Blog

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
April 8, 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
Polina Blossman Deed Restrictions Chair & Website
Dan Sherer Landscaping Chair
-Open- Social Committee Chair
Johanna Wolfe Long Range Planning & Government Outreach

Present: Sandy Ericksen, Dan Sherer, Marilyn Harper, Hope Edmondson, Lori Bulla, Johanna Wolfe, Dan Gonzalez. Absent: Polina Blossman. NOTE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing, this meeting was hosted by Sandy using ZOOM.

Sandy opened the meeting at 7:35 pm.

Treasury: Dan went over the stats on the treasury account that he had emailed prior to the meeting. He said that the 15 old deficit accounts noted below will soon be getting demand letters.
March 2021
Revenues were unfavorable to budget by $2395
Expenses were unfavorable to budget by $2785
Total Income was unfavorable to budget by $5180
2021 YTD
Revenues were favorable to budget by $5190
Expenses were favorable to budget by $2689
Total Income was favorable to budget by $7879
Accounts Receivable
There are $13941 in assessments due to COCC that are from previous years – 15 residents
There are $11765 in 2021 assessments that are in the current period – 37 residents

Pool: Lori reported that 6 memberships have been purchased so far. The water has been too cold to be enjoyable. She is going to purchase new light fixtures and new bulbs for the bathrooms. The City of Houston inspection is expected soon, and nothing has been done so far about the new requirement for backwash water to be routed to a sewer line. Lori said that Ray can look into how and where to make that hookup.

Landscaping: Dan Sherer reported that the current contractor Landscape Texas which had its crew sidelined by Covid is back on the job again. The sprinkler system that was approved for the 2 esplanades at the Bolivia entrance from Tidwell has been installed, but there is a hold-up with the City of Houston water department re-authorizing the water meter in that location. No one currently on the board even remembered a time when water was available on those esplanades.

Since New Image Trees is expected to be out soon to cut dead parts off the top of the 2 tall palm trees at the swimming pool, and trim the vines that grow on the pergolas at the playground, Dan wanted to get a tree trunk that has been blocking a sidewalk on Tidwell taken care off. Sandy proposed spending up to $100 to have the fallen trunk removed, Hope seconded, and all approved.

Deed Restrictions:
The question of CO Deed Restrictions was raised by Dan Sherer who was not aware of the DR Home Owner Information Booklet that Gill Daoust had produced several years ago and hand-delivered to every home. Someone checked the website and said that document was available there online. (See Footnote #1.)

Social:
Johanna has arranged a Food Truck Social at the pool on Tuesday May 25. There will be food available to purchase from Southern Sliders and beverages available from Tap Truck. She suggested we invite residents of Candlelight Oaks Village to promote sales of pool memberships to them.

Security: There was an incident in early April when several residents posted on RoCO and called Homeland to report a suspicious car driving slowly around the neighborhood. It turned out that it was our HPS security officer driving his personal car, after his marked patrol car was out of service. Lori suggested that if such an event ever occurs again, the officers should use a magnetic Security Patrol sign on the sides of their car. Committee chair Hope Edmondson said she is going to contact HPS about a few changes she would like to see in our contract, and get it signed by both parties, as she does not have a signed contract that covers the month-to-month arrangement we are now in.

Misc:
Sandy raised the question if the board was ready to revert back to in-person board meetings. Lori is going to check with Advent Lutheran to see if their premises are available for organizations to meet in again. Marilyn suggested that if Advent isn’t available, the pavilion at the pool is a good place to meet in the open air. Someone mentioned mosquitoes.

Sandy adjourned the meeting at 8.23.

Footnote #1.
The CO website candlelightoaks.com has a copy of Gill’s handbook dated 2018, containing the separate and slightly different deed restrictions for the 4 sections. There are also maps and by-laws. Find this on the menu under Resources.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
March 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
Polina Blossman Deed Restrictions Chair & Website
Dan Sherer Landscaping Chair
-Open- Social Committee Chair
Johanna Wolfe Long Range Planning & Government Outreach

Present: Sandy Ericksen, Dan Sherer, Marilyn Harper, Hope Edmondson, Polina Blossman, Lori Bulla, Johanna Wolfe,. Absent: Dan Gonzalez. NOTE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing, this meeting was hosted by Sandy using ZOOM.

Sandy opened the meeting at 7:33 pm.

Pool: Lori said the new pump is installed and working well. The pool and bathrooms sustained no damage during the February freeze and power outages. The 2 towering palm trees had the leaves at the top freeze, and will need to be trimmed off, which is beyond the reach of any equipment that any resident would have. Quotes will be obtained from New Image Trees and from Dan Sherer’s tree trimming company. Polina reported that the plants that cover one of the two gazebo structures at the playground have gotten very overgrown, so that will be included in trimming quotes.

Lori said there has been no word from CoH Health Dept whether to expect rule changes for pool operation this year. Lori is modifying the pool membership form to make it clear that the signed forms must be turned in before the member can swim or even have their card activated. This is an important legal liability issue.

There was discussion as to whether the entire process of signing up for pool membership, including payment, could be put online. Polina said she will investigate what vendors could provide a function like that, and what would it cost.

Security: Hope is making trespassing forms available to residents to file with HPD. This is in response to recent problems with a man who once lived in CO and then lived with a relative in COV. On several occasions this year, he has tried to open doors to houses, and created disturbances, but it appears that HPD will not arrest him unless the complainant has No Trespassing papers on file. Hope is concerned at not finding a signed contract with Homeland Protective Services, beyond the first 6 months of operation, which was a try-out period, so she wants to have the current contract printed and signed by both parties. Hope said she would be out of town for a few days, but Dan S arranged to hold the HPS security drive reports for her.

Landscaping: Dan Sherer reported that the current contractor Landscape Texas has had its crew out of circulation with Covid-19 and unable to mow for a while. They will get caught up when able to return to work. The city was observed to be mowing their Tidwell esplanades the first week of March. The proposed renovation of the watering system found on COCC’s 2 esplanades on Bolivia was brought up for discussion, and Dan S made the official motion to spend $1900 to do this work. Johanna seconded, and all present for the Zoom meeting approved. Among new information about this system is that it is similar to a lawn sprinkler system, has auto-timer, and has capability to attach a hose if that feature is ever needed. The plan is to acquire some new native plants for the Bolivia entrance esplanades, if possible from the Near Northwest Mgmt District sponsored Spring sale of hardy plants from Treesearch Farms.

Social:
Johanna discussed the possibility of having a Food Truck event at the pool, on an evening in April after Easter, probably either Thursday the 8th, or Friday or Saturday 17-18. There will also be a Drinks Truck. Sandy reported that A.D. Koen says he has now passed the Security Committee baton to Hope, so he is stepping down from his board seat, while his wife Bobbie Koen says that she would eventually like to serve on the COCC board, but it won’t be until after she has retired. She does plan to try to do some Story Time sessions on the 3 cul-de-sacs this year; stay tuned for details. So there is currently a vacancy on the board, which we will try to fill by inducting a volunteer.

Treasury:
Dan G was not present but had emailed the following Treasury report:

February 2021
• Revenues were favorable to budget by $1645
• Expenses were unfavorable to budget by $147.62 due to Security expenses being over budget by $331.40.
• Total Income was favorable to budget by $1789.20

2021 YTD
• Revenues were favorable to budget by $7585
• Expenses were favorable to budget by $5747.61
• Security and Landscaping expenses for February have not hit the accounts by the time the financial statements were ready. They were charged for January
• Total Income was favorable to budget by $13052.83

Accounts Receivable
• There are $10561.65 in assessments due to COCC that are >90 days. 15 residents
• There are $21640 in 2021 assessments that are in the current period. The remainder of these should be paid in the coming months. 60 residents

Deed Restrictions:
Sandy inquired whether it was time to restart DR drive throughs, which have not been done for a year due to Covid-19 restrictions. It was decided that it will be discussed at the next meeting.

Misc:
There was a brief discussion of the Dan S project to seek local government buy-in on a safety fence along both sides of Tidwell. (See Footnote #1.) Sandy brought up the name of a homeowner that she had seen mentioned in The Leader in connection with request to get CoH to add a traffic light on 43rd St to make it safer for students to get across the street. Marilyn will see if she can find information about that news story.

Sandy adjourned the meeting at 8.44.

Footnote #1. (from last month)
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.

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.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
January 14, 2021

2021 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
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, Hope Edmondson, Dan Sherer, Polina Blossman. Absent: A.D. Koen. Guest: Resident Alan Smith. NOTE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing, this meeting was hosted by Sandy using ZOOM.

Sandy opened the meeting at 7:25 pm.

Treasury: Dan G had emailed the Treasury report through the end of December 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 were favorable to budget by $12,430 (*This is due to residents paying their annual assessments as part of the 2021 assessments, part of which are budgeted in November and December of 2020 when they are received.)
· Expenses were unfavorable to budget by $4,457 due partially to Security expenses being over budget by $4,101 (*Lori said this was due to both the November and December payments to Homeland being made in December.)
· Total Income was favorable to budget by $7,968

Year To Date 2020
· Revenues are favorable to budget by $10,405
· Total Expenses were neutral to budget as actual expenses were $15 over budget
· Total Income is favorable to budget by $10,372

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.

Pool: Lori reported that the new pump that was authorized has been purchased and will be installed in February.

Security: Hope reported that she has met with Homeland Security at their office across the 290 freeway from Target. She has talked to Don Wasson of the Candlelight Oaks Village board about whether they would be interested in having HPS provide security for their HOA, and Don was going to bring that up at the COV board meeting last night, the same night as our meeting. Hope wants to work on the Vacation Watch program, so Marilyn said she will send Hope the form we have from HPS.

Landscaping: Dan Sherer reported that he has not found any new company that was interested in the contract for COCC, so he is going to stick with the current company that was hired by Darin Lee.

Deed Restrictions: Polina expressed interest in getting DR going again, if a way to have 3 board members collaborate on it during Covid lockdown can be developed. She wants to incorporate letting residents know when their home looks especially nice into the program, and not just be sending complaint letters. There was also discussion about restarting the Beautiful Yard sign program this Spring.

Social: No news. Covid lockdowns may preclude any social events this Spring.

Planning & Outreach: Johanna said she will continue to work in this area, but had nothing to report yet.

The board voted to continue with the same officers and committee chairs, with the 3 new board members agreeing to take, and then confirmed by unanimous votes for Hope to Security, Polina to Deed Restrictions, and Dan Sherer to Landscaping. Marilyn said she will continue to do a bimonthly Acorn newsletter during 2021.

Sandy adjourned the meeting at 8:36.

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.