DRAFT. Quarry Ridge Community Association A Pennsylvania Not-For-Profit Corporation NEW BUSINESS. Minutes for the Annual Meeting November 2, 2010

Transcription

1 NEW BUSINESS Roll Call/Call to Order. The meeting brought to order at 7:11p.m. A quorum was present in person and via proxy. Representing the board was Bill Jones, Carrie Conwell, Ken Cain and Kristina Nesson. Jim Reinhardt could not attend, due to another obligation. Also present was administrator, Danielle Andrews. Approval of the 2009 Annual Meeting Minutes. The 2009 meeting minutes were approved. Election of Directors. This year there were two seats up for election on the QRCA Board. Ken Cain and Kristina Nesson, who are currently seated on the board, ran unopposed. Both were re-elected to the board. Approval of the 2011 Budget. Assessments under the proposed budget are as follows: Annual assessment payment $216 (if paid in full by January 31, 2011) Quarterly assessments pay $250 ($62.50/quarter); Monthly assessments $300 ($25/monthly) The reasoning behind the restructure of assessments is that the monthly & quarterly fee will go up to accommodate mailings, paper, postage, etc., The way to actually save money, based on previous years, is to pay assessment upfront in January. The Board and Administrator are finding that processing a $20 monthly assessment, often costs the community $23 or more. Our goal as a board is that by discounting the annual one time payment, more homes may take advantage of the discount. For 2011, we plan to utilize coupon books similar to mortgage coupon books, with no monthly/quarterly statements, unless you become delinquent. Line items include attorney fees to accommodate court appearances for past due accounts. For reference, the last time we had a court date, all five past due accounts paid up front just before the court date. QRCA 2010 MINUTES: Page 1 of 7

2 Board Reports. President s Report Bill Jones gave an overview of what the Community Association is and why we meet. There are five members that are elected every other year. After every annual meeting the new Board establishes who would best serve in each position. The main purpose of the Community Association (CA) is to enforce our governing documents. We also oversee common space and to maintain consistency with building codes, decks, sheds and fencing. What the CA does not do is snow removal and anything else outside of the community, including the airport, police control, respond to other proposed developments, etc. He also reminded those in attendance that all township supervisor meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month at the Sadsbury Township municipal building on Lincoln Highway. Regarding last year s snow storm, Bill discussed the issues with plowing that occurred. Quarry Ridge is not allowed to use its own landscaping company to plow the roads that have been dedicated to the township. QRCA will post contact information for residents on how to best contact the Township as well as the Township s roads department. In an effort to become more available to residents, please visit the community s website as well as our Facebook page Join Quarry Ridge C.A. on Facebook ( There you will find contact information for the municipality as well as the Board members and our Administrator. The Board welcomes any landscaping suggestions for the Community. Please contact us and let us know. Bill also discussed some other topics that will be affecting Quarry Ridge: The horse farm on Quarry Road (Arcadia). The development will be broken into three phases, due to the market. The horse barn that is still part of the property is required to be restored, both interior and exterior. The pipeline expansion will soon be underway through the fields under the horse farm, then across the Bellaire Business Center. Quarry Road will QRCA 2010 MINUTES: Page 2 of 7

3 become the primary means of egress for the new development, and as such will be widened or further developed to accommodate this. There are also walking trails to be developed to connect our development, (from the intersection of Flagstone and Quarry Ridge near Old Wilmington Road) as well as Sadsbury Village (the townhomes fronting Business Route 30). There is also the potential that the township will t open the gated entrance off of Quarry Road (at the industrial park) to be a through street through the Bellaire Business Center, and back to the Keystone (McDonalds) Distribution Center.. The intersection of 10 and 30 is approved to hold a major grocery store and some smaller box stores. The first phase is a medical facility owned and operated by Lancaster General and is going through the land development process. That project will approximately run from around Hershey Motors, up to Hershey Lane (across from Tractor Supply) and back almost to the ramp to the Eastbound Route 30 bypass. Speed limit in the Community is 25 miles per hour. It has been noted by neighbors that cars are travelling much too fast, and is dangerous for residents, their children, pets, and those speeding. Treasurer s Report Kristina Nesson reported that we are staying on track with our budget and the only area where we exceeded our estimated budget was Common Area Services, and that was due to unexpected improvements, discussed in the previous year s accomplishments. o Alan Eagles asked if future mailings could include a side by side comparison of the current budget and proposed budget. Secretary s Report Carrie Conwell had no report. Administrator s Report Interest income is down on our accounts. There are currently 3 homes for sale. We went slightly over budget on landscaping and snow removal, due to the unexpected storm events this past QRCA 2010 MINUTES: Page 3 of 7

4 winter. For utilities (electric) we were slightly under budget (and are expected to end the year this way), paying approximately $85/month to PECO. The insurance policy for liability has gone up slightly ($36 increase in our premium), and as a result we are slightly over budget for this item. Mailing and printing are still on track to be what was budgeted for. Accounting is over budget because our accountant and auditor raised their fees. Legal fees will be majorly over budget, due to taking 6 delinquent assessment cases to small claims court. The Association s federal taxes were under budgeted amounts. For 2011, we attempted to adjust over and under to reach our financial goals Assessments 77 homeowners paid their dues in one discounted annual payment. It is estimated that 30-some residents pay monthly. In previous years, The Administrator used to do approximately 30 mailings a month, now, due to delinquent accounts, and regular monthly mailings, she is now sending out over 50 billing statements. Delinquent accounts have resulted in the Association taking 6 homeowners to court most of whom are more than 2 years past due in their assessments (one of those already has a judgment against them). Additionally, the Community Association is going to be billing 15% for late payments, as authorized in our Declarations. A resident asked about setting up credit card payments. The Board has been exploring this, and will continue to do so. One of the options we are exploring is called Community Voice and it takes most, if not all administrative aspects of the Association, and puts it all online. If we did go this route, it would open us up to use Credit Cards. The biggest issue would be whether we could offer these services to the community, while paying associated fees and service charges, and still keep assessments affordable. We are also exploring PayPal and other options. If you have any questions to or call: DLANDREWS@aol.com or As of January 1, 2011, all inquiries should be made to President, Bill Jones, via the contact information published at QRCA 2010 MINUTES: Page 4 of 7

5 General Discussion by Members. Q- Attorney fees: Does this include other violations? Where is the money built in to take care of those? A-We write letters and have a lawyer that signs off on them to save money. The money is built in, through the declarations of the Association Q- Compliance Letters: Are these letters being generated? A-Yes. The issue is compliance. Upon issuance members have 30-days to comply. If someone violates the regulations persistently, we do additional follow up from the time we get notice of each violation. The declarations give us the authority to follow further with these issues, if need be, such as fining, towing, etc. Q- Private Landscaping: Is there any way to have people stop cutting grass near curb so it does not go into the street? It s rude. Unless the street sweeper comes through, very few people actually clean it. Is there any way to tell homeowners? People don t seem to take pride in their homes, like others do. A- You can try to self-help. I have a neighbor like that, and when they are at work, I go over and blow it back up onto the berm. If you have someone persistent, notify the Board, and we can send a letter. For the community to get a street sweeper and dumpster, it would run about $1500 (the cost of our cleanup weekend). Hopefully next year we will have the additional dollars in the budget to accommodate that. Something we discussed last year was having an award for best landscaping presentation. Q- Receptacles. Some people are still not cleaning up after their dogs at the basins. Can we consider putting another mutt mitt station at the second basin to encourage proper disposal? A- The mutt mitt stations are being roughly tracked and people are using them a lot. We will look into the cost of another station, as it relates to the budget. QRCA 2010 MINUTES: Page 5 of 7

6 Summary of Member Discussion Topics: Bus Stops. Cars are parking everywhere, near the bus stop at the top of Flagstone & Pebble, in both directions with headlights on. It s dangerous when you pull out of your driveway and cannot see because headlights are in your face. Kids sit at the end of the road and you cannot see them. Maybe the kids can wear reflectors or have flashlights. With the snow, there was nowhere to stand but in the street, with the plowing we had. The bus stop is on the side of the street where there is no sidewalk. Can we have the fire marshal come through when all this is happening? It is believed that previous Board members had tried to have it moved to the gazebo and there was kickback from the school district and the bus company. Ken thought it had to do with snow removal and kids having to stand in the street. There were also rumors that it had to do with people wanting the stops convenient to their homes. Can we remind parents to park on one side of the street or provide their kids with personal lights. Additionally, kids have no street smarts. Nobody has respect for each other. Speeding. Our members, school busses, and delivery companies are all speeding through the community. Residents should be conscientious about the 25 m.p.h. speed limit, and notify the police, or the appropriate companies about dangerous driving in Quarry Ridge. Private Property. There was a complaint about children running through private yards, specifically between Pebble and Bedrock, and down Flagstone. We have dogs that are fenced in and we are concerned that a kid could come onto the property and get bit. Landscaping that has been done and there are kids playing behind their retaining walls and riding bikes through yards. If someone gets hurt, the homeowner is responsible. With the exception of the common elements (gazebo, tot lot, storm basins) ALL property within Quarry Ridge is owned by each individual homeowner. Parents should instruct their children to not trespass on their neighbors property without permission. Neighbors should report trespassers either to their parents or to the police. Board Communication. Various members prefer website, print, or phone communications. The Executive Board creates a balance of communication to accommodate most members, but within the constraints of the budget. To keep costs (and therefore assessments!) down, members should use the website at and be sure their addresses are on file with the Community Association. As a result of the cost of preparing, publishing, printing QRCA 2010 MINUTES: Page 6 of 7

7 and mailing documents, the Association will continue to reduce the amount of physical mailings to the membership. Interaction. The elected and volunteer board, relies on input from the members Through the end of 2010, Bill Jones and D.L. Andrews are the primary contact people for Association business, and their s and phone numbers are posted and available. All information was mailed out and had all contacts necessary, listed. The Board continue to will plan for quarterly newsletters, subject to the participation of the members. In short, the role of the Executive Board is to maintain the common elements and enforce the regulations. All other issues are the responsibility of every member and volunteer. The Board stands ready and available to lend its support and resources to members wishing to improve the community. We re on Facebook. Quarry Ridge has a company listing on Facebook, which includes a discussion page. To protect the integrity of the page, residents send a join request through Facebook and Bill or Kristina, will grant access to current members of the Association.. Yard Sale Kristina is inviting anyone with ideas for advertising it or revamping it or a way to grow it, please let her know. It is the Saturday after Memorial Day, but that is also open to discussion. We re going to do a better job of promoting it because we now, also have new signs. In time for the invoice packet that will go out, all calendar dates that we know of by that time, will be included. Maybe consider rotating the date from the first Saturday in June, and maybe do that date every other year. Maybe consider having one near Labor Day as well? Adjournment. The meeting was motioned for adjournment by Joe Catanese at 8:35 p.m. and seconded by Christine Jones. The motion was unanimously approved. NOTE DESIGNATION OF OFFICERS: In accordance with the Quarry Ridge Community Association By-laws, subsequent to the meeting the current officers of the Board met and determined that 2011 officers will be designated as follows: President-Bill Jones; Vice President-Jim Reinhard; Secretary-Carrie Conwell; Treasurer-Kristina Nesson; Communications Director-Ken Cain. QRCA 2010 MINUTES: Page 7 of 7