The Monthly Board Meeting for Hawthorn Park was held on Thursday, September 30th, 2010 at the NW Baptist Church. Here are the topics and highlights of the meeting.
Please note: These are not the official meeting minutes. The official minutes are recorded by Susan Thimmes, Property Manager, and are archived at the offices of Sentry Management.
Attendees
Board of Directors:
Ray Dalto (present)
Mike Hogan (present)
Frank Maruca (present)
Mike Sandstrum (present)
Sean Simpson (present)
Pat Whitesel (present)
Sentry Management
Susan Thimmes (present)
27 interested residents of Hawthorn Park
TOPICS DISCUSSED:
Financials -- Mike S. reported a cash position of $74,876 as of 8/31/10, with a YTD surplus of approximately $39,000. As of 8/31, $2,938 in assessments were in arrears, covering three properties. In September one of three properties became current, bringing total in arrears down to $1,713. Year-to-date the Association is under budget.
Budget -- Mike H. reported the budget work has begun for 2011. The drafted budget for 2011 does not yet incorporate projected revenue shortfalls expected and their impacts.
Pond Repair -- Mike H. received an email from Karen at Zoller Engineering. Karen has the Hawthorn Park submission materials ready for SWFWMD. She has also learned that there may be some debate over the effectiveness of littoral shelves, which is the lower cost method of repairing ponds. Unclear how that debate changes anything. Mike again summarized the legal power of SWFWMD and the implications of inaction. There was also discussion on the reason for the liner failure, the accountability for the failure, the purpose of the pond, the purpose of the repair, the plumbing of our street drainage, the potential of future repairs on the other two ponds, and the mechanisms to ensure our Special Assessment will be spent wisely.
Special Assessment -- The Board voted unanimously to move forward with the process and time line toward a Special Assessment to pay for the Pond Repair. Susan explained that notification will be made for a Special Meeting in which a vote shall be taken. Two-thirds of Association membership must approve the Special Assessment. Susan said a Limited Proxy process will be used, and a Quorum (50-percent of membership) will be required at the meeting or by proxy. The amount mentioned was $1,500 per property to cover the repair work. (Wild rumors of $5,000 per home are unfounded.) Sentry is investigating the idea of getting Manatee County to handle collections as part of the County property taxes on Hawthorn Park properties.
Reserves and Contingency Funds -- Susan explained that the Association does not officially have Reserves or Contingencies set aside. There are legal requirements to do so. Our contingency fund of old has rolled forward as a Surplus within our operating budget.
Social -- Sean reported that the Ladies Social (formerly Ladies Tea) will probably get rescheduled. He has not heard from Mary Hawk. Barbara Chadsey volunteered to join a planning committee for this event.
Garage Sale -- Sean working with George Sinclair to get the advertisements done. The sale will be Saturday, Nov. 13th.
Activities Fund -- Frank reported a balance of $556.
ARC -- Ray reported no unusual activity.
Common Grounds / Landscaping / Trees -- Frank reported no activity.
Annual Meeting -- The Annual Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 18th. This was scheduled back at the start of the year. Some concern over the date was raised, but no decisions were made at the meeting.