In attendance: Ken Schiewetz, Mark Bunger, Mark Moberg, Michelle Egusa, Vicki Bengeult and Nancy Krueger.
Minutes from the October meeting were approved earlier.
President
Ken presented an update on the drainage project. The project is about 80% complete, with final grading and cleanup remaining. The low wall of railroad ties behind the grills has been removed and the ground will be graded to an easy slope. The playground equipment was pulled out due to being in disrepair and unsafe. The board voted to approve a bid of $493 to remove the debris from the railroad ties and playground.
After some discussion, we opted to research the cost of putting wood chips down over the playground area to reduce weed growth, and to further investigate how best to use the area. One low cost idea is to plant low-growing trees and shrubs and possibly grass. We still want to remove some of the tall spruce trees from around the pool house that are blocking views, but the city will want us to replace them with equivalent tree credits, so planting in the old playground area is a good option.
Treasurer’s Report
Michelle presented year to date financial report (attached). Large expenses included the drainage project, clearing of blackberries behind pool and along stream, pool chlorine system, and repairs to the pool house.
Because 3 owners are still deliquent on dues, we discussed ways to prevent loss of income in the future . Houses have gone into foreclosure several times in the past couple of years, and this makes it more difficult to collect dues when the homes are underwater on their mortages. The board will clarify a policy of a series of collection letters with specific escalating actions, interest, and administrative/legal costs, culminating in referral to attorney or collection agency before dues become overdue by more than a year. Michelle will draft a series of letters for the next board meeting and we will seek legal counsel regarding the collection policy and status of current outstanding debts.
Pool Report
Nancy has been in conversation with a pool management contractor to possibly run the pool next year. The position requires approximately 12 hours a week through the pool season. Alternatively, we might use a volunteer (possibly paid) from the community. Duties include managing and scheduling lifeguards, reporting hours for payroll, tracking water quality, etc.
Vicki presented some data on the use of the pool during the 2015 season. In brief:
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10% of our families used the pool more than once a week. These are primarily during the adult swim hour.
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9% used the pool 5 to 11 times this summer (an exceptionally warm, dry season)
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81% used the pool fewer than 5 times.
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65% never used the pool.
Dividing the expenses for the pool, including liability insurance and payroll, by the number of uses of the pool, we get the cost per family visit of $132. 24 Mar Cheri families used the pool a total of 218 times over 90 days, a little more than 2 visits per day on average.
Through October of this year, pool expenses including payroll ($12805) are approximately $28850. This is $418 per household – .90% of the HOA dues. If only the families who used the pool were to pay (this is not something we propose, just given for purposes of discussion), the cost would be $1202, or about $400/month. Our associate memberships this year were $345 for the summer.
Discussion is ongoing as to the best approach in moving forward. Large upcoming expenses in the next few years for resurfacing the pool, replacing the deck, and purchasing a new sand filter and water heater would almost certainly require an increase in dues. Therefore the board is discussing all options:
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close the pool permanently
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run the pool without lifeguards (and therefore without associate memberships)
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reduce the hours/days the pool is open
No decision will be made without a vote of the community. The Bylaws and CC&Rs seem to allow modifying the use of or selling community property with a 2/3 majority vote, but this needs to be verified with independent legal counsel. Several years ago, a survey was done wherein approximately 2/3 of the respondents were in favor of closing the pool. This will be on the agenda at the annual meeting.
Nominating Committee
We are looking for homeowners who want to join the Board next February. We will need a treasurer, secretary, maintenance chairperson and architecture chairperson. Call Nancy at 253-941-6390 to volunteer.
Respectfully submitted, Vicki Bengeult