Montgomery
West Homeowners Association
Annual
Meeting
November
13, 2007
The
MWHOA annual meeting was held on November 13, 2007 at Strawberry Knoll
Elementary. The meeting was called to order by John Patton at 7:40 P.M.
Board
members present: John Patton, Michele Heffner, Thelena Williams, Marybeth
Daucher. Christopher Hitchens of Thomas Schild Law Group, LLP was present as
legal representation.
An attendance list is
attached
Welcome – John Patton, President, MWHOA
The President
presented an overview of actions by the MWHOA in the last 3-5 years. They
included amendment and approval of new covenants, increased investment in legal
issues and the physical environment of the neighborhood such as new road signs,
an MWHOA website, improved common areas, painted signs and clearer
communication with homeowners.
Introduction of Board Members and Legal Counsel – John Patton
OLD BUSINESS
Review of the 2006 minutes highlights – Marybeth
Daucher, Secretary
MWHOA Website
Please remember that
all HOA information can be found on our website www.montgomerywesthoa.org. General
information (trash collection schedule, dues info, AERC applications), Board of
Directors, Board meeting minutes, Covenants and By-laws, Architectural Review,
Newsletters, and Services. Please let John Patton know if you would like to
advertise any services on the website or if you would like to recommend
companies to other homeowners in your neighborhood.
Covenant
Enforcement
Based on
comments from homeowners, 2007 marked a change in our strategy to collect past
due accounts and enforce HOA covenants. We initiated a friendly notice
approach with homeowners that is proving effective. All homeowners with
outstanding account balances and/or covenant violations (about 55 homeowners)
were contacted this year and many homeowners resolved their violations in a
timely manner. This helped to reduce extra legal fees.
Architectural and
Environmental Review Committee
AERC
record keeping was further improved with completion of individual files for
each property. Spring and fall surveys of the neighborhood were completed
by the AERC.
Budget
Bids for our two largest expenditures were received (landscaping
and trash collection). This resulted in keeping Greenlink (Landscaping)
for an additional year as a low cost provider and switching to Ecology Services
for trash collection. This amounts to an annual savings of about $3700.
Landscaping
Several trees and bushes were planted to improve the look of our neighborhood
and replace dead trees. An area damaged by fire is being restored behind
town homes on Kinglet. Yard trimming and brush piles in our common areas
dumped by homeowners were cleaned up and letters to homeowners adjacent to
these areas were sent as reminders not to use common areas to dump yard waste.
Parking
Lots
Parking areas for the Kinglet town homes were repaved. A
schedule is in place to repave the Swallow Court parking area in the next year
or two.
Traffic
Calming
The
Board continued working with the County to calm
traffic on Centerway (new signs), remove dead trees and plant replacements, and
replace burned out street lights.
Treasurer’s Report – Thelena Williams, Treasurer (see
attached report)
According to the 2007
MWHOA financial report, 6 homes are being rented, 3 homes have been sold, 2
townhouses and 1 single-family home are for sale and 3 homeowners are
delinquent on dues. Corporate Taxes were filed for 2006 and verification of the
2006 books was completed. A majority of the 2007 budget expenses went to lawn
service (34.5%), followed by trash collection (19.7%), legal fees (21.86%), and
other smaller items (~2% each).
2008 MWHOA Budget
- The Board-approved 2008 budget was presented. There was a question from the
floor regarding the cost of snow removal. The Board responded that the
line-item amount of $250 is for volunteer youth in the neighborhood willing to
remove snow from bus stops through out the winter months. There was a group
discussion about increasing the reserve fund. The Board explained that the
reserve fund is targeted primarily for capital improvements, legal defense, and
covenant reinforcement. Because the overall budget of the HOA is low, it was
suggested that the reserve fund be increased but not to the level that creates
burdensome increases in quarterly dues or the need for an assessment. The Board
plans to increase the reserve fund over the next 3-4 years by increasing
quarterly dues by $10 a quarter for 2008.
Report on Committees
– AERC surveys all properties within the association and documents covenant
violations which are forwarded to the Board. The AERC makes recommendations to
the Board but the Board is responsible for enforcing covenant violations. After
feedback from homeowners, the AERC (consisting of the AERC chairman who is a
Board member and 2 other individuals not on the Board) does a spring and fall
survey of the neighborhood and reviews and approves AERC forms. The AERC forms
are available on the MWHOA website.
Attorney’s Report
– Mr. Hitchens presenting observations on the MWHOA. He mentioned that
(1) The level of delinquency of dues was very low compared to
other HOAs
(2) Our expenses were relatively minimal leading to low
quarterly dues
(3) Writing friendly letters for covenant violations was very
effective as a first line of action for enforcement
(4) The reserve fund is important; however, the relatively low
level of HOA expenditures should be considered relative to a reasonable amount
of money available in the reserve fund
(5) The storm water maintenance process for the retention pond
should be completed by the County in the next few months. The County accepted
the transfer in the land records. The County maintains the structural integrity
of the pond while the HOA manages the landscaping of the area.
(6) The MWHOA Board of Directors has been very effective in
reducing covenant violations by working directly with individual homeowners.
(7) Some of the legal expenses in 2007 were recovered through
insurance
NEW BUSINESS
Nominating Committee
– In 2007, the Board of Director served as the Nominating Committee. Thelena
Williams and Chris Rhawn have one year remaining in their terms. The Secretary
position is open. The Nominating Committee places in nomination John Patton,
18932 Marsh Hawk, Michele Heffner, 18901 Blue Heron, and David Klepeis, 19137
Kinglet. No additional nominations were received from the floor. The
nominations were unanimously approved.
Question about the Reserve Fund – a question was asked whether the Reserve Fund is used
primarily for structural needs in the HOA. The response by the Board was the
$10,000 has been spent on pond transfer, $7000 spent on parking space
refurbishing and a projected $7000 spend on the remaining parking spaces (to be
done in the next few years).
Question about Covenant Violations – a question was asked concerning the process of covenant
enforcement. It may be unclear as to the obligation of the homeowner and the
obligation of the Board in the text of a friendly letter. Mr. Hitchens
suggested that the letter firmly state the response period expected by the
homeowner and the actions to be taken by the Board if there is non-compliance.
Currently the process for covenant enforcement includes a friendly letter (not
a legal document), a hearing between HO and Board of Directors, then either
compliance or, for non-compliance, a letter from the lawyer is sent. The HO has
the option of further action through the Montgomery County Commission on Common
Ownership Committees. It was suggested that a clear procedure be developed for
covenant enforcement.
New Action items for the Board –
(1) The sidewalk at the corner of Kinglet and Centerway is
raised and may cause a tripping hazard. This is near the school bus stop and
needs possible repair.
(2) The suggestion was made to provide HOA training for Board
members through the CAI (Community Associations Institute).
OTHER BUSINESS/CONCERNS/QUESTIONS
There being no
further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned at 8:35PM
Approved:
___________________________ ______________
John Patton,
President Date
___________________________ _______________
Marybeth Daucher,
Secretary Date
MWHOA Meeting Highlights for 2007
Board Members:
John Patton, President
Michele Heffner, Vice President
Thelena Williams, Treasurer
Marybeth Daucher, Secretary
Christopher Rhawn
Just a
reminder that all HOA information can be found on our website www.montgomerywesthoa.org. General information (trash collection schedule, dues info,
AERC applications), Board of Directors, Board meeting minutes, Covenants and
By-laws, Architectural Review, Newsletters, and Services. Please let John
Patton know if you would like to advertise any services on the website or if you
would like to recommend companies to other homeowners in your neighborhood.
Covenant
Enforcement
Based
on comments from homeowners, 2007 marked a change in our strategy to collect
past due accounts and enforce HOA covenants. We initiated a friendly notice
approach with homeowners that is proving effective. Approximately 40% of
homeowners with outstanding account balances and/or covenant violations were
contacted this year resolved their violations in a timely manner. This helped
to reduce extra legal fees.
Architectural and Environmental
Review Committee
AERC
record keeping was further improved with completion of individual files for
each property. Spring and fall surveys of the neighborhood were completed
by the AERC.
Budget
Bids for our two largest expenditures were
received (landscaping and trash collection). This resulted in keeping
Greenlink (Landscaping) for an additional year as a low cost provider and
switching to Ecology Services for trash collection. This amounts to an annual savings
of about $3700.
Landscaping
Several trees and bushes were planted to improve
the look of our neighborhood and replace dead trees. An area damaged by
fire is being restored behind town homes on Kinglet. Yard trimming and
brush piles in our common areas dumped by homeowners were cleaned up and
letters to homeowners adjacent to these areas were sent as reminders not to use
common areas to dump yard waste.
Parking
Lots
Parking areas for the Kinglet town homes were
repaved. A schedule is in place to repave the Swallow Court parking area
in the next year or two.
Traffic
Calming
The Board continued working with
the County to calm traffic on Centerway (new signs), remove dead trees and
plant replacements, and replace burned out street lights.
November
13, 2007
Treasurer’s
Report
Each homeowner should have picked up a Revenue and Expenses
report with the reverse side indicating the approved budget for 2008.
Expenses
to date: the Association’s largest expense, which is comprised of
34.45%, was landscape/lawn care followed by 21.86% of legal representation from
the Thomas Schild Law Group for covenant enforcements. Waste removal at 19.65%; repaving of townhouses on Kinglet Place at
16.38%, other expenditures, such as insurance, supplies, postage and copies were
all under 2%.
Beautification
Highlights:
Within the community are 6 homes listed as rentals. Three
homes sold, 2 townhouses and one single family home are currently up for
sale.
At this time there are a total of 3 homeowners that are
delinquent and each has received, in addition to their normal quarterly
statement, three friendly reminder letters of request for payment.
Lastly, our accounting firm prepared the Association’s 2006
Corporate Tax Returns along with verification of bookkeeping for 2006.
Respectfully
Submitted by:
Thelena
Williams
MWHOA
Treasurer
Email Approvals by
MWHOA Board