Category: COCC Meeting Minutes 2020

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
December 10, 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, Marilyn Harper, Michael Kuhnen, Lori Bulla, Cassie Ramsay, Dan Gonzalez, Charlie Bowman. Absent: Johanna Wolfe, A.D. Koen, Darin Lee. Guest: 2021-22 Board Member Hope Edmondson. NOTE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing, this meeting was hosted by Sandy using ZOOM.

Sandy opened the meeting at 7:30 pm.

Pool: Lori said that the pool pump that is going out still can’t be replaced due to the high volume of autumn leaf drop into the pool. The $1200 approved at the November meeting will wait until the right time for our pool maintenance contractor Ray Cowart to buy and install the new pump.

Treasury: Dan G had emailed the Treasury report through the end of November to Sandy, Charlie, and Marilyn before this meeting. As he was on the call for the meeting, he ran through the main points.
Year To Date:
· Revenues are unfavorable to budget by $2,025
· Total Expenses are favorable to budget by $4,442
· Total Income is favorable to budget by $2,403
Accounts Receivable:
· $13,906 in total unpaid assessments from 2020 and previous years.
· $90,690 in 2021 assessments that are in the current period. Most of these should be
paid by the end of January.

Social: Cassie said she might bring hot chocolate for the Sunday afternoon event. She wondered about a Toys for Tots event being held by the Kiger family and asked if COCC should have a box for donations at our event. Our announcement on social media wasn’t getting much comment, so it was discussed that we needed to remind people on RoCO and Nextdoor about our event.

Security: No news.
Landscaping: No news.

Misc: Mike needs to return to Sandy any COCC signs for Heavy Trash that he may have, as his 4 years on the board end this month.
Sandy said she still wants to get the white brick walls at the Bolivia entrance power-washed before the Christmas holidays. Cassie volunteered that she and her husband Graham Ramsay could bring a power-washer on Saturday morning, and Marilyn volunteered to assist. Access to residents’ water was needed, so Marilyn was to contact the Crawfords on one side of the entrance, while Sandy would ask the new homeowner Ms Frolov on the other side. Marilyn also volunteered to go to the pool on Friday to trim any wayward vines and look for ant mounds. If mounds were found, she was to contact pool chair Lori Bulla for help getting into the shed at the pool, where the ant killer is stored. Rounding out the weekend, some members of the board would drive through the neighborhood on Sunday night to judge the Christmas decorations and put signs in the winning yards.

Sandy adjourned the meeting at 8:25.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
November 12, 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, Marilyn Harper, Lori Bulla, Cassie Ramsay, Dan Gonzalez, A.D. Koen. Not Present: Johanna Wolfe, Michael Kuhnen, Darin Lee. Guest: 2021-22 Board Member Dan Sherer. NOTE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing, this meeting was hosted by Sandy using ZOOM technology.

Sandy opened the meeting at 7:350pm.

Pool: Lori said that one of the two pool pumps was going out and needed to be replaced. Pool maintenance contractor Ray Cowart said it would cost about $1100 to buy the pump, and Ray could install it and get it working after the worst of the autumn leaf drop. Even though the pool will soon be too cold for most swimmers, the pumps have to run constantly to keep the pool in good condition all year. Lori motioned that up to $1200 be approved to get a new pump at the pool, Sandy seconded, and there were no nays among the board members on the Zoom call.

Lori said the painting of the bathrooms at the pool had been completed. Lori and Sandy said everyone who had seen it thought it looked great. The new color is a nice blue that matches the new tiles in the pool.

Treasury: Dan G had emailed the Treasury report through the end of October to Sandy, Charlie, and Marilyn before this meeting. As he was on the call for the meeting, he ran through the main points.
Year To Date:
· Revenues are favorable to budget by $7,240
· Total Expenses are favorable to budget by $3,936
· Total Income is favorable to budget by $11,165
Accounts Receivable:
· $3,630 in 2020 assessments due to COCC – 13 people
· $9,126 in assessments accruing since before 2020 – 7 people
· With credits, there are $11,571 in A/R

Social: Cassie presented her plan for a child-oriented Covid-19 Christmas event on December 13. Social distancing will be observed. We will not hire a Santa this year, but will have a Santa display at the pool or playground. This will be a decorated spot where children can sit for photos. The main event will be a scavenger hunt for items featured in the neighborhood yard displays. Each child who wants to play the game will take a card listing items to look for, such as Santa, reindeer, angel, etc and then search for their items, recording the address where they found each one. Full details will be presented online and in the December Acorn. The Holiday Lights contest will also be judged on January 13th, after dark.

Security: A.D. said he is looking into a spreadsheet format for a monthly security report to be sent to the board. A.D. and new board member for 2021 Hope Edmondson will set up a meeting with HPS owner and manager. Hope has a security background and is expected to transition into that position on the board. A.D. may recommend HPS to Candlelight Oaks Village as their security company.

Landscaping: Board member-elect for 2021-2022 Dan Sherer had expressed an interest in the landscaping chair, being vacated after years of good service by Darin Lee. (Thank you, Darin, for all you have done for CO, and welcome, Dan Sherer.) Sandy mentioned that Marilyn has a map showing the locations where mowing and landscaping are done on our cul-de-sacs and the entrance esplanades at Bolivia. Dan provided his email address so he could be sent that map.

Misc: Sandy wants to get the white brick walls at the Bolivia entrance power-washed before the Christmas holidays. She says there is enough money left from what was approved to paint the bathrooms, to cover paying Ray’s employee Eloy to do the job. As often done before, the homeowners living on the north corners of Bolivia will be asked if their water taps can be used for this job.

Johanna said she would send the board the City traffic study done at Bolivia and Tidwell. She said the City is negative on the idea of having public money spent to reinforce or replace fences along Tidwell, but she is going to talk to our Council Member Amy Peck.

Sandy adjourned the meeting at 8:40.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
October 8, 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. Not Present: Cassie Ramsay, Darin Lee, Charlie Bowman. NOTE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing, this meeting was hosted by Sandy using ZOOM technology.

Sandy opened the meeting at 7:35 pm.

Treasury: Dan gave us a summary of the treasury, which showed that both revenues and expenses were favorable to what had been budgeted through September. Not being able to do normal social events due to Covid is the main reason for that. Accounts Receivable still has the same debts due to unpaid assessments, for a total of about $14K. There are 17 homeowners not paid up for 2020, and 7 others that have dues unpaid for longer than one year.

Security: A.D. said he is going to work with Mike Kuhnen and website admin Polina Blossman to see if the fillable PDF file will work as a submission format for sending a vacation watch request to Homeland Protective Service. Typing your info into a file which can be sent to HPS avoids the problem of having to download, print, fill, then scan back in to your device. There was a discussion of the intruder event on Oakhaven Sept. 26. A.D. said the Security Chair should keep a log of such incidents. He was asked to advise HMS about the Oaksfest with food trucks at the pool to be held on Oct 10, and ask them to keep an eye on trick-or-treaters in CO on Halloween.

Sandy announced that Hope Edmondson and Keith Overstreet had agreed to be write-in candidates for the COCC election on Oct 10.

Pool: Lori said that painting had started on the bathroom building at the pool, but with the next day predicted to be rainy, it probably wouldn’t get finished this week. The painting is being done by an employee of Ray Cowart, the pool maintenance contractor, and needs to be done on a weekday to avoid overtime.
Social: Johanna went over the arrangements for a food truck and a mixed-drinks truck to park in the cul-de-sac in front of the pool from 6-8 pm. The wooden ballot box would be brought by Sandy, who also was going to bring copies of the ballot for any homeowners who had not yet voted. Charlie was scheduled to check the secure mailbox at the pool on the morning of the 11th, which would end the voting period. Treasurer Dan would then validate and count the ballots, reporting the results to the Board by email on Sunday.

Sandy adjourned the meeting at 8:12.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
September 10, 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, Cassie Ramsay, Dan Gonzalez, Michael Kuhnen, Marilyn Harper. Not Present: Johanna Wolfe, Darin Lee, Charlie Bowman. 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 7:42 pm.

Treasury: Dan gave us a summary of the treasury, which was that both revenues and expenses were favorable to budget through August. Accounts Receivable still has old debt due to unpaid assessments, to the tune of about $14K.

Pool: Lori reported that she had asked pool caretaker Ray Cowart when the bathroom painting project could start, and he said just about any time. But Mike said he would not be able to prep the inside surfaces until the following week. It was noted that usage at the pool would become lighter as school got busier. Also as it gets cooler, that is preferable for painting.

Social: No social events are planned, but Cassie was asked about getting food trucks for the COCC Election, final stage of which will be held at the pool/playground on October 10, in lieu of OaksFest. The board will meet by Zoom on October 8, but board members who wish to will be present on the 10th with the official voting box, as the last opportunity to turn in your ballots for 2021. Cassie leans toward having Chick-fil-A food truck booked for this occasion, as this company would be a hit with both adults and children. In the meantime, Johanna has been talking to more up-scale food truck vendors, but was concerned by the high minimums that were required to book them. Mike made a motion that the board would guarantee $500 minimum for a food truck vender, Lori seconded, and the motion carried.

Election: It was decided that in order to meet the By Laws requirement that the ballots should be available to homeowners at least 10 days before the election closed, so we would have the October Acorn ready for printer Gill Daoust by Sept 25, and delivered by board members with routes by Sept 28. Deadline for content, including the approved proposed budget and the bios for those running for board seats will be Sept 23.

Security: A.D. said he is still getting the Homeland Protective Service patrol reports, but not very much is seen to be happening here. Marilyn said that she had heard from Polina Blossman, who is our volunteer website admin, that she had found if we wanted to use fillable PDF format for our vacation watch request, we would have to pay for a license to do that. Mike said he has a PDF license that we might be able to use. We will find out if this is workable.

Sandy adjourned the meeting at 8:35.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
August 13, 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, Cassie Ramsay, Johanna Wolfe, Michael Kuhnen, Marilyn Harper. Not Present: Dan Gonzalez, Darin Lee, Charlie Bowman. 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.

Pool: Lori reported on emergency repairs made to the gate card reader, which had become almost unusable. She mentioned that when the system had been installed, it was known by the vendor that it was not rated for outdoor use. The new reader was installed for $616 and is a better system. All members were switched to the new system by the service techs, so Lori did not have to do that manually.

In other pool news, she said the trees trimmed back around the pool were getting lots of compliments from pool members. The City Health Dept inspector finally came by for the 2020 inspection. Everything passed, but she was told that next year, it will be required for “backwash water” to be connected to the city sewer system. It is currently allowed to run out onto the grass. Research of old COCC documents will have to be done to see if there is any info on where sewer lines exist, with the hope that something will be close to the pump house.

Business: Sandy reported that she had spoken to our insurance agent, as the annual payment was due by end of August. The amount to insure our common areas including the pool, restrooms, and the playground has been constant at $8K/yr for many years, and she wanted to know if the amount should be increased considering the upgrade to the pool this year. It was decided to vote to approve the insurance premium by email, after it is known what the recommended amount will be. [See Footnote 1.]

Sandy also wants to get a date set for the painting of the restrooms. Lori will ask Ray Cowart and his employee Eloy when they can start, so Mike Kuhnen will know when he needs to go over and remove paper towel and other attachments on the interior walls. Sandy is also investigating outdoor cleaning sprays that might be able to clean up the white brick walls on Tidwell at Bolivia, in lieu of power washing.

Security: A.D. reported that he gets daily reports from HPS officers who patrol in CO. They put a copy of the report in his mailbox when they are ready to leave. He has recommended to supervisor Shelley at HPS that one or more of the officers be given membership in our Facebook Group so they will be aware of any crime or safety issues that are posted there. There was a brief discussion of a recent event where a gun was fired pre-dawn in a back yard on Droddy St. HPD says there is not much accomplished by calling either HPD or a security service when you hear gunshots, but have no idea of the location. If you do know the exact location, you should immediately call HPD non-emergency to report the address, then call the security service, too.

Social: Still no social events planned during Covid-19 Lockdown. Johanna mentioned that once the weather cools down a bit, we can have food truck events in cul-de-sacs.

Treasury: Sandy read highlights from the notes that Treasurer Dan Gonzales had emailed so this information would be available for the meeting. Our budget position is favorable to the projected budget approved for 2020, and we have already saved ~ $4K on security cost. There are 22 homeowners not fully paid for 2020 and thus owing $6015. And additional 8 homeowners owe dues from 2020 and earlier, totaling $9906. There are some pending legal actions with the larger past due accounts that should be resolved in the near future and provide us with some clarification on next steps to collect.

Pool revenue is down a bit this year, in spite of having great membership response, because pavilion rentals were ruled out by the City of Houston Health Department Covid-19 rules regarding social distancing. CoH licenses our pool and we have to abide by their regulations. [See Footnote 2.]

Election: October is election month for COCC, so the Treasury needs to start work on preparing a budget for 2021. Marilyn will look at last year’s ballot to confirm which board members’ 2-year terms will expire this year. We need to see if there will be any vacancies to get started on recruiting.

To-Do’s: A question came up about COCC’s right-of-way to the driveway from Tidwell to the pool parking. Some board members were concerned by the flimsy fence recently erected around the vacant lot north of the COCC pool and playground. Michael mentioned Houston GIMS data system as a place to look for sewer pipes that could be a connection to the backwash water from our pool.

Sandy adjourned the meeting at 8:38.

Footnote 1: Sandy sent email to the board the day after the meeting, reporting that the insurance agent saw no reason to increase the coverage for the pool, so she moved the amount of $8K be paid this month for insurance. After this was announced in email, we had a quorum of approval votes within a few days.

Footnote 2: Sandy reported by email to the board that the current pool membership was 59, while there had been 72 in 2019. This is rather amazing considering this year’s late start due to the pool makeover, and the limitations imposed by CoH Health Dept.

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.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
June 11, 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, Cassie Ramsay, A.D. Koen, Michael Kuhnen, Marilyn Harper, Charlie Bowman. Not Present: Dan Gonzalez, Johanna Wolfe, 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 7:38 pm.

Pool: Lori reported that the pool has been able to garner 40 memberships so far this year, and that there have been many compliments from members about the attractive appearance of the pool and the deck around it. No problems have been reported with the restrictions on number of swimmers or any issues with hygiene or social distancing.

Security: A.D. reported that the initial contract with Homeland Protective Services had been signed, and that he and Sandy gave written notice to SEAL on June 1 that our long-running use of their services would terminate on June 30. SEAL began charging us $32/hr in January, and they also wanted us to agree to 8-hr shifts. SEAL’s changes did not fit with our needs or our budget. We will have to get the security signs around the neighborhood changed out by July 1, so A.D. and Gill will be working on that. Hopefully we will be able to keep the tall metal poles that our signs are on now, but no one knew for sure if those poles belong to us or to SEAL.

Treasury: Dan could not attend the meeting, but had sent an email report with the current status. Charlie Bowman stepped up as volunteer assistant to the Treasury to present and discuss Dan’s information. Among the status items were that $4600 was collected so far in June, and that 23 homes were still past due, however 2 of those are in the process of being sold, so those accounts will be paid up after the sales are completed.

Dan showed that the estimated expenses for June to December are $68,800. The checking account balance is $38,300. Subtract these two and the account would be short $30,500. Dan wanted to let the Board know that we are transferring $41,800 from Savings to Checking. That will leave $11,300 after the expected expenditures, plus the estimated incoming $10,000 in assessments, $5000 in pool fees, and $700 in transfer fees. This will total expected $27,000 in Checking by the end of 2020 to provide a cushion just in case there are any unforeseen expenses, and will also leave $100,000 safely in reserves.

Charlie had noticed and discussed with Dan that the cost to COCC is $12 for a returned check. They agreed that beginning in fiscal year 2021, there should be a $25 fee for a returned check. After Charlie led a discussion of this proposal during the meeting, A.D. seconded the motion, and all members present online approved. Sandy commended Charlie for all his advice and effort over the last 7 years to work with the COCC Treasury.

Social: Due to continued restrictions for Covid-19, Sandy remarked and Cassie agreed that food trucks were likely to be the best bet for any social gathering in Candlelight Oaks this summer. Sandy said National Night Out might be ok for an event in August, but Marilyn said that NNO is held in the Fall in Texas, and she would look up the date. (See Footnote below.)

Deed Restrictions: Mike, Marilyn, and Cassie all said they have not gone out for any inspections recently.

Marilyn asked if any progress had been made on the idea that came up at a meeting this Spring, to have the homeowner information spreadsheet be put online. Mike and Dan had discussed it, and the basic idea was that just a few board members and Proledge would have access to update names and contact info. Another few board members could have read-only access to get current names and addresses for letters and emails. Mike said nothing had been done yet, but the spreadsheet would eventually be set up.

There are still a few Work Day type of improvements that were intended for the pool this Spring, that may not get done until much later in the year. Mike reports that he has not been able to find grass sod needed to fill in a semicircle on the west side of the pool. This area was left bare after old broken concrete where there used to be a diving board was removed as part of the renovation this Spring. The other big project was to repaint the bathroom building, but it has gotten too hot for that now. Sandy also wants to power wash the brick walls at the Bolivia entrance from Tidwell, but one of the homes where we would need to borrow their back yard water connection is being sold and is not likely to be occupied for a while.

The virtual meeting was adjourned at 9:30 pm.

Footnote: The state of Texas celebrates National Night Out on the first Tuesday in October. That will be October 6, 2020, and we’ll just have to wait and see what the Lock Down situation is by then.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
May 14, 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 Erichsen, Lori Bulla, A.D. Koen, Michael Kuhnen, Marilyn Harper, Dan Gonzalez, Cassie Ramsay, Charlie Bowman. NOTE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing, this meeting was held by ZOOM technology, with participants either on their computer or cell phone cameras or just phoned in.

Sandy opened the meeting at 7:35 pm.

Treasury: Dan reported that 239 of the 282 homes have paid all or part of the 2020 dues. There is currently about $13K uncollected for 2020 payment plans. There is an additional $9K unpaid from last year or even longer ago. Sandy said 2 demand letters are going out. Charlie noted that the attorney adds his fees to our balance when he files a bankruptcy case, then takes his fees from the proceeds when the balance is collected.

Pool: The final amount paid to the Guthrie Pool Co for the renovation and repairs at the pool was $43,793.50. This includes repair of problems that were not detected until the pool had been drained. The concrete deck was extensively repaired, and some sections were discarded and replaced. A patterned sealer was put on the completed decking.

Lori reported that the Houston Health Department has said that pools might be able to reopen after May 20. We will need signage that states the limits on number of people in the water, and encourages users to bring sanitizer and disinfectant, and practice social distancing except from their own family members. The initial limit will be 25% of capacity, which means 10 people in the pool at the same time. Lori recommends there should be no pavilion rentals until more than 10 people can be allowed. She also recommends we limit the current hours of operation. We will need some temporary signs explaining all the new rules and limitations.

Lori suggested we might want to use a sign-in clipboard, but Michael said a clipboard would be a high-touch item, and then Lori agreed we should not do that. A few board members were not optimistic that people would be well-behaved under the restrictions. Johanna said she would check with other HOAs with pools to see what their reopening plans are. Johanna and Sandy also thought checking with apartments that have pools could turn up some ideas.

Social: Cassie was sad to realize that there isn’t going to be any way to have any social committee events as long as social distancing is required. At best, some small, informal gatherings based on food trucks summoned to a cul-de-sac might work.

Landscaping: Darin said he is getting new quotes for pricing the landscaping on our common areas.

Deed Restrictions: Michael wants to try a new method of finding DR violations. He wants each committee member to do their own drive-through, and on seeing something, either get a picture or just describe it in an email to the committee. If there is agreement that there is a violation, a letter will be sent to the homeowner.

Security: A.D. is still communicating with Homeland Protective Services and wants to get them to modify one provision of their contract. He moved to hold a special meeting at the pavilion on Saturday May 16 to discuss this matter. Marilyn seconded the motion and all approved. The hold-up issue is HPS did not want to modify their standard contract in any way. A.D. and Lori want to set the initial contract period to be 6 months rather than 1 full year, as the amount of time after which either party can give 30 days notice. There was agreement to meet at the pavilion at 10 a.m. and to invite Don Wasson of the COV board to attend the meeting.

The virtual meeting was adjourned at 9:30 pm.

COCC Meeting in April 2020 was canceled

COCC Meeting in March 2020 was canceled (Lack of Quorum)