Management Committee
Management Committee
Management Committee
Management Committee
Management Committee
Topics: Topics: Crown repairs, c.h. stucco, deck roofs, tree east berm, pay-or-play reporting, c.h. furnace
Management Committee
Topics: crown repairs, c.h. office door, grill, c.h. playground
Management Committee
Management Committee
Management Committee
Topics: Topics: property mgt payment, bookkeeping software, records backup, clothesline poles, deck roof repair, accident #7
Management Committee
Management Committee
Topics: sand bags, , door repairs, southwest fence
Management Committee
Management Committee
Management Committee
In the ACM on Wed Jan 11, 7-9 pm, the management committee is going to propose a budget for the new year. This budget will be discussed during the ACM, and nominations for the management committee will be sought. The final vote on the budget and of the management committee will be done in the second ACM on Sunday, January 22nd, 3-5 pm.
Our budget proposal proposes a HOA increase of 3%, which will be needed for the considerable increase in insurance rates that happened last November, and for an increase in the additions to the reserve fund for the big maintenance projects ahead.
Other items discussed: We need a maintenance committee. In 2011 a lot of maintenance was done, but the driveways need to be done, the bricks of the central path need fixing.
We hope there will be higher revenues this year from pay or play and we also propose that all users of the guest rooms should pay a suggested donation of $15 per night.
There was a discussion of the desirability of wireless internet in the CH.
The management committee proposes that the annual meeting will vote that participation in pay or play is an obligatory part of the homeowners responsibility. We still don't have anybody who is going to enforce and collect the money.
We also discussed the CROWN balance sheet which has on its liability side, besides the mortgage held by American Express, a loan from the State of $50K and a loan by the County of $45K. As we understand it, all this will be paid out of the final sale of the units by Dec 31 2013, but for some reason we received a loan notice from the State already this December. Hans is talking to the State, Marla Dee is talking to Utah Housing, and we hope the loan will be renewed for another 2 years.
The trimming or cutting of trees which needs to be done by an expensive tree firm may have to be financed out of the reserve fund. Mary has been removing the tree over Carol's roof with Angel's help, which saved us a lot of money, but some of the necessary tree work is too high for Angel and cannot be done by him.
The next management committee meeting will be already next week, on Thursday Jan 5.
Hans
These minutes were written by Hans and have not been approved by the committee. If others present at yesterday's meeting have corrections or additions, please respond to this email.
Several big ticket items were discussed:
After consultation with a tree firm recommended by the arborists who visited the community earlier, Mgmt decided to hire them for 3 days, cost $4,800, to trim or cut some of the high priority trees which constitute a threat to the buildings. Some other work of removing dead branches in the wild area (fire hazard) can be done by Mary with Angel, and Mary got permission to do this too (budget up to $750).
Management committee decided to do a temporary fix for the deck issue, to get us safely through the Spring Snow storms, and do the final fix in Summer. This temporary fix will cost perhaps $2500.
Regarding our email to Kier, the architects responded saying that they did not owe us anything, and Kier did not respond before the deadline after which our offer lapsed. Kevin was asked to place a phone call asking if they were going to respond at all. (Hans voted against this, he wanted to wait until after Jan 1st, but all others in mgmt committee voted for it.) There was also a vote whether mgmt committee is in principle willing to go to court over this, with a split result (Mike A and Carol are willing, Hans and Richard aren't).
It seems the firm which did heater repairs for the CH, Crown, and also privately for Mike A, is a firm which does a lot of advertising with low price maintenance calls, and then they overcharge when something needs to be done. They overcharged us for the CH furnace, and we will try to get some money back from them and we will *not* use them for repairing the other CH furnace which has problems.
The Utah State Finance Division sent Wasatch Commons Crown and Wasatch Cohousing a loan statement for the baloon payment on a $50,000 low interest loan which has become due on Dec 15 2011 and which must be paid off by Jan 15 2012 in order to avoid penalties. This was a surprise to everyone, Marla Dee is not aware at this point whether or where this loan is listed as a liability in our books. Fortunately we have a professional adviser exactly to deal with such situations, and we will consult with Susan Schow about this. Hans remembers that we got this loan during our development period; it was one of the resources which allowed the cohousing project to become a reality. Anybody else who knows about this loan and what it was used for please weigh in.
Marla Dee had met with Mary to refine some of the categories in QuickBooks so that we know better how our money is spent. Mary started a big project scanning in the Wasatch Commons and CROWN documents. Marla Dee proposes that we should turn the CH office into a fully equipped office.
Management Committee will have a third meeting this month on Thursday Dec 29 at 7 pm where we discuss the budget proposals to be submitted to the Annual Meeting in January. Since Mgmt tried to be proactive with respect to maintenance, preservation of our assets, and reducing future risks, the condo fees will probably have to be raised. We will also need an assessment for the roofing and wall repairs under the decks. We invite all those for whom this is an important issue to get into the discussion.
Hans.
From: WaCoHo on behalf of Naomi Franklin
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 7:11 PM
To: Kay Argyle
Subject: Re: [WaCoHo] Management Committee Minutes 12/15/2011
It seems to me that $4800 is a whopping amount to pay for the tree corrections that were indicated by Chris Kolb, when I and Mike A. discussed with him on Dec. 12. Did Ben Cambell itemize the actions for which he would be charging $4800? I would not authorize such an expenditure without knowing precisely was intended.
Naomi
From: WaCoHo on behalf of Hans Ehrbar
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 9:18 PM
To: Kay Argyle
Subject: [WaCoHo] Management Committee Minutes 12/15/2011
Naomi,
We would get the following deal: the company would give us a bid for what they can do in 3 days, which entire tree to remove, which limbs, etc. This is what the $4800 is for. This must be very well specified in advance. If it takes them 4 days to do it, it is still $4800. If they are done before the 3 days are over, they will do other work for us for the rest of the time.
So the devil is really in the detail: which exact trees do we want them to do, and do we want to remove the entire tree or do we want to trim it. If cost is your concern, then you should vote in favor of removing entire trees, because trimming will be a recurrent expense and I think we should hunker down in a situation where we don't have too many committments because there will be plenty of unexpected things in the future. Not doing anything is not feasible because we will get more storms and more untimely heavy snow falls when the leaves are still on the trees etc, and eventually this will lead to repair costs against which the $4800 seem like peanuts.
I see those trees as just another invasive weed which degrades the ecosystem itself, and my own inclination would be to remove entire Siberian Elm trees and do permaculture involving native hardwood trees instead. I see this as an investment in the future. It will make the situation worse in the short run, but better in the long run, and it will greatly reduce our risk from storms. In 10 or 15 years, when storms will be common place, our new plants will be kind of tall but still young and supple. The argument against this is that it is not necessary to remove the old tree, we can plant the new tree already while the old tree is still there. We have not done this enough, it seems there is no perceived need to plant new trees while the old trees are still there. Besides, the old trees limit where we can plant new trees and compete with the new trees. Furthermore, any tall and brittle tree is a continuing storm and snow hazard, and finally, those trees are still growing and the longer we wait to more expensive it is to remove them.
We have planted several successor trees on the East Berm, and still there is resistance to taking down the big trees.
I just remembered the permaculture concept and slipped the word in above. I think this is the way to go, this is a way out which enriches our community and makes it future-proof. It takes a lot of work and learning to put it in, but in a few years people will come to our grounds and say that they should have done what they see we have been doing.
Hans
Attending:
Marla Dee, Mike A, Richard, Carol, Mary, Hans, Maxine
Reminder: the web site where you can fill in your pay or play tasks is
http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/readings/WaCoHo.html
There is also a paper sheet hanging on the wall next to the office door, but these paper entries have to be transferred to the web form.
Another Reminder: we have to do a budget for next year, and if your committee wants some money, please let us know. If we do not get your requests we will go by what was allocated in the past and what was spent in the past.
Management is re-introducing the maintenance report: if you are using a common tool and it breaks, or you notice that it is broken, please notify us. We will not cut your head off because of this. Notify anyone in management and we will also put up a list where you can write these things down.
In light of the hurricane-strength wind gusts this morning several homeowners requested that the tagged trees near their houses should be cut. Therefore we decided to go ahead with removing
1 tree on unit 9, 2 trees on unit 18, 1 tree on unit 19, and 1 big branch over unit 24.
If others want to get in on our first round of removing hazard trees let us know. Other trees will be removed next winter, and we will be able to have discussions about these trees as requested in the ACM.
Regarding the deck repairs, part of this will have to come out of the reserve fund, but some part, at least $1000 per household, will also have to be raised by an assessment. It is uncertain if we can have an assessment only for those who have decks or whether this must be an assessment for everybody. Please be aware that this is coming. One letter was sent to Kier which in the judgment of some of us was too hard-line. Therefore we are in the process of discussing by email whether we should send out an addendum.
In order to avoid special assessments in the future we may propose to raise the contributions to the reserve fund with the next budget. This would also allow us to get better and more durable roofs when the roofs must be replaced.
Regarduing the budget, we may be around $2000 in the red this year, but this cannot be decided until we see the expenses for December. Our buildings are getting older and they need more maintenance, and we did a round of exterior maintenance which will be good for 3 years. On the other hand, we need to fix the pavement, there is some damage in the concrete, the bricks are coming out of the ground and must be put back in place, we need a budget for hazard trees, and it was also proposed that Hans should be reimbursed for the property taxes he is paying for the South Field.
We decided to renew the contract with Susan Schow regarding the CROWN units. It is only 18 more months until the CROWN units must be sold.
Mary resigned from the committee. This is a great loss, Mary has done amazing work for the community, and we thank her for her contribution.
Hans
Management committee discussed two issues: trees and the deck repairs.
With the deck repairs we are receiving bids and we are writing a letter to Kier trying to get reimbursement from them for the damage due to their failed repairs last time around.
Regarding the trees, the management committee decided that it is time to remove the trees that pose a hazard for the buildings, they are weed trees which do not contribute much to the ecosystem, and they are brittle. The bigger they get the more dangerous they are and the more expensive it will be to remove them. Our plan is to remove those trees first which have big branches hanging over our homes. Mary has had a very reputable tree person on site, who declined to do the work himself because his equipment is not large enough for the trees. With his help we identified the trees which are most urgent to remove. We think the community should remove a few trees every year and plant more resilient trees in their place, until all the weed trees are gone. We already started this. In the long run this will add a lot of value to our community.
Here is the reason why we think this is necessary: We must expect extreme weather in the coming years, just as the other states. Utah is not immune to climate change. Perhaps early snowfalls when the leaves are still on, or storms which may be stronger than we know from experience.
Doing such prophylactic measures now is wise, we don't want to wait until the economy is totally on its knees and then get a major costly accident on top of it. In uncertain times it is good to take care of those things which we know need attention, so that we have our hands free for the unexpected and unpredictable. We don't want to lose member families by evictions etc. Better to address one issue after another instead of having to deal with them all at once.
We also did similar precautions regarding the drainage so that we wont't have water rising so high that is inundates our living rooms. Last Spring we were only one or two downpours away from this.
Unfortunately there are some expenses associated with this but it will pay off in the long run. Our gardeners on site, Matt and Sharon, are also some kind of disaster insurance which the community got for free.
Please come to the ACM on Nov 27 to discuss these issues. The managemeent committee is trying to do what is best for the community. All Management meetings are open to all cohousers, and you are welcome to join us in our meetings. Next management meeeting is on Thursday Dec 1, 7pm in the CH.
Hans
This was an extraordinary meeting because there was no meeting last week. Our next meeting will already be this week, on Nov 3 at 7 pm in the CH.
Marla Dee has sent a letter to the Crown residents requesting feedback telling her which of the repairs were done and which still need to be done. She invited them to the Nov 3 management meeting.
Insurance went up considerably, $100 a month. This is not entirely unexpected, and we did not decide to do anything about it.
We get 3 water bills: one for CH and irrigation around CH, one for the garden area and irrigation there, and one for irrigation in the orchard.
Kevin: the west wall of the CH has bigger cracks in the stucco than normal. It seems the entire wall has sagged. Kevin will get bids for repair from the same people who do the bids for our decks.
Kevin report about the deck work: Kier told us they are not going to do the fixes and they are offering $12000 in compensation. We are getting bids for the work to be done in order to be able to make a counteroffer. But a substantial amount will have to be paid by the community. Next steps: wait until we have some bids, probably by Nov 13. Then we have to do the deck replacements as soon as possible before winter, and we will do the outside stucco work next Summer. We will also at this time make a counteroffer. Kevin has sent a draft to the mgmt list. Kevin recommends that we also file a complaint at the same time. We would like to have some time on the Nov 10 ACM to get community input.
Trees: we must have the trees on the East berm removed, they are a disaster waiting to happen in the next major storm. while we are getting bids for this, we may also get a bid for the tree west of the CH whose roots are damaging Jon Noorda's driveway. Jon said he was willing to pay half of the fence replacement. At least one committee member wants to wait with this until after the deck repairs are done.
Hans has created a web site where people can fill in their pay or play work and announced it on the WaCoHo list. You enter your work at
http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/readings/WaCoHo.html
and you can see all the work everybody is doing at
http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/readings/payorplay_report.html
This will be updated nightly. There is also a csv version at
http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/readings/payorplay_report.csv
People can also use the paper forms on one of the clipboards hanging next to the office door in the CH.
One of the 3 CH furnaces needs to be fixed. Do we have a regular firm for our forced air furnaces? If someone would like to take this on as a pay or play task, we would be grateful.
Hans
From: WaCoHo on behalf of Hans Ehrbar
Sent: Monday, October 31, 2011 3:30 PM
To: Kay Argyle
Subject: [WaCoHo] Management Committee Minutes
Only the three really tall trees on the east berm must be removed, one of which shed a branch in a storm last year which damaged our neighbor's flag post. When it is windy I am afraid to walk on the driveway under them. I understand they are the kind which you consider a perennial weed. There are other, younger trees already planted which will take over after they are gone.
Hans
Most of our meeting was about maintenance issues.
Crown inspections: Susan Schow produced extensive todo-lists for the Crown units. We discussed who should supervise the repairs, but need Marla Dee for the final decision.
The office door in the CH needs fixing, Richard is taking this on.
The Grill in the back of the CH seems beyond repair. Can someone transport this away? It does not fit into Carol's car. Shall we get a new grill?
The Playground equipment South of the CH needs some repairs, some of the boards stored on the West side of the CH must be put back in place. This would be a good pay or play project.
We also looked at the Noorda fence. Mike A will get some bids for fixing and replacing it.
Hans
Let me begin with a pay or play opportunity: The window in CH stair landing has a broken closing mechanism. The firm which made our windows is Viking. They no longer exist but Pella Windows is carrying their parts. This is a pay or play assignment, perhaps for someone who has a broken window in their home too: contact them to get their parts; then you can do both at the same time. Ask Richard to show you the window in the CH which is broken.
Other items:
Taxes are signed, Hans will mail them tomorrow.
When signing the checks we noticed that some of the garden water checks were high. Did this have to do with the water leaks which are fixed now?
Kier will start working on the decks again tomorrow or Monday. Those deck owners with north facing decks please be advised that it is your responsibility to rebuild the wood or Trex deck. Kevin says he has a bid which would be $1100 for doing it. This includes new wood or trex. If your trex is still good (most of it isn't) then it is much less; in this case you should have someone number the planks, carefully disassemble them, and afterwards reassemble them. Mary and Kay had Angel do it for them.
Kay is doing research about the clothes line. We want a metal one, probably Dean will weld it. Wet clothes are heavy, therefore it should be a 3 or 4 in pipe. This time Kay recommends to make it higher so that you can walk under it.
Some condo associations hire one firm to do all the swamp coolers, so that they are done professionally and uniformly. Mike Wason said he is willing to do the shutdown of all swamp coolers this Fall, perhaps together with his son Paul and with Tyler Maynes, but Mike is the point person organizing it. Perhaps he will do it next Spring too, but this does not have to be decided now. Do we need an ACM proposal for this or can we all agree that Mike is going to shut down our swamp coolers and we pay him individually?
Kevin will organize his Kids squad to remove extra dirt around Carol's unit and put it on compost pile in South field.
Irrigation on West side: Mike A says he is responsible for the lawn, and he says Kevin D is responsible for the drip systems on the west berms. Is this correct?
If you need to know what is a weed and what isn't, ask Naomi, she volunteers to do this. This is an item from the landscaping committee meeting last Sunday.
We took all the veggies home, sorry. Now there is only cake and pie left in the refrigerator.
Hans
Here are the two most important items:
(1) Since Mary withdrew from landscaping issues, it is necessary that a landscaping committee be formed which will decide what needs to be done and which would also have the authority to hire Angel etc. (While we are at it, we also need a maintenance committee, but the things discussed on Thursday was the need for a landscaping committee.)
(2) The decks are being worked on. (Kevin has sent an email about this.) Kier is paying the overwhelming part of it but a small part also has to be paid by us. Since not all homeowners have decks, it would not be fair to have the community as a whole pay for it, but those units who have decks which need to be fixed will have to pay around $1000 each.
Here are other items, most of it our usual routine stuff:
Unit numbers for WaCoHo residences: Each of our homes has a number, but it is difficult to see those numbers especially in the dark. This can become an issue if there is a fire or somone needs emergency mecial care. Mike A is going to buy a set of numbers on white background, which shine up in the dark if hit by a flashlight or similar. Then someone will have to install them and make sure they are in a consistent predictable place at every unit.
Kitchen cabinets for the CH: we toured the locations where Hans proposed to install them, and the question was raised how much it would cost to install them. The best person to install them is Gus. Hans asked Gus on the next day, Friday morning. Gus would charge $100.
Marla Dee was excited to announce that we have upgraded QuickBooks from the old 1999 version to the 2011 version. This was a long process due to the office computer issues but it is done. She is now current with bookkeeping reporting which has been a frustration.
Marla Dee is posting the report showing the current budget status for all categories (including the committees) on the board outside the office. Marla Dee will also be printing month end statements and placing them in your interior mail (or emailing to landlords not on the property) so that you can stay informed of your balance.
Marla Dee has asked that all accounts payable be placed in the management folder (of the interior mail) by the Saturday prior to the management meeting as she pays the bills at that time.
CROWN:
new leases have been signed, letters regarding policies for late payments etc have been delivered. Physical inspections for Units 8,10,12 and 14 by Western Compliance will take place on 8/5.
Tax returns for American Express: Our Accountant has reported they are still working on them and should be completed by 7/15. Next year should go better as Marla Dee is now trained and we have the new QB which allows us to email reports directly to out accountant and other entities..
Fellowship for Intentional Communities: our membership has lapsed. If Hans remembers right we decided to renew it.
Broken window in downstairs guest room: someone to fix it has been scheduled. (The clothesline is another orphaned project which needs someone to take it over.)
Minutes written by Hans, with corrections and addenda by others in the management committee.
Marla Dee has finally presented us with a proposal what we have to pay her for property management. The committee decided to pay her $300 instead of the previous $250, retroactive to March. Although most of this work is done for CROWN, for now the increase comes out of general funds, not the CROWN funds.
The mgmt committee decided to buy a new version of Quickbooks Pro. Our present version is from 1999. It is not possible to upgrade it, we need new.
Discussion of backup routine and scanner for implementation of paperless office, will be continued next mgmt meeting.
Kevin reported on his ongoing roof repair and outside painting. He is compiling a todo list for things to be done when the roofs will be replaced. He is discovering places which were never painted or where the original paint job was poor. Some things cannot be done with a brush but need spraying.
Kevin will contact our insurance agent and continue to be our liasion with Ann for the roof ladder accident. He will use this as his pay or play this month, but would it be necessary that he writes an official attorney's letter then he will come back to management to agree on a billing first.
Mary got bids from fence company. Dean is a welder and would be willing to weld it. We want this done ASAP because it's summer and this will save on fuel for the clothes dryers.
Carol is working on it.
the architects came out and looked at it, they think they have a solution. Some places where wood beams penetrate the stucco, or corners, can lead to leaks. Now the builder Kier has to say whether they think this is a solution, then we will use one unit as trial unit, and if it works, do the other units. Goal is to have it done before Winter. Kevin is now cognizant of the problem which is present on many different places and is trying to mitigate it when doing his periodic routine maintenance.
Cracks in parking lot have to be fixed, at the same time we need to write the street number 1411 on the asphalt since it is not visible anywhere else. Does someone want to take it on to hire the people to do it as part of pay or play?
We need uniform unit numbers, easily legible, on the same spot for every unit. This is necessary also for emergency calls etc so that fire/ambulance can find us. Does someone want to take this up for pay or play?
Spigot in garden seems to have a leak underground, Mary will tell Angel to dig it up
Mary will rent a bobcat to do grading behind units 19 and 22 and some earth work at north end.
Hans
From: WaCoHo on behalf of Kay Argyle
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 4:40 PM
To: Kay Argyle
Subject: Re: [WaCoHo] Minutes mgmt meeting 2011-06-16
"would anyone be willing to fill me in on what the roof ladder incident was?"
This is second- or third-hand, so details may be garbled
Anne Hammond (Natalia's landlady) hired someone to get the swamp cooler on unit 7 ready for the summer. He borrowed our ladders instead of using his own. He may have been using one upside down. He fell off the roof and landed on the barbecue grill. He got hauled off in an ambulance. We are told he broke his back, but since he was out of the hospital the next day it may be just a cracked vertebra.
Kay
This year we had a lot of weeding costs, because it rained so much and everything was growing much faster than usual. Therefore the part of the landscaping budget set aside for weeding is pretty much used up and we will have to go over budget.
Mary announced that when it is dry enough she is going to use roundup for weed control on the berms.
We decided that on every second management meeting in the month we will make a deposit to the reserve fund for the next month, i.e., we are paying this money into the reserve fund two weeks before we have collected it from the monthly homeowner fees. We do this in order to stay in compliance with the requirement never to mix current funds and reserve funds. We can do it because many homeowners pay their fees ahead of time.
Every second management meeting in the month, make a deposit to the reserve fund for the next month
Long discussion how to hire, supervise and pay Angel. Mary has bought some report cards which can serve as simplified invoices showing all the work we are paying him for. We also need some tax and licensing info in order to pay him, we have not received this yet. Everyone we pay more than $600 a year must supply this information.
Pay Angel twice a month, this is usual procedure and no other suppliers are paid more often.
Angel also needs supervision, he works better when supervised. Mary has been doing this but she is overworked and we are trying to share some of the work. Perhaps some of our retired members who are at home during the day could inform themselves about what needs to be done and serve as supervisers as part of their pay or play contribution.
A dance student Elena is living in the CH for another 10 days or so. She is willing to do work for the community and she has done some weeding around the CH. If you have projects for her to do which serve the community let Kevin know.
Mike A is doing the CH lawn plus he is maintaining and turning on/off the CH sprinklers. He says it is a package deal. We have nobody responsible or supervising the garden sprinklers or the berm sprinklers, this is another thing people can do if they are looking for work.
When the grass is no longer so wet Mike is planning to get the CH lawn aerated and put weed and feed on it.
We discussed flood and drainage issues and are watching the situation. Mary has lots of sand in the llama area which can be used for sandbags if needed, and we are inquiring where to get sandbags; maybe there are places where we can get them for free.
Mary bought a gas turnoff wrench for the CH and one for her own unit. They are good if there is an earthquake.
Starting July 1st, the CROWN leases will be updated. In order to be in compliance with the CROWN program, we have to enforce all the provisions of the leases equally for every CROWN member. If there is something in the lease we do not want to enforce then it has to be stricken from the lease.
Therefore: we decided toenforce the $20 late feeif the rent is not paid by the tenth of the month, but we decided not to enforce andremove from the lease the interest rate for late payments-- because the accountant's time and tax implications will be more expensive than the money received. Note that this is for CROWN rent payments; the situation is different for homeowner dues.
Even though the late payment accrues only on the tenth, the rent is due on the first of the month. We also have to enforce the clause: if the rent is not paid in full by the tenth and if the tenant has not received approval from the management committee for paying at a later date, there will be a three day pay or vacate notice on the door on the eleventh. In the past we have not always enforced this and allowed residents to run up significant balances before taking action. Rent not collected from one CROWN resident will directly come out of the pockets of the other residents. [4/30/2013 edit: not true. Kay]
Hans.
From: WaCoHo on behalf of Mike Angelastro
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 9:19 AM
To: Kay Argyle
Subject: Re: [WaCoHo] Management meeting minutes today June 2 2011
Hans. I was there too. Also see red commentary below. You may also want to send to the Mgt Committee members before the general community.
In Thursday's meeting we discussed maintenance issues (more about those below).
The final verson of the contract with Susan Schow was signed, and Marla Dee also has proof of insurance and licensing from her.
We also got current with our deposits to the reserve account.
At the end we had a brief discussion whether the community should acquire sand bags as protection for floods and downpours. We decided against this for now because our maintenance already exceeds our budget, but we are thinking about it.
Here is more detail about maintenance. Some of this is incomplete or sketchy because I was not there for the first half of the meeting. If I am missing something important please someone else from management fill us in.
Mary wrote up some simple maintenance items. Before we pay someone to do it we will make them available to the community in case someone wants to do them as a pay or play option.
At least three homes have leaking roofs. I was told that Kevin tried to fix them but they still leak. (Kevin was not at the meeting). The decision was made to hire a professional to fix them. If the leak is by the air conditioner opening, the owner of the unit is responsible for the cost; if the leak is anywhere else, the community is responsible.
Mary has a list of trees which are too big for Hylo to do, we need a professional tree company to do them.
The person who is scheduled to fix the doors in 3 units has not yet come because it has rained so much. We expect the rain to stop soon, then we will know whether he will actually do it or whether he has been using the rain as an excuse not to come.
The cinder block wall at the south end of the east parking lot needs repairs.
We decided to do minimal repair of the fence pieces with Noorda which are laying on the ground: put in two posts and hang the old fence back in place.
Management committee met today. Two big decisions today:
Final approval of the amended contract with Susan Schow. The price is going from $219 TO $250 per month. The $219 will be paid from CROWN funds and the remaining $31 from Wasatch Commons general funds -- since Wasatch Commons benefits from Susan too, she is insurance against noncompliance which might lead to liabilities by Wasatch Commons as the property manager.
Another decision: Marla Dee is willing to work as accountant and property manager for CROWN and for Wasatch Commons. There are more responsibilities than originally envisioned because of the pay or play and other additional tasks. We spent some time discussing with Marla Dee options how to do the accounting for pay or play. We have not yet fully decided on her fee, this will be done next management meeting.
Other items: Mike A is in the process of opening another account for Wasatch Commons so that reserve funds and operating funds will never be deposited in the same account.
April is a busy month because of taxes and annual reports. Besides, we discovered to our surprise that American Express needs quarterly reports and quarterly financial statements too. Susan Schow will not do those, this will be done by us (Marla Dee and Myste). All these things were done by Linda Reed in the past.
Maintenance: Community members will do some trim painting in the CH and some exterior maintenance work, cleaning gutters etc., for pay. Specific work orders for everything will be written up by Mary.
Decision to fix the broken fluorescent lights in the garage.
Sandra presented about programmable thermostats. Contracting this out is too expensive. Sandra will consult consumer reports for the best thermostats, there are many different kinds on the market.
Mary and have someone come for the broken windows in the CH (old beebe gun hole downstairs has been expanding, and crack in guestroom window upstairs)
Mary has supervised Angel for mowing the back field, pulling thistles, wheat whacking, getting broken branches out of the trees. The management committee thanked Mary for the many hours of work she has been doing around the grounds.
Some time after next Tuesday we will have to organize a work party to get the branches out to the curb for the annual pickup. You will hear more about it.
Management had their first meeting today.
The committee elected the officers: Hans is president, Mary secretary, and Mike A treasurer.
The committee received a financial report from Marla Dee with checks to be paid and receivables.
After this there was a brainstorming of the things the management committee is trying to accomplish as we are going forward.
One of our obligations is to follow laws and regulations. If the community hires contractors to do more than $600 worth of work during the year, we have to file a 1099 and we need some paper work. This needs to be done for 2010. It was also discussed that the condo association is required to have a reserve study done every 5 years.
Other goals that were discussed:
A better accounting and planning of our capital expenditures and reserve funds.
Being proactive in terms of keeping our grounds safe and eliminate hazards which might lead to accidents.
Keeping track of all the maintenance work which is being done by unit and by piece of equipment.
Help the CROWN residents as much as we can so that they can transition into owners in a few short years.
The budget is insufficient to do the many things that need to be done, therefore we are seeking the committment of residents to take over specific maintenance tasks for the entire year so that not everything has to be contracted out. This is in the purview of the process committee and management will address the process committee regaring specific issues.
Our regular meetings are the first and third Thursday every month. Next meeting will be February 3.
The Annual Wacoho Budget and Election ACM is Wed. 1/12/2011 7-9 pm
Marla's first meeting as official bookkeeper -
Linda's last meeting as bookkeeper - goodbye - Thank you Linda, you will be greatly missed and all your years of dedication and work on management is much appreciated!
Reviewed Proposed 2011 Budget
Paid Bills
1st CROWN inspection with Suzanne _ scheduled for February 25th
Need Renters Rep to serve on management
The current "temporary" management members will run for offical positions
Capitol reserve monies to be deposited by Mike A this week
From: Kay Argyle
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:46:33 -0700
To: Lydia Olchoff
Subject: Re: [WaCoHo] Very Important ACM Weds
NEED Renters Rep to serve on management" -- Management minutes 1/6/2011
"-NEED Renters Rep to serve on management" -- Management minutes 1/6/2011
May I strongly request that the renters and crown reps also be elected at the annual meeting? It would take only a few extra minutes. To do otherwise is extremely disrespectful to our renting and crown residents. My understanding when we decided to have crown and renters reps on management was that they were to be full decision-making members, equal to the owning members (except where restricted by the bylaws). That makes electing those reps official community business.
Such symbolism IS important. When the renters get told to get together on their own to elect a rep, that sends a clear message that the community doesn't regard the crown or renters as full members of the community, never mind regarding their reps as members of management. With that upfront slap in the face, it is no surprise to me that management has rarely had an active renters rep, or that the crown rep, although in regular attendance, >just as regularly said that she was merely the bookkeeper, and all decisions were up to the elected (owner) members.
(If the renters and the crown residents CHOOSE to select their reps outside the annual meeting, that's a different matter.)
Kay
From: WaCoHo on behalf of Linda Reed
Sent:: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 2:39 PM
Subject: Re: [WaCoHo] Very Important ACM Weds -- Suggested Process // Process Committee....
We passed a proposal in the first year of operation that says unless an owner comes to the Annual Meeting to represent himself or herself or states in writing otherwise, the resident in the unit has the voting proxy for the election of Management Committee members. That means that the renters (unless the owner is present) and the Crown members HAVE A VOTE in the election of Management Committee OFFICIAL members. These official members must, by by-laws be owners of the unit. Therefore, the 5 owner-members of Management, are elected by everyone, including renters and Crown members, and it affects ALL members.
BTW, the only reason I posted anything about the meeting is that nothing had been done by Process, and Ann's email reminded me that not everyone knew about the meeting, and what was intended. The agenda is set (either by tradition or by-laws, I'm not sure) that the first meeting in January be the official Annual Meeting for election of Management Committee and the budget presentation.
Linda
On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 1:49 PM, Lydia Olchoff wrote:
Hi Kay and other members of WaCoHo,
Just a reminder, last year it was the intent of the community to elect the renter's rep at the ACM meeting. However, we ran out of time.
In the interest of efficiency, it could be argued that separate meetings be held by these three groups of WaCoHos to elect their Management Committee Representatives:
In that way, no WaCoHo member need sit through 20-30 minutes of meeting discussion that was not relevant to him/her. I recommend we do exactly that and spend the meeting time discussing only matters affecting all members of the community, namely the 2011 budget.
Also, my understanding is the Process Committee sets the meeting agenda. Did I miss something? I don't see an agenda from any of the Process Committee members, although I did get a few emails from Linda Reed and others about this ACM.
Thanks.
Peace and Love, Lydia
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