Blog

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
January 10, 2019

2019 BOARD MEMBERS:
Sandy Ericksen President
Lori Bulla Vice-President & Pool Committee Chair
Marilyn Harper Secretary & Acorn Editor
Charlie Bowman Acting Treasurer
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

Present: Sandy Ericksen, Michael Kuhnen, Marilyn Harper, A.D. Koen, Darin Lee, Cassie Ramsay, Johanna Wolfe, Charlie Bowman, Lori Bulla. Guest: SEAL Sgt Bonsey.

Meeting started at 7:30 pm with Sgt Bonsey’s SEAL report. He was happy to say that he has not seen dog poop near the playground since the PICK UP THE POOP sign was printed and put up near the corner of the pool fence, just before the path out into the parking lot and the walkway to the playground.

There was a discussion of a vandalism at the pool that occurred on Friday, December 21 during the afternoon. When SEAL officer arrived to check the pool, playground, and park around 5 pm, items of furniture and pool safety gear had been thrown into the water. There was some damage to the pump house gate and lock. It was reported that a nearby resident had observed 3 teenage males inside the pool enclosure around 2:30-3pm. The SEAL officer helped Pool Chair Lori Bulla to retrieve the items from the pool, and pool custodian Ray Cowart was able to repair the damages that had been inflicted.

Lori also reported there had been a problem in one of the bathrooms at the pool, about a week earlier in December. The ceramic lid of a toilet had been dropped and broken. Ray fixed the toilet and repaired a water leak that resulted in a visible puddle of water that ran down toward the pool gate.

There was a discussion of Landscaping issues, and Chair Darin Lee reported that the City is expected to do a mow on the Tidwell esplanades in January. The new landscaping company is scheduled to do regular maintenance and prune the crepe myrtles at our Bolivia entrance on January 11. Darin said he had called 3-1-1 about the backyard tree of a home on Bayou Vista that collapsed onto Tidwell on Dec 27. The eastbound lanes of Tidwell were completely blocked for several hours, until some CO men went out with a chainsaw and cut the fallen tree into pieces they could move out of the traffic lanes. The tree had recently been severely trimmed away from the power lines by Centerpoint. 3-1-1 told Darin that the tree debris could be picked up off the Tidwell esplanade by our January Heavy Trash Tree Waste run.

Charlie reported that bookkeeping needs to be updated, once all the records have been retrieved from the former Treasurer Jill Prado who has resigned. He said there are only a few homeowners who are delinquent at the end of 2018, and it may be necessary to have some demand letters sent.

New board member Cassie Ramsay said she has some ideas about improvements for CO, including additional patrol time by SEAL, although she realizes that will mean paying more to get the increased service. Marilyn asked Cassie to write up her thoughts as an article for the February Acorn.

There was then a discussion of whether COCC needs to start planning for a campaign to increase the annual dues. Charlie said that because all the services we are paying for — security, landscaping, utilities, Proledge assistance with bookkeeping, etc. — will eventually cost us more, we need to be sure we will have the funds to provide these services. Charlie noted it has been a long time since the increase from $240 to $360. (See #1 below.) CO has not been hurting for the past several years because Sandy and Charlie have been very successful at getting most homeowners who were badly delinquent to get on a payment plan and get their accounts caught up. But now that most owners are current, there will not be much more boosting of that type. Marilyn said that the main downside of a dues increase is the huge amount of time and effort needed to get the organized signatures of approval from a majority of the homeowners in all 4 sections, and then get all 4 Deed Restrictions updated and registered with the County Clerk.

The board then undertook to organize the 2019 Officers and Committees. There were currently 2 unoccupied seats. Marilyn Harper was inducted into one of those vacancies to finish out the term through December 2019. Another 1-year vacancy remains and several board members mentioned neighbors that might be interested in stepping in. TBD.

The following Officers and Committee Chairs were approved by show of hands:
President – Sandy Erichsen; Vice President – Lori Bulla; Secretary – Marilyn Harper.

Treasurer – Charlie Bowman will serve as Acting Treasurer, while Sandy and Lori have agreed to assist with various tasks as needed, such as visit the mailbox, process checks and take to bank, write checks, interact with Proledge company, etc — while hoping that a new recruit can be found to assume the office of Treasurer. Charlie will continue as the Assistant Treasurer even if a new board member can be found to take this position.

Pool Committee – Lori Bulla; Landscaping – Darin Lee; Deed Restrictions – Michael Kuhnen; Security Committee – A.D. Koen; Cassie Ramsay – Social Committee; Johanna Wolfe – Long Range Planning.

A.D. Koen had brought in some large glossy photographs taken by Don Kiger at the COCC Party with Santa held in the well-decorated front yard of his home. Board members were asked to look through the collection for neighbors they recognized, so the pictures could be given to the families.

Sandy adjourned the meeting at 9:13pm.
Footnote #1. During the meeting, no one could remember when the last dues increase had occurred. Charlie looked it up and emailed the Board the next day. The campaign to increase from $240 to $360 succeeded in 2002, and took effect on Jan 1, 2003. Thus it has been 16 years since that increase.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
December 13, 2018

2018 BOARD MEMBERS:
Sandy Ericksen President
Lori Bulla Vice-President (temp)
Darilene Bonnet Secretary
Jill Prado Salyers Treasurer
Lori Bulla Pool Committee Chair
A.D. Koen Security Committee Chair
Michael Kuhnen Deed Restrictions Chair
Richard Solis Social Chair; Acorn Delivery
Darin Lee Landscaping Chair
Charlie Bowman Assistant to Treasurer
Marilyn Harper (temp) ; Acorn Editor

Present: Sandy Ericksen, Lori Bulla, Marilyn Harper, Michael Kuhnen, A.D. Koen, Darin Lee. Absent: Richard Solis, Jill Prado, Darilene Bonnet, Charlie Bowman. Guest: SEAL Sgt Bonsey.

Sandy opened the meeting at 7:35 pm and asked Sgt Bonsey to give the Security Report. November was notable for having so few incidents reported. There was an uptick in the SEAL patrol reports of dog poop left in the parking lot at the CO playground. There were reports of suspicious people in the neighborhood, but one turned out to be a home reconstruction worker in a hazmat suit. Comcast had people surveying their cable boxes in back yards, and there were teenagers soliciting for school team uniforms. Two potential criminal sightings were reported: one woman got a late night call from her neighbor who had just seen a man walking away from the woman’s garage. The other was a possible 2-man burglary team with one knocking at the front door while the other tried to get in the back door. It was reported that the woman of the house was at home and managed to scare them off.

Darin reported the new landscaping company is in their 3rd month now. One of their hardest jobs is getting the edging on Tidwell up to snuff after many years of it not being done. They are also finding a line of rock-hard dirt along the curbs, and are using shovels to get it loose, then pitching it up onto the esplanades. With city mowing machines, those hard clods should be broken up and blend back in with the soil.

The board went over the arrangements for all the events scheduled for Sunday the 16th. Richard Solis and his Santa Claus will be at the Kiger Family home on Oakhaven to get started at 2 pm. A.D. Koen’s wife Bobbie will be reading holiday stories at the cul-de-sac in front of the pool. There was a discussion about who is going on the Holiday Lights judging drive. After allowing for time for supper, then A.D. will drive by to pick up the other judges at 7 pm. We will remind everyone with a post to social media to have their lights on that night if they want to be in the contest.

Sandy said one of the old Christmas signs is too worn out to use again this year, and will be replaced with a new sign. There was also a discussion of whether we could again have a NO DOGS sign at the Oakhaven entrance to the parking lot. Most felt that the problem is not the dogs, but the owners who walk them. Therefore a new sign will be made, politely asking dog walkers to pick up the poop if their dogs make a mess at the playground entrance or in the parking lot. Sandy said there is also a problem with lots of dog poop on the cul-de-sac on Droddy, so a Pick-Up-The-Poop sign should be placed there also.

DR Chairman Mike Kuhnen said he wants to have the next drive-through in the 2nd half of January, depending on everyone’s schedule. The date and who all will go on the drive will be decided at the January 10 board meeting.

Sandy reported that the COCC financial audit that was started during the summer has not finished yet, which seems to be running too slowly. She is going to check with another HOA in the area that is using the same auditing company and see if it is normal to take this long.

Sandy adjourned the meeting at 9:05 pm.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
November 8, 2018

2018 BOARD MEMBERS:
Sandy Ericksen President
Lori Bulla Vice-President (temp)
Darilene Bonnet Secretary
Jill Prado Salyers Treasurer
Lori Bulla Pool Committee Chair
A.D. Koen Security Committee Chair
Michael Kuhnen Deed Restrictions Chair
Richard Solis Social Chair; Acorn Delivery
Darin Lee Landscaping Chair
Charlie Bowman Assistant to Treasurer
Marilyn Harper (temp); Acorn Editor

Present: Sandy Ericksen, Lori Bulla, Marilyn Harper, Michael Kuhnen, A.D. Koen, Jill Prado. Absent: Darin Lee, Richard Solis, Charlie Bowman, Darilene Bonnet.
Residents: Gill Daoust. Guest: SEAL Sgt Bonsey.

Sandy opened the meeting at 7:35pm and asked Sgt Bonsey to give the Security Report. The October summary patrol reports were full of incidents regarding dogs and cats. Attention was called to cul-de-sacs with curbed circles that are being damaged by City heavy trash trucks, due to too many resident vehicles parked around those curbs. Residents should know when heavy trash day is, and park in your own garage and driveway so there is room for the big trucks to make it through the circles. Also, Sgt Bonsey advised the next newsletter should have an advisory for the upcoming holiday season – unfortunately the time of year when package theft and other property crimes usually increase.

Resident Gill Daoust, who is now the volunteer webmaster for candlelightoaks.com, reported that he has fixed some problems with email forwarding. The special handling for emails directed to Treasurer@candelightoaks.com and DeedRestrictions@candlelightoaks.com is working now. There had been some problems with the catch-all email board@candlelightoaks.com, but all appears to be working now.

The board discussed numerous announcements for the upcoming holiday and social events. The Christmas Lights contest will be judged the evening of Sunday, Dec 16. We will remind everyone in social media to have their lights on that night if they want to be in the contest. Social Chair Richard will be asked if he wants to do the COCC Party with Santa Claus earlier that same day. It was also discussed if the first “Story Hour” might also be presented that same afternoon by Bobbie Koen at the library stand on Oakhaven in front of the pool. Gill will be consulted about erasable signs that could be used at the library stands, announcing the day, time, and subject of an upcoming Story Hour,

A request was made for an announcement in the next newsletter about the new landscaping contract that covers everything COCC normally maintains, except for the pool/playground area which is still being done by Ray Cowart. Ray also has the maintenance contract for the pool operations. It is convenient to have pool mowing and pool cleaning done by the same company, to coordinate the short time that the pool needs to have the CLOSED sign on the gate.

Pool Committee Chair Lori Bulla said that nothing much is happening at the pool as the weather gets colder — except for pulling fallen leaves out of the filter baskets. A light on a pole overlooking the pool/playground area, that is believed to belong to Centerpoint, was reported to be working erratically. A.D. Koen who lives nearby will check the pole to see if it has a pole number and a phone number to call for service.

Treasurer Jill Prado reported that the balance was currently $174,433.35. Reminders sent out by Proledge, and personal coaching by Treasury Assistant Charlie Bowman, have led to several overdue accounts that have gotten paid up before the 2019 invoices go out. Invoices are expected to go out on Nov 15-16. Homeowners will now have an option to receive their invoice letter by email instead of paper letter delivered by US Postal Service. A trial run of this new feature has been conducted by emailing a test invoice to all the email addresses that COCC already had a record of. If you were paid up, your balance was $0.00. If you owed something, that email served as a reminder. Email addresses that bounced back as undeliverable have been removed from the COCC business list. Marilyn will post instructions on our social media, on how other homeowners can sign up for this. Annual dues are due by Jan 31, and late on Feb 1.

Deed Restriction Chair Michael Kuhnen reminded the board that the next DR drive-through was already set for Nov 17, 11 am to 1 pm. Newly elected board member for 2019, Cassie Ramsay, had requested at the October meeting to ride along to become familiar with the procedures. Marilyn will contact Cassie to get her address and remind her of when she will be picked up.

Sandy adjourned the meeting at 9:10 pm.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
October 11, 2018

2018 BOARD MEMBERS:
Sandy Ericksen President
Lori Bulla Vice-President
Jill Prado Salyers Treasurer
Darilene Bonnet Secretary
Lori Bulla Pool Committee Chair
A.D. Koen Security Committee Chair
Michael Kuhnen Deed Restrictions Chair
Richard Solis Social Chair; Acorn Delivery
Darin Lee Landscaping Chair
Charlie Bowman Asst. to Treasurer / Financial

Marilyn Jo Harper Acorn Editor 2018

Present: Sandy Ericksen, Lori Bulla, Marilyn Harper, Michael Kuhnen, A.D. Koen, Richard Solis, Charlie Bowman.
Absent: Darin Lee, Jill Prado, Darilene Bonnet. Residents: Cassie Ramsay. Guest: SEAL Sgt Bonsey.

Sgt Bonsey started the meeting at 7:36 pm by going over the September Incident Report. One noticeable trend is finding juvenile males in our playground gazebo area after school is out for the day. They apparently walk across Tidwell from Yes Academy. Sgt Bonsey is usually on patrol at that time on week days, and always checks what is going on in and around the playground, and asks trespassers to leave.

Sandy then called the meeting to order and asked Lori to report on the pool. Ray Cowart had already done the mowing to have the area ready for Oaksfest. Sandy asked that it be verified that the check for the new iron fencing around the playground has cleared.

Plans for the next Deed Restriction drive-through were made for Nov 17. DR Chairman Michael will drive, Sandy will take photos, Marilyn will note addresses and problems. There was a discussion on how to handle several properties with long-standing, uncorrected violations. Sandy has a plan for volunteers to help some homeowners who say they are not able to clean up their yards. Michael replied that we need to see more effort on the part of able-bodied adults who should at least be able to pick up junk on their driveway. Marilyn expects that people who say they don’t have time to take care of their homes, due to long work hours, should have at least earned some money to hire the help they need. We will monitor if people seem to be trying, then offer volunteer assistance.

Charlie spoke about some problems with a few properties that are at or near bankruptcy. He closely monitors homes that are on a payment plan, and tries to keep them from falling farther behind. The 2019 dues invoices are expected to go out around the middle of November. Plans are being made to offer people the chance to have their invoice arrive by email. This will be cheaper than producing a letter, get it addressed and stamped and delivered to the USPS. There is also no chance of an email getting lost by the Post Office, although Charlie needs to fine tune his email list to be sure he sends to the correct person for each home.

Sandy announced that her neighbor Johanna Wolfe had agreed to be a write-in candidate for the open spot on the ballot. Marilyn will announce this on our social media.

Richard said that all plans for Oaksfest were on track, with microphone for the speaker, payment method for catered barbeque from Gabby’s, tables, tents, and movie for children. His friend Cassie Ramsay, who is running for the board, wants the Social Chair next year. She asked a lot of questions during the meeting and said she was enjoying it.

A.D. said he would ask SEAL to provide CO with security for Halloween night, until 9-10 pm. Sgt Bonsey had been asked if he would like to attend our Oaksfest on Saturday night, but he told us during his report that he would not be able to. A.D. said he would inform SEAL that CO would like to have an officer present for Oaksfest, and the officer was invited to eat BBQ with us that night.

The ongoing problem with speeding and running stop signs on Bolivia was briefly discussed. It was noted that CO residents in the Kiger family have posted an online petition asking for speed humps on Bolivia. It is in FB/Residents of Candlelight Oaks.

Meeting was adjourned by Sandy at 8.55 pm.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
September 13, 2018

2018 BOARD MEMBERS:
Sandy Ericksen President
Amelie Fredland Vice-President
Jill Prado Salyers Treasurer
Darilene Bonnet Secretary
Lori Bulla Pool Committee Chair
A.D. Koen Security Committee Chair
Michael Kuhnen Deed Restrictions Chair
Richard Solis Social Chair; Acorn Delivery
Darin Lee Landscaping Chair
Charlie Bowman Asst. to Treasurer / Financial

Marilyn Jo Harper Acorn Editor 2018

Present: Sandy Ericksen, Lori Bulla, Darin Lee, A.D. Koen, Richard Solis, Charlie Bowman Absent: Michael Kuhnen, Darilene Bonnet, Jill Prado Salyers, Amelie Fredland
Residents: Marilyn Harper, Gill Daoust, Gerard Bohorquez Guest: SEAL Sgt Bonsey

At 7:35 pm, Sgt Bonsey discussed the August SEAL reports. One of the recent problems has been that, with school back in session, students from the Yes Academy are hanging out in the COCC playground. One of the gazebos is a favorite spot, and that area is often found littered with trash, such as cigarette butts and beer bottles. On one occasion, SEAL observed 6 young males climbing over the fence in that area. Trespassers are reminded that they walked past the No Trespassing signs, and asked to leave.

President Sandy Ericksen called the official meeting to order at 7:52 pm. Social Chair Richard Solis reported that resident Christian Barraza is helping to find good buys on lounge chairs and other such items needed for the pool. Richard also wants a storage shed.

Treasury: Charlie Bowman reported that the audit is ongoing, and Jill and Charlie are providing everything the auditors request. Charlie suggested that the Board find a way to get an email address for every homeowner who wants to provide one. This would be a cost-cutting measure, allowing invoices to be emailed, bypassing the expense of printing and mailing.

Landscaping: Darin said he would like to switch the general landscaping contract to a company he has a bid for. This will initially be a month-to-month trial period, starting Oct 1. Sandy made a motion for Darin to proceed, Darin seconded, motion was approved. CO resident Ray Cowart will continue to do the landscaping at the pool and playground, to enable the coordination needed between pool maintenance and mowing — since Ray is also the pool contractor. There was a discussion of the need for some cul-de-sac trees to be pruned for elevation. Marilyn reported that the trees on the Bayou Vista cul-de-sac have branch tips grown so far down that they are impeding traffic. Recommendations for tree services will be sought.

Social: The Oaksfest party will be held at the pool on Saturday, Oct 13. BBQ catered by Gabby’s and possibility of some beer kegs were mentioned by Richard. Details should be available by deadline for the October Acorn. It looks like the COCC Christmas event will be held again at the superbly decorated front yard of the Kiger family on Oakhaven. That same fabulous Santa Claus from last year may be back. And finally, Richard recommended that SEAL should be requested to run patrols in CO on Halloween night. Security Chair A.D Koen will make the request.

Treasury again: Charlie said that a statement would be sent to every homeowner with a balance — about 20, he said — at the end of September. This will be a reminder of what they currently still owe, before the 2019 dues invoices go out.

Deed Restrictions: As Michael was not present, Marilyn presented an issue that arose for the Drive-through on Sept 8. No one had a “Second Letter” template to be used for homeowners where the violations seen on July 21 had not been corrected. She found an old 2nd Letter that had been used by the APM management company dated 2007, and modified it for current usage, but keeping the paragraph that mentioned a $25 charge if a 3rd Letter was needed. Several board members who reviewed the letter had objected to the $25 charge (which actually made more sense when CO was paying a mgmt. co. to do the DR) and said the whole Board should decide. It was agreed that paragraph would be removed, and the letter should be revised to emphasize communication between homeowners and the Board. Sandy and Darin stated that those who need help with issues such as overgrown vines should let the board know, and there could be volunteer help for those types of problems.

A.D. said that his wife Bobbie was interested in running for an open position on the board, but unfortunately it is not permitted for 2 homeowners from the same address to serve on the board at the same time. He then passed out a copy of Bobbie Koen’s proposal for a Story Hour program to be started in CO. Based around the 3 Children’s Lending Libraries established this summer on 3 of our cul-de-sacs, the Story Hour would feature an adult, possibly wearing a costume, reading a book to children and their parents who had come to the event. Bobbie will probably need some interested adults to work with her to develop this plan. Her initial proposal will be posted on social media and will be run in the Acorn.

Charlie said the Board should hold a regular business meeting on Oct 11, separate from the Oaksfest party on Saturday 13. Those present agreed.

Sandy adjourned the meeting at 9:15.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc.
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
August 9, 2018

Present: Sandy Ericksen, Jill Prado Salyers, Lori Bulla, Darilene Bonnet, Michel Kuhnen, AD Koen, Richard Solis
Absent: Amelie Fredland, Darin Lee, Charlie Bowman
Residents: Gill Daoust, Marilyn Harper
Guests: SEAL Sgt Bonsey

2018 BOARD OFFICERS:
Sandy Ericksen President
Amelie Fredland Vice-President
Jill Prado Salyers Treasurer
Darilene Bonnet Secretary
Lori Bulla Pool Committee Chair
A.D. Koen Security Committee Chair
Michael Kuhnen Deed Restrictions Chair
Richard Solis Social Chair; Acorn Delivery
Darin Lee Landscaping Chair
Charlie Bowman Asst. to Treasurer / Financial

Marilyn Jo Harper Acorn Editor 2018

President Sandy Ericksen called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm.

SECURITY: Sgt Bonsey discussed the July SEAL reports. Incidents reported for the month mostly consisted of abandoned cars and trucks needing to be reported and towed, 3 solicitor incidents and no reported thefts, although there was an incident where a homeowner heard someone trying to open the front door of her home, however, her dogs barking resulted in the subject leaving. One small girl was on her way to the pool, was approached by SEAL, who escorted her back home. There was a discussion about having SEAL add some night shifts at random times towards year-end.

TREASURER REPORT: Jill has successfully transferred our financial information to Proledge for bookkeeping purposes and sending out invoices in November. Proledge will not write checks or handle our monies and bank accounts, but will reconcile our books. Currently, we have approximately 14 residents still owing money, totaling about $20,000 in outstanding revenue. Each Board Chairman will need to plan for their expenses and provide this info to Jill and Charlie for use in the 2019 Proposed Budget to be voted on in the October election.

POOL: Pool Membership is at 62 members, a record number, says Lori. A handle broke off the vacuum pump to backwash, costing $100 to repair, repairs are needed of lounge chair fabric, floorboards in the Pavillion are starting to rot, and chunks of the pool surface are starting to come up, all for which will need to be budgeted. The pool will need some extensive repairs, involving pool being drained for plastering.

DEED RESTRICTIONS: This month’s Deed Restriction Letters went out and one important (3 year problem) was resolved due to the letter. July 21st was the last Drive Through, pattern is every 6-8 weeks; next drive is scheduled for September 8th with Michael, Marilyn, and Darilene.

LANDSCAPING: Ray will continue his landscaping of common areas and Tidwell until the end of August, at which time Darin will review bids of new companies; Ray will continue to provide service to the pool/playground area. There are 3-4 bids for landscaping on the table. Shrubs need replacing at the Pool entrance, hopefully prior to OaksFest, per Sandy. A.D. and Michael will pull the old shrubs out of the ground. A.D. brought up the idea of having benches installed near each of the 3 library stands. So, can we ask folks to donate benches? Darilene has a metal bench she would be willing to donate to the library on Bayou Vista and will look for a solution to secure it.

LONG RANGE PLANNING: Michael will look at these planned expenses and the timing of such for the budget in 2019: pool resurfacing expense (2020-2021) and fencing for playground. Michael made a recommendation to replace picket fence with a metal fence; 165 feet, including a gate about 5’ wide, an L-shaped fence, 4 feet tall. A bid was received for $5937.51. Everything included, it will be approx. $6,000 to replace the entire fence this year. This company is a recommendation of Michael. A motion was made to replace the fence prior to OaksFest. Motion voted upon, approved and carried.

SOCIAL: There are 2 events coming up. Labor Day, Sept 3 – per Richard, this will be catered. October Fest, October 13, also catered. The Children’s Library Project worked out well and has been well received. Richard will send a thank you note to the contacts at HISD as a gesture of appreciation.

ELECTION: The Treasurer usually counts the votes for the election. Ballots need to be counted at OaksFest, per Lori Bulla. Those Board members up for renewal will need to email bios to Marilyn so that the ballots can be prepared with the appropriate candidates. Bio needs to be in by Oct. 1, 2018. There will be ballots available at the pool for OaksFest.

MISC: Charlie is putting together an email address list and has about 70 homeowners so far, so as to send out invoices electronically. Gill is considering becoming a webmaster for Candlelight Oaks Web Site; Marilyn to support. The COCC insurance policy was circulated to all Board members prior to the meeting for review and is up for renewal. Premium fee is the same for as long as Sandy has been around. The Board approved to renew this policy by a show of hands.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 pm.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc.
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
July 12, 2018

2018 Board Members:
Sandy Ericksen President
Amelie Fredland Vice-President
Jill Prado Salyers Treasurer
Darilene Bonnet Secretary
Lori Bulla Pool Committee Chair
A.D. Koen Security Committee Chair
Michael Kuhnen Deed Restrictions; Long-Range Planning
Richard Solis Social Chair; Acorn Delivery
Darin Lee Landscaping Chair
Charlie Bowman Asst. to Treasurer / Financial

*Marilyn Harper Acorn Editor 2018

Present: Sandy Ericksen, Lori Bulla, Darin Lee, Michael Kuhnen, A.D. Koen, Richard Solis. Absent: Amelie Fredland, Jill Prado Salyers, Darilene Bonnet. Residents: Ray Cowart, Gill Daoust, Marilyn Harper. Guests: SEAL Sgt Capetillo and Jessie Aust.

Sandy called the meeting to order at 7:40 pm.

Security: The SEAL report was given by Jessie Aust with SEAL Client Services. After noting the lack of any actual crimes reported in the June Incident Report, she remarked that Candlelight Oaks was the most crime-free subdivision that she was aware of among those patrolled by SEAL.

Presentation: Resident Gill Daoust announced that he is ready to print the Deed Restriction booklet he intends to distribute to every homeowner in CO. The 80+ page spiral-bound booklet is a personal project undertaken by Gill, as his gift to the community. It contains the Deed Restriction text for all 4 sections of CO, a color-coded fold-out map of the subdivision showing the 4 sections, and several pages of important contact information. Gill is going to personally hand out the booklet to owner-occupied homes, and mail a copy to those homeowners who live somewhere else. The COCC Board sincerely thanks Gill for this contribution to educating and helping Candlelight Oaks. There will be an announcement in social media Residents of Candlelight Oaks and NextDoor Candlelight Oaks when Gill is ready to start delivery.

Gill then passed around the mock-up SEAL sign he produced for the board to examine. It is high quality printing on a thick aluminum rectangle. Sandy moved for approval for Gill to proceed to make the signs, seconded by Darin, all approved.

Treasury: Sandy reported that her information from Jill and Charlie is there are currently 18-20 NO PAYS, some of which are vacant houses. She thinks that this is the lowest number ever recorded in July. She attributes this to Charlie’s personal touch with contacting homeowners who have not paid and getting them to sign up for a payment plan. There are about 40 homes that are on a payment plan this year. Sandy said the tracking and management of payment plans is soon to transition to Proledge.

Pool: Lori reported that our pool had failed the CoH Pool Inspection that day, due to the emergency 9-1-1 phone was not working. She said it had worked a few days earlier when she tested it. The pool had to be closed, pending re-test. Ray Cowart, our pool maintenance man, found a loose wire for that phone and fixed it, so Lori was able to request re-test for the following morning. [NOTE: That all worked out and the pool was open again on Friday. The initial closing, the reason for it, and the All-Clear were all posted in Q and A on the Facebook Group Residents of Candlelight Oaks.] Lori reported 2 party rentals of the pavilion were booked.

Deed Restrictions: Michael reported that the previous drive-through had resulted in the DR violation letters being produced on a computer, but they were never printed, and thus never mailed. Marilyn will take on the task of combining the violation notes with the form letters, aiming to have the batch completed within 1 week of the drive. Sandy will then print the letters, fold them, and stuff the envelopes. The next drive-through was set for Sat July 21, 10 a.m. A.D. will drive, Michael will take photos, and volunteer Marilyn will note the addresses and violations.

Presentation: With Landscaping being the next topic, Ray Cowart asked to address the board and explain what he does as the current landscaping contractor. In addition to being the pool maintenance contractor, Ray also mows the grass inside the COCC pool and playground areas. His company has also for several years had the landscaping contract for the interior cul-de-sacs and the esplanades on Bolivia, and for maintaining a better appearance than would otherwise happen on the Tidwell esplanades and sidewalks on both sides of Tidwell. Darin has been wanting to get a detailed bid from Ray that could be compared to other bids he has in hand or will obtain. Ray said his procedure is to do whatever he sees that needs to be done, whether it is removing the wrought iron fence section that was about to fall over, or disposing of dead animals found on the Tidwell sidewalks. He said there is a tremendous amount of littering from vehicles driving through on Tidwell. Trash ends up on the esplanades and the sidewalks. He basically sees something that needs to be taken care of and does it and does not want to record every action his company takes. Sandy asked if he could post a short email when major mowing is done, so the board knew when to go look at the result, and be able to tell if it was done on the expected schedule. Ray said no emails, he just didn’t want to work that way, and his motivation has always been just wanting his neighborhood to look good.

In follow-up discussion, it was noted that the Tidwell esplanades belong to the City and the City mows them once a quarter, but that does not keep them looking good. Residents then complain, and expect the Board to mow them often enough to be tolerable. The sidewalk areas along Tidwell actually belong to each home-owner, from the back fence to the curb. Very few people whose back yard is on Tidwell do any maintenance of their own area, maybe most don’t have a back fence gate for easy access to cleanup. The idea was brought up of including Tidwell in the regular Deed Restriction drive-through, at least for fences that are falling down.

Meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc.
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
June 14, 2018

Present: Sandy Ericksen, Jill Prado Salyers, Lori Bulla, Darilene Bonnet, Michel Kuhnen, AD Koen, Richard Solis, Charlie Bowman. Absent: Amelie Fredland, Darin Lee. Residents: Gill Daoust, Patrick Ball, Marilyn Harper, Gerard Bohorquez. Guests: SEAL Sgt Bonsey, Lt. Garza

2018 BOARD OFFICERS:
Sandy Ericksen President
Amelie Fredland Vice-President
Jill Prado Salyers Treasurer
Darilene Bonnet Secretary
Lori Bulla Pool Committee Chair
A.D. Koen Security Committee Chair
Michael Kuhnen Deed Restrictions Chair; Long-Range Planning
Richard Solis Social Chair; Acorn Delivery
Darin Lee Landscaping Chair
Charlie Bowman Asst. to Treasurer / Financial

*Marilyn Jo Harper Acorn Editor 2018

President Sandy Ericksen called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm.

SECURITY: Sgt Bonsey discussed the May SEAL reports. Candlelight Oaks has very low incident reporting.

PRESENTATION: Special presenter was Gill Daoust, who has been working on his Home Owner Information Booklet, including Deed Restrictions, Amendments to Restrictions, and maps showing all 4 sections. There was a brief discussion regarding the history of Candlelight Oaks and its Sections; it was noted that Candlelight Oaks was established in 1969. All Board members were encouraged to submit corrections or ideas by email to Gill by the end of June. Gill’s goal is to provide each homeowner a final copy; printing will be provided free by Gill, however, stamps, if used, will need to be a cost to the Board. Note: The Architectural Control Committee has been expired, as noted on page 27 of this booklet. The reason for the ACC when CO had one was to discourage the modifying of homes so they are then out of character with other homes.

TREASURER REPORT: Charlie and Jill were pleased to provide the Board with documents 2016-2017 Actual YTD Profit and Loss December Statement, 2018 Proposed Budget (Budget, Actual, Over/Under YTD), Comparative Profit and Loss Statement (Internal Use only) Including Income and Expenses, 2017 Budget as Compared to 2018. Regarding 2017, everything looks pretty good, and we’re $13,519 better off than the prior year. On the Income and Expense, we did a lot better on income, dropping a lot more money to the bottom line. Also in a comparison to Budget for the full year 2017, we had budgeted a $7,049 loss, but we made approx. $20,000. When the accounts were merged in 2016 and 2017, the charter of accounts were different in both years, making a merge difficult and not matching. Charlie did his best with Jill to reconcile. It was noted that some assets in the past 2 years should have been appreciated and were not: normally the work of a tax accountant.

Charlie passed around a list of Past Due accounts shared among the Board members only since names are confidential. 7 past due accounts were turned over to the attorney (totaling $9,200 a year ago), those who are over $360 past due are on a payment plan, and 2-3 are in dispute for $360 from a prior year. Past Dues that go to the attorney are not quickly cleared because a formal collection plan is followed. Collection rate for 2018 is the highest in years; only about 25 homeowners are behind in their payments, thanks to Charlie and Jill. We must balance the budget every year and did very well last year. Our savings balance has gone up from approx. $100,000 to $151,000. Jill stated that we did budget for 2018 to break even. Copies of YTD Budget & Actual 2018 were distributed by Jill. We will transfer the accounting to Proledge, and Sandy once again acknowledged the hard work of Charlie and Jill,

MOTION MADE: A motion was made, voted upon and confirmed to schedule a Full Financial Audit in July/August, using Canady & Canady PC, specializing in HOA audits, for $1,500, which was not included in this year’s budget. The company has good references and a thorough letter of proposal, per Sandy. Jill will need to be available for the proposed end of July session to answer questions.

There is a size of HOA for a mandatory financial audit; CO is under this size but Sandy and Charlie want to propose this audit, since CO is in the best financial shape in years. Darilene shared a generic checklist to prepare for an audit with the Board. A part of this audit will be to send out a survey to owners and gather their responses, which will be shared anonymously with the Board, in order to improve our internal checks and balances moving forward. To prepare for an audit, we must submit “approved minutes”, currently in draft form; we are two months behind, per Darilene. The Board acknowledged this was due for April and May 2018. Charlie proposed that in 2019, there be a financial review for a reduced price, then another audit the year after with follow-up, certainly as it relates to a transfer of documents from one treasurer to another.

LANDSCAPING: Darin could not attend this meeting but is in communication with Michael. Darilene noted that she submitted to the Board a bid for a One Time Clean Up Tidwell Bid (not approved), of areas adjacent to the owner fences (outside their yards), normally the owner’s responsibility, to improve the “look” at our main entrances to CO, and that it would be useful to know the landscaping projected expenses/budget from now to year-end.

Darin submitted a bid for General Maintenance with Scope of Work, months ago, so it would be good to know the money left in the budget to spend in 2017. Charlie said the Board should see a breakdown of all the bids to compare apples to apples, so they can make a good decision. Michael suggested that Darin coordinate a Scope Committee to discuss scope, frequency, areas and special services, then put this form out to bidding. Ray could be invited to bid with others; Michael has no problem with other Board members collecting bids, as Darilene had done. Point is, contractors need a well defined schedule and scope of work to be able to bid fairly and do the work. The City is supposed to cut and trim the esplanades on Tidwell every 21 days, per Parks and Recreation. Trash build-up continues to be a problem on Tidwell. Darilene suggested to send out a letter from the Board to the Residents/Owners backing up to Tidwell, asking them to either take care of this area or “sign-off” and allow the Board to cut down all trees outside their yard, backing up to their fences and/or those near storm drains to allow for proper drainage. Another suggestion was to inform owners that, per Michael, the owner must maintain this area including the sidewalk, with certain exceptions

MOTION MADE by Michael: A motion was made, seconded and voted upon to purchase shrubs for both sides of the sidewalk near pool area entrance, Ligustrums (or other) for up to $400 + taxes for 15-20 plants, plus dirt and mulch to improve the look. Michael will pull old plants up with his truck. A.D. will be involved because of the proximity to his home (and he waters plants).

LONG RANGE PLANNING: Michael will get a bid to replace the picket fence around the playground for 2019 budget.

DEED RESTRICTIONS: Drive-through is planned for July, no dates confirmed, per Michael.

SOCIAL: We had a great Memorial Day Party, as reported in the Acorn and our social media.

PLAYGROUND: Michael visited the shack located on the vacant lot and shut off a water valve, which had been running water for days, which was done to help the landowner. Marilyn said that although the road to the pool was recently leveled off and potholes filled in, this is not a permanent solution and will have to be redone occasionally.

Meeting adjourned at 9:25 pm.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc.
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
May 10, 2018

Present: Jill Prado Salyers, Lori Bulla, Darilene Bonnet, Michel Kuhnen, AD Koen, Richard Solis. Absent: Sandy Ericksen, Amelie Fredland, Darin Lee. Residents: Marilyn Harper. Guests: SEAL Sgt Bonsey

2018 BOARD OFFICERS:
Sandy Ericksen President
Amelie Fredland Vice-President; Deed Restrictions Support
Jill Prado Salyers Treasurer
Darilene Bonnet Secretary
Lori Bulla Pool Committee Chair
A.D. Koen Security Committee Chair
Michael Kuhnen Deed Restrictions Chair; Long-Range Planning
Richard Solis Social Chair; Acorn Delivery
Darin Lee Landscaping Chair
Charlie Bowman Asst. to Treasurer / Financial

*Marilyn Jo Harper Acorn Editor 2018

At 7:39PM, meeting was called to order by Michael Kuhnen.

SECURITY: Sgt. Bonsey reviewed the monthly SEAL Report, showing the most prevalent concerns were the heavy trash piles related to Harvey (approx.. 22 piles) scattered around the neighborhood, heavy traffic on Tidwell causing drivers to cut through our neighborhood, drivers not respecting the stop sign at Bolivia and Fallen Oaks, and door-to-door solicitors, which were approached by SEAL officers. As for the Bolivia stop sign: On April 19, 18 cars ran the stop sign (16 were known residents), 38 did a slow-roll through and 27 cars did stop, all within a 30 minute period. On April 4, a total of 53 cars passed through this intersection; 11 cars ran the stop sign and 23 cars did a roll-through (10-11 were known residents), which shows this intersection continues to be a concern. The Board has started to use the Post Order Form to request additional services from SEAL during their shifts. Residents are encouraged to call 311 for trash issues and related support. On April 23, there was a two-car accident on Bolivia; HPD was not called and both drivers were able to drive away.

A.D. will send to Amelie the new SEAL Vacation Request Form to post on our website. Marilyn will put in next Acorn a writeup about the Vacation Watch and the Security Contacts on the back page will include the online Vacation Watch form. A.D. followed up with the SEAL signs proposed at the April meeting with Gill, and Gill gave a very competitive bid to produce the same signs. A.D. visited the various sign locations to determine which posts were reusable, may purchase 1-2; will need 5 signs plus one at pool entrance. Gill quoted $80/ea for 18×24”reflective signs and will make a mock-up sign first. A.D. will determine best place to post the pool entrance SEAL sign. A.D. spoke to Gill about SEAL receiving CO maps with actual addresses on them.

TREASURER REPORT: Nothing to report. Charlie is helping Jill with collections. Currently there are many residents past due, some of whom owe for past years.

LONG RANGE PLANNING: Michael will continue to keep the playground fence pickets in good shape and research other fencing options for 2019 budget.

POOL: Lori reported we now have 11 (up from 8 last month) memberships, 1 party is booked, and all membership cards have been activated and are working properly. We received the Pool Permit paperwork from the City of Houston; Jill will insure payment is sent in time. OSL will start their swim classes first week of June for 2 weeks, and then have their Friday swims. Lori will continue to explore options to replace some of the pool fencing; one photo was sent to the Board. Currently, a tree near the front entrance is the only thing holding up the broken wrought iron fencing. Michael motioned to remove the broken fence section including the outer gate at the Oakhaven cul-de-sac; seconded by Lori. Ray Cowart will be paid to do this.

PLAYGROUND: Slide is still broken, as stated in 2 previous monthly Minutes. Michael will contact Kaboom for a solution. The Board thanks resident Dave d’Agrella who smoothed out and filled potholes on the road from Tidwell leading to the playground. Marilyn will write this up in the next Acorn.

DEED RESTRICTIONS: Michael, Sandy, and Marilyn drove through in May. Michael will work on a spreadsheet to track violations, which may help during drive-throughs to monitor response to DR letters.

LANDSCAPING: Darin was absent, but the board is beginning to look at bids solicited by Darilene and by Darin. Darilene wants to hire a landscaping company she had used before on a job, and they bid on an initial massive cleanup on both fenced sidewalk sides of Tidwell running through Candlelight Oaks. This involved cutting down trees that are growing there and branches hanging over the fences, trimming all overgrowth, trimming and filling in the grass area from the sidewalk along Tidwell to the resident fences so as not to have any more vegetation here, and hauling off all debris. Board members advised Darilene that the sidewalk area between the fence and the Tidwell curb belong to each homeowner, and COCC cannot cut down any trees there. The Board also cannot cut any trees on the Tidwell esplanades, as those belong to the city. Darilene is concerned about excess leaves that fall from trees ending up in curb drainage system.

SOCIAL: The next event will be the Memorial Day & Splash Day party on May 28. Richard will provide Gabby’s BBQ, with side dishes brought by attendees. Marilyn asked about progress with the Children’s Lending Library boxes that were offered to us by HISD Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones. Richard will need volunteers to help him pick up the Libraries, which are attached to a concrete pad and very heavy. The boxes are at an HISD storage site. Discussions involved providing a park bench beside the library boxes, a dedication event, and possible locations in the neighborhood. Marilyn suggested getting the Cardozas involved once the boxes are brought here, since the original idea came from Mrs Cardoza.

OLD BUSINESS: Marilyn gave feedback to Darilene regarding the Board Meeting Minutes, incomplete and misspelled names, and format; feedback was accepted.

Meeting adjourned at 9:25PM.

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club, Inc.
Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
April 12, 2018

Present: Sandy Ericksen, Lori Bulla, Darilene Bonnet, Michel Kuhnen, AD Koen, Richard Solis.
Absent: Jill Prado Salyers, Amelie Fredland, Darin Lee. Residents: Marilyn Jo Harper. Guests: SEAL Sgt Bonsey, SEAL Officer Malcolm, and Laura (SEAL Management)

2018 BOARD OFFICERS:
Sandy Ericksen President
Amelie Fredland Vice-President; Deed Restrictions Support
Jill Prado Salyers Treasurer
Darilene Bonnet Secretary
Lori Bulla Pool Committee Chair
A.D. Koen Security Committee Chair
Michael Kuhnen Deed Restrictions Chair; Long-Range Planning
Richard Solis Social Chair; Acorn Delivery
Darin Lee Landscaping Chair
Charlie Bowman Asst. to Treasurer / Financial

*Marilyn Jo Harper Acorn Editor 2018

At 7:34PM, meeting was called to order by Sandy Ericksen.

SECURITY: SEAL presented their monthly report, explaining a collision that occurred on Tidwell and Antoine which ended at the entrance to the pool. Although SEAL was not involved, they were called and said they considered this a bad accident, where a lady had been driven over by an 18 wheeler truck, survived and was taken to a nearby hospital. HPD was promptly on the scene. Also a concern is the soliciting challenges in Harris County. SEAL stated that 99 % of the door-to-door sales people (appointment setters) in our neighborhoods are 3rd party vendors, not people casing our homes. This is not a top priority for HPD; cable, newspaper, electric companies actually have permits to come door-to-door.

We now have a new SEAL contract for 2018 to replace the one from 2015, the provisions of which were discussed by Laura & Malcolm (SEAL managers) with AD and Sandy at the SEAL offices; changes were made, although the hourly rate for this service will remain the same. The Board reviewed the annually renewable contract, was asked their opinion on changes. Prices will remain the same, however, some of the changes will enhance SEAL’s services to Candlelight Oaks. The Post Order Form was presented, whereby the Board may specifically request SEAL officers to report on Deed Restrictions, trees down and a variety of additional services during the officer’s patrol, simply by completing this form. Other services are: (1) SEAL can study traffic patterns at intersections where drivers are not respecting stop signs; (2) make lists of Harvey related-trash with the addresses so 311 can be called for pick up; (3) change officer schedules to overnight or late, to mention a few. AD will look at reports and trends, to make recommendations to SEAL for adjusting the summer schedule. Any schedule changes will not be shared with the Board prior to the changes.

Our Security Budget is a total of $50,000 and currently we are below this amount. There was a discussion to raise the hours of coverage by 10 hours. Signage, electricity, fencing, lighting, gate system, and a few other expenses are in this budget and must be considered before adding hours. With the new pool card system, Lori now has the ability to lock residents out after 10 PM.

AD looked at SEAL security signage at all the entrances, made note of our needs, and will work with Michael to get them ordered. Michael also wanted a sign at the entry to the pool road; AD agreed. There was a motion to approve a sign budget of $825.00, and seconded. The signs will be a purchase for COCC by AD and he will consider the one with the K-9 included. Michael wanted a formal sign proposal from SEAL, which will be provided. AD will send this proposal to the Board for review prior to his order for 6 signs. It was decided to ask printer Gill Daoust about some additional signage around the pool, including PRIVATE PROPERTY, NO TRESPASSING, CO physical address, pool hours, which can be “reflective” for easy reading.

TREASURER REPORT: Jill was absent due to illness; there was nothing reported. She has been working very hard on ledgers / bank deposits, collecting past dues and is making good progress on 2017 final P&L. Michael, Charlie, Jill and Sandy met to review the 2 boxes of Records, to find they were in pretty good shape. Proledge will be called to help once things are in good order for an audit. Darilene sent to Jill 2 samples of Check Request Forms which Michael thought were a good idea to use moving forward, to help her tracking checks to projects/expenses. Board discussed looking at how to make forms available on our website.

LONG RANGE PLANNING: Michael brought up the fact that we need to plan for Budget 2019, projects, fences, landscaping, improvements, picnic tables, etc. and getting prices for these projects in June/July 2018.

POOL: Lori reported we have 8 memberships so far, and will use a spreadsheet to track memberships. OSL has paid to use our pool and the new card reader will allow the class to enter on the agreed upon days. In order to clean the pool after closing, Lori has changed the gate closing time to 9:00PM, but those already swimming may stay until 10:00PM. Ray capped off a pipe that was leaking, which was at one time an input of water to the pool underneath the diving board, and he painted the restroom floors. Richard has some repairs to handle before pool gets busy. Marilyn suggested that Amelie post the Pool Membership Form on our website.

DEED RESTRICTIONS: Drive-through was done on March 24th, and visible improvements were noted, per Michael. Harvey debris is still a problem, but is currently being resolved because Board members are calling 311 to identify the locations; SEAL has helped in this regard noting problem areas in their reports. Drive-throughs happen every 6-8 weeks, next being May 5. Gill Daoust, who prints the Acorn, has undertaken a personal project to print up the Deed Restrictions for all 4 sections of CO. This will be Gill’s gift to Candlelight Oaks, including a map of CO. The Board will give him feedback before the DR booklet is released.

LANDSCAPING: Darin was not in attendance.

SOCIAL: Our Easter Event went very nicely, the Board agreed. The next event will be the Memorial Day party & Splash Day. Marilyn suggested BBQ, a break from chicken. Richard will make sure it is a crowd pleaser.

PLAYGROUND: Last month it was reported that a slide was broken, which has not yet been fixed. Sandy will follow up with Kaboom on this. The playground fencing is still in the works regarding a proposal by Lori, to replace the often vandalized white picket fence. Marilyn asked what happened to the idea of the Children’s Free Library which many residents had expressed interest in last year.

OLD BUSINESS: There was another discussion about a financial Audit, but as yet, we do not have a timeframe to schedule one. The Board will collect bids. Darilene made a motion to budget for an audit, which was not seconded. Michael stated it was not budget time, however, if we can carve out some money this year, we will. It was agreed this is a normal business practice and Board agrees to have one.

Meeting adjourned at 9:25PM.