Tone Estates

Feb. '00 Meeting Minutes

February 2000

* * Below is an excerpt from the actual meeting minutes. All names and addresses have been removed * * *

Tone Estates Homeowners Association Board Meeting
Minutes: 14 February 2000 (Edited for web viewing)

Full board in attendance including representative from management company.

Meeting called to order at 7 p.m. Homeowners attending were invited by the management company to sign up for a copy of the meeting minutes and financials, once approved, to be received by mail. Board member advised the attendees that open discussion will be moved to the end of the meeting, to avoid redundancy with issues to be discussed by the board.

January Minutes:
- Approved by the board with minor corrections to be made.

January Financial Report:
- Few questions asked by the board were clarified by management company.
- Approved by the board.

Management Report:
1. Fence Caps. The new area supervisor has placed missing caps as necessary on the community fences/walls. Two remain unpainted, but should be painted soon.

2. Landscaping. The new landscaper has reviewed association area. He has told the board that his priority will be to assess and repair/replace damaged sprinklers. A board member asked the management company to review the previous payment to our prior landscaping company for services to repair the sprinkler heads, which appear not to have been repaired. Management company agreed to follow up. A board member also noted the ATV tracks on the common area and an appeal was made to the homeowners present to identify the responsible party and/or notify the police when the ATV is seen.
The landscaper will be trimming the trees back immediately to avoid loss later this year during summer storms. He will also trim pampas grass and lantana.
The landscaper is also quite interested in keeping communication lines open and will attend the next board meeting. Board member noted his concerns that the board keep close tabs on the landscape work, since the new landscaper is a smaller outfit and may have difficulty maintaining a large community.
A board member suggested that the landscaper bring ideas to the next meeting to add plantings to areas where previous landscaper has not replaced plants. He is particularly interested in creating a more “lush” appearance. He asked the management company representative to communicate to the landscaper that the board would like estimates for those plantings and, in the alternative, for capping those points.

3. Inspections/Violations.
a) Weeds. Management company representative requested that the board determine whether letters regarding weed violations should be sent less frequently than the current rate, which is every two weeks. Other options would be monthly or quarterly. The board discussed the ramifications, including the resulting time frame between notices and fines for continued violations. Currently, a violator is generally fined on the third notice, which represents a six week time frame. Should the violation notices be sent monthly, the fine would not be assessed for three months. Per the management company representative, the cost of violation notices to the community are $0.73 per letter and 15-20 letters are sent each two weeks on average. Additionally, she stated that four weeks ago, she had to send approximately 40 weed violation notices, however two weeks later, she only had to send three letters. During January and February, four fine assessments were sent for weed violations.
Management company representative also noted that the board can waive or suspend fines as it sees fit, and that violation letters contain a notice that homeowners are invited to attend board meetings to protest fines.
Board member noted that since the board would be holding the landscaper to a certain standard, it should also keep the homeowners to a similar standard.

b) Trash cans. Board member noted that according to the Town of Gilbert, the third full week of the month is “bulk pick up” for the trash collectors, so Homeowners may have cans or large items on the curb for the entire week, since the exact day of the pick up varies. Some members and the management company were not aware of the bulk pick up dates.

c) Basketball Stands. Board member noted that some homeowners continue to have black perimeters and that poles should be similar in color to the house color.

d) Canal Area. Board member requested that the management company review the canal area monthly. Management company representative stated that she has begun this process and that she reviews vendor work monthly also.

e) Walk-arounds. Board member requested a monthly walk of the neighborhood by the board members and follow up session with the management company to verify activity status on particular items. Management company representative requested that the board uses the monthly packet, containing violation reports, to cross check items noted in the walk around. The board requested that the management company send the packets at least one week in advance of meetings.

Board accepted management report.

New Business:
1. We have new landscaper.
2. Realty. Management company has consolidated five parcels into one for tax purposes.
3. Board member noted that near the retention area at the end of Michelle is a wall in need of repair. Management company representative stated that she was aware of it, but that replacing the block was expensive. The board directed her to have the hole patched.
4. Committees. Management company representative notified the board that there had been one volunteer for the architectural committee and one for the web page committee. The board noted that the first newsletter, recently distributed, did not contain contact information for the management company. Management company representative notified the board that the next newsletter is planned for March 1. The board decided to plan a community garage sale on the last Saturday in March. A board member will write the text for the garage sale section of the newsletter and another for the social and block committees. One homeowner, in the audience, agreed to form the web page. It was advised that the web page should, according to the management company’s attorney, contain no minutes, financial reports or references to individuals. It should contain committee activities and forms to download for architectural requests.

Old Business:
1. Signs. Management company representative stated that she had spoken with representatives of the Town of Gilbert and was informed that we are not a priority for signage. Additionally, if the community continues to pursue the issue after the Town has responded officially in a negative manner, it will require letters from Homeowners to be sent to the Town.
2. Lighting in common area. No quotes or inquiries have yet been made.
3. Basketball hoop. No progress.
4. Rules and Regulations Booklet. Would be mailed along with the March newsletter.
5. Discussion of definition of “Commercial Vehicle”. Management company had been advised that placards, advertising and/or equipment on a vehicle constitute a “commercial vehicle” for purposes of HOA. However, it is incumbent upon the board to define the term for each particular HOA, within the size and weight guidelines of the CC&Rs.

Architectural Petitions:
- Four architectural petitions were reviewed by the board.

Board Discussion:
1. Board member has obtained quotes for “No Soliciting” signs for the entrances to the community. An 18” x 24” sign would be $40 and 12” x 18” sign would be $26. The signs would be metal, similar to speed limit signs.
2. Realtor signs. A board member questioned whether there was a CC&R time limit to Open House and other realty signs. Management company representative replied that there was not a time limit.
3. Board member questioned whether the ditch beside the canal was to be changed at all. Management company representative replied that it belongs to SRP. Board member will raise the issue of debris in the ditch with the Gilbert town planner in their meeting next week.

Open Discussion:
1. Resident concerned about appropriateness of weed notices, questioned management company’s inspection of lots. Wants lights on “Tone Estate” entrance signs.
2. Resident concerned about animal droppings and Parvo risks, other health issues associated with owners not cleaning up after dogs. (Management company noted that a message will be placed in the next newsletter and that the landscaper will clean some droppings). Thinks that commercial vehicles definition should include realtor cars.
3. Resident wants dogs to use only their yards for droppings and disallow droppings in common area for sanitation concerns.
4. Resident questioned intent of CC&Rs with regard to commercial vehicles. Thinks HOA should not come up with a definition of commercial vehicles.
5. Resident doesn’t want community to post “no soliciting” signs. Wants to balance concerns of the common area with private residents.
6. Resident congratulated the board on a “great job tonight”.
7. Resident thinks that the board should not identify consequences of not submitting architectural change requests. Thinks that “no soliciting” sign is a bad idea, that salespeople should be allowed to earn a livelihood.
8. Resident wants board to bring a homeowner on the walk arounds.

Next meeting date: March 13, 2000 at Southeast Regional Library 7pm.

Meeting adjourned.