The Board meets on the third Monday of every month at 3:30 PM in the clubhouse, and all homeowners are welcome to attend. Below are some highlights from the December Board meeting:
Money
Treasurer, Tom Kelley, presented a proposal to reorganize the CD portfolio where much of the reserve fund is held. His proposal includes opening additional CDs with Bank Of Montreal discontinuing the use of Axos bank where we have a money market account. His proposal was approved.
The committee investigating moving to a management company presented the results of their investigation and recommended the hiring of Cadden. Base annual cost will be 17k and will replace the 15k we currently spend annually for HBL services and AME management services. Additional fees are incurred (as we have today) for things like tax preparation, compilation audit, 1099s, copying and postage. The committee still needs to meet with the assigned manager and have the contract reviewed by legal but the recommendation to proceed was approved. The presentation is attached at the bottom of this article but it may only be visible on the actual web site and not in your email.
Steve Struck (maintenance and roads) reviewed the proposal to refresh the North Entrance monument. The proposal includes painting the monument, restoring the letters and backlighting them and is approximately 6k. The board approved this expenditure.
Home Sales
4 homes have been sold in 2019 and 2 are in escrow.
Committee Updates
Architecture Committee
Bill Coan (Architecture Chair) submitted a change to the Architecture Design Standards regarding wall art. This change was approved and the design notes have been updated to reflect this.
Recreation Committee
Larry Spencer (Recreation Manager) noted that Blue Knight skipped a day cleaning the pool due to the weather and this resulted in the chlorine dropping below acceptable levels. Larry successfully lobbied Blue Knight to adjust our bill for the month as a result of this error.
Maintenance Committee
Steve Struck (Maintenance Chair) reviewed several maintenance items that have been completed including additional lighting in the South Pool pump and equipment room, the painting of that building after termite treatment, drain cleaning at the North Pool Shower, and more.
Roads Committee
Steve Struck (Roads Committee) noted the acceptance of the ACE RFP for sealcoating the new roads. The work is scheduled for May 7-8.
Landscaping Committee
Kathy Mitton (Landscape Chair) noted that a project to reduce some water usage will be handled later in the year. The oleanders on Strada De Acero will be removed and replaced with desert plants and the water will be cut off below the north Sempreverde mailboxes. This will cost approximately $3500-4000 and will be completed later in the year and covered under the landscape miscellaneous budget.
Security Committee
Phil Mowbray (Security Committee) noted that a successful Neighborhood Watch meeting was held with over 20 homeowners attending. He noted the greatest illegal activity concerning citizens continues to be scams and fraud.
Miscellaneous
Bill Coan, board member and chair of architecture has resigned for personal reasons. He has been a huge help and taken on numerous tasks which include helping monitor the 2018 road refresh during the actual paving and volunteering to drive residences to their homes during this time. Bill also was a tremendous help to the committee investigating south pool security issues and met with numerous experts and has become the camera and security system expert. All of this is on top of the architecture chair work he has done. Bill you will be greatly missed and we truly appreciate what you accomplished in your time on the board.
Bill is being replaced by Mike Pratt who will fill out Bill’s term on the board and chair the architecture committee going forward. Mike has owned a home here for more than 10 years but is only recently retired from Bechtel and is now living here full time. Mike brings a wealth of experience to the board. He’s a Certified Project Manager (Level II) and his experience spans the the Mining & Metals, Commercial Nuclear Power design & licensing, Defense, and Environmental industries. Welcome Mike!
Jane Spaulding reported on the progress she has made regarding adding benches to some common areas. She has identified locations for benches. Jane has been thorough in her site selection and has considered privacy issues (ensuring a bench location doesn’t look into a home), view issues (ensuring a bench location wouldn’t impair a view of a homeowner), and spots where rest and view would be most helpful. Two homeowners have agreed to donate benches that meet the criteria (cement). Jane is currently looking to identify a vendor to supply the remainder.
The next Board meeting will be on Monday, April 15.
Management Company Recommendation presentation (you may need to view this on the web rather than in email):
[gview file=”http://smve.org/xr/hoa/uploads/Mgmt-Company-Selection.pdf”]