Sunlight Shores Country Club APPROVED Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes September 20, 2017 6:30 p.m. SSCC Clubhouse 2705 Evening Glory Court Clinton, WA 98236 sunlightshores.weebly.com (Board Contacts, Approved Minutes, Treasurer s Reports and Announcements) The meeting was called to order by President, Gary Uhlig, at 6:30 p.m. Board Members present were: Gary Uhlig Sharon Rose Will Surface Lance Porter Mike Downey Glen McConnachie Nancy McCallum, with Martha Fleming s proxy Other Members Present: Lu Surface John Post Bob Campbell Vivian Stembridge Linda Smith 1. Community Members Linda asked for an update on shoreline project. Gary said the SEPA (Shoreline Environmental Protection Act) review is compete, but the project is in a holding pattern awaiting the results of our grant application which is due by the end of December. Vivian wanted to thank the team of volunteers who worked on the pool this year. Nancy said that it was fun working with everyone and getting to know each other. 2. Draft Minutes for 8/9 Board Meeting Will Surface motioned to approve minutes with minor edits, Mike seconded, motion passed. 3. Election of George Westergaard s replacement. Gary expressed thanks to George for all his work on the board over the years. He recently sold his house and thus stepped down as Vice President. Will nominated Lance, Nancy seconded, Lance expressed his willingness to serve, motion passed. Vote Count: all present said yes (Lance abstained); Martha s proxy was a yes. 4. Review of Treasurer s Reports July and August 2017
Board members asked various questions about line items on the reports. There was discussion about the increasing bank fees at Heritage Bank. Lance moved to approve Treasurers Reports for July & August 2017. Will seconded. Motion passed. 5. Pool Maintenance Developing a plan not to let the pool freeze during the winter the ice cracks the tiles. Bob Campbell presented information about this: There is a product called Enviromesh (Pool Supplies.com) a 30x50 cover would be $229, plus an air pillow floating out in the center for $20, plus water bags kit for $80 (enough bags to go all the way around), corner bags for $14 totaling $381.92. No shipping or sales tax. There is a cheaper product on the market but the quality is lower and the warranty is stronger on the higher end one. Shock closing kit to winterize the water costs about $40. If all goes well, when we open up the pool next year all we d have to do is vacuum out the silt. To keep it from freezing, we need to run the pump 24/7 for the duration of the cold spell in which temps fall below freezing. Question about the water bags freezing? They recommend not filling them to capacity to allow for expansion. During the summer, the cover just needs to be dried, folded and stored; same for the water bags. A discussion followed about budget; doing this would actually save the community money because the water would be kept much cleaner and ice destruction to tiles would be diminished. The cost savings in the spring would significantly outweigh the costs of purchasing these supplies this fall. The Board agreed that this is a cost saving measure worth pursuing and to use pool donations to offset these costs. Propane Tank purchase to replace leased tank. Lance researched and performed a cost comparison of the different companies. $1400 was the cost of Propane (837 gallons @ $1.75). The propane companies offer a lower price if you own your own tanks. If we paid at $1.29/gallon, we d get 300 gallons more for the same price. VanderYacht quoted $1500 for a tank; Lance inquired about a payment plan. They would accept $500 down and $100/year, and that would allow us to get the lower price on the fill. Lance estimates that within 3 years, the cost savings on the propane would pay for the tank. The other benefit of owning tanks is that you can shop around for the best prices on propane, rather than being committed to the company from whom the tank is rented. Questions from the board included installation costs, costs associated with canceling our current contract, costs associated with not paying it off right away (such as fees/interest), could we buy a used tank (safety issues?), do we need to have insurance on the tank, is there a warranty, how often does it need to be inspected, etc. Currently, the Clubhouse tank is at 38% so it would make sense to make a decision before it s empty. We can fit the purchase in our existing propane budget, especially if we are able to pay installments on the tank over time. The board agreed to proceed with the tank purchase. Lance agreed to report back to Gary before ordering, with final pricing, and the Board agreed. What to do with Clubhouse during winter?
In other HOAs, members are given key access to the Clubhouse. Spoke with the company that keyed our locks and they indicated that the least expensive option would be to keep the current key and just have more made, which means that members would have 2 keys one to the downstairs bathrooms; the other to the Clubhouse. The other option would be to have one key, but the lock would be changed so that the door could not be unlocked you would always need a key to open it, and it would be a deadbolt. This would involve changing the locks, which is more expensive but also simpler/more user-friendly. The difference in price would be about $100. Getting keys made is approximately $100; getting the locks changed would cost approximately $200. The Board agreed that for $100 it would be worth only having one key so people can use their pool key to also access the Clubhouse. Determine Use of Pool by Renters and Airbnbers: Homeowner rents out their home here but lives elsewhere. There are about 8 or 9 renters in the development. Martha checked with the insurance company, who said that allowing renters to use the pool would not impact premiums or coverage. Airbnb allows homeowners to rent rooms temporarily. The CC&Rs for Division I prohibit running a trade or business of any description from home. The Articles of Incorporation say in Article 3: No membership or certificate of membership may be transferred, assigned or conveyed in any manner other than in the manner set forth here (which is sale of property). In other words, you can t convey your membership rights to someone else. Discussion followed. The use of the pool, the Article Waiver of Liability for permanent renter, with the member ultimately responsible. Or renters signing an agreement with the owner indicating their understanding of pool policies, liability, etc. There was general agreement among the board members that permanent renters could be granted access, but a policy will be drafted articulating the specifics. Smartwaiver? Whatever we decide, it d be a good idea to pass it by the attorney. Water Line to Picnic Area: Thanks to Will, about 90% of the work is done. The line has been hooked up. The drain valve is inside a box. Will expressed his thanks to Ed Young for backfilling the hole. Labor and materials were donated. Sheryl Norris heads up the Decorating Committee for the Clubhouse. John Post will be replacing the floor in the bathroom (already purchased) and Bob Campbell will be adding wainscoting. Also, some painting will be done in the activity room. There will be a work party this Saturday 9/23 at 10:00 a.m. Volunteers needed for Water Committee:
Water meter readings this quarter will take place on 9/29. Glen has volunteered to be the participating board member for meter reading. King Water rates will soon be going up 3%. Glen has been the ad hoc committee chair. Glen agreed to chair the Water Committee. Bob question: Is there money in the budget to flush the lines? Answer: King Water flushes the lines as part of their regular contract. Chlorine smell signifies that the chemicals are low; Sulfur smell indicates that they put in too many chemicals. Does the water tank need to be cleaned? The septic system needs to be pumped. It s been more than 5 years since it has been pumped. Lance indicated he would schedule it for inspection and pumping. Report on meeting with Chuck Edwards. At the point we started charging for water usage, those proceeds became taxable. If we spent less than we brought in, that portion of leftover funds is taxable. We also asked about setting aside funds for a reserve fund. If we have a separate checking account for the reserve funds (capital improvements, not maintenance), that money is not taxable, but to do that you also have to set aside on the income side that you are collecting specifically for the reserve fund. Last year we set aside a line item for a reserve fund, but we did not set up any accounts on the income side. Our new income account is called metered water but it s not clear how Chuck Edwards allocated our expenses toward that. We are only being taxed on metered water, not any other income. Bob calculated projections based on this year s budget and income, and isn t sure what the basis of his allocations were, and he has some ideas for changing assumptions on the allocations and bringing our taxes down. A follow up meeting will be scheduled with Chuck Edwards to review the assumptions on allocations for this next tax year. We will review the State Guidelines as a board at the next meeting. Working Session for Annual Meeting Procedures: 1. What is the role of the proxies? Only for establishing a quorum or also for voting on Q s raised at meeting? Proxies are for both purposes. 2. Would ballots replace the need for proxies? No, but mail-in ballots would allow more people to vote for themselves. 3. Make a wider window between the time meeting packet goes out and date of meeting. 4. Change annual meeting date to the 3 rd week of May to give us more time to validate payments and voting status. This would require a bylaw change at a special meeting, and vote from the community. We are seeking input from our attorney on how to frame this properly. 5. Candidates would provide background information prior to meeting but no conclusions were made; it is under discussion. Basically, we re still under discussion and awaiting input from our attorney. Attendees were generally in support of a printed ballot.
Pool Phone: Emergency Line. We had discussed discontinuing service once pool is closed. Board agreed that yes, we need to do that. Lance agreed to call Whidbey Tel to do that. New Business: Boating Club (?) Glen is looking for ways for members to store their canoes and kayaks down on the shore. There would need to be some rules established for it. Could we purchase a rack? Could we use the shed for floatation devices and oars? Funding for it could be from the Boating Club which would be a separate entity with its own officers. Only members would be eligible to join. This would be a good way for it to be funded without the whole community needing to buy into it. People would pay a nominal annual membership fee to keep their boat down there. There would need to be a liability waiver for people who leave their boats there. Contact Glen if you re interested! Mike brought up that we could earn additional income by renting out the Clubhouse. Airbnb? Adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Next meeting is October 18, 6:30 p.m.