Approved Minutes - January 13, 2009

Royal Creek Home Owner’s Association Board Meeting for January 13, 2009.

Meeting called to order at 7:33 p.m.

Members present:

1. Steve McIntire
2. Jim Jenkins
3. Gloria Foreman
4. James Manning
5. Crystal Buel-McIntire

Owners present:

1. Ed Capelle
2. Lawanda Manning

1. Approval of minutes:
a. December 9, 2008 minutes. Gloria moved to approve and James seconded approval of the minutes. Steve & Crystal abstained. The motion passed.

2. Appeals. None.

3. Updates & Appeals:

a. Pool - 4867 Stagecoach (Howpun). The pool has been removed and the fines will now cease. The fines total $3,000. Jim received animal control complaints as well about this property, but advised the complainant they must be willing to formally pursue complaints with the appropriate authorities rather than third hand through the board.
b. 1078 Throne – Mestrich (Lawn). The board held a lively discussion surrounding the fines and reduction of concerning this property. Some comments include:
i. Steve shared he believes the decision was ill-considered and very inappropriate. The Mestrichs’ and their intentional violations & disregard for the CC&Rs for the past three years represent poster children of the undeserving. He believes the decision represents a terrible precedence for most, but a great example for people that want to thumb their noses at the CC&Rs. He also feels the board completed an end-run around very clear opinions by a clear majority at the November meeting. By way of example, Jim’s previous proposal that didn’t receive a second was passed without any changes during the December meeting. Steve shared he didn’t think he could be a part of this board and that this would be his last meeting.
ii. James shared he thought Crystal and Steve’s absence was in support of Jim’s previous recommendation.
iii. Crystal expressed she was very surprised of the decision. She took the time to confront and address Charlie and Suzi during the meeting & feels the board’s decision was wrong and didn’t adequately take into consideration the lengthy discussion from the previous meeting. She thinks the decision will invite legal consequences and she does not want her name attached to any complaint.
iv. Gloria said she thought Crystal brought to the table during the last meeting a proposal wherein the fines would be reduced over time. Steve & Crystal shared that belief was incorrect as Jim made the proposal.
v. Steve shared he was okay with a reduction in fines if Charlie and Suzi maintain the property for some period of time, but that he was not in support of anything exceeding 50%.
vi. James said when Steve & Crystal elected to not show up, they went on with the decision.
vii. Steve & Crystal shared they advised Jim and the board they would be out of the country and they hoped the remaining members would be present for quorum purposes.
viii. Jim said Crystal’s motion put it back on the agenda for the next meeting and the board felt compelled to make the decision.
ix. Jim said there is no cost to the Board or Association. Steve raised the issue about non-monetary costs, e.g., example to others, the lack of equity in the decision, the efforts put forth by the board and others to address this issue.
x. Gloria said she thought the board considered Crystal’s positions when they voted to approve the discounts.
xi. Jim advised the board members could request a vote of no confidence and vote him out of the Board. Steve advised any such motion would be in appropriate as the there was a quorum and a majority of the directors present (3) voted to approve the discounts. Thus, like it or not, right or wrong the decision was made & valid.
xii. James also believes the board considered the many positions and the phase out represents a good way to resolve the non-compliance issue.
xiii. Crystal submitted a letter of resignation to the board outlining several concerns over the Mestrich decision that she wants as part of the record.
c. 1252 Throne – DeGuzman (Lawn). Request to waive fines due to financial hardship. NWC received a written request & documentation of financial hardship. Two home being foreclosed upon, divorce, etc. Apparently, he is walking away from the home and he is upside down on the loan. The homeowner is willing to maintain the lawn until it is foreclosed. James shared the board did physical work on this yard & there are real cost associated with this residence. Steve inquired about how to square the logic of not giving any discounts to this homeowner with giving the Mestrichs’ the discounts they received for similar conduct. James moved to request the homeowner to pay $600 within 45 days & remainder be suspended so long as property is maintained over next year or sold, whichever shall first occur and to include in letter some language of the real work involved. Gloria seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

4. Northwest Community site report. There were 7 compliance notices sent. The basket ball hoop was removed from Hollow Way. NW noticed a side yard was not complete. Jim will get back with Wes on this issue to see where we stand. James moved to accept the site review and Gloria seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

5. Financial Report:

a. September: Showing signs of surplus. Nothing else unusual for September.
b. October: Surplus budget. Nothing extraordinary. Steve commented that had the board received the information timely, it may have been able to make a different decision about the dues assessed for 2009. Jim shared the quality of service seems to have deteriorated since Tim left.
c. November: November’s statement shows a surplus and a check to some other association. Jim will follow up on the check.
d. December: We will finish the year with a $10,000 surplus. We exceeded our goal of saving $9,000 over the next three years. There were a number of reasons for the quick accumulation, e.g., printing costs were down by $3,000, we didn’t execute the landscape and NWC’s contracts for a few months. Jim suggested the board possibly consider some sort of refund. Steve suggested keeping the funds for unexpected contingencies, legal defense and also moving forward with the website and mail box. Jim also noted we have a few members that have substantial fines in place and have been assigned to the attorney’s office. Gloria moved & James seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

6. Committee Reports:

a. ARC Report: No reports. Eric received a courtesy notice and the compliance notice on the 11th of November.

b. Safety Committee Report: No report.

c. Neighborhood Watch: Gloria reported completed the yard of the month and the Christmas lights. Not much in the way of people participating. Gave a gift certificate to OES for the winter.

d. Investment Property Report: No report.

e. CC&R Committee: No report this month.

f. Newsletter Committee: The newsletter went out. Jim plans to put out another issue in the middle of February and will encourage people to show up at the Annual Meeting. He will then ensure the Annual Meeting letter goes out and follow up with postcards as well.

7. Gloria moved to accept and James seconded the motion to accept all the committee reports. The motion passed unanimously.

8. Old Business:

a. Financial Hardship Policy. James moved to table the proposed policy until the next meeting.

9. New Business.
a. Nominating Committee/Recruiting Committee. There does not seem to be much interest in becoming board members. We need to begin recruiting candidates. James raised the issue re some sort of gift recognizing outgoing board member for his/her service. Crystal suggested something like a gift basket. Jim proposed something between $50 and $100 for outgoing members. James moved & Gloria seconded to authorize the Chair to spend up to $100 on outgoing board members. The motion passed unanimously.
b. Date of Annual Meeting: March 3, 2009.

10. Public Comments:

a. None.

11. The next Board Meeting will be February 10, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at Pearl Buck Center.

12. Adjournment: Gloria moved to accept and James seconded the motion. The motion passed. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting Adjourned at 9:10 p.m.