Call To Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm by Kirk Appell.

Attendance

Board members in attendance were Kirk Appell, Ron Vorbroker and Marianne Fleckenstein. Corrie Metz and Michelle Sisk were absent due to illness.

Towne Properties was represented by Christy Ryan.

Two homeowners were in attendance.

Guest in attendance was John Hackney and Mark McClanahan of Groundmasters.

Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes

No corrections to the meeting minutes of October 21, 2003 were made. A motion to approve the minutes as they stand was made by Marianne Fleckenstein and seconded by Ron Vorbroker. Motion was approved unanimously.

Manager’s Report

Christy Ryan of Towne Properties provided the manager’s report. Key items reviewed with the board are as follows:

1. Dead tree along Socialville-Foster (between Summer View and Butler-Warren) has been removed by unidentified benefactor but trunk still remains.

2. Debris located on and around storm sewer grate on Socialville-Foster still a cause for concern. Christy has attempted to notify Warren County Engineer’s Office and Road Department and Deerfield Township to get some response as to cleaning the area up to prevent water backing up and flooding adjacent properties. She has gone so far as to send a certified letter and will continue to try to get their attention to resolve this issue.

3. Section of fence along Butler-Warren damaged during storm last fall was replaced by homeowners with same type fence and same color. The Board thanks them.

4. Management prepared and mailed to each homeowner the 2004 budget narrative/community letter/reserve spreadsheet/assessment coupons and a copy of the Protective Covenants and Restrictions.

5. A thank you letter was received from homeowner regarding extension of assessment payment granted homeowner due to extenuating circumstances.

6. Management invited Groundmasters to attend January Board Meeting to discuss 2003 services rendered versus receipts received.

7. Management had survey stakes along exterior of development replaced with rebar/caps for preservation of the survey results.

8. Management had entrance lighting repaired.

9. All contracts have been signed for 2004 (including insurance and tax return). Insurance is thru same carrier as 2003 and approved tax return for 2003.

10. There have been no complaints or violations reported to management.

Financial Report

2003 Budget was $37,050. 2003 actual expenses were $38065.01. Actual income for 2003 was $40352.95. Reserve balance is $19,084.45. Cash in operations is $2,287.94. Currently we have $500 due in delinquent association fees plus $375 in late fees.

2004 Budget is $37,050.00,

New Business

A. Groundmasters representatives present were John Hackney and Mark McClanahan. The discrepancy in the number of mowings billed for and number of receipts turned in was discussed. Because of their employee’s failure to provide required receipts it was agreed that John would notify Christy of Towne Properties by email when a mowing, watering, mulching etc. has taken place and she will forward each email to all members of the board. Mark offered that Groundmasters will only charge us for the mowings actually done up to the contract amount of 25. If they mow more than that they will not charge the association and if they mow less than that they will only charge for actual mowings done. Groundmasters offered to credit back the full $480 for last years contract amount of watering instead of having it rollover to 2004 and not charge us for any of the waterings performed last year as a goodwill offering. The credit will appear on our February billing. Marianne made a motion that we accept the credit offered of $480 and pay Groundmaster the total amount for the 7 mowings in question. Ron seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.

Kirk asked John to inform his mowing crew of the rebar markers that have replaced survey flags along Socialville-Foster and Butler-Warren so they will mow with caution.

B. Groundmaster’s bid of $1300 for cleaning up the undergrowth on Socialville-Foster between Summer View and Butler-Warren was discussed. Mark offered that a good time to do it would be now before spring. The biggest concern being the spring rains that will wash the leaves, branches etc. into the storm drain and cause flooding. Kirk thanked John and Mark for their time and they left so the board could further discuss this issue. After discussion of all that is involved in the cleanup (i.e. agreement with homeowners whose property adjoins area; Warren County who has ownership of property; Association who has taken on responsibility for appearances sake) Ron made a motion that we make no decisions until the April meeting, Marianne seconded the motion and motion passed unanimously.

C. Advantage Signs did the new meeting signage under Kirk’s direction. The cost was $151.94 for both signs at the two entrances to neighborhood. The signs are aluminum with metal frames. They should last for years to come and do not detract from the entrance appearance when on display. The bottom portion of the sign is the changeable portion to reflect current meeting date/time/place and will cost $15 per sign per event. Marianne suggested that the background color be changed to yellow so the lettering would stand out more. Kirk will store the signs at his home and put them out 10 days prior to the current meeting and remove them immediately following.

D. Oldfield has raised their price to remove the retention pond pump from $135 last year to $185 for 2004. They charge us $50 to store the pump and want to raise that to $65. Christy informed the board that she has priced out other companies and Oldfield is still the least expensive. However, the higher charges will put us at $100 over budget. It would be great if the board could find a homeowner willing to store the pump at no charge. Kirk made a motion and Ron seconded it to table this discussion until next meeting. Motion passed unanimously.

E. Homeowner Roger Beyer asked the Board to look into changing water source from Butler County to Cincinnati. Roger feels that most homeowners would see a savings of approximately $800 a year. Kirk said he had talked with someone at Cincinnati Water Department last year and was told that it would cost the association approximately $25,000 to $30,000 to change over our neighborhood. Board told Roger that if he wanted to pursue it and gather the information/facts and bring it to the Board he was welcome to do so.

Old Business

A. Rental Property

Homeowner Tom Woods expressed interest in pursuing the restriction on rental property. Christy advised that a lawyer would have to be consulted on proper process given the restrictions and ambiguity of our bylaws and covenant. Board requested Tom to put together a plan and notify them when he has all the information on how this should be handled and can show that there is support for it in the community. Kirk made a motion and Ron seconded it that we will call an Executive meeting to discuss this issue when Tom has the needed information. Motion passed unanimously.

Bylaws & Covenant

The Association’s bylaws and covenant are not very clearly defined and are in need of being revised. Christy and Ron will work together to gather information and legal input to make a presentation to the board on suggestions of how to make these documents more viable.

Website

Brian Carroll maintains the Association website but is not a website developer so any changes we would want would need to be done by someone else. Brian has offered to start an email list of homeowners and send out upcoming meeting notices to all who would like to receive them via email.

Next Meeting Date

Board agreed to our next meeting being on April 20^th, 2004 at 7 pm and Christy will notify us of place. Kirk will have signs changed to reflect new date/time/place.

Adjournment

Ron made motion to adjourn and Kirk seconded it. Motion passed unanimously.

Time was 8:47 pm.

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