Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
July 9, 2020
2020 BOARD MEMBERS:
Sandy Ericksen President
Lori Bulla Vice-President & Pool Committee Chair
Dan Gonzalez Treasurer
Charlie Bowman Volunteer Assistant Treasurer
Marilyn Harper Secretary & Acorn Editor
A.D. Koen Security Committee Chair
Michael Kuhnen Deed Restrictions Chair
Darin Lee Landscaping Chair
Cassie Ramsay Social Committee Chair
Johanna Wolfe Long Range Planning & Government Outreach
Present: Sandy Ericksen, Lori Bulla, A.D. Koen, Dan Gonzalez, Johanna Wolfe, Michael Kuhnen, Marilyn Harper, Charlie Bowman. Not Present: Cassie Ramsay, Darin Lee. NOTE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing, this meeting was hosted by Sandy using ZOOM technology, with participants either on their computer or cell phone cameras or just phoned in.
Sandy opened the meeting at 7:37 pm.
Treasury: Dan reported that with overdue homeowner dues collected and pool memberships purchased, the budget was currently about $8K over projected amount for those sources of income. Most of our expenses are close to the projected budget, but we have so far this year exceeded the budget for accounting services, and our water utility bill.
Sandy brought up some work that needed to be done at the pool/playground area, and it was discussed whether there would be money in the budget. One item that did not get done by board volunteers this Spring was to paint the bathroom building at the pool, both inside and out. After discussion of what prep work to do (take down wall attachments and patch any rough areas), paint brands and cost and number of gallons needed, an estimate of up to $1000 was agreed upon, with Johanna making the motion, Sandy seconded, and all online approved. Mike has volunteered to fix up the interior surfaces, and bids will be sought on the painting. Mike has also volunteered to maintain the driveway from Tidwell and the parking lot at the pool, using his new tractor. He has done one grading pass on the driveway already.
Sandy, Lori, and Charlie have walked the pool and playground areas and noted where trees needed trimming. A bid will be sought from the tree company that Charlie, Marilyn, and 2 other CO residents have used and recommended this year.
Pool: Lori reported that there were 51 memberships at the pool, and that the Covid-19 restrictions were being observed by those she has seen using the pool. She remarked there weren’t any capacity issues even on the 4th of July. There was a brief discussion of an area near the pool where we had added fill dirt, but were not able to find grass sod for it during the Spring. Lori says there are green plants growing in it, so we can get by as it is for now.
Security: A.D. said the new security company Homeland Protective Services is currently sending their patrol reports to the supervisor Shelley at the HPS office. She then takes screen shots of the reports and emails JPG files to A.D. Since this isn’t a format that is searchable text, he will work with them to explore other options. Regarding vacation watch, HPS does not currently have a form for that, but Shelley told A.D. to send them one indicating what we want. So far, Sandy and A.D. said they have approached HPS patrols that they saw working CO, and spoke briefly to them, and were impressed.
Social: Still no summer plans that could possibly work under the Covid-19 rules. Marilyn reminded the board that she had looked up National Night Out and saw it will be held on Oct 6, 2020 in Texas.
Deed Restrictions: Still no activity among the 3 board members who used to do the drive throughs. With social distancing, 3 people in a car just doesn’t work, nor does 3 people trying to find, confirm, and agree on a situation separately, resulting in a DR letter. Marilyn illustrated that while she knows of a home on Droddy that has terrible Mold & Mildew on the siding, she is not willing to send a letter when she does not know if there are other homes with M&M just as bad or even worse.
Website: Johanna asks why candlelightoaks.com still has SEAL on it. The answer is that Polina B. is now our webmaster, but she has to be sent whatever needs to be fixed or updated. Marilyn thinks Polina will run for the Board in October and then she will be plugged in on having the information for managing the website. [See FOOTNOTE.]
As the meeting was coming to a close, Lori said that she would like to be informed on the meaning of a balanced budget and how reserves work. The board had to approve the use of some reserves in order to pay for the COCC pool replastering. If we could only spend what is raised by homeowner dues each year, we would never be able to pay for large intermittent expenses or emergencies. Charlie recently wrote and sent to the board an explanation of how the reserves work in our finances. Now we just need to read and understand it in time for the October election issue of the Acorn.
Sandy adjourned the meeting at 8:37.
FOOTNOTE: Sandy volunteered to contact Polina to update the website. Polina was contacted the following morning and updated the site immediately. The SEAL info and photo were removed, and the new security company Homeland Protective Services info and photo were put into place on the website.