2016 REHOA Budget Meeting was held on January 6, 2016 in the Mukilteo City Hall council chambers. Meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m., and the minutes from the November board meeting were approved at 7:05 p.m.
Treasurer’s report: The January treasurers report, copies of the last available bank statement, and the final version of the 2015 budget comparison were presented. Since the November meeting, 2 more delinquent homes have been brought up to date. Treasurer pointed out the progress that has been made during 2015: Of the 12 homeowners that were delinquent while the management company was in charge, 11 are now current. Register balances were compared and were confirmed as identical to treasurers report.
2016 Budget: A worksheet was presented that listed each individual expense anticipated for 2016. Most were items carried forward from the 2015 budget. However, new items, such a tree removal (per the arborist’s January 2016 baseline report) were anticipated.
During the discussion on the fence replacement, one member asked if it was worthwhile to offer a “maintenance incentive” program to split the cost of re-sealing existing fence boards every so often. However, the cost of maintenance is difficult to assess. In addition, since the re-sealing could not be made mandatory, the visual effect may not be desirable if some homeowners elected not to recoat. Members agreed that a study may be in order that examines how frequently a fence is replaced versus how much that could be prolonged with occasional maintenance. The study will ideally determine which is more cost effective.
During the discussion of mowing and brush removal line items, a member noted that we do not have an established schedule to performing all landscaping jobs. It was recommended that a separate position or committee may need to be established to control the timing of all landscaping activities.
The 2016 baseline arborist study pointed out a number of trees that need to be removed. A committee will need to be established to contact the county, obtain the necessary permits and approval, solicit contracts from licensed and bonded tree removal services, present these to the board for approval, and then sign the necessary contracts.
The 2016 budget was approved by a vote of homeowners at 7:50 p.m., and the 2016 annual dues were set. While some line items were new for 2016, some old items were trimmed and the 2016 annual dues will remain the same as they were in 2015.
A proposed 2016 dues letter was reviewed. Suggestions were made to improve wording. Funding for the printing and mailing of the dues letters was approved. In addition, the board approved several annual expenses such as insurance, tax preparation costs, annual incorporation filing with secretary of state, website and domain expanses and authorization to file lien releases. While all expenses require prior board approval, these are known expenses.
The PPPCs ongoing fight was discussed. The public hearing is set for 6:00 p.m. on January 14, 2016 and members are encouraged to attend. At that time, the public will be given the opportunity to give personal testimony on the development.
Fence request; The board has received a request from a homeowner to replace their fence bordering Picnic Point Rd. (Note: these fences are currently 19 years old). This homeowner only wants to replace the facing boards. Twenty-two homes have already replaced their fences. However, in all cases, the support posts were also replaced. Some homeowners voiced concern that replacing the facing boards was only a cosmetic fix and that the supports were unlikely to last another 19 years. Thus, the HOA would be asked to expend additional funds to fix this fence again in the near future.
A new authorized signer for REHOA bank accounts was approved. A form was completed for removing a former signer and added the new signer. Appointments will be made with our account representative at the bank.
Balance of duties: It was noted that too many of the REHOA jobs in the hands of a few. Concern was expressed that, should one of these board members be no longer able to perform the duty, the remaining members may not know how to carry on. To better distribute responsibilities to more members, a list of job roles will be discussed by the board, either via e-mail or at the next meeting. The next board meeting was tentatively set for 3-9-16. (Note: due to room availability, this meeting was updated to 3-02-16)
Meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m.