Hidden Lakes Homeowners Association

July 24, 2006 HOA Meeting MInutes

July 24, 2006

I. Roll Call -- President Jeff Wood called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Ten (10) homes were represented (8 in person; 2 proxy).

II. It was moved (Spenser Aden) and seconded (Valise Ramsdell) to approve the minutes of the April 17, 2006, HOA meeting. Motion approved.

III. Treasurer’s Report -- Spencer Aden (Treasurer) presented the 2006 second quarter Treasurer’s report (April – June, 2006) -- Motion approved to accept Treasurers report. (Barbara Haven moved, Valise Ramsdell seconded). Third Quarter Dues were due July 1, 2006. Fourth Quarter Dues will be due Oct. 1st

Committee Reports; Old Business

Social/Welcome Committee
· Pool Party is set for August 20, 2006, from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Recreation Center. Handouts were provided and homeowners present should spread the word about the Pool Party. Pizza and drinks will be provided by the HOA, with homeowners providing deserts and other items. Pool cost $130.00. Jennifer Bell said that she paid $150.00 to the Recreation Center, but will need to provide them with another check for $130.00 and get the first check back.
· Mary Spain reported that she was backlogged on handing out $41 gift certificates to the new homeowners.
· Halloween Costume Contest will not occur this year due to lack of interest last year
· Yard Sale – The HOA plans to have a Yard Sale in the Fall – HOA will probably settle on two (2) Yard Sales a year (Spring and Fall). Mary Spain said that the Yard Sale sign posts needed replacing.

ACC Committee/Old Business
· Bradford Pear Trees at entrance -- Jennifer Bell reported that she had talked with Steve about costs, which would be (and she will get a firm quote from them): (1) $80 per tree removal (flush to ground) and hauled away. Discussed removing every other tree and topping to match the trees on other side of the road. (2) $5 per railroad tie removed. (3) $10 per bush removed by railroad ties.
o Discussed whether to replace anything in the railroad tie area – Valise said that the neighborhood property is from the middle of the road out 10’ each way.
o Mary Spain said a church group might do the landscaping work for a donation – she will find out and see if she can get a quote from them as well.
o Jennifer Bell said she would be willing to organize a Community Day (September/October) for the homeowners to get together and do what can be done (i.e. pull up shrubs). This will be included in September Newsletter.
o Will get quotes and then go from there.
· Written approvals from ACC should be sent (emailed) to HOA Secretary as well as homeowners for inclusion in HOA files. Mary Spain said she would like to know what ACC approvals have occurred. This might be included in the Newsletter if the Secretary got that information, which they currently didn’t receive.
Recent approvals by ACC were noted.

New Business

· New Streetlights – The Board proposed to add additional lights on the poles in the neighborhood. The costs would be approximately $250 per light and with a cost of approximately $11/month for each light for electricity. Rand Ramsdell said that he was just in the process of getting this finalized but there were some engineering issues related to where they could be located. Mary Spain stated that she didn’t want any more streetlights and that was why everyone had individual gas lanterns in their yard though not everyone had them on. Barbara Havens said that it might be worth looking into converting the gas lanterns to solar. Rand Ramsdell said that in addition to the quote for the lights he was pursing, he would also get a quote for how much it would cost to convert the gas lanterns to electric. Mary Spain said that when the streetlights, that were currently there were put up, the city thought they were putting them up in another subdivision and that the city’s recommendation was for one light for every 13 homes. Therefore, we have more streetlights already than the city recommended. There were other homeowners present that did not want additional streetlights added and thought that it should be put to a neighborhood vote. Bill Collins said that there were two issues that the neighborhood should address: How many streetlights would they like and where, and if they wanted any additional streetlights at all. Everyone was in agreement that the light by the Bradford Pear Trees should be moved to the corner of Horn Tavern Road and Hidden Lake Drive (if possible). It was agreed that if approved, the costs would be worked into the 2007 budget.

· Change number of HOA meetings from four (4) per year to two (2) per year (Spring and Fall). Other meetings could be held if needed. Jennifer Bell said she wouldn’t like to have just two meetings a year. There was discussion about the lack of attendance at the HOA meetings and that it might be more productive to just have two meetings per year, starting in 2007.

· HOA Management Companies – with the lack of homeowners willing to serve on the Board, the current Board is considering outsourcing the Board responsibilities to an HOA Management Company. Rand Ramsdell has already researched several companies, and bids will be requested from them. Service costs are estimated at $300-$650/month, which might result in an increase of HOA dues. Information will be available at the October HOA meeting for consideration, along with the 2007 budget. It was requested that this be put up for a vote by the homeowners. While this might be done, Rand stated that the Board could make this decision without a vote of the homeowners. Mary Spain made the point that the HOA exists to maintain the community areas, which no one uses, and it should be possible to give the land to the adjacent homeowners.