Minutes of BOD Meeting - May 2008

Topics

Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 6:30pm

Adoption of Agenda

Approval of Previous Minutes:
Minutes from the prior meeting were read and two small amendments made:
1. Delete section “The EPB committee consists of Art, Debbie and Pete” (as this has not been officially decided) and
2. Correct the following sentence: “The BOD has NOT decided on what will be done with the two extra spaces in our lot for now.”

Report of Officers:
· President Report: Art noted that board members should send agenda items for meetings to Mathias ahead of each meeting.
· Treasurer Report: Steve indicated that one household has not yet paid 4Q’07 dues though they have paid 1Q’08 dues. Steve will pursue getting the late payment from the one household.


Report of Standing Committees:

ICC Committee:

(1) ICC – Receipt of sale transfer funds:
Art brought up the issue of the $102,000 ICC check. The status is as follows: On April 18, the county clerk cut and mailed the check for $102,000, made out to SGSTA, to an old address they had on file (despite the address having been updated with them several times to PO Box 5775): c/o Harry Adkins, 75xx Weatherby Drive. Numerous attempts have been made to locate the check, and to no success. Alex spoke with both Patrick and Rachel Showalter, current residents of 75xx, and they have not seen it. Art went to the county clerk’s office and spoke several times with a Kimberly Horn in the finance office there, who says the check has not been cashed. It was agreed that Alex will take on responsibility of chasing the check down. Jean suggested involving councilmember Phil Andrews as one possibility. Greg Smith noted that the wrong house was knocked down for ICC construction in Cashell Estates last week, and urged that any problems be well documented.

Alex provided an update on the tax situation regarding the ICC check, should we ever manage to get hold of it. She spoke with a tax lawyer in the office of Lerch Early and Associates, who recommended using an accountant familiar with HOAs. Alex called two of these and got price quotes for having an accountant do our taxes this year. The first firm, in Virginia, charges $500, and the second, in Maryland, charges $400. Alex is getting paperwork from the latter (Mohn and Allen) should we wish to hire them. Mathias questioned whether we really needed an accountant and whether a tax attorney would be more appropriate; Alex will look into this.

(2) ICC – Sound Barriers:
Mathias questioned the status of a sound barrier for the ICC. Alex has not been able to get an answer from the SHA as to whether enough residents have voted for one in our neighborhood or not. Steve and others who attended a SHA meeting on the matter were unable to shed light on it. Alex will check with SHA on this.

(3) ICC – Federal Appeals:
Greg noted that stoptheicc.org will go live in about ten days with resources and more information. Interested constituents are meeting with Rep. Chris Van Hollen next Monday to discuss the ICC. Greg asked the BOD for money to help support a federal appeal of the lawsuit to delay the ICC. No decision was taken.


EPB
· Common Area Tree Pruning:

Steve coordinated walk-thru of property with Capitol City to get estimate for pruning of mature common area trees and to identify trees that required pruning and maintenance. Art, Pete, Debbie, Steve and Bart (from Capitol) participated in this walk-thru. Approximately 30 of the 40 trees on our property required pruning and were identified to Capitol during this walk-thru. Estimate received from Capitol was $2200 to perform this work which did include the use of a chipper for the tree limbs. BOD has authorized the spending of $2200 (to be paid from Reserve Fund) for tree trimming work to be performed this year, but it was agreed that a second estimate needed to be obtained. Debbie will contact Schifflett Tree Service for 2nd estimate.

NOTE: Amount of money to be removed from Reserve Fund to pay for this work will need to be finalized since unused portion of our 3 ‘minor’ tree trimmings can be applied towards this task. Steve will contact Capitol to see what amount of money is left over from this year’s contract.

· Mowing of individual lots; Art will speak with the current list of neighbors who have not mowed their lawns in recent weeks.
· Debbie is working with County representatives to see if there is anything that can be done to reduce the amount of debris that comes out of storm drain located behind 75xx.
· Debbie is working with County representatives to get streetlight at intersection of Berclair and Weatherby in working order.
· Greg & Melissa have been contacted and they will shortly be turning over EPB records to Art.

Unfinished Business:
· Bonding of officers with financial responsibilities (not discussed; tabled for future meeting)

New Business:
· None

Announcements:
· None

Other items:
· Discussion ensued on Luis Sandoval, who had been elected secretary but has not been able to attend any board meetings. The BOD decided to replace Luis with Debbie Edgerly as secretary, effective immediately, and let Luis know he is welcome to attend board meetings any time in a non-secretarial capacity.
· Received letter from Roth residence (75xx) requesting approval for installation of solar attic fan. Request acknowledged and approved.

Future Discussion Items:

· EPB Spring 2008 Walk-thru
· Steve has obtained 3 estimates for replacing all the fences in our community; the best estimate was $46k, which we can discuss at next meeting if time allows.

Action Items:

· Send letter to Luis Sandoval regarding secretary position
· Send letter to Mathias Roth regarding approval for installation of solar attic fan
· 75xx is under contract and the paperwork needs to be sent to Real Estate Agent, specifically the EPB violations
· Debbie to call Schifflett Tree Service to arrange time to get 2nd estimate on tree trimming work. Debbie to work with Art, Steve and Pete to coordinate schedules to have one or more of individuals participate in walk-thru.
· Art will host the next Board meeting on June 25th.
Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 7:45pm

Minutes of BOD Meeting - April 2008

Overview:

The SGSTA Board of Directors for 2008 met to discuss items brought up at the last meeting, which was held in March. In addition to those items the following topics were covered: Board member roles/responsibilities, HOA actions for current housing sales, Environmental Protection Board status and plans, ICC Update, Action items for the next meeting.


2008 Board Members:

The following individuals have volunteered to serve on the SGSTA BOD for 2008: Arthur Carter, Steven Edgar, Mathias Roth, Luis Sandoval. Debbie and Alex will be non-voting board members and will assist with committees or wherever needed.

Topics

Adoption of Agenda

Approval of Previous Minutes
· The minutes should reflect Alex and Debbie have volunteered to assist the board. Alex will continue to serve as the ICC point of contact.
· Alex’s ICC and Parking update via email was read into the minutes
· Art authorized that Alex sign the contract w/Stronghold Towing
· The EPB committee consists of Art, Debbie, and Pete

Report of Officers
· Art would like to discuss roles/duties of officers at the next meeting
· The agenda will no longer consist of reports from each BOD member unless something specific to address
· The president should be notified of all issues prior to discussion at BOD meetings
· The board still would like to acquire the list put together by the EPB in December
· Mathias suggested a separate informal meeting on weekends for BOD members

Report of Standing Committees
· Ornamental trees in the neighborhood need to be trimmed due to safety issue
· Tree was removed in front of 75xx and replaced with a Yoshino Cherry Tree
· A follow-up discussion on whether or not we should hire an accountant took place.

Unfinished Business
· The ICC check was sent to Harry Adkins at 75xx who no longer resides. Art will follow-up.

New Business
· The BOD has decided on what will be done with the 2 extra spaces in our lot for now


Announcements
· Mathias asked about the ICC progress what was used as justification for additional money
· EPB issues for 75xx need to be addressed prior to the sale
· The tenants in 75xx have moved out


Other items:

Resident concerns
· What is to be done for residents that do not mow lawns?
· The topic of bonding was raised. The officers handling the money will need to be bonded.
· It is appreciated if the Tow Truck company is a little more considerate of noise during hours where residents are asleep


Action Items:

· 75xx is under contract and the paperwork needs to be sent to Real Estate Agent, specifically the EPB violations
· Steve will call Capitol on getting estimate for neighborhood tree trimming
· Jean will keep dialogue open with accountant for specific questions about the SGSTA situation
· Mathias will host the next Board meeting on May 28