November 10, 2020
President’s Report
I would like to thank everyone for attending tonight, and a very huge thank you to everyone that served on the Board Of Directors and served our community this past year; ACC Committee Members, Volunteers who helped with the 2 Walk-Arounds, Volunteers who helped send Letters, Volunteers for the Sign-in Table, Volunteers who finished our website, previous BOD & ACC members who continue to be available to help, a volunteer who filled out a form from our website saying he is “available to help with whatever we need whenever we need it” …. We truly have a community filled with many wonderful people who are willing to serve.
Changes:
Though a resident in ELE for 20+ years, I first came on to the BOD August 2019 in the position of maintenance. As you were made aware at last year’s annual meeting, in just a couple of months, many projects were taken on and completed. At our 2019 annual meeting, Jon Reyneart and I were voted on to the board, and Jon took over the area of maintenance and I stepped in to the role of Treasurer. In the beginning of March 2020, Karen Szymanski, our former president, resigned (thank you to Karen for her service). We did not send out letters to notify the community, but used our Community board and later, our website, to provide current contact information. With Covid-19, and the 14 day lockdown, we had to cancel our meeting scheduled for the end of March, and we were not able to have BOD meetings, until the end of May, we felt very much in a limbo state --- navigating as never before, as I am sure many of you also felt this way also. At the end of May, Joan Hughes (who had originally submitted her name at our 2019 annual meeting to be on the BOD) came onto our BOD as Treasurer and I moved into the position of President. At the end of June, Jon Reyneart resigned(thank you to Jon for his service). In August, Elizabeth Healy joined our BOD and took on the role as our maintenance overseerer. All of our BOD members have their required certifications and some of us continue to obtain Continuing Education Credits by attending webinars for HOA board members.
Despite this year being met with many changes and challenges, we have much that was accomplished. The web site was completed (thank you to David Fritz and Bryan – more from Bryan during ACC presentation), the trees at the entry were trimmed, sprinkler repairs were made, the front entry monument lights were fixed to operate uniformly, the sidewalks were ground (though there was discussion about the outcome of some of the grinds, it did keep us from having such significant trip hazards), the berm along ERD was cleaned out, and we are planning on plantings to enhance the barrier on the berm between the backyards of the homes and ERD, 2 walk-arounds were conducted (from the street/sidewalks) (resulting in many clean sidewalks and drives), the curbing at the front entry was pressure cleaned (for FREE), Arnold replaced/donated the flag at the entry ......
Covid-19 has brought new awareness to our BOD and we found it prudent to have our attorney prepare Consents for Electronic Notice of Meetings and Electronic Voting (which I will discuss under New Business), as well as an Estoppel Certificate that meets with the 2017 legislative changes. These items were only a fraction of our attorney’s fees this year, they are important measures to address and should save us money in future years to come on copies and postage.
We have had a fantastic response from our homeowners who from time to time need to have trucks/boats parked temporarily outside of their garages for a specified time, giving notice to a board member so that all BOD members are notified and it is recorded (in case we have a homeowner question compliance). Thank you for this!!!
Very sadly, there were 2 homeowners who had small dogs killed by delivery vehicles this year. If at all possible, please make every effort to park vehicles in your driveway so the roads are clearly visible, please obey our speed limit, and kindly ask delivery drivers who you may see speeding to obey our speed limit.
Challenges:
As a Board, we faced the continued challenge of addressing issues of non-compliance to our governing documents. A couple of issues were on-going, since well before our 2019 annual meeting last year. As a BOD, we had to see those through until they were resolved. Unfortunately, we did incur attorney expenses to get them resolved; fortunately, they were resolved. We faced the challenge of operating through a pandemic situation. With resignations, we faced the challenge of filling the roles of the BOD, which I feel we have navigated very well. I truly enjoy these people on our current BOD. They are dedicated to serving our community and keeping our community looking its best, they have a desire to meet needs and show grace when a homeowner encounters difficult/unexpected circumstances, they are available, they bring diverse ideas and skill sets to contribute, and are truly a pleasure to work with!
The BOD was questioned/challenged about the legality of the ACC Request form (that the ACC has been using for years), the BOD received numerous emails challenging/questioning ACC guidelines, and other items from the governing documents of our community --- these legal questions/challenges had to be turned over to the attorney, continuing to increase the amount of legal fees to the ELE HOA budget. We are a board of volunteers, and when legal challenges arise, they must be turned over to the attorney.
Rather than doing a Special Assessment to pay for legal fees, we (the current BOD) were able to cut expenses in other areas, so as to cover the fees this year, without any additional cost to all the homeowners.
I believe that for the first time in the 25 years of our community, the BOD received a records request, requesting the last 7 years of records, (everything from plans, permits, governing documents, rules, minutes of all BOD meetings for the last 7 years, roster of all members and their mailing addresses, insurance policies covering the last 7 years, current contracts to which the association is a party, all financial and accounting records, tax returns, financial statements and reports, bank statements for the last 7 years, any other written record, as well as all ACC Requests and Minutes of all ACC meetings for the last 5 years.)
A big thank you, again, to our current BOD members, as well as previous BOD & ACC members (James Venglar, Hy Zimmerman, Diane DeGuzman), for their help in compiling the requested documents within the allotted 10 day time frame!!!
It was less costly to purchase an inexpensive laptop to make many of the records that are available online or electronically available for review, than it was to print hundreds of pages, so we did make that purchase. Since our community does not have a common office, clubhouse, or meeting space, the records were made available at our attorney’s office.
As we look forward to 2021, the planning of projects coming our way, reviewing the current vendors and the costs associated with each, the need to obtain new bids for services and get expert recommendations for maintenance issues, and as our BOD reviewed the attorney’s fees incurred this year, and the amount of time involved in upholding the CC&R and governing documents, we have investigated several property management companies, and have chosen to work with Sentry PMC for the 2021 fiscal year. The BOD was provided with dozens of references, and I have spoken to board members from 4 very similar type/structured single-family home communities, who all have great things to say about Sentry. Our BOD is very much looking forward to a partnership with them.
A lot of time and dedication is involved in being on the Board. Our Board does not make “their own policies” but we are to uphold and enforce the Covenants & Restrictions and By-Laws that have been in place since our community began. The governing documents determine our community rules, not the BOD, which means we don’t rely on individual or personal taste. Living in a deed restricted community, means you have rules and regulations pertaining to the use of land and the appearance of the neighborhood. The top reason to live in a deed restricted community, where the goal is to promote a fluid look throughout a neighborhood … is, that it helps maintain home values. (Google it J)
Most of us like the stability provided by an HOA, which is why we chose to buy our home in a deed restricted community. Some, might rather risk getting a neighbor that hoards a lot of junk in their front yard, instead of having to deal with painting their house a specific color. Here are a few pictures of a local community just a few miles away, that is not a deed restricted community and does not have a HOA. (pics on screen) This looks drastically different from our community --- ours has rules, regulations, guidelines, all of which keep our community looking cohesive and beautiful! I thank every homeowner who does such a great job in upholding our Covenants & Restrictions and keeping their properties looking so nice, as this adds value to everyone’s property.
I look forward to continuing to serve our community throughout 2021.
Sincerely,
Elicia Kellenberger