.62

Income                                                            Dues                                        $3,150.00

Expenses                                             Cheney/Utilities                      $103.28

                                                            Other/Postage                         $49.00

                                                Total                                                    $152.28

Balance in Checking as of January 8^th, 2018                                      $13,418.34

Balance in Savings as of Dec. 31^st, 2017                                            $12,343.89

Balance in CDs as of Dec. 31^st, 2017                                                 $80,010.50

Motion to approve expenses, income, and balances by Janet, seconded by Rachel.

Old Business

·         Philip has offered to use his personal tools to fix the broken post by the swale of Silverthorn and Meadowglenn

New Business

·         Newly elected officers will be added to the existing bank accounts

·         Janet is working with Philip on treasurer duties.

·         Ashley and Rachel will work together to delegate official secretary duties, as Rachel covered majority of the duties while The Board was short members

·         Bills and other HOA correspondence will be uploaded to The Orchards Google drive to help consolidate files and allow easier access for The Board

·         Rachel will add Philip and Brian to the towing and Neighborhood Lawn and Tree paperwork so they can call with future business

·         Neighborhood Lawn and Tree Future Plowing:

o   They will be asked to drive slower/safer. Multiple homeowners have voiced concerns about how one specific driver drives.

o   They will be asked to keep the sidewalks clear and push snow into the swales based on homeowner permission (Pinecrest & Meadowglenn)

o   118 Greenbriar is getting bombarded by large snow berms

·         For the Spring: School buses hit the railing by the swales at Guest/RV parking and should be considered for replacing

Motion to adjorn the meeting by Ashley, seconded by Tom at 8:24 pm.

The Orchards Annual Meeting Minutes-January 2018

The Orchards Annual Meeting Minutes

January 6^th, 2018

The meeting was called to order by president, Tom Neubauer at 11 am at the Cheney Public Library. There were 12 homeowners in attendance and current Board members, Tom, Rachel, Janet, and Ashley.

Treasure’s Report

Janet Prendergast went over three handouts with members present

·         2017 Income/Expenses

·         2017 December Income/Expenses

·         2018 Proposed Budget

No motion was made to approve income/expenses and will later be approved by the board at the January 8^th meeting.

There was a motion to approve the proposed budget by Janet, and was unanimously passed.

Janet also noted that The Board moved money to a new CD which has been labeled the Road Repair Fund. These funds will be used for future road repairs and maintenance. Janet also noted that 66% of 2017’s expenses went to snow plowing and grounds maintenance. It should be noted that the board will review their contract with Neighborhood Lawn and Tree and provide more guidelines on mowing, weedwacking, plowing, etc. to help reduce costs.

Old Business

·         New fencing was put in at the entrance of The Orchards

·          A new water meter was not put in as budgeted in 2016 at the swales on either side of the RV/Guest parking area.  Board did not get up-to-date pricing, but in the past years, it was estimated at $3,00 to $5,000 to put that new meter in so that the swales can be maintained in accordance with the By-Laws which call for grass and mowing.

·         Fire Lane painting did not get redone in 2017 due to painting companies not offering their services or bids for a smaller job like this. The Board has a stencil and will likely do it themselves in the Spring

New Business

Proposed Dues Increase for 2019

·         Due to the expenses being so high for 2017, particularly with landscaping/snow removal, The Board proposed raising dues to $375 for 2019, but not to exceed $400

·         A discussion followed with members providing pros and cons of the $25 increase in dues

o   Pros-Some members were receptive to the increase to provide for future road repairs and improvements to the neighborhood. Also, The Orchards have not increased dues in 10+ years and inflation needs to be considered in order to keep the neighborhood running smoothly, The Orchards allows for a monthly payment options, and The Orchards Board Members do not send anyone to collections until around March.

o   Cons-Members were concerned because city utilities are already going up, there are members on fixed incomes, some members do not receive raises every year to keep up with inflation, dues being requested after the holiday season can be difficult for families to provide dues on time, and because of inflation, there will always be another time when dues need to be increased again.

·         There was a motion to allow for The Board to put out a ballot which will allow members to vote and see the pros and cons of raising dues to $375 in 2019 or to put less money into the road reserve fund and keep the dues the same at $350 by a member and was passed unanimously.

Changes to By-laws and CC&Rs

·         The Board would like to make changes to the By-Laws and CC&Rs to avoid future confusion with homeowners. The Board would like the by-laws to be the dominating document to clear up the conflicting rules in the CC&Rs

·         An example was that a homeowner was asked to move their trailer, but pointed out that the rules also state that everyone needs to have a tree in their front yard, so it appears that The Board picks and chooses rules, when in reality the CC&Rs rules are outdated and do not account for how members live today.

·         The main issues that need to be changed are as follows:

o   Trailers being parked on the homeowner’s property Currently, the rules state that the trailer needs to be behind a fence, but The Board feels that if the trailer is parked nicely next to the house and made to look presentable, then it should be allowed.

o   Parking in fire lanes Currently there are signs posted and red stripes in certain areas, but are not obvious enough that the whole side of the street is a fire lane. The rules are clear, but the signage and striping has not been enough to keep people from parking there.

o   Garbage Cans Currently, the rules state that the garbage can needs to be put out-of-sight, but some feel that it would be acceptable to be put at the side of the house.

·         The goal is to only have one document that has clear and fair rules that work better with the times.

Plowing

·         Snow needs to be shoveled within 24/hrs on sidewalks to ensure safe walking conditions. The homeowner will be issued a warning and then if it is still not shoveled within 24/hrs of said warning, then The Board will hire someone to shovel and the homeowner will be billed accordingly

New Board Members

·         Open positons for the 2018 Board were the Treasurer and Architecture Committee Leader

·         Mr. Philip Sinelli was originally on the ballot to be ARC Committee Chair, but offered to fill the open treasurer position, and was voted in unanimously

·         There was a tie for ARC Committee Chair between Mr. Brian Crow and Mr. Harry Batty. Mr. Batty offered to give the official title to Mr. Crow and said he is willing to help Mr. Crow with any ARC duties. Members agreed unanimously with this decision to appoint Mr. Brian Crow as ARC Committee Chair.

Motion to end the meeting by Rachel at 12:30pm and was seconded by Tom.