Chevington Woods

8/18,2003 Trustee Meeting Minutes

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CHEVINGTON WOODS CIVIC ASSOCIATION
MINUTES OF TRUSTEES MEETING
August 18, 2003

There was a PLSD parents meeting in progress at the 7:00 p.m. meeting time. President Comanita was not able to call the meeting to order until 7:22 p.m.

President Comanita ascertained the presence of a quorum with seven (7) Trustees in attendance:

Carol Comanita, President
Will Snell, Secretary
Lisa Ross
Don Roeder
Rachel Hintz
Theresa Hartley
Juliet Johnston Squier

Reading of the minutes: The minutes of the June 30, 2003 Annual Meeting were read and approved. The minutes of the July 28, 2003 Meeting of Trustees were read and approved.

Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Mark Briggs was absent.

Reports of Committees: There were no Standing Committee or Ad Hoc Committee reports. President Comanita advised the Trustees present that she suggested three committees be appointed, i.e. an Audit Committee, a Deed Restriction Committee and a Bylaw Committee.

1. Auditing Committee – Standing Committee - Audit the books annually or whenever there is a change in the office.
2. Deed Restriction Committee – Standing Committee – Review and propose changes to existing deed restrictions. After revised deed restrictions are adopted, this Committee would investigate complaints and report findings to the Trustees for discussion and appropriate action. This Committee would also serve as the Architectural Review Committee until changes in the Bylaws and Deed Restrictions are finalized.
3. Bylaw Committee – Ad Hoc – Review the Bylaws and propose changes to the Bylaws of the CWCA.

Trustee Ross made a motion, which was duly seconded, that the Committees be established and that the President appoint Trustees to the Committees. The motion passed unanimously.

The following Trustees were appointed. The President agreed to solicit the Trustees via email for acceptance to the vacancies.

Minutes of Trustees Meeting – August 18, 2003 Page 2


Auditing Committee:

Chairperson: Juliet Johnston Squier
Member: vacant
Member: vacant

Bylaw Committee:

Chairman: Will Snell
Member: Rachel Hintz
Member: Hal Pearson

Deed Restriction Committee:

Chairperson: Carol Comanita
Member: Lisa Ross
Member: Will Snell
Member: Don Roeder
Member: Mark Briggs

Deed Restriction Committee Member Ross advised the Trustees present that residents in her area wish to serve on the Committee and have some input. During the ensuing discussion it was generally agreed that residents should have the opportunity to participate in the review of and proposed changes to existing deed restrictions. It was agreed that this issue would be carried over to the next Trustees meeting as unfinished business.

New Business:

Storm Drainage – Secretary Snell advised the Trustees present that farm acreage along Palmer Road to the north was in the process of being developed as residential.
He suggested the Township Engineer, Greg Butcher, be advised of the CWCA concerns about the amount of storm drainage water that could be channeled into New England Acres and Chevington Woods because the drainage “creeks” were already overflowing at times. The new homes being constructed in what were previously agricultural fields could inflict serious flood damage on the homes in Chevington Woods. It was noted that the housing developments would most likely be in Etna Township/Licking County so the Violet Township Engineer would need the cooperation of those entities. Trustee Hintz made a motion that Secretary Snell communicate with Mr. Butcher advising him of the Association’s concern and invite Mr. Butcher to attend a CWCA Trustee Meeting in regard to the issue. The motion was duly seconded and unanimously passed.


Minutes of Trustees Meeting – August 18, 2003 Page 3



Term of Trustees - President Comanita advised those Trustees present that there was some confusion as to the current terms of office of the Trustees. Originally, some thirty years ago, the Association Bylaws contemplated staggered terms of three (3) years for Trustees. However, the present Bylaws also stipulate that future election of Trustees will be for three (3) year terms. A discussion was held concerning the term of office and the fact that no Trustee election had been held for several years. Trustee Hartley made a motion that the Trustees assuming office effective July 1, 2003 serve a three-year term ending on June 30, 2006. The motion was duly seconded and passed unanimously.

Newsletter - President Comanita asked the Trustees present to consider the CWCA Newsletter title, distribution, content and etc. Thereafter a discussion ensued and the consensus of opinion evolved that the Newsletter format and distribution should be discussed further and would be carried over to the next meeting as unfinished business. It was noted that the Bylaws require the Newsletter be published quarterly and a Newsletter should be published early in October covering Association activity for July, August and September.

CWCA Web Site – Secretary Snell reported on research he had done to gather information for the Trustees to consider for the establishment of an independent Internet web site. During the research it was discovered most domain names involving the words Chevington Woods or the initials CWCA were taken. However, the domain CWCAOH.ORG was available. Rather than take a chance on losing the opportunity to reserve the domain name, Secretary Snell secured the domain for a two-year period at a cost of $31.00. He also noted that should the Trustees decide not to utilize the domain name that he would personally bear the cost of the domain name reservation since he had acted without prior approval of the Trustees.

One possible provider for ISP service was discussed. The cost was noted as follows:

Website Source – possible provider - $20.00 set up fee
13.96 monthly – 2 year contract = $355.04 + 20.00 Setup Fee Total $375.04
Monthly $19.95/mo.
Quarterly $17.95/mo. -10% discount
Semi-Annual $16.95/mo. -15% discount
Annual $15.96/mo. -20% discount
2 Year $13.96/mo. -30% discount

200MB space - 6 Gigabyte Transfer – Spam Blocking – Virus Protection
No Popup ads - No spyware - strict privacy protection.

During the ensuing discussion several positives comments were made suggesting that an independent web site could be a valuable communication tool inasmuch as home computers are commonplace today.
Minutes of Trustees Meeting – August 18, 2003 Page 4


However, since the project would require significant planning it was the consensus of the Trustees present to carry the subject over to the next meeting as unfinished business.

Legal Counsel – Secretary Snell noted that the Deed Restriction Committee and Bylaw Committee would soon begin deliberations on updating documents that have not been changed for many years. He stated that if the CWCA intends to pursue the issues that have generated the revival of the Association to eventual litigation, if necessary, that legal counsel should be brought on board from the beginning. One fatal procedural error could result in complete failure of everything the Association was attempting to accomplish.

During the ensuing discussion a consensus of opinion developed that the Association should proceed with due deliberation. Inasmuch as only seven Trustees were present for the meeting, President Comanita directed that the item be carried over until the next meeting as unfinished business to give other Trustees an opportunity to participate in the discussion.

After a discussion by the Trustees present, it was the consensus of opinion that the next meeting of the Trustees be held beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, September 15th at the Violet Township Trustees meeting room.

Thereafter, Trustee Hintz made a motion to adjourn until the next meeting of the Trustees to be held at 7:00 p.m. September 15, 2003. The motion was duly seconded and passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,



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Will Snell, Secretary