Board Minutes September 2023

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Meadow Hill, Inc.
Minutes of Executive Board Meeting
September 20, 2023

Associated Package/Agenda <read>

Executive Session

The Executive Session convened at 12:30 PM by President Jim Fuda with Board Members present:  Vice-President Ed Litke, Treasurer Brenda Berk, Directors, Dave Faxon, Ron King, and Walter Brownsword. Sheila Duncan of Imagineers joined the meeting at 1:00 p.m. Secretary Donna Whalen was out of town and unable to attend.

Per state law, voting on any issue discussed in the Executive Session is done in the Open Session of the Board of Directors meeting. See the Open Session notes below for any action necessary by the Board on any item discussed in Executive Session

The Executive Session closed at 1:25 p.m.

Open Session

The Open Session of the Executive Board Meeting convened at 1:32 PM

Roll Call: Present were President Jim Fuda, Vice-President Ed Litke, Treasurer Brenda Berk, Directors, Dave Faxon, Ron King, and Walter Brownsword. Secretary Donna Whalen was out of town and unable to attend.

President’s Remarks: Vice President Ed Litke announced the passing of former President and Meadow Hill resident John Goselin. A moment of silence followed.

Jim announced the October meeting will be at the normal 1:30 PM time frame. The evening meeting and workshop previously announced will be scheduled for a future date. 

Minutes – Minutes of the August 17, 2023, Executive Board Meeting were unanimously approved by e-mail vote (Yes-6, No-0) on 8/21/2023. Ron King was absent and did not vote.

Treasurer’s Report – Brenda Berk provided the overview of the financials. Income on target with plan.  The $122K CD has been rolled over into 10-month CD with an interest rate of 5%. The Budget Committee is working with the committees to build a plan for 2024.  We have two large items, a landscape contract, and master insurance policy, that will likely drive a significant budget increase.

Maintenance Report – Darien Covert reported that Work Orders are being responded to and addressed. Work for this month and the upcoming weeks are closing the irrigation system, opening the greenhouse, and brush hogging the phragmites on the south slope and paddock area is scheduled for early November. The pool will be closed on September 28th and the tennis/pickleball court nets removed the first week of October. Fall plantings will be completed by the end of September. Two dogwood trees will be planted, and Darien is waiting for a proposal for stump grinding. Stump grinding may be done in-house depending on the cost of the proposal received.

Darien is seeking approval from the Board for the replacement of two flat roofs and two large roofs which were scheduled for this year but put on hold earlier in the year. The Contractor has held his proposal and has committed the work to be done before the end of the year. Units identified were #100, #276, #318, and #181/183.

Manager Report – Sheila Duncan of Imagineers reported an invoice for an emergency deck stairs repair was sent to the Unit Owner, and an insurance claim for 49 HWS is in discussion and ongoing, a letter was received by the Board of possible litigation from is in the hands of our Attorney and Insurance providers, a Variance application for 128 HWS was received and provided to the Board for review, and a proposal for sealing cracks in the roadways and sidewalks was received and provided to the Board for review and action, and a letter was issued to the Unit Owner of #217HWN of the approval by email vote of the Variance Application for replacement windows.

 Committee Reports

  • Grounds – Mike Prouix, Committee Chair reported the fall planting projects will start, soil samples have been taken to develop alternative plantings in areas where grass will not grow. The Committee will develop test areas for the evaluation.
  • Trees – Gene Flynn is on vacation and reported through Mike Prouix that two Dogwoods would be planted, and stumps removed.
  • Communications – Mike Prouix reported on behalf of Gene Flynn, Chairperson of the Committee the Lark will continue to publish every other month. At the request of the President, the Committee will investigate options and recommendations to broaden the distribution of messages and communications to the Meadow Hill Community.

Luther Weeks, a member of the Communications Committee asked for a text version of the Declaration and By-Laws to post on the Meadow Hill website.

  • Long-Term – Jim Fuda, Committee Chair reported the Committee has submitted a recommendation to the Board for sale of the Hollister House. The proposal is to sell the building As Is but allow the conversion of the amenities to two residential units. The Community would need to approve the conversion before the project could move forward. Ed Litke, the Committee member, added the project would still be under the control of the Association and the exterior of the Hollister House would remain the same unless the Board approved changes.
  • Maintenance – Walter Brownsword, Committee Co-Chair reported items for the 2024 budget are being developed and include – Phase 2 of the house numbers converted to white for increased visibility, completion of the crack filling and painting for the second tennis/pickleball court, request for a new bench and two replacement picnic tables and a pipe water feed to the Community Garden. The retaining walls are undergoing inspection by Bob Kolwicz and Ray Dolan. A brush hog is scheduled for early November for phragmite control in the lower paddock area.
  • Social– Donna Whalen reported the upcoming Social Event on the community garden 29th. Flyers and email blasts have been sent out to the community.

Open Forum  

The following is a summary of comments made by residents in attendance:

  • Budget – concern we are not collecting adequate funds from HOA fees.
  • Reserves – need additional funding.
  • The Reserve Study should be updated.
  • Hollister House Proposal:
    1. Subject to capital gains or taxes?
    2. Should get three appraisals.
    3. Support replenishment of reserves
    4. Limited market for the project
  • Miscellaneous:
    1. The Garden Is not being closed. A suggestion is to allow them to rest for a year.
    2. Punch list for Aluminum Wiring project being kept by LTC.
    3. Mosquitos – identified steps we can take. Spraying is not effective.

Old Business

  • Dogwood Lane – after discussion and to address concerns of safety for pedestrians, impact from delivery trucks, and reverting to the original use of Dogwood Lane as an emergency connector of HWW and HWN, the Board agreed to have two signs posted with restrictions limiting access to emergency vehicles and Meadow Hill maintenance vehicles only and allowing the continued use by the residents adjacent to Dogwood Lane to resident pick up and drop off only.

A motion was made to “Install signage at each end of Dogwood Lane stating, “No through traffic, emergency and Meadow Hill maintenance vehicles only, resident pick up and drop off only”. The motion was made by Ron King and seconded by Ed Litke. The Board voted unanimously (Yes – 6, No -0), Donna Whalen did not vote as she was not in attendance.

  • Aluminum Wiring Project – The Project is 80% complete and will be finished at the end of October. Letters to Unit Owners for payments will be sent out by the end of the month and the Construction Loan converted to a permanent loan.

New Business

  • Hollister House – The board discussed the Hollister House recommendation of the Long-Term Committee and agreed to move the project forward for presentation and approval by the Community. A motion was made by Dave Faxon (?) and seconded by Ed Litke (?) to move forward with the recommendation of the Long-Term Committee. The proposal will be presented to the Meadow Hill community as a proposed change to the Declaration to seek a change of the Hollister House from an amenity to up to two residential units and if approved by 80% of the unit owners, to put the Hollister House for sale in “As is” condition and authorize up to $5,000 from the Reserves for legal fees. The Board voted unanimously (Yes – 6, No -0), Donna Whalen did not vote as she was not in attendance.
  • Roofs – The board discussed Darien’s request for approval to eliminate the flat roofs at four locations. A motion was made to approve $30,000 from Reserves to pay for eliminating flat roofs for Units #100, 276, 318, and 181/183. Walter Brownsword moved the motion and Dave Faxon seconded the motion. The Board voted unanimously (Yes – 6, No -0), Donna Whalen did not vote as she was not in attendance.
  • Crack Sealing Roads and Walks – The board reviewed and discussed the proposal received from Central Sealing for sealing cracks in roadways, and walkways. A motion was made to approve the proposal submitted in the amount of $7,391.33 and transfer funds from the Reserves. Walter Brownsword moved the motion and Dave Faxon seconded the motion. The Board voted unanimously (Yes – 6, No -0), Donna Whalen did not vote as she was not in attendance.
  • Variance Application of Unit #128 – The board reviewed the request of the Unit Owner, Mary Neery, to enclose and enlarge her deck to make a four seasons room. The Unit Owner was present. The Board had questions about the size of the proposal and agreed for Darien to review it in the field with the Unit Owner and report his findings back to the Board. The matter will be tabled until receipt of Darien’s findings.

Special Announcement – Jim Fuda announced that both Ed Litke and Dave Faxon will be retiring from the Board. Jim thanked them for their sacrifice, commitment, and contribution to Meadow Hill. Their last meeting will be the October Board meeting.

Adjourn – The meeting was adjourned at 3:23 PM. Ron King moved to adjourn, and Dave King seconded. The motion was unanimously approved by the Board (6- Yes, 0 – No), Donna Whalen did not vote as she was unable to attend.

Time of adjournment – 3:23 PM

Minutes submitted by: Jim Fuda

Minutes approved by email vote on 10/01/2023; Yes, 6 – No, 0; Donna Whalen did not vote as she was unable to attend. 

Email Votes – 08/17/2023 to 09/19/2023 The following votes were made since the last Board meeting and are recorded as part of these notes:  

  • 08/20 – The motion to approve the minutes of the August 18, 2023, Executive Board Meeting was made by Dave Faxon and seconded by Brenda Berk. The motion was approved by e-mail vote (Yes-6, No-0) on 08/20/2023. Ron King did not vote as he was not able to attend the meeting.
  • 08/31 – The motion to approve the Fall Planting Plan submitted by the Grounds Committee to expend $874 of their remaining budget was made by Dave Faxon and seconded by Brenda Berk. The motion was unanimously approved by e-mail vote (Yes-7, No-0) on 08/31/2023.
  • 09/06 – The motion to approve the request of Bonnie Brooks to conduct an information presentation on Transitional Living on October 12th and allow family members to attend was made by Brenda Berk and seconded by Dave Faxon. The motion was unanimously approved by e-mail vote (Yes-7, No-0) on 09/06/2023.
  • 09/08 – The motion to approve the Variance Application of #217 HWN for the replacement of windows was made by Walter Brownsword and seconded by Brenda Berk. The motion was unanimously approved by e-mail vote (Yes-7, No-0) on 09/08/2023.