A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Williamsburg Settlement Maintenance Association, Inc. was held on Tuesday, January 20, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. at the Williamsburg Settlement clubhouse, 1602 Hoyt, Katy, Texas 77449.
ATTENDANCE
Board Members present in attendance were Floyd Ball, Gail Owen, Walter Smith, Dave Ellis and Michael Wood. Also in attendance was Dolores Sue representing Planned Community Management, Inc. (PCMI) and Officer Wilburn.
With a quorum being established, the meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m.
MINUTES
The minutes of the November 18, 2014 Board meeting were reviewed. A motion to accept the minutes as written was made by Walt Smith, seconded by Michael Wood and unanimously approved.
HOMEOWNER CONCERNS
There were two residents present.
PATROL SERVICE REPORT
The Board reviewed the patrol service report. It was a quiet month.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Dave Ellis presented the financials. As of December 31, 2014 the money in the bank totaled $777,783.83 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, 2014 was $11,568.29.
Now that some of the 2015 maintenance fees have been paid into the Operating account, Dave Ellis made a motion to immediately open a six (6) month $200,000 CDAR with Alliance Bank, and as the balance of the fees are received, a further three (3) month $100,000.00 CDAR. This motion was seconded by Walt Smith and unanimously approved.
OLD BUSINESS
Pool Fence Replacement - Dave Ellis presented the results of his investigation and solicitation of bids for the replacement of the decaying iron fence around the pool. He told the Board that after reviewing the requirements of our liability insurance carrier and preparing a diagram defining the fence layout and measurements, he had contacted seven (7) fence contractors, six via their web sites, and one via email. He received three (3) responses from the on-line solicitation and met with their representatives. Dave presented his analysis of the bids from three (3) companies one of which also offered an alternate bid thus providing four (4) alternatives for the Board to consider. After due discussion, Dave made a motion that one of the bids from Texas Fence Company, that for $24,388.75, be accepted. This motion was seconded by Gail Owen and passed with a vote of three (3) yes and two (2) abstentions. Further it was approved that a tree root in the path of the fence be removed at a cost of $180.00. Approval was also given to obtain the services of B&B Locksmiths at the appropriate time to provide the necessary locks on the gates required to secure the area. Funding for this project will be provided from our Reserve account.
Tree Work Needed - Floyd Ball informed the Board that there are a number of trees that need attention in and around our recreation area. There are a total of twenty three (23) pine trees and nine (9) oak trees that need trimming and one small pine tree and one tall tree in the pool area that need to be removed and their stumps ground. A price of $2,600.00 to complete all of these tasks has been quoted by J.J. Garcia. Floyd Ball made a motion to accept this proposal. This motion was seconded by Michael Wood and unanimously approved.
Rotten Wood at Pool Pavilion - Some of the posts supporting the pavilion in the pool area have some rotted wood and need attention. Floyd Ball is in the process of obtaining bids for this work and will present them at a future meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
Annual Meeting - The Board reviewed the draft of the annual meeting and proxy notice for the Annual Meeting of Members to be held April 21, 2015. The terms of two directors will be expiring. The incumbents have agreed to stand for re-election but any interested resident is also free to seek election to these positions. An article will be placed in the newsletter, on the web site and emailed to those who have registered their email addresses inviting any interested resident to place their name on the ballot. In order to be placed on the official ballot names will need to be submitted by the end of the regular Board meeting March 17, 2015. The suggested days for pool registration, which are still to be confirmed by the Swim Team, which holds its registration on the same days, are March 21 and March 29, 2015. A motion to accept the annual meeting agenda and proxy notice as presented was made by Dave Ellis, seconded by Walt Smith and unanimously approved with the possible amendments to add the names of any other candidates and to change the dates if requested by the swim team.
2014 Audit - The Board reviewed the audit proposal from Elaine Combs CPA. This is the person who performed the independent audit last year. The price has increased by $100.00; however the Board is satisfied with her work. A Motion to accept the 2014 audit proposal for $1,900.00 which includes filing of the Association tax return was made by Dave Ellis, seconded by Walt Smith and unanimously approved. (Subsequent to the meeting, the auditor agreed to roll back the price to the $1,800 she charged last year).
Community Events - Michael Wood reported there is now in place a Community Activities Task Force. Twelve (12) couples responded to the request to join this task force committee and offered a number of suggested activities that could be pursued this year. Michael has compiled these inputs into a list of twenty Five (25) possible activities. The committee will meet at the clubhouse on the evening of February 10 to brain-storm these and any other ideas to arrive at the 2015 community events program.
Contract Renewal/Replacement - The Board reviewed two (2) proposals for providing mosquito fogging this year. One was from the incumbent company, and the other from Excalibur Mosquito Control. Although we have no problem with the incumbent company, Excalibur is prepared to offer this service at a lower price. After due discussion a motion to sign a new contract with Excalibur and try them for a year was made by Gail Owen, seconded by Dave Ellis and unanimously approved.
The termite and Pest Control Contracts will be provided by Cypress Creek Pest Control.
Security Issues - A homeowner had requested to talk to the Board but was unable to attend.
Petition for Lowering Speed Limit - A resident is concerned about the 30 mph speed limit on our subdivision, believing it to be too high and the possible cause of an accident that killed a dog which had escaped through a gate and was struck while in the roadway. She believes that our current limit also poses a danger to children living in the area. She has been in communication with County officials who explained the process that would need to be followed to have the speed limit reduced. The key element is that a petition would have to be signed by fifty-one percent (51%) of the residents, no more than one signature per household, requesting Harris County Court to lower the speed in all or on specific streets in the neighborhood. If the petition gained sufficient signatures the County would consider the request. The resident wanted to know if there would be support from the Board for pursuing this issue.
The Board expressed its appreciation for her concern for safety within the neighborhood, but has some misgivings on the merits of the proposal. None of the Board members present at the meeting would support a speed limit as low as 20 mph on our streets. In view of this the resident proposed an alternative of 25 mph. The Board members agreed that they would try limiting their speed to no more than 25 mph for a trip, a day or a week and then decide if they could support such a reduction. The Board suggested that others interested might also want to try limiting their speed on our subdivision streets to test how practical this limit would be for them. The Board also needs to know who would be responsible for the cost of replacing or adding all the speed limit signs. The Board did offer that if the resident wants to prepare the text of an article on this subject to seek the pulse of residents, that it would post it on the web site and send it out in email form to our email distribution list. Residents could then respond through the Guest Book on the website.
ADJOURNMENT TO EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 6:55 p.m. the meeting was adjourned to executive session
Decision Made During Executive Session:
Deed Restriction Violations - The Board reviewed all deed restriction violations.
Delinquencies - Action is being taken regarding accounts with delinquencies in the subdivision as required
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m. The next meeting will be February 17, 2015 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the clubhouse, 1602 Hoyt.
