January Minutes 2009 >

Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting

Taberna Homeowners Association

January 21, 2009

 

Board Members Attending:

Gene Peele                                   President

George McNulty                            Vice President

Linda Pickens                               Secretary

Suzanne Forsythe                        Treasurer

Steve Harman                              Member at Large

Willis Vincent                                Member at Large

Rick Layton                                   Member at Large

 

Residents Attending:

 

Residents Alva Windham, Beverly Robertson, Dave Myers, Don Loudin, and Wayne Picciano.

 

Gene Peele called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm, there being a quorum present.

 

Minutes:

 

Gene Peele made a motion to approve the Minutes of the Annual Meeting, held December 10, 2008, which was seconded by Steve Harman.  The Minutes were unanimously approved and accepted.

 

George McNulty made a motion to approve the Minutes of the Post Meeting, held at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting on December 10, 2008, which was seconded by Steve Harman.  The Minutes were unanimously approved and accepted.

 

George McNulty made a motion to approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on December 16, 2008, which was seconded by Steve Harman.  The Minutes were unanimously approved and accepted.

 

Treasurer’s Report:

 

Suzanne Forsythe gave the following report:

 

Cash and Accounts Receivable:  Total cash in all of the Master and Sub-Association checking accounts as of January 21, 2009 totaled $111,260.  Total Accounts Receivable as of January 16, 2009, totaled approx. $141,119.   The Treasurer is of the opinion that collections may run a little slower than in past years due to the economy.  However, she does not believe that there is any cause for concern at this time.

 

Late Fees and Liens:  Eleven late fee invoices for Dec, 31, 2008 overdue accounts receivables were issued in early January.  The Treasurer explained when late fees are assessed.  There are currently eight outstanding liens against five property owners for unpaid accounts totaling $2,325.  One property owner has three liens against the property, one property owner has two liens and the others have one lien.  She reviewed the lien procedures.  Liens must be placed no later than eight months after the invoice due date and are good for three years.  By law, the lien is extinguished unless proceedings to enforce the lien are instituted within three years.  The HOA may take the property owner to court at any time during this period.  It is the Treasurer’s opinion that the HOA will need to decide in the summer whether to move against a couple of the outstanding liens now being held.   Also discussed was the impact to our collection of the debt when a house is sold, or goes into bankruptcy and/or foreclosure.

 

A Motion was made by George McNulty to approve the Treasurer’s Report, which was seconded by Steve Harman.  The report was unanimously approved and accepted.

 

Gene Peele requested that the Treasurer present a detailed line item review of the 2009 budget at the next meeting so that the Board has a clear understanding of budgeted items in order to more effectively monitor funding and expenditures for pending and future projects.

 

Sub-Association Representatives:

 

Four additional residents have volunteered to serve as representatives on the Abbington Woods Sub-Association Committee.  Suzanne Forsythe discussed that by adding their names to the list of Committee members, these individuals would be covered under the HOA insurance policy.  The additional representatives on the Abbington Woods Sub-Association Committee are:  Wayne Picciano, Beverly Robertson, Don Loudin and Dave Myers.  A motion was made by Steve Harman to approve adding these Committee representatives, which was seconded by Suzanne Forsythe.  The motion was unanimously approved.

 

Website:

 

Alva Windham made a presentation on the HOA Website.  Mr. Windham, formerly a Board Member, will continue to update the Website.  He has made a couple of changes to the Website by adding business links and will be adding links to items of interest.  There are four sites on the Website that will be maintained and updated by Mr. Windham:  Crime Watch; Minutes; Presidents Notes; and Budgets and Financial Information.  Questions posed to the Board on the Website will be directed to the Secretary, and the Secretary will respond or forward the question to the appropriate Board Member for response.

 

Mr. Windham indicated that Gene Peele has some good ideas on updating the Website, and he will be working with Gene and the Board on the updates to improve and expand its contents.  All changes and updates to the Website will be subject to prior approval by the Board.

 

Mr. Windham suggested that he post on TabMail a request to obtain pictures of interest of Taberna from residents for use on the Website.  He will submit the pictures to the Board for approval prior to their use on the Website.  The Board endorsed this plan to obtain pictures from residents.

 

Mr. Windham emphasized that he does not post updates to the Website without the express approval of the President or the Secretary of the Board.

 

Once the updates and changes are approved, Mr. Windham will have the Webmaster make all changes at once, rather than piecemeal, to be more cost effective.  Mr. Windham estimates that the updates will cost approximately $300.00, which was felt to be a reasonable fee for the work entailed for the updates.

 

Suzanne Forsythe remarked that the President of the Greenbriar Association was impressed with the Taberna website and plans to pattern their website after it.  Mr. Windham stated that he knew of three other communities that planned to pattern their websites after the Taberna Website.

 

Resident Appeal:

 

The Board heard an appeal from a resident relating to a fine imposed for violations of the Covenants.  The resident had previously appealed the violation to the Adjudicatory Panel, which upheld the violation and imposed a fine.  The Board informed the resident that the Board would discuss the matter further, and he would receive written notification of its response to the appeal.  The Board discussed the matter at length after the resident left, and voted to uphold the fine.  A Motion was made by George McNulty that the President prepare and send a letter to the resident documenting the Board decision to uphold the fine, which was seconded by Rick Layton.  The Board unanimously approved the Motion.

 

Open Items:

 

The Board reviewed a list of open/ongoing items from 2008, which will need to be addressed by the Board in 2009.

 

• Tree Removal Policy:  The Board discussed the revised tree removal policy and its implementation.  Steve Harman, also a member of the Architectural Control Committee, stated that the Committee had a meeting whereby it reviewed its past decisions denying requests from homeowners to remove trees in light of the revised policy and found none requiring a change in their original decision.  Suzanne Forsythe stated that it was her understanding that the Committee would notify each homeowner previously denied permission of the possibility of revisiting the request under the revised policy.  Mr. Harman stated that was not his understanding.  It was decided that Gene Peele would contact the Chairman of the Committee for clarification.

• Digital Records:  While this is a low priority matter for the Board, the previous Board expressed an interest in digitizing the records of the Association for preservation purposes so that the books and records of the Association would be preserved in the event of a fire, flood, or similar incident.  It was decided that an estimated cost would be obtained from a company specialized in digitizing records so that the Board could determine whether it was feasible to initiate such an undertaking.

• Sediment Drainage:  A homeowner had complained regarding the sediment from an unimproved lot draining onto the street.  A letter was sent to the lot owner by the Board in 2008, and the lot owner responded that it was not the lot owner’s responsibility to fix the problem.  After discussion, it was determined that Gene Peele will prepare and send a letter to the lot owner advising that the owner is responsible for curtailing sediment run-off.

 

• Fence Easement for Front Entrance:  Gene Peele stated the Easement issue with ECB will have to be addressed in the future.  The Easement with ECB is in abeyance until such time as ECB determines whether it will build on the lot or sell it.  Gene Peele will contact ECB to see whether any decision has been made regarding this lot.

• Budget Process Procedure.  Gene Peele noted that during the budget process in 2008, the Board saw a need to clarify the rolls of the various Committees with respect to the budget process.  He noted that the Committees play a key role in the budget development process, and the need to clarify how that role aligns with the responsibility of the Finance Committee. 

• Landscaping Maintenance Contracts;  A major item to be undertaken in 2009 is the bidding process of the various landscaping maintenance contracts.  Gene Peele will work with the Building and Grounds Committee to create a timeline to ensure that the bidding and review process runs smoothly.  Suzanne Forsythe stated she must have the landscaping budgets no later than August.

 

• Beautification Plan:  Gene Peele discussed the budget for the Beautification Plan and the need to clarify the plans of the Building and Grounds Committee with respect to expending funds in 2009.

 

• Proposal for Basketball Court:  Gene Peele indicated that this is an open matter carried over from 2008.  A group of residents made a presentation to the 2008 Board in November to construct a half-court basketball court in the Todd Denson Park, at a projected cost of approximately $15,000.  Because the 2008 Board was approached in November, the group was asked to revisit the issue with the 2009 Board if they wanted to pursue the matter.  Suzanne Forsythe stated that the funds from the Beautification Plan could be appropriated for the basketball court if the Committee did not expend its budget of $20,000 in 2009; she also indicated that approximately $5,000 was available for capital improvements which are not earmarked for any other project.  Gene Peele indicated the need to have transparency in the budget and clearly itemizing how funds are appropriated and expended.  Linda Pickens noted that if the court is constructed, there would be an associated cost with maintaining the court.

• A general discussion then ensued as to whether the cost of the basketball court would be justified by its use, how use of the court could be limited to residents, and the liability to the Association if someone from outside the community is injured while on the court.  It was decided that this issue would be examined further if the proposal is presented again to the Board in 2009.

 

 

New Business:

 

Linda Pickens brought to the attention of the Board the need to repair the stairs on the canoe dock and remove the existing graffiti on the gazebo.  Steve Harman also mentioned that the walkway leading to the canoe dock is starting to show some wear and tear and may need attention in the future.  Gene Peele will contact the Building and Grounds Committee to see whether its members have the expertise to assess the wear and tear to the walkway.  Funding to repair the stairs and remove the graffiti was tabled until the February Board meeting.

 

Gene Peele noted that the Association will need to enter into an agreement with the Taberna Country Club regarding the placement of the Taberna sign on Club property at the Old Airport Road entrance.

 

The Board approved Willis Vincent as the Board’s representative with respect to Covenant violations.

 

Change of Board Meeting Dates:

 

Gene Peele noted that, due to the publishing dates of the Taberna Tribune, publication of information from the Board would be delayed by a month if the Board continued to meet on the third Wednesday of the month.  Because of this, and the Board’s desire to have timely input for the benefit of residents, the Board changed its meeting dates from the third Wednesday of the month to the second Wednesday of the month.

 

Wetlands Management Committee:

 

A new Committee has been established in connection with the Association’s new legal responsibility for maintaining all designated wetlands located in Taberna, which have been officially turned over to the Association by the State.  Bob Costanzo volunteered to serve on the Committee.  Gene Peele noted that, although the Architectural Control Committee has primary responsibility for wetlands monitoring and maintenance under the Covenants, the Committee did not want to take on that additional responsibility without understanding what it entails.  Therefore, it was decided to establish the Wetlands Management Committee to establish an understanding of the requirements for management of our wetlands.  Suzanne Forsythe made a motion to establish the Wetlands Management Committee and to approve Bob Costanzo to serve on that Committee, which was seconded by George McNulty.  The motion was unanimously approved.

 

The next meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 5:30 pm.

 

There being no further business before the Board, Suzanne Forsythe made a motion to adjourn, which was seconded by George McNulty.  The motion was approved, and the meeting adjourned at 7:27 pm.

 

 

 

 

 

Approved by the Board of Directors:

 

 

By:                                     /s/                                                                   Date:                    02/11/09                         

              Gene Peele, President