Las Palomas

September 04 MInutes

Oct 15, 2004

LPHOA BOARD MEETING
SEPTEMBER 22, 2004

Board members present:
Ken Dry------------President Mike Frain and Russ Marohnic
Sherry Mischel----Secretary out of town and not available
Art Messinger-----Vice President (via teleconference)

Homeowners present:
Dorothy Totten Barbara Siegel Larry and Karen Naso
Ellen Blum Gloria Heeter George Galat
Larry Seidman Barbara Goldfarb
Pat Wilson and Tom Buchanan Nick Papademetriou
Norm and Marian Cocanour

***The meeting was called to order at 7 PM by Ken Dry. Minutes from the last meeting were reviewed and approved.

PROPERTY MANAGER?’S REPORT
1. Eight homes for sale?—2 in escrow, 1 sold.
2. ICS has completed trimming the palms and other trees.
3. Re-painting of the last 13 houses is nearly complete. After that, the board will decide whether to keep the present painting policy or alter it for future projects.
4. Maricopa County pool requirements?—a meeting with the County official resulted in a variance that accepts our present fence without any modifications. Homeowners with gates into the pool area are required to provide self-latching mechanisms if they don?’t already.
5. Soil testing at the north tennis court has been completed. No problems were reported (see report for details). They did recommend that we use the existing floor as a base?—grind it up and put new flooring on top. We will go back to existing quotes, review and discuss the possibility of redoing the court. Further discussion is warranted.
6. Fall planting will begin on Sept 27, 2004.
7. Excessive chlorine use in the ponds (due to leaf droppings, etc.) is still under review. This will not be as much a problem with the approach of cool weather.
8. New lighting has been added to the fire pit area.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Architectural

1. Lot 133?—has received approval for remodeling plans from Scottsdale. They will start soon.
2. Lot 134 wishes to do a similar project as 133, and is applying to Scottsdale for approval.
3. Lot 61 is under way with their house front renovation

Landscaping
1. Winter grass seeding will start soon
2. There will be no landscape changes at this time to the common areas, except where grass has had a problem growing--a different landscaping will be put in there. CHANGES WILL BE MADE ONLY TO THOSE AREAS WITH PROBLEMS.
3. Board does not take out any trees in common areas or on front lawn areas unless they are dead, dying and impose immediate harm to structures or people, if maintenance exceeds cost of replacement, tree does not contribute to the overall value of Las Palomas or has become a safety risk for the community. Board will review Las Palomas history of tree removals as requested by Barbara Siegel, lot #65. Mrs. Siegel compares her case to that of lots #44 and #47. Board will allow Mrs. Siegel time during Homeowner?’s Forum to present her case and we will review at next meeting.
4. Pointed out that Ficus trees in Pool area have not been cut down even though the same conditions are the basis for Mrs. Siegel?’s argument for reimbursement.
5. Ponds in pool area cost $8000 per year to maintain. Bob Wallace and Ken Dry will look into methods of cleaning these ponds to cut down cost of chemical treatment.
Financial
1. Payroll will go up in 2005 due to commitments in funding pensions
2. Need to fund for future projects?—street resurfacing, North tennis court redo, painting houses
3. We are operating on a deficit?—reserves are at $50,000 and should not be touched.
4. The board will discuss monthly dues in an executive session.

NEW BUSINESS

Insurance plan for 2005?—current status
1. Our current policy is through Farmers and we are waiting for the renewal premium
2. State Farm has requested more information
3. A package has been sent to CAU (Community Association Underwriters) and to Marsh Inc, and we are waiting for a reply from both companies.
4. United Claims has made no offer to insure Las Palomas
5. Ken Dry checked into reinsuring?—we would need to fund for potential loss, which would be a large amount up front. Currently, no one is licensed in Arizona.

Recourse against the board?—according to the new HOA law that the legislature passed recently, any homeowner can sue at anytime. The board is insured for potential lawsuits. The best way to show displeasure with the board is to vote them out of office at election time in February or with a vote of 75% of the homeowners, take off any board member at any time. Suing is expensive and time-consuming, and hurts all homeowners, as fees to fight a lawsuit would be taken out of monthly dues that all pay. The Board takes into account the position of the homeowners, if we get feedback from our inquiries. Less than a third of the owners have ever responded to question raised in the ?“President?’s Perspective?” letters and is usually the same 26 people who voice their opinions.

1. PLEASE PUT OUT GARBAGE (BLACK) AND RECYCLE (PINK) CONTAINERS NO EARLIER THAN 7 PM THE NIGHT BEFORE PICK-UP. IF YOU NEED TO USE YOUR NEIGHBOR?’S CONTAINER, PLEASE ASK PERMISSION FIRST!
2. DOGS MUST BE ON A LEASH?—PLEASE PICK UP AFTER YOU DOG IMMEDIATELY AND PUT IN APPROPRIATE CONTAINER?—YOUR OWN OR ONE OF THE CONTAINERS IN ANY OF THE COMMON AREAS.
3. IF HOMES ARE NOT ON THE SCHEDULE TO BE PAINTED AND A HOMEOWNER WANTS HIS OR HERS DONE, THEY DO SO AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE. THAT ALSO GOES FOR REMOVAL OF TREES AND BUSHES THAT MAY BE THE HOA?’S RESPONSIBILITY?—APPROVAL MUST BE OBTAINED FIRST OR WILL BE AT THE HOMEOWNER?’S EXPENSE.

***The meeting was closed at 7:40 PM. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 20, 2004 at the Mountain View Community Center.


HOMEOWNERS FORUM

1. Ms. Siegel of Lot 65 has asked the board to reconsider a decision to deny her reimbursement for the removal of a huge tree in the front of her house. It had attracted flocks of birds, which in turn caused large amounts of bird droppings that she felt caused a health hazard. She took it to the board two years ago to ask them to remove it at HOA expense and was denied. She finally had it removed at her own expense. She has since learned that two other homeowners had made similar requests for health and/or safety reasons and were granted their requests. Ms. Siegel feels that her request was not any different and wants reimbursement of $450.00. The board will reconsider her request and render a decision at the next board meeting.
2. Karen Naso of Lot 61 feels that we need to identify and benchmark the ?“look?” of Las Palomas. She would be willing to organize a group of homeowners for a focus group to brainstorm and come up with a ?“look?” to present to the board.
3. Barb Goldfarb would like to be on the landscape committee. Russ Marohnic is the chairman.


Respectfully submitted,

Sherry Mischel