A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Williamsburg Settlement Maintenance Association, Inc. was held on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at the Williamsburg Settlement clubhouse, 1602 Hoyt, Katy, Texas 77449.
ATTENDANCE
Directors in attendance were Linda Moore, Dave Ellis, Don McClelland, Martin Spears, Walter Smith, and Floyd Ball. Also in attendance, representing Planned Community Management, Inc. (PCMI), was Dolores Sue.
A quorum being established, the meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m.
MINUTES
The Board reviewed the minutes of the June 15, 2010 meeting. A motion to accept the minutes was made, seconded and unanimously approved.
HOMEOWNER CONCERNS
There were three (3) residents present.
One of the residents was very concerned about stray cats in the neighborhood. He stated he wanted the Association to hire someone to trap these cats. He stated that if while on inspections cats are seen under cars or in garages the Association should take action against that residence. He explained that loose cats are both a nuisance and a health issue. The Board agreed to place an article on this subject both in the newsletter and on the web site. There was a discussion about the Association notifying residents that when loose cats are seen the Board may hire a professional trapper to catch them.
Another resident explained that he has two small children and would like to erect a carport on his driveway. He feels that a carport would protect the vehicles and enhance his property. The Board stated that there are both safety and aesthetic reasons for the longstanding prohibition against carports embodied in the Architectural Guidelines. Carports can pose a danger to both the property on which they are erected and on neighboring properties during hurricanes, and due to the variety of models available it would be difficult to maintain the uniform look of the neighborhood were carports permitted. Carports that were built on some homes by the developers are constructed in a uniform manner to, and have roofs which are extensions of, that of the residence.
It was suggested that if the resident wants to pursue this issue, the way to proceed would be to organize a petition to have the Architectural Guidelines changed to remove the carport prohibition. This would have to be sent to every resident and receive the required number of signatures.
CONSTABLE REPORT
Linda Moore, constable liaison, presented the constable report as of June 30, 2010
FINANCIAL AND DELINQUENCY SUMMARY
Dave Ellis presented the financials as of June 30, 2010. The money in the bank totaled $510,826.16. This includes checking, money market 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.
As of June 30, 2010 delinquencies totaled $39,997.39. Dave Ellis explained that due to delinquencies being high this year the Board has taken a more aggressive approach to collect the outstanding accounts.
OLD BUSINESS
Pool Notice Board - Martin Spears will have the draft of what will be on the pool notice board and will send this to the other directors for their approval. Because the price was approved at the July meeting, upon approval of wording the sign will be ordered.
Alternative Security Patrol - Martin Spears reported that the committee has met and has some ideas and companies they are researching as possible alternatives to the constable patrol. They will be having meetings with other companies and will have a report for the August meeting.
Dead Tree and Trimming Trees Proposal - Martin Spears has obtained two (2) quotes for removing the dead tree at the recreational center. He has also obtained a proposal to trim fifteen (15) oak trees and twenty-three (23) pine trees. It was unanimously decided that due to the urgency of having the dead pine tree removed the Board elected to accept the JMA Landscaping bid. This company has worked for the Association in the past and it has agreed to do all the trimming and the tree and stump removal for a cost of $3,000.00.
Record Retention Update - The committee met, reviewed and revised the retention policy. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved to accept the revised policy. PCMI was instructed to send the document to the Association attorney for filing in Harris County records. Purging of the records no longer required will be done in February when the temperature in the clubhouse attic where they are stored will be more conducive to this activity.
Report on Earl of Dunmore Traffic Light Application - Precinct 3 has informed PCMI that the request for a traffic light at Earl of Dunmore and Mason has been received and sent to the Harris County Public Infrastructure Department’ Traffic and Transportation Group for handling. They will conduct the proper study in accordance with the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) to determine if signalization at the Mason Road at Earl of Dunmore intersection is warranted. They will inform the Association of the result. This process can take three (3) to six (6) months.
NEW BUSINESS
There was no business to come before the Board.
ADJOURNMENT TO EXECUTIVE SESSION
At this time the Board thanked the residents for attending and adjourned to executive session to discus deed restriction violations and collections.
Delinquencies
The Board reviewed the delinquency status report from the Association attorney.
Deed Restriction Violations
Deed Restrictions were discussed at this time and the disposition of same. There were one hundred seventy nine (179) violations noted on the July inspection report. The Board formed a three person committee and agreed that prior to each violation being sent to the attorney this committee will in future visit the resident in an effort to make sure the Association is doing all it can to bring all violations into compliance.
The Board reviewed the Association attorney’s status report documenting the progress on the deed restriction violations that have been sent to him for enforcement action. Prior to filing suit it was agreed that the above committee will visit each resident in a last ditch effort to avoid the necessity for this action.
With no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 7:10 pm. The next meeting will be August 17, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at the community clubhouse.
