LEEWOOD HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION MONTHLEY BOARD MEETING MINUTES

MEETING DATE: November 13, 2018

TIME: 7:30 P.M.

ATTENDEES:

Board: Leona Taylor (via phone), Gideon Abebe, Justin Edwards, Khaleaph Luis.

Sentry Management: Birgit Burton

The meeting convened with a quorum of four board members and Property Manager, Birgit Burton.

Approval of Agenda

Board approved the proposed agenda.

Open Forum:

There was no open forum

Approval of Minutes:

September’s meeting minutes were approved.

October’s monthly meeting minutes were not brought up for approval.

Board Officer Reports:

· Contracts have been signed for tree removal and tree trimming.

· Leona did an inspection of the community and created a list that indicates what work needs to be done on trees that are in the common area, including those that protrude into home owners’ property and create problems. Tree removal is budgeted for 2019, so some of the work can be completed.

· Snow contract is approved and signed by Leona with Professional-Grounds

· A request by Catherine Perkins of 7006 Bradwood Ct., to change her parking spot from 176 to 175 was reviewed by the LHOA attorney. Ms. Perkins has also presented a note from her physician stating her medical issues. The attorney advised that we grant her permission to accommodate her needs as stated in her letter as well as in the note from her physician. Sentry will paint the curb and assign the numbers to the new parking spots for a fee of $185.

· Any new requests to change assigned parking spots will be addressed when construction of sidewalks and pavements begins. Residents will be notified to submit their requests at that time.

· There was a request to consider electric car charging station. The board deferred any action at the moment. The construction of a charging station requires a study to determine the location, size of pole, and potential logistical problems that may arise as a result.

· The Board approved a donation of $300 to the Philips School as token of appreciation for allowing the board a venue to hold its monthly and annual meetings.

· Leona worked on a draft trash policy resolution and submitted it to the attorney for review. The comments received from the attorney reflect the same issue: we do not have the bite we need to enforce the rules without changing the covenants. The board will start writing up trash violators once the trash policy is composed and included in the new covenant. The board will start looking at covenant revisions at the December meeting.

· A check for about $24,000 for monthly reserve contributions -April through October- will be deposited into the Schwab account. Currently there is $100,000 cash in the Schwab account. Another CD is due in November and more coming later. There is $80,000 in Vanguard investment that can easily be liquidated for operation expenses and projects. The Board discussed the need to reinvest for higher earnings rates. The Board approved investing up to $90,000 in fixed income investments. If CD’s are chosen, maturities should be laddered to mature in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Khaleaph will contact Schwab on suitable investments.

· Sentry received an offer to look at our investments for free to see if we can earn higher rates. Sentry will let us know the outcome of the review.

· The Board also discussed the large amount of cash that Sentry is holding in the operating checking account. The Board approved Sentry transferring $60,000 to the operating money market account, which Sentry is authorized to transfer back to the operating checking account, as needed, to fund operations.

ARC

The owner at 7028 Bradwood Court has asked for a waiver for their fence replacement. The owner is only able to find fencing at Home Depot that is 3.66” which is in excess of the 3 5/8”maximum per the standards. The Board approved granting a temporary waiver, as the 3.66 fence size will be in compliance once the standard manual update is completed.

[Sentry also indicated that the owner at 7036 Leebrad St was also asking for a waiver for the fence picket width. The Board approved a temporary waiver; however, it was subsequently determined that a waiver was not requested by this owner.]

The home owner at 7000 Leebrad St. is asking the LHOA to replace her ageing fence. The home owner claims that the association had dug up near her property to put in cabling and, as a result, damaged the fence. Per her statement, a former ARC member, Al Sanford, had told her that it is the association’s responsibility to make the repairs. The board concluded that she will need to find the document that she claims states the association’s responsibility for the repairs. Leona will also try to contract Al Sanford and review old Association files to see if there is any record.

All 195 homes have been inspected by Sentry and then re-inspected by Leona. Sentry will be sending out notices to the remaining homeowners. Approximately 150 homes will receive notices for various kinds of ARC violations before the end of November. Sentry will start giving us reports about the first notices.

The ARC met to discuss the standard manual update. Once a draft is completed a copy will be sent to the attorney for review. The board will approve it after the attorney’s review.

Old Business

2019 Budget

The Board discussed the proposed budget for 2019. As proposed, it shows a budgeted deficit of $6,510 as a result of upcoming operational costs such as tree removal and landscaping. Considering that the projected bottom line for 2018 is net income of $7,900, it is reasonable to budget for a deficit in 2019 since we do not need to accumulate more operating reserves. Based on the proposed budget, quarterly assessments would go up to $260. Currently, the Board can raise quarterly assessment up to a maximum of $286.49 but can charge a lower amount. This allows the Board to increase assessments if the need arises as a result of unseen incidents without needing to call for a special assessment.

The Board approved the 2019 proposed budget and also approved the maximum assessment of $286.49 with only $260 being charged for 2019. Sentry will send out the annual assessment increase notification to homeowners, which is required to be sent 30 days before the start of the calendar year.

Drainage Proposal

The Board reviewed the drainage proposals from Professional Grounds for:

· Drainbox at 5275 Leestone Court $1,016.87

· The trees at 5263 Leestone Ct will be taken out under the tree removal contract. The ground in that area needs to be re-graded. $1,607.37

· Regrading at 7056/7058 Leestone St and move dirt to fill in around sidewalk in the circle. At 5288 Bradgen Ct, we need put rocks in the hole where the gutter drains. $1,235.04

The Board approved all proposals, with the first proposal for the drainbox to be paid from reserves.

Leona is working to get information from Fairfax County regarding the rules and regulations related to sump pump and gutter drainage and what the LHOA can do to write up violators. The County guidelines will be incorporated into the new ARC Standards Manual update. The drainage regulations can also be included in an upcoming newsletter.

New Plantings

The Board discussed the Professional Grounds proposal for planting trees on the three peninsulas where the trees were removed. Professional Grounds suggests planting crepe myrtle but will plant white oak or red maple if we prefer those types of trees which match the kind on the other peninsulas. The Board approved the proposal using oak or maple.

Fencing

The fence repair work has not been done yet. Sentry is still waiting for a proposal from USA Contractors. Final walk through is scheduled before Thanksgiving.

The fence on Backlick Rd has been cleaned and sealed.

Streets/Sidewalks

Sentry is expecting to get final proposals next week in order to evaluate all the proposals and present a recommendation to the Board.

New Business

Shrubs around mail boxes need to be updated. A proposal for the mailbox landscaping was received from Professional Grounds a few years ago, but no action was taken. Leona contacted the Professional Grounds representative to discuss the original proposal and get an updated proposal. This work would not be done until 2019 and is included in the new budget.

Executive Session

Leona has noticed that Sentry started charging interest on past due assessments and advised them that charging interest was not effective until January 1, 2019. Sentry reported that the Florida accounting has been advised to reserve the charges.

has sent out 25 reminders to home owner who have outstanding balances. 7040 and 741 Leebrad St have been sent to collection for past due assessments. Any amount over $750 will be sent to collection. There is $6,805 in assessments that are past due.

The meeting adjourned at 8:50 P.M.