2023 Annual Meeting Minutes

Tamarac HOA Annual Meeting

April 1, 2023

MINUTES

Attending:  Jean Long, President; Diane Welch, VP; Stu Smith, Treasurer; Judy Gardner, Secretary; Randy Vinson, Asst. Treasurer/Administrator; Kathy Strasser plus 40 attendees from the community.

            Handouts provided to attendees (attached):

  • Agenda
  • Financials as of 12-31-2022:   Balance Sheet; Statement of Operations; Capital Reserve Spending Report: Operating Expense Report 
  • 2023 Approved Annual Budget
  • Minutes of 2022 Annual Meeting
  • 2016-2022 Tree (trim/removal) report
  • 2017-2022 Operations Revenue/Expense Report
  • Annual Meeting Date Change Rationale
  • Revised Parking Rules and Restrictions (2 pages)

The meeting was called to order by Jean Long, President, at 10:00 a.m.  Introductions were made and an announcement of the raffle for one-month free HOA dues was explained.  The minutes from the 2022 Annual Meeting were read by Secretary, Judy Gardner. Barb Dickerson moved and Diane Welch 2nd approval of the minutes.  Minutes were approved.

New Business

  1. Jean announced that the Board is considering expanding the allowable number of board members from 5 to 7 in order to have more help with the myriad of tasks of the Board and to involve more interested homeowners.  This will be further discussed at the regular May Board meeting.
  2.  It was announced that Kathy Strasser and Judy Gardner are both up for reelection.  Diane Welch is dropping off the Board.  Two homeowners had put their names forward for election, Mary Bartlett and Maile Canlas.  Neither were present at the meeting.  Jean gave a background summary of both candidates and asked for any additional nominations from the floor.  None were offered.  Ballots were distributed.
  3. It was announced that the Board had approved changing the Annual HOA meeting from April to October.  Therefore, there will be a second annual meeting in 2023 In October.  Starting in 2024 the meeting will only be held in October.  The rationale for this change (included as an attachment) is to allow members to participate in the budget planning process (which begins in October); to give newly elected Board members time to receive orientation and understanding of their roles with existing directors and to enable new directors to participate in budget approval. 

Committee Reports

  1. Welcome Committee:  Judy Gardner, as the Board liaison with the committee, reported that members are Lauri Demetres, Christie Grove and Nicole Cyr.  They (primarily Lauri) conducted 6 welcome meetings with new homeowners since the last Board meeting.  There is one on the schedule to be visited in the near future.  All 3 members reported that they would like to continue to be on the committee for this year.  Any other homeowners that would like to join the committee are welcome and should contact Judy Gardner.
  2. Architecture Committee:  Diane Welch thanked her committee and said it is the best group of people she has ever worked with.  She reported that previously there was no documentation of the TAC roles, rules, responsibilities, and regulations.  She has created complete documentation while in charge of the committee to provide continuity and to ensure fairness in the application of rules/regulations.  Not everyone asks for permission when making changes to their homes (roofs, windows, etc). as they must according to the CC&Rs.  This can result in major – and expensive – changes for the homeowner if the required permissions are not requested in advance.  Diane created instructional guidelines for use when a property is being sold to ensure all CCRs are being followed before a new owner takes over.  She also said homeowners should be aware of the very destructive vines that are often growing on walls.  They can damage the walls which becomes a homeowners responsibility to repair.  She asked that members be kind to the Board as they are only trying to help keep the community looking good.  Jean thanked Diane for her very valuable service and commended the work she has done to improve both the committee and the community.
  3. Pool and Park –  Jean reported that tiles are coming off the pool, which might be caused by the pool decking.  The pool repairs will commence shortly, delaying the opening of the pool.  The park next to the pool is looking good and seems to have solved the problem of roof rats living in the foliage since it has been trimmed back and replaced
  4. 7th Avenue Project – Stu went over the handout about the 7th Avenue repair/repainting job that took place in 2022. Removing the grass and replacing the irrigation system has cut down on expenses.   His report is attached.
  5. Tree Report – Stu reported that 10 trees were removed, and 45 trees were trimmed.  This will occur once per year, probably in October.  Report attached.
  6. Parking – Kathy Strasser has taken over from Bill Goshert who oversaw parking in the community for many years.  She (and the Board) thanked Bill for all of his work in this, and many other areas.  There are only 4 homes that have more than the two cars that are parked in their garages.  These homes have been approved for street parking that cannot be in front of another homeowner’s house.  A lot of work was done by Kathy, and a sub-committee made up of RV owners, to update parking regulations.  A hand-out was given outlining the latest updates on all parking rules and regulations.
  7. Real Estate – Randy reported that 8 homes were sold in 2022 (lots 37, 22, 98, 100, 33, 16, 83, 27).  One home – lot 41 has been sold so far in 2023.
  8. Painting – There were 13 homes scheduled to be painted this year.  If homeowners want a quart of the trim color and a qt. of the stucco color, they will have to pay the painter (Danny), $40 for both.  Danny has also announced that he will no longer paint security doors or front doors.  He does a walk through with homeowners prior to painting.  The Board will request that he also does a walk through with the owner after the painting is completed.  Jean reminded members to move any outdoor furniture or accessories far away from the house prior to painting to avoid any damage.  If there is any damage, let the Board know.
  9. Financial Report – Randy gave an overview of the financial reports that were handed out (attached). We ended the year with assets of $184,439.  Of that, our Capital Reserve Fund ended the year with $94,245.   He mentioned that there were significant increases in electricity, water, landscaping, pool supplies, etc. due to inflation.  There were no questions.
  10. HOA Dues Report – (see handout attached) Due to inflation it was necessary to raise the HOA dues from $130 to $140 in 2023.  $20 of the monthly dues goes into the Capital Reserve Account.  Therefore, the dues allotted for operating expenses are $120.  Total Revenues in the operating account were $162,460 in 2022 and expenses were $157,262, leaving a surplus of $4,998.  This was primarily due to the 8 homes that were sold in 2022 with a transfer fee of $400 each. The goal is to not have to raise the dues each year, but it depends on actual expenses at the time the budget is prepared.
  11. Capital Reserve Report – (see handout attached).  The balance in the Capital Reserve Report on January 1, 2022 was $85,207.    A total of $21,470 was spent.  (see report)  On December 31, 2022 the balance in this account was $94,295.
  12. Election Results – Both Kathy Strasser and Judy Gardner were reelected to two-year terms.  Mary Bartlett was also elected to join the Board.
  13. Raffle Drawing – Stu and Nancy Smith won the raffle drawing for one free month of HOA dues.

Homeowners Questions

  • Joanne Garcia said she feels she has had the best communications from this Board compared to years past.  She appreciates the open dialogue.
  • It was asked if the homeowners present had to approve the change to October for the annual meeting and/or increasing the size of the Board.  The answer:  Those are Board decisions and do not require any further approval.
  • Are we doing enough for water conservation  Answer:  We have remove grass and lowered water consumption and will constantly look for additional opportunities.  However, it is up to the homeowner if they wish to replace grass with rock or artificial turf in the front of their properties -not the board.  If anyone has any suggestions, please let the Board know.
  • The light at the entrance is not bright enough.  One homeowner volunteered to pay for larger solar lights to replace the ones we have.  We want to avoid having any bright lights shining on the two houses at the entrance, but it will be investigated by the Board.

Meeting adjourned at 11:37 a.m.

Submitted by Judy Gardner, Secretary