A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Williamsburg Settlement Maintenance Association, Inc. was held on Tuesday, August 16, 2005 at 4:00 p.m. at the Williamsburg Settlement clubhouse, 1602 Hoyt, Katy, Texas 77449.
ATTENDANCE
Directors in Attendance were Alan Blair, Dave Ellis, Don McClelland, Linda Moore, Richard Erbert, Sue Dean Smith, and Lance Gordon. Also in attendance was Dolores Sue representing Planned Community Management, Inc. (PCMI)
A quorum being established, the meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
The Board reviewed each deed restriction violation and disposition of same. They also reviewed each delinquent account and all matters at the Association attorney.
OPEN SESSION
HOMEOWNER CONCERNS
Two homeowners attended the meeting. They began by expressing their appreciation for the good work being done by the Board, and for the Association’s web site, which keeps them up-to-date on current issues of interest to subdivision residents.
The issue these two residents came to discuss with the Board was in regard to the perimeter fence. Their concern was prompted by a statement in the minute of the May Board meeting in which a resident had asked about a more secure fence along Franz now that the road has been widened bringing faster moving traffic closer to the adjacent homes.The two homeowners would be strongly opposed to any expenditure of Association funds on such a project. The Board explained that it had decided at that meeting to take no action on this matter, and apologized that it failed to include the disposition of this issue in the minutes.
The homeowners also stated they had read about the perimeter fence inspections, which raised for them the wider issue of responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of this fence. They believe that the owners on the periphery of the subdivision should each take responsibility for maintaining that portion of the fence that is on their property rather than it being the responsibility of the Association. There was some discussion on the legal process that was invoked when the Association took over responsibility for this fence, and on the ongoing costs required to maintain it. Mr. Lance Gordon, who has recently taken over responsibility for the fence, stated that the cost to maintain it will be considerably reduced in the short term as he is now performing the quarterly inspection and minor maintenance work himself. Furthermore, our insurance policy does provide coverage against accidental damage so we should not be faced with a large bill resulting from some unforeseen occurrence. The Board stated that they would consider the points raised by the homeowners, who then left the meeting.
(Subsequent to the meeting the Board reviewed this subject and decided that having a uniform and well maintained fence around our subdivision maintains the values of ALL subdivision property and thus it is very reasonable that the cost to maintain it should be born by all property owners, not just those on whose properties the fence is located. To put this cost in perspective, over the last 15 years it has averaged less than $1 per year for each property owner. Further, the cost of the legal steps that would be required to return ownership back to the individual property owners on the periphery of the subdivision would be considerable. In light of these considerations, the Board decided to take no further action on this matter.)
MINUTES
The Board reviewed the minutes of the July 19, 2005 meeting. A motion to accept the minutes as written was made, seconded and unanimously approved.
CONSTABLE REPORT
The security coordinator presented the report.
FINANCIAL/DELINQUENCY
The Board reviewed the financials for the month of July 31, 2005. The money in the bank was $342,740.03. This includes checking and money market accounts and is the money to cover both operating expenses and the necessary reserve to fund maintenance and replacement of the Association’s capital assets.
Delinquency - Delinquency as of July 31, 2005 was $23,075.98
NEW BUSINESS
FILING OF AMENDEMENTS/ MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATE
The Board unanimously agreed to ask the Association attorney Messock and Walton to file an updated management certificate at the county this is pursuant to Texas Law that a current management certificate be filed when changes are made to the governing documents.
ARC PROCESS
Mr. McClelland presented for Board review a revision to the existing Request for Home Improvement form which residents are required to complete when seeking approval for home improvements. This new form will have accompanying instructions that further detail how to fill out the form in its entirety and will define what type of work requires the Request for Home Improvement form to be used. The Board discussed different ideas on how to handle homeowners who refuse to fill out the form or complete the entire application. It seems that many homeowners do not realize that filling out the Request for Home Improvement form allows the Architectural Review Committee to keep our subdivision looking aesthetically well maintained. Homeowners who proceed with a project without the required approval are subjecting themselves to the risk of having to have the work redone, or when impractical, at the very least having the Board issue a formal denial of the project with attendant legal ramifications in the event that future issues should arise with that project.
Key Audit update – Mr. Ellis reported that, with just two exceptions he has now received signed audit forms from all holders of Association keys. Steps will be taken to resolve these last two outstanding issues.
Pool Mechanical Update – Mr. Blair reported that a new impeller has been installed on the pool pump and after fixing a number of leaks that the extra pressure brought to light this had solved the problem with the Vac-Alert. The pool company will instruct the lifeguards on the procedure they now need to follow to bring the Vac-Alert back on-line following a trip which may occur when the pool is backwashed or when chlorine tablets are added to the chlorinator.
Clubhouse Repairs – Mr. Blair and Mr. Ellis reported on the successful completion of the latest work done by the McKenna Construction Company. Mr. Blair also reported that the painting of the clubhouse interior that received approval at the July meeting has been postponed for the time being.
Electrical – Mr. Ellis reported there is a light out at the entrance at Bruton Park. He will contact Advantage Electric and authorize them to proceed with the repair.
Next Meeting – The Next meeting will be the budget meeting for 2006 and will be held at the offices of PCMI at 9:00 a.m. on September 20, 2005
With no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
