STARLIGHT
Minutes of 2012 Annual Board Meeting
on Saturday, November 10, 2012 at
10:00am
@ the SMHOA Pool
·
Present:
Joe Bergen, Tina Blum, Chari Gilmore, and Trang Tran
·
Cardinal
Management’s Adrian Oesterreich was in attendance to oversee the Board election
ballot count.
·
Treasurer
<redacted> was unable to attend.
---------------------------
·
SMHOA
President Trang Tran welcomed the ~20 residents in attendance.
·
Secretary
Chari Gilmore recognized changes to the residents in the Mesa in 2012. The passing of Bruce Miller, Dave Herrman and
Jinny Williams were remembered. And the
below new families were welcomed:
·
Aldo
and Annabelle Balarezo (Francheska, Renato)
·
Albert
and Farah Chang (Olivia, Andrew)
·
Alex
and Irene Fan (Eric, Mellisa)
·
Cory
and Akiko Hill (Corwin, Aletta, Cordelia)
·
Youngjoo
and Kook-Jin Yoo
·
In
<redacted> absence, Trang provided highlights about the Mesa finances which were
described as fiscally sound.
·
The
annual dues will increase by $5/month effective January 1, 2013. The new payment will be $160/month or
$480/quarter depending on a homeowner’s payment schedule. The increase is necessary to maintain the
present level of service and continue with improvements to common assets. The previous increase was in 2010 for
$5/month.
·
The
residents received the below documents prior to the meeting
§
Annual
Budget
§
Insurance
Disclosure
§
Reserve
Study
§
SMHOA
CC&R Policy on Article X
·
Trang
recognized the significant improvements made to the tennis court in 2012
including resurfacing and a new fence.
·
Joe
Bergen provided a detailed maintenance overview. His entire written maintenance overview is
attached. Below are highlights from his
address to the residents at the Annual meeting.
Joe not only covered maintenance for 2012, but also major improvements
that were made during his tenure on the Board and insights into future
projects.
·
The
water main at the top of the hill above the pool was replaced with galvanized
pipe.
·
Joe
also buried copper pipe for a Mesa line under the Zhao property before renovation
on their patio.
·
The
distribution water pipes should be replaced around the pool park soon with a 1½
“ line of PVC.
·
At
the putting green, the water pipe from the street to the park should be
replaced.
·
One
watering system on lower Stardust remains manual. All other valves have been replaced with
automatic or solar systems.
·
The
Mesa water bill has remained the same over five years because of implemented
efficiencies including updated irrigation systems, plantings and the use of mulch.
·
Initial
brush clearance budgeted for $11,500 went over budget due to the unforeseen
needed removal of a tree on lower Stardust.
·
The
planting project started on the hill above the pool, should continue around the
tennis court. The project should plant a smaller parcel in 2013 to make funds available to
top-coat the mulch in the previously mulched areas. Mulch is free but we do pay
for labor to carry it up the hillsides.
·
The
size of the pool filter was increased this year.
·
Over
the last three years, the pool’s mechanical system has been replaced.
·
The
outdoor furniture for the pool continues to be bought incrementally. The new commercial grade chairs, lounges and
tables last longer and are heavier so they don’t blow into the pool as often. During the colder winter months, most of the
chairs are stacked under the pool house eve for winter preservation.
·
The
pool and pool house are as automatic and maintenance free as possible.
·
To
note, it is a requirement of the Board of Health to have hot water at the pool house. The heater is turned off for the winter when
the pool is not in use and is on a timer the rest of the year so not to be
heating water 24/7.
·
Although
after the fact, the Board will investigate whether it needs a permit for the
replacement of the tennis court fence.
·
A
light was added to the pool area, by the shallow end.
·
The
difference of St Augustine (pointed leaf end) and the proclaimed more invasive
Cucuya (round leaf) was discussed as grass options. For the Putting green, a “self healing” RTF
fescu will be used.
·
Joe
offered the use of a herbicide cocktail that kills Cucuya, but not grass.
·
The
$4,000 budget for tree trimming around the Mesa is on a recurring cycle that
takes 4 to 5 years to complete. The trimming helps with the health of the
trees.
·
The
culverts (cement gutters that divert the water on hills) had major and costly
failures six years ago. Joe has
experimented with two products to seal cracks before they turn into major
fissures. Over the next couple of years,
the board should use these products to repair most cracks. It will take
approximately two to three years to repair all the culverts. At that point, the
board should divert one year’s culvert money from the operating budget ($4,000)
to the reserve fund to increase the reserve fund allowance for large failures
to $7,000.
·
As
Joe understands it, when the Mesa was developed, culverts were installed on
hills that were created or altered with fill dirt. They were not installed on natural, unchanged
slopes.
·
Future
Projects
§
Joe
counseled the Board to focus on the upkeep of major assets that increase the
value of the homes in the neighborhood. An HOA and its board can either add
value or detract value to resident home.
If the board maintains and improves assets the Mesa can be an Association
that adds value.
§
Consider
Gazebo replacement
§
Implement
tree planting initiative to ensure the neighborhood always has old growth
trees. Sadly, even trees have lifespans
including the many pines in the putting green park, lining Starlight Mesa Lane,
and on lower Stardust. The Board must
plan for the future.
§
Front
Lawns: Does the Board want to consider
front yard reinvigoration? The CC&Rs
state the front lawns are maintained by the SMHOA. But originally gardeners controlled the
watering and over the years, the individual homeowners took over this
responsibility (since they always assumed the cost). As a result, not every lawn is maintained at
the same level.
§
Playground
equipment improvements/upgrades should be considered for both locations. A
small assessment of $300 to $400 might be needed. Joe stated he believed the
community will support it. Even empty
nesters understand that when it comes time to sell their homes, it will be a
family with young children that will buy it. Nice playgrounds will only add
value to homes and the neighborhood.
·
Maintenance
Finance and Reserves
§
Key
to any maintenance is funding. Currently
maintenance is a zero sum budget. Only
$12k is available each quarter for unforeseen maintenance. Out of this sum comes common area
maintenance, culvert repair, tree trimming, new projects/improvements, and
planting.
§
The
Reserve Fund takes into account hard assets and the finances needed to maintain
and replace them. An example of the Fund
working is the renovation of the tennis court that was planned for five years
prior and thus paid for within the Reserve Fund.
§
Next
anticipated major repair are the 3” copper pipes between the pool and the
filter. These pipes are approximately 45
years old. Since they have chemicals run through them every day, they do not
last as long as standard water distribution pipes. These need to be replaced BEFORE they
fail. The pool cannot be drained in the
winter because of an underground stream that would literally lift the plastered
pool frame from its current resting place.
And we do not want to replace the pipes during the high use
summertime. We need to plan for a time
with the pool can be drained, the pipes replaced, and the pool deck resurfaced
to hide the scars of the pipe work.
Depending on how long this takes, the exposure plaster of the pool could
succumb to cracking which would incur additional costs of repair. Joe suggests
May or October of 2014 or 2015. Two five
year funding projections were included in the 2012 Reserve Study. The first projection considers replacing the
pool plumbing and resurfacing the deck.
The second projection considers the plumbing, re-surfacing the deck and
re-plastering the pool. Contractor estimates for replacing the pipes,
re-surfacing the deck, and re-plastering the pool are currently approximately
$37,000. If the funding projections are
followed and reserve fund money is not used for any project not specified in
the Reserve Study the monies will be present to handle the worst case scenario
without asking residents for an additional assessment.
Further,
if the projections are followed, after this project is done the reserve fund
will be seventy percent funded on its way to one hundred percent funded. The seventy percent mark is considered the
threshold at which an HOA is considered financially sound, thus adding value to
your homes.
Questions
from the residents
·
Resident
Danny Levin raised concern about the use of herbicides on lawns used by
children and pets. The Board
acknowledged it would look into this.
Update: Joe followed up with
Danny on the details of the herbicide ingredients and Danny agreed they are
safe for their current use.
·
Larry
Lubka asked whether we have an architectural committee that approves aesthetic
changes to the neighborhood. The Board
advised we do not although a resident said it did exist at one time long ago
(as she served on it). The Board also
confirmed for Mr. Lubka that they approved the new fence at 229 Mariners View
Lane. Mr. Lubka expressed his dislike
for plastic fences.
·
The
Board recognized and thanked Joe Bergen and Tina Blum for their multiple and
dedicated years of service to the Mesa neighborhood. Both are stepping down from the Board.
·
Adrian
Oesterreich from Cardinal Management announced results of the Board election
and the below members for the 2013 Board:
·
Glenn
Cunningham
·
Chari
Gilmore
·
<redacted>
·
Karen
Levin
·
Trang
Tran
·
Mesa
business that occurred between the October and November Board meetings
·
The
Board had a site meeting at a residence to determine if exterior changes to the
home were made in compliance with the Board’s approval. This issue is still pending.
Chari Gilmore
SMHOA, Secretary