ANNUAL HOA MEETING MINUTES
Saturday, July 8, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.
Meeting held in clubhouse.
Meeting called to order at 4:19 by Mike Riach, President.
Roll Call:
Board members present: Mike Riach-President, Jennifer Johnson-Secretary, Laura Deland-VP, Colleen Daleabout-Treasurer, Chris Bradley-Director,
Absent: Taran White and Sydney McNeal-Directors
Quorum established
Proof of Notice affirmed
Approval of 2022 annual meeting Minutes
Copies of minutes were passed out. They are also posted on the website. Wayne Brown (106) made a motion to approve the minutes. Second by Debra Lawrence (249)
Introduction of new manager, Josh Wikel
Mike gave a brief speech about the qualities and the work done by Scott over the past 3 Years and all the value he brought to the owners and the property. Mike acknowledged that our new manager, Josh, has taken over during the hardest time of the year.
MANAGER’S REPORT
*Gave a shout out to Scott
*Pressure washing, gutters and window washing has been mostly completed
*Ting is installing cameras around the pools, BBQs and courts in the next week or two
*All the missing bumpers on the docks were replaced/repaired this spring. None of the lights on the docks are working and will have to be fixed or replaced
*Water lines to the docks will be installed this month
*Pools opened Memorial weekend. The heater on the shallow pool had to be replaced and the filter pump on the other pool had to be replaced. We had a spare in inventory. Some of the tiles came off during the winter and had to be reinstalled. Two new vacuum/cleaners had to be purchased (one for each pool) at a cost of $1100. These run automatically all night which saves hours of labor every morning. They will save about $800/month in labor costs.
*Lawns-many hours were spent this spring on repairing broken sprinkler heads and lines, control boxes etc. Senske is doing a lawn treatment every 6 weeks. Panhandle lawn and mowing is handling the mowing this summer. 4 trailer loads of dead, dying landscape debris was removed during the spring. Many of the drip lines in flower beds had deteriorated beyond use and had to be replaced.
*Time is being spent in the office learning all the accounting and software applications used in running the complex.
(Mike gave a shout out to homeowner Peggy for stepping up to help do the daily chemical treatments of the pools this summer. She spends an hour to an hour and a half to handle both pools. In years past it would take 3-4 hours to do that and the cleaning/skimming. The cleaning is now handled by the automatic cleaners)
TREASURERS REPORT-COLLEEN DALEABOUT
Savings account $261,705
Operating account $60,290
Financials for 2022 are posted on the website: condosatsandpoint.com.
We switched banks from Columbia to STCU in 2023. Much better fees and better customer service. We have 2 signers on the account at all times so we have 2 sets of eyes on the books.
Josh will handle the deposits. We signed up with a payroll service.
Maryann will stay on with us to oversee the finances. We will hire a local accountant to handle our taxes.
Questions: Do we have a current financial statement showing where we are for the year?
Answer: Yes. It is posted on the website. Mike explained that the quarterly reports always look like we are over budget through the end of the second quarter due to a majority of costs for running the complex showing up during the summer. By the time we reach the end of the year we always move back to being balanced. In addition, we always are working towards growing our reserve funds. Our goal is to hit $300,000. We’ve gotten close and then gotten hit with an unexpected expense which has reduced the balance. We then look for funds to go back into it. So it is a bit of a dance.
There was a question about changing our fiscal year to July to July. We can add that as a by-law change and have members vote on it.
Motion and second to approve the budget as posted on the website. Unanimously approved by members.
REPORT OF COMMITTEES:
*Air Conditioning-For many years we have operated under the belief that ac units on the exterior of the buildings were prohibited by the by-laws. This year Mike noticed that there was a clause in the document that allowed for placement of things on the exterior of the buildings with the approval of the board. We asked our attorney to verify that the board had the authority to do just that. He said yes. The board decided that, since ac units on the exterior of the buildings was such a contentious subject that we would ask the owners for their input through an “advisory” vote as to whether or not the majority wanted us to pursue an exterior solution to AC’s. The majority said yes. A committee was formed in august 2022 to examine all possible locations and types of units with guiding criteria around appearance, noise and overall impact. The committee is made up of Ted Danbury, Don Bell, and Sydney McNeal. Lots of hours have been devoted to looking at every possible scenario as well as looking at equipment and meeting with suppliers/installers. Scott and Josh put up a mock cover to show what the camouflage over the units would look like. Homeowners said yes. Ted did a detailed presentation at the annual meeting. There will be approximately a $500 application fee for the upstairs units that will pay for the exterior camouflage, painting of hide lines, installing the electrical outlet for emergency shutoff etc. The downstairs units will be mounted closer to the under area of the deck or right in front of the deck. More on that after an upper and a lower prototype is installed so we can discover if there is something we haven’t considered.
*Marina-The original leases are coming to an end in 2025. The owners who paid to install the slips received a set number of years of use in exchange for paying the building costs. They have a first right of refusal to keep the slip at the end of the original lease. The committee’s job was to determine a reasonable and fair cost of rent after the lease ran out. They have settled on $500/year. The committee recommended keeping the lease money separate for the ongoing maintenance, repair, improvements and insurance of the docks.
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS:
2 board positions are open.
Candidates are Mike Riach, Don Bell and Bob Newkirk. Jennifer Johnson read the bios for Don and Bob
*Prior to voting Jennifer made some comments about the responsibilities of the board and the members of the HOA. She stated that the board is primarily tasked with risk management and maintaining and growing the value of the complex. All decisions the board makes should be measured against those 2 items. Board decisions should also reflect what is best for the majority of owners rather than personal interests. In recent years, homeowners have become quick at threatening to sue the board or the HOA when they are not getting what they personally want. This raises a couple of problems. 1). When a homeowner sues the HOA it is important to realize that they ARE THE HOA. So they are suing their friends, their neighbors and themselves. 2). And when there is a lawsuit, all owners have to pay increased dues to cover that. We all live in a community of shared walls, amenities and grounds. Conversations rather than threats can go a long way to solving differences. And in choosing to live in a condominium community, there is going to have to be much give and take. Unlike our private, stand alone homes where we each have autonomy in making decisions for our property, we don’t have that same luxury in a condo complex.
So please get to know your neighbors, learn what is important to them and how they might govern if elected to the board, and then vote with knowledge each year.
NEW BUSINESS:
*By-law changes-Our attorney has said that if we draft all the by-law changes at once, we can present them to the homeowners electronically for an extended period of time (he suggested 60 days-that is not law) to get enough of the homeowners to respond to pass the changes. For example, the board would like the by-laws to allow for electronic meetings and voting during an electronic meeting. By law changes require a super majority of 66 2/3 to pass a change.
*Storage units-Mike reviewed options for the storage units. If they are on permanent foundations, the city will require permits and have a lot of restrictions which will increase the cost. If we build them in groups of 3 with a gravel foundations (not 18 inches of cement) they are considered “mobile” structures with different rules. When we have firm options we will bring it to the owners for a decision.
There was a lengthy discussion around the fairness of an owner being able to assign first right of refusal for an existing storage unit to a new owner when a condo sells. No resolution came out of the discussion.
*Decks-we’ve had some upper unit decks leak into the lower units. Our attorney and insurance agent have been going through the by-laws to determine who is responsible for what. Our by-laws are ambiguous and are going to require some changes that make them ultra clear.
We sought out a building envelope specialist who would examine all the buildings, create a spreadsheet that put everything in the complex on a replacement/repair schedule and identify areas that might create problems down the road. The cost of that was huge so that idea has been shelved.
Alternatively, we have sought out a contractor (Chris Dredge of Dredge construction) to inspect decks, inspect the foundation for shifting/sagging or frost heaving, drainage around the property etc. We also decided to hire an engineer to help assess factors that contribute to problems with the decks that might involve the foundation or structural factors. We will also have the railings inspected. SOME OF THE RAILINGS WERE INSTALLED WITH ONLY A 1 INCH LAG SCREW. ALL OWNERS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS AND NOT PLACE HEAVEY OBJECTS AGAINST THE RAILINGS UNTIL THIS CAN BE ADDRESSED.
Summary: the board is looking at solutions to permanently fix the deck issues. If there is significant water damage and rot, there will be more work on some decks than others. The inspections and costs will be unit by unit. At the time of this meeting, there are still unknown factors that may influence our decisions as we move forward with this project. We will do our best to post updates on the website and communicate with owners via mailchimp (email). This is going to be a bit of a longer term project. Per the by-laws, any work done on limited common areas will be billed back to the homeowner. We are also looking at the possibility of French drains to move water away from the buildings. As we make discoveries, homeowners will receive updates.
*Dog Area:
In 2020 the board approved fencing the designated dog area. Due to increased costs that project was pushed off until the price became more reasonable. It will be an off leash area as long as each owner’s dog is congenial and gets along with the other dogs while in the dog area.
Mike put a request to the homeowners that we all accept responsibility for speaking up when there is a known pet violation.
*Potential By-Law Changes:
Online meetings and online voting
Allow for the first meeting of the new board each July to take place within 2 weeks of the annual meeting
Possible term limits for board meetings
Clarify ownership on limited common areas
Re-write the involvement of the board in rentals and leases of individual units
Add the ability to make decisions on use of common ground for improvements such as firepits and other amenities that a majority of owners may like to have
OPEN FORUM:
*Create a list of owners who would like to volunteer around the property periodically. We all pay dues for things but this is one way to help manage costs and dues increases.
*Discussion about cameras on the boat docks and what to do about people who park in boat slips that aren’t theirs.
Meeting adjourned @6:45pm.
Pizza for those who would like to stay.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Johnson Secretary