8 Jul 2007
POSTED ON NEIGHBORHOOD LINK:
"The Board is hosting a 1 ½ hour Q & A meeting on Sunday July 8th 6:30pm. Location: 1364 Tenagra way. All are invited please RSVP via email at trabuehoa@yahoo.com a head count will help with the seating arrangements. All Board members will be present. Please come with positive energy. Topic for discussion is open. We hope to see some new faces. Thank you for your time and we will see you soon. Have a safe and happy 4th.
Thank you, Kevin, Judi and Elizabeth"
Drew thanked everyone for attending the Q&A meeting scheduled today July 8th, 2007 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be 1 & ½ hours in length.
This meeting was tape recorded with the approval by all those attending.
People in attendance:
Attorney:
Drew Baker
Current Board Members:
Elizabeth Ehret
Judi Murphy
Kevin Cross
Others in Attendance:
Pam Johnson
Debbie Gordon
Nancy Tucci
Mike Schlegler
Jan Schlegler
Beth Lintz
The meeting was opened up with questions. Mike Schlegler asked a question about the storage sheds size and location on the property. The Special Warranty Deed states in “Article One, Section 13 ” Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1, not more than one storage building may be located on a lot in addition to the dwelling; provided that any such storage building must be constructed of wood, must not exceed 12 feet in height or 100 square feet in floor area and must be of a color that matches the dwelling on the lot. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 2, no storage building shall be located closer than 25 feet to any building line on the recorded plat, except if a lot has a building line along both the front and rear of the lot, this provision does not apply to the building line along the rear of the lot. In no event shall any storage building be located closer to any street than the building line shown on the recorded plat. Mike just wanted to reiterate about the shed being located closer than 25 feet to any building line on the recorded plat.
Kevin Cross resigned as President and Board of Trustee’s member. Kevin gave a great speech regarding his time as President being a great experience and the work he did on the Allison Lyons situation was a rewarding one. His resignation letter is filed and can be reviewed at any time. He also stated he is willing to help the new Board and HOA. He also wished the new HOA Board good luck. The reason for his resignation was due to the time spent on HOA duties were interfering with this personal life too much. Since we have recovered the funds and documents from Allison Lyons it should be an easy road now.
Drew went over Bylaws Article IV Section 4.03 which states ”If any member of the Board vacates membership on the Board as a result of death, resignation or any other act or reason, the remaining members thereof may elect a new Trustee to fill the vacancy. If the remaining Trustees cannot agree upon a person to fill the vacancy within thirty (30) days after it is created, said remaining Trustees shall call a special meeting of members of the Association to fill the vacancy, such meeting to be held within sixty (60) days after the vacancy is created. Any Trustee appointed or elected to fill a vacancy shall hold office for the unexpired term of the Trustee he succeeds and until his successor is elected and qualified, or until he or she resigns.”
Drew then went over Bylaw Article V Section 5.02 “It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings of members of the Association and the Board of Trustees, to exercise general supervision over the affairs of the Association and in general perform all duties incident to the office or which may be required by the members of the Board. It shall be the duty of the Vice President to perform the duties of the President in the event of his absence or disability and the Board may assign such other duties as to him.
Judi Murphy then read her resignation as Vice President of the HOA but stated she wished to remain a Board of Trustee member. Judi’s letter of resignation will be filed and can also be viewed at anytime.
Drew stated it is now the responsibility of the remaining HOA Board Members (Judi Murphy and Elizabeth Ehret) to determine who will be the new HOA Board member and the new President. Judi nominated Beth Lintz as Board of Trustee and President of HOA and Elizabeth agreed. The
record reflects the appointment of Beth Lintz to the position of HOA Board Member and President according to Article IV Section 4.03.
The tape recorder had to be turned over at this point.
Mike asked about Tamara Fickell resignation and Kevin stated that she had resigned her position has a HOA Board Member and as the Treasurer of the HOA. Her letter of resignation will be filed and can be viewed at anytime.
Again Drew brought up Bi Law Article IV Section 4.03, which states, ”If any member of the Board vacates membership on the Board as a result of death, resignation or any other act or reason, the remaining members thereof may elect a new Trustee to fill the vacancy. If the remaining Trustees cannot agree upon a person to fill the vacancy within thirty (30) days after it is created, said remaining Trustees shall call a special meeting of members of the Association to fill the vacancy, such meeting to be held within sixty (60) days after the vacancy is created. Any Trustee appointed or elected to fill a vacancy shall hold office for the unexpired term of the Trustee he succeeds and until his successor is elected and qualified, or until he or she resigns.” In regards to Judi Murphy and Elizabeth Ehret (Board of Trustee’s) appointing Beth Lintz as Board of Trustee and President of HOA. The records now reflect the appointment according to Article IV Section 4.03. Beth Lintz reflects her appoint under 4.03 “she accepted the appointment”.
Elizabeth Ehret then introduced herself. The prior HOA Board members contacted her on June 27th 2007, to see if she was interested in becoming a member of the Board of Trustee and she said yes. Her husband is Steve Ehret who has been helping with the Neighborhood website: www.neighborhoodlink.com/columbus/trabuewoods: Elizabeth is a civil engineer.
Trabue Woods HOA has resolved its dispute with Allison Lyons and Carmichael Management Company and has dismissed the lawsuit. All parties have released any and all claims against one another and the Board has received all property belonging to Trabue Woods HOA along with compensation for it’s efforts in collecting the property.
Now that the HOA Board members have changed, he doesn’t know how to proceed. Do we want him to stay on as the HOA Attorney? He had written a letter to Kevin stating his charges on May 2007 and he changed his hourly fees from $160.00 to $120.00 an hour. Letter is filed and can be viewed at anytime. He is not the board’s attorney he is the HOA’s attorney.
Drew stated there should be minimal involvement by him with the HOA and should be used in an advisory position. The Board Members should try to handle certain situations and if they cannot then they can contact him. We don’t want to be charged every time someone contacts Drew so if we can solve in ourselves then that will save the HOA money. Drew stated he would draft the letters, attend the meetings, and if we want him to address concerns regarding deed violations he would encourage that because he is a 3rd party and the board members going over knocking on the door telling people about their violations could cause problems within the unity of the neighborhood.
There is no stranger to the fact there were several things that have happened during the past several weeks that I have not really been happy about I’ve looked at those things at many different ways and different angles trying to figure out maybe some of the misstatements were a result of something else and that is true for example I talked to Judi tonight you guys put in there I declined to comment on my fees at the annual meeting absolutely not true but it was in the meeting notes. Nancy stated, “That is where it came from”? Drew stated it is a big misunderstanding and it stinks and that is the point and there is all these different things such as you got this information from this attorney that I am the boards attorney and that is incorrect I am the HOA attorney but your received this information from attorney and you would think is right? Despite that I don’t feel right letting the entire HOA down so to speak just because of some misunderstandings. I think me to say aw I am really offended by that I am getting out of here; you got your money back you guys can be happy good luck; I am not going to be that guy. I have stuck it out over a year now it has been a long year and I am happy with the results I like the people and I have the same visions you guys have. I can’t do it all myself either and just like a few individuals can’t do it all. I should just really be a tool to utilize and nothing more because you guys are the one’s who live here I don’t live here. You know what’s going on here. If it is big issues and the board is here and knows how to handle it then the board should handle but if the board cannot then that is where I come in and the board contacts me about the problem. I think letters and things with meetings notices should come on attorney letterhead just makes us look more legitimate. You are always going to have naysayer’s no matter what we do for the HOA, work, etc. He encouraged us strongly to be in communication with Board and if at some point you need him then use him. This was a project for Drew and he is happy with it and happy with how it turned out.
The Bylaws need to be revised and he feels he should be involved in that process to make sure they are “legal.” August 13th is a meeting to review the By Laws.
Beth asked if there could be a proposed change of the By Laws. Something so we could post them? Beth wanted people to see them so they know before the meeting what to expect and vote on.
Drew said the by laws will go clause-by-clause, paragraph-by-paragraph.
Beth can we do something to make the meeting go quicker?
Drew stated you need to do it maybe five days before the meeting so people won’t forget about it. Posting of the bylaws.
Pam said she feels people feel on August 13th meeting people think they are going to get their deed restrictions changed.
Kevin said that is right and he thinks there was a clarification in Drew’s letter that went out with the newsletter and invoice.
Drew answered he wants to clean them up and replace with some new language. The Bylaws were written in very bad language and Allison may have even amended some.
Mike asked if after they are revised, would they be passed out to everyone.
Drew answered that they will be put on the website as an Acrobat Reader so they cannot be changed. If they are placed as a Word document, they can change them.
Judi stated hard copies of the new Bylaws would be passed out for people who do not have a computer.
Beth Lintz stated she has been speaking with council woman Tiberius, and her little guy and I have been playing phone tag but the liaison for the city Danielle Weber she put me in touch with attorney Pfeiffer regarding deed restriction changes. Attorney Pfeiffer stated deed restrictions are, obviously, in deeds, and are meant to apply to those whose deeds they are in. So every deed that has the restriction would need to be changed, and that would require the agreement of everyone to whose benefit the deed restrictions apply. So if ten parcels of property have the same deed restriction, which means those that benefit are the owners of the ten parcels, then all ten parcel owners would have to agree to modify their deeds. Now if one person owns all ten parcels that had the deed restrictions that would be easy.
Beth stated the people who have or want 6 ft fences should recruit people to help in changing deed restrictions.
Beth gave Drew some instances where Dominion gave approval for certain circumstances and how would we handle these situations?
Drew stated if it is deed restricted oriented “I will probably refer you to somebody that does deed restriction type of stuff’. I don’t want to be tangled in that type of stuff. It is just not something I do. I don’t veer out from what I do anymore. We can find somebody if need be.
Kevin stated as a homeowner we are lucky with how our deed restrictions were set up. Kevin states we shouldn’t touch them because it is a waste of time. A 5-foot fence is perfect. Beth said you cannot buy a 5-foot fence and Kevin said I understand that. I know you can’t. Beth said let them see what it takes to change it. Show them how to do it. Beth stated “Oh it’s a deed restriction you can’t change it”. Kevin said it is not a true statement it is hard to change and is it warranted to change? Are there things to focus on more than a 6-foot fence? Beth possibly when you have a huge number of people if that’s what they want. Kevin people bought their houses on that deed restriction. Judi well no Kevin there were some that didn’t know about deed restrictions.
Judi stated a lot of people moving into the neighborhood didn’t know about deed restrictions and didn’t know we had a HOA. She is going to speak with some realtors regarding how we can get the word out to other realtors we have active HOA so when there are people deciding to buy a home here they will know there is an active HOA and there are deed restrictions.
Drew understands why realtor’s say there is no association in here because the statuory agent was showing Carmichael Management Company. They thought it was just run by a property management company and no HOA existed.
Elizabeth asked if the Satellite Dishes and FCC restrictions are in line with the deed restrictions?
Mike answered that the deed restrictions were written regarding 17 ft diameter satellite dishes not the new ones, which are smaller.
The deed restriction reads” Article One Section 9. The following structures and improvements shall not be permitted on any lot in the subdivision:
a. Satellite dishes, to the extent permissible under applicable statutes and regulations, including those administered by the Federal Communications Commission, except that this restriction shall not apply to satellite dishes with a diameter less than twenty-four inches (24”) and erected or installed to minimize visibility from the street which the dwelling fronts;
Drew stated he was going to work on a form letter for the 4 most common deed violations that we could send out to any homeowner that violates deed restrictions. We would give the homeowner 30 days to correct the violation and if they didn’t correct it the letter would state what further action would be taken to correct the violation. The four main areas are:
1. Above ground pools
2. Satellite dishes
3. Trash cans being visible
4. 6 ft fences.
Pam stated these letters are already made up.
Kevin stated they are only in letterform they are not in a format that can be used.
Beth Lintz asked if it is important to notify homeowners of deed restrictions violations right now?
Kevin stated the newsletter we just sent out listed the 10 top deed violations. He noticed his neighbor, who had a trashcan out corrected the violation. Kevin was hoping people just didn’t know and when they read the newsletter they became aware of the violations.
Mike asked if we could send out a letter before the 8/13/07 meeting regarding the changes we are going to be making in the Bylaws? Notify them of the new HOA Board members and a reminder regarding the deed restrictions?
Elizabeth stated we could list the most common mistakes in deed restrictions and how to get in contact with the Board members.
Drew stated then he had nothing else to add or go through at this point.
Nancy asked why can’t there be five Board of Trustee positions?
Drew stated Article IV Section 4.01 states “Subject to such limitations as have been or may hereafter be imposed by the restrictions, the Articles or this Code of Regulations, as any of the same may be lawfully amended from time to time, all power and authority of the Association shall be vested in and exercised by a Board of Trustees consisting of three (3) persons. Said persons shall manage and conduct the business and affairs of the Association and exercise the powers and duties established by the restrictions, the Articles and this Code of Regulations until they resign, or until their successors are elected and qualified. Members of the Board of Trustees need not be members of the Association. Before the relinquishment of control of the Association by the Developer, the Developer shall appoint all Trustees. Subsequent to the relinquishment of control of the Association by the Developer, Trustees shall be elected at the regular annual meeting of members of the Association or special meetings called for that purpose, beginning with the first meeting conducted upon the relinquishment of control of the Association by the Developer. Beginning with the first annual meeting following the Developer’s relinquishment of control, each Trustee who is elected shall serve for a term of one (1) year and until his or her successor is elected and qualified, or until he or she resigns. Any Trustee may be removed at a special meeting of the members of the Association called for that purpose by the affirmative vote of those members entitled to exercise not less than severity-five percent (75%) of the voting power of all members.
He went on to say that “Shall” consists of meaning mandatory. Since the Bylaws are written that way they can be changed.
Nancy stated things happen like emergencies and meetings have to be held off because Board of Trustee’s cannot make it and if five people were Board members at least three or possibly all five people would show up to vote or run the meeting of business.
Beth stated there are better demographics with five members verses three.
Elizabeth state let’s bring it up at August 13th meeting.
Mike alot of people didn’t know about last meeting.
Drew stated in order to change any Bylaw language, 75% of the homeowners have to attend the 8/13/07 meeting. That would mean that 283.5 of the homes with one voting member per home have to be present and vote.
Kevin the proxy that was voted out at the Special Meeting of Trabue Woods HOA on Monday,
April 24, 2007 7:00 pm Marantha Church of Christ was invalid. The vote needed 283.5 (75% of 378 homes) of homeowners to pass. Since there was not that amount present the Proxy Vote is still valid.
Beth Lintz stated she liked proxies because she cannot attend meetings she can fill out the form and send it to Board so her vote may still be counted. Life happens and you cannot always be there.
Judi raised concerns about fliers and website that were put on homeowners doors and also misinformation that was placed on the Trabuewood.Info website. Beth stated the website we were hoping could be our new website.
Beth we are hoping to keep website $17.99 a month for a year contract. A neighbor offered a website up. Beth stated there are a lot of options to look at. We will evaluate the options.
Judi feels there was a lot of miscommunication on the website and in the fliers sent out by 5 homeowners in the community. She wants retractions to be done.
Beth Lintz asked where would you like retractions done? Better yet why don’t you email me the retraction area’s you would like and I will take a look at them.
Kevin stated I do think we printed something. Yea we did post on your website but it was deleted our post. Beth if you send it we will certainly look at it and see what clarifications need to be done. Elizabeth no I posted on our neighborhood website.
Beth Lintz stated she would look at the information and they would print corrections if they were needed.
Drew stated he was recently golfing with a friend who lives in our neighborhood and he mentioned the remarks on the website and stated he doesn’t want any part of it. It made Drew feel bad. Drew would also like to see retractions made on the statements made on the website.
Beth stated the facts for the website are on record and yes we can discuss as Board Members and now that I am a Board member, we will discuss. Policy and Procedures to each job functions needs to be done for new Board members and existing Board members.
Drew he encourages that Policy and Procedures be developed. He has policies and procedures in his own office for everything. If there is a better way they change it.
Mike stated he tends to agree with Judi we need to hammer out situations and misconceptions and move on. Retractions need done on some of the comments that were made on website. If there are any kind of misconceptions that were said. Drew if of all the people see this and immediately associate it with something negative about the board (Talking about the picture header on the website).
Tape recorder ended at this point.
Beth stated comments on website can be clarified.
Drew stated we need to speak as one voice and hash out the problems and make sure everyone is on board and we need to list the corrections on website.
Beth stated from this point forward there are no us, there should be we.
Drew stated there should be quarterly newsletters and street associates for communication.
Beth stated she is going to have a table set up at the Picnic, for spreadsheets to be updated with current homeowners information.
Mike stated the issue of the vacant lot needs to be raised. He has been mowing for 2 years and people continue to use is as a dumping ground. It has been ruining his riding lawnmower. He has volunteered to do this no money. He would like us to tell the homeowners to not use the to dump waste or products on vacant lot. He asked us if we did see someone dumping items on grounds to tell them to stop so the site can be mowed. Otherwise, we will receive a fine for high grass and weeds by the City of Columbus.
Beth stated we need to discuss Bonding for each HOA Board Member as well as insurance for the property and for special occasions such as for the Picnic.
Kevin stated he made calls regarding insurance. There is a whole packet of information regarding insurance that the Board can read and decide on. The insurance man never contacted Kevin back and we need insurance before picnic on Saturday.
It was voted that Pam Johnson would be the temporary secretary until August 13th 2007 meeting.
Jennifer Jerome has toys and things for July 15th picnic, Pam please contact her regarding picnic
Judi asked Pam if she would take on the Chairperson regarding the Picnic and Garage Sale and Pam stated she would be in charge of that again.
The meeting closed at 8:00 p.m.
The HOA Board Members were asked by Drew to stay after for a short meeting.
Pam Johnson
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