Highland Summit Owners Association

Highland Summit HOA Board Meeting Minutes 2001

Meeting Minutes from 2-13-01

Meeting Minutes from 2-13-01 meeting
Attendees: Larry Hannon, President; Greg Lang, Secretary, Joe Dana, Director,
Tim Meisner, Director


Previous minutes
Previous meeting minutes were reviewed and the following items were discussed/resolved:

Tree Removal:
LBD Landscaping removed the 2-dead/dieing trees on Summers Lane. The board is waiting for the bill. LBD Landscaping will also be bidding on the landscaping contract. We are waiting for their bid to review it with others.

Suds removal from the pond:
Tim found some products at Hughes Pool. The best chemical seems to be “Sweetwater Foam Eliminator”. Cost for 2 uses is $10.95. Cost for 1 gallon is $43.00 (good for 6-7 applications). The board decided to invest in the Sweetwater Foam Eliminator in the hopes that quick response and removal of the suds will discourage the vandals from soaping the water.
An additional chemical product was suggested but it is the same as the current product Showcase is selling to us and is nearly twice as expensive. Some additional Non-Chemical applications were suggested to Tim including using ½ cup of Vegetable oil to help eliminate on-going suds. Tim explained that we have ducks in the pond but was assured it would not harm the ducks (only fish if we had them). An additional option is 2 cups of vinegar in the water can also help to keep down suds. The board recommended trying the Sweetwater Foam Eliminator and perhaps the vegetable oil as an on-going option.

A question was raised regarding how the pond replenishes the water that may evaporate or be lost. The board will ask Northwest Community or Showcase this question.

Electrical
Joe Dana has talked to Gene regarding the light pole for in/around the pond. It is nearly complete, looks good and should have the final parts shortly. The wiring will require an electrician.

A bid for $228.00 was received for repair of some broken lights on the pond. The board decided to hold off on this expenditure until we see if the light pole accomplishes what we hope it will. Final decision on repair of these lights will occur at a future board of directors meeting.

The draining and cleaning of the fountain decision was moved to the March meeting. It is estimated that this will cost around $400.00.

Professional Management
Larry had not heard from Marshall on what cost savings could be gained by the Board doing the bookkeeping rather than NW Community. Larry will follow up with Marshall.

Marshall was to provide names of other management companies for competitive bids. We have not received this information yet so Larry will follow-up with Marshall.


Budget:
After review, the board APPROVED the budget of $41,190. This budget is as follows:

$43,890 As proposed from Marshall and NW Community
$( 3,600) deleting barkdust from this year’s budget
$ 1,200 for removal of the 2 trees
$( 300) savings from insurance carrier

$41,190 Total Approved Budget

The board recommended a special assessment to cover the cost of barkdust for this year as well as a fund for a replacement pump for the pond.

Clarity is needed from NW Community as to what and why are the penalties for Mr. Charles Nguyen. In addition the board would also like to know what the figure of $624.98 for Mr. Anzhong Yang is for. The board will report back at the March meeting once NW Community provides the details.

Architectural Committee
Joe Dana talked to Faith Armstrong. Unfortunately no information/materials were available for their committee so the “operated in the best interest of the community”. Mike Cider (sp) to contact Schnitzer Development and the county to see if anything exists from initial build of community. We had issues Now and need the/an Architectural Committee. We will wait for information from NW Community Management.

Communications:
The board discussed hand delivering a questionnaire requesting phone numbers, e-mail addresses and whether each resident wanted to be listed in a neighborhood directory. The board wanted to determine if NW Community has the ability to collect this information if sent back as an e-mail. Larry will follow-up.

Greg Lang presented information on a free web site that other Portland and local communities are using. Although not “sexy” it can server our purpose at this time of getting information out. Greg will investigate more on this web site as well as hosting costs for other web sites if we were to produce our own and have an ISP host the site.

Street Hazards:
A question was raised as to how we can deal with the issue of skate board ramps and jumps that seem to be showing up in the neighborhood and are being left out in the street at night. These present a visual as well as traffic hazard. Larry to ask NW Community for information on what can be done.

Next Meeting:
Tuesday, March 13, 2001
7:00 PM
The home of Greg Lang

Meeting Minutes from 1-23-01

Meeting Minutes from 1-23-01
Attendees: Larry Hannan, President
Greg Lang, Secretary
Joe Dana, Director
Jeff Abbott, Director


Lighting in pond

Lighting is still not active on the fountain. Phoenix Electric inspected the facility and said some additional work needed to be done. Larry checked out the bulbs and all were in tact. Northwest Community Management requested another look from Phoenix Electric.

Tree Removal

Joe Dana received an additional bid from LBD landscaping of $1200.00 for the cutting and removal of the dead or dieing trees along Summers Lane. This bid was for the cutting of the trees to stump level, flush with the ground. In addition, Joe is getting an additional bid from LBD landscaping for the on going landscaping. The board discussed and agreed to go forward with LBD landscaping for the tree removal.

Insurance

Larry has changed the insurance agent for the Homeowners Association (per previous requests) to Bob Wickliffe (sp) of State Farm Insurance. Cost for policy will now be $1245.00 vs. $1552.00.

Electricity

Discussion was held on wither we could turn off pump to save money. Information is that this will damage the unit more than help with electricity savings. Light pole still needs to be installed for better security and lighting. Joe will talk to Gene to determine progress and report back at February meeting.

Landscape Extras

Joe to call Marshall to determine what the actual “extra” costs are to drain and clean the fountain.

Barkdust

The board decided to see what LBD landscaping would bid for barkdust as well as landscaping of property.

Professional Management

The board would like to investigate others to get competitive bids. Larry will follow up. Larry to ask North West Community what the savings would be if we took on the task of bookkeeping.




Budget/Funds

In 2000: Homeowners Association took in $39,500 (approximately 8 homes did not pay their
association dues)

Actual 2000: $43,232.00

Ideal Revenue $41,250.00 (if all homes pay association dues)

Proposed 2001: $44,790.00 (includes $300.00 insurance savings)

Decisions: Barkdust will be eliminated for now. (A savings of $3,200.00 from budget) The board will look for savings from Water bill, landscaping, and liens against properties, for savings to put barkdust back into budget for later in the year.

Signature Cards

Joe received them from NW Community. Board signed and will submit them.

Architectural Committee

No written guidelines can be found. Larry will pursue with NW Community. Joe to talk with Faith Alexander (sp) regarding previous guidelines for Architectural committee.

Pond and Desudsing

Toby had previously purchased (via the board) the chemical from Showplace landscaping. It was very expensive. The board decided to ask Tim to investigate or suggest a good chemical for desudsing the pond. Hopefully this will be less expensive and better than the chemical provided by Showplace.

Communications

Greg has not been able to meet with Toby yet but has his information. Greg will investigate 2 additional web sites (www.arborvillage.org and www.neighborhoodlink.com/wilsvil/wnga to determine if these might fit our needs as well. A letter must be sent out asking for correct phone numbers, e-mail address, and if they would utilize a web site for information. To be discussed further at the next meeting.

Next meeting to be held at February 13, 2001 at the home of Joe Dana.

Meeting Minutes from 1-9-01

Meeting Minutes from 1-9-01 meeting
Attendees: Rose Panza (previous president), Matt Bailey (previous secretary),
Larry Hannan (director), Joe Dana (director), Jeff Abbott (director),
Greg Lang (director), Tim Meisner (director)


Previous meeting minutes/items:
No minutes were read, as they were not available from annual meeting.

Election of officers
Larry Hannan was nominated for President, seconded by Joe Dana. Nomination approved.
Greg Lang was nominated and approved as secretary.

Tree Removal
Joe had been talking to Mike Crider of Northwest Property Management. Trees to be removed are ones with ribbons around them. Older, dead/dieing maples on north side of Summers Lane. Joe has received 3 bids ranging from $1200 - $2700 for removal of trees. Previous tree that could have fallen into power lines was cut down by PGE. Joe to get one (1) additional bid from landscaper for cutting and removal of trees. Decision on which bid to accept will be made at future meeting.

Pond/Waterfall
Rose received an e-mail stating that the pond needed cleaning. Leaves, etc. may be clogging motor. Motor is 7-8 years old and may be on its way out anyway. The thought was if we clean the pond we might be able to extend the life of the pump motor. Decision on pond to come at future meeting. Need to get bids and determine cost for cleaning pond.

A question came up concerning the lighting of the pond. Larry stated that the bulbs/lights were all intact but lights were not on or coming on. Joe was going to ask Mike of NW Property Management to ensure the timer was properly set and the lights were coming on.

A question came up regarding the use of de-sudsing chemicals if/when the pond is “soaped”. Board needs to determine if Toby still has suds removal chemicals or if we need to replace these.

Signature Cards
It was determined that new signature cards were needed so specific board members could write checks for services as needed. Larry and Joe to get their signatures on new cards for this purpose.

New Property Management Company
Discussion was held on issue raised at annual board meeting of getting a different property management company. Rose had not been able to make contact with individual who had some suggestions and/or wanted to bid on this. Matt felt we should still get bids from other companies. It was determined that the contract is up in June so board can resolve this issue in the first quarter of 2001.

Amendment to Homeowners Association by-law
A new amendment was discussed and signed by Larry and Greg that brings the association into legal compliance with new laws in regards to collection of fines and monies.

Architectural Concerns
Some homes were building storage sheds or using blue tarps over their fences. Although the issues seem to have been resolved, the board discussed and agreed for the need to bring the Architectural Committee back, especially as many homes are now getting to the point of needing to be repainted or repairs made. It was also discussed and decided that any violations seen should be turned over to NW Property Management for initial contact. This includes concerns over CCR’s for trailers, motor homes, cars left on street for extended times, etc.

Communications
Toby Fewkes has developed the starting of a Highland Summit web page. Joe to make contact with Toby and get him in contact with Greg Lang. Greg and Toby to explore the possibility of making this web site for a homeowner’s communication tool. Must determine cost for hosting, changes, etc.

A communication will be developed by the board to be sent to all homeowners asking for e-mail and other contact information. It is the boards hope that we can electronically send information and/or refer homeowners to the web site for updates and contact information. In this mailer we will explain our intent (and the cost savings associated with it). A standard “directory” should still be produced as an initial starting point. The board could distribute this “mailer” as a group to each house one Saturday to save some budget money.

Security
A discussion was held on the hiring of Pinkerton security (a suggestion from Mike at NW Property) to patrol the area. The cost is $8.50 per patrol with a suggestion of 3 patrols a night. The board determined this was too costly and opposed this option.
Joe to follow up on cost and permits needed for “security” signs as discussed during previous board meetings. Joe will report at next/future meeting his findings.

Landscaping
Current vendor will cost association $1,560.00 per month. Their contract expires in June. We have some additional bids but would like others. Board is deferring this item to future meeting.

Budget
Board decided to hold a specific meeting to discuss this topic only. (See meeting schedule)

Insurance
Larry to check on alternate agent for insurance coverage. Will report back at future meeting.

Board Meeting Schedule
The board decided to meet each month for the first quarter of 2001 as many new members have come on. Additional meeting needs and dates will be determined prior to the end of the quarter. The meeting dates and locations are as follows:

January 24, 2001 Home of Larry Hannan 11333 SE Highland Loop
February 13, 2001 Home of Joe Dana 14285 SE Summit
March 13, 2001 Home of Greg Lang 11292 SE Highland Loop