Mar Cheri Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

August 4, 2015

Ken Scheweitz, Nancy Krueger, Mark Bunger, and Vicki Bengeult were in attendance with Michelle Egusa, who had to leave early. A quorum was present. Minutes of July meeting were approved via email prior to the meeting.

Ken led the meeting by focusing discussion of the following items as part of a master plan. We talked about how much time and effort it requires to maintain the pool and surrounding areas, how few volunteers there are doing the work, and that it costs more to maintain as the property ages.

Pool – Nancy and Mark

We have been working hard to keep the pool water healthy. We replaced the UV light in our UV filter and that has made the water cleaner. We are waiting to get the go ahead from King County for the new liquid chlorine system. The meter for this system is installed.

Nancy obtained a bid to extend the wooden pool fence and add doors to house the plastic container for the 15 gallon carboys of chlorine which we will need to run the new system. It will cost $500 to complete this enclosure. Vicki suggested we also have him repair the broken fence leading into the sports court area, and the board agreed.

Mark and Nancy discussed the reasons we need to replace the sand filter for the pool right away, in addition to the new chlorine system. This filter is past its expected life and because it isn’t working properly, Mark has had to drain significant volumes of water from the pool in the middle of the night (required by the water district to be done at off peak hours) to keep acid levels down. Estimates from Watermill are that the installed ion pool filter would cost $2827.57. A new heater installed would run $4,878.19. The board agreed to proceed with the new sand filter and asked Mark and Nancy to obtain additional bids for the heater and pool resurfacing.

The health department will likely require our pool to be resurfaced after next season. The work must be done at the end of summer when the water table is at its lowest, because there is a risk that hydraulic pressure from the water table will push the empty pool out of the ground. Resurfacing will probably cost somewhere around $30,000. We have approximately $20,000 set aside for this.

Swim lessons continue. We also have two families taking private lessons on Saturday and Sunday morning.

We have a request to keep the pool open on weekends only until the middle of September, and have agreed to do so if lifeguards are available, water quality is good, and the weather continues warm.

Architecture Committee – Vicki

We requested bids for maintenance of the common areas around the pool and Vicki met with four different landscape firms. The Architecture Committee believes this area is out of compliance with the covenants with weed and blackberry overgrowth as well as trees blocking views. In the past, volunteers have tried to weed during the spring work parties, but this has not been enough to keep this area in usable and presentable condition year round, so we recommend hiring ongoing maintenance.

The bids were specified in several parts: a) One time cleanup of debris from the tree cutting on the Sorenson/Cheng property. This cleanup would be for our property along the stream, and also cutting blackberries back 3 feet from the fence at the back of the property by the pool b) ongoing maintenance to keep entire common area clear of invasive species, mowed, and weeded; c) the drainage project (rough bid because city requirements are still unknown). 3 estimates were received, and we are expecting the final one within the week, and all will be presented at the next board meeting.

The cost to remove half the spruce trees around the pool house would be $1400. Replacement trees would be required by the city, but trees of more appropriate height would be selected and could be placed out of view lines and to provide shade in the picnic areas. No decisions were made, pending the requirements from the city for the drainage project, which Ken is working on.

Stream Mitigation/Walking Path Project Update

Isaac Conlen, City Planner of Federal Way. wrote to give us the outline of the requirements for extending the trail north of the playground in the buffer zone along the stream. Basically, we would have to apply for regulatory exemptions, which would be expensive and time consuming. This project has been tabled for now.

Vicki attended a public hearing about a stream buffer encroachment application for a property to the north of the pool. She obtained some information that may help us fulfill requirements for replanting the area along the stream. It took this property owner almost 3 years and multiple engineering and environmental impact studies to be able to replace the house on his property, and this was granted in large part because he is removing a culvert and ‘daylighting’ the stream, which the city considers an improvement for stream health. This gives an idea of the kind of work needed to gain permission for a path along the stream.

Treasurer’s Report – July Activity

Income		Expenses
HOA Dues	910	Bank Charges	44
Guest Fees	82	Dues & Subscriptions	48
Swim Lessons	2089	General Admin	284
Associate Fees	175	Payroll Taxes	575
Total Revenue	3256	Wages	6805
		Pool	966
		Taxes & Licenses	20
		Utilities	140
		Total Expenditures	8881

In light of the major pool expenses this year, Michelle was asked to provide information on year to date budget at our next meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm. Next meeting will be at 7 pm on September 9, at the Bengeults’.