A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Williamsburg Settlement Maintenance Association, Inc. was held on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at the Williamsburg Settlement clubhouse, 1602 Hoyt, Katy, Texas 77449.
ATTENDANCE
Directors in attendance were Dave Ellis, Don McClelland, Linda Moore, Martin Spears, Mark Molsberry, Floyd Ball and Lance Gordon. Also in attendance, representing Planned Community Management, Inc. (PCMI), was Dolores Sue.
A quorum being established, the meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m.
MINUTES
The Board reviewed the minutes of the April 20, 2010 meeting. A motion to accept the minutes was made, seconded and unanimously approved. It was unanimously agreed to place the draft of these and future minutes on the web site to reduce the time to get the information discussed out to our residents.
Homeowner Concerns
The Board of Directors reviewed an anonymous letter received by PCMI. The Board would have appreciated a name being on the letter so they could discuss the concerns with that resident.
There were five (5) homeowners present. A resident was concerned about his neighbor having six (6) or seven (7) dogs and the noise caused by their barking. The Board invited the resident to visit with them separately to discuss this issue.
Resignation of Board Member
At this time Mark Molsberry turned in his resignation from the Board of Directors. The Board accepted his resignation and thanked him for his contribution to the Association.
Filling Vacancy on Board
Previously Walter Smith had shown an interest in serving on the Board and has attended Board Meetings. He also has served on the Board of Directors in the past. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved to ask Walter Smith to serve the remaining term of Mark Molsberry which will expire in 2012.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITES
Officers
The Board unanimously agreed that the officers for the next 12 months will be as follows:
Lance Gordon – President
Don McClelland – Vice President
Dave Ellis – Secretary/Treasurer
Assignments of responsibilities
Walter (Walt) Smith – Architectural Review Chairperson
Linda Moore – Constable Liaison, Clubhouse Rentals, Deed Restrictions
Dave Ellis – Communications (Website and Newsletter), Electrical Repairs and Keys
Lance Gordon and Don McClelland – Perimeter fence maintenance, tennis court maintenance, landscaping and flags.
Martin Spears – Clubhouse and pool maintenance.
Sub Committees
Holiday Decoration and Yard of the Month – Leta Whisenhunt volunteered to chair this committee
Playground upgrade – Linda Moore, Lance Gordon and Floyd Ball
Possible alternative to current patrol services – Martin Spears, Don McClelland and Floyd Ball
Records Retention – Floyd Ball, Dave Ellis and Don McClelland
It was agreed by the Board that a notice will be posted on the web page and in the newsletter that asks for volunteers for various committees.
CONSTABLE REPORT
Linda Moore, constable liaison, presented the constable report as of January, 2010.
FINANCIAL AND DELINQUENCY SUMMARY
Dave Ellis presented the financials as of April 30, 2010. The money in the bank totaled $599,785.57. This includes checking, money market accounts and CD’s and is the money to cover both operating expenses and the necessary reserve to fund maintenance and replacement of the Association’s capital assets. A Reserve account CD will mature on June 2 and Dave has been in discussion with ICON bank as to the best return available on this money for the next 12 months. The bank has recommended opening a savings account as this is currently providing a return of 1.51%, which is better than the CD rates and the money can be withdrawn at any time. The Board therefore approved opening a basic savings account with ICON bank, and to also use this as a temporary repository for some additional Reserve funds which are currently with Sterling bank at an extremely low interest rate.
As of April 30, 2010 delinquencies totaled $49,920.93
OLD BUSINESS
Graffitti Shield - Mark Molsberry had purchased and applied a graffiti shield to all entrance monuments and documented the product and application procedure for future use. There is some of the shield product left to be used for future needs as they may arise. The Board extended a thank you to Mark for doing a tremendous job of applying this product.
Playground Upgrade - The new subcommittee will meet and have something to present to the Board in the next thirty to sixty days.
Pool Notice Board - Martin Spears will take over the task to review the pool rules notice board and evaluate and present suggested revisions at the next Board meeting. The minimum age at which a child can attend the pool unaccompanied by an adult will change from ten (10) years old to eleven (11) years old and a demonstrated ability to swim a length of the pool.
Ratify Decision Made For New Electrical Provider - The contract with Spark Energy expired between meetings. The Board voted by e-mail to change providers to Glacial Energy, the company that is currently providing electricity for our street lights. While the Glacial Energy product is at a variable rate, the anticipated savings over the alternative fixed price contracts are such as to justify the slight risk involved. The Board unanimously approved the change in supplier.
Trash/Recycling - The Board reviewed two proposals for trash pick up. The Board unanimously decided on WCA for a savings of $19,339. It was noted WCA will continue to provide the recycling service as it is now. However, if homeowners want to use larger 48 gallon wheeled recycle bins they will be given the opportunity to purchase these at $48.00 each. WCA will be sending a flyer to all residences summarizing the trash and recycling service and including an expanded list of materials that will be accepted for recycling.
Traffic Light - A resident requested the Board explore the possibility of having a traffic light placed at the intersection of Earl of Dunmore and Mason Road. The Board instructed PCMI to take this up with the appropriate County officials.
NEW BUSINESS
Community Events - Martin Spears agreed to prepare a proposal for the Board’s hosting of a community event to help promote good relations within our community. He will prepare a write up for publication on the web site soliciting volunteer help. This event may be held on July 4th.
Possible Sponsorship of Swim Team - The Board unanimously agreed to contribute a $125.00 sponsorship for the 2011 swim team.
Yard of the Month - Leta Whisenhunt volunteered to perform the duties of selecting a yard of the month.
Set Up Alternative Patrol Committee - Martin Spears will lead a subcommittee to review possible alternatives to our current patrol services and report back at the June Board Meeting.
Records Retention - Floyd Ball will lead an effort to review all storage records and bring the Association back into compliance with the documentation retention policy of Williamsburg Settlement. He will be assisted in this by Dave Ellis and Don McClelland.
Procedure for Escalation of Old Business Items - The Board discussed this and felt that the use of subcommittees, as opposed to individuals, would be a big help in ensuring that assigned action items get addressed within a reasonable time period. However, the list of outstanding action items maintained by PCMI will be monitored and any items whose completion dates slip more than 60 days will be reviewed for possible reassignment.
Signs for Board Meetings - It was agreed that Floyd Ball will purchase and be reimbursed for signs to place at the entry announcing the monthly Board Meetings.
Clubhouse Needs - The Board discussed that the new curtains which have been purchased for the attic windows by Linda Moore now need to be installed. Martin Spears volunteered to do this.
Linda also informed the Board that the clubhouse has green stains at the front around the windows and the gutters need cleaning. Martin Spears, who now has responsibility for clubhouse maintenance, volunteered to perform these tasks with help from other Board members as needed.
Insurance - The Board reviewed the HRH proposal for renewal of the insurance policies for Williamsburg Settlement for the coming year. The new premium total is $13,185.00, which is an increase of $316.00. The Board unanimously agreed to accept the renewal of the current insurance policies.
RESIDENTS' QUESTIONS -
A resident asked about the makeup of the Architectural review Committee. The Board explained that there is one person who reviews the applications and who brings to the full Board any contentious requests that are not addressed in the Architectural Guidelines.
Also, the resident asked about deed restriction enforcement and felt deed restrictions were not being enforced astringently enough.
The Board thanked the resident present for attending the meeting and adjourned the open forum to discuss deed restrictions and collections.
ADJOURNEMENT TO EXECUTIVE SESSION
Deed Restrictions were discussed at this time and the disposition of same. There were one hundred thirty two (132) violations noted on the May inspection report.
With no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm. The next meeting will be June 15, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at the community clubhouse.
