Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
February 11, 2021
2021 BOARD MEMBERS:
Sandy Ericksen President
Lori Bulla Vice-President & Pool Committee Chair
Dan Gonzalez Treasurer
Marilyn Harper Secretary & Acorn Editor
Hope Edmondson Security Committee Chair
A.D. Koen Outgoing Security
Polina Blossman Deed Restrictions Chair & Website
Dan Sherer Landscaping Chair
-Open- Social Committee Chair
Johanna Wolfe Long Range Planning & Government Outreach
Present: Sandy Ericksen, Marilyn Harper, Lori Bulla, Dan Gonzalez, Johanna Wolfe, Dan Sherer. Absent: Hope Edmondson, Polina Blossman, A.D. Koen. Guest: Mike Kuhnen NOTE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing, this meeting was hosted by Sandy using ZOOM.
Sandy opened the meeting at 7:37 pm.
Misc: The first item discussed was a query from a homeowner on Oak Trail regarding a recent change in rain water flowing into her back yard. She had spoken to former board member Michael Kuhnen because she had noticed he had been using his tractor to level out holes and bumps in the driveway from Tidwell into the pool parking lot. Mike was online for this meeting, and said he didn’t see any connection between where he was grading and where it was said that water flow had gotten worse. There was some question as to whether a drainage pipe had collapsed or been removed. No one was aware of any changes regarding any underground pipes. Mike volunteered to remove a trash tree that had grown up in a huge container sitting in the drainage ditch that runs north along the chain-link fence between the pool and the playground, and empties into a ditch on the other side of the wooden fence. This is a long way from the back fences on Oak Trail, but it might improve drainage in the over-all area.
Pool: It was reported that there is already one pool membership for 2021, and that Ray had done some prep at the pool for the upcoming storms and cold snap. Lori said it is expected that all CoH Health Dept Covid-19 rules affecting swimming pools will remain in effect this year. No changes in pool fees or rules are being made for 2021. Lori is going to update the pool forms and send to Polina and Marilyn to put them on the website and social media.
Treasury: Sandy reported that ~215-218 homeowners have fully paid their 2021 dues, of the 282 total lots in CO. Dan G had emailed the Treasury report through the end of January to Sandy and Marilyn before this meeting. As he was on the call for the meeting, he ran through the main points.
January 2021 and Year To Date
– Revenues were favorable to budget by $5940
– Expenses were favorable to budget by $5326.99 due to Security and Landscape expenses not being incurred in the month. Landscape and Security expenses will be incurred in February 2021 and may show a negative budget variance for the month but should be net 0 to budget YTD.
– Total Income was favorable to budget by $11263
Accounts Receivable
– There are $10606 in assessments due to COCC that are >90 days
– There are $32430 in 2021 assessments that are in the current period. The remainder of these should be paid in the coming months.
Landscaping: Dan Sherer reported that he has met with the current contractor Landscape Texas that is continuing from Darin Lee’s years on the board. Dan wants to add some new tasks to the basics currently being done by LT. But it is not clear what level of services are currently being provided by CoH for mowing the 8 esplanades on Tidwell that are within the boundaries of CO, or by Near Northwest Mgmt District for mowing the sidewalks along the same stretch of Tidwell. We need to know what is being provided gratis before we know exactly what we have to commit to hiring additional labor. Other new work that Dan S wants to do includes: mowing both sides of the driveway from Tidwell to the parking lot gate, and fertilize and mulch our 2 esplanades at the entrance on Bolivia. The proposed monthly landscaping cost will rise from $1318 to $1734. He made a motion to spend the $1734 this year, and the motion carried. Then Dan mentioned that the mulch and fertilizer would require plenty of water. He said that old water connections with a meter have been found on those esplanades and he wants to build new cage-protected hydrants there, so the combination of nutrients + mulch + water can support planting of attractive vegetation at what is considered to be the grand entrance to Candlelight Oaks. This discussion led to one about whether the board should fund improvements like these from existing reserves, as opposed to waiting for a campaign to seek an increase in homeowner dues.
Lori said she wants to research in the CO bylaws how the reserves can be used and what qualifies as a capital improvement. Johanna said that she would like to see a strategic plan developed for the possibility of a dues increase in 2-3 years. The dues have not been raised since they went from $240 to $360 effective January 2003.
Another project that Dan S wants to promote is whether there is any way that CO can acquire uniform concrete back-yard fencing on both sides of Tidwell. The main reason would be safety, as there have been a number of very bad vehicle incidents along Tidwell. Wooden fences do not stop drivers who lose control of their vehicles. Dan got an estimate for construction of 5700 linear feet of backyard concrete fencing for all CO lots along Tidwell, and the amount was $825,000. Johanna and Sandy were discussing possible ways to get local government buy-in on a safety fence from city and NNMD sources.
Charlie Bowman:
Sandy mentioned that we need to find ways to cut down on use of Proledge services. This came up in connection with our sad loss of assistant treasurer Charlie Bowman, who passed away in the hospital on Jan 20. Many things that Charlie was doing to address queries that came in by email to both board@ and treasurer@ are now much harder to handle. It is hoped that board members, especially Dan Gonzalez and Sandy Ericksen, will become familiar with how to address questions that come in. Sandy is planning to initiate a fund to create a memorial for Charlie, with possibly a bench, possibly a dedicated tree, possibly a flower bed, located on a common area in the neighborhood.
Sandy adjourned the meeting at 9:33.