PROMONTORY HOME OWNER’S ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL BOARD MEETING MINUTES
July 22. 2013
HOA President, Jan Barkman called the meeting to order at 6:25 p.m. at the Barkman home at 32780 El Diente Court, Evergreen, CO. This venue was selected as neither the Tuscany Tavern Meeting room nor the Fire Department was available.
- Board members present: Jan Barkman, Chan Pollock, Leanne Fesenmeyer, Roxanne Smith, Holly Richardson and Fabrice Fonck.
- Board members absent: Christin Helander
- Other attendees: Anita Barkman, Dave Evans, Skip Evans, Mike Paules and Rita Pollock
The proposed agenda was presented and approved. The minutes from the annual meeting held April 8, 2013 meeting were distributed and approved.
Financial Report
Chan Pollock presented the 2013 year-to-date revenue and expenses (see attached). The Summary report noted which lots were 90 days overdue (just 4), Operating Expenses which are under budget by $2,800 due largely to the fact that our bookkeeper tracks annual expenses by allocating an equal amount for each month and as such, snowplowing and related seasonal expenses are under budget thus far. Of note, if we determine to hang holiday lights again, there will be an incremental charge of roughly $800 to be allocated to either the 2013 and/or 2014 budgets. There was discussion about what to do to minimize the expense for the lights. Two avenues were suggested: a) change to LED lights which have much longer life and b) reduce the number of trees with lights.
Chan also reviewed the detailed financials, which notes exceptions between the 2013 budget and current actual and a projected surplus of $11,348 at year end versus an initial budget of $8,400. Chan projects that we’ll end the year in the $9,000-$10,000 range unless it is determined that we spend incremental monies (e.g. – Road Maintenance – to be discussed later in the meeting)
Other topics on the agenda included the fact that the bookkeeper had omitted the $750 budget for the website which has now been added back in for the second half of 2013 and three additional discussion items including: 1) Road Maintenance; 2) General Repair/Maintenance (e.g. – holiday lights); and 3) Checking/Savings options.
Chan requested approval to secure a 1, 2 and 3 year CD of $15,000 to optimize the returns on our $57,000 of outstanding cash funds. As a result, we will then have approximately $10,000 in the checking account.
Jan expressed his gratitude to Holly and her team for organizing the annual Garage Sale and commented that it was a complete success in terms of the “Free Items” that were kept out of the dumpsters. He also noted that we only filled 1 ½ dumpsters filled and as such, suggested that we might only need two vs. three dumpsters in 2014.
A motion to approve the Treasurer’s report was made, seconded and subsequently approved.
Other
Garage Sale – See comments above.
Road Maintenance – It was agreed that the shoulders are in need of attention but that the general roadways will be fine without any specific actions (e.g. – rubber fill-ins). Chan suggested that someone volunteer to secure proposals for the shoulder repair and offered to take point in securing proposals/bids.
Waste Removal – A rate change has not be received and as such, we will not initiate a service review at the point in time.
Swale/Sinkhole: Roxanne described that there is an ongoing issue with underground water coming down the draw between the Fonck and Manwiller properties from the Soda Creek area causing an ongoing drainage issue behind the mail boxes on El Diente. She has contacted the county but has learned that they do not believe it is their issue since it is not county property. Over the years, sink holes have appeared in the area from time to time. It was that the area can be a hazard, particularly for children playing in the area.
Website – We have secured www.promontoryevergreen.com as our URL. It was discussed that we have never been invoiced nor have paid any expenses related to the website despite the hosting fees that Tom Hushen has likely incurred with GoDaddy.com. Fabrice offered to take charge of the website and suggested that the committee determine the parameters for the final design, content development and site population. Mike suggested that we determine the specific requirements for document retention and utilize the website as a means for managing that aspect of our HOA management. It was discussed that we should also explore dedicated email addresses for the ARC committee (e.g. – ARC@promontoryevergreen.com) and general outreach (e.g. – info@promontoryevergreen.com).
Landscape – Jan distributed an email that Dave Evans sent in response to Roxanne’s summary of the erosion issue along with a proposal from Pine Grove Excavating for remediation. Roxanne summarized the issue regarding the continued sinking of the area behind the mailboxes on El Diente including the proposal that we focus on a contained rectangular area, clean out the debris, install a geo-grid beneath the rip rap, replace the existing rock and haul away excess material. The comparison versus the original bid was discussed in terms of spending more to fully excavate versus taking a more conservative approach as described in the proposal. At issue is the fact that drainage from the culvert was not dug properly when the neighborhood was first developed. Various options were discussed and it was moved that we defer any further action or funding allocations until early 2014 given other priorities for general neighborhood maintenance (e.g. – shoulder repair). The motion was seconded and approved.
Fire Mitigation: Roxanne suggested that we explore removal of slash in the 10-acre common property. Various options were discussed including: 1) a neighborhood work party to remove slash inclusive of a dumpster to capture the material; 2) procure an advisor (e.g. – Forest Service, Fire Department, local tree service) to provide consultative advice regarding options; 3) hire summer workers (e.g.– World Denver) to clear as much as possible during spring/summer 2014. It was agreed that each member of the HOA board do a walk through of the area in advance of our next meeting and in the meantime, Holly Richardson also offered to reach out several members of the Fire Department to explore options that we have in terms of securing consultative advice.
General Appearance of the Promontory: Jan shared summaries from the walk through that was conducted by the HOA Board on Monday, July 8th. It was discussed that specific house numbers be visible at the top of the driveway and/or garage. He also reviewed a set of common recommendations including care of ditches and culverts, removal of thistles, mulleins and low hanging branches, clearance around fire hydrants and electrical utility boxes, removal of dwarf mistletoe, and adherence to the 20 mph speed limit. It was agreed that Jan draft a note, which Mike will review, and subsequently will be sent to individual homeowners regarding specific HOA covenant violations and/or recommendations regarding specific remedies with a potential “severity” scale of Must Address/Should Address/Could Address with a request that a response be delivered to the HOA within 30 days of receipt of the notice. It was also agreed that a note be sent to the entire HOA regarding general recommendations as noted above. A final suggestion was made to include recommendations regarding how to manage local challenges (e.g. – nut hatches picking at stucco) via the new website.
Golf Tournament – Brian Reece had previously agreed to explore options for holding our annual golf tournament at the Evergreen Golf Course. Jan will remind Brian and ask him to explore the options for this year given the new management of the Course.
Social Committee /Annual Picnic/National Night Out– National Night Out is August 6th, 2013 but it was agreed that the date is not conducive to organizing a neighborhood event. It was agreed to ask a few families (e.g. – Thompson, Middleton, Young) to organize this year’s Block Party (picnic) and invite the Sheriff and/or our liaison officer to stop by as well. The targeted date for the Block Party is Sunday, September 8th 2013.
Adjournment
It was suggested that the next meeting be held on Monday, October 7th. With nothing further to discuss the meeting was adjourned at 8:49 pm.
Respectfully submitted by
Leanne Fesenmeyer, Secretary