Walden Pond Homeowners Association Board Meeting

January 17, 2007

Present:

Board Directors : Laura Atkinson, Don Barry, Edison McIntyre
Board Officer : Steve Williams

Property Agent : Frankie Johnson

Community Members : C.R.

Call to Order at 7:00 p.m.

Old Business:

• There was lengthy discussion regarding how to deal with illegal parking. There are numerous logistical and legal problems with towing cars, so it was decided that we would instead begin fining homeowners for parking violations committed by them or their guests. A unanimous vote was taken to fine $25 for the first offense, $50 for the second offense and $100 for each offense thereafter.
• More No Parking signs will be installed on Astor Court and Providence Place, as these are the courts with the most parking complaints.
• When parking lots get repainted, we will mark each visitor/open space with a "V" and ensure that no unit is given more than one designated space, as it was noted that a few units for some reason have gotten more than one space marked for them.
• Grove Park retaining wall update - it is difficult to retain an engineer since they will have to oversee the entire project and none so far are willing to do so. Frankie will continue to try to get an engineer and will check with local engineering schools.
• A unanimous vote was taken to inform old attorney that all cases must be settled by February 15 or we will take these cases back and hand them over to new attorney.
• One more estimate is due for ground lights for the entrance signs. A decision will be made by e-mail by the Board once all estimates are in.
• Pond management is underway.
• Duke Power will soon install pole lights on Providence and Georgetown. There have been issues with our accounts and billing, which Duke Power will hopefully get resolved very soon. Frankie will check with them again about lamp post near 22 Providence.

New Business:

• A unanimous vote was taken to keep Don Barry as President, Laura Atkinson as Vice-President, and Ed McIntyre as Treasurer for the upcoming year. The next newsletter will ask any members who wish to participate as officers to contact the Board, and decisions about non-voting Board members will be made after the Board receives responses.
• An unidentified homeowner requested the names and addresses of all homeowners who received letters as a result of the aesthetics walkthroughs. All present thought that this would be a violation of homeowner privacy and that Frankie could give this person the total number of letters sent out and a general overview of the most common aesthetics problems.
• Frankie noted that she had received several phone calls from homeowners asking what contractors we could recommend to fix problems noted in the walkthroughs.
• The landscaper will charge $3000 per truckload for mulch. Frankie noted that this is a good price and that all landscapers charge extra for mulch. Ed asked if this couldn't be part of the contract but Frankie said that it is common practice for mulch to be an extra cost. The Board decided to allow the landscaper to bring one truckload of mulch and he must get permission before bringing any additional truckloads.
• A unanimous vote was taken to allow Frankie to work with landscaper to replace broken or missing water meter covers.
• The paving estimates were reviewed. There were no estimates for Wildberry Lane and Finley Street parking lots, and a concern was raised about needing a new drainhole in Providence, so Frankie will take those concerns back to the paving company. The pavers recommended repaving Grove Park first and Providence second, but since Grove Park has to have a retaining wall built this year, it was decided that most likely we will repave Providence this year and move down the list in the next few years.
• The issue of snow removal was discussed. In the event of more than two inches of snow, Frankie will call Don and they will decide what should be done.
• The retaining wall behind 13 Durbin needs to be replaced, possibly more urgently than the one on Grove Park.
• The issue of mailbox enclosures was raised, and it was decided again to wait until next year to look at this since we have so many things to take care of this year.
• Frankie will get an estimate for trash can labels that will show the court name and unit number, and we will work court by court to get these onto the appropriate trash cans.
• Bank drafts were discussed, following a homeowner's concerns at the annual meeting. It was noted that the more homeowners who opt for bank draft, the more cost effective it would be, but as it currently stands, it is a non-trivial expense. However, Frankie noted that having a draft available reduces non-payment of monthly fees, and so the expense may be worth it. Ed will put information in an upcoming newsletter about how homeowners can pay through their online bill pay and save the HOA money.
• A unanimous vote was taken to allow Laura to renew the domain name registration for the Walden Pond website for the upcoming year and be reimbursed. The cost is $15 for the year. The yearly fee for the company that provides the server space and the webmail will soon need to be paid as well, but that will be addressed at the next meeting.

Executive Session

Adjournment: 9:28 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by Laura Atkinson, Board Director