28 Jul 2008
Board & Officer Meeting
Date: July 28, 2008
Location: Beth Lintz’s home
Start Time: 7:07 PM
End Time: 8:30 PM
Attendees: Beth Lintz, Debbie Gordon, Elizabeth Ehret, Pam Johnson, Mike Schlegler, Officer Kane (CPD 2nd Shift).
Safety & Block Watch: Debbie Gordon has maintained contact with Officer Kane and our liaison, Officer Paulus and invited Officer Kane to our meeting to discuss Safety concerns in our subdivision. Crime is up in our development as well as surrounding developments. Officer Paulus gave Debbie Gordon’s name to another HOA in our area to discuss crime incidents and steps we are all taking to deter crime.
Several homeowners and residents have reported vandalism and break-ins to the HOA via the website feedback form, via email to specific Board or Officers, via phone and face-to-face reports. There were several car break-ins since our last HOA meeting April 28, including several cars on Bluffton Court, Kellerman Court and Canaday Court. Onaway Court also reported a home invasion (no one was hurt). There was a fire in the park and fire department was called. It was also discovered that there were numerous paint ball spots on the trees in the wooded area of the park (from paint ball guns) and there was electronic equipment found which had been destroyed. We would encourage every resident who drives by the park or lives near the park to report any suspicious activity to CPD and the HOA.
Some residents indicated they did not file police reports possibly due to insurance but the crime is not reported to any insurance companies by the police. The CPD and HOA encourage everyone to call CPD and report any and all crime immediately to the CPD. When it is reported only to the HOA, sometimes days or weeks following an incident, the HOA reports to the CPD but they are not capturing this data in a timely manner and cannot keep accurate statistics and do not know where to focus their efforts. Debbie will contact the SRB (Strategic Response Bureau) to obtain crime statistic trends.
TrabueWoods Subdivision located in 15th Precinct. CPD phone number (non-emergency) is 645-4545.
Officer Kane patrols our streets on 2nd Shift. Communication is ongoing between Officer Paulus and the patrol men and women on all shifts, however, if there is a concern during a specific time of day we can contact Officer Paulus and/or the patrol man or woman on the specific shift. Contact Debbie Gordon or complete a Feedback form.
Call City of Columbus CPD for violations on the city streets and sidewalks & noise complaints.
CPD has been issuing speeding tickets more frequently throughout the neighborhood. Residential speed limit is 25 mph. Not only is speeding unsafe to our residents, it can be costly. Officer Kane indicated the following requirements and fines: Parked cars must be 5 feet away from a driveway (he was not certain what the fine amount is); park 10 feet from a fire hydrant ($16 fine); Blocking a sidewalk is a $40 fine. Remember the sidewalk is city property. For a list of city code violations see the city website at www.311.columbus.gov. Street congestion is an ongoing concern with cars and trucks parking on both sides of the narrow residential streets. Residents are encouraged to park in their driveways or on one side of these narrower streets to allow for less obstructed movement of traffic.
Bicycles: the city is pursuing a change to the law (current law does not permit bicycles on the sidewalks). The CPD advocates this change and feels children are safer on the sidewalks than on the streets. Also, there were bicycles left in the park for over a week. Notification was put on our website but when no one claimed the bicycles, Beth called CPD and Officer Kane had a unit pick up the bicycles.
Curfew: as reported in the May Newsletter, minors under 13 years must be off the streets 1-hour after sunset to 4:30 AM and minors 13-17 years old must be off the streets by midnight to 4:30 AM.
Turn On Your Lights! A well lit area deters crime. Watch out for your neighbors. Be aware of who ‘belongs’ in your area. Kellerman Court and Sherwill Road residents have shared their phone numbers and have reported several suspicious cars and individuals who do not ‘belong’ on our street to CPD. CPD has followed up on our concerns. We are watching each other’s homes when we know our neighbors are away. We are watching out for each other! Many other streets are reporting that they are also paying more attention and reporting suspicious or unusual activity to each other, the CPD and the HOA. This is our community and we are responsible for reporting suspicious activity to deter crime.
Close Garage Doors! Lock your windows and doors. If you are in the back yard, keep the front of your home locked up. It takes only moments for an intruder to enter your house or garage. Officer Kane reports that he consistently sees open garage doors throughout the neighborhood.
Homes For Sale & Vacancies: no current data. The majority of our time has been spent on activities surrounding the collection of HOA dues.
Welcome Wagon: We continue to deliver welcome wagon baskets and have 7 to deliver. We have 3 ready to go and will deliver the other 4 when they are made. This has allowed us to obtain new homeowner information for the HOA records. These names are then checked on Joseph Testa website. It has been suggested that something be provided to renters who move into the neighborhood. However, we are unable to financially support a basket to all renters. We are looking at delivering a current newsletter and welcoming renters to the neighborhood that way. Christina Chubb has agreed to assist in delivering the welcome wagon baskets and Beth will contact her to set up a process. Thank you Christina! Also, continued thanks to Christa Wike for designing the baskets. Without her volunteer efforts, the welcome wagon program could not continue.
Vice President Position: No residents expressed interest in the VP position. Debbie Gordon nominated Elizabeth Ehret as Vice President, second by Pam Johnson. Motion carried.
Treasurer Position: Beth Nominated Pam Johnson as Treasurer, Second by Deb Gordon. Motion carried.
Landscaping Front Entrances: the spring landscaping has been completed. Since the sprinkler systems are inoperable and the HOA cannot afford the repairs, the Board and Officers did not plan annuals or perennial flowers this year for obvious reasons (without water they will die). The goal of the landscaping was to preserve the existing trees, shrubs and perennials, remove weeds, edge the beds and lay mulch. We cannot afford to pay for weekly maintenance such as weeding so there will be occasional weeds. Anyone in the neighborhood is invited to take an hour or so to pull some weeds. The HOA Board and Officers stop and pull weeds and pick up trash. The totals cost of the spring landscaping was $3,160.00. Mike Schlegler has mowed the front entrances weekly with only the cost of gas as reimbursement. Thank you Mike for volunteering your time to help the community! The TrabueWoods Blvd. entrance culverts are becoming overgrown again. The HOA does not have the funds (estimated $600) for clean up. Elizabeth will research the steps necessary to pursue the City or County clean up (as was done last year for the east side culvert).
Social Events: the HOA Board and Officers and a handful of volunteers have made attempts to offer social events to the TrabueWoods community this year. We have enjoyed each event and getting to know our neighbors and residents who attended. Since the April 1, 08 Annual Meeting we have known that our yearly expenses will outweigh our income and we will be facing a deficit, probably in 2009, especially as we pursue outstanding debts through an attorney. Therefore, the HOA attempted several fundraisers in order to make the social events self funded and possibly make additional funds to support the Association. As you will see below, our efforts did not result in reaching our goal. After all calculations were complete, the Spring Fling/Doggie Run expenses totaled $487.66 (park permit $25, Food $132, Propane Tank $21.34, T-Shirts $102.75, Baskets for silent auction $156.17) and we made $242.00 ($232 from baskets and $10 table space). This resulted in a cost of $245.66 for this event. Much time and effort was put into this event but the community as a whole did not support it. We would like to thank all those who volunteered and participated in the event.
The HOA Sponsored Garage Sale: costs totaled $149.24 ($48.63 for advertisements, $67.93 for Helium Tanks and Balloons, $32.68 for food) and we made $167.00 which resulted in a profit of $17.76. The profit that was made was a direct result of food being sold at the park on that Saturday. This is one event that the HOA will consider sponsoring next year, however, without additional volunteers it is unknown if we will be able to provide the human resources to sell food at the park or balloons. We would like to thank all those who participated and encourage everyone to consider volunteering some time next year.
The Fall Garage Sale: was scheduled for August 22, 23, 24. This garage sale will not be financially supported by the HOA. The HOA is willing to collect money from those who want to participated and place the ads in the papers and put the signs out front, as it did for the June event. If $48.63 is not received by August 3, any funds received will be returned and no ads will be placed.
Over the last year, the current Board and Officers have researched and assessed the needs and the cost of those needs (landscaping the front entrances, paying the bills for electric, gas to cut the entrances, storm sewage costs, insurance and communication efforts including the website, mailing of newsletters and dues bills and office supplies) as well as non-essential items, services and events. It was our hope that the residents of the community would join in the efforts and support the fundraising events – and the community as a whole. The support, however, has been minimal. We would encourage the residents to contact the Board and Officers and volunteer their time and talents if they want to see (and support) social events.
However, considering the economy our anticipated budget deficit, we do not feel it is fiscally responsible, at this time, to spend the Association funds on non-essentials. Therefore, the Landscaping contest will be the last HOA sponsored social event this year. We will revisit this topic at each monthly board meeting and reassess for the possibility to resume some type of social events if the community voices their support for these events. We discussed the possibility of a Picnic in the Park in the fall. It would need to be a volunteer effort with residents committing to bring a covered dish and other food and drinks. We, along with some residents in the neighborhood would like to see the community come together as a whole to support itself and the residents. We would like feedback from the residents on whether future HOA support of social events is wanted and will be supported.
Applebee’s and Max & Erma’s Fundraisers: Pam Johnson contacted these restaurants and set up fundraisers for our community with them. The first was Applebee’s on July 13 (HOA would get 10% of the total bill from participants). No one participated- we made $0. Max & Erma’s was the second. We do not know the outcome of this fundraiser but are hopeful that there were participants. The next fundraisers are with Applebee’s on August 10 and September 14. Please support your neighborhood. We will receive 10% of your total bill for eating at Applebee’s on those dates. Again, the Board and Officers have made attempts to bring people together to support our neighborhood. Some were more successful than others. We will continue to assess and research possibilities for community events and fundraisers throughout the coming months. Resident’s feedback is vital.
Address Change:
The mail box in the Silverhorn Plaza is due to expire in August. There were a significant number of homeowners who mailed their HOA dues to the address without using the box number and the street address. When we became Trustees and Officers last year, this was one area that we identified as a problem, as it confused many people. Additionally, that mail box is a ‘PMB’ or private mail box, not a PO Box or post office mail box (as it is not housed at the post office). This made it more confusing. The Board and Officers voted to let the PMB expire in August and purchase a PO Box at the Hilliard Post Office. The current address is POBox 469 Hilliard Ohio 43026. This change saved the Association $135 per year. Pam and Beth have been getting the mail from both mail boxes. Beth completed change of address forms and sent them out or called and reported the change. There may be a charge for the PMB to forward mail. The Board and Officers voted unanimously to not pay any forwarding fees.
Financials: This report consists of the time since the April 28 Board & Officer meeting. We had two meetings in April and did not meet in May or June.
Expenses paid in May, June and through July 28, 2008:
May:
§ Electric (Tenagra Way side) $25.88
§ Electric (TrabueWoods side) $35.20
June:
§ Ink Cartridges $61.64 (invoices and letters)
§ Printing (May 31 Newsletters at Office Max) $267.07. (the board and officers folded and labeled and mailed the newsletters without additional cost to the Association)
§ Post Office $101.30 (invoices-at bulk rate)
§ Post Office $92.84 (newsletters- at bulk rate)
§ Electric (Tenagra Way side) $17.45
§ Electric (TrabueWoods side) $25.61
§ Accountant $105.00
§ Attorney $658.08 (annual meeting issues and dues collection process)
§ Gas (mowing front entrances weekly) $50.00
§ Post Office $46.70 (Yearly post office box and mailing of non-bulk items for bills and letters to residents)
§ Landscaping $1,960.00 (remaining half of spring clean up cost and additional mulch)
§ Cost of Spring Fling and Garage Sale $487.66 & $149.24, respectively. (some of cost offset by fundraising activities).
July:
§ Insurance $1,237.00
§ Electric (Tenagra Way side) $17.45
§ Electric (TrabueWoods side) $23.24
§ Water run off/Sewage costs $11.36 (remember we had the water meters removed to save money)
§ Welcome Baskets $100.00
$ Income May, June and through July 28
May:
No income reported
June:
$5,817.96 (this included an ad from APX security system for $20 for a month)
July1-July 28:
$8,152.15
Current Bank Balance: $16,070.54
Current Status of Dues Collections:
254 Homes Paid ($13,242.36)
124 Unpaid ($14,337.04)
The dues date was extended to July 30 due to confusion over and changing of the mailing address.
The Board and Officers unanimously agreed that all unpaid dues will be sent to Attorney Loveland for collections. Only 67% of the homeowners have paid their dues. 33% of the homeowners have not paid their dues. 51 homes from 2007 dues remain unpaid. Once Attorney Loveland begins the collections process, all of his fees will also be assessed to the homeowners, in addition to their late fees. Those who do not pay will cost the Association. Again, we are in hopes that the collection costs will offset much of the attorney fees but this is uncharted water and we simply do not have any data to draw from.
Next HOA Meeting: on or about August 25. Date and time to be confirmed via email or phone calls between the Board and Officers over the next couple of weeks.
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