A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Williamsburg Settlement Maintenance Association, Inc. was held on Tuesday, January 21, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. at the Williamsburg Settlement clubhouse, 1602 Hoyt, Katy, Texas 77449.
ATTENDANCE
Board Members present were Floyd Ball, Gail Owens, Martin Spears, Dave Ellis, Michael Wood, Walt Smith and Larry Crain. Also, in attendance were Officer Wilburn and Dolores Sue representing Planned Community Management, Inc. (PCMI).
With a quorum being established, the meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m.
MINUTES
The Board reviewed the minutes of the November 19, 2013 Board meeting. A motion to accept the minutes as written was made by Walt Smith, seconded by Martin Spears and unanimously approved.
HOMEOWNER CONCERNS
There were three (3) homeowners present. One resident approached the Board and asked for a community event perhaps at the beginning or the end of summer. The Board feels that this is a good idea and this resident will help Board Member Michael Wood to investigate possibilities.
PATROL SERVICE REPORT
Martin Spears presented the patrol service report. The holidays proved to be quiet with no major disturbances.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Dave Ellis presented the financials. As of December 31, 2013, the money in the bank totaled $715,389.72. This includes checking, savings 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. Delinquency for the month ending December 31, 2013 was $14,965.00. The delinquency was higher due to legal expenses.
OLD BUSINESS
Status on Repairs to Carter’s Grove Monument - The Board has been informed by Recovery Service International (RSI) that if the insured of the vehicle that damaged the monument properly filed a theft report, the insured is not responsible by law for damages and they will have to close the file unless the thief is identified. If a theft report was not filed properly RSI could argue the case in arbitration and would be happy to handle this for the Association for out of pocket expenses and a fee of twenty percent (20%) of any amount recovered. At this time the Association is waiting for confirmation that the owner of the vehicle did file the proper stolen vehicle report.
NEW BUSINESS
Annual Meeting - The Board reviewed the draft of the annual meeting notice. The annual meeting will be held on April 15, 2014. Three (3) positions will be open and currently only two (2) candidates have expressed interest in running. An article will be posted in the newsletter and on the web site asking any homeowners who are interested in running for election to submit their name so that it can be included on the official ballot which will be mailed to all residents in March. A motion to approve the agenda and the proxy/ballot forms and to mail these forms in March was made by Walt Smith, seconded by Gail Owen and unanimously approved.
Pool Memo - The Board reviewed the draft 2014 pool schedule memo that will be mailed with the annual meeting notice. Last year there were requests to increase the swim season by keeping the pool open on some weekends during September. A survey was sent out and this suggestion received sufficient support that the schedule was extended through mid-September. As this seemed to work well the 2014 contract will be extended to include two (2) extra weekends also.
The Board discussed the second request that was made last year to shift the pool hours so that it could be open longer in the evenings. This suggestion was also included on the survey but did not receive much support, thus the hours during which the pool will be open each day in 2014 will remain as in previous years.
A motion to approve the 2014 pool schedule memo was made by Walt Smith, seconded by Michael Wood and unanimously approved.
Bicycle Rodeo Safety Fair - Bicycle World of Katy approached the Board about holding a Bicycle Rodeo Safety Fair. Director Michael Wood has been in contact with Bicycle World and a tentative date of Saturday, May 17, 2014 has been earmarked for the event. If agreed by the school, this would be held on the Winborn elementary school playground. The company includes safety and mechanical checks on all bicycles and helmets and a riding course would be set up to provide instruction on safe riding techniques both for the individual and how to ride in a group. They will also teach how to secure the bicycle when the destination is reached. Bicycle World provides free water and there is no cost to the Association. This seems to be a very good event which the Board agreed to support with Michael Wood acting as liaison. Michael will check with the school principal to seek the school’s concurrence for the event on school property and to confirm that the proposed date is available.
Garage Sales in the Community - The Board had a request that it sets certain dates for, and limits the number of, garage sales in the community. Unfortunately our deed restrictions do not give the Association the authority to place a limit on such events. There has also been a request to have a community-wide garage sale. The view was expressed that a community-wide garage sale would bring a lot of non-residents into the subdivision and cause considerable traffic and disruption. With these issues in mind a motion was made by Walt Smith to close this subject from further discussion. The motion was seconded by Larry Crain and unanimously approved.
2013 Audit - The Board reviewed a proposal from Elaine Combs, CPA, for the 2013 audit and tax return preparation. The fee would be $1,500 for the audit and $300.00 for the tax preparation. This is the same fee as last year. A motion to sign the contract with Elaine Combs, was made by Dave Ellis, Seconded by Walt Smith and unanimously approved.
Mosquito Spraying Contract - The Board reviewed the mosquito spraying contract submitted by Cypress Creek Mosquito Control. This would run from April through October at a price of $75.34 per weekly trip. Dave Ellis informed the Board that the Pest Control arm of Cypress Creek also does our quarterly pest control at the clubhouse, which this year will cost $61.00 each visit and an annual termite inspection for $75.00. A motion to accept the 2014 contract with the Cypress Creek companies was made by Gail Owen, seconded by Walt Smith and unanimously approved.
The Board had received communication from a group which was interested in speaking to the residents about wild animals such as raccoons, possums, coyotes, etc. Discussion of this issue was deferred until the February Board Meeting.
ADJOURNMENT TO EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 6:30 p.m. the Board adjourned to executive session to hold a hearing and discuss deed restriction and other matters.
DECISIONS MADE DURING EXECUTIVE SESSION
The Board held a hearing with a resident concerning attorney fees and delinquent assessments. The Board thanked the resident for attending and after providing him with the decision he left the meeting and the executive session continued.
Deed Restrictions
The Board reviewed the deed restriction list from the inspections performed January 6, 2014. It was unanimously agreed that three (3) violations if not cured by the next inspection will be turned over to the Association attorney for further action.
The Board reviewed the status report from the attorney and put three (3) accounts on hold.
The Board discussed its frustration with the few residents who ignore repeated requests to address issues noted on their property to the detriment of the community at large. In order to encourage compliance the possibility of beginning a fining process for such violators as is in place on some other HOAs was discussed. This might levy a fine if, for example, the resident has been sent, and ignored, three (3) letters for the same violation. A legal opinion will be sought on this possibility.
It was also unanimously agreed if anyone has a deed restriction violation for which a final demand letter has been sent that they will not be eligible for pool tags until the violation is cured.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m. The next meeting will be February 18, 2014 at the community clubhouse.
